Samomatic

This came as a little surprise today. Thanks to an anonymous tipster who showed me that some one by the name of 726stephen in the Chinese Twitter site Weibo has been living my life for the past few months by copying photos/stories from my blog. I thought this is quite funny and took some screenshots to share!

As you enter his page (http://weibo.com/726stephen), you discover that he is a handsome Caucasian male that lives in England. He is also fluent in Chinese and loves emoticons! Wait, doesn’t that photo look awefully familar to my shot in Barcelona?

Hrm the background looks like the Maple Leaves in Toronto. He’s got the same post too and tries to protect it by splattering his name right across the image.

This is the part that really makes me angry. If you can read Chinese you can read the comments. In English it goes like this.

Friend: Nice! Please teach me.
726stephen: You need to rely on your feelings and heart. Can’t teach you.
Friend: I know I have no talent…
726stephen: You just need to take more to get it.

A quick look through his previous posts show that this has gone on for some time. I have circled the images that were stolen.

So 726stephen, if you are reading this. This is a cease and desist warning!

Continuing on our brief stay in Rome. We woke up nice and early to tour around the main attractions.
The Roman Forum with some buildings dating back to 8th century BC. That is 2800 years ago!

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Enjoying a fresh cup of cafe latte and pastry by the counter (sitting down cost more).

The very friendly baristas.

Ah the mighty Colosseum! It takes about 10 minutes just to walk around the outside (our mighty guide was trying to find a washroom!).

It was completed by 80 AD with seating for 50,000 spectators.

Legionnaires waiting for tourist to take photos. If they see you taking photos of them they will demand money from you.

In front of the triumphal arch.


I found Albert Einstein hiding in a small alley!

The statues lining the circumference of the Saint Peter’s Square.

The inner workings of St. Peter’s Basilica. It was breathtaking with the amount of details and decorations.

Though it must be terrible for truly devoted Catholics, as the church is full of tourists with little respect for silence and flash photography.

From the top of the Basilica overlooking St Peter’s Square.

Il Vittoriano is a monument built to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. The giant building is referred to as the ‘wedding cake’ by the locals.

By mid-day we had to leave Rome and head to Civitavecchia to board the cruise ship, Mariner of the Seas.
The sheer size of the ship took us by surprise, it took us almost 4hrs to explore all the decks and facilities on board!

The busy port of Civitavecchia, one of the most popular ports of call due to its distance from Rome.

Sailaway party on the pool deck as we depart for Genoa.

Some of the figures we posed with at the casino. :)


Sunset. Time to get some food!

Just a few informal shots taken from the pew with the Pentax K-5, 50mm F1.4, and Lensbaby Composer.

The Lensbaby is a lot of fun to shift the focal plane, but severe distortions inhibits any drastic shifts.


Playing around with the heart-shaped aperture.



The unity harness was a great idea, capturing their passion on rock climbing into their wedding ceremony.

Congrats to the newly weds!

Hong Kong can offer such interesting street photography subjects. The scenery and architecture can change drastically over a few blocks.

Dinner time!

Fresh seafood at the North Point Harbor.