My 40D and Me

Is that even grammatically correct? My 40D and me... or is it I?

My Backstory
Photography wasn't in my life until the advent of the digital cameras. With my high school graduation money, I bought a Canon Elph S100. I banged it up throughout college and it died, but my passion lived on.

Fast forward to 2006, leaving Texas, and now working in New York City. I treated myself to my first DSLR, a Canon XT, so I can take pictures of my journey in the Big Apple. Shortly after getting to know DSLR photography, I pounced on an opportunity to buy my friend's 40D all for $500. He was going full frame and not looking back.

At this time, DSLRs are gaining a lot of popularity. "Live View" was still new and having more than 15 megapixels meant you dabbled in "pro" territory (and $$$).

Why buy the 40D?
The major point was the larger body and better ergonomics:
I took pictures with my XT and it felt clumsy and small. Especially with larger EF lens. But the 40D had better grip, was more balanced with lens on, and had buttons where I needed them.

When I shot in the field, using the wheel and joystick helped me expedite focusing, picture reviews, and accessing menu options. Also, if I needed to check any information, I could just take a look at top on the little LCD.



Another buying point was some of the technological advances:
Live View (I can see a real-time image on my LCD back!)

10MP (megapixel) pictures - upgraded from 8MP on my XT

6+ FPS (frames per second) - my XT was slooooowwww...

expanded ISO 3200 (was very high back then) - I don't think I ever used 3200 ISO...

...and something about a 14-bit "thingy" that promised better IQ (image quality) - no comment...

Lastly, I was in for the long haul on a good deal:
$500 dollars was a bargain for the 40D! It was about $1,200 retail at the time. Plus, my friend included the 28-135mm lens.

Yes, I got lucky... but if I had some common business sense instead of product loyalty, I'd have flipped the camera for $1,000 and make a good return. But I really wanted this camera.

This was my upgrade and I knew that it would suffice for what I do as a photographer.

My true ROI
For the past 5+ years, I have shot a multitude of events, festivals, holidays, and adventures.

With those pictures, I made albums for my friends, family, and girlfriend (one of my best presents, ever!), helped make a yearbook at my MBA, share online to friends and family, and even printed some of my own to keep as a memory.

I found out the camera enabled me to really capture the moments and remember them frozen in time with a story to tell. That's my true ROI, something that extra $500 wouldn't have given me.

Resisting the upgrade
Right when I bought, I know the 50D was in the pipeline and since then, I have fought the long hard battle of an upgrade.

I gave myself a list of reasons why upgrading "now" (meaning whenever I thought about it) was not necessary until I could check off each one:
- Do I have enough money?
Unfortunately this was easily checked off from time to time...

- Are there any features the new camera can do, that my 40D can't? And is it worth it?
This was good until Canon started making cameras that could film videos!


- Can I handle the needs of a new camera upgrade?
This was a good stopper to my thirst to purchase, because I'd have to think about all of my equipment. Can my computer handle the larger file sizes? What about my memory card?


- Will this camera help me take better pictures than I already can?
This implies whether or not this camera will enable me to take better pictures. Or are there other ways I can continue to improve taking better pictures? This mainly goes into accessories, such as a tripod or lens.


- Finally, is there still more to learn from my 40D?
This is a philosophical stop. I find that when I can say I know my 40D in and out, if I become to complacent, it's time to change and challenge myself.



Honestly, the time to upgrade is coming pretty soon. I don't think I'll let go of my 40D, but I am wanting to step into the "full frame" community. My next internal debate will be either to go for a 5D Mark II or the new 5D Mark III. Maybe I can make some videos along the way.

I really like the fact the 5D uses "Mark" even though it's merely a meant to convey a version.

-Mark

Oh and I have some online albums of pictures I took with my 40D. Just head over to my My Photography page.

Beauty and the Beast Bike Experience

Beauty and the Beast Bike Tour
Tyler, TX

(insert melodic tune)"...tale as old as time..." - actually not very old, but on Saturday, March 24th 2012


A couple of weeks back, my brother begins training for a bike tour called, "Beauty and the Beast" here in Tyler, Texas. Little did I know with a peer pressure here and cycle training there, I'd be joining the rest of the 700 cyclists.

Actually, a few weeks ago, I remember visiting the site of the "beast" in a car and a few things crossed my mind:
- "Hey, that hill isn't that bad... kinda steep... oh that wasn't the 'beast'..." (say, wha!?)
- "Oh, that's quite long..." (one mile)
- "Hey! I see the top!" (there was more...)
- "Hmm... I'm glad I'm not doing this" *chuckle to self*


Here's how it unfolded from start:

Friday
[4:00PM] "We should carbo-load!"

[6:00PM] Cooking wheat pasta w/ vodka sauce ;)


[8:00PM] Full with good ol' carbs!


[10:00PM] My Ate Pechie and her friend Jennifer arrive. "Let's look at our bikes!"

Saturday
[12:00AM] "Let's sleep!"Man, my stomach is full...


[5:30AM] Ugh! I hate my alarm.


[6:30AM] Let's head to the "Beast!"

[6:45AM] "We arrived too early! Let's eat at Sonic's!" I got chicken pops, others more daring ate burritos and chili cheese dogs

[9:00AM] Thus starts my first bike tour...

The Tour Experience

When we started off, we left with the 34 mile group and clumped all together down the highway.

After each rest stop, I'd talk to a few people. The day itself was gorgeous and that seemed to invigorate people. Some were experienced, while others their first time (like me!).

Each rest stop had food, drinks, and volunteers who asked to look after my bike. (Nice) Oh yeah, and pickle juice... more on that later.

As we progressed, you really start to see separation of the group. Faster or slower, everyone develops their own pace.

My cousin (Jeff), my brother (Tim), and I formed a little pack. We stayed together for a majority of the time.

Towards the middle, we decided to conquer the 46 mile tour.

At the last rest stop, I spoke to a few people. Some were nervous, others excited. Either way... only 6 miles to go.

My Beast Experience

So before the "Beast" here's the advice I got from some people:
"Once you get there, shift to your lowest gear, look down, and bike hard."
"Just pace yourself. Oh yeah, there's a steep mini hill... that's not the beast."
"Start it. Keep going. Don't stop."
"There's one part where the beast plateaus... yeah, don't slow down."


This what happened once I got there:
"What the heck!? That's not a mini hill!"
Right after I finished the "first" hill, I was wondering what's going to happen next with the bigger one. Even on this hill, people already started to get off their saddles.


"Oh man... that's pretty long. It looks a lot steeper on a bike that in a car..."
Entering the beast, I tried to enter with momentum, but that was short lived. I dropped it to the lowest gear and chugged a long.

When I passed people who got off, I tried to keep positive. One biker gave me a thumbs up. I did too and almost fell off, haha.

What makes this hill pretty difficult is that there's a steady incline to the top and since it is at the end of the tour your already tired.

At its steepest, I see this woman run to me and she starts to encourage me:
"Push! Pull! Push! Pull! Hey! Where are you clips!? Push! Push!"
That was funny. I was controlling my breathing to deep and steady paces. And towards the end, I started to come off my saddle for some extra push.

Finally! I finished. Once I got on top, my legs felt weak and getting off my bike was somewhat difficult.

The Aftermath

All in all, everyone in my group finished. At 1PM, I got to meet up, eat up, and share. It was a good experience and I'd like to see if I can try for a longer tour.

Maybe the 67 mile one :)

-Mark

Advice & Post-Thoughts

Pace yourself! Don't get overzealous too early or else your legs will fatigue and you increase the chances for a cramp and seize-up. That's why you trained to understand your limits!

Hydrate! And do it beforehand. Bring a bottle of water and electrolyte drink. You can't drink while climbing (at least, I couldn't). At the rest stops, they had pickle juice, which tasted awful but helped prevent cramping. Maybe the taste takes your mind off the cramping... or it's magic.

Breathe Steady! Deep inhalation and exhalations help (1) provide oxygen and (2) sets a pace. You'll sound weird, you may get funny looks, but you'll still be riding.

Eat! You'll get hungry on a bike so bring some bars, jellies, or gels. I actually didn't eat my bar, but the gels and jellies were good. Oh, and learn how to eat while on the bike... I dropped a few things on the tour.

Stretch! At the beginning, the end, and even in-between, it's good stretch out. It feels good, helps prevent injury, and will make you feel better afterwards. You can even stretch while on the bike, just be careful.

Why I love marketing

What marketing is to me...

I get this question a lot. My simple answer is, "My name is Mark, add '-eting' at the end, and easy choice for a career." Though I doubt that's the answer people are looking for (especially employers!).

Well let me break it down into two reasons:

1. Marketing is the "voice" of business
2. Marketing is wide-open

The "Voice" of Business

When I think of a business, I see parts functioning independently and marketing meant to provide synergy. This is both external and internal (e.g. customers and employees). But how does it do this?

External Voice

Externally, marketing listens for the voice of the consumer, competition, and market.

Examples of marketing functions involved are sales, research, and social media

Marketing also is a means of reaching these externalities to develop relationships.

Examples of these marketing functions are sales, public relations, ads, media, and research

Ultimately, marketing is a conversation between the business and others outside of the business.

Internal Voice

Of course, marketing provides an internal voice to the business itself.

Marketing helps interpret what the business offers and makes it relevant to the market.

Yes, functions of a business are experts of the offering, but it's marketing's job to interpret it to the consumer

Not only that, but it also translates the voice of the outside market to the rest of the business.

This is where improvements or new developments are impacted the most


Marketing has a busy job translating and interpreting, all to provide meaning.

Wide-open. Deep, yet simple.

Marketing is an ever evolving entity and wide-open book with much left still unwritten. At its simplest form, it's an exchange of words to others, making a news paper ad, or even making a survey asking, "Did you like this?"

Of course, it gets deeper and more complex, especially since we are an information driven society.  We drill and analyze information to help explain why we should continue employing marketing methods and strategies.

That simple commercial consisted of marketing research, creativity, sales analysis, and business strategy. And to me that's the amazing, challenging, and fun part of it.

All in all, that's why I love marketing.

-Mark

(Yay for the first entry!)