Xtian's Clutter

My walk-around lens, the Nikon 35mm F/2.0D. On a full-frame body, this is pretty wide, and with the large maximum aperture coupled with the full-frame sensor, this has been the most-used lens in my kit since I got it.

Today’s featured Nikon item is my Nikon AF 85mm F/1.4 This lens produces tack sharp images at wide open and is perfect for portrait shooting. The very shallow depth of field makes subject pop out and makes the background melt like cream. We call this one, “The Cream Machine” for good reason… I’ll post some shots from this baby on of these days, maybe even a set using this lens alone.

Will be featuring some of my gear over the next few days since I’ll probably be stuck inside the condo with nothing else to do. First off, the Nikon 70-200 F/2.8 AF-S VR, on of the best pieces of glass Nikon has made (IMO) provides sharp captures at all focal lengths. On a full frame body it may lead to VERY minor vignettes, it’s not really there if you don’t look for it. 

My aunt recently got into painting and she asked me earlier to come over and take photos of her works. One piece that stood out was this fiery red and orange streak, I love the dynamism and energy of the painting… Kind of abstract, but still impressive nonetheless.

Cooked myself another batch of nuts This time with a lot more garlic! Nomnomnom!

Oven roasted a whole chicken earlier, after 45 minutes in the oven, the skin was starting to brown and crisp… almost done, not quite… but mouthwatering nonetheless. Can you guess which part got eaten first?

A friend from Davao visited earlier and he brought over some pomelo for me and dad. I was surprised at how small they were, they were just as big as oversized oranges as seen here beside my Nokia E63.

Yes folks, I have seen the sign… and it says, “Wagyu Beef Pattie.” I wanted one so bad that I was willing to wait for 30 minutes to get one of those patties… So I ordered one, was told to go back in 30, went back in 30 minutes, all sold out I’ll be back one of these days and mark my words… I will have that Wagyu Jamaican Beef Pattie…

It’s amazing how a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup can change a boring dish to something so lip smackingly good. My first thought was to just fry the chicken, but then I spotted a can of Campbell’s at the back of the cupboard so I decided to bake the chicken instead. Seasoned the drumsticks with cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and chopped garlic, then browned them on a cast iron skillet on both sides for a few minutes, dumped the Campbell’s over it, then into the oven for 40 minutes. The result? Fall off the bone chicken, crunchy garlic with a milky garlicky sauce. 

It’s almost midnight and I forgot about today’s daily photo, good thing I took a shot of the chicken earlier while it was in the convection oven. From this angle, it doesn’t look like a chicken at all, looks like some kind of pig (eyes on the left side, chicken neck being the snout/mouth) with giant ears. One thing is for sure though, it tasted like chicken and the skin was oh so crispy!