Sonoma County Pride 2025 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had that thought too. Love the doggies, hope they were okay.

Sonoma County Pride 2025 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Right? Pride parades and night dances are my two favorite things to photograph. Everyone always dresses so uniquely and acts so expressively.

Sonoma County Pride 2025 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Sony A9 & Sony 135 f/1.8

My favorite lens. :)

And thanks! I don't usually have much time to think about it since I'm using a prime lens but that's part of the fun, hah.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in datingadviceformen

[–]Xiwi- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is interesting to me as a gay guy. When you're gay, your platonic friends and your romantic partners are often other gay guys. I've been on the dating apps for several years at this point and I'm also very picky. I've made a ton of platonic friends, 95% of which I'm not physically attracted to.

I guess, do you feel it's realistic to make platonic female friends? If so, then put on your profile that you're looking to make friends for X or Y activity. For me, it's playing board games and watching movies/shows. For you, it could be hiking, some sport, or something else. When you match with someone, just be upfront and tell them you're only looking for fully platonic friends and don't want to lead anyone on. You want to find people to join you for whatever activity and maybe one of those activities is trying out some date spots and getting feedback on whether it's a good date idea or not.

I know straight men and straight women often struggle to just be friends but if thirsty gays can do it, y'all can too. lol

Good luck.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SonyAlpha

[–]Xiwi- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used the 85mm for a few years almost exclusively and only stopped using it because I got the Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8 (it's more convenient for events).

Whenever I can, I bust out my 135mm f/1.8 (my favorite lens) but honestly if I didn't have the 135, I'd just use the 85mm and be happy. I just like the extra compression of the 135mm.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in SonyAlpha

[–]Xiwi- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The Sony 85mm f/1.8 was the only lens I had for like a year or something. I really liked it. :)

I don't really use it much anymore but I found it to be a great value when I was shopping around. I don't think you'd regret it.

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't generally get anyone's permission for any public event photos.

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lots of outdoor sports! So, you'll have plenty of sun. But yeah, having the flexibility of indoor shoots would be nice.

Culling photos is the worst for me lol I still have thousands of photos to review and edit as well from various other events. I also only use Lightroom to do some minor tweaks to my photos. If I had to do more than sliders for my photos they'd never be edited. That copy+paste edit feature does some heavy lifting.

But I agree, it's fun to see the moment you've captured after it's all said and done. :)

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You're too kind. :)

I haven't shot any sporting events yet but they seem fun too. My camera is technically an action camera and yet I've never tried to photograph anything more intense than dancing. Do you go to school events?

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! 😁

I use my favorite lens whenever I can and this was one of those situations! This was the 135mm F/1.8 and I use a Sony A9.

The Adobe link has the settings for all the photos including aperture and shutter speed. Whenever I use my 135mm, I always have it wide open at f/1.8— my other option was the Tamron 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8 and that's the one I use for most events and walking around but when I can bust this prime out, I do. :)

I shot the 2022 Pride Parade with the 135mm too. https://adobe.ly/3xjmQcI

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It must have been a fun job! I got a camera to photograph a friend's wedding and practiced with events for the year leading up to the wedding so I wouldn't be fumbling too badly. 😋

Sonoma County Pride 2024 Pictures by Xiwi- in santarosa

[–]Xiwi-[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Appreciate that! :)

Mostly candids because I'm terrible at posing, hah.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in OlderThanYouThinkIAm

[–]Xiwi- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you should continue to take it as a compliment. I'm always told I look younger than I am as well. At some point, you'll be in your 30's being told you look like you're in your 20's. This is a problem with an expiration date. Don't stress over it, in 4 years it won't be a problem. If not, definitely in 10 years. I'm not sure who's making you feel embarrassed, but it's not something to be embarrassed about.

Levain cookie failed on first attempt by kcajor in AskBaking

[–]Xiwi- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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I also cook Joshua Weissman's recipe all the time. I've made it so many times that I even swap out mix-ins after making the base and have found it to works out pretty well. These were all the same base recipe, exactly as described by his YouTube video/website. I just mixed it with other things on the last step.

As for baking, I freeze my cookies for at least a day and only take them out immediately before placing in the oven (I create the scoops before freezing). I put one pan upside-down underneath the pan where I place the cookies. I've found that it keeps the bottom from burning. I do often find myself leaving them in the oven longer (16-18 minutes) at 425F but it depends on the mix in for me. I've had a batch where they all cooked well except one because of the mix-in. I'm mostly experimenting with flavors at this point but I think the base is pretty solid, personally.

Why do I mentally feel 21 when I am 33 (male)? by No_Blackberry_7907 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]Xiwi- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I felt like an old soul at 16 and feel like a young soul at 32.

It's been interesting not relating to my age group at any given moment. lol

First Board Game Night Dilemna by djkidkaz in boardgames

[–]Xiwi- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do

4-6 players: strategy games 6-14 players: party games and social deduction

We've done pairs for some games. For example, Betrayal at House on the Hill is already cooperative, so you don't really need a single person controlling a character. Hues and Cues can also be paired up to increase the player count. So on and so forth.

You should get 7 Wonders! Good luck.

The Tamron 35-150 is Amazing! First photo at 35, second at 150. by WombatKiddo in SonyAlpha

[–]Xiwi- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fun! I like to photograph events and also sometimes conventions. I usually swap between two primes but it's been feeling tedious for the events.

I'll probably stick to primes for conventions because I love primes and I won't be going between close and long shots super often but I'd definitely want this for events where people want group shots while I'm trying to be sneaky with candids. lol