LA Triathlon Video of swim start/ exit/ transition area

Please love 'n like Shiggy's Facebook Page-->>>Click on HERE

(Above: Click for VIDEO)

Water testing video of LIFEPROOF case with fish and a turtle

Unboxing and Testing my new LIFEPROOF™ Case 

to determine if it's water proof. Video and photos.

I tested the LIFEPROOF Case in my 180 gallon freshwater aquarium.  My aquarium holds a fly-river water turtle, a silver-dollar fish and an orange Parrot fish.

(Below: VIDEO of me testing out the LIFEPROOF in my 180 gallon aquarium)

(Above: The packaging for the LIFEPROOF is very sleek)

 (Above: A closer look of the inside of the box)

(Above: I chose the color orange because I want to use it when I swim in the ocean.)

(Above: I stuck the LIFEPROOF casing under a heavy tree limb that I have submerged in my 180 gallon fresh water aquarium.) 

(Above: My fly-river-water turtle looks on.)

(My orange Parrot fish is looking at the orange case. Perhaps it wants to mate with it!!!)

(Above: Known as the LIFEJACKET, this is the mother of all flotation devices for the iPhone.)

(Above: The side of the LIFEJACKET box)

 (Above: Some feautures of the LIFEPROOF casing)

(

(Above: 7 reasons to chose the LIFEPROOF)

(Above: cont. 7 reasons to chose the LIFEPROOF.)

Photos. Underpants Run. Underwear Run. Kona Ironman World Championship 2011.

Kona Ironman World Championship 2011

Underpants/Underwear Run Photos.

              Photos: ©Shiggy Ichinomiya

Shiggy's Official Website:--->>> Click on HERE

Shiggy's Facebook Photography Page--->>Click on HERE to be in the know and Go Shiggy GO!!!!

Click for ALL photos-->>The Underpants Run Photos. HERE

(Above) Thank you Betty Designs for the Photo Credit on the Underpants Run Website!!

(Photo in red and black on side of pic. Bottom Right.)

For the 2012 Underpants Run in Kona please click on the following: Click HERE for the UNDERPANTS RUN Website. With schedule of events.

From the UnderpantsRun.Org website:
Event Info

WHEN: Thursday, October 11, 2012 // 8:00 AM

WHERE: Pacific Vibrations across from the Banyan Tree.
75-5702 Likana Lane, Suite B
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
808.329.4140

WHY: For some good, clean fun and to raise $$ for charity.

THE COURSE
1.2 miles total. From Pacific Vibrations, to the pier, back along Ali’i Drive with a turnaround through Uncle Billy’s.

Videos Below

(Above: Video of underpants underwear run in Kona. Part 1of 4)

(Above: Video of underpants underwear run in Kona. Part 2 of 4)

(Above: Video of underpants underwear run in Kona. Part 3 of 4)

(Above: Video of underpants underwear run in Kona. Part 4 of 4)

(Above: Love my photo as a backdrop!! Woot woot!!)

Some favorite photos I took from Kona Ironman World Championship 2011

Kona Ironman World Championship 2011 Photos

Photos: ©Shiggy Ichinomiya

Website: Click HERE for Shiggy's Website

Add Shiggy's Facebook Photography Page: Click HERE to add

(Above: Andy Potts cruising through the aid station at around mile 22.)

CLICK on the photo itself for a crisper view.

Andy is sponsored by LIFEPROOF™Click HERE for LIFEPROOF'S Website

Andy's website: Click HERE for Andy's Website

(Above: Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae getting bodymarked at 5:30am)

(Above: Rinny is very calm before the start of the race and even stops for a photo op. Thank you.)

(Above: Wow!! Rinny updated her Facebook profile picture using the shot I took of her at 5:30am!!)

(Above: Spectators near the starting line climbed this banyan tree to get a better view.)

(Above: Craig "Crowie" Alexander adjusting his helmet and ready to clip in.)

(Above: Chris Lieto is dowsing himself with water as kids and adults alike are eager to have water grabbed from them by an "Ironman.)

 (Above: Chris Lieto is going through his "dedicated aid station." The team captain in the purple on the right oversees that everything, I mean everything is at his disposal.)

(Above: After killing it on the swim and bike, Chris pauses for a moment to catch his breathe. Chris's amazing wife offers words of comfort and support.)

 (Above: The sign says it ALL.)

 (Above: Chrissie Wellington is offered water and sponges.)

 (Above: Sometimes drinking from a sponge that is absolutely heavy with water is easier to drink from than a cup.)

 (Above: How would YOU caption this photo?)

 (Above: Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae is making a desperate attempt to catch up with Chrissie Wellington.  Powered by the back kick of KSwiss!!)

(Above: Craig "Crowie" Alexander makes it look so easy. Here he is in first place at mile 22.  His feet don't even touch the ground.)

(Above: Age group athlete dunking his head in the ice bin.  It was hot, hot, hot. Even the photographer was hot and had an all day workout!!)

 (Above: Already with hands quite full, Chrissie Wellington is thirsty for more. Hydrate Chrissie)

 (Above: I wonder what is going through Chrissie Wellington's mind right now as she eyeballs the drink held out by an aid station volunteer?)

 (Above: A sight rarely seen. Chrissie is known for her beaming smile and laughter. This is Chrissie's game face. All business.)

 (Above: Mirinda "Rinny" Carfrae running like the wind. Here she is in second place doing her very best to catch up to 4 time Kona Winner---Chrissie Welllington. She even ignores the Coca-Cola bottle on the top right of this photo!!)

 (Above: Enjoy the race. Enjoy the view!!)

"I do" (Sneak peak) Anneka & Jerry's Destination Wedding--Hawaii

Anneka and Jerry's Beautiful Wedding in Hilo, Hawaii

September 16th, 2012
Hilo Yacht Club

Photos: ©2012 Shiggy Ichinomiya

Website: Click HERE for Shiggy's Website
Please Follow on Facebook:Click HERE and ADD Shiggy's Facebook Page

Lightroom 4. Banding. Artifact. Posterization. Canon 5D Mark III.

Banding. Posterization. Lightroom. Canon 5D Mark III

It's like the perfect storm. Within the last half a year or so, I purchased a new iMac, a Canon 5D Mark III and Lightroom 4. I didn't do a software upgrade.   Throw a very slow AT&T internet connection and you get a gail force/tsunami/earthquake all in one.

I have HORRIFIC banding in some of my photos and for the life of me, I couldn't pin-point what exactly was the cause.  With all the above variables, I had to discover by process of elimination what the root of the banding was.  Was it in Lightroom 4? Was there a problem with my new Canon 5D Mark 3?  Was it a memory card issue?   Was my iMac screen not calibrated?  Did I forget to do an Adobe Software upgrade?  Was it a Camera Raw/Lightroom 4 issue because it doesn't correct for artifact.   Is it me shooting with a low ISO?  My goodness so many variables.

I tried everything. In Lightroom 4 I changed all the parameters to try to determine what the cause was. I changed the various values, one-by-one and exported the photo to see more banding or LESS banding. I was hoping for ZERO banding.

I changed the RGB value on my iMac to no avail.   Was it regular RGB or RGB (1998?)

I then looked at the original CR2 file that I uploaded to Lightroom 4 and compared it with the same file, but this time uploaded to Photoshop CS6.  Lightroom 4 for some reason showed a little more banding, yet, Photoshop still had a little banding in the original, unretouched, un-post-processed file.

Then I went online to search the web for solutions. I typed in:
Banding, Lightroom 4, Canon 5D Mark III.

I also typed in just:
Banding, Lightroom 4

and:
Banding, Lightroom 4, CS6

One solution was to adjust the "grain" in the develop mode of Lightroom 4. And by golly it looked like the banding visually disappeared.

Due to the high volume of photos that I upload, I set the export quality of my photos from around 100----that takes forever and a day to upload photos, to around 20.  With the quality set to 20, the upload time is diminished and THAT makes impatient me....HAPPY.

Just for a lark, I decided to up the quality in the export mode from 20 to 50. And you guessed it. The banding totally disappeared.

SOLUTION: When exporting files from Lightroom 4 to your desktop or a folder, instead of setting the quality to a mere 20 just to speed up the export time (consequently causing banding)  simply set a higher quality number and wait for the files to upload a little  (usually a LOT) longer.

According to source WIKIPEDIA:

Posterization of an image entails conversion of a continuous gradation of tone to several regions of fewer tones, with abrupt changes from one tone to another. This was originally done with photographic processes to create posters. It can now be done photographically or with digital image processing, and may be deliberate or may be an unintended artifact of color quantization.


THE CAUSE:

The effect may be created deliberately, or happen accidentally. For artistic effect, most image editing programs provide a posterization feature, or photographic processes may be used.
Unwanted posterization, also known as banding, may occur when the color depth, sometimes called bit depth, is insufficient to accurately sample a continuous gradation of color tone. As a result, a continuous gradient appears as a series of discrete steps or bands of color — hence the name. When discussing fixed pixel displays, such as LCD and plasma televisions, this effect is referred to as false contouring.^[1] The result may be compounded further by an optical illusion, called the Mach band illusion, in which each band appears to have an intensity gradient in the direction opposing the overall gradient. This problem may be resolved, in part, with dithering.