Category Archives: Photography

Food, Photography

Bruin Foodies with Josh Goldman

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In February I got to shoot the new Bruin Foodies event, hosted by the UCLA Alumni Association at Cross Campus in Los Angeles, with Josh Goldman, a UCLA alum who spoke in equal parts about restaurant entrepreneurship and mixing drinks. It’s always good to hear from someone who combines business and craftsmanship!

 

He also demonstrated how to make a “rum rickey.” After the session, everyone had a chance to try one for themselves at the bar in the back. I can’t remember what went into the drink, but it was pretty good!

Tending bar is serious business!

Good drinks, great food, and an interesting slant on tackling the restaurant industry. It was an enjoyable and informative evening!

Photography, Style, Video

Beater Review: Seiko 5 Sports SNZG13 Automatic Field Watch

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The best watch ever. EVER.

The Seiko 5 is maybe the best watch ever made. I mean it. THE BEST.

In fact, there are countless varieties of the Seiko 5. Mine is the SNZG13 sports watch, and it is the best out of all of them. I’ve had it for several years, as you can see from the beating it has taken in the photo. I own a few other watches, and although I might not be wearing it to the wedding, this is the one I otherwise wear every day.

EDIT: Added a new video review below!

There isn’t a better timepiece out there. If you can only get one watch, you shouldn’t have to look anywhere else. Here’s why.

Continue reading Beater Review: Seiko 5 Sports SNZG13 Automatic Field Watch →

Photography, Style

Review: Kenneth Cole New York Automatic Watch KC8100

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A few months ago while browsing at Macy’s, my fiancee landed eyes on the watch display and insisted that I get one to wear for the wedding. (The watch I’ve been wearing every day for the last several years is a Seiko 5 automatic, which is an awesome piece, but not particularly elegant.)

Most of the watches at Macy’s are “fashion watches” – known mainly for their brand recognition and how fancy and/or blingy they look, rather than their actual quality or heritage. Some of these brands include Diesel, Fossil, and Kenneth Cole.

She fell in love with one of the pieces from Kenneth Cole New York, so in classic PRAKTICALA style, I went home, worked my magic, and finagled a smoking deal on it. A few days later I had a package at my front door.

Continue reading Review: Kenneth Cole New York Automatic Watch KC8100 →

Deals, Photography

Deal: Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 Aspherical Wide-Angle Fisheye Lens

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Amazon has a smoking deal right now on a 6.5mm f/3.5 wide-angle lens from Opteka. This wide-angle lens lets you capture almost 180 degrees of image into your frame! This is sometimes also called the “fisheye” effect.

You can get this cool lens for Nikon, Canon, or Sony mounts. All three on priced the same, on sale for $150 from Amazon with free shipping.

Note that this is a manual focus lens. Time to get your camera skills on!

Opteka 6.5mm f/3.5 HD Aspherical Fisheye Lens

Photography, Style

Review: Polo Ralph Lauren Lander P Sneaker – Wear Those Boat Shoes!

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PRAKTICALA has a bunch of other things to do besides talk about shoes all day, but I was able to snag an incredible deal on these Polo Ralph Lauren Lander P boat shoes and figured somebody ought to hear about it.

Boat shoes are one of those items that are super old school and always considered to be in style, but at the same time seem to weave back and forth between enjoying widespread popularity (I hesitate to use the “F” word because I dislike FADS) and being on the backburner. Lately, boat shoes have been leaning towards the former, although I think they are beginning to slow down again as a trend (which is good).

Continue reading Review: Polo Ralph Lauren Lander P Sneaker – Wear Those Boat Shoes! →

Food, Photography

Bailey’s Coffee Creamer

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I have been drinking more coffee recently – partly because it helps me stay alert in business school, partly because I am trying to be more “refined,” and partly because it just tastes good!

During a recent trip to the grocery store, I stumbled upon this:

No, you aren’t seeing things. Bailey’s makes an Irish coffee creamer for use in the comfort of your own home or office!

I probably don’t need to educate you on Bailey’s, but for the uninitiated, Bailey’s is a popular and delicious Irish cream liqueur. I guess some genius at the company came up with the bright idea to bring that distinctive flavor to coffee so we could enjoy it in the morning too! (It’s non-alcoholic.)

I brewed up some coffee and poured in a liberal dosage of Bailey’s Coffee Creamer. Sure enough, the taste evokes the characteristic essence of the liqueur, but is still tuned nicely for coffee. If your local market carries it, give it a try!

Cars, How-To, Photography

How to: DIY Oil Change for 2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0i (Or Really Any Car)

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My car, back in the day.

Changing your engine oil is probably the single most important form of maintenance you can do for your car, so it’s a good idea to learn how to do it yourself.

Continue reading How to: DIY Oil Change for 2012 Subaru Impreza 2.0i (Or Really Any Car) →

Photography, Style

Review: Clarence Toe Cap Brogue Dress Shoes by Charles Tyrwhitt

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EDIT: The Clarence brogues are now being phased out and appear to have been replaced by the Parker brogues. As far as I can tell they are the same shoe, just with a different name. The links in this review will now direct you to the Parkers.

If you are a shoe n00b like I am, you probably wear the same pair of black dress shoes all the time – to work, church, interviews, weddings, and ship christenings. Well, stop! You shouldn’t be wearing black shoes very often at all. Black shoes go best with black pants, and why in the world would you wear those, unless there’s a dead guy in a casket somewhere in the room or you’re at a wedding (specifically, your own)? Take it down a notch and relax for once in your life with some gray, blue, or brown pants.

Now that you’ve ditched the funeral pants, there’s no need to dampen the party again with those black kicks. You should be busting out the brown!

Brown shoes go really well with gray, blue, or brown pants – way better than black shoes do. I somehow got my hands on these Clarence Parker semi-brogue oxfords from Charles Tyrwhitt. Keep reading to find out whether they are worth a hoot or not!

Continue reading Review: Clarence Toe Cap Brogue Dress Shoes by Charles Tyrwhitt →