2013: The Bests

It's been a busy and eventful year. Lots of changes, transitions and upgrades in my life. And what better content for a blog post than a list of things? That's practically the default post type!

2013: The bests

Best Ride: Mazda CX-5
 

After 10  years and more than 200,000 miles I decided it was time to replace my faithful VW Jetta. Commuting to work continued to be an enjoyable and fuel-efficient proposition, but loading up golf clubs, camera gear, changes of clothes and the dog for weekend adventures was challenging in the size and configuration options presented by the Jetta. After shopping around, test driving a few things and thinking long and hard about priorities I ended up with the Mazda CX-5 Sport, 2.0L All Wheel Drive, and after nearly 6 months of driving it and I'm still an extremely satisfied customer. 

The CX-5 is the perfect one-car solution for the weekend problem I listed above. Ample space for my lifestyle, and even with a more powerful 2.0L engine, AWD and considerably more size than my Jetta it sips the fuel at nearly the same rate. Big props to Skyactiv Technology and the engineering that makes this possible. Also, there's a clear line of demarcation among cars these days. Pre and Post-bluetooth. Once you experience a car with integrated bluetooth for making phone calls and streaming music there's no going back. In a perfect world, I might have opted for the 2.5L engine and the Touring trim level, which boasts rear seats that fold completely flat and back-up sensors among other things. 

Best Connectivity: Apple iPhone 5s

I made the jump to a smart phone in 2011, when I bought an iPhone 4. Much like bluetooth in your car, a smart phone is a one-way inevitability. I knew I would enjoy the texting and web/app potential, but I had no idea what a powerful photography tool a smartphone could be. The tools for taking, processing and sharing photos in a device that's so easy to always have with you is truly incredible. My back thanks me for not lugging around my DSLR as frequently and learning to leverage the clear weaknesses of a cell phone camera has helped me improve my photography overall. 

While the iPhone 5s is larger, brighter and has faster LTE data service more internal horsepower than the 4, the features I enjoy most are related to photography. Improved low light performance, image quality, integrated panorama, high-speed video and 10 frames per second burst. The last two are particularly appreciated when dealing with Hugo. As something that is never more than 10 feet away from me, the iPhone 5s is a major investment that pays major dividends every day. 

Best Bits: Snapseed

After taking copious quantities of photos with my smartphone, the next step in 2013 for 90% of the images was a trip though the Snapseed photo editing app. It seems like I end up in ruts with various editors. I spend a good deal of time in Camera+ before moving to PicFX and now I've settled in Snapseed. All are great apps, all have strengths and weaknesses. But Snapseed seems to allow a Lightroom-esque level of control over levels. With a limited smartphone camera, being able to fill in shadows and adjust exposure settings in post is a big deal. After that you can add some of those hipsteriffic effects that are the bread and butter of some other apps, with the advantage the Snapseed variants give you control to fine tune the effects in more ways than just the intensity of the effect itself. In most cases you can get into brightness, contrast, saturation and a few other key ingredients to the effect recipe as you apply it. 

From fine-tuning reality to a surrealistic creation, Snapseed has you covered.

Best Inspiration: GoPro Hero 3

Just before our family vacation to Maui I picked up a GoPro Hero 3 (Silver edition) because of doubts I was having about the waterproofing of my Pentax Optio WG-2, which turned out to be completely founded when it flooded with water 10 minutes (and 1/5 the reported waterproof depth) into the first dive. The GoPro lived up to every expectation and hope I had. One key to keep in mind is that this camera has an extremely wide angle lens. That means you want to get as close as possible, which is easy to do with the GoPro's small size. Add to that a waterpoof housing that actually works and you'll have access to shots you never thought possible. 

In an era of everything-included technology the GoPro takes what may seem like a frustrating step back for many folks. "There's no screen?!?!?!?" But anyone with more than five minutes of photography training/skill will be able to master it. Again, it's super wide angle. So point the camera roughly in the direction of your subject and it's in frame. The bigger challenge is to always get 2-3' from your subject, so it's not just a dot in the vastness of your scene. If that doesn't cut it you can always download the GoPro app for your ever-present smartphone and have a viewfinder and quick control over your menus and settings. This pocket-sized beauty packs an impressive photo and video punch. Many of my favorite images from our Maui trip were made with this 5 megapixel beauty rather than my two DSLR bodies and compliment of lenses that a lugged halfway around the world.

Best Visuals: The Blacklist/House of Cards

I'm hard pressed to remember movies I watched in 2013. Nothing truly stands out. It's been a full year for television though. I finally broke down and gave Breaking Bad a shot, immediately getting sucked in. Since everyone is thoroughly exposed to that show (and most likely will have already made up their mind about whether or not it's something they'll ever watch) I'll pick a couple other favorites that a little more obscure. 

Obscure is probably not the right word to describe NBC's The Blacklist, since it was one of the most hyped shows of the fall season. After seeming a little too predictable and straightforward to begin with the show has settled nicely into an espionage/intrigue thriller that doesn't take itself too seriously and strikes a nice balance between Grey's Anatomy relationship drama and and the kind of explosion and chase scene driven show that it's ok for men to watch. :P James Spader is outstanding and this show is definitely worth checking out through the first 10 episodes.

For Netflix users: I really wanted to be able to recommend the exclusive fourth season of Arrested Development. But I just can't. By the end, it gets there, somewhat... and I think I second time through will prove more enjoyable than the first pass. But it's nothing like the pure gold of Season 2, which may have truly been game changing television.

Instead I'll recommend House of Cards, a Netflix original that's truly outstanding. Kevin Spacey headlines a cast of Washington DC elites, who spin wheels and pull puppet strings in the back rooms of our nations' capitol. Shaping policy and positioning actions to determine winners and losers in the political arena. Outstanding character drama. And I hear season 2 has recently been announced, so make sure to catch up with this one so you're ready for new episodes. 

That's it for now. May come up with a few most bests to add to this post, or create another one.