Waterworld!

Yes, during an 8-hour stopover in Los Angeles, I had time to visit Universal Studios, and boy was it a lot of fun -- I didn't have time to see everything but I got to watch the Terminator 2: 3D, Shrek 4D and Backdraft shows as well as the Jurassic Park and the Mummy rides as well as this one, the Waterworld show, which only happens twice a day. As you'll see from the next few photos, this show is one of the most interesting live-action shows I've ever seen. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Waterworld denizen

This guy at the Waterworld show in Universal Studio LA is quite funny -- his job, before the show begins, is to douse the audience with buckets of water. No joke! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Making a turn

You know, I was really sitting pretty far away from the action but thanks to the 18-200mm VR I had, I managed to really fill the frame with all the action. This panned shot is not super-sharp, but it's actually not too bad considering that it's darned far away and the action was so fast. Sometimes, I spend so much time concentrating on the shot I actually don't get to watch the show much! hahaha. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Flying high

This is not a well-framed shot in my book but I just had to post this because it's absolutely the highlight of the Waterworld show in Universal Studios LA. What you're looking at is a full-sized model of a plane that's being LAUNCHED off a ramp and free-flying towards the audience! Amazingly the plane will land in the water just about 15feet short of the audience. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Jumping the gun

Some of the stunts at the Waterworld show in Universal Studios LA are pretty amazing -- just check out the water scooter jump and how it's narrowly missing the stuntman on the right! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6VR

The end of Waterworld

The whole Wateworld show at Universal Studios LA ends with a bang, and lots of pyrotechnics. Just a note here about shooting these kinds of photos -- I know some people believe you can only shoot action by using a super-high burst mode but let me tell you, I've never used the continuous shooting mode on my camera. Instead I rely on being able to anticipate when the "moment" is going to be. Contrary to popular belief, I find this method actually produces more keepers than if I used the 5frames-per-second my camera is capable of. BTW click on the photo to see the larger version to fully appreciate the beauty of the fireworks! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Not Venice

This isn't Venice of course but The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. Nikon D200. AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Go to the light!

A shot of the interior of the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Life (Wall), flashing before my eyes

I don't usually post work related photos here, but this one I took at CES2008 was nice enough to post here. Yes I was recently in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show and what you're looking at here is Panasonic's phenomenal Life Wall display, which is a HUGE (you're only looking at perhaps 1/5th of the wall here) interactive wall-to-wall display that not only changes your wallpaper, but allows you to interact with the display with gestures and make video calls, surf the Net, etc. The Life Wall is actually just a study in modern electronics, and you're not likely to see it in your home anytime soon. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6VR

Lovers in the fire

Every hotel in Las Vegas seems to have some kind of show or other. This one is in front of the Mirage Hotel and it's a volcano that erupts every hour or so. However, in taking this photo, (again with the help of the gorillapod) I realised that the flames coming out just happened to look like two lovers looking at each other. And guess what -- there's a Beatles Love poster in the back! Sometimes luck is on my side. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Fire in the hold!

Amazingly, this scene happens every few hours in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in Las Vegas. The show starts of with two pirate ships -- one full of women and the other full of men -- meeting and then having a battle, with cannons and all. There's lots of singing and pyrotechnics and in about 20mins it's over and then starts again in a few hours (I believe at 7pm then 10pm). This shot was only possible with the help of the wonderful gorillapod, a tripod with bendy legs which I had wrapped around a railing! Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Fire in the hold II

This is what the ship looks like without the fire. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR

Ghosts of Mars

Obviously not the best photo I've ever taken, but I was just fascinated by the interplay of light on the canopy of this huge tent in Las Vegas -- not sure about the location, but this place has a whole bunch of factory outlet shops. Nikon D200, AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR