In the Midst // HSC

Selamat pagi!

Been a while since I've updated and I don't actually have anything /too/ interesting to write about.

HSC has been taking its toll on me, and I'm currently more or less halfway through the long arduous three weeks, and it's pretty much exhausting. I haven't burnt out, per se, I'm just really, really tired of it all.

I suppose I just keep looking forward to the end of it all, in a week's time from now. Though, the other day it hit me that in more or less 7 days time, I'll have no more academic pressure at ALL from HSC or Year 12, and it really made me hesitate.

The past 2 years I've been doing some form of HSC course (mainly because of accelerated subjects), and to look at it realistically, I've had a lot of pressure to do well in school ever since... Well, Year 10 was really when it started to get ~serious~. And it's grown to be such a big overarching pressure on my life that I'm unsure how it's going to pan out when it's gone.

Right now I'm caught up and overwhelmed and completely, utterly focused on my upcoming exams, and nothing else seems to be entering my field of view (which, is a vision I do not condone, but that's what happens to me when exam time arrives), and it's just hard for me to imagine what I'll do the minute these exams are over?

I've got all these plans that I want to do post-HSC, but they were always just a distant and fleeting thought, because it always appeared to me that this 'post-HSC-joyride' was ages away. But now it's walking up to my doorstep and sometimes I'm not sure how I should greet it when the door finally opens.

Hell yeah, metaphors.

Anyway, just a blurb of thoughts. I'm going alright.

Irrelevant photo. Just to fill in the space.
Taken a long, long while back.

All in all, I'm keen for the post-HSC. There are a lot of photography opportunities/projects I want to have a go at. I would really love to do a themed photo-shoot, especially after seeing Margaret Zhang's photoshoot (here) (whom I also see as a great inspiration).

Also keen so start some vlogging. Maybe. Still on the fence about it. (who would even want to listen to me) (it makes for good life-logging though)

But only time will tell. I need the equipment, and the model, and the skill (which is probably the hardest thing to obtain of them all). 

Wait, just kidding. The most limiting factor right now is probably time.

Speaking of equipment though (integrated tangent time), I recently bought a lot of new equipment for my GoPro, and something for my camera, too.

Yes, I bought all this equipment right in the middle of HSC. Don't ask me why.

I'm very keen to use it all when I travel at the end of this year/early next year; it'll make things a lot easier for me, especially the Nikon Wireless Mobile Adaptor WU-1b, which allows me to move my photos directly from my camera onto my phone without the need of computer transfer.

(THIS. You don't understand the pain of only getting your photos the day /after/ you take them. It makes it very difficult to do real-time instagramming. A serious issue.)

I also bought a few gimmicks for my GoPro, including 

• GoPole Extreme stick (which is also water proof! Very essential for GoPro selfies and will also allow me to take shots from high-up/high-angles, which is often difficult for me because of my height.)
• Scenelapse; Timelapse equipment (which pans as it shoots GoPro timelapse, which I'm keen to use on some landscapes)
• Anti-humidifier strips (I've had countless occasions where a good shot has been ruined because of condensation from the heat of the sun. Mainly at Year 12 camp, if anyone was observant enough to notice)
• Floatation bobber (which is kind of like a handle that you attach to the GoPro; will be useful in filming and also in water. Just makes it so that you don't have to hold onto the GoPro itself while filming, which can often lead to fingers covering the lens/FOV)
• Duel battery charger (so I can... charge batteries faster. Self explanatory)

Yes, a lot of new gear. Would take photos, but I don't have a studio, which thus makes product photography quite difficult. Also time.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. A very mundane blog post.

I suppose I'm feeling a little lonely, considering I haven't seen a lot of people in a long while, and the study has been slowly taking it's toll. Just a blog post to clear my head.

Another unrelated photo to take up room.
And create the illusion that this post is super deep'n'meaningful or something.