# Aga 2008



## Jason Baliban

*Aga 2008 Photos*

Well, there are a lot of thread floating around, so i thought i would create another!! HAHA

It was great to meet everyone!! It was such a humbling experience to be around so many great people with so much to give to the hobby. I want to thank everyone that I met, there are just too many. I just want to say that as i was flying home (with Jay and Jens....unfortunately i dont live near them...long story), I thought of every person I spoke with and was sad that i would have to wait to see you all again.

To thank you all, here are some photos...













































































































jB


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## JensR

Nice portrait from Amano! 

Maybe one day you'll find time to come up to NNJ and show off the "Baliban" style


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## Navarro

Jason I don't know if I am the only one but I cannot see the pictures. Keep in mind we are having the Houston Plant fest in April 09 so there is many people from GWAPA coming and I hope Jay can too.
It was nice meeting you!
Luis Navarro


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## Navarro

It was my problem I can see the pictures just fine now!
Mr. Amano picture is way cool man!


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## Jeff.:P:.

Excellent pics, mr. amano pics are superb. Hopefully some day I'll be able to go.


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## hooha

Nice job Jason. I have camera-envy with your setup. What lens were you using at the convention?


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## Jdinh04

Great photos Jason! The Amano shots are awesome.


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## TNguyen

All that crawling around and not breathing really pays off. You got skillz!


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## Jason Baliban

Wow, that was just so much fun to be there. Looking at the pictures again is bringing me back again. I cant wait until the next time we can all get together again.

Luis and Than - It would be great to make it down to Houston....we can harass the senske boys as well  Luis, i will bring an extra piece of salmon for you >

Hooha - The lens is a Nikkor 18-200VR, its a pretty cool all-around lens.

Jens - I totally want to come up, plus i owe you guys one for saving my life on the flight back

Thanks for the other comments guys. What a great time we all had!!

jB


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## Navarro

Jason Baliban said:


> Luis and Than - It would be great to make it down to Houston....we can harass the senske boys as well  Luis, i will bring an extra piece of salmon for you >
> jB


Salmon does you body good! In decent quantities, that is; did you see my plate? That thing was the size of an anchovy! You guys will be happy when you come to Houston specially you my friend that enjoy food as much as I do, We are working hard to make this happen, one thing you can count on is some amazing Texas BBQ the best in the whole wide world partner.


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## ingg

I looked into my vacation blackout at work, looks like it'll be most of May - set a date for this thing, let me look into flights!


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## Jdinh04

Let us knowwwwwwww ...it'll be a ton of fun!!


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## HoustonFishFanatic

Great pics Jason! Amano's pic is one of the best. Looking forward to meeting all you guys at the Houston PlantFest! 
Thanks
Bhushan


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## Jason Baliban

Thanks for the comments on the pictures  Its hard to go wrong with so many cool things to see....i just had to point and shoot!!

I think there is an 80% of me coming to Houston....i am starting to count the days

jB


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## Tex Gal

What is that amazing shark/whale spotted fish?! He looks huge. Sure wish I hadn't missed that tour! 

Will there be rare plants at the Plant fest? What day of the week is it usually held on?


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## apistaeasy

TexGal said:


> What is that amazing shark/whale spotted fish?! He looks huge. Sure wish I hadn't missed that tour!


It's a whale shark


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## krisw

It was great catching up with everyone at the AGA. Jason, your life needed saving on the flight back?

I can't wait for the Houston Plant Fest. Definitely set a date soon, so we can all plan our work and flight schedules accordingly. (And try not to make it the 4th weekend of a month, as that's GWAPA's regular meeting)


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## Navarro

It will be the 2cnd weekend of April so as soon as I get the hotel info I will let you guys know the rates.
We would like to make this a 4 day thing so you will have to arrive on Thursday as far as rare plants I am sure we will have a plant swap among our clubs.
So far we have Jojo and friends from Hawaii many guys from GWAPA, and I hope many more!
It seem that we will even have presentation or 2 as well as a Texas BBQ party


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## Jdinh04

Navarro said:


> It will be the 2cnd weekend of April so as soon as I get the hotel info I will let you guys know the rates.
> We would like to make this a 4 day thing so you will have to arrive on Thursday as far as rare plants I am sure we will have a plant swap among our clubs.
> So far we have Jojo and friends from Hawaii many guys from GWAPA, and I hope many more!
> It seem that we will even have presentation or 2 as well as a Texas BBQ party


Sounds good! I hope I will be able to make it. I'm dying to see the ADG gallery!


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## krisw

Perfect, thanks Luis! I can't wait.


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## Jason Baliban

krisw said:


> It was great catching up with everyone at the AGA. Jason, your life needed saving on the flight back?


Yes....

Jay, Jens, and my wife all had a hand in the life saving.

I got to the airport and they told me my plane was canceled!! I had a choice, take a flight with 3 connections to philly and get in at 2am or go back to the hotel and stay until monday.

Now, i really didnt mind going back to the hotel, but work is very busy right now so i was beginning to stress. I asked the associate if anything was available for surrounding areas, and she said no, so i told her to book monday.

Right as i was about to grab the itinerary from her, around the corner comes Jay. I told him quickly what happend and he say, come to Newark with us.... I quickly asked the associate about it, funny how she found it this time.....she was not cool at all...thats another story.

I booked that flight, called the wife up for a pickup....bang, off to newark. Now i still got in 5 hours later then i should have but it was good to talk with Jay and Jens for a couple more hours....anything to squeeze a couple more tips out of Jay 

So maybe not life saving, but trip saving

jB


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## Tex Gal

That sounds like a lot of fun! I think I want to come!


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## BryceM

That shadowed profile portrait of Amano is great photography. I'd definitely offer him a copy of it.

I'd be very interested to hear more details about the April '09 meeting.


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## Jason Baliban

Here is my writeup on the *2008 Aquatic Gardeners Association Convention*. Planted aquarium enthusiasts came from around the world to attend the convention. Here is a brief account of the amazing weekend.

jB


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## BryceM

Great article Jason! Thanks for sharing.


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## eleontie

Whenever I loose some enthusiasm for cleaning and maintaining my tanks I take a look at some of the pics, dream that next year I will join the convention and start picking up those algae ....


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## Paul Higashikawa

Awesome read and pix! You continue to inspire, my friend! Not to mention those cool music you make too; is there anything else you can't do like......cooking And I agree with the rest here, you gotta get that Amano pix turned in bec you captured well what the man does in his finest!

BTW, we just had our final meeting of the year in NASH and it looks like we are gonna have some great things going next year, the least of which will be the *Houston Plant Fest*. So definitely make an opening on that weekend as mentioned by other NASH members cus it will be great. This should fill in the void we all feel in between AGA years


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## krisw

So, should we assume that April 9th-12th is set in stone as the dates to fly into and out of Houston?


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## Jason Baliban

Paul Higashikawa said:


> Awesome read and pix! You continue to inspire, my friend! Not to mention those cool music you make too; is there anything else you can't do like......cooking And I agree with the rest here, you gotta get that Amano pix turned in bec you captured well what the man does in his finest!


Thanks for the gracious comment Paul I suck at basketball!! HAHA

Hope to see you soon,

jB


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## TNguyen

How cool is that! Say cheeeeeese. hoto:


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