Today was my last day of work, we are headed on vacation next week (tomorrow afternoon) and I simply could not get out of the office at a reasonable time. I decided to take my actual commute home and noticed that Northbound traffic on I-95 was pretty heavy so I diverted to the Route 1 Bypass bridge. Instead of crawling over the I-95 bridge, I had to park in the road and wait for the Route 1 Bypass bridge to come back down. I actually put the kickstand down, shut the bike off, and walked around (taking photos of course). The tall ships are in the harbor, a fact that escaped me since I haven't taken my normal commute in almost two weeks. After the bridge finally came back down and traffic could flow, I scurried under the far end of the bridge to see if I could get a shot of some of the ships (there's more to the Southeast or left of the bridge). It's a little dark, but you can make out the two directly in front of me and one more obscured by the windscreen. I wish I'd known about the tall ships sooner, we'd have made a special trip down to the harbor to check them out.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Aug 06 - Field of dreams
This long field paralleled the dirt road for a little bit. There were two or three entrances to it along the way, but they were blocked off. I found one that was open, it was most likely open due to a recent mowing. About a hundred feet behind the strom was a very large fox who decided I wasn't anything he wanted to mess with. By the time I got off the bike, he was gone. He looked like a larger version of my dog. This dirt road continued on for about a 1/2 mile. I kept riding on back roads until I found another long dirt road that was cool, but just not as interesting as this one. The most interesting part was that it ran along the back side of a nudist colony. There were no nudists out, it sets way back, I just happened to notice the location on the GPS. To tell you the truth, I'd not be too interested in any nudists even if they happened into the road. With the bugs as bad as they are, I wouldn't want to see their effect on unprotected skin. My short summer is coming to a close here, tomorrow night is the last night before our vacation next week (Saturday to following Sunday). I can't imagine the weather will hold and be nearly as awesome as it has this past week. When we get back, I imagine it is back to the grind of 'normal' commutes.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Aug 05 - A Knight's Rest
Though I heard the temps soared into the high 80's during the day, by the time I got out of work, it was absolutely beautiful out. I set out for the 'lesser' roads this evening and had simply the best time. I love this photo. The only thing missing is Shrek in the background and donkey beside my bike trying to schmooze it (and perhaps a busty serving wench or two). I parked the bike inside the castle gate and walked around. It was a great stop.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Aug 04 - Moment of rest
I went all over the place this evening. After getting stuck in traffic heading out 101 (they are repaving in the evenings and people must be getting antsy 30 minutes before they start), I vowed to take 43 North to Route 4 then onto Route 202. I got sidetracked on 107 which was a great little jaunt and got back on track taking 202 out towards Rochester, but following 9 back into Dover. Most of the ride was under the cover of trees, with only a few fields. This cemetery is in Barrington on Route 9, only about a mile from the 125 Junction (Calef's Corner). I tried to capture some of the colors in the sky, but the darker Strom kept mucking with the exposure. I wound up blowing out the skies and then tweaking them with a splash of color in Lightroom. I realize I appear to be hung up on "Bike Shots" lately, I have been riding pretty much every day since March, it's that the weather has finally changed and riding has become more of a 'Zen' thing now. I find myself spending hours on the bike each day just riding around on my way to work and back. By the time I arrive home, I vaguely remember that I am even employed. It is amazing how truly short our summers are. Next week we go on vacation and then after that we start getting the kids ready to go back to school.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Aug 03 - Just another V-Strom Sunset
I got out of work a little late (the week before a vacation, I never get out when I'd like to) and took a shortened commute home (shortened as it was only 47 miles versus the 100 that I'd wanted to do). It was a reversal of my route into work. There is this stretch on Route 9 in NH, just across the Dover line where the road bisects some ponds (which were absolutely packed with people, though it is hard to tell from this shot). I was actually heading the other direction & did a U-Turn to face into the sunset (the little boys walking up on the right were absolutely flabbergasted at a 'biker man' so close) for this shot. One of the benefits of summer is that I am using the stock windshield which means less fly-encrusted obstruction from a shot like this. I did try to pick up some of the clouds behind me in the left hand side view mirror, it kind of worked. I'm also keeping an eye in my mirrors as I am not supposed to be stopped on this section of road (the speed limit is 50 and facing into the sun, I am but a little speck on a cellphone-distracted drivers field of view).
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Aug 02 - Roaming hands
Smooching after we've cleaned up from dinner. My wife had Guard Duty this weekend, so I didn't get to see her during the days (though I found a way to keep busy on the bike ;-) I'm pretty wiped. I woke up early again to go on a motorcycle breakfast with some other friends. I came home in time to make a dump run, I had to bring the utility trailer filled with bags full of grass clippings that had been soaking up water from all the rain the past few weeks. After finishing mowing the lawn, I moved a pile of dirt & loamed and seeded the area that held said pile.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Jul 31 - Union Train Station
I had a great commute in this morning. I went North my 'usual' way, had a short adventure down a dirt road that I'd wondered about this past week. Turns out it gets wet and rough pretty fast, I got to cross a small puddle then a much larger puddle ... twice! (I just finished rinsing off what mud was left after all the rain this evening). I went up by Mousam Lake & took 109 into NH (Sanbornville). I crossed over the Spaulding and continued on 125/153 into Union and saw that they were working on the old train depot. I spun around and grabbed a photo. There is an old snow plow to the right of this that was obstructed by the worker's trucks. In fact, I need to head back up there to capture that plow better (technically I did get a photo, but it sucks, but there is enough detail for me to realize I need a better shot). In all, I took about 2 1/2 hours to put on 100.1 miles into work (I live 17 miles away). Based on early Weather.com predictions, I thought I would be traveling home via Manchester/Concord again, putting on another 100+ miles but that isn't happening. I am sitting here typing this up in a wet shirt as my jacket leaked through for the third time this week.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Jul 29 - Payday Marathon
My wife & son were holding a "Payday Marathon" when I got home. They were actually playing with two different pieces, they wouldn't cooperate with me, so I lined these two unused pieces up for my shot. I am absolutely exhausted, up all night and no idea why (we have the Air Conditioner in during our hot spell).
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Jul 28 - Summer Look
Woo hoo! Summer is now here. Temps were in the high 80's for the ride home, time to put the Stock Screen on the Strom. There is a bit of a reflection of me in there as well.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Jul 27 - Guiding Light
I love Weather.com. I was tracking two very large cells this evening just before leaving work. Had I left and gone the more direct route home, I would have ridden through the worst of it. Instead, I noticed that I could head a little Southwest, then North & ride around the storm. It was worth a try. There was light rain when I left work, it all but stopped as I turned the corner to the airfield (about a mile away). I pulled over to snap a few photos and change out of my rain gloves. The rest of the ride was uneventful and beautiful. I could see where the cells never hit as I rode through miles of dryness, then I could see where they had just passed through as I rode through moist steamy patches of road. The temperature had cooled significantly so I kept riding North & snaked back a couple of towns further than I'd planned. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, I intend to head out early and have an extended commute in ;-)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Jul 26 - Tracks
So we are out driving (I believe this was on Route 5, South of Fryeburg, Maine) and it is raining on and off, not just piddly rain, but "Great Big Rain". The outside temp is bouncing between 65 degrees and 81 degrees as the rain comes and goes. We pass over these exempt tracks and I see this scene and do that "1-2-3-4-5...I need to turn around" thing.
I pull over, my wife has her nose in a book, I get out and am assaulted by a wave of mosquitoes. No big deal, we are in Maine. As I open the trunk to get the camera gear, the amount of mosquitoes grows exponentially, at this point, I have to control my breathing as I am sucking these guys down. I figure I need to get this shot so I head to the tracks (about 20' away). I'm setting up on the tripod, setting the camera settings and taking a few shots, when I realize that my leg, scratch that, legs, are covered in mosquitoes. This whole time I have been swatting them away, or so I thought. I see about 20 dead mosquitoes, I begin to realize there is more going on here than meets the eye. But I'm not giving up this freakin shot, I mean, I braved it this far, what's a few more shots and bites? While putting the gear back into the trunk (which I left open), I notice a massive swarm inside the trunk. These guys have decided the trunk is pretty cool. I try to stow my gear as best I can (at this point, I could care less if my 40D & 70-200 F4L are nicely padded, I almost dump it into the trunk (I actually do put it somewhat in the Domke bag).
I am still scratching after a few hours and a shower. Oh yeah, about 30 mins later, we stopped at a diner for dinner and I open the back of the trunk to see what's going on back there. A bunch of mosquitoes fly out, I believe I've just helped a small nation of nasty bugs migrate.
I pull over, my wife has her nose in a book, I get out and am assaulted by a wave of mosquitoes. No big deal, we are in Maine. As I open the trunk to get the camera gear, the amount of mosquitoes grows exponentially, at this point, I have to control my breathing as I am sucking these guys down. I figure I need to get this shot so I head to the tracks (about 20' away). I'm setting up on the tripod, setting the camera settings and taking a few shots, when I realize that my leg, scratch that, legs, are covered in mosquitoes. This whole time I have been swatting them away, or so I thought. I see about 20 dead mosquitoes, I begin to realize there is more going on here than meets the eye. But I'm not giving up this freakin shot, I mean, I braved it this far, what's a few more shots and bites? While putting the gear back into the trunk (which I left open), I notice a massive swarm inside the trunk. These guys have decided the trunk is pretty cool. I try to stow my gear as best I can (at this point, I could care less if my 40D & 70-200 F4L are nicely padded, I almost dump it into the trunk (I actually do put it somewhat in the Domke bag).
I am still scratching after a few hours and a shower. Oh yeah, about 30 mins later, we stopped at a diner for dinner and I open the back of the trunk to see what's going on back there. A bunch of mosquitoes fly out, I believe I've just helped a small nation of nasty bugs migrate.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Jul 25 - Nothin but net
So I took a 7 hour, three state motorcycle ride with many stops and have absolutely no photos to show for it. I am however, quite happy. While fretting about this evening for my PaD shot, I happened upon the basketball net. The actual net has been up there for about 3 or 4 years now, it has never come down in the winter. Now that I think about it, it is in pretty good shape for getting abused for this long. The kids will use it in spurts, they are currently traveling in the lull of the basketball biorhythm, perhaps next week it will become top priority again (usually a week to week thing, it really does get used). I believe it is down in its lowest setting to make the older kids look better and to give my son a fighting chance of getting a basket.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Jul 24 - For Joy
I've wanted to do this shot for a few days now. Today was the first day that I found myself wandering around without my cane at work. This was a hard shot to get as I can't jump all that high. I'm not so worried about my bum ankle, it is pretty secure in a brace, it's my good one that I am more worried about. It would be ironic and sad to injure my other foot while taking a photo that is celebrating feeling better. My interval timer remote shutter release has finally died, so this was shot with the 10 second timer on & me timing my jumps just right. I am digging the treatment on this one, the trees in the background look less like trees and more like explosions.
Today also marks the day that I have found the limits to my riding gear's waterproofness. My helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots leaked. My pants didn't leak one bit though. The only reason my boots leaked is because I inadvertently rode through a flooded road, twice. The water shot up my legs then down into the boots. My gloves have been drying since this morning and you'd swear I just took them off, they are waterlogged.
Today also marks the day that I have found the limits to my riding gear's waterproofness. My helmet, jacket, gloves, and boots leaked. My pants didn't leak one bit though. The only reason my boots leaked is because I inadvertently rode through a flooded road, twice. The water shot up my legs then down into the boots. My gloves have been drying since this morning and you'd swear I just took them off, they are waterlogged.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Jul 23 - Nuts
These are some almonds that are finally being useful. I bought these about a month & 1/2 ago, from the "Crunchy Section" in the local grocery store. They are horrible and they cause my mouth to swell, almost like I have an allergy to Almonds (which I don't). So they have pretty much sat by themselves in a tin, aging. I thought about chucking them outside for the squirrels, but I'm not a big fan of those rodents either, I don't want them thinking they can come on in the house whenever they want (we have constant problems with them in our attic!!). This is pretty close in, I'm actually happy with the depth of field, even at f/10 the 100mm Macro usually has a very tight DoF. I have to go swat some mosquitoes now. . .
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Jul 22 - Ice Cream Man
I'm sitting outside wondering what I am going to shoot when I hear the Ice Cream Man's tune playing in the 'hood. I know he is going to blow by our house (he rarely stops for the kids, this guy trucks right along) so I figure I can get a photo of the Ice Cream Truck. I did a "Triple Print" Preset in LR to give it an overprocessed photo look, something you may have found about 20 years ago when you got your photos back from the developer. Just prior to this guy driving down the street blaring that annoying tune, there was a Red Cardinal in the tree just to the left of his extended side view mirror. That Cardinal bailed when he heard the commotion.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Jul 21 - Little Details
I never noticed this before today. This is the entrance and exit to basically nowhere. I've walked back there last summer a few times and taken some great photos in the field and ponds that are way back there. I've never seen the gate open, people simply aren't allowed back there. The direction of the stop sign caught my eye this evening, something about it struck me as a bit odd. It seems less odd now that I am sitting back at home on my computer. I was a tad bit rushed in taking this shot as about 250,000 mosquitoes converged on my location as soon as I opened the door to my Tahoe (yes, still not back on the bike yet). It was a tough shot exposure-wise, the dark area in the trees to the left simply would not cooperate with me.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Jul 20 - Lanes
First day that I have driven into work since early march. I packed up my camera gear and threw it into the back of the Tahoe (actually I placed it). On my way home, I took a longer route and noticed the fresh cut grass at Vaughn Woods, the local State Park. Just to the left of this is the flag pole, the groundskeeper had just lowered the flag for the day and was packing it up while I was setting up my gear. I'm not sure what he thought I was doing. I pushed the yellows to green to give it a more pleasant color. It was the contrasty lanes that caught my eye and forced me to turn around in the first place. The yellowish color to the grass wasn't cutting it (no pun intended there). The crop is almost all in camera, there was a bit of parking lot at the top of the photo, there is a rather extreme border between the field and the dirt parking lot that I couldn't seem to manage on the tripod, the shot was definitely level though.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Jul 19 - Contrast
I was up and around today, I believe that taking it easy yesterday, elevating and icing my ankle helped a lot. I have something like 2 Gel Casts, a super-special plastic temp cast, and a bunch of ankle supports. My left ankle was cinched up in a gel cast all day and I was able to finish the bike, do a dump run (with the kid's help), and even mow the lawn. Turns out I didn't actually need to replace my brake pads, but I did anyway. The cylinders were so gummed up, they wouldn't go back. Hopefully I have cleaned them up enough, the front wheel was spinning nicely after I mounted it. I permanently mounted my Stebel air horn, not where I'd expected to put it though. Turns out I didn't need to remove all the tupperware after all, I could have made due with leaving it on. It only takes about 15 mins tops to button it back up, so no big deal. While the bike was up on the centerstand, I sat on it (it was running while I checked the temperature) and found that I can't actually shift up yet. We'll see tomorrow. I wish I had a cane, then I might look like that House MD character. Last time I sprained my ankle, I actually had a cane that I took with me on my bike (previous bike) and was told I look like House MD (I don't watch the show).
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Jul 18 - Life's Little Surprises
So yesterday I am all happy about working on my bike. Big plans on finishing it up this morning, perhaps get a ride or two in today. I load the wheel with the tire that needed the beads to be set up into the back of the Tahoe and took off for The Home Depot. I figured if I wimped out on buying a compressor, I'd swing by a gas station and seat the beads for $1 in quarters. I had two frost free faucet heads to return from a project last week, I'm walking across the parking lot of The Home Depot, when the next thing I know I feel the sharp pain of my left ankle beginning to turn. By pure instinct, I go down immediately and I go down hard. The faucet heads go flying, one part shatters on the pavement (cheap fricken plastic). I didn't go down fast enough and my left ankle is shooting with pain, it takes about 3 seconds for me to realize that my plans for the weekend are pretty much F&$@#ed. Two very good Samaritans rush over to help, one is a nurse who very much wants tme to go to the local Hospital. I'm pretty pissed at myself, I've down this before, I know what I need to do. They help me back to my Tahoe which is pretty far away. On the drive back, I phone my kids (my wife is out of town today at a conference, this thing always seems to happen when she is gone ;-) The kids have the crutches, an ice pack, and the couch all prepped by the time I pull up into the driveway. 1600 mgs of Ibuprofen, two ice packs, and three movies later, I'm hobbling over to the computer to get a photo for today's PaD. For those of you who read this and ride, you know what my biggest concern is, this is my left foot, my shifting foot. I can actually ride with a right foot at 50% since the right foot controls the rear brake and it is the front brake that gives you all your stopping power. We'll see how things look and feel tomorrow. I still have a bike to put back together (the front tire still hasn't been set yet).
Friday, July 17, 2009
Jul 17 - Get my bearings
These are the old OEM front bearings that I tapped out earlier. The new ones from All Balls are sealed all around. My three tire irons are peeking into the photo on the lower right. After pulling these bearings, I realized there was nothing wrong with them at all. At $16 to replace the front set though, I am glad I did it. I like the new bearings better than the old ones. The inside of the bearing wasn't sealed. Since I ride in rain a lot, I prefer the sealed bearings. The rear bearings have been backordered, I'll change them out on my next rear tire change.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Jul 16 - New Tire
Yes, another "New Tire" photo. I have been waiting on this little nugget (the new Conti Trail Attack on the right) to arrive this week for installation either tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning. I also have a new set of All Balls front wheel bearings and a complete set of brake pads for the front brakes. To top it off, I am going to balance it with dynabeads instead of lead weights. Looking at this photo, the old tire on the left doesn't look that bad, but it has worn a little past the wear bars in most places. I ride in rain and need that tread. I can't wait to try out the Conti's the tread pattern is so different. For the next 3k miles or so I will have a mismatched set with the Conti Trail Attack up front and my replacement Trailwing on the rear. I plan to replace the rear with a Conti Trail Attack when the time comes, most likely next month or so.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Jul 15 - Comfort
Technically, this is a "Comfort Test". I got the idea for a beaded seat cover from Stromtrooper. After our day on the bike Saturday, I made a special trip to WalMart the very next day for this. I am testing this out to see if there is a fix for the pain quotient to the bike on long rides. My daily commute runs are too short, even though this week I am taking a longer route in to drop off my oldest. Provided my new front tire arrives this week, I should have a new front tire and brake pads to scrub in this weekend. I figure a 200 mile trip on this seat will give me a good idea whether this can work or not.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Jul 14 - The camera you carry
We never made it to the golf course. Instead, we went downtown with some people we had a meeting with. It was the first business engagement that I've had for quite a while. One of the other guys was a techie like me and had an iPhone 3G, we were comparing iPhone apps and showing off capabilities. While walking to dinner, I snapped this photo with my iPhone of North Church in Portsmouth. It was a good thing I did too, since I just got back home and really don't feel like taking any kind of PaD photo at this point. I added negative clarity (subtracted?) and did a slight straightening job, and boosted the exposure. I didn't take a whole hell of a long time to setup for this shot, I stopped for about a second to take this. I liked the clouds we had this evening, I kind of wish I had my DSLR with me...
Monday, July 13, 2009
Jul 13 - Call me hardcore
Yet another one of those "Odd things on a bike" kind of shots. I am going golfing tomorrow evening after two season "break" from "After work golf". I'm not willing to drive in, so I was testing out the concept of strapping the golf bag to the bike. It works fine. It doesn't extend much further over my tiny Givi E21 side cases (the black box with the scuffs all over it). The weird thing on top of the seat is a cheap bead thing I picked up at WalMart as a test for fixing the seat comfort level. While it seems more comfortable, I am sliding all around in my riding pants. The jury is still out on that thing.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Jul 12 - Dinner Ride
Well, it was more than a Dinner Ride. We left for the University of New Hampshire (My Wife & I) to find the Hall that our oldest will be going to for the next two weeks. She is in an upper class Writer's Academy. They had a class for new High School Freshmen, but her teacher put in a good recommendation and got her into the upper class program. I will be dropping her off in the mornings on the bike and my wife will be picking her up. After finding the building, we had to ride around for my wife to get her bearings, then I took a semi-extended way home. I stopped by Strafford Farms, it's the first time we've eaten at the take out in about 6 years. The weather was perfect, it was in the evening and it had started to cool down nicely. OK, I lied, I'm the one who ate, my wife claimed she wasn't hungry, didn't order anything, then picked at my food. It is kind of a "wife thing".
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Jul 11 - Lunch
My oldest & I took to the open road today and visited the University of Maine at Farmington campus. It was nothing official, no tours. We simply went up there and had a look around the place. She will be a High School Freshman in the fall, it's not too early to start thinking about this. The trip was fun, it was her longest on a motorcycle (300 miles) and was enough to tell me that I need a new seat. While walking around the campus, she realized they didn't have a football field which means they probably don't have a marching band program, something she is very in to. This KFC/Taco Bell was a couple of miles away from the main campus, it made for a good lunch.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Jul 10 - Bags ready
Tomorrow my oldest & I are heading out on an all day motorcycle ride. The main goal is to hit the University of Maine, Farmington campus. We aren't getting an official tour, we are simply going to walk around the campus and check it out, have a lunch, etc. It is also the first weekend with no rain and no baseball or cub scout commitment for the past 6 or so weeks. It will be the longest ride for me this season and the longest ride for her ever. Tomorrow I find out if I need to junk my stock bike seat and go with a Day Long Saddle.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Jul 09 - Looking up
Just a simple shot of the maple tree that is overhanging our deck. This is technically a tri-tone, I set the highlight & shadow tone hues to the same settings to get this effect. This is exactly what I was thinking when I shot it, it took a little persuasion during Post Processing to get it right.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Jul 08 - Up close
Another day of getting home with no PaD taken. According to the weather report, we have something like 3 or possibly 4 days of sun coming up!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Jul 07 - Turning
It is just barely July, there's been about 4 days of sun in the past 6 weeks and we already have leaves turning on our birch trees in our front yard. This happens each year though, normally because of insect damage, there's been no insects this year though, they must not like the rain. Another day of coming home with no PaD taken yet. It was raining so hard in the morning that I decided to leave the camera gear at home, good thing too as I don't have a ton of storage on the bike and I wound up hitting the grocery store on the way into work. I turned up the ISO again to get a grainy shot. I certainly got my wish.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Jul 06 - Free Squirrel
I was fretting over the fact that I'd left work so late and hadn't had time to shoot today's PaD. Here I was thinking there'd be slim pickings at home. That is, until I arrived at home and saw this nugget resting in front of our house (on the street). I made two different signs and made two different trips to the road to get the shot "just right". I was amazed at the fact that there was zero cars coming by during any of my shoots.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Jul 05 - Uninspired SP
Time is ticking away, it was a long ride home (we stopped at an RV dealer to look at RVs, they didn't have anything we liked). I just got caught up with my Flickr & pBase galleries and I'm feeling uninspired so this is a simple SP with the Tokina at ISO 3200 on a 40D (yeah, it's not 5D MkII low noise 3200).
Jul 04 - Fly a kite
My son made this kite at our campground. There was a husband and wife "Professional Kite People" in the field over the weekend of the fourth. They were flying these huge 8' kites in the field. They had this real simple "Sled Kite" that you could make in about a minute on their table. We tried with little success to lauch it from the field that afternoon. We joked about taking it up to the summit of Cadillac Mountain with us and decided to do just that. It flew right from our hands with no problems and my son had a ball for about 15 - 20 minutes. It was easy to bring in too.
Jul 03 - Acadia Fog
While driving down to Northeast Harbor for dinner (at Docksiders) we noticed this scene at one of the Hadlock Ponds (Either Upper or Lower, I can't remember the name). I had to bushwhack through some high grasses to get to the shore to setup the tripod and gear for this shot, but it was worth it. I have a feeling this shot will wind up as a print on one of our walls somewhere. The fog has just rolled in. On the island, you can have beautiful sunshine and warm weather one minute, then a few minutes later be engulfed in this cool fog. The fog is hell on camera gear though. I have to do some work to my 17-44 f/2.8 IS.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Jul 02 - Biking Trip
We hit the Carriage Paths today in 'so so' weather. First year for me on the paths without anyone in tow (no child seat, no child trailer, no tag-a-long). Even with the younger ones having to walk up some of the hills, we still made real good time. My oldest (passing me here) and I are thinking about taking the longer route next year.
Jul 01 - Balls
If you can see the spray from the waves off to the right, you can get a feel for how close I was to the waves. I had one hand on the shutter release and one on a tripod leg, ready to yank the gear out to safety. Within a nanosecond of this shot, I was yanking the tripod and camera out of the way. During Post processing, I found that the two shots following this were highly blurred and the horizon line severely tilted as I continued to shoot while pulling the tripod and camera out of the way. No salt water actually landed on the lens, though the tripod legs and camera body had some on them.
Jun 30 - Hiking
I pulled my camera out and changed the lens only to reveal a serious fogging of the rear element. The temps were rising rapidly and the humidity was extremely high. The camera gear was well insulated and still at a much cooler temp. I should have known better, I do live in New England after all. The first hour of our hike I was assaulted by very foggy images. I decided to play the fogginess in an attempt to give the whole scene a bit of fog. The photos cleaned up real nice in Lightroom, almost too nice, most of the fog has been removed while adjusting the blacks. That is my family in the background waiting on Dad to take his photos and try and catch up. Most of our hike went that way.3
Monday, June 29, 2009
Jun 29 - Empty
The theme for the trip here on the island so far. We are here a week earlier than we've ever been, arriving the week before the 4th versus the week of the 4th. With the economy bad off and a month straight of rain, this campground (and all the others that we've seen so far) is very vacant. There are normally 5 campers blocking the view of these picnic tables in the field, there are none to be found today. In fact, the entire field has something like 45 or 50 sites, there are 3 campers in it, one is empty (possibly seasonal on a water/electric site). I snapped this right before we jumped on our bikes and took a short ride. We are trying to make the best of the situation this week.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Jun 28 - Jacob's 'New' Bike
More of an 'artsy' view of Jacob walking his bike up the hill. With our Tahoe out of commission, we were unsure of whether we'd be able to get our son his 'new' bike today. His old bike was too small for him and he did not want to ride on the Tag-A-Long for our annual bike trips on the Carriage Paths. We were going to surprise him and tell him that we forgot to pack his bike and the Tag-A-Long so we'd have to buy a bike. He and his sister figured it out before we left though. This bike and this trips marks a passage of a very long chapter in our family's life. When we hit the trails this week (provided the weather cooperates) it will be the first time as a family that I (or my wife) have had to either carry or tow a child. Basically it has been 14 years since we've hit the trails on our bikes without a child in tow.
Jun 27 - Jumping Wizard
We made it to the campground. What should have been an uneventful four hour ride, turned into a desperate hope to arrive event. Just outside of Bangor (land of Stephen Kind) we picked up a high pitched whine in the front end of our Tahoe. After about 10 miles of it not getting better, I used our OnStar (The service we pay $20 a month for an *almost* never use). They ran a complete vehicle diagnostic (while we were driving) and pulled up nothing. They patched us through to another person who thought it might be a belt. While that kind of set us at ease, I began to realize it wasn't a belt. With about twenty miles to go, the whine lowered in tone and picked up a bad rattle on deceleration (we were towing our camper too). We somehow made it to the campground and left the vehicle parked in front of our site today. Luckily the island has a very nice network of buses to get us just about everywhere we want go. In the theme of nothing working right, I tried to set up my off camera flash and the freakin cheap eBay trigger wouldn't work. This was after trying to get the umbrella mounted to a camp chair. I finally gave up and put the 580EX2 on the camera as the available sunlight (well, cloudy overcast) was fading fast. In the spirit of "June is for Jumping" my son is levitating with his funky Wizard hat that he got earlier in the day before we left at the local Strawberry Festival. We really are roughing it. While the campground has WIFI, we have to hoof it to the main office for the only access point. There is no place to set the laptop and it is raining out. Not sure when this will get posted.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Jun 26 - Not a Turkey
This is not what I intended to post. For the past three or four days, I have noticed this wild turkey in almost the same spot by the road each day on my ride home from work. This evening I pulled around and decided to capture it. The sun was in the wrong spot, I was sweating in my motorcycle gear, and I almost stepped on her babies (they kept running through the tall grass, I couldn't see them but could see the grass moving). Before I left, I snapped a few shots of these daisies "Just in case". It was a good thing, all the shots of the wild turkey basically sucked. I might have to try an early morning expedition when it is cooler. I'd like to get a shot of her and her babies, if possible. Hopefully they will still be around in another week. We go on vacation tomorrow up to "God's Country", our annual trek to Mt Desert Isle, Maine. Let the photo's roll!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Jun 25 - Deep
On the way home this evening, I pulled into a construction company site to try to capture these curbs. I was on my bike, in full gear in the humidity and even walked up an overgrown hill to get a better shot. I think it might have been worth it. It was so bright out and I actually still had my helmet on, I didn't realize there was as much detail inside the the pile until just now while post-processing. I have to go mow the lawn, it's rained so much lately that we have had very few "lawn mowing days", its supposed to rain again tomorrow too.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Jun 24 - Header
After waiting 3 years to move our rear garage door, I finally got in gear and have someone doing it for me. He got the header in today. The old door sits level with the garage floor which is nice, but it also sits level with the backyard. In rainy weather (like we have witnessed for the past three weeks), water tends to flow quite freely into the garage. In a short period of time this will no longer be a problem.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Jun 23 - No Birds Today
Shot off the same deck from yesterday, different subject. I could probably find a week's worth of PaD images from my deck alone. I'd rather have decent weather though. I didn't notice the spider webs until I was in Lightroom, we've not had bird seed in this feeder for some time, apparently the spiders aren't finding much use for this either. I did dial in a little negative Clarity on top of a stock Lightroom "Selenium" preset.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Jun 22 - Tritone Leaf
Raining again. There was a bit of a lull this evening when I got home. I noticed our bush in the back (right off our deck) looked interesting so I grabbed the gear and took a few shots. This is actually rim lit with my 580EX-2 off camera. I am shooting into my home-made diffuser, giving me some relatively soft light. I had the camera on the monopod and I was holding the flash in my left hand. This is an act of balance and a little luck. I was ready to go with the color version, but I liked the contrasty patterns when I went with a Black & White version. I added some green highlights in Lightroom as well.4
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Jun 21 - Feats of strength
Here I am lifting my wife for my evening exercise! We had a whole bunch of these jumping shots. Lots with the both of us synchronized, but this idea came to me towards the end and here we are. We went upstairs to the bedroom for this and actually locked the door. We showed the kids this shot afterward. This little session has a few benefits because the kids will now think that we are "jumping around" upstairs when the door is closed ;-)
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Jun 20 - Go ahead, Make my Day!
We finished the baseball season today. I am actually in the process of ripping photo CD's for the team. Since I was the coach, I couldn't wield any of my cameras (which kills me each season) so I asked for a "Team Photographer" volunteer. While I burn a CD, my son & I would play with these Nerf Longshots that we got replaced the week after Christmas. They have been in the box ever since. This one was opened up today, there is one more still boxed. We took a bunch of photos indoors and then I moved us outside because of the distracting backgrounds inside. I was using my homemade diffuser for a little fill and it worked well here. It sits so high above the flash that it almost acts as a hair light. The flash is on the camera for this shot, with the diffuser, the light source is actually about 18 - 20" above the lens. I did BW (OK, quad tone) processing first, after I saw this I gave color a try, but with color, the barrel is orange and there is blue and yellow that seriously detract from the "Bad Ass" look that he is sportin!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Jun 19 - OOOOOOOOHHH
My 3GS arrived at work today. The FedEx guy was about a 1/2 hour late, I image a few other people were added to his stop today. I am/was an iPhone Virgin, today this is no longer true. I went with the 32GB model, my reasoning was that the extra 16GB is needed to replace my 60GB iPod. I am in the process of syncing 24 GB of music right now. I have a gunmetal incase plus an anti-glare sheet protecting the face. Without the anti-glare sheet, you'd be able to see the awesome "Sync in Progress" message along with the Battery charging indicator. This was my "Birthday/Father's Day present" from the wife (of course I did the ordering ;-) While the new 3MP camera with the "Point to Focus" interface is pretty cool, shooting with a Canon 40D equipped with an excellent set of glass is still no competition. I'm not sure that the iPhone would even edge out my Panasonic LX3 "Motorcycle cam" either.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Jun 18 - Rolleiflex (f/2.8)
This doesn't do the Rollei any justice, but I was able to capture the name and the big honkin lens (albeit the viewing lens).
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Jun 17 - Me
I started out with returning to the "Through the Looking Glass" concept, I'd even pulled over my previous shots from pBase last night. These take a little while to get right. I'm not sure if this is just right, but it fits the concept. I did a few shots off the tripod downstairs, checked them on the computer, then went upstairs to the bedroom to check on the light. My wife popped in and distracted me so I never returned to this concept . This concept is pretty simple, hold a drinking glass out in front of the lens with the top up so that you pick up the distorted imagery around the subject. I need to head back outside in the sunlight to get some more of these going.
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