Yay! Only took a week

Got through both Wing 's and my photos of the wedding. The biggest problem I had was keeping them in order. Turns out that Wing didn't have the time or date set right on either of the cameras he was using. Imagine how much fun I had going through and fixing that. Want the photos to tell a story, and also want it to be easier for the person making the photobook to put them in sequence.

I also impressed with with my "Mad Editing Skillz!". I don't mean "Photoshopping' as in smoothing skin, making men more muscular or thinner, or that, but seamless edits. One of the children at the wedding (as well as a few others) had hay fever and her nose kept running. So, I had to umm tidy that one up. Also, for some odd reason, Wing took the practice shot of an archway (with me in it describing to people how to stand to face Wing) perfectly, but when it came to the family portrait shots in there, he kept lopping off the top of the arch. Well, all the family portrait shots are in a nice arch. There were other things.

So, then I sat back and loaded them up as a slide show. I cast a very critical eye on them. Wow... impressive. Wing did question a few of my choices concerning his photos, until he saw that the ones that he thought were ok were blurry, or had a very unflattering look on one or more of the peoples faces.

Total count: 156 photos.

Note to self, ask Bob for some of his photos for the bride and groom. :)

Hopefully, it will be back in 4 weeks

A few months ago, I updated the firmware on my Canon 5DMkIII. Before the update, battery life was great. After the update, if I put a fully charged battery in the camera, and then put it in my gear back, when I went back to use it a week later, the battery was flat/dead. I found this odd, seeing as my 7D has been in the same gear bag for a month, with the batteries charged to full, and after a month, they were still at full strength.

I've charged the batteries, and left them out of the camera for a week, and they remain at full strength. Leave them in the camera, and they drain. Tried a brand new battery, same thing. I did find out there was a new firmware updated, so I flashed my camera's firmware to the new version, in hopes the problem had been rectified. No joy. *sigh*

So, I took my preciousssss to Camera Electronic, to have it shipped to Canon repair. Hoping I get a 4 week turn around, instead of the 6 week.

While I was at Camera Electronic, I got a video camera to use while riding my bike. I got it for two reasons. One, to give friends a 'tour' of my bike rides, and to record any problems I might have. Twice in as many months, when I've been out riding, I've had problems with dogs not on their leashes, or just now under their owner's control. I've been bitten, forced off a bike path, and the owners of said dogs just think it's cute. Now, I know there are bike riders out there who are rude, but I follow biking rules, stay on designated cycle lanes, and still almost get pasted by cars. So, I will have a video camera either on my bike helmet, or on handlebars.

The Babylon 5 Universe shrinks a little more

Fans of J. Michael Straczynski

I regret that I must convey the sad news that Michael O'Hare passed away today. He suffered a heart attack on Sunday and was in a coma until his passing this afternoon. This is a terrible loss for all B5 fans and everyone involved with the show wishes to convey their condolences to the O'Hare family. He was an amazing man..

Lime Trees aren't supposed to have freckles!

Did the weekly round of weeding and feeding all my potted plants. I got to my lime tree and was greeted with the fact that ants have set it up to their local aphid farm. Uh, no. Broke out the organic pesticide, sprayed the tree, including the trunk of it. Then fed the tree some really smelly plant food.

The pruning back of the fig tree worked a treat! The new branches are growing up not just out. Also, new branches on the pruned back ones.

The Star Jasmine has bud showing, so it got a good feed.

Last summer, even though I kept them in the shade and as moist as possible, the potted orchids didn't fare too well. I thought I had lost them all, but am please to say that some of the bulbs I thought were all dead are sprouting new blades. Still, one pot of them has nothing growing out of half of them. I'll probably transplant the survivors in a new pot. Also, if (maybe when) it gets that hot for that many consecutive day again, I will bring them indoors.

I survived my first Aussie Wedding shoot

It was one of the happiest wedding ceremonies in a church I have seen in ages. Very upbeat, no doom and gloom passages, but those with love and light. Wing was rather unsure of himself, although many have told him he could do this, but with my 'permission', we had Bob Litchfield (one helluva master photographer, and a good friend. My deepest thanks for all your support and advice. Muchly appreciated) ride shotgun. A bit of pre-game light tests, and we were ready to rock and roll.

Derek and Alexander were smiling so large, if it had been any wider, it would have met on the backs of their heads! Margaret was stunning. I know most people say that about brides, but she was just stunning. Julia was a beautiful bridesmaid and Anabelle.. seriously, she had to be cute, adorable and she was. Got many excellent photos in the church. I was complimented on my "Ninja Skills" of getting close in photos, but not being obtrusive.

Between Wing, Bob, and myself, I think we captured the moment, and moments, wonderfully.

No rest for the wicked, and we were off to the reception. Wing and I worked the room, getting photos of the beautifully decked out tables, the lovely flower arrangements, and then the guest seated at the tables. I managed to get some pretty good 'crowd reactions' from some of the speeches (Sorry, Alexander, that one of you is a keeper), and the wedding cake.

We kind of crawled into the house close to midnight, exhausted, but happy.

Now, the hard work begins.. in the process of transferring all the photos to the hard drive, to starts going through them. :)

More EF 24-70 MkI vs EF 24-70 MkII

Next test was seeing the difference between the two lenses using flash. Both images were taken with the 5DmkIII, ISO 50, f/4.0 1/320 a second.
The MkI does a good job, no doubt, but when compared to the MkII... The differences are clearly visible.


Softening of some of the details. Visible definition loss in the texture of the twine and fabric. The surface of the bells have lost some of their texture. There also appears to be color bleeding in the red areas into the yellow.



MkII - noticeable differences are the sharpness in the reflection in the lower of the two red rimmed mirrors. Also, the metal bells in this image are sharper. And the colors are more accurate, without blurring/bleeding.



There's no doubt that the MkII is a big improvement over the MkI. The improvements are clear when images are viewed side by side.

Canon EF 24-70 MkI vs Canon EF 24-70 MkII

I set up some items with bright colors and other items with textures. Some of the textures were obvious, others subtle. Made sure camera settings and where I was standing was the same for both series of test shots. I also took a photo of a grevillea shrub with both of the lenses, which to me was the decider.

EF 24-70 MkI


EF 24-70 MkII



The new lens, being 82mm vs 77mm means more light gathering is possible. Because of this, I did notice that the photos taken with the MkII were brighter, colors truer the subject and because of that sharper in detail, I also noticed that there was more differentiation in the shades of green on the images taken with the MkII. What struck me most was not only was the MkII visibly sharper, was the amount of chromatic aberration on the Original 24-70 vs the MkII

As you can see, the MkI 24-70.. this image selection is blurry, and has red/green chromatic aberrations.




MkII Not only is the image selection sharp and has zero aberrations.




Range of colors: Both of the original photographs had their levels adjusted the same amounts. What I noticed was the different shades of pink and the details in the MKii that was missing in the MkI.


MKl 24-70 - by comparison, the colors are flat. There is no shortage of chromatic aberrations.



MKii - More shades of pink, and the green grass isn't speckled with chromatic aberrations




The MkII is one helluva jump in Canon glass. It outperformed it's predecessor, hands down. Now, the only question is this: Is is significantly better than the new Tamron 82mm 24-70 to justify the higher cost?

Stay tuned! I will be hiring the Tamron to find out!

Gray hair and age are mutually exclusive

Getting early gray (silver actually) is a family trait. I spotted my first one at 15, and it was noticeable by others at age 17. My youngest son had his visible gray hair at age 11. Now anyone who knows what causes gray hair, it's just the amount of pigment at the base of the hair follicle. It doesn't all run out at the same time, which is why gray hair seems to 'creep' in strand by strand.

My gray hair is the little bit of hair that falls in front of my ears, and about ten strands on the right side of my forehead. Been there for years and years.

When I was in my late teens and in my 20, it was cool to have those silvery locks. In my 30s, it was still 'ok'. When I hit my 40s, not so much. it's not fair but if I was a a 40+ yr old man with gray locks, it would be called distinguished. But gray hair on a woman, we just get called 'old'.

So, I've taken to camouflaging the gray. I use something, an herbal mix that when applied, and left on for a while, changes the grays to 'highlights'. The bonus is it makes my scalp feel good, too.

I'm sure that in a time not too far in the future, before my head starts looking like nothing but 'highlights', I'm just going to let it go gray. But not just yet. :)

Veterinary Round up, 2012

It was that time of the year again, when all three Purr Kids had to get their check ups, and vaccinations. Keito saw me move the pet carriers and tried to hide. I kept telling Wing and Alan that he was in our closet, but no one listened to me until I shifted half of it out, and showed them where he was. Was a fight to get the boys, Keito and Loki, into the carriers.




Then, it was Loki with his LET ME OUT LET ME OUT yowling, and we were off to the vet.

All three awaiting their DOOOOM!



Ziggy doesn't seem too bothered. Maybe her recent trip to the vet prepared her for it?



Vet checks out the leg/foot she licked bald. Inflamation gone, fur growing back nicely. Weighs in at 3.5kgs



Onto Loki. For a cat who wanted out of his carrier, it was amusing to watch him steadfastly REFUSING to budge, even with the top of the carrier removed.



Nope, still not moving.. but he did growl.



He had to be taken out to be weighed (8.5kgs) And in a reversal of home, he couldn't wait to get back INTO the carrier!



Keito, the Mellow Man as usual, sits on the scale after his exam. 6.5kgs.



Glaring at the door because he can hear the dogs in the other room.




So, all are well, Keito, Ziggy, and Loki at their optimal weight. All vaccinated until next year

Well, that's good

Just came back from 3 month dental check up. Gums are much improved. Because of my teeth not being straight, there are issues with a few of them, cleaning issues, but overall things are looking good. Surprisingly the cleaning was near painless, would say just uncomfortable in a few spots, but overall easy to deal.

On the way to the dentist office, I was riding my bike and was coming up behind a man with a smallish dog on a leash. I rang my bell repeatedly, and the man coming towards me from the other direction heard me, but the man walking the dog didn't. The dog charged at man coming towards the dog walker, and I rang my bell again.

Getting no response, I started to get off my bike to walk it around him. But his furry jaw muscle saw me, charged at me and grabbed my left foot and bit hard. Luckily the teeth didn't go through the shoe. Just felt as if my foot had been squeezed in a vise.

I said a few umm naughty words and kept riding, as I did have an appointment. Didn't call ranger, as I would have been charged for the dental appointment if I had waited to file a report.

I don't why Wing would be so surprised

Before the "Great Disc Collapse", I was very much into astronomy. I would spray AeroGuard (bug repellent) on my legs and arms, then muscle my telescope with filters/tools, a small table and a laptop computer outside, and just study the stars, planets, comets, nebulae etc etc. I was just getting adept using the DSI when I landed in the ER due to disc collapse.

Well, although I am up and about, I can't get the telescope outside anymore. The motorized EQ5 mount is just too heavy for me to maneuver out the door. :(

So, I've been looking at telescope brocures. I've spotted two contenders. A Sky-Watcher 8 or 10inch Dobsonian, or a 6in Celectron Nextstar. They each have plus and minuses/.

The Dobs :
The Good: Easier to use, can be trundled around around as it's on a wheeled dolly. It's tall, so almost no stooping over to use the viewfinder.
The Bad: not too good for astrophotography, as long exposures mean with rotation of the earth, the 'scope can't track it. Yes, I know you can get a very expensive motorized dolly, but that negates the easy of use.

The Schmidt-Cassegrain:
The Good: Smaller barrel, easy dismantling, light weight construction, computerized tracking, so long exposures for stacking images will work. Can view deep space with more clarity
The Bad: more expensive, moving parts mean chances of breakdown, batteries needed.

I will be selling the telescope I can't use due to the weight of it. There's nothing wrong with it, other than it's too heavy for me since the back surgery. Barely used EQ5 Mount, all eyepieces. Would prefer to sell it locally, as shipping costs would be outrageous due to the weight!



Taken at just about every angle. It's in great condition, the mount is almost brand new. I used it about 4 times. 5inch objective, 900mm long.
















Might even throw in the Webcam I converted to be a CCD camera. :)

It's an interesting feeling

It's a really cool feeling to come across your own commercial photographic work.