February 4, Monday
Ryan is taking fencing this spring with Roy, Tim and Andrew. They
play with their pirate swords and light sabers outside so much that everyone
thought this would be something fun they could all do together. Ryan
typically isn't aggressive, but he is when it comes to swords. He
isn't afraid to go for a point, so long as the opponent isn't too big. See more
photos.
February 9, Saturday
I made a fist
on the table to use as a mini support for the camera, placed the camera
on my fist, aimed, and took a few candid photos. The kids were
oblivious to me taking photos of them because the camera was not pressed
against my face and I didn't use a flash. These were taken with
the tiny 35mm f/2 and none of these were cropped. These aren't
award winning photos. It was a different way to take
a photo and variety is good.
 |
Ryan and Tim are playing DragonFable on
the iMac. Although Ryan and Ainsley's PC in
less than 6 feet away, neither of them turn it on any more. They'd
both rather share the iMac. |
Jeff took about 350 photos of the interior and exterior
of the house for insurance purposes. They are meant to serve as
a reminder of what we own rather than a catalog database of every single
item. I
kept using the excuse the house wasn't clean enough for photos, but with
kids, it never was clean enough. I took pictures with dirty dishes
in the sink, Betsi folding laundry, and toys scattered about the house. In
some ways, having a messy house meant there was less to unpack for the
photos. An SLR with two sets of fresh batteries for the flash meant
I could do this in a little over an hour. A point and shoot camera would
have taken half a day as the wide angle isn't as wide (more photos required),
it takes longer to take each photo (shutter lag), and point and shoot
cameras take longer to recharge in between photos. With the flash
bounced off of the ceiling, the photos looked better too.
The left photo is at 24mm on the zoom lens and the right is at 35mm
on the full frame Canon 5D. On most other digital SLRs will an
image sensor smaller than a 35mm film negative, there is a crop factor. It's
1.5 for Nikons and 1.6 for Canons. So the 24mm photo appear to
be 36mm on a Nikon D40x/D60/D80/D300 and 38.4mm on a Canon XSi/40D. It
would look more zoomed in than the 35mm shot above. Notice how
the edge of the closet door is in the corner of both photos and the bottom
of the window sill is almost at the bottom of the photo.
I did this to remind myself how drastic a difference there is between
24mm and 35mm. For parties, 24mm on my camera would most likely
get a photo of 5 people in a row. The 35mm is good for more
intimate shots of two or three people. I'm also looking into
renting a low light prime lens for our upcoming trip to Las Vegas. Although
the Canon 35mm f/1.4L is an awesome lens, it's just not wide enough. I'm
trying to avoid using a tripod because it's time consuming to set up
each shot.
February 13, Wednesday
Freezing rain since yesterday afternoon made for an exciting commute
home last night and school delay in the morning.
February 10, Sunday
Ainsley is completing her homework at the kitchen table and Shadow poses
long enough to get a rare photo where you can see her eyes. Shadow
needs another haircut. Both
are at 400mm, f/5.6, ISO 1600. Ainsley is 1/125s and Shadow is
1/15s with image stabilization turned on.
 |
I saw a Blue
Bird in a tree while walking Shadow through the neighborhood. I
only had the 24-105mm lens with me and this is a 100% crop (cropped
and not resized) of a 12 megapixel image. Focusing and proper
exposure are much more difficult when the subject is a dot in the
viewfinder. Cameras have a much easier time when the subject
is visible. :-) The photo was taken in RAW instead of JPEG,
so I could tweak it a bit in Photoshop without
loosing any quality, but I left it as is to make a point. It's
still blurry and over exposed. |
February 14, Thursday
 |
Ryan helps make a pizza, but finds eating the pepperoni
more enjoyable. |
February 20, Wednesday
 |
Canon 5D camera
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens
"M" camera setting
Spot meter
Manual focus
No image stabilization (on tripod)
Mirror lockup
Time delay shutter |
I was surprised the total lunar eclipse was at least a three hour event. I
don't know if it lasts that long all of the time. I knew the total
eclipse was scheduled for 10:26pm EST, but I was surprised to take Shadow
for a walk at 9:30pm and see that half the moon was already dark. I
was also surprised how clear it was considering we had an Alberta Clipper
come through with a dusting of snow during the drive home from work. I
wanted to take more pictures, but it was almost 10:45pm on a weeknight,
27 degrees Fahrenheit (-3C), and frost was forming everywhere.
Proper exposure of the moon is always tricky for me. I start
with the moon rule and/or
putting the camera on "P" and letting the camera decide the
exposure and aperture. From there, I put the camera on manual and
start guessing on exposure and/or aperture changes to get the best exposure. I
also turn off the autofocus. After 5 minutes, I have a picture
I like. The exposure changed how dark or how bright the moon was
and it influenced the color as well. I saw an orange brown moon.
The last total lunar eclipse I photographed was on October
2004. The next total lunar eclipse will be on December 20,
2010.
February 22, Friday
 |
Betsi and Jeff arrive in Las Vegas and witness a rare event;
rain. Las Vegas gets about an inch a year these past few years. |
February 23, Saturday
 |
Hoover Dam is about an hour from the Las Vegas strip. |
February 24, Sunday
 |
A view from the Eiffel
Tower Restaurant at the fountains in front of the Bellagio. The
food, wine, service and view was fantastic. It helped to
have a 9:45pm reservation. |
February 25, Monday
 |
Jeff proves he is young again and rides the Insanity ride
on top of the Stratosphere tower. Everyone
is spinning 850 feet above the ground. It took him a few minutes
before working up the courage to look down. It's not as scary
as he thought because the movement didn't leave butterflies in his
stomach.
See all of the other 156 Las Vegas photos in the photo
album. |
 |
Inside The Venetian. The
ceiling is painted and lit to look like the sky. The lighting
even changes to match the time of day. The Venetian was our
favorite hotel even though we stayed across the street at The Mirage. |
Previous  Next
|
