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Prince Fulminator: Mostly pictures. Sometimes remarks.
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Pinhole
I have been meaning to take pics with a pinhole on a digital camera. These are the results from an experiment that's about as uncontrolled as you are gonna get. How large is the pinhole? I dunno. About the size I got by poking a piece of foil with the sharp end of a dental pick. Which foil I then taped over the end of a micro 4/3 extension tube to mount it on the camera. B'gosh & b'golly after that.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
The Rule of Thumb
The rule of thumb for many used digital cameras seems to be (new price)/(years since introduced) = selling price for excellent condition. I just bought a used Lumix G2. Didn't need the H, and I'm fine happy with 12mpxl. It's mostly my airplane camera with an old Pentax K-mount 200mm on an adapter.
Waazi loo lah?
Pic by someone else and conveniently lifted from a GooSearch.
In my experience, a good morning often begins with a dog walk. This isn't always possible for me b/c of competing interests. There's bicycle to ride. And, MWF, I can fly my model airplane, weather permitting. Otherwise, there's walk this dog around.
Here the start of final rise on a loaf of dark rye. I had it on a cookie sheet, and I know better. When the sheet popped and twisted from heat, the loaf fell a little and became a bit more sticky in the middle than I'd like. First project this morning is getting a terracotta tile for baking. Then another loaf of dark. And maybe French.
Ellen did another neighborhood mailbox. A man who works for one of the local investment banks knows value when he sees it. He's putting some of his money into property in this area. He lives in this area. When he buys, he improves and then rents. His houses all distinctive b/c of a mailbox with a Florida theme painted by Ellen.
Laura Riding Jackson's house must be moved from its present location at the Environmental Learning Center near Vero. Then the ELC will put in another building and more parking. Which seems a peculiar contrast to environmental learning. What do I know? We attended a fund raiser and birthday celebration for Laura at 118. Local rancher, poet, artist and generally good guy Sean Sexton read from Laura Riding Jackson and from his work. Sean a man with a curious Indiana connection. His grandfather from the Shelbyville area and a Purdue grad.
Sean put me on the spot when he did a bullwhip demo. He asked me the speed of sound. I gave the number for kcal per hp. Sigh. The mind fades away so gently one hardly notices. Unless it's in other drivers.
Where Laura worked
I suppose these trees will be cut down as part of the environmental learning.
Waazi loo lah?
Pic by someone else and conveniently lifted from a GooSearch.
In my experience, a good morning often begins with a dog walk. This isn't always possible for me b/c of competing interests. There's bicycle to ride. And, MWF, I can fly my model airplane, weather permitting. Otherwise, there's walk this dog around.
Part of a good walk is policing the area. Here Ellen with litter hound Lili goes after a drink lid tossed on 6th Ave.
I'm baking again. Weather is good for running an oven. Although, chilly days makes for slower rise. These a couple of raisin, pecan, date, & cinnamon "holiday" bread. It's a mess to make. And I do it several times a year. Then I go back to the usual and customary.
Here the start of final rise on a loaf of dark rye. I had it on a cookie sheet, and I know better. When the sheet popped and twisted from heat, the loaf fell a little and became a bit more sticky in the middle than I'd like. First project this morning is getting a terracotta tile for baking. Then another loaf of dark. And maybe French.
Ellen did another neighborhood mailbox. A man who works for one of the local investment banks knows value when he sees it. He's putting some of his money into property in this area. He lives in this area. When he buys, he improves and then rents. His houses all distinctive b/c of a mailbox with a Florida theme painted by Ellen.
Laura Riding Jackson's house must be moved from its present location at the Environmental Learning Center near Vero. Then the ELC will put in another building and more parking. Which seems a peculiar contrast to environmental learning. What do I know? We attended a fund raiser and birthday celebration for Laura at 118. Local rancher, poet, artist and generally good guy Sean Sexton read from Laura Riding Jackson and from his work. Sean a man with a curious Indiana connection. His grandfather from the Shelbyville area and a Purdue grad.
Sean put me on the spot when he did a bullwhip demo. He asked me the speed of sound. I gave the number for kcal per hp. Sigh. The mind fades away so gently one hardly notices. Unless it's in other drivers.
Where Laura worked
I suppose these trees will be cut down as part of the environmental learning.
***
Thursday, January 10, 2019
A Trip To The Bird Pond
Yesterday's dog walk included a trip past a nearby bird pond. It's a catch pond for run-off from a strip mall on a corner between 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard. And sufficiently away from traffic that it's attractive to wading birds.
Both Ellen and I had taken a pic or two with the lens I had on my camera at the time. It's kinda long, useful for macro sorts of pictures, but not particularly good for birds. A little later I put one of my old Pentax K-mount lenses on my digital and returned. A 135/3.5 that I bought used in, I think, the mid '90s for about thirty dollars.
Using zone focus and stopping down seems to work well. I need to mod my lens adapter by drilling it and putting a small lever on it to work the "pre-set" for aperture. And to remember that this isn't film. I can set high sensitivity and still obtain good results. Same deal for how much "film" I have on a roll. I will run out of camera battery, at 5 shots per second, long before I run out of memory card.
Both Ellen and I had taken a pic or two with the lens I had on my camera at the time. It's kinda long, useful for macro sorts of pictures, but not particularly good for birds. A little later I put one of my old Pentax K-mount lenses on my digital and returned. A 135/3.5 that I bought used in, I think, the mid '90s for about thirty dollars.
Using zone focus and stopping down seems to work well. I need to mod my lens adapter by drilling it and putting a small lever on it to work the "pre-set" for aperture. And to remember that this isn't film. I can set high sensitivity and still obtain good results. Same deal for how much "film" I have on a roll. I will run out of camera battery, at 5 shots per second, long before I run out of memory card.
***
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Lack Toes In Taller Ants
A combination of Florida chilly and breezy has me not doing my usual and customary. I think a dog walk with Ellen and Lili (the dog) will take the place of a bicycle ride and possible flying model airplanes this morning. Once I get going.
In my defense I note that today is already breezy, and my small foam airplane does not handle wind well. And that's only the start of my problems. A good day is when my flight into terrain is under my control: a landing more than a crash. As for the bike? Dunno. Some days are better than others. Lately I've struggled to adjust to traffic.
Ellen is working on a painted-mailbox design for a neighbor. The design will include these small blossoms.
We figure it's a decent Sunday when we are invited to brunch at the Vero Beach Yacht Club by Sharon and Bill. This is an old money sort of place. One dresses up, but within reason. And electronic communication devices aren't permitted in their dining area. The Theobalds brought a mutual friend whose late husband was one of Ellen's painting students way back when. Later this week, Sharon and Ellen are making an art trip to Palm Beach.
Resuming my interest in hanging out at airports, and taking pics of airplanes, I bought a used Pentax lens that will adapt easily to my Lumix cameras. Lens is okay. I think it might be in really great shape for mid nineteen-eighties used because it's not particularly sharp. Gets better when stopped down. For the moment, I think it will suit my purposes. And it was inexpensive, so there's that.
Above a test shot. One of Purdue's retired airplanes now working in Vero Beach, and Piper's new design in closed traffic. Camera & subject motion a factor in the last shot.
We are looking forward to seeing Xaque Gruber's movie The Pistol this weekend. He produced and directed. A great deal of it shot next door in Ellen's studio. Our house guest for the weekend will be one of the people who worked with Xaque. Stay tuned.
In my defense I note that today is already breezy, and my small foam airplane does not handle wind well. And that's only the start of my problems. A good day is when my flight into terrain is under my control: a landing more than a crash. As for the bike? Dunno. Some days are better than others. Lately I've struggled to adjust to traffic.
Ellen is working on a painted-mailbox design for a neighbor. The design will include these small blossoms.
We figure it's a decent Sunday when we are invited to brunch at the Vero Beach Yacht Club by Sharon and Bill. This is an old money sort of place. One dresses up, but within reason. And electronic communication devices aren't permitted in their dining area. The Theobalds brought a mutual friend whose late husband was one of Ellen's painting students way back when. Later this week, Sharon and Ellen are making an art trip to Palm Beach.
Resuming my interest in hanging out at airports, and taking pics of airplanes, I bought a used Pentax lens that will adapt easily to my Lumix cameras. Lens is okay. I think it might be in really great shape for mid nineteen-eighties used because it's not particularly sharp. Gets better when stopped down. For the moment, I think it will suit my purposes. And it was inexpensive, so there's that.
Above a test shot. One of Purdue's retired airplanes now working in Vero Beach, and Piper's new design in closed traffic. Camera & subject motion a factor in the last shot.
We are looking forward to seeing Xaque Gruber's movie The Pistol this weekend. He produced and directed. A great deal of it shot next door in Ellen's studio. Our house guest for the weekend will be one of the people who worked with Xaque. Stay tuned.
***
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Catching Up
Maybe the best way to begin to catch up on posts is a picture of yet another bicycle tire repair. I try to keep this kind of repair to a minimum, but I seem to find a lot of road debris. And, for me, there's nothing like a new tire to home right in on sharp stuff. A fragment of rusty knife blade did this. So a "boot" that will keep things together while I get used to time to retire early. Dammit.
Somewhere in all of it, I continue to be amused by airplanes. Well, amazed is probably a better word. My little foam radio control airplane keeps taking hard landings. I'm getting better at controlling my descent into terrain, but only by degrees. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, El Ambia has a new piece of aircraft debris. Looks like the front end from an IAI Westwind. I had intended to have lunch there after visiting Larsen Motorsports open house in early December. Got to El Ambia a bit before 11:00. Only to find that on Saturday they don't open until noon. So I came home and we had homemade. Weeks later I'm still savoring almost having a pan con ropa vieja (it's the shoestring fries).
Larsen runs jet cars. From the looks of their shop they buy a few used GE J-85 motors with high time. And, I'm guessing, that they don't overhaul them much. Mostly they use them up. Someone we met at WFIT radio station drives for them. Kat said her best is around 260 mph. Others have broken 300. I had noticed that most of their drivers are women and considered, first, why not. And second that women probably represent a weight savings where ounces count. - Once everything lights up, these cars are probably burning out about half a gallon per second.
Play your cards right, you might get a train on a railroad trestle near El Ambia. Not everyone is as pleased by this as I am.
Ellen embroiders. Lili hangs out with Ellen. Yesterday Lili got a trip to the Sexton ranch. Ellen was doing an interview for VB 32963 newspaper where she reports on arts. Lili got to hang out in the great outdoors and race around with a smaller ranch dog. She showed little interest in cows.
And winding up with enough for now. Raw Space Gallery has a show of and about women. Niurka Barroso doing portraits of local women using a random walk (kinda) of association to select the women by not selecting. She took photos of a few women and asked them to tell their friends. Pass it on. See where it goes.
Niurka from Cuba. Later traveling the world, still doing a lot of this, doing photo reporting for international press. She one of the people allowed within a few feet of Fidel Castro. Also she who collected photographs abandoned in Cuba during the Revolution. Pictures now part of a national archive.
Somewhere in all of it, I continue to be amused by airplanes. Well, amazed is probably a better word. My little foam radio control airplane keeps taking hard landings. I'm getting better at controlling my descent into terrain, but only by degrees. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, El Ambia has a new piece of aircraft debris. Looks like the front end from an IAI Westwind. I had intended to have lunch there after visiting Larsen Motorsports open house in early December. Got to El Ambia a bit before 11:00. Only to find that on Saturday they don't open until noon. So I came home and we had homemade. Weeks later I'm still savoring almost having a pan con ropa vieja (it's the shoestring fries).
Larsen runs jet cars. From the looks of their shop they buy a few used GE J-85 motors with high time. And, I'm guessing, that they don't overhaul them much. Mostly they use them up. Someone we met at WFIT radio station drives for them. Kat said her best is around 260 mph. Others have broken 300. I had noticed that most of their drivers are women and considered, first, why not. And second that women probably represent a weight savings where ounces count. - Once everything lights up, these cars are probably burning out about half a gallon per second.
Play your cards right, you might get a train on a railroad trestle near El Ambia. Not everyone is as pleased by this as I am.
Ellen embroiders. Lili hangs out with Ellen. Yesterday Lili got a trip to the Sexton ranch. Ellen was doing an interview for VB 32963 newspaper where she reports on arts. Lili got to hang out in the great outdoors and race around with a smaller ranch dog. She showed little interest in cows.
And winding up with enough for now. Raw Space Gallery has a show of and about women. Niurka Barroso doing portraits of local women using a random walk (kinda) of association to select the women by not selecting. She took photos of a few women and asked them to tell their friends. Pass it on. See where it goes.
Niurka from Cuba. Later traveling the world, still doing a lot of this, doing photo reporting for international press. She one of the people allowed within a few feet of Fidel Castro. Also she who collected photographs abandoned in Cuba during the Revolution. Pictures now part of a national archive.
-stop-
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