Fresh air & photos

[AndyB]

It's colorful expletive that seems to have died out. I heard Peter Sellers use it a long time ago and it stuck.

Fraser's Phrases (BBC America) has a good write-up on it.

 

[AndyB]

More agricultural stuff.

Don't zoom-in on the welds

 

[AndyB]

Very sparkly today. Unfortunately someone parked a power-pole in worst place.

 

[Martin Wynne]

Unfortunately someone parked a power-pole in worst place.

Tell me about it.

Martin.

 

[AndyB]

I suppose someone could fix that with Photoshop.

 

[Andrew Duncan]

Very sparkly today. Unfortunately someone parked a power-pole in worst place.

View attachment 402

Hello Andy
Whats the lake...?

 

[AndyB]

Hello Andy
Whats the lake...?

Hi Andrew,
It's Lake Coeur d'Alene. We live at Rockford Bay.
Andy

 

[AndyB]

Hopefully it will be warm enough to go out on the lake in April.

 

[AndyB]

It was such a lovely day I had to go skiing although it was getting slightly warm by the afternoon. Fortunately the ski patrol had very few customers.

We're on the Western edge of the Rockies here and the ski hill is just off Interstate 90 which heads East from Seattle. It's a bit twisty as it winds up the pass.

 

[AndyB]

The camera in my mobile phone is, to be polite, not great so I try to remember to put this little camera in my pocket when I go walking or skiing. It's a lot easier to carry than my "compact" Nikon

It has a metal body and a pop-out zoom lens. I've had it for almost twenty years. I didn't even pay for it. It was a Christmas present from the company I worked for. Its most redeeming feature is the optical viewfinder. I find view screens are practically useless outdoors.

 

[Martin Wynne]

Its most redeeming feature is the optical viewfinder. I find view screens are practically useless outdoors

Hi Andy,

Agreed. The sole reason I went for the Fuji X100 series was for the unique hybrid viewfinder. I use the big bright optical viewfinder almost all the time. Just an occasional flick on the lever to see what the sensor is seeing through the lens, then back to the optical finder. It has the great advantage of a generous margin around the framing outline, which makes it so much easier to frame and compose shots within the visible scene. You don't realise how much you rely on that until you swap to the electronic finder and can't see a single thing beyond the image sensor area:

https://fujifilm-x.com/global/products/cameras/x100f/feature-viewfinder/

I don't think I have ever used the rear screen when taking a photograph, I use it only to check what I've taken, and even then I can't see it properly in daylight. Using the optical finder also saves battery life significantly.

Those are great shots for an old camera, I just checked the EXIF for your skiing shot in the media gallery:

Device: PENTAX Optio S4
Aperture: ƒ/4.3
Focal length: 5.8 mm
Exposure time: 1/800
ISO: 50
Dimensions: 2225px x 1669px

Look after it, because the market for good quality compact cameras has been almost entirely killed by mobile phones now.

Rob is our resident camera expert -- no doubt he will be along shortly.

cheers,

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

A rainy day today, so here's a pre-lockdown summer evening.

This is another one of those which have improved with keeping.

Martin.

 

[Tony W]

I suppose someone could fix that with Photoshop.

I thought you were going to say with a Chainsaw!

Regards

 

[AndyB]

My wife was coveting my little Pentax so I bought one for her from Ebay. It's a slightly newer version. I think mine was the Beta Test version that our company got at a discount.

 

[AndyB]

A pic Lorna took with her own little Pentax today.

She's quite an artist and far better at composition than me.

(That's the firewood pile for my workshop with our house in the distance.)

 

[Rob Manchester]

Look after it, because the market for good quality compact cameras has been almost entirely killed by mobile phones now.

Rob is our resident camera expert -- no doubt he will be along shortly.

cheers,

Martin.

Hi Martin,
Expert? - maybe but only because I was for a long time like a kid with new toys and just had to try everything I could afford. I dread to think how much I spent on cameras and associated bits.

The mobile phone camera 'change' does have a positive side effect in that there are many decent 'proper' cameras from recent years that haven't seen much use. I agree totally with you about the optical viewfinder approach ( hence my trusty old X100 ) but it did mean I spent a lot of time and money with Leica rangefinders in both film and digital variants. Now that is expensive when each single focal length lens can be >£1000 Using the X100 with it's 35mm lens probably gives results and usability close to a Leica M9 with a 35mm Summicron at a fraction of the price.

The Leica compact I have now ( OK it is a Panasonic really but it does say Leica on the front of the lens ) does have an eyepiece and it zooms from 24mm to 720mm focal length. Holding it steady can be good fun.....

Rob

 

[Martin Wynne]

You don't get pictures like this on your average web site.

Just cheering myself up looking at old pictures. The sky really was that blue. Bromyard, Herefordshire, 7th July 2002.

He didn't jump.

Martin.

 

[Martin Wynne]

More sunshine. Dysserth, 28th June 2015.

Martin.

 

[Andrew Duncan]

It was such a lovely day I had to go skiing although it was getting slightly warm by the afternoon. Fortunately the ski patrol had very few customers.

View attachment 465

We're on the Western edge of the Rockies here and the ski hill is just off Interstate 90 which heads East from Seattle. It's a bit twisty as it winds up the pass.

View attachment 466

Stunning views Andy, but the log cabin photo had me puzzled for a while. Why was there snow on the front part of the roof but not the rest? Then I twigged that it was only the part that was over the veranda with the snow, and so being outside with no heat coming from underneath, the snow remains there. I felt quite pleased with myself at my logic....hope its right?
Andrew

 

[AndyB]

Stunning views Andy, but the log cabin photo had me puzzled for a while. Why was there snow on the front part of the roof but not the rest? Then I twigged that it was only the part that was over the veranda with the snow, and so being outside with no heat coming from underneath, the snow remains there. I felt quite pleased with myself at my logic....hope its right?
Andrew

I didn't even notice that Andrew. Yes, I believe you are correct. There probably isn't a lot in the way of insulation under the roof. I might be up there again on Tuesday. Maybe they'll let me take a peek inside