dbmcclellan.com
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Category Archives: photography
WP8 Screenshots
Windows Phone 8 has native support for taking screenshots, and it couldn’t be easier to do. Here’s how to take screenshots on the smartphone and where to find them later.
All you have to do is to keep the power button pressed and then press the Windows symbol touch key on your phone.
Once that’s done, it’s easy to find the shots:
- Go to Photos
- Then Albums
- And finally, Screenshots
Friday. Space Shuttle Day. Sacramento.
The Space Shuttle Endeavor with its follow-jet visiting Sacramento
Today was different. Oh sure, it started out the same as any other Friday with a big smile and maybe a little dance, but there was a Space Shuttle coming my way and this was a bigger Friday than usual.
Yep, my Canon 7D was ready with a cleared off memory card and freshened batteries, and my eye was ready to see a special NASA space plane piggy-backing a ride atop a specially built 747 across the country. Oh, and it was going to receive clear air over Sacramento and would be flying at 1,500′, which is REALLY low for a plane usually carrying a payload of nearly 500,000 pounds.
Space Shuttle Endeavor was launched out of Earths gravitational pull 25 times and helped build out the International Space Station twelve times. It was a workhorse worthy of any accolades you can think or speak, and it was flying over Our Town USA! Today’s journey would end in Los Angeles where it would ultimately transport to a museum for public viewing shackled to the ground like a prisoner. As if gravity wasn’t enough to keep it Earth-bound, its’ engines were decommissioned too. Such is the life of our iron-heros! Today was a day for NASA to show-off a little and do one last song-and-dance for the people.
One of those people was ME, and I took some photos. One of them made the final cut and was worthy of sharing….with YOU.
So without further adeiu, click on this. Share if you like.
~d
Canvas Photo
This is the photo I used for the 36x24 canvas print. Can't wait to see it on the wall!
I did something interesting today…..and I’ll tell you about it inaminnit.
Before I tell you about this Interesting Thing I did, I have got to tell you this: I have been a wannabe photographer since I was about eleven years of age. The first photography moment I recall was when I was in Boy Scouts going for the photography merit badge. There were about ten of us and the Troop had made arrangements for us to hook up with a professional photographer so we could fulfill the minimum requirements of the merit badge and maybe learn something too. Well, Mr. Foote (vague recollection of his name) decided to do that and then do something even better….he gave us a “how-to” on making a pinhole camera. After making this little light capturing box we used it to make a picture!
Our subject was his flower bed which had roses and day-lillies, and we all sat there waiting for the light to do its magic inside our self-made cameras. Then we went inside his “darkroom”, developed the photos and had our very own Ansel Adams style black and white picture for our scrapbooks. About twenty years ago I found the picture I made and am going to try and locate it again…wish me luck! I will share it if I find it.
My Dad and grandfather each had a darkroom full of chemicals and red lighting, just like Mr. Foote, where they developed their own pictures. I recall my Father putting on his special apron (which kept the chemicals off his clothing), snapping on his almost elbow covering rubber gloves, turning on the red light and closing the door to the den tight. Then, about an hour or so later emerged to enthusiastically show off his latest photographic effort to the family. It was always magical and I never grew tired of the wizardry it took to make a photograph available for all to see. Camera to picture in 24 easy steps.
Because of my Father’s influence, the evolution of cameras from film creators into digital photo taking machines, and the unbelievable capabilities of Adobe’s Photoshop software to turn a computer into my own virtual darkroom, I have had some success in becoming one of my family’s’ Magicians of Photography. These days I have a Canon 7D, some pretty good lenses, and a very strong laptop. These are the tools of the trade today and I actually use them to record the moments of my life. And sometimes the pictures are so nice I want to share them.
Now then, back to the Interesting Thing….I found a company called “Canvas4Life” that will take a digital photograph and print it to canvas at a VERY reasonable price. What makes that interesting? I have thought of doing this many times but have always been thwarted by the high cost of doing business. A nice photo is one thing, but turning it into a piece large enough to show on a wall is quite another! Last year when I was investigating this the cost was more than $400, and I didn’t really have anything good enough to show-off. Not for four hundred bucks! So when I searched on-line and located Canvas4Life.com yesterday and found they were charging ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a larger-than-I-wanted print measuring in at 24″x36″, well, that is just super interesting to me!
So I jumped on it and processed an order this morning around 8:30. After checking its status sometime around noon I found it has already been packed! If they actually ship it today I am going to fall out of my chair!
Updates to follow….
Exciting News….finally!
Well here is an unexpected pleasant bit of news (for me); I had a really good ride!
As you may know from my previous entries, I have been struggling BIG TIME with my cycling. My mind remembers my previous fitness level and how capable I was at all sorts of things. Climbing, sprints, long distance…all of it…I was good once. And for a cyclist to suffer during a contest or training ride is expected. And I was pretty good at that too! Ride to the pain, then ride through it….made me a better rider, it did. But that was then. My NOW? My body rebels at the mere <i>thought</i> of going faster, harder, or longer. I suffer, but that’s about it.
Yes, the suffering has been great, and I still know how to get there, but the results have been pretty much the same. Every ride begins with me hoping for a shred of evidence of my past strength, but ends with me wondering when something good is going to happen. Every. Single. Day.
I saddle up and struggle to get comfortable. Then it is SNAFU….and nothing to report. Oh sure, there is an occasional glimpse of power like when I tuck into the TT position and TRY to go fast. But that always ends with my heart POUNDING like a drum during the High School fight song, sweat pouring down my face like someone dumped a bucket of water on my head, and my legs SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER to stop or at least slow down. Dutifully I wind it down and plod the rest of the way to work or home. Every day. And you know wut? It’s getting old!
Yesterday’s Ride
Which is why yesterday’s ride was so much a pleasure that I am pounding out this note. First, I took the sunrise photo….wait a second, that was a little later in the ride. First, I had a nice little warm up…..no wait, that was before I realized it was going to be a good day! The first thing I did was…wow, I’m writing myself into a corner. Back in a sec…..
Much time has passed. Cup of coffee in hand, a Saturday morning happening all around, and a clear mind. OK, here is how the ride happened; I started the day off at 5:30 am with a shower, got some breakfast and pondered the day. The weather has been trending hotter and hotter until yesterday when we actually busted a hundred degrees. So it’s been hot. I’ve also been having trouble with my weight. After 9 months of being off the bike, I gained 16 pounds. This is understandable (not acceptable, but I’m past that). So after being ON the bike for almost three months, I thought I might have some success to share. Alas, that is not the case, as I am down only 6 pounds (might be the beer, or my darn sweet tooth…don’t know for certain). Anyway, clocking the scale at 186, I am still carrying 10 lbs. too many. So I’m working on that too.
But I stopped after my morning cereal and thought, “today is going to be a good day”. And way back in the 80’s I learned from Jack and Gary Kinder, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” So what happens today is my fault. I can make it or break it. Today is my day. It’s up to me.
So I got in the closet and dressed for success. Instead of riding shorts, I put on my bibs. These provide excellent comfort and do not allow any chafing in the seat area. They also wick away moisture really well and just make for an all around better feeling outfit for a long ride. And today was going to be that 18 mile ride in to work and eighteen mile back home; with the return during the 100 degree sunny afternoon. Comfort would be important.
The day got going with some really good energy, a good vibe, and some hope for a good ride. I was a little late out the door so I decided to cut corners if I could. Having shed some demons by giving myself a little pep talk is a good thing to do anytime you can do it, and by golly I did it, so lets get this thing underway! I pushed off and here we go.
I ride back behind my old High School, note the darkness all around, and quietly thank the manufacturer for the light I bought a couple of years ago. I can see the street really well and I’m fairly certain drivers and anyone looking my way won’t miss the glowing orb coming toward them. I’m seriously lit up!
Then it is past the old bridge on Norris and I’m taking back roads all the way over to the bike trail at Watt Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard. In a zig zag pattern I’m crossing Marconi Avenue, then Arden Way, and then I’m across Fair Oaks Blvd. before dropping down onto the bike trail. And here is where I have a decision to make, do I continue on for the sake of getting the full 18 miles or do I take the shortcut through Sacramento State University and arrive to work on time. Since I started my ride ten minutes late, I take the shortcut. It cuts the ride by about 4 miles and will easily save a few minutes, so I’ll be okay on time.
Morning Rides are BEST!
This is why I ride a bike...Sunrise over the American River
The ride gets started up again and I am noticing I have some “legs” today. But the streets of downtown are waiting for me and I don’t really feel like going hard, so I continue on to work and arrive in the bike lock-up room at the designated time of 7:20. Here it is Friday and an 8 hour shift awaits.
The workday is over and here is the good part; time to ride! Like I’ve said before, “work is the thing I do between rides.”
Warm up with a ride through the streets of Old Sacramento. There’s Fannie Anne’s on the right, there’s the old candy shop, here comes the Train Depot. People are everywhere walking the planks out in front of the shops, I have only a few cars to contend with, and it’s on to the bike trail. Here comes Discovery Park, and just like that it is behind me. I decide to test my legs.
And here is where it gets REALLY good. I tuck in to the Time Trial position. Elbows are resting on the handlebars and my hands lightly hold the shifter cables out in front of the bike. My neck has been getting better and better at holding my head up to see the road streaming in front of me and the bike is in its highest gear selection. This is a hard test and you can get going around 28 to 32 mph…..and that is what I am going! Mile one comes and goes. My heart rate is hammering out a nice tempo, my mouth is agape and pulling in air for my lungs to process the coveted oxygen, and my legs are busy just doing their job of mashing the pedals toward the ground again and again; today with power!
Huh? What is happening?? My mind is REELING! Is this really going on? Like a finely tuned athlete, I am SCORCHING the bike path and seriously LOVING IT! This is very similar to some of the efforts I was able to do before Cancer came a calling on my prostate!!
Mile two is here and yes, I am spent. But I should be! Maybe I should not have gone so hard for so long, but I did….and here I am to talk about it. I survived the test! And my brain is now thinking (and worrying just a little) about how I’m going to get the rest of the way home. And instead of LISTENING TO THAT CRAP, I motored home, pushing it the entire way. My ride of 18 miles was completed in just less than the 70 minutes it has been taking me. Pre-surgery I was doing this regularly at 60 minutes, and I am very pleased with the results of this ride of 58 minutes!
The take-away here? Never, ever, stop trying. Strive to do something and then give yourself a chance to be the winner you are.
Today is your day….what are you going to do with it?
Believe it. Do it. Begin now.
Alexa’s Graduation Gallery – chapter 3
Gallery Complete!
Here are the final shots for you to review. As you will see, there are some really beautiful people on this planet and I had the opportunity to get some shots of them in action. I hope you enjoy the pix!
Instructions
Not much to report here. Click one of the little photos below and it will open its larger brethren. Use the Back button to get back to the Gallery.
Business, then we move on
You want some of the full-sized photos for printing? Identify them in an email and make a little donation to my Lens Fund. I’ll reply with your high-resolution photos. It’s easy! Here’s the link to my PayPal account. And remember; any amount will do!
I hope you find a photo or two puts a smile on your face!
Look around, post your thoughts, and/or send an email {dbmcclellan@live.com}. I would love to know you enjoyed (or hated…I get that not everyone loves to have their picture taken. And heck, if you say it right I might even pull down a photo or two if you explain it in rage-filled detail noting the img# and which Gallery you viewed it in) one or two of the photos. Drop me a line. I’d love to know your thoughts.
On with the show!
~david
Alexa’s Graduation Gallery – part deux
Project Update
If you want to know more about what is going on here, refer to the post below this one. The Reader’s Digest version of the project is: Alexa graduated from High School. Yay! There was a little gathering with some of her friends over at her Mom’s place, and photos were taken. Web versions of some of the photos are below. Click on one of them and give a review!
Lens Fund
The business end of this project is this: you want some of the full-sized photos for printing? You identify them, send me an email, and make a little donation to my Lens Fund. Easy! Here’s the button:
Now that the business part of this is over, here you go…..MORE IMAGES!
I hope you enjoy them.
~david
Alexa’s Graduation Gallery
Hi all,
Happily, the images showed up (below), and I continue my reign as Web Genius. Yay!
Gallery Instructions
After you select one of the thumbnail images below and want to view the next large image, just click your mouse anywhere inside the pic. The software control will auto-magically move to the next image. Now, if you want to go BACK one image, slide down to just underneath the photograph to find the navigation controls. Click Back or Next. I promise, this is as easy as it gets.
To get started, slide down below these words and click on one of the thumbnails. Then, get ready to enjoy the photos!
Why I do it
For those of you who do NOT know who I am or why I do this photography thing; it is because I love taking pictures of people. Faces, complete with all their bumps, crevices, and lines remind me of life itself. Its landscape is a reminder of the life we have all lived up until the moment the picture is captured. It fascinates me and should be a pleasant reminder to us all of the fantastic life we have enjoyed so far!
For you to have allowed me to freeze your image, to save your visage onto my camera, is both an honor and privilege for me. And for that, I thank you.
Fine Print
Not really fine print, per se, but here’s how you can leverage the power of pixels to your advantage. The images in the gallery are posted at 800×600 pixels…..websites don’t work too well when there are lots of large files being accessed……and this will look great on the computer monitor, laptop, iPad, or cell phone you are viewing them on. LOOKING at them is great! Printing? Not so much. But, have no fear, I have also created the facility for you to receive the FULL SIZED 3 – 7 MB file, which is great for printing.
If you make a donation (click on the DONATE button) I’ll send you the photos you would like. Click the button to send ANY AMOUNT of cash-money my way. Your choice. A buck. Five. Ten. Whatever. Click the button. I use PayPal which is quick, easy, and free. Your donation will go to my Lens Fund. When it is full to the brim, I’ll upgrade my lens (yeah, in about ten years. The one I want is $1600). What do you think? Use one of your meat-digits to mash the DONATE button and lets get this party started!
I hope you enjoy the pix. It was fun to share the day with you!
~david
PS this is a work in progress and I do all my photo work after dark. There are nearly 300 useable photos and they all need processing, which is time consuming. Visit again soon, there will be more!
The Pictures Just Keep Comin’
This is the view of Old Sacramento from the CalSTRS building…..15th floor! CalSTRS is the short version of California State Teachers Retirement System and the building is just two years old. As a matter of interest, I am told the building sways on a windy day. Now wouldn’t THAT be odd?!
Old Sacramento from up high
Bridge Over Troubled Waters?
Tower Bridge spanning the Sacramento River
Definitely a bridge. Definitely over water. I’m not certain it is a bridge over “troubled” waters but hey, YOU try to write that phrase without singing at least PART of the Simon & Garfunkel song of the same name (for the young uns out there Simon & Garfunkel were a very talented song writing team during the ’70’s. After much drama they split. Check it out when you have some time.) inside your head.
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