dbmcclellan.com
….be unique, like everyone else!
Tag Archives: photography
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
Nokia Lumia 920 – my next phone
Nokia and Microsoft have finally announced their new phone, the Lumia 920. It is running Windows Phone 8, which synchronizes with all your computing needs as quickly and easily as it is to login to your Live Account, and it is almost here! Check out this link to Nokia.
Wireless charging? Yep. Anti-shake technology baked into the camera? Check. Screenshots? Finally! And all sorts of other magic….coming soon!
From Engadget, here is a little info about the specs:
As one of the first Windows Phone 8 devices to be officially announced, this device augments Espoo’s line with a larger, curved 4.5-inch PureMotion HD+ display, dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2,000mAh battery, NFC, integrated wireless charging and an 8-megapixel rear PureView camera capable of 1080p video. The display packs WXGA (1,280 x 768) resolution, is 25 percent brighter than the next best panel on the market and it’s the fastest LCD that Nokia has ever shipped on a smartphone. What’s more, the screen also boasts what Nokia calls “Super Sensitive Touch,” which promises to let you use it even when wearing gloves or mitts.
Did you catch that? A 4.5″ HD display, dual-core SnapDragon CPU, and a Synaptics touchscreen fully functional even with gloves on. This is great news for the Techies (good specs) and even better news for Joe and Josephine SixPack (great function) who will be living with the phone and its capabilities.
Also, for you Spec-Heads:
- 8.7 megapixel camera sensor
- 2.0 camera aperture (great low-light photos)
- Camera Resolution 3264 x 2448 pixels
- 1280×768 pixel screen
- 4.5″ HD+ display
- 332 pixel density
- Corning Gorilla Glass
- 1GB RAM
- 32GB storage + 7GB SkyDrive
- Front Facing Camera
- DLNA compatible (share photos/video on TV screen)
Wireless Connections
- Near Field Communication
- Bluetooth 3.1
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Channel bonding
- WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
- Qi Wireless charging
I can’t wait for this one!
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….
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.
dbmcclellan.com 