Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The Police - Synchronicity - Album Cover 1983










Remember this album cover from the music group, "The Police"?  It's from their 1983 album, "Synchronicity".

My cousin Nadine is on this cover if you look at the lower left corner of the album, but she's in other areas of the cover too.  On some releases of the album, you can see her holding an umbrella next to guitarist Andy Summers.  Apparently there were 36 variations on this cover!

Not sure of the story of how she got on the album cover, but if memory serves me, I think she happened to be at a party where The Police were at and they just asked if she wanted to be on the album artwork.

Anyway, just thought about this after all these years, so I decided to post it on my blog.  I'll ask her one day!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Pelican 1510 Camera Case


I had a question as to what cameras and lenses I currently have and use. Good question!


As of today (and it changes all the time, it seems), after selling my Nikon D4s camera, here's what is in my Pelican 1510 case:


Nikon D750 camera with MB-D16 battery grip and two batteries

Nikon Df camera and two batteries
Nikon 16mm f2.8 fisheye lens
Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 ultrawide angle zoom lens
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 standard zoom lens
Nikon 50mm f1.4 prime lens
Nikon 60mm f2.8 micro lens (Nikon calls macro lenses, micro)
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 telephoto lens
Nikon TC-17EII - 1.7x teleconverter for the 70-200mm lens
Nikon SB800 flash (2)
Minolta Autometer Vf - incident light / flash meter
Kenko KFM-1100 - incident light / flash meter
Photovision 14" Pocket Digital Calibration Target
Alien Bees - Cyber Commander - flash transmitter
Hoya 77mm variable neutral density filter
B&W 77mm ND 0.9 neutral density filter
B&W 77mm Circular Polarizing filter
Various cables for flash
Hex drivers for adjusting flash bracket
Newton Flash Bracket (not in the case, but used with my flashes)


 Also, not in the case is a Canon EOS 70D with Canon 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 STM lens.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Cub Cadet Snow Blower Purchased in October


Bought a 2 stage, 4 cycle snowblower today at Costco. Can't believe I did that and there's no snow yet! But I figured if I didn't get it soon, they could run out. Sure enough, two days ago there were two new units in stock. When I went there today, there was only one! I bought the last one still in a box. I guess I'm not the only one thinking I'd better be ready for winter!

This is the first snowblower I ever purchased! My first one (still working) was my dad's old Toro snow thrower. Small and electric powered, it still works! My second was a 2 cycle snowblower given to me by my sister-in-law. It started having problems two years ago and finally died last year during the biggest snow storm of the year. My neighbor helped snowblow my driveway with a unit similar to this one. So I figured I'd better get a new snowblower this year!

Friday, October 09, 2015

Thursday, October 08, 2015

Cross Spider


I found this Cross Spider near my front door, hanging in the corner!  While it is non-venomous, it's still scary!

Image taken with a Lumix DMC-LX5 four-thirds image sensor camera with its built-in flash.

Monday, October 05, 2015

U-505 Submarine at The Museum of Science and Industry





I went to the Museum of Science and Industry today.  I've been there many times before.  I also knew that they remodeled the U-505 submarine exhibit many years ago, but I never went in there since the remodeling until today.  I was very surprise to see the submarine inside the building!  Since I was young, it was always outside the building and all we got to see was the inside of the sub.

Well, seeing it up close from the outside of the submarine was unbelievable!  It is a lot larger than I had first thought it would be!  Of course, inside is still cramped, but outside, it's huge!

I didn't go inside the sub because I've been in there many times in the past.  I didn't even bring my DSLR cameras with me!  All I brought was my small Lumix DMC-LX5 four-thirds sensor camera that I usually bring when fishing.  I couldn't get the whole sub in my shot with the built-in lens making me immediately wishing I had my Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 ultrawide angle lens and Nikon D750 instead.  Oh well, like they say, the best camera is the one you have with you!

Friday, October 02, 2015

12 lb Female King Salmon from Racine Harbor






My fishing partner Jim and I went to Racine Harbor in Racine, Wisconsin today.  Lots of fish jumping around the boat dock area, but only Jim was able to catch a fish.  It was a 12 lb female King Salmon with lots of roe!

I'm done for the season with absolutely no nibbles or bites the entire season!  Terrible!  It was tough for everyone it seemed this year, but Jim was able to get a big fish earlier this season only to lose it when we tried to net it near the rocks.  This time, we made sure the fish was nowhere near the rocks when we brought it in!

Balanced Exposure Classroom Updated with 65" Monitor as well as 108" Projection







The Balanced Exposure classroom has been updated!  While the monitor on the floor might not look like much, the addition of it makes it a lot easier to see the sample images compared to the projector when the lights are still on (see the last image above).  Also, the maximum number of students allowed during a class has now been reduced to 14 for more student/teacher interaction.