I received a Field Company No. 8 cast iron skillet from my daughter and future son-in-law as a Christmas Gift! It is beautiful!
If you are looking for a very smooth surfaced cast iron skillet, you would be hard pressed to find a better one than a Field Company skillet! For modern skillets, most are very rough in cooking surface (check out modern Lodge skillets!) but there are a number of American companies now offering their versions of how cast iron was made in the past.
I have many skillets from vintage companies like Griswold and Lodge and even a Blacklock skillet (my oldest skillet) and I gave away my vintage Wagner-Ware skillets to my future son-in-law. He returned the favor by getting me this modern Field Company skillet! What a beauty! It is no doubt the smoothest cast iron skillet I now own.
I'm going to season all of my cast iron skillets today. It's not that hard to do, but a necessity if you own cast iron. I highly suggest following the instructions of my Facebook buddy Jeff Rogers - The Culinary Fanatic. Check out this instructional video! and also the second half of this video.
Thanks to my daughter and future son-in-law for the extravagent gift!
This year's Christmas service was mainly Christmas songs and a nice message from Pastor Amy Mikal. A choir was off to stage left, but we could barely hear them over the worship band. Still, it was good singing the songs. As always, a good service at Willow Creek North Shore Church!
I took these images with my Nikon D850 and a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRii lens from the back of the church auditorium. Usually it is best standing in the back of a room to minimize getting in people's way and to get better shots. Images were taken in Aperture Priority at f2.8. Exposure Compensation was needed to get the right exposures.
It has been a while since I talked about what I have in my camera case!
Here's a list of what I typically bring with me in my Pelican 1510 case when I go on a field shoot:
Nikon D850
Vello BG-N19-2 Battery Grip
(2) Nikon EN-EL15a batteries
Nikon MH-25a Battery Charger
Lexar 64 GB XQD card (440 MB/S)
Sony 64 GB SF-G64/T1 SDXC UHS-II Class 10 U3 card (299 MB/S)
Sony MRW-E90 XQD Card Reader
Extra SD cards and XQD cards
Balanced Exposure Custom White Balance Reflector
Nikon 16mm f2.8D Fisheye Lens
Nikon 50mm f1.4 Lens
Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 Lens
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 Lens
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII Lens
Nikon TC-17EII Teleconverter
Nikon 60mm f2.8 Micro Lens
Nikon SB-800 Flash
Nikon MC-30 Remote Shutter Release Cable
Generic Radio Frequency Wireless Shutter Release transmitter / receiver
Nikon SC-28 Remote Flash Cable
Various Microfiber Cloths
Demb Flash Diffuser Pro
Giottos Medium Rocket Blaster Dust Removal Blower
Minolta Auto Meter VF - Incident Light / Flash Meter
Hoya 77mm Variable Neutral Density Filter
B&W 77mm Circular Polarizing Filter
Lux Pro LP290V2 LED Flash Light
Extra AA and AAA Batteries (Kirkland and Rayovac brands)
Evidence Rulers
Bubble Level I also carry backup camera bodies, flash, stands, tripods, stands, studio flashes, etc... outside of the case, but this list is what's currently in my case. I feel this is enough equipment to get me through most situations. I bring additional gear if and when the job requires it. Also, each lens has a UV filter on it for protecting the lens. Lenses also have lens hoods.
This is Jennifer. She worked at the San Diego District Attorney's Office when I was an Investigative Technician there. I believe she was also Miss La Mesa California back in the early 1990's or at least competed.
I asked if she would model for me as I had just purchased a Bronica SQ-Ai square 6x6cm medium format camera and a Bronica 120mm f4.0 lens. (Since 80mm is the normal perspective lens on the medium format film, 120mm would be the equivalent to a 75mm lens in 35mm - or "full frame" in digital.). I shot this image with color transparency film and this is a conversion to digital of that film. I cropped it to a 4x5 aspect ratio.
We shot a number of images in my garage. I converted the 3 car garage of my home into a portrait studio. I shot a number of my wedding clients there as well. We'd do their wedding and the next day, they would come in (before the tux was returned to the rental shop) and do some formal studio portraits. Ah, the good ol' days!
There seemed to be a lot more kids in my sessions than last year. Last year, I was advertised as Russell Lowe - Photographer / Evidence Technician. This year, I was known as Russell Lowe - Evidence Technician. Seems more kids are interested in learning about what it is like to be an Evidence Technician than just a Photographer!
I told the kids about what is needed to be an evidence tech and also gave them a chance to try their hands at using some magnetic fingerprint powder with a magnetic fingerprint brush. They all seemed really interested. "Oh wow! That is SO COOL!" could be heard at every session when they saw the latent prints being developed. It really makes you feel good when your audience is having so much fun learning!
All presenters were given a hot plate made by the kids. I chose the "Fireman" since I was talking about the Police. Hey, makes sense to me! :)
I did 6 half hour sessions. I had perhaps 15-20 kids per session in attendance.
I received this award from the Administration of Justice Department at Grossmont College when I went there to learn to be an Evidence Technician. I graduated with a 3.94 out of 4.0 (just one grade shy of a 4.0). I was surprised when the school presented me with this award just before graduation. My name is also engraved on a trophy that is in the trophy case at the school along with others who were awarded the award. One student gets the award each year. It was and is still a great honor for which I am very grateful even to this day. I ended up graduating with a degree in Evidence Technology and also a degree in Pre Law / Court Management.
My bachelor's degree however is actually in Electronics Engineering Technology from DeVry Institute of Technology. I used that knowledge when I worked at my dad's stereo store right after college and then later it came in handy while working at the DA's Office in San Diego.
I noticed some key differences while at the San Francisco Costco compared to the Costco's I'm so familiar with in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago.
For a Thursday at 12 Noon, the Costco was already very crowded. Lots of cars and people! The cars have a parking garage rather than an outdoor lot so that they can fit more cars in the same footprint due to the numerous levels. Land is a premium in San Francisco!
The shopping carts are gathered by a person running a tractor instead of pushed by hand and foot! He gathers the carts and pushes them towards the entrance area with the tractor. It's a sight to see.
The inside of the Costco is pretty much the same as any other Costco in Chicago but perhaps a bit bigger. I noticed that they had four ovens of rotisserie cookers for the $4.99 chickens. They must sell a lot of chickens! Most Costcos I've seen in Chicago only have two ovens.
While the prices of the food court food is the same, the food court is run differently. Orders are done on kiosks. You tap the touchscreen to place your order, pay with a credit card and take the receipt to the order pick up window. This is a much faster system than we have back in the Chicago area! I wish they incorporate this where I live in the future! With so many people ordering food, the seating area however is not as good as it is in Chicago. There are row benches and long tables where everyone sits together rather than small tables where only 4 people sit together in Chicago. I suppose this is the most efficient way to get more people seating, but it's a bit strange eating food with strangers next to you.
One aspect I really like though in San Francisco is hearing all the Chinese people speaking mainly in the Toisan or Cantonese Chinese dialect. I understand Toisan fully, but not as much Cantonese. They are similar however. Mandarin is totally different sounding and I've yet to hear this in San Francisco. Hearing everyone speaking Toisan just proves that many of the Chinese who came over to the US so many years ago were from the small villages that my own ancestors came from. Always fun to hear the older women talking in Toisan!
I went Trick or Treating with my nephew and his two classmates and my sister this year in San Francisco. We went up and down two major streets and they collected treats from a bunch of retail stores.
During dinner, my nephew poured out his candy to see what he got. Lots of mini candy bars and other goodies! After dinner, we went out again. We didn't return home until 8 PM!
I rode my mobility scooter up and down the street as the kids went into the stores to get candy. On the way home, I had to push the scooter a couple of blocks because it could not go up the steep hills of the streets to get back home. That was tough. The battery kicked in its circuit breaker to keep the battery from overheating!
Earlier in the day, I shot the photo of my nephew with my cane... Spiderman with a disability! I rarely use my cane, but I bring it to San Francisco in case I need it while walking the difficult streets there.
Around 1990 (give or take a year or two), I was working for the San Diego District Attorney's Office as an Investigative Technician in the Technical Services Unit.
One of my jobs was to take photographs of crime scenes and other things that the DA's Office needed for preparing cases to go to court. But one day, my supervisor asked me to go to Coronado, CA to visit the USS Independence (an aircraft carrier) to take photos for an article that was to be published in Law Enforcement Quarterly - a magazine that was published by the DA's Office.
The article was going to cover the work of the NIS (Naval Investigative Service) and how they deal with investigations, so one of the Lieutenants on the ship showed me around and helped pose in several of my shots. The NIS is now more commonly known as the NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Services), but back then, they were just the NIS (you can see it on the front of the jackets in the photos above).
My supervisor was scheduled to do this special shoot, but unfortunately could not make it so he assigned me to go instead. He was really looking forward to touring the aircraft carrier, but he had no choice but to assign me instead since he had another commitment. It was the first and only time I had been on an aircraft carrier.
After the shoot, the Lieutenant stopped by the ship's store and bought me a cap (which I still have today). I thanked him and brought it back to the DA's Office to show my supervisor what I got. Boy... was he jealous! He asked if I knew what I had in my hands... "Sure, a cap from the ship!" Well, he went on to tell me that not only was it a USS Independence cap, but it had bars on the visor... it was an Officer's cap! Apparently the crew member saw the Lieutenant's rank on his uniform and sold him an Officer's cap!
These photos were the images that were published for that article. The original images were taken with a Nikon FM2 camera (can't recall which Nikon lens) with Kodak Kodachrome color slide transparencies. I converted the images to 45.7 MP quality and corrected the exposures and colors in Adobe Photoshop. While the lens was not anywhere close to my best lenses today, I'm still glad to have these images and the rest of the grouping of images I shot that day.
Thanks to my former supervisor and to the Lieutenant for a memorable time!
For seven years, I worked at my dad's stereo store... Component Stereo in Skokie, IL. It's where I learned about running a business and the art of sales.
Originally, we started out at a small single space store on Gross Point Road and Church Street in Skokie but after two years, we moved to the store depicted above on Oakton Street and Kolmar Ave. in Skokie... right across the street from Record City. We thought being close by a record store made sense.
The larger store had three sound rooms which my dad, brother and I built. The front of the store had all the accessories and tape and cartridges in display counters. Later, another company joined in our store and opened Component Service which took in equipment for repair. The technician rented space from us and ran that part of the business separate from us.
Over the years, the equipment changed starting with companies like Marantz, Technics, Koss and others to more high-end audio equipment. I'll try to list as many as I can remember below.
I can credit my dad for having the foresight to create a business where I had an interest and also to do so to keep me out of trouble. Now I don't know if I'd actually get in trouble if I didn't work at the store, but that's what my mom told me. "Your dad opened the store to keep you out of trouble." Not quite sure what she meant by that. :)
At the time we operated from 1978 to 1985, our competitors included: MusiCraft, Pacific Stereo, United Audio, Audio Consultants, Victor's Stereo, Paul Heath Audio, and Quintessence Audio.
I wish I had more photos of the store, but these images converted from 35mm film negatives were all I could find.
Here's a list of equipment companies I can remember we sold:
Superscope
Marantz
Technics
Rotel
Nikko Audio
Hitachi
Toshiba
Denon
Luxman
Audio Technica
Shure
Ortofon
Grado
Sumiko
SME
Premier
Grace
Alphason
Platter Matter
Dudley Glass Sound Mat
Monster Cable
Ariston
Dual
Optonica
Sota
JA Mitchell
Hafler
VSP Labs
Amber
Wharfedale
3D Acoustics
Kirksaeter (Loudspeakers)
Rich Acoustics
BML / Tracer
Koss (Loudspeakers and Stereophones)
Sony Headphones
DCM
Visonik
Allison Acoustics
Cerwin-Vega!
Paisley
Jamo
JVC Video
Ampex
TDK
Maxell
RKO
Bone Fone
Discwasher
Audio Control
AudioSource
Terk Antennas
Texas Instruments
Bone Fone
Switchcraft
Gusdorf Cabinets
Dane Furn Cabinets
Chicago Speaker Stand
Sonex
These are a couple of my favorite images that I shot while working at the San Diego District Attorneys Office.
Gene Wolberg was the firearms examiner for San Diego Police Department and I was assigned to take a photo of him for an article to be published in “Law Enforcement Quarterly Magazine”. I asked him if I could take some photos of him while he was working in the firearms lab. He agreed and we got some great portraits. But after we were done, I asked him to give me one good pose of a "madman with a gun" so he picked up this Uzi and gave me this shot!
I remember Gene as the most knowledgable guy about firearms around and most people in law enforcement in California would agree. He was a great guy, but I learned a few years ago that he had passed away. He is definitely missed.
I shot the B&W images, developed the film and printed the prints at the DA’s Office’s darkroom.
These images were converted from B&W negatives to high resolution digital files... a service that Balanced Exposure will be offering starting next week. 35mm color or B&W negatives or slides can be converted to very high resolution files. Stay tuned for more info!
Friday, October 05, 2018
I've been playing guitar for about 50 years and playing the electric bass about 40 years. I normally set up all of my own guitars, but I've never done it for my bass.
I purchased this 5-string Fender Jazz Bass perhaps 15 or 16 years ago and never had it adjusted from when it was purchased new. When new, it wasn't bad to play, but over the years, it just got harder and harder. I believe the neck was most likely bowing slightly and it needed its truss rod adjusted.
Never having done that myself on a bass, I thought it best to have a professional do it, so I brought it to Guitar Works in Evanston, IL. I had been there in the past to watch my friend Doyle Dykes play there and from my visit there, I knew they would do a good job.
A very nice older Japanese gentleman took my bass in and did the set up. He is also a bass player, so I knew it would be in good hands. I'd rather a bass player do the setup rather than a guitar player who really has no idea of how a bass should be setup properly!
I was right! He did an amazing job! The setup makes the bass play so much easier now! It feels like a new bass again!
Highly recommended if you've never had a professional setup done on your instrument!
By the way, my daughter took this bass and learned how to play it herself and joined the 8th grade Jazz Band! She was actually quite good for self taught! I remember at one of the jazz band seminars (they had a guest conductor), the conductor asked the jazz band, "Who do you follow in the band?" Everyone answered, "ROBYN!" It was quite funny! I think the conductor was going for either, "Follow each other" or "Follow the direction of the conductor."
To this date, she can't remember how to play the bass any more since she hasn't picked it up in all these years!
For her 8th grade graduation present, I bought her a matching Fender Stratocaster. She can't remember how to play that either! ;)
This weekend was busy for me! On Friday, I met with a couple of my high school friends and my brother for my friend's birthday lunch at RAM restaurant and then later went to a bowling party celebrating the 60th birthday of all of my high school classmates (I'm one year younger than they are since I skipped 3rd grade). On Saturday, my daughter's alumni association held a get together at the Cubs game (we lost 2-1 to the Cardinals). Not the greatest seats there, but still a good time as always at the ballpark!
On Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend the Chicago Bulls vs New Orleans Pelicans Pre-Season game this evening. My wife's company gave her four tickets and VIP parking! Each ticket was worth $499! I don't know what the parking cost, but it was right next to the building. In fact, somebody's Lamborghiniwas parked about 50 feet from my car!
My niece and nephew along with my wife and I were seated in section 111, Row B which is on the floor of the stadium! Most would say these were GREAT seats... just shy of being courtside, but I found them not ideal for photography. They were good if you wanted to be really close to the players and the action though!
From past experience shooting games a bit higher up in the stands, I found that being higher up gives you a better angle to take photos if you have a telephoto lens with you since other people heads don't really get in your way. But we were at floor level this time and people in front of me made it harder to get a clean shot.
Also, due to a new ruling, my camera and lenses were denied access to the game, so I had to take all photos with my iPhone 6s+! Just entering The United Center, the security guard took one look at my camera and lenses and said she would need to call to see if they would allow my "professional" camera into the game. I told her I have been taking this camera into games for several years, but after getting confirmation from the head of security, she said they changed the rules this year and that only cameras with non-detachable lenses were allowed in. That means Point and Shoot cameras or Smart Phones! Because of this, I had to return my camera and lenses to the trunk of my car.
We were really too close to use a long lens, but it would have been nice having my DSLR camera with at least a 24-70mm lens. But that too was a detachable lens, so it was banned along with my camera.
I did see at least one person in the stadium that had a DSLR camera, so it seems if you have a small enough camera and lens on and security doesn't recognize it, you could sneak it in. But at this point, I'd have to say you are best to leave your good cameras at home. The United Center is no longer letting you bring the gear in. Very sad!
The best I was able to get was some video of the game and of the cheerleaders (The Luvabulls) with my Apple iPhone 6s+ and a couple of shots of the game, but not much. These were the only "decent" photos I was able to get with my phone! The rest were either blurry from too slow a shutter speed or they just were not good because other fans heads were in the way. Had we been higher up, I could have avoided the other people's heads in the shots. The iPhone just is not good for action shots!
The only reason I was even able to get the shots that you see here is because I have an ap on my phone called "ProCamera" that allows me to change the shutter speed and ISO. I had to shoot at 1/320 second or faster to get anything worthwhile. The players move too quickly and even the Luvabulls move too fast. The standard camera ap on the iPhone does not allow you to make shutter speed adjustments. The images were also cleaned up in Lightroom to fix noise and color.
So while being so close was good as a spectator to get closer to the action, it wasn't good as a photographer with only a smart phone to use as a camera. I did note that if you are down in the VIP section where we were, servers bring you your food (if you want some) instead of you having to leave the game to get it in the concession stands! Plus, the padded folding chairs on the floor are actually quite comfortable and spaced apart better than the seats in the stands.
The Bulls beat the Pelicans with a score of 128 to 116. It was a pre-season game, so it didn't count, but it was definitely a high scoring game!
Oh, I almost forgot... my wife and I were featured on the huge video monitor above the stadium! You can see a shot of the monitor in the last photo above. We were on the "Kiss Cam" segment during one of the time-outs! Seated just to the left and one row in front of us was some VIP who every waitstaff seemed to know. Well, he waved over the cameraman to him so that he could kiss his wife (I'm assuming it was his wife) and after that, the camera panned over to us since there wasn't anyone sitting directly in front of us. I noticed we were on the huge monitor and that the video camera was now pointed towards us, so I told my wife we needed to kiss. She wasn't really paying attention, so when she saw the camera she allowed me a quick kiss. Well, that did not sit well with everyone in the stadium who quickly gave us a "boo", so I told her, we will need to kiss again. This time, it was a lot longer and that got a huge round of approval from the fans! That's the first time we have ever had to do that in front of thousands of fans!
While I wasn't able to get any good photos of the game, we all had a good time anyway and at least I can say I was on the big overhead monitor!
My family went to my daughter's alumni association's Cubs vs Cardinals game on Saturday, Sept 29. Cardinals beat us 1-2.
It was cold, so we all had to wear jackets over our cubs attire! Before the game, her college held a lunch at Draft Kings at Wrigley Field. There were hot dogs, hamburgers and spicy chicken burgers! Beer and soft drinks were also served.
Saw this little girl with her dad at the game and had to take the shot. Too cute not to do it! I don't know who they are:
