Month: August 2011

Wow! I posted my dilemma at Apple’s support community for iPad and someone who uses a Nikon D5100 and shoots RAW + JPEG thought the problem was that I shoot RAW; I changed the setting from RAW to RAW + JPEG, took a photo of the closest thing (the iPad Camera Connection Kit box) and uploaded it to the iPad; that was the problem. The photo uploaded correctly to the iPad. If I just shot JPEG, I would have had no problem but I want to shoot RAW so I’m going to have to modify my settings for Italy and, of course, get some extra memory cards because that setting uses twice as much memory. Oy Vey!!

Here is the photo of the oak grove that I uploaded to my iPad. I can’t change the photo on the iPad because it was photographed using RAW but I also uploaded it to my computer. It’s nothing great but it’s my photo of the day:

Focal Length 35mm
ISO 100
f/8
1/100
SOOC

I have considered putting In Focus Daily on hiatus while I travel to Italy in September. Today I am giving my iPad another shot to see if I can successfully post to my blog just using the iPad (and my camera, of course). For some reason I couldn’t make it work right in my trials before visiting the Pacific Northwest in June so I gave up and took my laptop instead of the iPad. Let’s see if I can do this!

Today’s photo is a grove of valley oak trees on Fiddyment Road in Roseville near my house. I took about a twenty shots and have successfully downloaded a select few to my iPad. I was able to view the photos on the iPad and select one for my blog.

I seem to have figured out how to write my post. Now let’s see if I can upload the photo to the post.

Well I obviously don’t have it figured out yet. I can see the photos on my iPad in large, clear format. It uploads to WordPress as a Thumbnail and when enlarged it is pixilated. Aarrgghhh!!!! I thought I had it figured out. I’m not giving up yet.

Well it seems to be the camera import. I took the wine picture on my iPad. Does this mean I have to run all over Italy with my iPad instead of my Nikon?

My friend Royetta suggested I photograph the zinnias in her garden today; it is a breathtaking riot of vibrant colors. I took a few photos that show off her beautiful garden, but I was most intrigued by how this photo, with its backlit petals, leaves, and stems, shows the tiny hairs outlining the flower. I took this photo crouching down with the lens up facing into the sun; the resulting lens flare popping out of the flower is a bonus.

Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/13
1/160
SOOC

I spent the day visiting family and friends in Santa Rosa. After a wonderful lunch at Monti’s Rotisserie and Bar in the much-changed-since-I-lived-there Montgomery Village, we wandered through the shopping center and of course paid a visit to one of my favorite places in the entire world.

Focal Length 34mm
ISO 200
f/5.6
1/100
SOOC

As a kid, I remember riding the carousel at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and trying to grab the brass ring but never succeeding. I don’t think the carousel at the Arden Fair Mall has a brass ring. I happened upon the carousel this afternoon and walked over to take a few photos. I was focusing my attention more on avoiding photographing little kids on the carousel than on proper exposure. The carousel was between me and the window and I failed to increase the ISO or slow the shutter speed for the proper exposure so I had to tweak this photo, increasing exposure a little and applying curves. Still, I’m taken with the face of this horse. He looks gleeful. And I didn’t notice the pig reflected in the mirror or the lapping tongue of another horse in the upper left corner until I downloaded the photos.

Focal Length 135mm
ISO 200
f/5.6
1/160

Following an afternoon of finalizing plans for our upcoming trip to Italy, my friend Linda took me to dinner at Waterboy in midtown Sacramento for a belated birthday celebration. Linda has friends in high places at Waterboy and I was greeted with happy birthday wishes and glasses of champagne as we were seated. It was my first time eating at Waterboy and we had an exceptional dinner. I had spicy tuna and white bean crostini followed by a salad of local baby beets with goat cheese, and an entrée of grilled salmon with aioli, summer squash, and green beans. Linda had oysters on the half shell, sautéed sweetbreads, and her entrée was homemade pasta with bacon, goat cheese and tomatoes. Although I was sated from the delectable feast, after dinner I was presented with a dish of yummy freshly made strawberry ice cream with a burning birthday candle. It was a delightful celebration.

Focal Length 48mm
ISO 400
f/5.6
1/80
Cropped

A small white butterfly flitting elusively among the herbs on my patio caught my eye this morning. I failed to capture it with my 18-200mm lens but a change to the 70-300mm lens did the trick. I don’t know why. He must have needed a rest once I changed lenses but not for long; This is one of only two shots I got!

Focal Length 300 mm
ISO 100
f/11
1/80
Cropped

I was standing on the sidewalk on Antelope Road this morning, trying to capture an interesting composition with converging lines of crape myrtles, sidewalks, and walls when I looked up and who should putt into my viewfinder but this colorfully dressed guy on a small motorized scooter. I took a couple of shots and this one, with the subject in fairly good focus and the background, slightly blurred, was the best. One of these days, I hope to stop the motion of a faster moving vehicle, with the subject in clear focus and with the background out of focus, to indicate speed, but, today’s slow putt putt will have to do. Afterall, he’s clear and everything else is (ever so slightly) blurred which shows speed, only in this case, the speed is probably less than 10 MPH!

Focal Length 110mm
ISO 100
f/11
1/160
SOOC

Once again, the Thursday Farmers’ Market has given me my photo of the day: pluots, a hybrid that takes more from the plum side than the apricot side. I used the Sunny 16 setting again; that’s becoming my reliable standby setting. Thanks, Jeff Burkholder, the photography instructor from whom I first learned about Sunny 16.

Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/16
1/100
SOOC

And fool the eye they will! Carrot zucchini muffins. . . ooh, yum! Well, not exactly. I guess these could be called carrot zucchini muffins, but they are better known as Parrot Pot Pies and despite their appearance, they are not intended for human consumption, as my brother can attest. They are no doubt healthy (whole wheat flour, corn meal, quinoa, oat bran, flax meal, almond flour, red palm oil, and pumpkin, among other things) but, with no added sugar or salt, their flavor apparently leaves something to be desired, and their texture, well, let’s just say the added crunch from egg shells is a bit off-putting. I am baking Parrot Pot Pies to send with Bobo when she stays with my brother while I am in Italy for three weeks. This time I will label them carefully so he doesn’t mistakenly eat one again.

Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/16
2 seconds
White Balance Cool White Florescent, adjusted to A3,M3
SOOC

Peter O’Toole and I share a birthday. So “Happy Birthday, Pete!” (Can I call you Pete?)

Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/32
1.3 seconds
SOOC

I couldn’t pass up this inflatable ape looming large on the roof of a local car dealer. You can’t really tell how big he is in the photo but size-wise, he is rather King Kongish and I think he has that sort of King Kongish appeal.

Focal Length 200mm
ISO 200
f/16
1/100
SOOC