2014—Pineapple Express

The long-absent Pineapple Express is returning to Northern California tonight. In the Sacramento region, we have high wind warnings of up to 60mph and we are on flood watch because of the potential of 6 inches of rain falling in the area in a very short time. The combination of high wind and copious amounts of rain is expected to bring the most violent storm we’ve had in the region since 2008 when the winds toppled the eucalyptus tree in my front yard. The so-called Pineapple Express is a non-technical term used by weather people here when describing a wet and windy storm originating in the Pacific near Hawaii. Since our drought deprived reservoirs are very low, catastrophic flooding is not expected.

Because I’m still practicing with my little Sony camera, and because I now know how to change all manual exposure settings quickly, I decided to try closeup photography with it today, focusing on a pineapple I had. It seemed an appropriate subject given the weather forecast. I set the camera on a tripod and took these shots, still using manual exposure settings. The camera allows closeup focusing within 2 inches when the lens is at its wide angle setting. I filled the frame with the pineapple. I continue to be impressed with the camera. Except for slight cropping of the first and third shots, I made only relatively minor adjustments. I think it renders color well and close detail seems outstanding.

I cropped the first shot in a square format. Focal Length 10.4mm; ISO 100; f/9; .6s; WB, cloudy

I wanted to see how the camera handled shallow depth of field. I think it did an excellent job with only a very small part of the image in focus.

Focal Length 10.4mm; ISO 100; f/1.8; 1/60s, WB cloudy

After peeling and slicing the pineapple, I wanted to try deep depth of field in a closeup. I cropped the shot in a square format. Focal Length 10.4mm; ISO 100; f/11; 1/8s; WB cloudy