photography
All posts tagged photography
I'm preparing for a special public event tonight: Perseid Meteor Watch. The participating park system assigned us to a tiny county park. If we get a decent turnout, we'll be turning people away! Weather looks good. Must remember: telescope and all components (for looking at non-meteoric objects), camera, tripod, descriptive hand-outs, etc. The event runs from 9:30 to 11:30 PM so I'll probably be getting to be at about 1:30 AM tomorrow. I took today and tomorrow off.
As for the Canon Zoom Lens EF 17-40mm, f/4 L USM lens … well, let's just say I'm not thrilled with its performance now that it's back from a $100+ repair trip to New Jersey! My nature hike/test images today do not tell a happy story. The lens has significant chromatic aberration, does not seem to focus well across its field of view, and does not seem to consistently auto-focus. It works best in close quarters but not for panoramic landscapes. I've no choice but to use it tonight, hoping for a bright meteor streak or two but I'm not encouraged by what I'm seeing thus far.
The day dawned damp and gray. I'd had a lousy night's sleep. We took it easy this morning but did a bit of running about.
This afternoon was a field trip to the beautiful city of Hudson for a stroll around the downtown and visits to local shops. She bought some calendars at The Learned Owl Book Shop — 20 percent discount now, less as the end of the year approaches. I carried the little Canon A650 IS camera with me, just in case, and got a few nice shots. I've still got that camera for sale on Amazon.com, by the way, but may remove the listing and just keep it. I'd like to go to the Observatory tonight but I'm concerned that driving would be too risky as in falling asleep at the wheel. So I'm going to miss another rare, clear night. {sigh}
The Canon EF 17-40 4 L USM wide-angle zoom lens arrived back in my hands today after a non-warranty "repair." Since it apparently shipped from the factory in maladjusted condition, I hesitate to call it a repair and I'm kinda miffed at having to pay for it — decent money, too! Still, it had to be done. My review on Amazon.com will reflect this experience. Report from the Factory Service Center:
We have examined the product according to your request, and, it was found that the adjustment of the part was incorrect the focus did not operate properly from time to time Electrical adjustments were carried out on the part. Checked all, adjusted center/tilt/focus, cleaned all factory specs.
Next I'll test it the same way I did before shipping out and hope it performs to its full potential.
This weekend it looks like we get to work at Mom-In-Law's straightening up after the plumbing project. {sigh} There's a whole lot I'd like to do outside of that but I'm tired.
Returning from the Fairlawn shopping district, near Akron, I did a little cross-country exploration. She had collected a trail map for a little park we'd passed many times in past and it looked interesting. We'd not previously stopped so I wanted to discover what was there. With fair ease, I found the entrance to Allardale Park, we left the car and took a little walk on the one-mile trail. She hadn't planned on hiking, nor had I, but I'd brought my camera along just in case of, well, opportunities.
The day was warm, windy, and clouds ranged from thin to thick and dark. It was a very changeable situation.
The Allardale Park area was once farmland with some hills and valleys unsuited to cultivation. The late owners had planted thousands of trees over the years and gave their beloved land to the Medina County Park System for the enjoyment of all. Thank you Stan and Esther Allard, it is beautiful! The park system later added 200+ acres through purchase of adjacent lands. The mostly-earthen trail is rolling to hilly and is mostly through old woods. We saw and heard hawks in the canopy, saw damselflies and butterflies, and enjoyed the beauty of the woodlands.
In a meadow area many taller plants densely grew. Queen Anne's lace grew so tall I barely had to bend to photograph the undersides of some flower heads.
Leaving the park we headed home and passed through the little town of Hinckley. I drove past a local police car that was preparing to enter traffic — yup, legal speed and no other moving violations. The patrol car was in traffic behind me and suddenly those red and blue lights sprang to life! Eeek! What did I do? Pulled over and stopped, the officer came to the window and addressed me by name. Politely he said, "your driver's license has expired." What?! Oh, no, I'd forgot! After checking my now worthless license, the officer said, "take care of it" and let us go. Thank you!
Good thing I'd already scheduled Monday off for other reasons and that a license bureau is within walking distance!
Oh, and the tinnitus is still at low level. No improvement over yesterday but not as bad as before.
A lazy Sunday started off with a call from mother-in-law about a plumbing problem. She Who Must Be Obeyed tried to sort it out but the phone company then had problems connecting calls to mother's Area Code! Fortunately brother-in-law was able to pop over to his mom's and sort it out. Still, looks like more work for SWMBO lining up a plumber for repairs. Gad! Not a good way to start off the day.
After an otherwise easy morning we finally settled on a visit to the Medina County Park System's Alderfer-Oenslager Wildlife Sanctuary — really a park with a strong environmental theme. My "dragonfly summer" continued with activity there: numerous types of dragonfly zipping about. One insect in particular caught our eyes, though with some difficulty on our part. Not only were the dragonfly's wings near fully transparent, its body is in the same range of green as the reeds and other plants that line the pond it patrols. Standing mere inches from the beasie, it took effort to rediscover its location if we looked away for a moment. It is apparently an Eastern Pondhawk. I really must return there before dragonfly season ends!
Today's lunch time diversion (yes, a "work" Saturday) was another trip to the Cleveland Metroparks' Huntington Reservation in Bay Village, Ohio. Stone wall-lined Porter Creek caught my eye. The already cloud-subdued light filtering through the green trees was beautifully soft. What really grabbed my attention was the interplay of light, shadow, and green growth against the cold, dark concrete of an ancient interurban rail bridge. Too soon time to go back to the office. {sigh}









