tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19687198546679037322024-03-06T08:56:50.166+13:00misc.fordsA rather indirect ramble through the aft end of life.David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.comBlogger280125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-77899266081400711392024-01-04T15:46:00.000+13:002024-01-04T15:46:25.585+13:00A New Thing for a New Year<p> I got a new computer for Christmas.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk_KbGUHFWEKHe4hH7Ux-eQAhDALd57Z_lrkyapmJ903F8F9SCBLMvyMwtSfCmPXAkQ47LXEhsfG3hSLFEk90oMUpTXFeS6PHwJspg73-vOlEbsX0U3em9_naP1O5f5krZ0zd7QKIv3hqyihskBkpktUw0eoJ7ufZ2XPzXN6bLwhhbzUcP87OY8BallE/s2048/old-computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmk_KbGUHFWEKHe4hH7Ux-eQAhDALd57Z_lrkyapmJ903F8F9SCBLMvyMwtSfCmPXAkQ47LXEhsfG3hSLFEk90oMUpTXFeS6PHwJspg73-vOlEbsX0U3em9_naP1O5f5krZ0zd7QKIv3hqyihskBkpktUw0eoJ7ufZ2XPzXN6bLwhhbzUcP87OY8BallE/w640-h426/old-computer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remember when this was the bleeding edge of portable computing!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Well, actually, no. I'm still using the same computer that I purchased for my retirement, nearly three years ago. It's not the latest or greatest but it still performs as well as it did when new. However, over the Christmas/New Year break, I did acquire three new pieces of software and that new software has made my computer seem like it is a 'new' computer.</p><p>Not that it matters to anyone else, but I have a new image editor (<a href="https://www.gentlemencoders.com/" target="_blank">RAW Power</a>), a new 'read later' app (<a href="https://omnivore.app/home" target="_blank">Omnivore</a>), and a new browser (<a href="https://arc.net/" target="_blank">Arc</a>). I'll not bore you with the details but, between them, they have changed the way I use my computer as well as my phone and tablet - everything feels like 'new'.</p><p>All this 'new computer' malarkey, caused me to think about the New Year. Traditionally, we make a big thing about seeing out the old year and ringing in the new. However, some of us find it difficult to detect any significant difference between December 31st and January 1st. New Year celebrations just leave us a little … unmoved - like not getting a new computer for Christmas. But, what if we got new software for the year ahead? Would that make it seem more like the fresh New Year it is supposed to be? </p><p>Putting something new into the new year may be the basis for those resolutions we flirt with each January. But resolutions are not what I am thinking of here. It isn't about resolving to go to the gym more regularly; that is not a new thing. Rather, what new breath of fresh air am I going to allow into my life in 2024? What new <i><b>thing</b></i> am I going to <i><b>try</b></i>?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm59MWsSV9YaHD5QA23zOEvo2dy_le13nL7gT5GNtkY-OxXG1Y1Eh_Q3ginEsSPDzRdUQw1mWyyGt0UZUsutihnG1B258JBnxZquvGZ5GJUlrf88OIpA166QJJd1GxVVmTUBhH8pkM8JdSbv7CMM78qlpvBm3Ull4sfAaLkmx1LhnehWCOxrKV0L12cE/s700/TryThings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="700" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrm59MWsSV9YaHD5QA23zOEvo2dy_le13nL7gT5GNtkY-OxXG1Y1Eh_Q3ginEsSPDzRdUQw1mWyyGt0UZUsutihnG1B258JBnxZquvGZ5GJUlrf88OIpA166QJJd1GxVVmTUBhH8pkM8JdSbv7CMM78qlpvBm3Ull4sfAaLkmx1LhnehWCOxrKV0L12cE/w640-h366/TryThings.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Those are the keywords - <b>TRY</b> and <b>THING</b>. It's not a commitment like a resolution, it's a decision to play with someTHING. It's a decision to embrace your inner child and TRY something new. Maybe that THING will stick, maybe it won't. Maybe it will be a disaster or maybe the start of something good. The key is that you TRY someTHING new to you - perhaps, several someTHINGs throughout the year.</div><div><br /></div><div>I already know what one of my new things will be. I decided a couple of months ago that I wanted to try my hand at printmaking. The details are a bit fluid but I have been gathering resources and I know where I am going to start. We'll see where it goes from there. It's one new piece of software for what I hope will really seem like a New Year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Have a great New Year everyone - and don't forget to TRY a THING.</div><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-9880464482326656982023-09-11T14:38:00.000+12:002023-09-11T14:38:52.662+12:00Back where we started<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxdbc5iwqc77GjEhIpTbYUmabmTP48re2pTQLK0lOMzKJFzpmVwKxxF7j-yCI9Ukj1AhhTbUI_15p0Qsdlgxm5iMyMj-iKVctd6HmJPacd9U_b8wlsHhv7rR6sVnKkAR5gHbbKRSUsR9bua7iH_JEIHQ2xURLmK1t0cHRZ7sTxGb3T1YJ2enVR9fm2jH8" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1120" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxdbc5iwqc77GjEhIpTbYUmabmTP48re2pTQLK0lOMzKJFzpmVwKxxF7j-yCI9Ukj1AhhTbUI_15p0Qsdlgxm5iMyMj-iKVctd6HmJPacd9U_b8wlsHhv7rR6sVnKkAR5gHbbKRSUsR9bua7iH_JEIHQ2xURLmK1t0cHRZ7sTxGb3T1YJ2enVR9fm2jH8=w640-h366" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image - Newshub</td></tr></tbody></table>Here, in New Zealand, we are deep into election season and a torrent of political posturing is sweeping the country like a river in flood. With this in mind, as I was browsing "<a href="https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/" target="_blank">Papers Past</a>" the other day, my attention was caught by this letter to the editor of the Oxford Observer, from September 1889:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p><i>To the Editor of The Observer. </i></p><p><i>Sir, Allow me to express my pleasure with the capital article in your issue of the 7th Sept., on the great struggle now pending between Labor and Capital. How grievous to anyone with a heart to feel for another is the knowledge that in this fair land of ours hundreds of our fellow-creatures toil almost day and night for a bare existence, all their labor bringing to them no more than sufficient to keep body and soul together. How sad to think of poor young girls deprived of all which makes life pleasant by the cruel "sweating" system; and, oh, sad beyond words, is the fact that many beg for work (which to them means bread) in vain. </i></p><p><i>This is a subject on which I feel very strongly; it seems to me so cruelly unjust that one should give up all their strength. all their energy and time, and only receive in return just enough to support life in the most miserable fashion. Stick to your colors, Mr Editor, and write boldly as a friend of labor. </i></p><p><i>Nowadays if a man is poor he is treated by many as if he were an intruder on the Earth, who ought to be thankful that he is allowed to live at all. </i></p><p><i>I am, Sir, your sincere well-wisher, </i></p><p><i>AJAX.</i></p></blockquote><p>The letter is 130 years old but, aside from one or two details (and some archaic language), it could have been written today. I'm tempted to say that 'nothing changes' but that's not true. New Zealand had changed from the situation described in this letter and, by the middle of the 20th century, we had a much-improved situation for the majority of New Zealand's citizens. I know, I was there and experienced it. Then came the "Rogernomics" of the 1980s. In many ways, New Zealand did need to change but it seems, in hindsight, that we threw out the baby with the bathwater. New Zealand embraced the free market with a zealous disregard for the consequences of deregulated greed. </p><p>What followed, was a steady decline in the living standards of ordinary New Zealanders, until we find ourselves in the present parlous position of unaffordable housing, homeless living on the streets, a healthcare system that seems broken beyond repair, and food so expensive that some people are forced to routinely rely on food banks. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh13Lj9Ec_3wbF1Yh2GfgIcfbrpQObIfXCFBs2PW9B14kAL3XuYfzZT5r28Li3FL_el2-yRcPKnuEE6ePzITpCD0lhtTppb_oUDCT1zgpmM_12Cs_fTFmL3RfFvNfkLmLPJ2dnrQgJaUEap0JLCDhLtwsGkAzDaiIHkazib6iEHaQbfI9uhSrK5rfca4bY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="710" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh13Lj9Ec_3wbF1Yh2GfgIcfbrpQObIfXCFBs2PW9B14kAL3XuYfzZT5r28Li3FL_el2-yRcPKnuEE6ePzITpCD0lhtTppb_oUDCT1zgpmM_12Cs_fTFmL3RfFvNfkLmLPJ2dnrQgJaUEap0JLCDhLtwsGkAzDaiIHkazib6iEHaQbfI9uhSrK5rfca4bY=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image - Stuff</td></tr></tbody></table><br />While this goes on, many businesses are returning stellar profits on the back of an increasing number of workers who don't receive a living wage*. Effectively, business relies on taxpayer-funded handouts to supplement poor pay with income support schemes like Working For Families. Letting business off the living wage hook in this back-handed way needs to stop. </p><p>As Ajax wrote in 1889, "<i>it seems to me so cruelly unjust that one should give up all their strength. all their energy and time, and only receive in return just enough to support life in the most miserable fashion.</i>" We simply have too many New Zealanders today earning less than is required to live adequately. Do any of our political parties have a plan to fix that? </p><p>When it comes time to cast your vote next month, have a think about where our country is going. Do we continue downward as we have for the last thirty years or has someone got a better plan than that?</p><p>* By "living wage" I don't mean any official "Living Wage" figure, I simply mean wages that allow a person to live an adequate life. </p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-62950108872695659162023-06-08T13:30:00.000+12:002023-06-08T13:30:12.206+12:00TTArtisan's cunning little light meter<p>It's small, it looks good, it fits on my old film cameras and it doesn't break the bank. What's not to like?</p><p>Well, according to some reviews, these meters just aren't very accurate. For the first few weeks, I thought I had one of those inaccurate meters - until I realised that I wasn't using it correctly. Turns out I had a bad case of RTFM. Now that I've read the manual, I'm happy with the meter and the results agree with the old hand-held meter that I brought from Boots The Chemist sometime in the 1960s (yes, that one still works).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklzY4lx7Dl0ekDpNOu6qBi4uY8P3MPIGa0u8zZHunTOIzptnOJHPqGjwvEdV03pI728c24WAqu9u8unM4aObgVXebVFvrAjx_QcwaDs8erN8KeqIcVTJKzraaRnMowt-qAuGBMUbnSpBSzwrlJ4oqeB02ooQd40pJvxpZjN0Vu61wIMFrRXMGhotM/s3000/IMG20230608130611.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklzY4lx7Dl0ekDpNOu6qBi4uY8P3MPIGa0u8zZHunTOIzptnOJHPqGjwvEdV03pI728c24WAqu9u8unM4aObgVXebVFvrAjx_QcwaDs8erN8KeqIcVTJKzraaRnMowt-qAuGBMUbnSpBSzwrlJ4oqeB02ooQd40pJvxpZjN0Vu61wIMFrRXMGhotM/w640-h640/IMG20230608130611.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The TTArtisan light meter and its packaging.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Somehow, I had got confused by the little button on the back of the TTArtisan light meter, thinking that it was the "On" switch; turn it on, point the meter at the light, adjust the dials and get your settings. Simple. No, no, no! The manual (which I had only skimmed) makes it clear that this is the "Metering button". First, you point the meter at the scene, THEN you press the button and adjust the dials appropriately. The meter is NOT constantly metering the scene; only when the button is pressed. </p><p>What I had been doing was turning it on (actually taking a reading), then pointing it at the scene and adjusting the dials. No wonder the readings were all over the place - it could have been pointing anywhere when I 'turned it on'. I wonder how many experienced 'geniuses' (like me) relied on their old knowledge of light meters, got bad readings and blamed this little light meter?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqL8_X2yvi01UN4EAWSRGGwptriKVfedvTukhIzL3x9oJ-PQol_9Bn9iEYzt8BgfZMMQ-Q__VNNMduENhYV-qgxl0ZamljqYnfR2N_gxzvQJUDEbztnrCYMFS08A_X0HP_GNL2tSoevAmHw0AtU53RBDchwlw2IFxbsjjcoB1AjQ_0VhrD1YAM4Zy/s2934/IMG20230608130413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2934" data-original-width="2934" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqL8_X2yvi01UN4EAWSRGGwptriKVfedvTukhIzL3x9oJ-PQol_9Bn9iEYzt8BgfZMMQ-Q__VNNMduENhYV-qgxl0ZamljqYnfR2N_gxzvQJUDEbztnrCYMFS08A_X0HP_GNL2tSoevAmHw0AtU53RBDchwlw2IFxbsjjcoB1AjQ_0VhrD1YAM4Zy/w640-h640/IMG20230608130413.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The light meter attached to the Kiev 4a</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There really isn't anything not to like here; the TTArtisan light meter is everything it appears to be AND it does the job well. Oh, and it comes in a nice little box with a screwdriver to change the position of the foot if needed. Just a pity a battery wasn't included and that I didn't heed the instruction to "Please read the manual carefully before use."</p><p>About $78 (if you can find one) from TTArtisan.</p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-54037686162940446562023-02-22T16:44:00.004+13:002023-02-22T16:44:42.153+13:00This camera is a mutt<p>... and I love it. It's also a camera with history.</p><p>As a user of vintage cameras, there was a time when I wanted an older Leica. The Leica name is synonymous with excellent build quality (and stratospheric prices). But, as time went on, I became aware that all was not necessarily perfect in Leica land. Those prized, early, Barnack Leicas, had issues that made them less than perfect working cameras. Nice to keep on the shelf perhaps, but not so nice to be taking photos with. (See here for a rundown of the issues: <a href="https://petapixel.com/2022/12/21/barnack-quirks-an-intro-to-shooting-with-early-35mm-leica-cameras/">https://petapixel.com/2022/12/21/barnack-quirks-an-intro-to-shooting-with-early-35mm-leica-cameras/</a>)</p><p>In 1930s Germany though, there was a camera specifically designed by Zeiss Ikon to out-Leica the Leicas of the time. The Contax was designed to be everything a Leica was and then some. While the first Contax suffered from being somewhat rushed to market, it was the Contax II from 1936 that delivered the goods, beating Leica with an integrated viewfinder/rangefinder, better shutter mechanism, faster shutter speeds, better film loading, and a significantly more accurate rangefinder. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_GfEl7zmBJB3gihdUfEAa6TBS4ZbqakP08CcqT6VM67Kr9BmzAeaMQYcdVtPz1yJc9RGKCXm0JexxdLzNYgQbyXLR6r1ukTgCUwehZZ18JarxdR61OTnd_tLUen5y8-XVu2eg1gsvGRJaEWDa3yr_HjjFN1BgWMcKbnocYs2fHx-UDWeHQ-l3nzc/s600/600px-Contax_II_img_1875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_GfEl7zmBJB3gihdUfEAa6TBS4ZbqakP08CcqT6VM67Kr9BmzAeaMQYcdVtPz1yJc9RGKCXm0JexxdLzNYgQbyXLR6r1ukTgCUwehZZ18JarxdR61OTnd_tLUen5y8-XVu2eg1gsvGRJaEWDa3yr_HjjFN1BgWMcKbnocYs2fHx-UDWeHQ-l3nzc/w640-h428/600px-Contax_II_img_1875.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original Contax II from 1936</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>The Contax II became a much sought-after camera for working professionals, especially press photographers, who needed a small camera which delivered great image quality and was able to take the punishment dished out in daily use. Production of the Contax in Dresden survived the war years and continued post-war until the Russians dismantled the factory and moved the manufacturing plant and most of the German engineers to Kiev in Ukraine.</p><p>Production of the Contax continued in Kiev using the same machine tools and technicians as in the Dresden factory. Nothing changed except for the name - Contax was dropped in favour of the name "Kiev" after the city in which it was now produced. Some of the early Kiev cameras still had "Contax" embossed on the inside of the front plate.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDjaCsEZO-XvizqroNDcdd-9_0qJ5HewdrXrf5LSKZKAO3vMtQGyTWfhhALzWctPZj1F0dTrXsqkR468kKJQEN-43jPrtEDokDt981CXrNITT8MnGhoZrUkD8B-i_GCfkP3WLlyQhr-P8VGDncqc06HFvwVZ9GpEByjwNL9BF5rv3nQK4YpC-pVHT/s4000/IMG20230219114332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDjaCsEZO-XvizqroNDcdd-9_0qJ5HewdrXrf5LSKZKAO3vMtQGyTWfhhALzWctPZj1F0dTrXsqkR468kKJQEN-43jPrtEDokDt981CXrNITT8MnGhoZrUkD8B-i_GCfkP3WLlyQhr-P8VGDncqc06HFvwVZ9GpEByjwNL9BF5rv3nQK4YpC-pVHT/w640-h480/IMG20230219114332.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My copy of the Kiev 4a - the flash sync port was a later addition.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Production of Kiev cameras continued largely unchanged for the next 40 years. They progressed from Kiev to Kiev2, Kiev3 and Kiev 4 with only minor changes until production was finally terminated in 1987. During the 1980s, the quality of the Keiv cameras started to suffer as a result of ageing machine tools and the loss of all the original Contax staff. It is rumoured that, in the 1980s, whole batches of Kiev cameras were dumped because they didn't pass quality control. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgl-PYjsVHpAjJ5RFnJzT0MweX_vtmef8JHpBiCjiMmH1HkPuueAA0FdhKtmrv7lxZqx4gCidejWYCuYosB6tNiwuiZCQfcckxkO1nLNhu9cJuaYSWeXlIacU8dUF1K-1eg0pw9WciFBFyQTqayCPn1TYHpXJYjuoDAkqkqwvSKwOB7-wJ_y4aTd9/s4000/IMG20230219114523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgl-PYjsVHpAjJ5RFnJzT0MweX_vtmef8JHpBiCjiMmH1HkPuueAA0FdhKtmrv7lxZqx4gCidejWYCuYosB6tNiwuiZCQfcckxkO1nLNhu9cJuaYSWeXlIacU8dUF1K-1eg0pw9WciFBFyQTqayCPn1TYHpXJYjuoDAkqkqwvSKwOB7-wJ_y4aTd9/w640-h480/IMG20230219114523.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Kiev 4a - opened for loading film</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>As a camera from 1977, the Kiev is not very impressive - most cameras of the era were much more sophisticated. But, as a camera designed in 1936, it was already streets ahead of its Leica contemporaries and makes a very useable camera for anyone who knows their 'f' stops from their shutter speeds. I took it for a walk around our local school to test it out and came away impressed.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbMQqf2hUGvrU-VRU8iWpWgZ_-dwPtYDyz6n9H-jx-CQ-oz7yBMbTDFe2iY84jQHRfpgXgJ9rWrtkZ8-AlxKLbBWJq6anLFQMsJruqFnwwy4obEywnN0N4UgbTDGri1lIEZzIB_-OCAeR-MGCTS81AtTEUqr-kB8nmiPCWzAdx40MqWSJwwmV5jqg/s2048/Photo_0245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="2048" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbMQqf2hUGvrU-VRU8iWpWgZ_-dwPtYDyz6n9H-jx-CQ-oz7yBMbTDFe2iY84jQHRfpgXgJ9rWrtkZ8-AlxKLbBWJq6anLFQMsJruqFnwwy4obEywnN0N4UgbTDGri1lIEZzIB_-OCAeR-MGCTS81AtTEUqr-kB8nmiPCWzAdx40MqWSJwwmV5jqg/w640-h396/Photo_0245.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiev 4a, f8 @ 1/125, Ilford FP4</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>So, my replacement for the Leica which I can't afford is a Kiev 4a. Basically, a 1936 camera designed by Contax in Germany but built in Kiev in 1977. If this camera were a dog, it would be a mutt.</div><div><p>(Support Ukraine; buy an old Russian camera.)</p></div>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-53879490091131961272023-02-18T17:03:00.000+13:002023-02-18T17:03:23.354+13:00Sticky shutters and Fairy houses<p>One of the enduring problems with many older cameras is the 'sticky shutter'. Many cameras with older leaf shutters, start seizing up at slower speeds. Sometimes they stop altogether. I've had my share of those and they usually get consigned to the 'dead camera' box, as a repair usually exceeds its value. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD2jXt0T51Armo3qiNzudvGi6oMBh19q2hWb17KiRND6YqFGeNvDDWAyfW_Nc6lkpe_rdWTQyX-hX2820iJ9Q7jWC9dtXGwmlDBdLDALYR_KTNRqEPYoMPR031WMi9t5Djjg-yMEZ9z7lx-GkW0AmyqGSGrVgwfkiDiTFbiLLag31h3e8M9mPPiUR/s2807/IMG20230218163228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2807" data-original-width="2807" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpD2jXt0T51Armo3qiNzudvGi6oMBh19q2hWb17KiRND6YqFGeNvDDWAyfW_Nc6lkpe_rdWTQyX-hX2820iJ9Q7jWC9dtXGwmlDBdLDALYR_KTNRqEPYoMPR031WMi9t5Djjg-yMEZ9z7lx-GkW0AmyqGSGrVgwfkiDiTFbiLLag31h3e8M9mPPiUR/s320/IMG20230218163228.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agfa Isolette III, f3.5 Solinar lens.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>One such camera was an Agfa Isolette, a 6x6 folder from the 1950s. I acquired it about two years ago in excellent cosmetic condition and with one of Agfa's higher-spec lenses, but ... sticky shutter. I dug it out of the dead box while cyclone Gabrielle was making it unpleasant outside and spent an hour or two dribbling lighter fluid into the shutter and exercising it. Surprisingly, it started to work, and eventually, the shutter was doing a nicely timed cerrrrrrrrclunk at the one-second setting. The following day, it was still cerrrrrrrrclunking nicely and so I loaded up some Ilford FP4 and went for a walk under dull but dry skies. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9GR1I805w9oaHmVZUvG9D_8GWBhqzQpcwZedsGwdno-Te1NQYPNB6Wtli-IbPOKE65td3-i3Kna-I0H0Vw5JqFKHFBAoxw63gzloqG7LB2H6ockoFp1Ix3PfnJzFaLNpZGeted9IAMBXHog1ZYcl2pyoxmKE00Q2LalADIMs0EJ-BPKbttfxm9Wp/s2048/Photo_0242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="2048" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9GR1I805w9oaHmVZUvG9D_8GWBhqzQpcwZedsGwdno-Te1NQYPNB6Wtli-IbPOKE65td3-i3Kna-I0H0Vw5JqFKHFBAoxw63gzloqG7LB2H6ockoFp1Ix3PfnJzFaLNpZGeted9IAMBXHog1ZYcl2pyoxmKE00Q2LalADIMs0EJ-BPKbttfxm9Wp/w640-h396/Photo_0242.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Ashly Gorge, track through the forest - 1 second at f8; colourised black and white.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I might be getting old, but not too old to smile whenever I find one of the 'fairy houses' scattered throughout the forest. I came across this one in a rather dark place.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXe9xlRTHovhPlXx2Nn5yozWDGjLn3Odb-U9dHxaqPID0IMGdQgv7ybQx8AQMKQsQpxWO4Sm52G7rzb9QxUwGP_Kb7Jo6UslxeehbcUFACR1H_lLOuHo8-l4LXYdNb83OWbiuJ2nY4IoHhjV8fnFGNXIqQUPbLgTUVyOX23mqWRGkFqJaOoxu7bHE/s2048/Photo_0241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1266" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXe9xlRTHovhPlXx2Nn5yozWDGjLn3Odb-U9dHxaqPID0IMGdQgv7ybQx8AQMKQsQpxWO4Sm52G7rzb9QxUwGP_Kb7Jo6UslxeehbcUFACR1H_lLOuHo8-l4LXYdNb83OWbiuJ2nY4IoHhjV8fnFGNXIqQUPbLgTUVyOX23mqWRGkFqJaOoxu7bHE/w396-h640/Photo_0241.jpg" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Fairy house' fixed to a Redwood Tree. 8 seconds at f8</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Inside each house, there is usually a pithy little saying. This one says "Be awesome ... be a book nut." Thank you, I am. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aTeajeACqa7Nhl44Fffq76BBvK86obo9azPifJadMHY8a_CzM1U_gjqFDNw1zumHpTjD4rM_ky9TOq7Xz-r2oYmWFXO8unblGF9TN1fQQvfKJm8dC2n8LAfkxmnEKwU4f9Ty3nbBIpdrALJ6Kq7ccJlYXJFD65sf_MHYKa62AvkmgiLagd76KyuE/s2048/Photo_0240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1266" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aTeajeACqa7Nhl44Fffq76BBvK86obo9azPifJadMHY8a_CzM1U_gjqFDNw1zumHpTjD4rM_ky9TOq7Xz-r2oYmWFXO8unblGF9TN1fQQvfKJm8dC2n8LAfkxmnEKwU4f9Ty3nbBIpdrALJ6Kq7ccJlYXJFD65sf_MHYKa62AvkmgiLagd76KyuE/w396-h640/Photo_0240.jpg" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Fairy house' - 1/2 second at f8.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>There's something very satisfying about using a seventy-year-old camera, to take black-and-white photos and ending up with coloured pictures. Not quick mind you, but satisfying; digital has just become far too easy. (There's a time and place for 'easy'.)</p><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-54142184370434964482023-01-12T10:00:00.000+13:002023-01-12T10:00:22.502+13:00OlyPen II<p> It was just before Christmas 2021 that I got my first Olympus Pen half-frame camera, an Olympus Pen D3 (<a href="https://misc.fords.co.nz/2022/01/olympus-pen-d3.html">https://misc.fords.co.nz/2022/01/olympus-pen-d3.html</a>). I ran several rolls of film through that camera and, at the time, loved using it more than any of my other cameras (film or digital). The 32mm f1.7 lens was remarkably sharp and I got amazingly crisp and clear pictures from such a small frame size. Then, one day, the ‘click’ didn’t, and on investigation I found the shutter blades lying in a heap in the middle of the lens. The OlyPen had died.</p><p>Christmas 2022, bought OlyPen II to my door. It is a Pen EED model with fully automated exposure and that same 32mm f1.7 lens that I loved on the Pen D3. The Pen EED was manufactured between 1967 and 1972, though you wouldn’t know it to look at my copy. It has a much more modern design than the Pen D3 and I was fortunate to find one in immaculate condition.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcSbbu1YIjU7MBsp8cPxJ0M5w9ydqGpUxreTW737oJBg3nYrpWRpcflSon--7ufrzpbAeXD1KcfUUF3n5tW7KX19Q8_4jqgdg6TjeNwyXMsbg7ndKx-IYLt5J9is7f17C3Y--zM20rTvXUXrW-Qh0Ahv0iFR6wkJOKvRcMylae_cIt0GfXhEroAAW/s2048/Photo_0230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtcSbbu1YIjU7MBsp8cPxJ0M5w9ydqGpUxreTW737oJBg3nYrpWRpcflSon--7ufrzpbAeXD1KcfUUF3n5tW7KX19Q8_4jqgdg6TjeNwyXMsbg7ndKx-IYLt5J9is7f17C3Y--zM20rTvXUXrW-Qh0Ahv0iFR6wkJOKvRcMylae_cIt0GfXhEroAAW/w640-h480/Photo_0230.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympus Pen EED (1967-1972)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>Aside from being small and portable, all the OlyPens, and most half-frame film cameras in general, have one unusual feature - when you hold them naturally, they take pictures in the portrait orientation, rather than the more common landscape. If you want landscape on an OlyPen, you must turn it sideways. </div><div><br /></div><div>This portrait orientation is no minor detail. It wasn't until I first used the OlyPen D3 that I realised that I naturally preferred portrait orientation. This natural preference, however, had always been suppressed by the poor ergonomics of holding my other cameras sideways. Once I used the OlyPen, I went from 80% landscape to shooting 95% portrait. The portrait orientation also lends itself to a diptych or triptych series in a way that landscape pictures don't. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoQQ6J9IF0vHu5v3caFgqP2opyP7n5-lGWzAeX5sbu4Eq4-IJTTa1LmR3uhXFOO2KZsB-S1EDPjE2mK4UcEEdWcNgjBY1nDmQHwsSLpWKvGKSnWbdGZzosSB_2Zlpp7cOsDUR3sD1Owob3VNGRI4EpLom5DX_UZMTQhRCVRqNM0iby6lOj5crXQPQ/s2048/Photo_0233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="2048" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoQQ6J9IF0vHu5v3caFgqP2opyP7n5-lGWzAeX5sbu4Eq4-IJTTa1LmR3uhXFOO2KZsB-S1EDPjE2mK4UcEEdWcNgjBY1nDmQHwsSLpWKvGKSnWbdGZzosSB_2Zlpp7cOsDUR3sD1Owob3VNGRI4EpLom5DX_UZMTQhRCVRqNM0iby6lOj5crXQPQ/w640-h298/Photo_0233.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the skate-park</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Being half-frame images, the negatives from the OlyPen are never going to hit the heights of medium format for quality, nor even a good full-frame 35mm camera, but that isn't the OlyPen's purpose. The OlyPen is a carry-everywhere snapper - if artists carry a sketchbook, then the OlyPen is the photographer's sketchbook. Having said that, the OlyPen produces 20Mp scanned images that easily hold their own on social media and anything up to an 8"x10" print; thanks largely to that wonderful Olympus lens.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRxrN7SmMG7rJK44fzftZGrGVu0pfd54klWO2yimAKVzCOFmQrPznJlEtbE5rdtA6x7DHmBxa01IxCEDQB3XaukiGjQulZqb2IQTF_eby7zjM90XS7yWbmbAjQfpwe4vRPiEBD72q7q5rgPrq_kx9Z4S1HzyZiA6EMJx-YBpU1dQWrCzUvJPCxqNE/s2048/Photo_0232.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRxrN7SmMG7rJK44fzftZGrGVu0pfd54klWO2yimAKVzCOFmQrPznJlEtbE5rdtA6x7DHmBxa01IxCEDQB3XaukiGjQulZqb2IQTF_eby7zjM90XS7yWbmbAjQfpwe4vRPiEBD72q7q5rgPrq_kx9Z4S1HzyZiA6EMJx-YBpU1dQWrCzUvJPCxqNE/w480-h640/Photo_0232.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mexican dominoes</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>I expect to have a lot more fun playing with the little OlyPen II. Hopefully, it will last a lot longer than my broken D3 before it gets taken to camera heaven.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Is1ItMPxmd_Fzx8YKtZyDIfZGcOHMRcDzUCqHsDpakFmvdchlePXMn-KCP8JfCPbI1svAHagtkx_9_MWJyVkTJZwLXrtDuceH0k2I0aXTy_I70KZbfrFuUmJEBjKWnAKyhrHE46rGiXtvRcVo75O3yD2RePvi-l8sFgE6c4M-fouahVwTHPzBxw/s2048/Photo_0231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="952" data-original-width="2048" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-Is1ItMPxmd_Fzx8YKtZyDIfZGcOHMRcDzUCqHsDpakFmvdchlePXMn-KCP8JfCPbI1svAHagtkx_9_MWJyVkTJZwLXrtDuceH0k2I0aXTy_I70KZbfrFuUmJEBjKWnAKyhrHE46rGiXtvRcVo75O3yD2RePvi-l8sFgE6c4M-fouahVwTHPzBxw/w640-h298/Photo_0231.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing in the playground with the OlyPen</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>OlyPen photos were taken on either Fomopan 100 or Ilford FP4, developed in Rodinal, semi-stand for 1hr.</div><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-57720238913232169892022-11-26T17:42:00.002+13:002022-11-26T18:57:04.663+13:00I’ve been bad; very bad<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">After trying, with only partial success, to cull my camera collection, I ended up returning one camera to active service, buying another camera, and had a third camera boomerang back, from 2012. This probably isn’t good.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">Originally, I had put my Fujifilm X-M1 up for sale, but it sat without interest over the winter months. Then, on a whim, I decided to send it away to be converted to infrared. It came back from Oz at the end of October, just as we were leaving for Oamaru.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTngYbB2yYl2bWXFarU_gUxT26louW4GbOyBfu2yHlkZz84tLogAVkFlI6R8I9QprmR8K3QYPh4sPOn1ytXeOllt-m4E73nSVofwSL4U6MfyNJWUxV4KCDYqmurpiHqqvYwdGBTh8Jxi555TYpId230w_qU3clsHzJUIYH18JQGT3NUed8GkhM991E/s2048/Photo_0137.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A B&W infrared picture taken in Oamaru public gardens. River in foreground, trees on oposite bank reflected in water." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1638" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTngYbB2yYl2bWXFarU_gUxT26louW4GbOyBfu2yHlkZz84tLogAVkFlI6R8I9QprmR8K3QYPh4sPOn1ytXeOllt-m4E73nSVofwSL4U6MfyNJWUxV4KCDYqmurpiHqqvYwdGBTh8Jxi555TYpId230w_qU3clsHzJUIYH18JQGT3NUed8GkhM991E/w512-h640/Photo_0137.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oamaru public gardens - Fujifilm X-M1, 720nm Infrared.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">I loved the results, so that’s one camera that's now back on active duty.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Probably, my greatest sin (though not the most costly) was pressing the “Buy Now” button on a Fujifilm FZ-3000. This is a somewhat bizarre-looking film camera from the early 1990s. My excuse was that it was brand new and still in its original packaging - a rare find for $60.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Auto everything, the camera was light to carry and simple to use. When I want to shoot 35mm film without the hassle of carrying around the Nikon FE, this is surely the camera to use. </p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPDK0jmQJBlZFA93yvTfTbTNiEmLj6KkWkMsDqioebSeHFN-xHVppECs8VWF8JCh6-1EEjS5UVvbuz9tI660LTbQrek3QYa410w02fVotrZJIz9lPKpeu-SrvMiwLIzav4AtikRP3p8Df7GuB36y0rNGZgd7RZUnPLA3En5BXsJQkqiU87i5rmDOU/s2048/Photo_0138.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A B&W picture of the West Oxford Hotel, built around 1860 timber with weatherboard cladding." border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAPDK0jmQJBlZFA93yvTfTbTNiEmLj6KkWkMsDqioebSeHFN-xHVppECs8VWF8JCh6-1EEjS5UVvbuz9tI660LTbQrek3QYa410w02fVotrZJIz9lPKpeu-SrvMiwLIzav4AtikRP3p8Df7GuB36y0rNGZgd7RZUnPLA3En5BXsJQkqiU87i5rmDOU/w640-h360/Photo_0138.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">West Oxford Hotel - Fujifilm FZ-3000, Ilford FP4+, Rodinol.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Unsolicited, my son returned the Nikon D80 that I had given him in 2012. He had replaced it several years ago and it had been sitting unused ever since. Who wants a 10Mp digital camera in 2022?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Nostalgia beckoned and, after kickstarting the battery into life, I took it out for a walk. Low expectations here. But, what I hadn’t factored into my thinking was that software has improved leaps and bounds since I last used this camera.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So I ran the 10Mp files through Topaz Photo AI, and out popped some stunning 40Mp images that compared very well with my current cameras. I was a bit gob-smacked, to be honest.</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvQrVmf7MfKBKENDOlYz6i4D02ggBg2MaRuu4s7QuVqZNxILg1j_rjQFodrONQKzBhww1clsNcjLuuup_CMHzJUvfDPZfZVKP1DbaZ6sYXAVqyvOyC03dsJ98GHZ0vomPNWGUz3jWMt4xE1qDAIu7Nmey3U0mMtTAnJxsOvKuefLkX3BA9dtAZHNc/s2048/Photo_0134.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A view of Mt Oxford across playing fields. Blue sky, white fluffy clouds." border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvQrVmf7MfKBKENDOlYz6i4D02ggBg2MaRuu4s7QuVqZNxILg1j_rjQFodrONQKzBhww1clsNcjLuuup_CMHzJUvfDPZfZVKP1DbaZ6sYXAVqyvOyC03dsJ98GHZ0vomPNWGUz3jWMt4xE1qDAIu7Nmey3U0mMtTAnJxsOvKuefLkX3BA9dtAZHNc/w640-h428/Photo_0134.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View to Mt. Oxford, across Pearson Park, Oxford, NZ - Nikon D80.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Now I’m in a bit of a quandary; I have a perfectly usable DSLR camera which won’t be worth much (because, low specs) but produces beautiful images for anyone with the right software (e.g. me). Should it join the other nine cameras on active duty, each wagging their tails like dogs in a pound awaiting adoption?</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What to do?</p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-71000616693290643242022-10-06T11:49:00.000+13:002022-10-06T11:49:07.203+13:00DALL-E - the photographer<p><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px;">DALL-E and other AI art programs have been causing both excitement and consternation in the art community - everything from “Wow! that’s amazing” to “It’s the end of art”. A cold, wet Wednesday felt like a good time to experiment with DALL-E and see what it could do for photography.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">Back in 2010, I got up before the lark (which isn’t that difficult when there don’t seem to be any larks where you live) and went to New Brighton to take some sunrise photos. Among them, I captured this shot of the New Brighton Pier.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW_IjCkogut8dESqtQT7YQhqN7qA7pKgibA5AlcyipcOWcpt75dstbsTafTSQ4yVPR9aY8gikMFUhXldCQIE432LhfeelbIJsZBnq4LNUDRL7N7k_iJO3wMeeWkKJst9FDRxY8FKpW7EqrgC4rL-xYsWTm0kg1efZGjO46HWlCEh77F_rz7NhA5kN/s2048/Photo_0116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW_IjCkogut8dESqtQT7YQhqN7qA7pKgibA5AlcyipcOWcpt75dstbsTafTSQ4yVPR9aY8gikMFUhXldCQIE432LhfeelbIJsZBnq4LNUDRL7N7k_iJO3wMeeWkKJst9FDRxY8FKpW7EqrgC4rL-xYsWTm0kg1efZGjO46HWlCEh77F_rz7NhA5kN/w640-h360/Photo_0116.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So, I thought this might make a good DALL-E test, and asked DALL-E to give me “<i>A photo of New Brighton pier in New Zealand at sunrise taken with a DSLR camera</i>”. (My first prompt did not include “in New Zealand” which was when I realised that there must be other New Brightons with piers around the World, as the pictures looked nothing like our pier.) Anyway, once I included "<i>in New Zealand</i>" this is what DALL-E provided:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQPG8swAjMPEoa59mpaxq5-PotB5bLyYPlobJ-UJYj6TsHkx20JRmKsL35p1NdW0HDGm7vHG0D8kJmf_0bvcW5vWhR11st-JyIE_PglPxF9xBATGuud9uMxMukTbel6gXWzUc7zdJQzWuueScrm9f2ioQfg2Hls4TrnRPp5jVMRueKZooIHgZUyy-/s2048/Photo_0117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaQPG8swAjMPEoa59mpaxq5-PotB5bLyYPlobJ-UJYj6TsHkx20JRmKsL35p1NdW0HDGm7vHG0D8kJmf_0bvcW5vWhR11st-JyIE_PglPxF9xBATGuud9uMxMukTbel6gXWzUc7zdJQzWuueScrm9f2ioQfg2Hls4TrnRPp5jVMRueKZooIHgZUyy-/s320/Photo_0117.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">At the small size DALL-E produces, it seemed like a pretty good attempt. The perspective was rather different to mine (to be expected) but the colouring was totally believable and the pier was the correct style and orientation to the sunrise.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Perhaps I could try changing the camera and, as I had been doing quite a bit of pinhole photography lately, tried this prompt: “<i>A photo of New Brighton pier in New Zealand at sunrise taken with a pinhole camera using Kodak Portra 400</i>”. This was the result:</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TvTKznd8bKqyTYaC0Dv7US_6GeLC6lg8T5mUO3MwczTTADxFWCiJyD-KWsBt5by7_zLwq8YMmK-T-U8sBw6-gAo7daESEiwStS7PBr9kHX7s4xnDdN-u0aIMzBGEhWvyASrjIyjA0H9RAMvjdbatbNrp3cjsZMH97wG-zQM2l9bPcIek2hXiDc-E/s2048/Photo_0119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TvTKznd8bKqyTYaC0Dv7US_6GeLC6lg8T5mUO3MwczTTADxFWCiJyD-KWsBt5by7_zLwq8YMmK-T-U8sBw6-gAo7daESEiwStS7PBr9kHX7s4xnDdN-u0aIMzBGEhWvyASrjIyjA0H9RAMvjdbatbNrp3cjsZMH97wG-zQM2l9bPcIek2hXiDc-E/s320/Photo_0119.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Again a different perspective, but DALL-E managed to replicate both the dreaminess of a pinhole camera and the pastel-like colours to be expected from Portra 400. What if I changed the film to Ilford HP5?</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXWDmi4CqvVz8xdfrSeu7AkQkLVE1MtcXnpdevzXNBJbJoCe5s_m7gFXvAPl64Ld-YreTX6MnbXPw5yLB8kR1T-dB2SnslK-XRCeKGJ7SHtTH4wqYsymuAy8MMohikQ9Vyj-t7B-U03n8OFaMARK0lILke34enVH8FX_-kZVVhR9a50maHqG57aUU/s2048/Photo_0118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVXWDmi4CqvVz8xdfrSeu7AkQkLVE1MtcXnpdevzXNBJbJoCe5s_m7gFXvAPl64Ld-YreTX6MnbXPw5yLB8kR1T-dB2SnslK-XRCeKGJ7SHtTH4wqYsymuAy8MMohikQ9Vyj-t7B-U03n8OFaMARK0lILke34enVH8FX_-kZVVhR9a50maHqG57aUU/s320/Photo_0118.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Again, exactly what might be expected from Ilford’s iconic black and white film. I noticed that DALL-E didn’t simply rework an existing picture with a new camera or film; it started afresh producing another four images of the pier each time. I simply chose the one of the four that I liked the most.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">So, what are my conclusions? I think that both camps - the wow! camp and the end of the world camp - are right, and they are both wrong.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">There is very much a wow factor when you see the images. That a computer which is half a world away from New Brighton beach can produce such a believable result is actually quite amazing. In certain limited settings, one could probably get away with presenting a DALL-E image as the real McCoy. Certainly, the DSLR picture is quite believable at first glance.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">BUT the devil, as they say, is in the details or, in DALL-E’s case, the lack of details. DALL-E has produced a good impression of New Brighton pier, but the details are all messed up. There are bits there that shouldn’t be and bits missing that should be there. It’s DALL-E’s <i>IMPRESSION</i> of the pier gleaned from many photographs, but it’s not an actual image of the pier. It’s an impressive effort but falls short - a bit like a kindergarten drawing drawn from a child's memory.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">DALL-E is good with style though. It understands the style of a DSLR image, a pinhole image, Portra 400 and Ilford HP5. From other DALL-E images, it is also clear that it understands the style of Van Gogh or Botticelli, of cartoons and illustrations. So DALL-E is good at putting a veneer of style onto an image. But not so good at producing anything more than an impression of a thing or place.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">One thing’s for sure, as lazy as I am and as impressive as DALL-E is, it is not ready to replace getting up at stupid o’clock in the night to go and photograph the sunrise at New Brighton beach. Photographers can sleep easy, DALL-E won't be replacing their camera any time soon.</p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-80036429711381149392022-08-24T04:44:00.001+12:002022-08-24T13:23:05.018+12:00MacOS 12.5.1 update breaks user accounts<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px;">The MacOS Monterey 12.5.1 point release, seems to be breaking user accounts on certain Mac configurations. If you have user accounts configured with the user’s Home folder on an external SSD or HD, you should read on BEFORE you attempt to update your Mac to 12.5.1</span></p><ul class="ul1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; list-style-type: circle;"><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The problem</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What’s going on</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How to fix</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How to avoid</span></li></ul><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">The problem</span></h1><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">A number of users have found that after updating to MacOS 12.5.1 their user accounts have been reset and the data in their home folder is unavailable. This includes all user configuration data, user data files and software registrations. This data is not lost but is unavailable to the user. Whether this happens for EVERY user with their Home directory on an external drive, or just for some, is unknown.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What’s going on?</span></h1><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">It would appear that, at some point in the update process, MacOS attempts to access the users account without the external drive being mounted. Not being able to find the account data, the update proceeds to create a new home folder for the account on “Macintosh HD,” giving it the same name as the missing External drive. </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Later, when the external drive is mounted the external dive is given a new mount point name because the original name is already in use by the home folder created earlier. For example if the external drive was originally called “Data” it will now be mounted as “Data 1”.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">All the user data is still intact on “Data 1” but the Mac is now looking at a “ghost” folder called “Data” which had no user data.</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How to fix</span></h1><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">If this has already happened to you, all is not lost and you can recover the user data easily.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">You will need a second ‘recovery account’ for an admin user with their Home folder on the main “Macintosh HD” drive (the default location). You should already have such an account if you also have users with home folders on an external drive but, if not, it is not too late to create one now.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Log in to this recovery account and in the Finder go to Menu > Go > Go to folder. In the dialogue that pops up, type /Volumes/ and press <Enter>.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">What you should see is a list of all the mounted drives, including the drive on which the user data is stored. In this example, it is called “Data 1”. In addition there should be a folder icon called “Data” - this is the ghost folder and it is what is stopping the real drive from being recognised.</span></p><ul class="ul1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; list-style-type: circle;"><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Unmount “Data 1”</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Delete the folder “Data”</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Remount the Data drive (it will now be called “Data” not “Data 1”)</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Log out of the recovery account</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Log back into the user account</span></li></ul><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Everything should now be back to normal.</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"><br /></span></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">How to avoid</span></h1><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I haven’t tested this, but will make it part of my future update process.</span></p><ul class="ul1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; list-style-type: circle;"><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Log into the recovery account (see above)</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Unmount all external drives</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Proceed with the update</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">After updating make sure all external drives are remounted</span></li><li class="li2" style="font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">Log out of the recovery account and log back in as the normal user</span></li></ul><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">I believe this will avoid any ghost folder issues - something that seems to have plagued MacOS as far back as OSX.</span><span class="s2" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-28199940101784848322022-08-02T13:49:00.001+12:002022-08-02T14:06:24.268+12:00Just writing<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">..<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKEQFJGRQikM1cGPMOPB7roZrGgBOhVqvNRqTsUBwKIwAwsJPNOso1j_cgdYX08WFwta7EGx3N5bS1QcWDvmKZzYZPA_Hyv52o5guRA_f2IPJL6xfwTXwTYCSBii2s-ckmnxdlfGHloTv8SIvUKodAt6tQEHFCQlu54huVj1CXbdbOvmiA9HMK_0j0" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="1563" height="573" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKEQFJGRQikM1cGPMOPB7roZrGgBOhVqvNRqTsUBwKIwAwsJPNOso1j_cgdYX08WFwta7EGx3N5bS1QcWDvmKZzYZPA_Hyv52o5guRA_f2IPJL6xfwTXwTYCSBii2s-ckmnxdlfGHloTv8SIvUKodAt6tQEHFCQlu54huVj1CXbdbOvmiA9HMK_0j0=w640-h573" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha95GSAQqZHuC8w35VSHnAtkNlQdY4fso2A9sGYTFE-xDsLXsw8a2_TDf1_Y1I3bbA2fydRelOiQL-oyQ81MXatXAwOXpy2v7yg7_Un2nREY7g82bIWS4F2hxbUeFlHjFkCZuM5nWeDAxXVA7gFtWebdy2BVJTg4uVuZ1kGfUTnSPYPjvsutNNj85F" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1516" height="521" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEha95GSAQqZHuC8w35VSHnAtkNlQdY4fso2A9sGYTFE-xDsLXsw8a2_TDf1_Y1I3bbA2fydRelOiQL-oyQ81MXatXAwOXpy2v7yg7_Un2nREY7g82bIWS4F2hxbUeFlHjFkCZuM5nWeDAxXVA7gFtWebdy2BVJTg4uVuZ1kGfUTnSPYPjvsutNNj85F=w640-h521" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8kgzIqqwwHQM1WtglgxM_hu_kLK-myuuu5mizHMetAaaWLuwbU-os_6gsOLx_YyIvbwAsgn-XzgWNddRU-xnGC7ausL40UpM2LxB6MY8TNEs0ePaJHKKnFq3YXnCzGnusE2EhD0IXMnTECOBe97iaUqHNqbRCpj-pujysSoASExfHTQDXt554FLp/s4361/DSCF8029-Exposure-Exposure.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4361" data-original-width="3425" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ8kgzIqqwwHQM1WtglgxM_hu_kLK-myuuu5mizHMetAaaWLuwbU-os_6gsOLx_YyIvbwAsgn-XzgWNddRU-xnGC7ausL40UpM2LxB6MY8TNEs0ePaJHKKnFq3YXnCzGnusE2EhD0IXMnTECOBe97iaUqHNqbRCpj-pujysSoASExfHTQDXt554FLp/w502-h640/DSCF8029-Exposure-Exposure.jpg" width="502" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does handwriting belong in a museum?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtXOFhMFxckgnTiEQEjNYQIKnr2DEDrNQLmAE3vADE46Fa93qIe_FvinAx0YEYJNxOyDbTZ6psmjkTKt0hbJ2F0qMO2muHmu6GW6PQPs5JV8sgQ69UlbbwBrSHtkDY7AR-cDfdDfdUMmSe29xUOVLmfO0S5BTefjCgO3vNheoKkdAC-J5pq_-tuRyZ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1432" data-original-width="1518" height="605" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtXOFhMFxckgnTiEQEjNYQIKnr2DEDrNQLmAE3vADE46Fa93qIe_FvinAx0YEYJNxOyDbTZ6psmjkTKt0hbJ2F0qMO2muHmu6GW6PQPs5JV8sgQ69UlbbwBrSHtkDY7AR-cDfdDfdUMmSe29xUOVLmfO0S5BTefjCgO3vNheoKkdAC-J5pq_-tuRyZ=w640-h605" width="640" /></a></div>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi00cMjdW8jWmQgqiopQ47ruu3mw-KKorit0ACOVXkDUDyEmMNrE-cmQMBlSmV6MNgP27GIe_DHJqT4VjdLvC9j5-Zz2jmi1rNMDdUFHGAmA_ZWVloMk_ZNjx_UD_OsnnG2trvFDkhnT-eTt7eAgqxtP-MeAB1nGr6XOpPlVsrLtYR7FxMnULl20kfB" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="1482" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi00cMjdW8jWmQgqiopQ47ruu3mw-KKorit0ACOVXkDUDyEmMNrE-cmQMBlSmV6MNgP27GIe_DHJqT4VjdLvC9j5-Zz2jmi1rNMDdUFHGAmA_ZWVloMk_ZNjx_UD_OsnnG2trvFDkhnT-eTt7eAgqxtP-MeAB1nGr6XOpPlVsrLtYR7FxMnULl20kfB=w640-h150" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><p></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-70648354305145559922022-07-25T16:43:00.000+12:002022-07-25T16:43:36.758+12:00It's been a while<p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWY2iTXaPWfNldyDIQ59XIHCrsrLyoSsOnCiCVy8Wxq6VHpeB6pWKscUEr-ENF8YTyAyViLZXF8BVcOHL-Qw1NT7SZj7UYjWUNPUQ348Ee7Omd0wy-c6VYO6LiszGvouQEFf8gdoQx_AgbCb1iVi9WF2Xg6dDMm7hJHJikTSMtKb0KWwaNrCGF5OER/s2048/Photo_0099.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWY2iTXaPWfNldyDIQ59XIHCrsrLyoSsOnCiCVy8Wxq6VHpeB6pWKscUEr-ENF8YTyAyViLZXF8BVcOHL-Qw1NT7SZj7UYjWUNPUQ348Ee7Omd0wy-c6VYO6LiszGvouQEFf8gdoQx_AgbCb1iVi9WF2Xg6dDMm7hJHJikTSMtKb0KWwaNrCGF5OER/s320/Photo_0099.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>It's been a while since I wrote a post, a while since I took some photos. It's winter and my habits got all bogged down with rain and gales. Then my OlyPen died - held it up to the light and all I could see were a bunch of shutter blades floating free inside the lens. The 0lyPen had become my friend; now she was gone. Devastating.<p></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But that's an excuse - I have other cameras - lots of other cameras. But I’ve just been sitting by the fire reading books - between walks around the 'hood to keep fit. Other things have occupied my mind too - not very productive things but I'm allowing myself to be unproductive. Annette is not totally on board with that proposition.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Productivity is not all it's cracked up to be anyway - sometimes you just have to do stuff because you want to, rather than it fulfilling any understood purpose. Take this post for example - you'll be reading it in nice neat type but it started life handwritten. No particular reason other than a tablet and pencil feels less "officey" than a keyboard and screen. I've been handwriting a lot lately - just because I can. More productive? No. Do I care? No. Am I losing my grip on reality? Probably.</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Anyway, the point is, despite my blogging absence, I am still here alive and kicking. Still pondering about "life the universe and everything" and still wondering how to navigate old age without surrendering to an increasingly creaky body.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Despite the weather, I’m also starting to think about taking some pictures - I even took a few with my phone and the Insta360 the other day when the reserve at the end of the road became the pond at the end of the road (for the 3rd time in the last 28 years). It only lasted three days, but a 2m deep pond is still a respectable example of the genus ‘pond’ - even if it was fleeting.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfq47V6bXvB0XNhFScgjUtutJ2MkC_LJNa4voaDmH0sxYt6png7M8eYgXDnMs_8OGcdzlno7JAA0vgvWTRGo10d1MVpZR3rkBB668SklDjpXz5rrhe_KcKJv6FekPJcH3zqf3fPtiLgsDrw8jLRKkVbjj_53BQB2gveVmFRu3kL_2uPUyCaiJdIQu/s2048/Photo_0100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfq47V6bXvB0XNhFScgjUtutJ2MkC_LJNa4voaDmH0sxYt6png7M8eYgXDnMs_8OGcdzlno7JAA0vgvWTRGo10d1MVpZR3rkBB668SklDjpXz5rrhe_KcKJv6FekPJcH3zqf3fPtiLgsDrw8jLRKkVbjj_53BQB2gveVmFRu3kL_2uPUyCaiJdIQu/w426-h640/Photo_0100.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our pop-up pond</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">And from the bottom of the pond two days later:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCTCRpyfOCnZnFDk3jlO6tuEK9mmk-J7n-jR2FCeEEUUkxA2SUKmRs__DBiE5yuBugPuKSvRiOZr3ThO9r8Y-b5-rQfDjDbzWoLifs0VhyhjqHpBmIMZ9SYgao2rrPGi_mkBoBRyRbfTHy-013mLELn99KzalMtBubhtVobM7UQimdmGAqYHi7z7u/s2048/Photo_0101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVCTCRpyfOCnZnFDk3jlO6tuEK9mmk-J7n-jR2FCeEEUUkxA2SUKmRs__DBiE5yuBugPuKSvRiOZr3ThO9r8Y-b5-rQfDjDbzWoLifs0VhyhjqHpBmIMZ9SYgao2rrPGi_mkBoBRyRbfTHy-013mLELn99KzalMtBubhtVobM7UQimdmGAqYHi7z7u/w640-h360/Photo_0101.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-47817636182838227602022-05-12T16:05:00.000+12:002022-05-12T16:05:05.448+12:00The fuse ...<h2 style="text-align: left;">The fuse, mountain climbing electricians, mother-loving plumbers, five days without a shower and keeping perspective.</h2><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Saturday</span></b>: This morning there was no hot water. I called the electrician. He was in Arthurs Pass, part-way up Mt. Bruce.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Sunday</span></b> (Mother’sDay) : Down from the mountain, the electrician discovered a blown fuse. The fuse was replaced and immediately blew again. Further investigation found that the heating element in the hot water cylinder was shorting and needed replacement - we needed a plumber. The plumber was visiting his mother (it’s good for plumbers to visit their mothers on Mother’s Day - I’m not complaining).</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Monday</span></b>, the plumber arrived to drain the cylinder and fit the new element. The element and cylinder had been married for 36 years. Element and Cylinder did not want to be parted, and the cylinder died clinging on to the deceased body of its life-long friend. </p><p>Removing the dead cylinder necessitated removing the door and frame to the cylinder cupboard - which had clearly been installed <i>after</i> the cylinder. Despite best efforts, the door frame did not come away cleanly and split in the process. By lunchtime, the cylinder was out and the plumber was waiting for the new cylinder to be delivered. </p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Tuesday</span></b>: The new cylinder arrived at lunchtime. The plumber came around to do the installation, which took about 2 hours. The electrician followed to connect up the electrics. There was no power on the circuit (there had been on Sunday) - we assumed that the lines company had activated the ripple control for load balancing (it had turned very cold that day), but we wouldn't be sure until later tonight or in the morning. Fingers crossed.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Wednesday</span></b>: No hot water. The electrician ("oh, bugger") came and found a second blown fuse on the meter board. Five minutes later the water began heating, but too late for a shower that morning.</p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Thursday</span></b>: We showered. It was blissful. And I realised how soft I had become. As a child, it was hands and face at the sink each night and a weekly dunk in the bath. That child had no idea what a shower was. But that same person, as an old man, found five days without a shower an inconvenience. </p><p>I need to remind myself of the current ‘inconvenience’ experienced by those who lived in Mariupol. It’s all about perspective.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-79659789792225502662022-03-05T13:25:00.004+13:002022-03-05T13:25:42.516+13:00It's fishing Jim ...<p> ... but not as you know it.</p><p>Although I am no fisherman, I have often thought that photography must be a little like fishing. Whatever the skill of the one with the rod and line, some days are successful and others are not. There is an element of luck - or at least there are forces at play beyond our understanding (perhaps that's the definition of luck).</p><p>So, like the fisherman who has missed the 'big one' (again) but comes home with a satisfying bag of fish for the kettle; an hour spent at the river yesterday bagged a clutch of nice pictures suitable for printing, even if not splendid enough to displace those occupying our limited wall space.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjQ-G-Kn8iKqsNQ9Gesax6_AVZyN6GcImUtQ5hqWqk4B2UycCTNYt_orfKMxlrfXgdN1wTwvC820GFzhsOVDqIaGwAZ8IQK6udAeZ6ub6B0J7Y6Ywpu1prVNMhB_boU0JB8wkiW_wboMUxmjpBrvho951mpzEFBrKJjsszW6FP1XCZcKm5smp5Jbz4=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjQ-G-Kn8iKqsNQ9Gesax6_AVZyN6GcImUtQ5hqWqk4B2UycCTNYt_orfKMxlrfXgdN1wTwvC820GFzhsOVDqIaGwAZ8IQK6udAeZ6ub6B0J7Y6Ywpu1prVNMhB_boU0JB8wkiW_wboMUxmjpBrvho951mpzEFBrKJjsszW6FP1XCZcKm5smp5Jbz4=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Waimakariri Gorge bridge<br />(originally built for rail, now a road bridge)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKEnwPG9Kvvl_eqeroApvLz_AHUyMIc9fRNR5Jybf5ONzRjc8jSdiCzAUW48AxHG4S239ejmDqEagjGksZZCR-XLZK_A1RLN53eqxCZwPFlTWdMyQBw77SWBJyhqy_0PnQkzKfXXeDIgF7UaD6ZSC57NoO4z9rsY2Vm_TSvqmaOsv89AsdP1Thj7YR=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiKEnwPG9Kvvl_eqeroApvLz_AHUyMIc9fRNR5Jybf5ONzRjc8jSdiCzAUW48AxHG4S239ejmDqEagjGksZZCR-XLZK_A1RLN53eqxCZwPFlTWdMyQBw77SWBJyhqy_0PnQkzKfXXeDIgF7UaD6ZSC57NoO4z9rsY2Vm_TSvqmaOsv89AsdP1Thj7YR=w640-h640" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The intake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ--fLj7Ps7WPHZlJzSCnXHDb-30QBp1d1czKEk3MYbTJ-zCuqhgrvDE-NoYujzvC9aFZgtT5GT7BNSijY8m-Lqme5QcmiMZI_iQb74L9R-t9H9LkcklU1G7mU-qtag3Zh8xxKkSUF06szs_tRLThScm6Ro4Sl6Oa8-YEUVxrgJm6mrt8QMZPmVj9Z=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJ--fLj7Ps7WPHZlJzSCnXHDb-30QBp1d1czKEk3MYbTJ-zCuqhgrvDE-NoYujzvC9aFZgtT5GT7BNSijY8m-Lqme5QcmiMZI_iQb74L9R-t9H9LkcklU1G7mU-qtag3Zh8xxKkSUF06szs_tRLThScm6Ro4Sl6Oa8-YEUVxrgJm6mrt8QMZPmVj9Z=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the intake</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyv2E5wQLgwhsGf5RXh1YxWQ2ioeOfQJC17-8GRMDOizu2guVEBHfULszx3QANf-4TlKPiK8fVbVL-FudAnqWcJgOzVvSMC3CBbO5-LhIqUI3lw7cijdw8_NxUpWfiLFU5O1e6VTTsyLi5__WLzZrmIOx0ietIO0VtC7rfrO4RSFHwqlk8WD2BUcEO=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1069" data-original-width="2048" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhyv2E5wQLgwhsGf5RXh1YxWQ2ioeOfQJC17-8GRMDOizu2guVEBHfULszx3QANf-4TlKPiK8fVbVL-FudAnqWcJgOzVvSMC3CBbO5-LhIqUI3lw7cijdw8_NxUpWfiLFU5O1e6VTTsyLi5__WLzZrmIOx0ietIO0VtC7rfrO4RSFHwqlk8WD2BUcEO=w640-h334" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graffiti tryptic<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWQjfkdKU7YpDsNWs1hVzKc_FL2b0lfYRyQiW8DvzUdzuFjzFqs9b-6gkgVvBpY7y5R5fIfdPEao2ONptljqWUlpO8CM43RA-40UNnolJeRCXERUT8dq2BVQcjnQAgRXu4uUb8IBUaLFtSjt-kUYuCiHkodwyHDyBND0_t37ycCr1OniwD50zlntkI=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWQjfkdKU7YpDsNWs1hVzKc_FL2b0lfYRyQiW8DvzUdzuFjzFqs9b-6gkgVvBpY7y5R5fIfdPEao2ONptljqWUlpO8CM43RA-40UNnolJeRCXERUT8dq2BVQcjnQAgRXu4uUb8IBUaLFtSjt-kUYuCiHkodwyHDyBND0_t37ycCr1OniwD50zlntkI=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Framing the up-river</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwUaHWE0fVjJRTDmXQXqorOLbUZ5-5_nwlRZXN6CneX0FfdUx0Rw9JBX1Rrk4V0kXJYC4XSRpdh2vkXGrx6-RC0jS7pK2Xjxg7b1RunSh42MpAzQNl6WEaaPGb911zv8uMGFOxLxqN5vLpmhwPih4pFHmhbNDSHLkehnkiHtzwM4DED6FPoHF8DM5V=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwUaHWE0fVjJRTDmXQXqorOLbUZ5-5_nwlRZXN6CneX0FfdUx0Rw9JBX1Rrk4V0kXJYC4XSRpdh2vkXGrx6-RC0jS7pK2Xjxg7b1RunSh42MpAzQNl6WEaaPGb911zv8uMGFOxLxqN5vLpmhwPih4pFHmhbNDSHLkehnkiHtzwM4DED6FPoHF8DM5V=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up-river from the Gorge<br />(yes, the water really was that colour)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Oh, and when I left for home, two fishermen arrived and cast their lines just downstream from the bridge. I wonder what their luck was like?</div>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0470 Waimakariri Gorge Road, Sheffield 7580, New Zealand-43.3607772 172.0504132-43.373259372655227 172.0332470623047 -43.348295027344776 172.06757933769532tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-34549627985563692742022-02-06T20:36:00.003+13:002022-02-06T20:36:52.721+13:00Falling in love again ...<p>Yes, definitely in love again. It's OlyPen's fault, I just love going out taking photographs with this little camera. Five rolls of film (about 300 images) and my 'better' cameras are moping around at home feeling sorry for themselves. The latest trial was a roll of HP5 - Ilford's gritty, blue-collar, cousin of its more sophisticated FP4. It didn't disappoint. I picked 12 shots out of the 46 I got from this roll. (Click on any image for a larger version.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH7P70_gmkjHrDvKqHupbcKum5hYR7NdCIKDSR1nuSRk8_Ioaw8ZoRHiOPqp0IrILOemiJ4WAjTsxDMw2yJTJDxowbUgGv5zVhl4ksdx9oLO-EArZ_-Ps5Kv1JdtJqGuxVzcNO7GkrwAIINnmCEgiNzA8gKVkGVXYjzIFalXKAhgyDz-GfXtuFO1TG=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiH7P70_gmkjHrDvKqHupbcKum5hYR7NdCIKDSR1nuSRk8_Ioaw8ZoRHiOPqp0IrILOemiJ4WAjTsxDMw2yJTJDxowbUgGv5zVhl4ksdx9oLO-EArZ_-Ps5Kv1JdtJqGuxVzcNO7GkrwAIINnmCEgiNzA8gKVkGVXYjzIFalXKAhgyDz-GfXtuFO1TG=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRcZ9jswqG8IHr_pmhD0XuuZybcVNDVThFKMFHZClIH2Q4ydEcndWzRWbT3vivcIkYTH-f5siAe29u2wRkT3B_Z1RmWOaffPPlJFutcUzP_VJ24T6hnUVMVWuT9aU8CLASzVaS3NfuuIl6F-fmTk2pUsMp53OXlKf0BuiAsth0UcyMVyMMCMW5kRzy=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRcZ9jswqG8IHr_pmhD0XuuZybcVNDVThFKMFHZClIH2Q4ydEcndWzRWbT3vivcIkYTH-f5siAe29u2wRkT3B_Z1RmWOaffPPlJFutcUzP_VJ24T6hnUVMVWuT9aU8CLASzVaS3NfuuIl6F-fmTk2pUsMp53OXlKf0BuiAsth0UcyMVyMMCMW5kRzy=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMj2PKhkCpG6nw8vrOgnK-_7S4JQ7uQjy98GlMHdwRC3IQ3FrU_51tPID0inQ_TRvz2_fZmThT9bMiOGhsv7Zx_WcFWNBQwsp3Om2zF4xpYKWGGqax75SkeP-dCdQskyhxglN6q80ACeSnMaW5Nx46XkJOwbg7TQtEyIP5Ud2_g0tPNVNMUKr9PxSw=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhMj2PKhkCpG6nw8vrOgnK-_7S4JQ7uQjy98GlMHdwRC3IQ3FrU_51tPID0inQ_TRvz2_fZmThT9bMiOGhsv7Zx_WcFWNBQwsp3Om2zF4xpYKWGGqax75SkeP-dCdQskyhxglN6q80ACeSnMaW5Nx46XkJOwbg7TQtEyIP5Ud2_g0tPNVNMUKr9PxSw=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXi-5GBEAzzO_22N1iW2F3dNS9AaHOfKv9qtAlW5rNXyp0LWedOPaYbwJ96SpGnF6mqHMoZfxDNuCVoklZSZG_WU2BT14AKfUL2OYi4sVKgbI9XGNSqFbDR7J5PusqzvBmqYd7bJxfURtPGr6RrOUK9QPC7rW5wBNXYbBVZO5pRLmW1-f_CXFdJN5I=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1609" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhXi-5GBEAzzO_22N1iW2F3dNS9AaHOfKv9qtAlW5rNXyp0LWedOPaYbwJ96SpGnF6mqHMoZfxDNuCVoklZSZG_WU2BT14AKfUL2OYi4sVKgbI9XGNSqFbDR7J5PusqzvBmqYd7bJxfURtPGr6RrOUK9QPC7rW5wBNXYbBVZO5pRLmW1-f_CXFdJN5I=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9g4c2EpFDEPPs4BOsFvxkOY2bvngOzrAl4iiIAejcutSFUl7SG5cWO_cYWxALjas1WtCgBnTQiqAgnyulJKnRaWffMVaq6MRLVBN5CNhqBl_3yusChDolAyEDWVRx85QtzaDDjXnjSOcsuYUAW-d7cMuqOabzZBoW0FX2E9E1Ee_6pBZz-XRS0MQu=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9g4c2EpFDEPPs4BOsFvxkOY2bvngOzrAl4iiIAejcutSFUl7SG5cWO_cYWxALjas1WtCgBnTQiqAgnyulJKnRaWffMVaq6MRLVBN5CNhqBl_3yusChDolAyEDWVRx85QtzaDDjXnjSOcsuYUAW-d7cMuqOabzZBoW0FX2E9E1Ee_6pBZz-XRS0MQu=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh45kBOHL-rq3HdnZ4rwshgK-KRIM3Ud9JCL7-KvUvQbAf77Hv5qXTGr8fHYUq3Rmy2cTpxk-4CMu8-xCKKV-HkygImoNepMIfRLXJ0Twm4h84kniV8YJkYq5eGqx3wZTg_GaIf_Oc8TZpyW8fpXjHZXktivXVs22DtrTJszqAB2jMoP9Q9dYZlL4PL=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh45kBOHL-rq3HdnZ4rwshgK-KRIM3Ud9JCL7-KvUvQbAf77Hv5qXTGr8fHYUq3Rmy2cTpxk-4CMu8-xCKKV-HkygImoNepMIfRLXJ0Twm4h84kniV8YJkYq5eGqx3wZTg_GaIf_Oc8TZpyW8fpXjHZXktivXVs22DtrTJszqAB2jMoP9Q9dYZlL4PL=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXtvug1srkMGnm39aOEyAIMBZE-103fIYHxJcvVh3FeRFDiTph9sDHa9G-DZCCCRMowDSAfXPQqPC7MZIrhwJdJEMZF6VNvlmdpG4KyK2lBhceZGx6lYmt5O8vBw9hXyXhlNpuGzSUnmsmY7nF5cIVshowubapl1IBTEdRMtspFEjzc3UHwBMaDkOS=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXtvug1srkMGnm39aOEyAIMBZE-103fIYHxJcvVh3FeRFDiTph9sDHa9G-DZCCCRMowDSAfXPQqPC7MZIrhwJdJEMZF6VNvlmdpG4KyK2lBhceZGx6lYmt5O8vBw9hXyXhlNpuGzSUnmsmY7nF5cIVshowubapl1IBTEdRMtspFEjzc3UHwBMaDkOS=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZRFuGSDn2gNtnjY3nWJj58JGqMXl304rSv70lqXKO-iOV1EgtqJ9vNbMqhZ9h7Y7Yuekd6eZzb6qLApYk5-g-FK0siRIEv5IrgpUp6tM9iEUxFgoihn2L3yl9_F-6sx8ybfzajzGBXofrvz1IzIlOhj3G2PvkkWNXraSdAOPY-MD6L4MSpnFEXB4J=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZRFuGSDn2gNtnjY3nWJj58JGqMXl304rSv70lqXKO-iOV1EgtqJ9vNbMqhZ9h7Y7Yuekd6eZzb6qLApYk5-g-FK0siRIEv5IrgpUp6tM9iEUxFgoihn2L3yl9_F-6sx8ybfzajzGBXofrvz1IzIlOhj3G2PvkkWNXraSdAOPY-MD6L4MSpnFEXB4J=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlvNN0pOHybPAhvttuRrxo04he5n221_0UgNv0M0vWemXiM7Ac3ssZm6oJzjjhwA3A1KT5FGX3HtbDoD4wGrHaHHFQ9Pf1AvEEmAqsPLQQQOyiBwbM5NsJjuyuyUSOiCO-vbcR_lr2TTXVCFCwTfGv3LbzwsYcsqG3qbilx7dwmv_1X3TzviTMxmGy=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlvNN0pOHybPAhvttuRrxo04he5n221_0UgNv0M0vWemXiM7Ac3ssZm6oJzjjhwA3A1KT5FGX3HtbDoD4wGrHaHHFQ9Pf1AvEEmAqsPLQQQOyiBwbM5NsJjuyuyUSOiCO-vbcR_lr2TTXVCFCwTfGv3LbzwsYcsqG3qbilx7dwmv_1X3TzviTMxmGy=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_7rj-OU2-q570yCQTQI5bD0CiTT8r6UtnSA5GW16xunHbJlmaL3XH9WdKrs4LBPXJcLzLmcdaWQJQqK6oVS2m2FDDylwS9j-qN2l1qjQa3EzoAkk7Igc5Mp2QVYgODl7XM1XsBwyYFLXDTPN8qrtrayOixVWD00xRQL6e-UXL4cWAVrDZuoBMPSKY=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1609" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_7rj-OU2-q570yCQTQI5bD0CiTT8r6UtnSA5GW16xunHbJlmaL3XH9WdKrs4LBPXJcLzLmcdaWQJQqK6oVS2m2FDDylwS9j-qN2l1qjQa3EzoAkk7Igc5Mp2QVYgODl7XM1XsBwyYFLXDTPN8qrtrayOixVWD00xRQL6e-UXL4cWAVrDZuoBMPSKY=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIRSFOZk1VfGv8pQ1aqTlF-ZRyWNZL8b2DS3zi4ySv_At6-N4HHU4Yy2tew99__lvNtO7S2k9_H4kMhgprKmXFFs_qcD8lZH0PVmTWP9zNZKkW3DdPyzfA38vTtT0l1Ayd1IbsEt7W8bBaAxiZloph6dMIyWdOnOo76rvuEJLuRQTcdED6NuTXxi-c=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIRSFOZk1VfGv8pQ1aqTlF-ZRyWNZL8b2DS3zi4ySv_At6-N4HHU4Yy2tew99__lvNtO7S2k9_H4kMhgprKmXFFs_qcD8lZH0PVmTWP9zNZKkW3DdPyzfA38vTtT0l1Ayd1IbsEt7W8bBaAxiZloph6dMIyWdOnOo76rvuEJLuRQTcdED6NuTXxi-c=s320" width="251" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAp1_6Y4GK4pLixrq0QRylAKuU7yzOi2dZ2IKKJy_n7pXaiKu9kaEta__QLKQOqP9cXIm7SrwHV29RczqwqS_SW1Xf_iBx8jCpDLK8eXQAn1QzpZUGc5vS9KwkAUTWKJ5qpz_GEeMVRDMVJ0xXcRrxGNXHhUPIms24ICHA6FwPwpve4CcVogzm8hPu=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1609" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAp1_6Y4GK4pLixrq0QRylAKuU7yzOi2dZ2IKKJy_n7pXaiKu9kaEta__QLKQOqP9cXIm7SrwHV29RczqwqS_SW1Xf_iBx8jCpDLK8eXQAn1QzpZUGc5vS9KwkAUTWKJ5qpz_GEeMVRDMVJ0xXcRrxGNXHhUPIms24ICHA6FwPwpve4CcVogzm8hPu=s320" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All these pictures were taken within 500 meters of our front gate, and the tight view from the OlyPen's fixed lens, seems perfect for creating these little abstractions from our home town. The familiarity of home can easily breed a sort of contempt due to its routine ordinariness but, being forced to look closer uncovers the unique, the fleeting and the juxtaposition of ordinary with ordinary, that sometimes makes for 'wonderful'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-10733659902159543822022-01-08T14:05:00.001+13:002022-01-08T15:54:45.904+13:00Olympus Pen D3<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiShzndq2adb5rSF6BoRIxDJHyG0GYlJ2eNkQ_xKNM5pn3c-nY4__ELbK6etM8vhuJ5yQPoPTcRksXISIXHUlImLwCDnGEUgEpm2fbx0FUlvXPz2VD5r_WIP4KXdtOPGXoq5cCSRcZDnudRaIDYl-hxQKEh7aXRuIQwFwoi1PvRPOynUyNqwn5xgJ_t=s4000" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiShzndq2adb5rSF6BoRIxDJHyG0GYlJ2eNkQ_xKNM5pn3c-nY4__ELbK6etM8vhuJ5yQPoPTcRksXISIXHUlImLwCDnGEUgEpm2fbx0FUlvXPz2VD5r_WIP4KXdtOPGXoq5cCSRcZDnudRaIDYl-hxQKEh7aXRuIQwFwoi1PvRPOynUyNqwn5xgJ_t=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Until you hold an Olympus Pen camera in your hand, it is hard to imagine just how small they are. Pictures show a perfectly proportioned 35mm film camera (which it is) but in the hand, it is quite diminutive - smaller even than my everyday digital Fujifilm cameras, the X-M1 and the X-E3 (themselves quite small).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfs-0hc56GmD2-pchBNxexFCpXMyvdmBTLWHiYfO_-qhCftjEX4p74wCoT1AkVEi5JpaxBqeNSqI6YOVXglyoFeTqZOE4YCPYs31l-vTD3qpkTqOEPET2krwxPIyg5BhBFB0T2gZIN0CatoO_A_97dHYqAULtMROqtyX2A5eKi4lEsiNlWlqWa6m3o=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfs-0hc56GmD2-pchBNxexFCpXMyvdmBTLWHiYfO_-qhCftjEX4p74wCoT1AkVEi5JpaxBqeNSqI6YOVXglyoFeTqZOE4YCPYs31l-vTD3qpkTqOEPET2krwxPIyg5BhBFB0T2gZIN0CatoO_A_97dHYqAULtMROqtyX2A5eKi4lEsiNlWlqWa6m3o=w502-h640" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The "Oly-pen" arrived just before Christmas and it took a couple of weeks to run through the first roll of film - not least of all because a standard 36 exposure film can accommodate 72 shots in the Oly-pen's half-frame format. I had been concerned that the quality of the images, given the smaller negatives, wouldn't meet my normal standards. Usually, I get clean 24Mp images from standard 35mm film and, rather surprisingly, I found that the Oly-pen produced equally clean 20Mp files in a 4:3 aspect ratio (despite its size disadvantage).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXQf55CnYR17ILohLh_wRXEFE1hveD9XQIMMfrZhOFjv1jF5UGOSGLnis5NWS4UwIgSTJ-AvM-S7fGbEHjMczkiF99Fz3TLH8pK-MrwJ-Vvqz4VmIrGZEHnHHR-h9mQjvl7VvPcDuakINnKqU75-bHMdaqTNgz6HjJhEToOH5zulBF5-BGDXG15mfC=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXQf55CnYR17ILohLh_wRXEFE1hveD9XQIMMfrZhOFjv1jF5UGOSGLnis5NWS4UwIgSTJ-AvM-S7fGbEHjMczkiF99Fz3TLH8pK-MrwJ-Vvqz4VmIrGZEHnHHR-h9mQjvl7VvPcDuakINnKqU75-bHMdaqTNgz6HjJhEToOH5zulBF5-BGDXG15mfC=w502-h640" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That first roll was a resounding success - despite this photographer's mess-up. Knowing that the light-meter would be reading incorrectly (due to an incorrect voltage battery) I compensated by adjusting the ISO. Only, dingbat that I am, I adjusted the ISO the wrong way, resulting in 72 frames that were about 3 stops underexposed. Despite this, the rescued shots all turned out remarkably well and demonstrated that the Oly-pen was a very useable camera.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ4Yam3Ilvm-3hCdbtjdof7a94pBmS4Cdhz9GZFMhNL3J3sHKcEBhX4TEYfcM6WNmQS9J5pQWPhF7itgXQ1bGKHEcWLzkCnT2MBVkEud_JJzMdCbZ5oQm61VJ86D4ELbHg1UDNeL64vtqJYX3FPCeiCkrzLHvTYgJ28ywwkdoTEQJl9gagb8QY5-C2=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgQ4Yam3Ilvm-3hCdbtjdof7a94pBmS4Cdhz9GZFMhNL3J3sHKcEBhX4TEYfcM6WNmQS9J5pQWPhF7itgXQ1bGKHEcWLzkCnT2MBVkEud_JJzMdCbZ5oQm61VJ86D4ELbHg1UDNeL64vtqJYX3FPCeiCkrzLHvTYgJ28ywwkdoTEQJl9gagb8QY5-C2=w502-h640" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Manufactured between 1965 and 1969, the Oly-pen D3 makes a great street camera, it is discrete and, using zone focusing, quick to use. With the appropriate exposure dialled in (not necessarily too accurately!) and the focus set, taking a shot is a simple wind, shoot ... wind, shoot, affair with an almost inaudible 'snick' as each shot is taken. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIvuKtbS9pLzBJRLVxjpF5EP9TuM-UiIdbSi5HJZn7Z_JTlMl-7xrAm9pFHvbnHkUFwP3LZKj_JgC_2u3IKUG661cSoJZxwxgYubqnDCWvNSy7dHSXp-2uKR_GQY3ALxhLdo2fzFKzuDE7gZdhQiPZZgVQ-ybHVskYLvCtZ16KIpUp1O4w1McrG4SX=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjIvuKtbS9pLzBJRLVxjpF5EP9TuM-UiIdbSi5HJZn7Z_JTlMl-7xrAm9pFHvbnHkUFwP3LZKj_JgC_2u3IKUG661cSoJZxwxgYubqnDCWvNSy7dHSXp-2uKR_GQY3ALxhLdo2fzFKzuDE7gZdhQiPZZgVQ-ybHVskYLvCtZ16KIpUp1O4w1McrG4SX=w502-h640" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Given its small size, ease of operation, fast and sharp f1.7 lens, and immense 'fun' factor, the Oly-pen is destined to become my everyday, casual photography, film-favourite.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFwoLX29gJHA__etvnQdipb85W8n2G976lr8qN2PgX0k8QYZ1NbloCZUzD3x2bQu6S0JX2UoekCynEzXHF-fgWlUlM9OZm_CvDwkLhziBv9a-UVtCD8REvpdISisuJme0i4BZZL0EAx1aFtgXLxmJATK18HquiKrH9BZmLCSggD7Im9IbA18s1WXOC=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1608" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFwoLX29gJHA__etvnQdipb85W8n2G976lr8qN2PgX0k8QYZ1NbloCZUzD3x2bQu6S0JX2UoekCynEzXHF-fgWlUlM9OZm_CvDwkLhziBv9a-UVtCD8REvpdISisuJme0i4BZZL0EAx1aFtgXLxmJATK18HquiKrH9BZmLCSggD7Im9IbA18s1WXOC=w502-h640" width="502" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Photos (except the first) were taken on Ilford FP4, developed in 'Caffenol' for 8 minutes, scanned and processed in Exposure X7.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-60191379893925815182022-01-01T16:13:00.000+13:002022-01-01T16:13:55.066+13:00Not a resolution ...<p>More a statement of intent really; a new photographic focus for 2022. There's a list of reasons far too long to go into here but, in 2022, I'll be shooting mainly on film, mainly black and white and mainly developed at home. The last couple of months have been spent assembling equipment and refining processes but, for 2022, it's back to my photographic roots to reprise the past with the benefit of sixty years of hindsight.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaZ30dv7-Re9mHg7rkuLZVeuHZHlWbxKAVKKnk4ZFjn5b6QGabYydcLCKaxabC3LXyrDXFsS14wpH2hVnGifTSPtv57EEsGkCi_CKYidmcwrJIHzdYgZYeWGnqVk7kd4n83D37dsbn4P7WbZ8FBGY6ydx8g3BDcDMgnYE8mr91PUW64pou3swNiFbX=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1696" data-original-width="2048" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaZ30dv7-Re9mHg7rkuLZVeuHZHlWbxKAVKKnk4ZFjn5b6QGabYydcLCKaxabC3LXyrDXFsS14wpH2hVnGifTSPtv57EEsGkCi_CKYidmcwrJIHzdYgZYeWGnqVk7kd4n83D37dsbn4P7WbZ8FBGY6ydx8g3BDcDMgnYE8mr91PUW64pou3swNiFbX=w640-h530" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I cut my photographic teeth on black and white film photography, but put it behind me too soon for the sake of colour and, later, digital. I'm pretty sure that I didn't learn enough of what black and white should have taught me before I moved on, so it's back to the beginning to finish what I started back in the 1960s. In part, I've been inspired by the work of Martin Henson (<a href="https://www.martinhensonphotography.co.uk">https://www.martinhensonphotography.co.uk</a>) if only because his outstanding work holds out the promise of the possible.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaKS66W5YnbGG0K5AhUMPMR1BgAIL8s_eb4Dtro4tEVExsuh7as4ySdQ_GjyO5oaX7CtpYfGFqSAqg2li8eUWJzAUtHOTNcQlt7FXfMsbKu96THCl9QyXzpSOPzUxtEzSpCiKzaLo2Ve0nVwn5H38Xo3DVWvaAB8W9Ot0jamoXzbzFkG9T9pWFQCqe=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1696" data-original-width="2048" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiaKS66W5YnbGG0K5AhUMPMR1BgAIL8s_eb4Dtro4tEVExsuh7as4ySdQ_GjyO5oaX7CtpYfGFqSAqg2li8eUWJzAUtHOTNcQlt7FXfMsbKu96THCl9QyXzpSOPzUxtEzSpCiKzaLo2Ve0nVwn5H38Xo3DVWvaAB8W9Ot0jamoXzbzFkG9T9pWFQCqe=w640-h530" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They say that "there's no fool like an old fool" and I guess that's something I'll have to wear while I make this journey. But it's a long-time itch which, it seems to me, I might as well scratch and, if not now (at 73), then when? "Make hay while the sun shines", seems quite a compelling aphorism at my age.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE5Bz6AD3lfNssLseJBCAZChUhIb3KFIA98csvmp9ytcno6qw4hyTlbVI6b4pt9jpi5UOZuutyzC7dTtryRbgF2Ae9UiZiyx809Sj0Wk5IjvsA2uzl_HqcNd4a2MNRydSixj6NMeNGGJgzhoaVNFne1qHGhzGi1DrJp-Fu-UbPYA_gcAF3x4uLfbCl=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgE5Bz6AD3lfNssLseJBCAZChUhIb3KFIA98csvmp9ytcno6qw4hyTlbVI6b4pt9jpi5UOZuutyzC7dTtryRbgF2Ae9UiZiyx809Sj0Wk5IjvsA2uzl_HqcNd4a2MNRydSixj6NMeNGGJgzhoaVNFne1qHGhzGi1DrJp-Fu-UbPYA_gcAF3x4uLfbCl=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, I've been testing equipment and trying out processes. These test shots were all taken on Ilford FP4 but, along the way, I'll probably try some other emulsions as well. Developing film in coffee (a.k.a. "Caffenol") seems to work quite well and, being a somewhat quirky approach, appeals to my New Zealand induced "Number 8 wire" mentality.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjujjo-VG4fQX6CZPvr9yopt_rZLyhQaAJU6lr9TxLmXkc6YmQ_g-DPPrAnAXpM-yrevoiuuN2d_NedkjXjmbPWZCYV5DJ-ZJzvXOkczSLv1p72nlcc7djVM7VYLHrHa5fD70e2-UyFb6LyWql7vwV1oKaBWbdh16vNs8Db4-37VgiTk2lyqohASx7t=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1462" data-original-width="2048" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjujjo-VG4fQX6CZPvr9yopt_rZLyhQaAJU6lr9TxLmXkc6YmQ_g-DPPrAnAXpM-yrevoiuuN2d_NedkjXjmbPWZCYV5DJ-ZJzvXOkczSLv1p72nlcc7djVM7VYLHrHa5fD70e2-UyFb6LyWql7vwV1oKaBWbdh16vNs8Db4-37VgiTk2lyqohASx7t=w640-h456" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, I think I might have fun seeing where this takes me. Will it last the year? Will it run beyond 2022? Who knows where this path might lead.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj67i6J0L-sjBN1blWU1O-Kz2xmRfcJndGqRhmRmRCsI3aQXXrUJfzr6Uwe_huuGp9gJRhS6o4fFc_UH7S129LCIKdtkY3kky-6kTVi3BPtk0VNSx4YCYgT4GCHf7B4Za5NSI0qd96cUdmw_t2fxi6W7mho7uYHpboLfnGcW_h8NOUuXHJ6m_jConqj=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj67i6J0L-sjBN1blWU1O-Kz2xmRfcJndGqRhmRmRCsI3aQXXrUJfzr6Uwe_huuGp9gJRhS6o4fFc_UH7S129LCIKdtkY3kky-6kTVi3BPtk0VNSx4YCYgT4GCHf7B4Za5NSI0qd96cUdmw_t2fxi6W7mho7uYHpboLfnGcW_h8NOUuXHJ6m_jConqj=w456-h640" width="456" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's to a happy New Year, everyone!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0Burnett Street, Oxford 7430, New Zealand-43.2942467 172.1925914-43.306741161944707 172.17542526230469 -43.2817522380553 172.20975753769531tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-35415029233819842652021-11-19T16:36:00.000+13:002021-11-19T16:36:43.485+13:00In praise of pottering<p>I had heard of 'pottering'; I thought it was something usually done in a garden. I may have even engaged in a little pottering without realising it. But the true nature of pottering had eluded me until this year. Now, I am a converted potterer and, like all converts, I am feeling a little evangelical about it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5J8zjsgqPgOKRWSE0j-99hTQz-2qmrMeiljOul-z8P3tiiymOJQNy1Y9SN37NgkhGO5qHrSNmFc7WG8nVd941PGfAC4xiAMLEwjsFmQJ3ZA-P5o4cHO3J9JjZHZHgyItTNOIuis72DA/s2048/Photo_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5J8zjsgqPgOKRWSE0j-99hTQz-2qmrMeiljOul-z8P3tiiymOJQNy1Y9SN37NgkhGO5qHrSNmFc7WG8nVd941PGfAC4xiAMLEwjsFmQJ3ZA-P5o4cHO3J9JjZHZHgyItTNOIuis72DA/w640-h640/Photo_0037.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching things grow, an intrinsic feature of pottering.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I am still working on a definition of pottering. The dictionary says that pottering is "<i>to move around without hurrying, and in a relaxed and pleasant way.</i>" I find that a little unsatisfactory; when I am doing that, I believe that I am "wandering" - something different from "pottering" (though related). What pottering and wandering do have in common is a lack of deadlines and only vague goals. Pottering, it seems to me, is about getting things done, while wandering is about going places - both in a relaxed manner.</p><p>So pottering, in my book, is about unhurried, leisurely, work without any demanding deadlines. I can potter in the garden, potter at my lathe, potter with my cameras or potter around in the office. Pottering is discovering the joy of doing something for its own sake. Pottering can be work, but pottering is never a job. My current working definition of pottering: "<i>work at a whim</i>." This seems to be getting close to the whole point of pottering - doing what you want, when you want.</p><p>Here's the thing though; by deliberately engaging in pottering these last few months, more things seem to be getting done than by any previous use of goal setting, or to-do lists. Perhaps this sounds a little counterintuitive, but I do seem to be achieving more, simply by doing what I feel like doing at any point in time. It's an idea worth pondering (now there's another related word). Pottering, wandering and pondering - PWP - a more relaxed philosophy for life.</p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-13747513257336780322021-11-06T20:17:00.000+13:002021-11-06T20:17:08.229+13:00Mea Culpa<p>So, I build a pinhole camera out of a broken Ensign Selfix. Then, to test it, I load a film I had never shot in a pinhole camera before (long exposures). Once I had taken all the shots, I decided to develop the film myself (for the first time in about 50 years) and to try developing it in coffee (yes, that really is a thing). Of course, what I should have realised, is that I would have no way to tell whether any problems were the camera, the film, my ancient developing skills, or the coffee? One variable at a time, Einstein, one variable at a time.</p><p>And so it was that I found myself standing in the bathroom, staring at a wet strip of 120 film, comprising eight, very dark (almost black) frames, wondering what on earth had gone wrong.</p><p>Fortunately, Son of Ep, the scanner, was able to see more in those dark negatives than I could, though it was all pretty close to the scanner's own noise floor. Nevertheless, there was enough to see that the camera didn't have any light leaks and that the image was as sharp as a pinhole camera is allowed to be. The film also hadn't been fogged by my clumsy blind transfer to the development tank in an ancient dark-bag.</p><p>What I did find, was a combination of over-exposure and over-development of the film. Well, at least the coffee works - just a lot better than I had envisaged! And, to prove the point, here is our local observatory excavated from the dark matter of a black (pin) hole:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoLJiVAIw-lFGpiTsMKElW8mOE5qwCSausxDjRg_gBTtMXPyO5Hq1IHu12ncU2h7U-Eo11z5NYXWQQMrVjd5HbN-e4nBYAuNnHSgVLa3rzNP9bn4rPWsXGLMN-Ud3lFmZ-HECpUJzr74/s2048/Photo_0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="2048" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBoLJiVAIw-lFGpiTsMKElW8mOE5qwCSausxDjRg_gBTtMXPyO5Hq1IHu12ncU2h7U-Eo11z5NYXWQQMrVjd5HbN-e4nBYAuNnHSgVLa3rzNP9bn4rPWsXGLMN-Ud3lFmZ-HECpUJzr74/w640-h414/Photo_0036.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pinhole camera, yellow filter, Ilford Delta 400, 15 mins in Caffenol (much too long).</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com052 Bay Road, Oxford 7430, New Zealand-43.2945398 172.1877066-43.297663313916516 172.18341506557618 -43.291416286083489 172.19199813442384tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-55022591548025638692021-10-25T11:13:00.003+13:002021-10-25T11:23:17.237+13:00A bit meta ...<p>September this year skipped by without my realising that this blog has been going for ten years. The first post was on September 1, 2011. It was also the date of the first comment, by <a href="https://www.blogger.com/profile/12730985945756398267" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #28a8e1; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; text-decoration-line: none;">Mx5Pixie</a> (Mia), welcoming me to Blogger. </p><p>258 posts in the first 10 years; that's just over 2 per month. Though, curiously, 2017 was not a very productive year with only 5 posts, while I was obviously feeling ultra garrulous in 2012. with 57 posts.</p><p>Back in 2011, I described the blog as, "A rather indirect ramble through the aft end of life." And so it has proved to be and will continue as such for the foreseeable future. Anyway, happy tenth birthday, blog!</p><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-408984975825818832021-10-20T21:10:00.004+13:002021-10-20T21:10:41.029+13:00Through the pinhole<p>A year or so ago, I started dabbling in old film cameras. Not the cult film cameras that still cost thousands of dollars, but the 'cheap as chips' cameras that can often be had for a hundred dollars or so and, preferably, have no electronics. It has been fun exploring some of the cameras that I could never have afforded back in the 1950s and 60s when I was starting out in photography. But, I thought, why stop there?</p><p>Kornel, is in Budapest. He makes pinhole cameras that are simple, cheap and very well built. His business is called "Infinie Camera" and, global mail delays notwithstanding, he sent me this beautiful little pinhole camera from his Etsy store...</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcWC4y6WirT1Zgt1eaiS1mje5KIVzXtU2jysM37b5gphMP7vhc1O6mdnheCy2hoFia5z_QfFZSUyBvVA6HA3gX8sUQMvi-s6rn-qX51IltxraYOZ69pu6E9ZP0Gtozg-ZcV_-5En3FMs/s2048/Photo_0028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXcWC4y6WirT1Zgt1eaiS1mje5KIVzXtU2jysM37b5gphMP7vhc1O6mdnheCy2hoFia5z_QfFZSUyBvVA6HA3gX8sUQMvi-s6rn-qX51IltxraYOZ69pu6E9ZP0Gtozg-ZcV_-5En3FMs/w640-h480/Photo_0028.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6x6 pinhole camera, f130 pinhole at 32mm.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The camera arrived well ahead of the film stock I had ordered from Melbourne, so I set the camera aside and exercised my patience while I waited for the film to arrive. Finally, the camera and film were both in my hands and a nice spring day called for a bike ride. The pictures were shot in colour on Ektachrome but, in deference to the pinhole aesthetic, here they are in black and white ...</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tM0qnBAU-kaeSDnszYWwIwuds7JED6zSRmB9_lHauO7t42_BTnuCbsed_9WPJIBPOdNuYAIMoDM7CvHhSwFaEz1whTqkC70M1R57kMc8I5RdJCQrNmWP9wE8ZFG2KALuzMVyPQdhUUg/s2048/Photo_0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0tM0qnBAU-kaeSDnszYWwIwuds7JED6zSRmB9_lHauO7t42_BTnuCbsed_9WPJIBPOdNuYAIMoDM7CvHhSwFaEz1whTqkC70M1R57kMc8I5RdJCQrNmWP9wE8ZFG2KALuzMVyPQdhUUg/w640-h640/Photo_0020.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pearson Park, Oxford</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijGAFRc6JfcUVrmPjpWjtgQm3lx9P2PlHybG_QFP4GAHbskt36qFRaBRRJBUxev_M2aww7F4vBKdQ8ujNKCaw-jTKw8DwzrbesvtP_eChz1TdYLfSWsgrxyNq1wtxMLnzKGX_jtzVOvQ/s2048/Photo_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijGAFRc6JfcUVrmPjpWjtgQm3lx9P2PlHybG_QFP4GAHbskt36qFRaBRRJBUxev_M2aww7F4vBKdQ8ujNKCaw-jTKw8DwzrbesvtP_eChz1TdYLfSWsgrxyNq1wtxMLnzKGX_jtzVOvQ/w640-h640/Photo_0021.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farm entrance, Coopers Creek</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKhsE-cUmBAjOywQF-CMXXOFfHyVUffORZSU0Fjho6y-kMHxL_XEr5-kGYmhiskS2etyYD_eIKrVIojraXRD0n_7eURF7XajWf2pLBznqp-_t8fTnx5cMpRozAESNsRZ-DKFVACiC2Iw/s2048/Photo_0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKhsE-cUmBAjOywQF-CMXXOFfHyVUffORZSU0Fjho6y-kMHxL_XEr5-kGYmhiskS2etyYD_eIKrVIojraXRD0n_7eURF7XajWf2pLBznqp-_t8fTnx5cMpRozAESNsRZ-DKFVACiC2Iw/w640-h640/Photo_0022.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge, Coopers Creek</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpCrb_tSPrlSNdmRadvZvUCs-9H7kZn55yVLO_0AO7U1MquYDxzIKGjbtMg0ySIzBdJqxhyz0lLASqjFtneqT4mpLJFw8i4eat5Ltyc2Gl05kMcqnqPxbO_IJQhYAipLqzcyIl9YnQHw/s2048/Photo_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXpCrb_tSPrlSNdmRadvZvUCs-9H7kZn55yVLO_0AO7U1MquYDxzIKGjbtMg0ySIzBdJqxhyz0lLASqjFtneqT4mpLJFw8i4eat5Ltyc2Gl05kMcqnqPxbO_IJQhYAipLqzcyIl9YnQHw/w640-h640/Photo_0023.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coopers Creek</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHc2lMc9t8RdvdKSUnoaHQJRzYHq1PKcrjsuAhces4sOa6YYWCUTnHJDkJ82cyrMOreHvFWCQBN0ENsK7pqlEKuVn4p3TwU3Fj2aSvH4MpxZsESRei58gCHc6S9WXzJ52GZB00S2FuWc/s2048/Photo_0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeHc2lMc9t8RdvdKSUnoaHQJRzYHq1PKcrjsuAhces4sOa6YYWCUTnHJDkJ82cyrMOreHvFWCQBN0ENsK7pqlEKuVn4p3TwU3Fj2aSvH4MpxZsESRei58gCHc6S9WXzJ52GZB00S2FuWc/w640-h640/Photo_0024.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woolfs Road ford and swing bridge</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMGuJLPYiOElQeGB5zNTYr2mTVi2Jdr9NDRKAvathIu7VNPMXenQQhCYdGrXjD0Ey4pvgKsNDq1MxPLz3cclhGrdpYkYvrPSWv_YwjoHKDsojBNDhxXeyfRfZlK8UdRD445QfPdjSac8/s2048/Photo_0025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMGuJLPYiOElQeGB5zNTYr2mTVi2Jdr9NDRKAvathIu7VNPMXenQQhCYdGrXjD0Ey4pvgKsNDq1MxPLz3cclhGrdpYkYvrPSWv_YwjoHKDsojBNDhxXeyfRfZlK8UdRD445QfPdjSac8/w640-h640/Photo_0025.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Derelict swing bridge, Woolfs Road</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kPNE9BByvh9bTjW7WgO2lJGk1VpB4ucozsdvQDXR89ltPYkBb_oCEobYHtALzYCALJcJEm33GeTu2zRl29qt2x7XpoU5KR7s-RtB5g4OjFkwhxeSqurImXBY9wCsyE96qHRe1FvqEHs/s2048/Photo_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kPNE9BByvh9bTjW7WgO2lJGk1VpB4ucozsdvQDXR89ltPYkBb_oCEobYHtALzYCALJcJEm33GeTu2zRl29qt2x7XpoU5KR7s-RtB5g4OjFkwhxeSqurImXBY9wCsyE96qHRe1FvqEHs/w640-h640/Photo_0026.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unnamed ford, Island Road</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPv2fODMZ7DIGZ0DVEhgHKv4XfqQdorcE-1RfUrJ4cR_wpAG0RBsUYyxNRI_4Hj1ZyA9MgB_ovIjWRkOgIsqMisY5APl-s60BgjxGx0tlsVjN-056F64OylD9C8yKDPIYRanCZgUNJT8/s2048/Photo_0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPv2fODMZ7DIGZ0DVEhgHKv4XfqQdorcE-1RfUrJ4cR_wpAG0RBsUYyxNRI_4Hj1ZyA9MgB_ovIjWRkOgIsqMisY5APl-s60BgjxGx0tlsVjN-056F64OylD9C8yKDPIYRanCZgUNJT8/w640-h640/Photo_0027.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyre River, Harewood Road</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But, I can almost hear you asking, don't pinhole cameras produce rather fuzzy pictures? Why do these look so much sharper? Well, it's part of an experiment: What happens when you marry old technology with modern computers? These pictures are not really that sharp, but they are much sharper than a pinhole camera can produce on its own. The results are a blend of the pinhole's simplicity and infinite depth of field, with modern, AI, computational photography. I'm sure I can't be the first to have thought of doing this, but I like the results enough to want to follow this path a little further. Your thoughts?</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-91127652843106149042021-10-10T09:24:00.002+13:002021-10-10T09:24:50.816+13:00Google reads your thoughts<p>So, today I open up YouTube, thinking as I do so, "I'll just be offered the same old videos as yesterday."</p><p>For many months now, YouTube has been really slack in its recommendations - about 20% seem to be videos that I have already watched (why am I being "recommended" them again?) the other 80% seem to be videos that I have little interest in watching but get offered over and over. Maybe, there will be a handful of videos I haven't seen before. It's all become rather tiresome. I thought there was an algorithm for that - well it doesn't work! </p><p>Then, today, there was this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60lPyZmuI9sGnQgL0Kdhz8jjXy43DRFvT-B_PhIIdG5OAWNBHEkAvCsRczqJyiEjNwRoERg1MwB1QLix-w-2l_y3WK76SsmisKte_ALtW0Le9fScQdwtTmM82OeijVd-n5YBX9mgEaY4/s608/Screen+Shot+2021-10-10+at+8.48.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="608" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60lPyZmuI9sGnQgL0Kdhz8jjXy43DRFvT-B_PhIIdG5OAWNBHEkAvCsRczqJyiEjNwRoERg1MwB1QLix-w-2l_y3WK76SsmisKte_ALtW0Le9fScQdwtTmM82OeijVd-n5YBX9mgEaY4/s320/Screen+Shot+2021-10-10+at+8.48.47+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What? Google's in my head now?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I expectantly click the button, hoping for something 'different'.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Only ... no ... I'm offered the same old videos as usual, just in a different order. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Dear Algorithm, you suck.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or, perhaps it's just that I have watched all of YouTube and there isn't anything else left?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-60301798081383433922021-09-09T12:19:00.001+12:002021-09-09T12:19:39.382+12:00Lockdown travels<p>Lock-down, level 4 - check. Lock-down, level 3 - check. Lock-down level 2 - in progress. </p><p>Looking on the positive side, these lock-downs have provided the opportunity to catch up on scanning the pre-digital photo archive and engaging in some present-day virtual travel. I find it quite fascinating to visit places that I photographed decades ago, to see what they look like today. Lock-downs or not, a 12,000-mile distance means this type of travel is best done on Google Street View.</p><p>This last week, three pictures from the mid-1970s, had me stumped. They were in a box of slides with pictures of Portugal and a couple of shots of a cross-Channel ferry, but I couldn't place them at all - they were certainly UK pictures, but where? I drew a blank at all the known ferry ports, and my memory was equally devoid of clues. The second two shots were clearly in the same town, but the first could have been anywhere.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5ez5x6gfzSGvQgY7HjC4bmCNKNfJtWSGMhyphenhyphennlp02Eg-ODW3hRY9vfltMdao39L-Z8WoFcQJp1DWTpWIrai8TcAg0KuoldBrJWcOJ1RU3lZ4thy01bXeWBsZ4qDQcw-ouV-LE2g1qm1U/s2048/Photo_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb5ez5x6gfzSGvQgY7HjC4bmCNKNfJtWSGMhyphenhyphennlp02Eg-ODW3hRY9vfltMdao39L-Z8WoFcQJp1DWTpWIrai8TcAg0KuoldBrJWcOJ1RU3lZ4thy01bXeWBsZ4qDQcw-ouV-LE2g1qm1U/w640-h426/Photo_0015.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcGjj3g51DxXj7o37J9HJSkfNh10s9Iyv1gPZ7Fe-ACD2H2RRXrN8CnfhCr1QMPA4aQg1tQpNWWz2-K7DP5CKVpHNORDdgCh9ul4fWTX-qtNhEVMLiCc0-l78mNFAQQSbZ3dABnRY_Mo/s2048/Photo_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcGjj3g51DxXj7o37J9HJSkfNh10s9Iyv1gPZ7Fe-ACD2H2RRXrN8CnfhCr1QMPA4aQg1tQpNWWz2-K7DP5CKVpHNORDdgCh9ul4fWTX-qtNhEVMLiCc0-l78mNFAQQSbZ3dABnRY_Mo/w640-h444/Photo_0016.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUBA4NkFqVbapB_mLn_6LX56LLpOWh1KdTcvMI4w0epRZFBcLyVlPfpgMAbHEgPqdkstFeiy7xC1_yT3rSgjaxNfgv5O82YWB00ikHulx5Xz0tYHQ8Bys19JXrs5W3VHbDiHBKRCAfX4/s2048/Photo_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="2048" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUBA4NkFqVbapB_mLn_6LX56LLpOWh1KdTcvMI4w0epRZFBcLyVlPfpgMAbHEgPqdkstFeiy7xC1_yT3rSgjaxNfgv5O82YWB00ikHulx5Xz0tYHQ8Bys19JXrs5W3VHbDiHBKRCAfX4/w640-h444/Photo_0017.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>There was one clue - "MURDINS", sign-written on the side of the parked van. Google took me to the Companies Office and a typewriter repair company based in Kings Lynn. I couldn't recall ever having been to Kings Lynn, but it was worth a shot. After a couple of hours on Google Street View, I came up with these:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4eyGt9m5wQ_w8aNjTaeT-uMoUvA9VrdUoZoIBQs_FVbg07YXq5BRPQT2FcRFCajb-Xkcf51tjg1kCnG8oR98JIzW2W5K32DUl7mjzev-sXvrCqUylYYyFqGjDL-Uq0pruJjJLIe9yhY/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+5.37.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1756" data-original-width="2048" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBoRoR6v2Q9ZaRoLbMh3RCAi1FflTsT-8bKnDG5esGZSCTL8TgVqdCl3NHrHSq72gdh026ZagsNYgQn2UM-1eZJqnaftVbPfB9OEVZ0B5z93KU6K73PGKmajtF5lU1Udp9Uu-zlFtS3gY/w640-h548/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+7.43.01+PM.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4eyGt9m5wQ_w8aNjTaeT-uMoUvA9VrdUoZoIBQs_FVbg07YXq5BRPQT2FcRFCajb-Xkcf51tjg1kCnG8oR98JIzW2W5K32DUl7mjzev-sXvrCqUylYYyFqGjDL-Uq0pruJjJLIe9yhY/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+5.37.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1320" data-original-width="2048" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU4eyGt9m5wQ_w8aNjTaeT-uMoUvA9VrdUoZoIBQs_FVbg07YXq5BRPQT2FcRFCajb-Xkcf51tjg1kCnG8oR98JIzW2W5K32DUl7mjzev-sXvrCqUylYYyFqGjDL-Uq0pruJjJLIe9yhY/w640-h412/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+5.37.33+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVxUAqw3BXBkDO4HLYBQXco38vS97QmZM1HeN-Vnb7a8E45_h8NSKNxx0Y2obiVQLmBbwcJQOIO1E9MHcIcCiIDMlZOapeDPDIydSXudtAvhKvrr-CQ1LNtQxo8AYY8c4Iiu6XbMboXI/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+8.23.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1465" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVxUAqw3BXBkDO4HLYBQXco38vS97QmZM1HeN-Vnb7a8E45_h8NSKNxx0Y2obiVQLmBbwcJQOIO1E9MHcIcCiIDMlZOapeDPDIydSXudtAvhKvrr-CQ1LNtQxo8AYY8c4Iiu6XbMboXI/w640-h458/Screen+Shot+2021-09-08+at+8.23.42+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>It would have been cool if some of those 1970s shops had still been in the same locations, and way too impossible that the modern, white, van could have had "MURDINS" written on the side, but I suppose that there's not much call for typewriter repair companies these days. Still, a nice trip down Memory Lane (almost literally, but without the 'memory' bit!)</p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com021 New Conduit St, King's Lynn PE30 1DE, UK52.7541669 0.397167652.743777508066188 0.38000146230468751 52.764556291933815 0.41433373769531251tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-43857090866521225552021-07-29T20:17:00.005+12:002021-07-29T20:17:43.095+12:00One month in<p>Today is my 73rd birthday and one month since I finally retired from paid employment. It's going well so far, but a month is a bit quick to pronounce everything all 'good.' When you have been used to people expecting you to turn up for work for the last 57 years, it comes as a bit of a shock when that is no longer the case. Even though I had prepared, by working only part-time for the last 13 years, the absence of the weekly work requirement still feels like there's something not quite right. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-irkaNm7Yl7TDeHuSgU0lCPr10jiBHVmMKs77IdSJ9q5oyFegFwOYHuaDYykU2P2vl_N0z8lGhJ4rLeWoOxL1nga-3Ssr8cPA6qTcjRl8nU_lUEd7ObhsLzxOmwhKyVfjTrRHlYq3fM/s2048/MVIMG_20210729_131718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-irkaNm7Yl7TDeHuSgU0lCPr10jiBHVmMKs77IdSJ9q5oyFegFwOYHuaDYykU2P2vl_N0z8lGhJ4rLeWoOxL1nga-3Ssr8cPA6qTcjRl8nU_lUEd7ObhsLzxOmwhKyVfjTrRHlYq3fM/w640-h480/MVIMG_20210729_131718.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday lunch in Methven</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>A lot of things have been accomplished this last month (so there has been no laziness!) but they have been done without pressure and at a more relaxed pace. It's this ability to, largely, choose the task that I feel like doing at the moment (rather than the multiple tasks that all need doing a.s.a.p.) that makes each day so much more relaxed (at least so far). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3Jw-O2fZWj-r8cmZMqRFgHkp6D1O83eac_4Amnl9t8qU_FF06jjgoEnYhfZanLQNWW7oYp7N79gCCQ-SS3YEtZrAK259ec-P0SXe2sFXMA4Gk8omtyk2QDFTb5tEkkmR2J3RdZZsioc/s2048/Photo_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3Jw-O2fZWj-r8cmZMqRFgHkp6D1O83eac_4Amnl9t8qU_FF06jjgoEnYhfZanLQNWW7oYp7N79gCCQ-SS3YEtZrAK259ec-P0SXe2sFXMA4Gk8omtyk2QDFTb5tEkkmR2J3RdZZsioc/w640-h360/Photo_0001.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of walking</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Weather permitting, there have been walks, photographs taken, chats over the fence with the locals and even the pleasure of watching others hard at work.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQI-tjJ6T_I3eeC2iyvCfg9BunpT7YbYcA8QDLOsF4YkznGY5V9gwQq0aMXtDvp_3NE3B4NcUb4kodhG02H3XbvextFsfnx11Yd_UGGqqXSO4LEvBOHhhW8H1t1Fuav9jtgxsY-455Gw/s2048/Photo_0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQI-tjJ6T_I3eeC2iyvCfg9BunpT7YbYcA8QDLOsF4YkznGY5V9gwQq0aMXtDvp_3NE3B4NcUb4kodhG02H3XbvextFsfnx11Yd_UGGqqXSO4LEvBOHhhW8H1t1Fuav9jtgxsY-455Gw/w640-h360/Photo_0003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet one of the locals<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>My 'office' has already been relocated to another room, and the old PC has been replaced with a new Apple Mac - that took over a week and felt more like moving house; I still haven't 'unpacked all the boxes'. There are plans for some house alterations and a holiday booked for after the worst of winter should have passed. So, no room for boredom yet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUIbMJ84jG4SXIgmzlJHh9PItuU5hct00bfX2i1wKzp-j3DvkXy-HKNFdnOLc_pmTEcSvodZ5F3hVEXMWWSiuAdBJIqbj-UnCGPyyWE6AFvHx_SLuocQKpmvHezwwUTnftmjeid9Virg/s2048/Photo_0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUIbMJ84jG4SXIgmzlJHh9PItuU5hct00bfX2i1wKzp-j3DvkXy-HKNFdnOLc_pmTEcSvodZ5F3hVEXMWWSiuAdBJIqbj-UnCGPyyWE6AFvHx_SLuocQKpmvHezwwUTnftmjeid9Virg/w640-h360/Photo_0004.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching others work, down at Mill</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>All in all, after the first month, I am quite upbeat about this retirement thing working out for the best. Hopefully, my optimism isn't misplaced.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-39614766483615140432021-07-01T16:32:00.000+12:002021-07-01T16:32:18.179+12:00Retirement; Day One<p> Yesterday, I officially retired. Coincidentally, I also received an invitation for a COVID-19 jab. The two were unrelated.</p><p>For the last fifteen months (since COVID-19 - perhaps they are related, after all), I have largely been working from home with occasional trips into the office to touch base and attend meetings. </p><p>A morning tea had been arranged, so there was no possibility of slipping quietly out the back door. Although I had been dreading the event, it turned out to be a lovely affair and people said some very kind things. I am getting much better at not being internally dismissive of personal compliments; it's healthy to be aware of my own weaknesses, but there are times when I need to take heed of what others have to say. I think this was such a time.</p><p>As I left with card and gift in hand, it seemed no different from any other day. The fact that I would not be returning again didn't seem to have sunk in. That all changed later that evening when my work email account was deactivated. It's weird how it's the smallest of things that sometimes speak the loudest. No more "printer busy for the next 30 minutes" messages, or "has anyone got the keys to NJL 798" pleas. I'm not a part of that anymore. Ouch!</p><p>The other "ouch!" was the COVID-19 jab. Not that I have had it yet. It was ouch when I found the booking website was broken - apparently, if there is no vaccination centre in your <b><i>exact </i></b>postcode, you are told there are no appointments available and you don't get to book. The rather bored lady in the call-centre had the same problem and I had to tell her some nearby towns so that she could look them up. Eventually, I got an appointment booked in Rangiora (35km away) for the 2nd August (1 month away) double-ouch! Let's hope the jab is less painful than the booking process.</p><p>There were, of course, other, more pleasurable aspects to my first day of retirement:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PhZs37gNkZ5T6W3s8QM03HPrNdPZrkugw5WMsmGVkIq3sLpF3NIjlkPYagidwOZ2Ko3F9JHbobaYJ8t_YdbTPgNMJ3yyOvyT7dW9vAF_vOCascH3TY-w8ksGzE6VYBSYjTc_PCvC4yA/s2048/Photo_0345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PhZs37gNkZ5T6W3s8QM03HPrNdPZrkugw5WMsmGVkIq3sLpF3NIjlkPYagidwOZ2Ko3F9JHbobaYJ8t_YdbTPgNMJ3yyOvyT7dW9vAF_vOCascH3TY-w8ksGzE6VYBSYjTc_PCvC4yA/w640-h426/Photo_0345.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1968719854667903732.post-29762929947965780592021-06-28T19:05:00.000+12:002021-06-28T19:05:15.808+12:00X-E3 gains a tilting screen<p>So, as an X-E3 owner, you've been waiting the longest time for a camera upgrade with a tilting screen. When the X-E4 arrives, it has a tilting screen alright, but oh, the things you have to give up! Talk about costing an arm and a leg (and that's without the cash outlay)!</p><p>For me, it was a big 'NO' to the X-E4. What to do now? Sony? Nah. How about a Fujifilm X-M1?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4LxbHuVPvSaaFTcwoOEcs02_YgAA_laEtPtC45m8UtuOGq4Dkxx7OYGLRnLfJrc7Cz6QP2hWWQXUPf7Mp4J37rHBv9RTGU7avwiYMFg_f6ai7mRKiBnoLlwA-TVuSPdkCKupTVz7RwU/s4000/IMG_20210628_181830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ4LxbHuVPvSaaFTcwoOEcs02_YgAA_laEtPtC45m8UtuOGq4Dkxx7OYGLRnLfJrc7Cz6QP2hWWQXUPf7Mp4J37rHBv9RTGU7avwiYMFg_f6ai7mRKiBnoLlwA-TVuSPdkCKupTVz7RwU/w640-h480/IMG_20210628_181830.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fujifilm X-M1 - Yes, a tilting screen!</td></tr></tbody></table><p>But that's an older camera and it's only 16Mp.</p><p>That's true, but hear me out: I'm not replacing the X-E3, just adding to it. I'll have two bodies, both X-mount so that they can both use any of my Fuji lenses, and both have X-Trans sensors with that awesome image quality. The X-M1 is also smaller than the X-E3, so it's a better pocket carry. When I need to get down low it'll get me places the X-E3 can't go.</p><p>Yeah, but 16Mp; that's a step backwards surely?</p><p>Not really. There are two reasons why that isn't a problem:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>For a whole lot of uses, 16Mp is already overkill. For example, I downsize to less than 6Mp for most social media.</li><li>With modern AI software, a 16Mp image can easily be resized to 24Mp without any noticeable loss of quality. If I gave you a 24Mp image from the X-E3 and an up-sized 24Mp image from the X-M1 you wouldn't be able to tell the difference; even pixel peeping.</li></ol><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARVF-22VmXs81Dv3cirXIr5FsLFGacqFNdEng-8DA-cph5UqGJ2ZuELs3Ad90zh_dbBbu0BU1QWuO3WNOugcdlLzTCQNLKHgZqJEcH_5Mo7XBPSmw6NtHLRPAorhipppx3M8sW7XCsjc/s2048/DSCF7320+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjARVF-22VmXs81Dv3cirXIr5FsLFGacqFNdEng-8DA-cph5UqGJ2ZuELs3Ad90zh_dbBbu0BU1QWuO3WNOugcdlLzTCQNLKHgZqJEcH_5Mo7XBPSmw6NtHLRPAorhipppx3M8sW7XCsjc/w640-h426/DSCF7320+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 100% crop from a 16Mp image, upsized to 24Mp.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>But, here's the thing - I get the two bodies, a more pocketable option, and a tilting screen, all for about US$125. What's not to like about that?<br /><div><br /></div><p></p>David Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390387594430697048noreply@blogger.com2