Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Today is the twelfth of the month. Most months I spend the day documenting my day with photographs. It’s an interesting endeavor. Today was nothing special, but nevertheless, interesting in itself as a day. Enjoy.
7:22
There was a dusting of snow last evening.
7:36
Beetle entered the school door. God bless you, little one.
7:46
Some days Fritz and I count the number of school buses on our way to school. Our top number is 46. We often see up to 15 of them gassing up at Riggins as we pass.
8:02
Fritz climbs the school steps.
8:59
Prior to the students entering this morning, I completed a book order.
10:19
My students were hard at work during their mathematics test.
13:09
Right in the middle of a lesson, I heard a whirling. I followed it to this air vent. I looked up and saw the congestion of dust. Disgusting!
18:14
I just finished work. The radio was pegged to the Big Talker. Dom Giordano was discussing the current flap with Harry Reid.
18:33
Driving home I pulled over to take into the sight of a lighted High Street.
18:38
Driving home I pulled over to take into the sight of a lighted High Street.
19:55
The last Christmas tree is brought down.
19:55
My home within a home. This self portrait is part of another photography project to take a photograph of me daily. Yes, I expect to fail at this, but 12 days thus far . . .
Posted in Bob, Miscellaneous, Photography | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 4th, 2010
Well, I have never been one who is short on confidence. I am trying to commit to a project I have begun at least twice previously but quickly abandoned. Namely, I would like to take a photograph of myself daily this year. It’s not so much that I desire all these photographs of me, but I have been impressed with others’ collections in the past. I respect the dedication. More interesting, however, is the change over the year. I seek that.
It is easy to say I should take my wife’s or children’s photographs instead. While the subject matter would be greatly improved if I did, the reality is that I will forget to take photographs until late at night some days. The rest of the family goes to bed earlier than I do as a matter of course. The camera is usually within arm’s reach for me, so it is easier to snap of photograph of me as I dash about.
Also, outside of this public posting (d’oh!), my impending failure at completing this project involves just me. I will not be reminded for the rest of eternity about how I dropped the ball on “that project”. 
Posted in Bob, Photography | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
On 12 November, my Nikon Coolpix S210 died. While it was disappointing, with over 20,000 photographs taken with it, I felt as though the little thing had done a good job. I replaced the camera that day with a Nikon Coolpix S230. This camera is the newer version of the same camera.
From the get-go, the new camera was a disappointment. Photographs were not sharp. The flash fill white-washed many photographs. The colors did not appear true.
I kept reading, fiddling, and trying to dial in the camera. I could get a decent photograph, but seldom by picking up the camera and clicking the shutter. I had to fiddle, re-take many shots, step back, etc. Of course, that is what photographers do. That, however, is not how I use a point-and-shoot. The small camera is usually in my pocket and available for the spur of the moment shot. Unfortunately, this camera failed in how I use such a camera.
More and more, the photographs appeared “soft”. There was not a crispness to the shots. The kicker was last Saturday. The family dined at Fuddrucker’s in Turnersville. After lunch, I took my son to the car as my wife and daughter used the lavatory. Once in the car, I took some photographs of my son. These were close-ups with no movement. None of the photographs were sharp. At home, I recalled I had taken similar photographs at Fuddrucker’s a year ago with the previous camera. Those were markedly better.
I checked out cameras the other day where I purchased the camera. None stood out. I read reviews that night online. There wasn’t much that made me feel as though I would upgrade within the Nikon line. Nevertheless, after the City Commission meeting last evening, I exchanged my camera. I just was not happy with it. I explained that there was nothing physically wrong with it; I just did not care for the camera. There was no issue, other than trying to figure how to get the cash register to accept the exchange.
I was able to get a “better” camera for the same price, as prices have dropped in the three weeks I purchased the S230. I now have a Nikon S570. This is a 12.1 megapixel camera. My initial feel for the camera was not great.
Today I was able to test the camera a little bit before the day became too hectic. Looking at the photographs just now, I am pleased with the shots. There is a marked difference in the shots from the S230. There’s still plenty of testing to do, but it appears early on that this will be a keeper. Perhaps my S230 was a lemon. The internals are similar to this camera. We shall see.
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Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Not looking my finest first thing in the morning.
Yuck! One of my fears is water in the house. Despite putting on a new roof, the sunlight leaked today. Grrrrrr . . .
My Little Miss Muffin is happy to arrive at school. Of course, being the brat that she is, she moved in front of her brother so they both weren’t in the same photograph. Sibling rivalry . . . gotta love it.
A Nor’easter blew into town today . . .
A review packet for tomorrow’s test . . .
Working with /ör/
Our classroom’s crayfish . . . minus Bruiser, who was isolated for bullying.
To the victors go the spoils. After cooking a wonderful turkey, eating turkey sandwiches the day after is a pleasure.
A friend of ours is going to have a mastectomy next week. There is going to be a party for her tomorrow. I bought her some balloons. Yeah, hardly enough given what she is going to go through.
Gert has a frog in her classroom, yet I am the one who buys the crickets for Hopper to eat.
After 20,000+ photographs, the little Nikon Coolpix S210 died. It was a quick death. I am convinced there is only so much life in these things. I replaced it with a newer model of the same camera, Nikon Coolpix S230.
The Weber grills: Performer, WSM, OTG.
Posted in Photography | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
I used to joke that the best part of summer was that I was afforded a nap daily. It is a nice thing, however this summer I have not been napping as much. The boy goes down, Gert usually does too. Beetle calms down most days in the afternoon and works on something and I am able to read.
Today I was in the mood for a walk. It was humid and the skies were threatening all day. I found myself with a GPS in my hand, the camera in my right pocket, and the iPod in my shirt pocket. It was a good afternoon playing a geogolf course while listening to a hot Grateful Dead show (2 March 1981) and taking my photographs for 12 of 12. Synergy.
Posted in Entertainment, GPS Games, New Jersey, Photography | No Comments »
