It's been a while since I've been able to find time to visit here, though I have been dropping by almost daily to click the Like button. It's nice to see Curtis dropping by with some photos and lens talk. I'm saddened to hear of your loss, Rafael, but glad that you were able to enjoy the privilege of having this obviously fine gentleman in your life for 24 years.
As I await the emergence of Nippi from the Ohio postal vortex that the lens seems to have been caught in lately , I have found some time to process a few infrared photos from June in Olympic National Park in nearby Washington state. These were shot with my converted Fuji X-T2 and the 24 f/2.8 NC (first, second and fourth images) and the 35 f/2 OC (third image). I also discovered some new software recently, in the form of Affinity Photo 2, which can do everything Photoshop used to do for me at a decidedly more affordable price. So I have finally ended my Adobe subscription. The initial investment has not been insubstantial, because I also bought DXO PhotoLab and On1 PhotoRaw, but I will save money in the long run while enjoying a wider range of capabilities. The photos below involved the use of all three of these programs, along with the Nik collection.
It's been a while since I've been able to find time to visit here, though I have been dropping by almost daily to click the Like button. It's nice to see Curtis dropping by with some photos and lens talk. I'm saddened to hear of your loss, Rafael, but glad that you were able to enjoy the privilege of having this obviously fine gentleman in your life for 24 years.
As I await the emergence of Nippi from the Ohio postal vortex that the lens seems to have been caught in lately, I have found some time to process a few infrared photos from June in Olympic National Park in nearby Washington state. These were shot with my converted Fuji X-T2 and the 24 f/2.8 NC (first, second and fourth images) and the 35 f/2 OC (second image). I also discovered some new software recently, in the form of Affinity Photo 2, which can do everything Photoshop used to do for me at a decidedly more affordable price. So I have ended my Adobe subscription. The initial investment has not been insubstantial, because I also bought DXO PhotoLab and On1 PhotoRaw, but I will save money in the long run while enjoying a wider range of capabilities. The photos below involved all the use of all three of these programs, along with the Nik collection....Show more →
Man… So I started diving into the settings of the Z5 and for the life of me it looks completely different than the last Z5 I had. I’m finding what I’m looking for and now I know my last Z5 was not setup correctly. I even have sorted out using AF glass. I think exposure I will need to shoot more, but it is starting to feel like my D600 I used to have. All I need to find is where I put the accessories I have for the camera that I had bought for the last Z5 and put somewhere smart… ! I’m a mess today.
rafaelcasd wrote:
Curtis, thanks for your kind message, your own work brings along an understanding of Abner's. He was far more that a nurse administering medication, he was often the last new friend for a terminal patient. Abner brought with him a bright light of hope, peace and comfort, evidenced by the many life stories told to him at the last bedside, My favorite story was that of a 101 year old Jewish family matriarch, mother and grandmother of many physicians who, used to caring for healing patients, challenged his hospice practices; Abner convinced them of their validity and proceeded to make that great-grandmother comfortable. After seeing Abner work, enabling a peaceful passing, the 80 year old son became Abner's friend and invited him to become a part of their medical charity in Mexico. A charity he came to love.
On another occasion, he cared for a lady who had been a communist guerrilla in El Salvador in the 1980s. During their conversations Abner told her about me and was surprised to hear that my family name was anathema to the once young guerrilla, as my rather economically successful extended family was considered by her to be one of the reasons people were oppressed. Yes, so many shared experiences and memories....Show more →
It is a rare person who can remain open to a person who is dying. Over a number of years I guided groups of students who were learning about grief counseling at a non-profit where I did some of my clinical training. I was pleased to learn one of the participants was a hospice nurse. Your friend clearly was able to meet these people with an open heart. My student could handle the nursing care but had great difficulty allowing her heart to open. Abner clearly was a very special person. His death is a great loss to the world, as well as to his friends and family. I know he will be held in your heart... as the Helen Keller quote I share above observes. I said years ago while working with a 45 year old man with a three year old daughter who was dying of ALS that he broke my heart. That is not a bad thing. Blessings to you Rafael.
I've been intending to do a bit of photography in Sausalito for the last few days but the trip to Napa on Thursday and a Friday afternoon visit from a good friend delayed the visit to today. And wouldn't you know... today was overcast. But then I recalled all the visits I made adjacent to the Golden Gate bridge with low lying fog creating the most delicious conditions for shooting. I headed south at 2 in the afternoon. It is about a fifteen minute drive from where I live. As I approached the exit I saw a line of cars still on the freeway waiting to exit. I noticed traffic on the road we were entering moving slowly. I was patient and eventually I joined the line of cars. I couldn't imagine why there were so many cars on a cloudy Saturday afternoon trying to get into Sausalito. I took a back route into Fort Baker, which is where I wanted to shoot. The closer I got the more cars I saw. In fact, the road leading to the place I normally park had a sheriff blocking the road. A car in front of me was backing out of the road. I turned into another parking area and it was filled. I saw an attendant directing traffic and asked what was going on. He said it is Fleet Week and the Blue Angels were flying that afternoon. I laughed and said all those people weren't going to see very much. He said "but they will hear them..."
So I exited, drove through Sausalito and visited a another bayside location I've shot at in the past. Unfortunately, the gates at the top of each pier in a small marina were all locked. That was something new to me... so I couldn't reach the sailboats. But I was able to grab one photo from the elevated walkway leading to the piers. This was shot with the 105 f/2.5 P AI. My camera bag was filled with lenses, but that was the one on my camera. Another day I guess...
Love that set Glen. Beautiful country. I lived a few years in Seattle and made the trip across Puget Sound a few times but never visited the Olympic National Park. It looks amazing.
And congratulations of giving Affinity Photo a try. I bought it when it first came out. I knew I couldn't follow Adobe into the cloud. I hung onto Creative Suites 6 and Lightroom 5.6 as long as I could. When I upgraded to a new iMac and discovered I couldn't run that Adobe on the new OS I bought an older iMac that would run it. But I couldn't get it to install and Adobe simply wouldn't respond to my calls for help. It was doubly challenging because I'd been using InDesign to do graphic design for the Living/Dying Project newsletter each year. Affinity came to the rescue with Affinity Publisher. I just completed this years newsletter and honestly, Affinity is much easier to work with that InDesign. I haven't taken a deep dive into Affinity Photo, in part because Nikon's free software NX Studio does a credible job with basic tasks. I only go into Affinity Photo to convert images to black and white. I've also used it to stitch panoramas together. It is a powerful program, but it has a steep learning curve. But the price is right.
It's been a while since I've been able to find time to visit here, though I have been dropping by almost daily to click the Like button. It's nice to see Curtis dropping by with some photos and lens talk. I'm saddened to hear of your loss, Rafael, but glad that you were able to enjoy the privilege of having this obviously fine gentleman in your life for 24 years.
As I await the emergence of Nippi from the Ohio postal vortex that the lens seems to have been caught in lately , I have found some time to process a few infrared photos from June in Olympic National Park in nearby Washington state. These were shot with my converted Fuji X-T2 and the 24 f/2.8 NC (first, second and fourth images) and the 35 f/2 OC (third image). I also discovered some new software recently, in the form of Affinity Photo 2, which can do everything Photoshop used to do for me at a decidedly more affordable price. So I have finally ended my Adobe subscription. The initial investment has not been insubstantial, because I also bought DXO PhotoLab and On1 PhotoRaw, but I will save money in the long run while enjoying a wider range of capabilities. The photos below involved the use of all three of these programs, along with the Nik collection....Show more →
Welcome back Glen, good to see ya ! Epic landscapes there, love the 2nd one.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with when Nippi is in your capable hands.
It's been a while since I've been able to find time to visit here, though I have been dropping by almost daily to click the Like button. It's nice to see Curtis dropping by with some photos and lens talk. I'm saddened to hear of your loss, Rafael, but glad that you were able to enjoy the privilege of having this obviously fine gentleman in your life for 24 years.
As I await the emergence of Nippi from the Ohio postal vortex that the lens seems to have been caught in lately , I have found some time to process a few infrared photos from June in Olympic National Park in nearby Washington state. These were shot with my converted Fuji X-T2 and the 24 f/2.8 NC (first, second and fourth images) and the 35 f/2 OC (third image). I also discovered some new software recently, in the form of Affinity Photo 2, which can do everything Photoshop used to do for me at a decidedly more affordable price. So I have finally ended my Adobe subscription. The initial investment has not been insubstantial, because I also bought DXO PhotoLab and On1 PhotoRaw, but I will save money in the long run while enjoying a wider range of capabilities. The photos below involved the use of all three of these programs, along with the Nik collection....Show more →
Good to see you again. FWIW, On1 is about to get a huge update soon.
CGrindahl wrote:
I've been intending to do a bit of photography in Sausalito for the last few days but the trip to Napa on Thursday and a Friday afternoon visit from a good friend delayed the visit to today. And wouldn't you know... today was overcast. But then I recalled all the visits I made adjacent to the Golden Gate bridge with low lying fog creating the most delicious conditions for shooting. I headed south at 2 in the afternoon. It is about a fifteen minute drive from where I live. As I approached the exit I saw a line of cars still on the freeway waiting to exit. I noticed traffic on the road we were entering moving slowly. I was patient and eventually I joined the line of cars. I couldn't imagine why there were so many cars on a cloudy Saturday afternoon trying to get into Sausalito. I took a back route into Fort Baker, which is where I wanted to shoot. The closer I got the more cars I saw. In fact, the road leading to the place I normally park had a sheriff blocking the road. A car in front of me was backing out of the road. I turned into another parking area and it was filled. I saw an attendant directing traffic and asked what was going on. He said it is Fleet Week and the Blue Angels were flying that afternoon. I laughed and said all those people weren't going to see very much. He said "but they will hear them..."
So I exited, drove through Sausalito and visited a another bayside location I've shot at in the past. Unfortunately, the gates at the top of each pier in a small marina were all locked. That was something new to me... so I couldn't reach the sailboats. But I was able to grab one photo from the elevated walkway leading to the piers. This was shot with the 105 f/2.5 P AI. My camera bag was filled with lenses, but that was the one on my camera. Another day I guess...
I was not able to see the northern lights last night but did manage to catch Comet C/2023 A3 as it chased the setting sun. It was visible for only a short time, about 30 minutes before it dropped below the horizon. This image was taken with the 135 f3.5 Ai and is a 50 percent crop. Thanks for looking.
Scott
, I have found some time to process a few infrared photos from June in Olympic National Park in nearby Washington state. These were shot with my converted Fuji X-T2 and the 24 f/2.8 NC (first, second and fourth images) and the 35 f/2 OC (third image). I also discovered some new software recently, in the form of Affinity Photo 2, which can do everything Photoshop used to do for me at a decidedly more affordable price. So I have finally ended my Adobe subscription. The initial investment has not been insubstantial, because I also bought DXO PhotoLab and On1 PhotoRaw, but I will save money in the long run while enjoying a wider range of capabilities. The photos below involved the use of all three of these programs, along with the Nik collection.
! I’m a mess today. 
