Pleased to say that this print (which I posted here about a month ago) came first out of about 40 in our club print competition Round 3 last week. The judge was Rachael Talibert, winner of the UK B&W Photographer of the Year 2017
Just beginning to warm up Jo! All kidding aside, I came home last night, lit the fireplace, wrapped myself in a blanket and Photoshopped for three hours. My core warmth was just about back to normal at the end of that. They have a slotted window in the doors, but it is just so restrictive that I never opt for that feature. My helicopter people know that if I have it booked, the door comes off.
Please give Sir Donald our best and let him know that he is always welcome, images or not, I miss him!
Dear Jim and all my dear friends here on MA2A and a special thanks to Lady Jo for passing on greetings both ways.
Yes, unfortunately age and mobility have caught up on me and I regret that air shows are a bit of a historical memory now
I still have my Canon 5D2 body but my beloved 28 - 300 L is now sitting on eBay at a ridiculous price.
This is my first visit to MA2A for a long time and it is wonderful to see how many pages there has been (I joined at about page 600). It is great to see many of the familiar names are supporting the page. Greetings to you all and a very Happy New Year...
Great seeing you, Sir Donald, please keep visiting and posting here! Sorry to hear your health is keeping you off the naughty fields, and even the non-naughty fields. I do miss your posts.
Donald Gray wrote:
Dear Jim and all my dear friends here on MA2A and a special thanks to Lady Jo for passing on greetings both ways.
Yes, unfortunately age and mobility have caught up on me and I regret that air shows are a bit of a historical memory now
I still have my Canon 5D2 body but my beloved 28 - 300 L is now sitting on eBay at a ridiculous price.
This is my first visit to MA2A for a long time and it is wonderful to see how many pages there has been (I joined at about page 600). It is great to see many of the familiar names are supporting the page. Greetings to you all and a very Happy New Year......Show more →
(I better post a photo so the script doesn't activate)
Yes, a warm welcome back Sir Donald! You have been missed and I appreciate Jo getting us all back in touch. Sorry to hear that you aren't as spry as you once were, but we seniors need to hang together and remind each other that the challenges of aging still beat the alternative You are a valued charter member, drop by, post previous images, or just say Hi and share how you are and what's happening in your world. You know that this is about a lot more than photography.
Thank you young James. The warmth of the welcome back is very much appreciated. I have indeed popped in from time to time but I have been exceptionally busy with other things as well as having both hips replaced with tin ones... but it is taking far longer to get about these days.
I may not have the physical ability to get on a pair of running shoes but I do exercise both brain cells when the other one wakes up! I have recently purchase a Bridge Camera - a Nikon P900 with a wicked 2000mm optical zoom. Not good for tracking fast movers but a great birding camera - It lacks RAW/NEF but I cand sit in the summer house and click away and dream of nice things.
I am kept very busy with my other passion. I am a Freemason and have been since 1978. I've been the Master of two Lodges and now the secretary of another one. Calling Me 'Sir Donald' does make me smile but though strictly not true, I am a Knight. Not a Knight of the Realm but a Knight of the Temple (AKA Knights Templar) It all helps to keep me out of trouble (Except with Mrs G!)
Well I suppose I had post a photo - this one was taken with my mobile phone & messed with in Photoshop
(I just removed the image as it was far too big... )
JWilsonphoto wrote:
Spent some time yesterday with the girls watching The Earth II/BBC on a new 75" Sony 900E in the family room, just amazing. Those BBC specials are a cinematic tutorial all on their own. Certainly it helps to have an unlimited budget and no schedule on top of that, kind of like a National Geographic assignment, but I think The BBC trumps Nat Geo. The perspectives and the slices of nature those cinematographers capture is beyond remarkable.
Interestingly, the average BBC cinematographer makes $118,000 annually, top guys might make $160K. That's not bad for sure, but I would have thought their talent was worth considerably more than that. The gentleman who narrates those films makes millions, the guys schlepping, not millions ...Show more →
Jim, I just watched the episode about humming birds, amazing...
Well you certainly passed the MA2A "Do You Want The Shot, or Not" litmus test Donald!
That Tommy Gun comes straight from the heart of the "Gun Free" "Windy City", tights gun laws, highest gun violence stats.............you can't make the stuff up.............
I finally had an opportunity to take my Glock to the range yesterday. I enjoyed it, but I had too much on my mind and just couldn't get in the groove. Spent an hour there and ran a couple hundred rounds through it, it's a great pistol and I'm happy with the selection. Yesterday was just one of those days, just felt distracted and a little off my game. My patterns would be considered pretty good, especially given the 45 to 60' distances (absurd for pistol practice), but I only had one or two double taps and most of my patterns were a little low and a little left, just a few inches but still off.
The whole experience had me thinking about actual scenarios, might you be tested on a day/night when you're a little off? Add surprise/adrenaline, crummy light and motion to the equation, would I be up to the challenge? I realize that this was my first outing with a new weapon, but it's kind of like flying, your habits need to be deeply ingrained, professionalism should be so second nature that one doesn't need to actually think, just set practiced skills in motion and follow the training. Interesting experience, kind of glad it went that way because it gave me a different perspective.
I was considering Crimson Trace sights, but had held off because they add bulk, especially to a weapon the size of a Glock 43. Yesterday I had people with Crimson Trace sights on both sides of me and it was yet another lesson. The red laser dots were wagging all over their targets and when they finally discharged the weapon, the perforation fell no where near where the dot patterns were. Leads me to believe that if you don't have any technique a $250 laser sight just wanders all over the target and means nothing as far as accuracy.
All kidding aside, I came home last night, lit the fireplace, wrapped myself in a blanket and Photoshopped for three hours. My core warmth was just about back to normal at the end of that. They have a slotted window in the doors, but it is just so restrictive that I never opt for that feature. My helicopter people know that if I have it booked, the door comes off. 
