CGrindahl wrote:
I'm confused Ben... you live in a tropical climate, right? Why do you need clothes?
Having been to Sydney in June (winter), I can assure you Ben does NOT live in a tropical climate Curtis ! It was very cold and very wet in comparison to tropical Cairns. Think New York compared to Miami.
cadman342001 wrote:
Having been to Sydney in June (winter), I can assure you Ben does NOT live in a tropical climate Curtis ! It was very cold and very wet in comparison to tropical Cairns. Think New York compared to Miami.
Thanks for setting him straight Andy - I thought of responding to his obvious provocation but I have given him quite a bit of stick lately so I let it slide, after all, the old fella's not getting any younger....
Ben, the trunk (the boot) of my car for both of my trips to Massachusetts had one suitcase for clothes, and the rest of the trunk space was occupied by camera gear. Just about every lens came with me, along with the D3, D700, D200, and D300s. Scott, Priya, and I looked like drug dealers in the restaurant's parking lot that first night
bruni wrote:
And how much gear did you take on this holiday? By my count you had both the Sony and the Df, the 28, two 50s, the 85, 105, the 180. Gotta laugh - I thought I was the only nutter who did that.
cadman342001 wrote:
Having been to Sydney in June (winter), I can assure you Ben does NOT live in a tropical climate Curtis ! It was very cold and very wet in comparison to tropical Cairns. Think New York compared to Miami.
Ah yes. I forget that things are topsy turvy at the bottom of the world. It is likely the sign of approaching senility... at least that would be how Ben might characterize it... And he calls ME a provocateur...
It is heart-warming to revisit this thread, after a long time of absence - thank you Ken (Ballard) for keeping in touch, and be able to indulge in all the wonderful pictures being posted.
Sadly, I cannot contribute anything as I have not picked up my camera for quite some time now due to heavy workload and my father being recently diagnosed with cancer in its final stage.
All the best and - I will try to visit more often again!
Eike
Nice offering Mark. Yes, the 8mm lens is perfect for that kind of shooting. It is not a lens I can imagine having in my kit because of how limited are the opportunities to use it creatively, but I always love what folks bring to the thread from that lens. Rafael does some amazing work with it. I'm curious what Chuong will come up with now that he has the f/5.6 version. Keep em coming folks!
ljuset wrote:
It is heart-warming to revisit this thread, after a long time of absence - thank you Ken (Ballard) for keeping in touch, and be able to indulge in all the wonderful pictures being posted.
Sadly, I cannot contribute anything as I have not picked up my camera for quite some time now due to heavy workload and my father being recently diagnosed with cancer in its final stage.
All the best and - I will try to visit more often again!
Eike
I've thought of you often Eike, especially when reflecting on the recent seven year anniversary of this thread... my mind sorting through the names and faces of folks who've shared part of the journey with all of us. Sorry to hear about your father. My partner Sue spoke yesterday for the last time with the woman who was her "mama," a lovely French lady who lived next door when she was growing up. Theresa likely will die this week. I also found myself in conversation yesterday with a fellow whose mother died a few months ago. He was aware that I've done volunteer work through the Living/Dying Project and had wanted to talk with me about the experience. Saying farewell to a parent is never easy. I wish you and your whole family well during this journey. You are always welcome to return to this conversation... with or without photos.
My dad died 21 years ago after a couple of heart attacks - I was fortunate to be in his city on business and saw him two days before his death. He was in great spirits and told me that the doctor had said he could get up the following Monday.
On the Saturday one of his great friends visited and they had a few laughs. Dad had a light lunch and afterwards said to my Mom "Skipper, I'm very tired". Put his head down and went to sleep - what a way to go.
As I approach his age (75) I sometimes contemplate my own mortality and hope for a similar peaceful release.
ljuset wrote:
It is heart-warming to revisit this thread, after a long time of absence - thank you Ken (Ballard) for keeping in touch, and be able to indulge in all the wonderful pictures being posted.
Sadly, I cannot contribute anything as I have not picked up my camera for quite some time now due to heavy workload and my father being recently diagnosed with cancer in its final stage.
All the best and - I will try to visit more often again!
Eike
ljuset wrote:
It is heart-warming to revisit this thread, after a long time of absence - thank you Ken (Ballard) for keeping in touch, and be able to indulge in all the wonderful pictures being posted.
Sadly, I cannot contribute anything as I have not picked up my camera for quite some time now due to heavy workload and my father being recently diagnosed with cancer in its final stage.
All the best and - I will try to visit more often again!
Eike
Life happens as we all know, I send you my best wishes for your father and hope things lighten up soon for you at work.
I remember having literally lost 5 years of life once where I was working 80-100 hour plus weeks. I called it the coma because I literally don't know what happened in those 5 years, news, events, tv, it's all a blank. I would eat and sleep with a phone in my ear and I couldn't even feel my pager anymore when it buzzed. And in the same token, when I was past it all, I had phantom pages for probably a good two years I would feel, regardless of not even having a pager on. And in the end of that period, I lost my father as well to cancer.. very stoic time for me as one of my last visits before the end was to go out shooting with him. He had a view camera and I had a Fuji and a Canon at the time. We went to Mono Lake and it was an adventure.
I share this only out of compassion as at one point I prided myself on how tuff I was to be able to make it through all that and the other challenges in life at the time. I remember this moment with ironic crystal clear recollection of driving to work one morning and it was super dewey and everything looked like crystal bright drops, so very surreal as the early golden light shown upon the trees and grass. I had one of those glowing I survived dual moments of wanting to take a picture and smiling as I felt so alive. And then, a few seconds later, it hit me! I was not proud (pride commeth before the fall and I felt stupid for having allowed myself to have worked my life away and I swore I would never do that again. I know it's not always possible to slow down, modern life seems to have a way of keeping us captive and it takes tremendous will to see past the grand scheme of it all. Lol, I refer to it as awareness and reprogramming ones self to see the truth about life.
All this to say:
We seem to be a breathern of a sort, coming and going but never really leaving for good. We always seem to find our way back to this glass portal where we feel welcome and home. God speed my friend!
quote]CGrindahl wrote:
I'm loving the eclipse photos everyone. Greatest respect to those of you who invested the time and effort to capture these images.. I figured we'd have a few images arriving on this thread and I'm definitely not disappointed. Well done!
Too bad our friend Mark A has slipped into cyberspace since he was a serious astrophotographer with a rig that likely would be perfect for this kind of shooting. I imagine the view from Olathe, Kansas would have been first rate, and if he'd been willing to drive a few miles he'd have been in the middle of the path. Anything to share with us Mark? ...Show more →
CGrindahl wrote:
Colin that moon shot is magnificent, as is evident by the likes you received. We've been blessed with some great shots of the eclipse and now your fine offering. Thanks for sharing this...
And speaking of the eclipse, Mark shows up.
You may have missed my comment Mark but I recalled your interest in astrophotography and imagined you staring at the sky on that date. I even checked the tracking data and saw you were close to 100% coverage. Sorry the weather didn't turn out well. In four years you can drive south to Texas for the next go round...
I too have been in a bit of a funk when it comes to photography. Glad you're finding some delight in the beautiful kit you built during your time with us. We'll look forward to what you stumble upon next round. Perhaps you want to do a bit of street photography... a real change of pace. As I recall you work in Kansas City, which may offer some opportunities. You can take your inspiration from Philippe and Ben who love that kind of shooting. Welcome back! ...Show more →
Curtis, I went to look for your comments and true to your belief, I was right near the center line and had Mother Nature been kinder would have been just a couple seconds shy of the longest totality available. And it was a nice spot too, no crowds whatsoever in the small town of Highland in the Dolphins West High School parking lot. The plan was to timelapse on one camera and zoom in with the other. Map Pic attached.
For fun I went back in time to find out what it was I saw as a child, I was about 7 years old and it was a partial. Funny how we can have memories like that. Star Chart attached. It was in 1972, and I remember looking at it without protection in my front yard, running around like only a crazy 7 year old could.
I also am attaching the 2001-2050 eclipse schedule.. I figure I have two more North American chances, lol. I will be better prepared with a telescope mount with solar tracking next time.. and I would gladly use the 500P, it's a wonderful lens for such events on a crop sensor... what will the camera model number be from Nikon in 2024?
Regarding opportunities, yes, there are things I need to do like I did yesterday. There are Breweries, aviation museums, and plenty more. Hoping to get that cockpit photo with the 8Mm again so cool and the people at the museum were so kind and patient! Will share some of those tomorrow if they turned out.
I can't believe you all think that those maps and star charts have anything to do with the Eclipse
I believe it was Witches and Wizards that brought it to us
There is a storm coming and its coming after you
Reagan wrote:
I can't believe you all think that those maps and star charts have anything to do with the Eclipse
I believe it was Witches and Wizards that brought it to us
There is a storm coming and its coming after you
R
Shaking my head, listen your missing the key point here, for the ones that think they are smart, they create tools like maps and star charts tricking to into believing they are logical events... that's where the wizards come into play. The witches and wizards are equal opportunity trouble makers!
And he calls ME a provocateur... 
