jorge's jome

I got my 105mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor lens today. I've been waiting to get this one for quite a while now, primarily for taking close-ups. I've gotten somewhat interested in macro photography as of late. I also purchased a 4T close-up accessory lens which, combined with the 27.5mm extension tube I already own, brings me to almost 3X magnification and allows me to take shots such as this one.

Macro photography is a lot of fun...and a lot of work. I spent about 4 hours in my back yard looking for bugs. Even when I was able to find one it was really tough getting a good shot. Shooting bugs is particulary difficult and presents some unique challenges. First, you have to follow a moving subject which rules out any tripod use. Next, at very high magnification there is very little depth of field, requiring you to stop down the lens quite a bit. Of course, this means you need a good flash unit to get enough light to even make a shot. So basically you're hand-holding your camera and trying to follow a tiny little critter around yet hold your body still enough so that you are able frame your subject properly and get it in focus. I tried photographing a bee, for example, but didn't get a single good shot. It was moving so quickly from flower to flower that I was lucky to even catch a glimpse of it in my viewfinder. I'm going to need a lot more practice to catch the faster-moving stuff.

Here is another ladybug shot.

Not a bad start, I'm definitely going to have fun with this new lens. Here are some wallpaper files, let me know if you need a custom size.

Ladybug Wallpaper (1024 x 768)

Ladybug Wallpaper (1280 x 1024)

Ladybug Wallpaper (1600 x 1200)

Posted by at 10:18 PM | Permalink

I have another Gmail invitation available, so post a comment if you're interested. If you don't know what Gmail is, you probably don't want one, but here's a link to some info, anyway.

While you're here, you might find this story interesting. Thanks to Haim for the link.

Posted by at 2:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In a previous post I mentioned that I had submitted a photo to Sport Rocketry magazine hoping for a print in the reader photo submission section. I felt it was a pretty good photo, and apparently the editor agreed and even mentioned a possible cover sometime next year.

Last night I got confirmation that the photo I submitted will indeed be on the cover of the Sept./Oct. issue of Sport Rocketry magazine, much sooner than I had expected. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited. I've worked very hard over the last few months trying to improve my photography skills and it's nice to get some validation for my hard work (and several dozen boxes of slides I've shot).

In addition, I got approval to submit a text/photo package covering the Plaster Blaster event in early October. I also plan to submit proposals to a few other local magazines of places to hike and camp or just to visit. Some of my favorite places for these activities include Torrey Pines State Reserve, Cabrillo National Monument and Mission Trails Regional Park.

I've got a couple of shots I'd like to put up as soon as I get my last batch of slides back. One is a shot of thunderheads out over the Santee/El Cajon area. In case you missed it, nature put on quite a show the last few days with some spectacular cumulonimbus cloud formations in east San Diego. I'm hoping to get back a couple nice shots. Also, I have some very cool shots of intertidal inhabitants, specifically limpets, sea slugs, striped shore crabs, sea anenomes, hermit crabs and troglodyte chitons. I'm holding my breath on those, I am still struggling a bit with close-up photos, especially at high magnification using a flash.

Posted by at 12:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I have one (1) Gmail invitation available. If anyone is interested, post here and I'll make a decision sometime this weekend. In the meantime, ponder this...

Posted by at 4:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Quite a few of my friends are gamers, so I'd like to pose the question...what game will you be playing? I ask because I am probably going to put a *little* time into one of the two above. They are going to be released within a few months of each other, by all accounts, and there is no way in hell I will even consider playing both.

Right now I am leaning towards WoW. After enduring some of the worst software engineering practices for over 4 years with the original EQ, I am ready to try a MMORPG from a game company with a tried-and-true reputation. I am not naive enough to believe that WoW will not have its share of bugs and other issues, but Blizzard has been putting out top quality games for a long, long time and I would expect WoW to continue in that tradition.

Posted by at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I finally joined the TiVo club and in one weekend managed to go from watching maybe 2-3 hours of television per week to being several days behind on shows that I need to watch. I'm loving it so far.

Anyway, I told my friend Tom that I'd post some of the options available, since he currently does not have a TiVo, so here it is. Most of the information I read was from this site. It has a buying guide that discusses the different types of systems available and advantages/disadvantages of each. A compelling argument is made for purchasing a DirecTV DVR (also known as DirecTiVo) over a standalone TiVo box that integrates into your existing system. I was already a DirecTV subscriber so the decision was pretty easy for me. In summary, here are the reasons to choose a DirecTiVo.

1. DirecTV DVRs have dual tuners, so you can watch one show while recording another, or record two shows at the same time. (Is it still true that none of the standalone TiVos offer this? I find that hard to believe).

2. DirecTV TiVo service is only $4.99/month, compared to $12.99 directly through TiVo, and it is completely free if you have DirecTV's high end programming package, Total Choice Premier.

3. You can buy a DirecTV DVR for only $80 (integrated receiver and DVR). I picked mine up at Best Buy and had it up and running in 15 minutes. Standalone TiVos cost $179, although right now there is a $50 rebate on new units, or you can buy a refurbished unit for $50.

4. Integrated receiver and TiVo unit. This may not seem that important, but I have heard several stories of people grabbing the wrong remote and accidentally changing the channel on a program that was being recorded, only to find out much later when they went to view the program that they got something completely different.

5. Best image quality. Since there is no A/D conversion necessary, DirecTV DVRs record in the best quality, as they can write the compressed digital signal directly to their hard drive.

About the only drawback is that the Home Networking feature is not available, but that only gets you the ability to play files from a computer on your network through your TiVo and the ability to program your TiVo over the web. Please note that the hardware is there on the DirecTiVos, so it's really only a matter of DirecTV releasing the software to do that.

I should mention HD briefly. There is a DirecTV HD DVR from Hughes that will be available soon. This unit, of course, is quite a bit more expensive at roughly $1k. Also, it has a much bigger hard drive, as you would expect, and will record 30 hours of HD or approximately 200 hours of regular programming.

Anyway, if you're considering buying a TiVo and are also considering changing satellite providers, or going from cable to satellite, there is really only one choice, in my opinion.

Posted by at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)