Idiomatic Expression

Finally starting to get a bit of the results that I want, but then I also had three completely flubbed negatives, I would like to blame it on the camera, but it was probably my fault. I often find that I adjust my exposure in the wrong direction (e.g. decreasing shutter speed indicator say from 250 to 125 when I want to decrease exposure). That is what practice is for. There are some pictures of the last of the fall foliage from around the neighborhood, and my Son.

These were all shot with my new Canon P&S camera featuring twice the pixels of my D40(for whatever that is worth). I also brought along the $7 dollar mini tripod that I bought on a whim. It was as poorly made as the price indicates, but it let me take pictures that I could not have taken handheld.

The latest trend is to shoot medium format roll film through plastic cameras, the results are interesting, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay forty bucks for a camera that requires tape to around the edges to prevent light leaks. Still, the promise of huge negatives you get from 120 film (as compared to 35mm) really interested me and when I saw a Universal Roamer II on ebay for less than ten bucks I took the plunge and bought it. It is a bit rough around the edges, and at some point in its sixty year plus life span some scraped off the Roamer II sticker, but it has a decent triplet lens (F4.5-16), and shutter speeds from bulb – 300 seconds (giving a bit more exposure latitude than a Holga or Diana). I was quite surprised by the quality of the lens in this test and by the bit of bokeh that I got on some of the portaits in the gallery (shot at around F 5.6). Still I have a couple more pin holes in the bellows to track down. I also picked up an 11 dollar handheld rangefinder that after calibration should give me better focus results without having to pace out the distance.

I was also given a Universal Roamer I, which I can’t wait to try out. It is a lot simpler than the Roamer II with only a single element lens and two shutter settings bulb and 1/50 second (or at least it was around 1/50 a second when it left the factory).

My second roll of B&W film, I choose the high speed film for night time photos in NYC and finished the roll with inside shots at Home and at Olivia’s birthday party. Next up is a roll of Ilford HP5 then a roll of Delta 3200 that I plan to shoot at 1600. I had hoped to shoot both rolls in NYC, but was rained out. The film was developed at Merrifield One Hour Photo and the digital version are from their scans. I am still not getting the results that I want, but reading up on technique and practice should help.

Still working on getting the flash gallery to do what I want it too, until then these are best viewed here.

Because I do not have enough websites already, I have decided to split my family related topics to a new website rmusgrove.net. ieblog.net will stick around for another couple of months and will hopefully be rebuilt and repurposed to focus on other topics.

I am also hoping to find time to get back to working on the other website thetraveltots.com.

With all of the old media and new media hacks trying their hands at prognostication, I might as well do the same. So here is my grim prognosis for the New Year.

• Riots in China: hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers from remote villages have earned their livings in large coastal cities, most with no legal rights to live in those cities. With the cooling economy these workers are returning home. The lucky ones still have a family plot of land where they can grow enough food to live (if not to prosper). The unlucky ones have seen their land appropriated (with little compensation) by local governments and handed over to corporations. Without a major policy change by the government, these workers will become disillusioned and demand a better life for them and their families.
• Collapse of commodity prices: The steep reduction in energy costs will temporarily drive a reduced production of ethanol, freeing up corn for animal feed and reducing the price of other staples (such as barley). This should make items ranging from breakfast cereal to beer cheaper, which will be needed because of…
• Continued recession in the US: Further job loss and reduced economic output in the US through at least November of 2009.

There you go, and in twelve months we can see how I stack up to the people that get paid for this sort of stuff. The great thing about predicting doom and gloom is that you are happy to be proven wrong.

My employer like many has a United Way drive every year. Although I like to give, I always wonder how each charity direct their money. The cynic in me theorizes that a big portion goes to an exec that adds little value.

The people at Charity Navigator obviously had similiar concerns and more drive to do something about the matter.

Check out the good, the bad and the ugly.

Some of my favorites are First Book and the DC Central Kitchen.

If anyone cares a decent list of watches worn in the movies.

Now apparently I can read about 42% of chinese texts… Too bad that still doesn’t get me much comprehension.

說	典	姐	長	這
十	書	那	會	還
多	兩	地	買	比
就	沒	有	四	文
要	太	九	外	個
二	七	能	甚	想
麼	圖	幾	錢	本
塊	話	的	字	賣
學	寫	看	八	少
六	一	三	念	五