Photoblog 2.0

Getting the Point 2, photo by Harold Davis.

Hard not to get the point when you are so close, right?

Until I looked through my macro lens, I never knew pencil points were so hairy:

Synthetic Landscape 1, photo by Harold Davis.

I’ve been trying to find a phrase to describe my work combining digital photography and Photoshop–and I think I’ve come up with one. These are “synthetic landscapes.”

By popular request(!), here’s the original photo:

Bridge Tops, photo by Harold Davis.

Mostly, the day was quite blue, clear, and sunny.

I took this image from across the bay using my new AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED (to give the lens its full mouthful of a designation).

The lens was at 200mm, the maximum focal length, and mounted on a tripod–with the Nikon 2X teleconverter (AF-S TC-20E II) between the lens and the camera.

Multiplying this out, you get a 35mm equivalence of 600mm: 200mm (lens) X 2 (teleconverter) X 1.5 (focal conversion factor for my D70)–which probably explains the apparent “graininess” of the image.

I took the picture with Julian from Indian Rock on Friday–the day I held him out of school to go sailing on the Adventure Cat.

Mathew Playing, photo by Harold Davis.

It turns out that my new zoom lens with vibration reduction is a great lens for candid shots of the kids. I can hand hold it at lower shutter speeds, the kids don’t really know how close I am getting.

Mathew was looking out a playhouse window, and I snapped this photo this morning up at Step One.

Bridge Shadow, photo by Harold Davis.

The four of us, Phyllis, Julian, my new lens, and I, went on a sailing excursion today on the Adventure Cat, a fast sailing catamaran on the bay.

This was probably one of the last nice days for sailing before the winter rains set in. The clouds, wind, and sun made fantastic patterns of light and shadow around the Golden Gate Bridge.

The shadow reminds me of the emergency signal used to call Batman.

Sea Lion Society, photo by Harold Davis.

Today I’m trying out my new lens, an AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED.

This is a preposterously expensive, heavy, big, and magnificent lens. If I saw a photographer strutting down the street sporting it on their Nikon dSLR, I’d think they were compensating for something.

The VR in the lens model name means “Vibration Reduction.” VR gives you 3 stops (or 8X) additional exposure in which you can reasonably expect to hand-hold a lens–making this shot of sea lions near Pier 39 in San Francisco’s harbor feasible. It would have been impossible with a conventional telephoto or zoom telephoto of comparable focal length, and (of course) a tripod doesn’t help with moving subjects like these sea lions!

Another photo from the set:

Wasp, photo by Harold Davis. View the wasp larger.

A WASP used to be slightly derogatory term for a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Today it’s just an insect, a wasp without the upper-case letters.

This one was torpid on our living room ceiling. It took some contortions on my part to get my tripod close enough to take this picture, as you can see in this photo Phyllis took of me in my pajamas photographing the wasp with my tripod raised up using diaper cartons:

There are many kinds of wasps, and I’d appreciate any help identifying this one.

View from Indian Rock, photo by Harold Davis.

Indian Rock is one of my favorite spots at sunset, with its views of the Golden Gate and Mount Tamalpais. It’s an easy walk from our house, and I like to take my camera and tripod. The kids love to scramble up, around, and through Indiand Rock as well.

Related post: Golden Gate Sunset.

Here are Mathew, Julian, and Nicky on the post-Halloween sugar-rush sleigh ride!

Related post: Halloween 2005.

Opening Flower, photo by Harold Davis.

Flowers look different when they haven’t fully opened…

Viola, photo by Harold Davis.

More photography in my garden today! This is very close up, with the 105mm macro and 36mm extension tube (it’s a small flower).

I wouldn’t want to get snarky with this snapdragon, which I found and photographed in our garden today.

It’s funny when you point your lens and something really small how it can look quite different. This flower looks lovely in an “aerial” view, but close up this could be the maw of a monster!

Jolly Pirates, photo by Harold Davis.

Happy halloween 2005, jolly pirates, bumble bee and all other revellers!

Halloween is a pretty quiet, family event in our neighborhood. The teenagers mostly go off to private parties or to the Castro in the city. So it’s trick-or-treat for the under ten set.

Even so, the whole thing was overwhelming for our bumble bee Mathew.

I promised the rogue pirates that I’d take them around collecting candy until they’d had enough. “Really, Daddy, really?”

As I was counting on, fatigue kicked in pretty early. By 7PM Nicky wanted to be dropped off at home. About an hour later I stumbled home with a weary and somewhat sticky Julian pirate.

The M.O. here is for the little kids with one or more parent to trick-or-treat in small packs. One of our neighbors, a dentist, was handing out tooth brushes in lieu of candy. I heard a kid saying, “That’s illegal!”

All in all, a good time was had by all!

Of course, we had our much-admired-in-the-’hood fiberoptic pumpkin lit!

Arrr mateys! Thars a Bumble Bee buzzing around me gang plank!” Pirates are always the best costumes for boys because pirates just dressed and talked so strange. It’s just so fun for kids to pretend they are pirates on the high seas! For your little Bumble Bee our boys costumes will give parents great ideas for many Halloweens to come. Halloween costumes are so much fun for kids of all ages, so please drop by our online store and pick your favorite costume today!