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Category: Gear

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New Additions to the Arsenal

Posted on June 13, 2018 By Tom No Comments on New Additions to the Arsenal
Gear, Music, Washington Sabbatical

Killarney Whistle

A couple of months ago I had an unexpected windfall by selling a large number of photographs. I decided to reinvest that into another hobby – music. I bought two fine instruments at exact opposite ends of the tonal spectrum.

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Catching Up – A New Lens

Posted on March 6, 2017 By Tom 3 Comments on Catching Up – A New Lens
Gear, Local, Miscellaneous, Photography

Downtown with New Lens-6

I know February is a short month, but it’s hard to believe I’ve let it slip away and that we’re now in the first full week of March without any kind of update. I could blame it on being too busy, or that I’ve had a cold, or a dozen other excuses, but mostly it’s just not getting around to it. Regardless, here’s an update, mostly focusing on the acquisition of a new camera lens and the outings to give it a test run.

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Robot Uprising – Siri vs Alexa

Posted on December 16, 2016December 16, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Robot Uprising – Siri vs Alexa
Gear, General Technology

Amazon Echo Dot

Yesterday I completed one more trip around old Sol. Yep, it was my birthday. My gift this year was an Amazon Echo Dot, one of the new home A. I. units. I’d actually been playing with the system for a couple of weeks. I thought I’d take some time to share my thoughts on this, and its competitor (sort of), Siri.

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Working with Google PhotoScan

Posted on November 17, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Working with Google PhotoScan
Gear, General Technology, Internet, Photography

Google PhotoScan Screenshot

This week Google was making news with the release of a new app. PhotoScan is designed to capture old photos from photo albums, with algorithms to enhance the photo and minimize glare. I have tons of old photo albums from Laura’s family and from my own family, and I’ve been trying to find the most efficient way to digitize these images with the best possible quality. I figured I needed to give PhotoScan a shot.

Google PhotoScan App Demo

Here are my first impressions…

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Florida Spring Break 2016 – Kites

Posted on March 20, 2016 By Tom No Comments on Florida Spring Break 2016 – Kites
Family, Gear, Travel

Fort Pierce Kite Flying-2

Fair warning – this is going to be one of those posts with more writing than photography. I was otherwise occupied while most of this was going on, so I had to rely on others to take photos. The photos were rare, but there was quality over quantity. I was busy flying kites.

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What’s in Your Car?

Posted on January 5, 2016January 5, 2016 By Tom 3 Comments on What’s in Your Car?
Gear
Overstuffed Car
Photo by Mark Bloom at Tales from the Trash

Every now and then I run across a “What’s in your bag?” post or discussion on various photography forums. I’ve seen it applied to other subjects such as fishing, or even just travel in general The question really boils down to, “What do you think are the essentials?”

It’s not an easy question to answer. You can’t really grab some checklist off of the Internet and expect it to work for you. Such a list evolves through experience, and as you add and subtract items that either gain or lose their usefulness.

My problem is that I have too many bags. I have several for photography-related gear. I’ve got two dry bags that are always packed with what I consider kayaking essentials. I also have a bag for audio recording gear. Sometimes I’ll mix and match content from these bags for a specific adventure. I have already made a list of some of what I consider to be essentials in general. Rather than look at what’s in a bag, I thought that today I’d consider what was in my car.

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Old School Consumer Electronics

Posted on August 20, 2015 By Tom 3 Comments on Old School Consumer Electronics
Gear, Local, Miscellaneous

Don Jones Stereo-21

Our television gave up the ghost. While it was a fairly modern hi-def LCD TV, by today’s standards it was quite small. We still hold to the old “TV as furniture” ideal, and kept it in a cabinet in a corner. This was actually a design decision, as we have picture windows overlooking our back yard and lake, and didn’t want a large TV interfering with that view. Perhaps it got jealous of the big new TV in our newly remodeled basement. Who knows? The upshot is that on Wednesday I found myself heading out to buy a new one.

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The $10 Kayak

Posted on July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 By Tom 1 Comment on The $10 Kayak
Gear, Paddling

Inflatable Kayak Launch-15

Once upon a time Confluence Watersports in Easley would have a special sale for “friends and family.” Employees and even the general public could come purchase kayaks that were factory seconds, demo boats, discontinued products, and other items that couldn’t be put out for regular retail sale. The incredible prices are how my brothers and nephew have built up our fleet of kayaks.

Of course, you had to be careful. One of the boats we got had a warped hull, and had a distinct pull to the left. My favorite Pungo had all of the seat webbing sliced, and I had to replace it. One of Chip’s boats lacked covers for the storage hatches. For the prices we got these boats, we could cope.

The problem was that people started purchasing LOTS of kayaks at once and reselling them. This was undermining local merchants like Sunrift Adventures and Grady Outdoors. The sales were closed to the public. In order to attend the sale you had to have a ticket, and you were limited to two boats.

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Fuji FinePix XP85 – More Info

Posted on July 28, 2015July 28, 2015 By Tom No Comments on Fuji FinePix XP85 – More Info
Gear, Paddling, Photography

Fuji XP85

Looking back at my last post I realized I hadn’t included much information about the Fujifilm FinePix XP85 camera that I purchased recently. I’d made a few comments, but hadn’t really followed up with substantial information. With that in mind, here are a few more thoughts about the camera.

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New Waterproof Camera – Fuji XP85

Posted on July 25, 2015 By Tom 2 Comments on New Waterproof Camera – Fuji XP85
Gear, Photography

Fuji XP85

Over the Fourth of July weekend we went down to Florida to visit Laura’s sister Amy and her mother. Since we’ve been going down regularly to help out I’ve left a bit of paddling gear and our tandem kayak so that I can do the occasional escape.

I was on my way out for a quick paddle when my trusty Fujifilm Z33WP slipped out of my hand and hit Amy’s tile floor, point down. It cracked the corner of the casing. The camera still works, but it was no longer waterproof.

Untitled

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