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A Portrait of the Parents

Posted on July 25, 2009 By Tom 4 Comments on A Portrait of the Parents
Photography

Mom and Dad on Peak Bridge

This past week Dad had been in the hospital to have his pacemaker replaced. Full of new energy, he wanted to get out and about when I came down for a visit on Friday. So, we loaded up the car with cameras and road out into the countryside around the town of Prosperity.

Our drive took us past places I had visited recently, so I narrated. I gave both Mom and Dad a point-n-shoot camera so they could take a few snaps along the way, too. We stopped at the new Palmetto Trail Bridge over the Broad River near Peak, drove past the Old Brick Church near Jenkinsville, drove through the Anderson Quarry area where they mine the Winnesboro Blue granite, then along the shores of Lake Monticello up to the little community of Monticello. It was a good ride.

While at the Peak Bridge the parents posed for the portrait that you see at the top of this post. As I was processing the image, I thought it might be time for a quick Photoshop tutorial on adjusting exposure within a single shot.

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National Parks Checklist

Posted on July 20, 2009 By Tom No Comments on National Parks Checklist
Travel

After our trip to Maine and Acadia National Park, Laura and I started talking about all of the national parks that we had visited and tried making a list. We knew we had left out quite a few, but the list we came up with was still impressive. Since I was kayaking in Congaree National … Read More “National Parks Checklist” »

Paddling Up Cedar Creek

Posted on July 20, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Paddling Up Cedar Creek
Paddling, Travel

Lots of Green

Bob D. was up for a paddling trip, and we both wanted to do something besides the Green River or the Tuckaseegee. I suggested Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park, and Bob agreed.

The last time I paddled Cedar Creek it turned into an uphill death march, as we had paddled our canoes downstream, then tried to paddle back upstream to get to our cars. I was determined not to repeat that mistake. Initially we were going to take two vehicles and do a point-to-point paddle from Bannister Bridge to Cedar Creek Road, which would be about eight miles downstream. However, since it was a fairly long drive down there and there were just two of us, we decided to put in at Cedar Creek Road, paddle upstream for awhile, then paddle downstream with the current while we were tired. Made more sense to me.

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New Camera – Fujifilm Z33WP

Posted on July 17, 2009 By Tom 6 Comments on New Camera – Fujifilm Z33WP
Gear, Photography

DSCN3931

I was not able to find the perfect point-n-shoot camera. However, I was able to find an adequate camera. After a bit of back and forth and research, I purchased a Fujifilm Z33 waterproof camera today.

It was a trick to balance feature set and price. I knew that I wanted something waterproof, but there were several possibilities. I started off looking at the Canon D10, which looked like it was going to be a great camera, but the cost was higher than I wanted to go. It also looked a bit clunky and bulky to me. On the opposite end was the Vivitar 6200W. It was certainly cheap enough, but that came at too high a cost in lost features – no optical zoom, AA batteries, only 6 mp, and a long list of other deficiencies. That narrowed it down to the Olympus waterproof series, the Panasonic waterproof cameras, and Fujifilm cameras rounding out the middle tiers.

I had two distinct criteria for this particular purchase. First, it had to be available locally. I have a paddling trip to Congaree National Park coming up this weekend, so I didn’t want to wait for an online order. I wanted instant gratification, and that ruled out the Panasonic cameras. Secondly, the price had to fall within a reasonable range of a couple of gift cards I had gotten for speaking and singing engagements. That ruled out the Canon and the upper end Olympus waterproofs. It finally came down to a battle between two cameras – the Z33 and the Olympus Stylus 550 waterproof camera.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Pint Prince

Posted on July 17, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Harry Potter and the Half-Pint Prince
Entertainment

After many delays, the new Harry Potter movie is upon us. This was supposed to have come out in November, but was delayed for some strange marketing purpose. I don’t see why this would have mattered. The movie was going to rake in a ton of money, regardless. However, the ploy must have worked. Wednesday … Read More “Harry Potter and the Half-Pint Prince” »

Summer Malaise

Posted on July 17, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Summer Malaise
Rants

During the summers we work a modified schedule in order to save energy costs. Monday-Thursday we work extended hours and our office is closed on Friday. Sounds like a fantastic idea. However, those long days can get to be really long, especially since I usually get up at 5:00 am to make it to work. … Read More “Summer Malaise” »

From Wired – 100 Essential Skills for Geeks

Posted on July 11, 2009January 24, 2020 By Tom 1 Comment on From Wired – 100 Essential Skills for Geeks
General Technology

UPDATE: I regularly check to see what search terms bring people to this site. Apparently lots of people are copying phrases from the list below and pasting them into Google to try to find the answers. Sorry, but I think that should automatically disqualify you for Geekdom. If you can’t phrase a search properly, you … Read More “From Wired – 100 Essential Skills for Geeks” »

The Perfect Point-n-Shoot

Posted on July 9, 2009 By Tom 2 Comments on The Perfect Point-n-Shoot
Gear

I’ve got to admit it. I’m rough on point-n-shoot cameras. I try to have one with me at all times, so for awhile I was keeping first a little Nikon S1, then its replacement, a Nikon S50 in my pocket. Both cameras kept banging against keys, coins, phone, or whatever else I had in my … Read More “The Perfect Point-n-Shoot” »

The Not-So-Free Web

Posted on July 8, 2009 By Tom 3 Comments on The Not-So-Free Web
General Technology, Internet

I was wondering when this would happen. Many of the “free” online applications that we’ve come to take for granted are now coming with strings attached. I guess they have to make money some way, but this week two tales of monetization have really taken the Web 2.0 world by storm. Here’s the scoop… First, … Read More “The Not-So-Free Web” »

Texture with a Focal Point

Posted on July 6, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Texture with a Focal Point
Photography

Pumpkin Island with Texture

The problem with traveling during a week of fog and rain is that all of your shots start to look the same. The only way to remedy this is with a bit of post-processing. Adding a texture layer can be a quick way to add interest, but it can be overdone, and it can obscure the main focal point of your photo. Here’s a quick tutorial on adding a radial mask to your texture layer to preserve your focal point.

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