A Canon FTBn – a big investment when I was in high school #TBT

| May 2, 2019

A tweet from an online friend and an automotive journalist reminded me (Throwback Thursday) that my photography hobby helped me adapt to a new high school back in the mid-1970s when we moved from the Toledo area to Sidney, Ohio. It was at a time when friends were already made and connecting with others was […]

Spring had definitely sprung for Easter Sunday in 2019

| April 23, 2019

Although Brenda worked Easter Sunday this year, the weather could not have been more beautiful in Cincinnati for a few chores. I buffed out the oxidation on our 2002 Honda Odyssey, as the Florida sun is hard on paint. After buffing, I wax and buffed again in order to add a layer of protection … […]

Shuttle launch observed from the International Space Station

| April 21, 2019

Happy Easter … He Is Risen. He Is Risen Indeed! The resurrection of Jesus and His “ascension” to heaven is a vision we can only imagine. When I’m too busy to blog, a beautiful photo from space works well as an Easter post. Here’s a photo from the International Space Station (#ISS) just after a […]

The weather is not to my liking, but it is a “Good Friday”

| April 19, 2019

After a first cutting of the backyard, the flowering phlox and Redbud trees make even a cold and gloomy “Good Friday” worth taking a panorama photo. But let’s keep our focus on what Jesus did for us and the reason we refer today as “GOOD Friday” – I like what Rev Franklin Graham shared on […]

A cloudy #shark in the sky filler photo for a busy day

| April 5, 2019

The answer is … “no, I did not take or Photoshop this photo, it was on Twitter.”

A rainy March day in Florida beats a rainy March day in Ohio

| April 2, 2019

After a weekend trip to Encore in Florida, one would think that I would be totally rejuvenated? Unfortunately I’m feel further behind and less rested than when I left? Perhaps it is age or maybe just the long drive, but I’m tired and worn out. On the bright side, it was at least good to […]

Photog unknown, but a beautiful beach/surfer filler photo #TBT

| February 28, 2019

I enjoyed this photo enough to use it as my “too lazy to blog” filler photo for the day … and just to make it a ThrowBack Thursday #TBT … how about a photo with my buddy Mark Jones from 2014 looking down from up on Encore’s mast? 🙂

Tech Friday: Had some new iPhone envy so downloaded Focos

| February 15, 2019

Same photo with min aperture option and maximum. Note Bokek effect. On a recent trip, I happened to break my favorite pair of polarized sunglasses, so am using them as one last prop before tossing them in the trash … they have been epoxied and “jerry-rigged” (correct use of the term) together one too many times. […]

A great photo makes for the perfect filler blog post

| February 9, 2019

Although I’m not fond of birds that mess up the topsides of our boat, this Osprey made for a great photo from Aruba. Above is an Osprey is catching a blue reef fish.

Tech Friday: Do you have a Flickr account with 1000 photos?

| February 8, 2019

Yup … I have over 1000 photos. Once again, the lesson to take to heart is to "control your own data" whenever you can or be blackmailed into new subscription rules or lose everything.  Even more challenging if a company goes out of business or deciding you have infringed on their user policy without warning […]

To-Do and old photos from history – Machu Picchu from 1911

| January 9, 2019

Photo from history website pulled from Reddit Machu Picchu, an ancient Inca settlement in Peru, wasn’t discovered by someone with a camera until 1911. American archeologist Hiram Bingham took the first known photo when he visited in 1911. Bingham arrived in Peru with a small team of explorers to search for the famous “lost” cities […]

Heavy ice in the morning and snow tonight …

| November 15, 2018

Winter is here as the ice came in the morning bringing down branches and knocking out power all around Cincinnati … and just when I thought it was over, the Dark Sky app indicates the heavy snow is beginning in Liberty Township. Ugh! (I’m also playing a little bit with the slow-motion settings on the […]

Mid-November must be time to rake leaves in Ohio? #TBT

| November 15, 2018

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Autumn chores and dinner for our Red Tailed Hawk

| November 5, 2018

It seems later in the season that usual to be just starting to rake leaves and get in a final mow before winter, but the weather was dry after a long stretch of rain, so chores for me it was. My back is now sore and contemplating taking an Advil as the muscle tighten. There […]

This beautiful filler photo brings back mountain hiking memories

| October 21, 2018

Since I’m pre-occupied, a beautiful “daily post” filler photo that brings back memories of hiking in the Canadian Rockies or Glacier National Park in Montana works. Enjoy!

A catch-up International Space Station viewing post

| October 20, 2018

Earlier in October, as well as mid summer, I’ve been trying to get a better nighttime view of the International Space Station (ISS) passing over our house. It has been tracking overhead for the last few weeks an hour or so after the the sun set. The angle was such that our sky was completely […]

ISS & FaceTime with Annalyn brightens an otherwise sour day

| October 11, 2018

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Busy weekend … so here are a couple filler photos

| August 19, 2018

I thought these bear photos and stories were interesting …  but probably duped by the shocking images (the below is fake for the storyline). While looking for information on the photo below, I also came across the one above of a bicyclist trying to stay ahead of a bear in Alaska (probably fake too). Often […]

Yardwork, jury duty and enjoying the July 2018 night sky

| July 26, 2018

We been enjoying summer and mostly great weather around the house and yard so far this year in 2018 and Brenda‘s growing landscape mounds are all flowering and looking really nice (she has been working on them although her current Grand Jury duty is cutting into her free time). The last few days of slightly […]

Another great night for viewing our neighboring planets

| July 23, 2018

The moon and Jupiter circled from my iPhone on Sunday night July 22, 2018 I have fond memories of sitting out with Katelyn when she would get out her telescope and was learning astronomy … but I do also still enjoy special nights like last night to "try" to capture the amazingly bright and large […]

An impressive look at planet Jupiter this week #space

| July 14, 2018

It was a great week of skywatching in our backyard in Cincinnati this week. The sun magnificently lit up planets, especially Saturn and Jupiter while Mars, Venus (the brightest) and Mercury (doubtful) remained a bit low in the sky while I was out viewing. I was purposely out for Mars, but it will have to […]

Déjà vu for me, as my kids enjoyed the Lake Erie islands

| July 10, 2018

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Taylor and his friends are pretty creative for July 4, 2018

| July 4, 2018

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The power of a photo, no matter how manipulated or misleading

| June 24, 2018

While there is no doubt the "fabricated" Time magazine cover photo has impact and tugs at everyone’s heartstrings, the deeper story represents far more than the current illegal immigration debate over separating children from those who bring them across the U.S.-Mexican border, whether with parents, relatives or traffickers. ("fabricated" in that the photo is obviously […]

Happy Anniversary Brenda … has it already been 36 years?

| June 5, 2018

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Pine pollen – it is that time of the year again #photography

| May 23, 2018

What a mess on everything outside. The yellow, dirty pine pollen covers everything each May … but thankfully Pine pollen doesn’t trigger allergies for me. Brenda on the other hand, either has allergies at the moment or a summer cold? (used the iPhone 7 plus portrait mode for the above photo – note selective focus […]

Archiving a few shared photos from mid-May 2018

| May 20, 2018

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iPhone photography and seeing signs of spring

| April 3, 2018

The other day I mentioned “selective focus” as a photography technique to my son … so I took advantage of the low light and ugly rainy weather to use the “longer x2 lens”on the iPhone7plus to hide the ugliness. The telephoto lens on any camera, especially in closer up photography), is that it is easy […]

Impressive Crescent Moon so toyed with the Lumix GX8 #video

| March 12, 2018

It was a crisp and cold night for March in Cincinnati and with a pitch black sky at 6 AM (after the Daylight Savings time change), the Waning Crescent Moon (see Lunar Phase) gave me a chance to see if my Lumix GX8 and 100-300mm lens was up to the task. I’ve tried still photos […]

Fantastic sperm whale and diver photo … if it is real?

| March 9, 2018

One never knows anymore if photos are real or Photoshopped .. . but this filler post photo of a sperm whale and snorkeling photographer is amazing.

Happy Birthday Annalyn – my granddaughter is ONE already!

| March 4, 2018

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The crystal pendant lights, china and big knobs are growing on me

| March 3, 2018

The new kitchen décor favored by Brenda is growing on me. Initially I fought the oversized glass crystal cabinet knobs (more expensive) and three rather than two crystal oriented pendant lights (I had already wired for two and had to add a third – $$$), as well as the excessive number of cut glass drinking […]

Archiving a couple Red River Gorge photos from Taylor

| February 27, 2018

  As mentioned before, it is great to see my son Taylor enjoying a couple of my interests or hobbies like hiking and photography when I was younger (actually I still enjoy them). Ignoring the lousy weather (we had a lot of rain and flooding), he ended up hiking with "a friend" (?) at a […]

Not much interest in watching the 2018 Winter Olympics?

| February 20, 2018

We really haven’t paid much attention to the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, but we did watch a bit of the figure skating the other night (amazing quads) and do enjoy some of the great photos showing up online. Check out this one of Akwasi Frimpong’s Skeleton Debut! Source: Ghana’s Skeleton Hero – The Atlantic

A mellow Music Monday: Some David Gates and a marina sunrise

| February 19, 2018

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An impressive final Supermoon of the trilogy (see previous post)

| January 31, 2018

I haven’t been wielding my camera around much lately as it is so much easier to whip out the iPhone and take a photo or some video … but occasionally there’s a subject that can’t be photographed easily with a smartphone or even with a DSLR. Here was my quick attempt last night with the […]

A beautiful sunset looking west towards downtown Cincinnati

| January 17, 2018

Taylor continues to impress me with his enjoying photography. Above is a recent photo (click for larger) he sent me overlooking Cincinnati along the Ohio River – another beautiful sunset photo. I told him that I was going to start encoding them with a digital watermark they are so nice. I’d like to think of […]

Tech Friday: Testing Apple Live Photo to downsized looping GIF

| December 15, 2017

We’ve had a colder than usual early December here in Cincinnati … and has much of the country. The freezing temperatures will likely show up in higher heating bills but I’m hoping the new LED Christmas lighting will offset that cost? We’ll see. I’ve been wanting to test the Live Photo editing feature on the […]

Remembering and archiving an old photo of Gaskill Hall

| November 9, 2017

So this looks like a nondescript photo of an older brick building (click for larger photo)… which it WAS, before being turned into Armstrong Student Center. Back in 1981-82, I was a replacement instructor at Miami University in the college town of Oxford, Ohio for a professor on sabbatical. I moved into his office in […]

Love seeing my son enjoying photography

| October 22, 2017

Taylor went camping and hiking down at Red River Gorge this weekend and continues to impress me with enjoying photography, which was a hobby of mine since 7th grade. So much has changed since “souping” film and spending hours in the darkroom fretting over exhausted chemicals and  expired paper … but the capturing of something […]

TechFriday: Testing the portrait-mode on the iPhone 7 Plus

| August 25, 2017

While listening to the early comments from the technology pages and news programs regarding Samsung (Galaxy Note 8) and Apple (iPhone 8 – ???)releasing their new smartphone models, I realized there are features I haven’t used much. One of the camera upgrades coming to the new Samsung Note 8 phone is a portrait mode like […]

Quick time-lapse attempt to photograph Solar Eclipse 2017

| August 22, 2017

For the good photos check in with NASA (above) or a professional photographer who travels to the optimal locations and spends more than 5 minutes taping a welding filter to his camera … for a less than perfect “time-lapse” solar eclipse attempt, check my photos below. It was at least fun to mark the occasion; […]

Beautiful Cincinnati skyline photo by my son Taylor

| August 1, 2017

Although "I" am suppose to be the photographer of the family, I think it might be time to hand over the duties to my son Taylor. He enjoys capturing beautiful photos and definitely has the eye for natural beauty – some impressive ones in Hawaii last year too! While on the subject of appreciating photos […]

TechFriday: Playing with new iPhone 7 plus camera

| July 21, 2017

While learning a little bit more about the improved camera on the iPhone7+ (was the reason I opted for the "plus" was the camera), I tested the macro and zoom features while shooting a video of my "Little Praying Friend." It has been vastly improved over the iPhone 5 in several areas … particularly stabilization […]

Panorama while taking a break from yardwork #MemorialDay17

| May 31, 2017

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Learning the Lumix GX8 – Prime lens and flower pictures

| April 16, 2017

With the buds and flowers popping this Easter weekend around Cincinnati, a sunny morning was a great opportunity to put the lesser used prime lens on my new Four Thirds Lumix GX8 camera. The 14-140 stabilized zoom is usually on my camera for convenience, but today I suspect the slightly faster f1.7 prime lens might be sharper […]

Testing the stabilized Lumix GX8 on a noisy woodpecker

| April 8, 2017

As happens every year, a "not so bright" woodpecker decides to wake us up by pecking on our chimney cap. The noise resonates down the flue and can be pretty loud in the house. Crazy Woody! But since I’ve been wanting to experiment with my relatively new Lumix GX8 and long lens (a 100-300mm zoom), […]

Photography: Close-up, low light depth of field conundrum

| February 28, 2017

While eating lunch today I was tinkering with my Lumix GX8 camera to play with depth-of-field and sandwiching images (see Photoshop technique in old post). In a low light macro situation there isn’t a way to keep items in front and back sharp enough to read … so in some cases, sandwiching two images is […]

Spoke too soon – it is back to snow and winter

| February 25, 2017

Last night while posting about the shockingly mild February 2017 and “hinting” at the front rolling in, the change came. Nothing major, but definitely not 77 degree! After the sunrise, the gray sky move from west to east brought a late morning snow shower just to remind me that it is still winter — put […]

World War I surveillance DRONE – or pigeon photography

| February 5, 2017

Homing pigeons were outfitted with lightweight cameras in WWI with time-delayed shutters for aerial reconnaissance photography, likely the first "drones."  They were used very effective as messenger pigeons prior to wireless radio and effectively in communicating behind enemy lines in World War II. Interestingly the Swiss Army continued they military pigeons until it was disbanded […]

The eye of a good photographer and interest to apply the science

| December 19, 2016

Admittedly I’m proud of my kids and enjoy seeing them living their lives … especially when a few of my interests rise to the top. In Taylor‘s case, he has expand on our mutual interest in backpacking and photography on his trip to Hawaii last month.   Memory Road: In 7th grade I had an […]

Black Friday and Cyber Monday thoughts of shopping – eww!

| November 26, 2016

No visits to the mall, stores or even online shopping for me on Black Friday, but I have started the process of looking for a new camera "system" to replace my aging DSLR. With my first granddaughter on the way, it might be time to get back to my roots and revisit my old hobby […]

Beautiful photography of a fisherman in China

| November 12, 2016

Photo credit: Xiaolong Guo

Tidbit how-to tip: Use a clothespin to help hold a small nail

| September 20, 2016

Here’s  a last minute blog filler for those who have ever (or might) hit their fingers when hammering in a small nail or tack. For years I’ve used needle-nose pliers to hold the nail, but since we have a bunch of extra "bag clips" (it is what we primarily use clothespins for) laying around, I […]

Digital photography: Shooting in RAW, TIFF or JPG?

| August 20, 2016

An aside … I spent my formative years engrossed in photography, back before it was digital and when "souping" film in a darkroom. Nowadays 90% of what I take is on a smartphone due to the simplicity and recent improvements in quality. Still, the best photographic images come from a quality lens and large sensor […]

A peaceful morning snow — in black and white

| February 9, 2016

A bit of overnight snow freshened the air, quieted the surroundings and made the morning commutes in southwest Ohio a little more interesting. Although I tweaked the early morning backyard photo since is was still dark (click photo for larger), I enjoyed remembering what it was like to work in tonal photography – it has […]

Websites that make you smarter

| December 2, 2015

Thought these were great links: Here are 30 of the best sites where you can learn as an individual or connect your team to professional and personal development: 1. TED Talks: Ted is all about ideas worth spreading TED’s tagline is “ideas worth spreading.” usually A video collection of sin the form of short, powerful […]

A few thoughts on the movie American Sniper

| May 27, 2015

Brenda and I finally watched the Clint Eastwood directed movie about Navy Seal Chris Kyle titled American Sniper this Memorial Day weekend. It was worth the price of a DVD purchase, although I’m not sure emotionally I’ll want to see it again. The movie left me with gut wrenching sorrow and little solace that the […]

Who doesn’t have a favorite photo on their desk? #TBT

| April 2, 2015

One would think with a nisus to reflect on the good ol’ days more than I should … and as a long time photography buff (had my first darkroom when I was in 7th grade!) … that I would have been one of the first to participate in the Throwback Thursday trend? Nope … slow […]

One of the bests jobs in the world – Surf Photographer

| June 25, 2014

click for short OneDrive slideshow or a video interview below As someone who loves the ocean and has enjoyed photography since I set up my first darkroom in 7th grade, Surf Photographer Clark Little has the greatest job in the world … or maybe the "surf is just bluer on the other side of the […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog