The day after our April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse #photos #video

| April 9, 2024

Click images for larger images Our backyard may not have been the absolute best location to view a perfectly covered sun for the solar eclipse, but it was very impressive.   Taylor took an afternoon off of work and  came up with Gigi in the afternoon (we are north of Cincinnati), and I suspect he […]

Stargazing on a cold and crisp evening out the back door

| December 6, 2021

I took a quick photo as the Moon and Venus are lit up by the sun well down in our evening sky in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Cold, clear and beautiful. Be watching for Saturn and Jupiter!

Over the Moon … for my granddaughter Ellerie

| August 21, 2021

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New Shepard Blue Origin launched with Jeff Bezos this morning

| July 20, 2021

Most news outlets are covering the Jeff Bezos and crew launching the few minutes delayed Blue Origin first crewed 11-minute space flight on the anniversary of Apollo 11’s moon landing in 1969. The New Shepard spacecraft launched flawlessly and was a beautiful site … although, shockingly short, for $28 million dollars per passenger.   Interestingly, […]

Tech Friday: New 1500mAh batteries for my Lumix GX8

| February 5, 2021

When I pulled out my Lumix GX8 DSLR camera over Christmas, I noticed that the “cheap” batteries that I had purchased as backups to the primary Panasonic branded 1200mAh battery were no longer holding charges. They were still chargeable, but their life was short. So I added a new spare battery to my shopping list […]

Our family Christmas 2020 and a few too many wrap-up photos

| December 29, 2020

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Photos of a few new hardwood trees from my brother’s nursery

| September 15, 2020

It has been eleven years since we last purchased a few trees from my brother Ron’s retirement avocation – a nursery dedicated to NativeOhioPlants. He started planting trees years before so after he retired from the Air Force in 2018, it was a natural to make it a part time business. It’s not too big […]

Bookshelves artwork display area update and spring flowers

| April 11, 2020

The bookshelves have been on-again, off-again as the laborious painting and improved spring weather dictates my indoor verses outdoor activities. I did get a chance to finish the “art display area” in the center bookshelf section … and so far, so good. My plan was to create a little depth perception by bring the art […]

The Moon and planets gave me a show tonight in Cincinnati

| June 14, 2019

With the colder weather and clear sky over Cincinnati late Thursday evening and Friday morning this week, I took my Lumix GX-8 camera and 100-300mm lens out in the backyard to see what I could photograph. Not much as expected from Jupiter, but I think I could make out a couple moons in the pixelated […]

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 … […]

A limited Corbett-Oostra family Christmas photo recap for 2018

| December 26, 2018

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Any recommendations for video interviewing?

| August 19, 2018

In preparation for an upcoming work related project, I need to record a video for a client’s website and include both their voice and that of someone asking questions. I was hoping to keep it as professional as possible and will be using my Lumix GX8 DSLR.f I am using my external Rode shotgun microphone […]

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 […]

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 […]

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; […]

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 […]

A new larger travel tripod for my Lumix GX8 camera

| February 2, 2017

The larger "old" tripod that I’ve owned for 40 years and a small pocket tripod that I gave to my son is now unacceptable for my new camera (my bias opinion) …  so it is time to update with something I don’t mind hauling around. I would have liked a $300+ carbon fiber ultra-light, but that […]

Quick snowfall test video from Panasonic Lumix GX8

| January 5, 2017

A little snow arrived today (maybe 2-3″), so while waiting for the follow-up call on our new furnaces in the afternoon, I shot a 10 second video and encoded with Handbrake to cellphone size for web streaming. Quality is still decent, but not the HD video that the Lumix GX8 is capable of.  

Learning more about my new Panasonic Lumix GX8

| January 4, 2017

A little testing of the somewhat faster Lumix 4/5s 25mm f 1.8 Prime lens vs the Lumix 14 – 140 slower f 3.5 zoom gave me surprising results on closer distances, at least different than I expected. First off, neither lens impressed me when it came to edge to edge sharpness. The Prime lens "may" […]

Peak Design Messenger Camera bag TEST video

| January 3, 2017

I’m feeling guilty about receive a Christmas present from my daughter and son-in-law after realizing the price ($$$). I mistakenly admired a bag Drew‘s brother demonstrated to me when they had the baby reveal … and although I knew is was above average in price, I never took the time to do the research as […]

Quick Lumix Prime Lens test of low-light Aperture vs ISO

| December 18, 2016

Testing the new 25mm Four Third Panasonic Lumix prime lens on before "wrapping it up for my Christmas gift from Brenda." I needed to know if it works … cough, cough.     (click here for Large Image — be warned) Also updated the GX8 body to Firmware 2.2, so we are up to date on […]

TechFriday 2: Just a couple camera and lens images

| December 9, 2016

The top image is a daylight test image while trying a new camera and lens combination (Panasonic Lumix GX8 and 14-140mm lens) and is a very large original image … so if you click it, it will prove to be a larger image download (be warned). The image below as been reduced in size but […]

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 […]

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