Random crap with Uno.

[Unorthodox]

Gah, can't believe I missed putting this up over here. 

Heading into a long weekend with lousy weather and wanting to work on either gardening or one of my monsters when neither will be possible. 

But, 2 weeks ago, I got a decent amount done on "Father".  Talia named it, "since the other one is Mother, now they can have a family." 




Doing a lighting test at night, something was off. 



The open chest design completely disappeared.  So, easy fix was to put a bulb up in the chest...

Question is...

Orange?



Or Green?

[Buster's Uncle]

Green stands out a lot more.

[Unorthodox]

Green stands out a lot more.

I'm finding it surprising how many say the same about orange. 

[Unorthodox]

Note to self.

Never eat at charity lunch again. 

 


Gonna be well acquainted with the porcelain god tonight. 

[Geo]

...

Stone house!

[Unorthodox]

Sick and rain.  another weekend completely shot. 

[Unorthodox]

Outside playing in the mud in this slight break in the rain, behind in my planting, I dug up a sphinx moth pupa!  Really debating whether to attempt to hatch it indoors or not.  They are a bit tricksy. 


Always wondered why I hadn't seen them about the garden, they love pumpkins in general as adults and I have the host plants for the young...  Guess I just haven't been out after dark enough. 

[Unorthodox]

[Buster's Uncle]

I think you're gonna have to try...

[Unorthodox]

Might have killed it digging it up, but can't help that.  We'll see.

[Unorthodox]

So, went out playing with the camera yesterday.  First we went to the local amusement park, and more fiddling with what's swiftly becoming my favorite lens, even if it's not really a "portrait lens", it sure does a fine job. 

(yeah, he's thrilled)



Here's where I'm struggling with this catch in focus shooting mode, not very noticeable, but focus is JUST off.  (mostly practicing this mode for Yellowstone coming up) 



The range of what the camera thinks is "in focus" is just a little too wide.  At least with this lens. 



The amusement park was miserably crowded, though, and we headed out to what I considered the best approximation of the conditions I'll see in Yellowstone, the Bear River bird sanctuary.  People don't think of marshland when they think of Utah.  We're a desert.  Yet, the north end of the Great salt lake is home to a wide ranging wetland habitat.  (The south end of the lake has wetlands too that see both brackish and fresh, can find flamingoes down there)  Plus with all the recent rain, things were sure to be active. 

Switching out to my sole telephoto lens to see what it's capable of. 



There's a couple little niggles I have with the lens, but for the large part, it really does a fine job for what it's designed for. I'd love to tell you what everything is, but I'm not a birder. 






Knowing the focus range struggles, I dialed the fstops up a bit on the telephoto, and it pretty much nailed everything I pointed it at.  The only place I had trouble is trying to catch something in flight, but that was more lighting and shutter speed issues.  Lesson:going to have to switch that mode off for portraits and on for wildlife.

[Unorthodox]

Another struggle of the catch in focus, kept going off with the reeds, not the bird.









I could have spent hours out there.  Probably days just messing with the camera. 

[Geo]

Nice variety in birdlife.
Not enough food here to support such big birds.

[Rusty Edge]

Nice variety in birdlife.
Not enough food here to support such big birds.

Don't you have any storks in Belgium?

[Unorthodox]

5 months and I don't even want to guess how much money thrown at a problem to determine the solution they were attempting to pigeonhole into place isn't going to work.  If only SOMEONE had told them that 5 months ago.  Oh yeah...I don't count, I'm not 'a software guy', they can make it do whatever they want.  Yep.