Fire!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Industrial...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Behind Trees...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Urine Test?

I 100% agree with this statement.

Like a lot of folks in this state, I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the government

distributes my taxes as it sees fit. In order to get that paycheck, I am required to pass a random urine

test with which I have no problem. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to

people who don't have to pass a urine test.

Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for

them? Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do, on the

other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their A--, doing drugs, while I work. . .

Can you imagine how much money the state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public

assistance check?

--
RMSTringer
+++++++++++++++

DSC09149: Ghost 1.6

DSC09149: Ghost 1.6, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another in the kitty set that i did on Sunday. More great light and shadow on the cat.

Exposure: 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 105 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09138: Ghost 1.4

DSC09138: Ghost 1.4, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

She is always a fun subject to photograph. It is fun to try to get her in the pose that you want and that is a hard thing. Cats have a mind of their own and do not obey very well! She is a very temperamental cat to say the least!

I love this pose because of the way that the light catches her hair as she is sitting on the floor. The long ear shadow on her back is really pointed and distorted because of the angle that the sun is coming through the window.

Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09091: Firewood 1.1

DSC09091: Firewood 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This was an experiment i did in selective Depth Of Field. It was very windy when i took this series of photos. I placed the front of the wood in sharp focus and the rest of the material out of focus. I love the grass being blurry and having a good Bokeh. Some of the wood is also blurry as well that is not in the directly focused area.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09122: Ghost 1.2

DSC09122: Ghost 1.2, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I think that this is another good example of a "Depth Of Field" photo. I was laying on the floor for this photo as well. She was looking straight at me and i had my 70-300mm lens on the camera. I love the light on one side of her face and the shadow cast from that light. She is in sharp focus and everything else is out of focus. The light and dark on the floor out of focus is a very neat effect as well.

Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 120 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Mack: Cell 'Phones, Water Bottles, and the Ballot

Thanks to Mac Hall for letting me post his work to my Blog.

 

Cell 'Phones, Water Bottles, and the Ballot

 

Uncountable kazillions of electrons have been blasted into the universe questioning where Barack Not-Allowed-to-Say-His-Middle-Name Obama was born and wondering if the possibility of a foreign birth compromises his eligibility to rule over us all as President of the United States.

 

Some of Senator Obama's faithful appear to think he (or He) was born in Bethlehem.  This is highly unlikely, but even so it would be irrelevant; his mother was an American citizen and never renounced her citizenship, so Senator Obama is as American as Chicago's South Side.

 

If being born somewhere else were a disqualifier, millions of American citizens would not be citizens at all: the children of servicemen,  diplomats, employees of multi-nationals, and the occasional ill-timed vacationer.

 

Although the Constitution says that, among other requirements, a President must be a natural-born citizen, one can only ask what that means.  Pretty vague stuff there.  Is there such a thing as an unnatural-born citizen?

 

Further, the first 20-30 American presidents were all foreign-born, subjects of Their Several Majesties of Great Britain and Ireland and Stuff. 

 

The precise number of American presidents under the Articles of Confederation is difficult to calculate precisely; some served twice, and one didn't serve at all due to illness, being informally and possibly illegally replaced by two substitutes.  There could have been as many as nineteen presidents under the Confederation.

 

The first nine presidents under the Constitution, beginning with George Washington, were all born in the British Empire, and starting life as an imperialist is so not cool.

 

The first made-in-the-USA president was John Tyler, born in Virginia in 1790.  In an aside we may note that he was the busy father of fifteen children by two wives, so perhaps he rather than George Washington should be regarded as the Father of his Country, or at least a great percentage of the population.

 

Whether or not Senator Obama would be an effective president is up to the voters -- or perhaps up to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or A.C.O.R.N.  According to The Washington Times A.C.O.R.N. registered the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys to vote in Nevada.

 

This leads to the question of whether or not a football player must be natural-born in Irving, Texas in order to play football there.  And, anyway, why aren't they the Irving Cowboys?  Could that too be a false registration thing?  A nation waits with bated or baited breath for the answer.

 

The real issue in this election is not where Senator Obama was born.  The real issue is how the typical modern American is going to be able to mark his ballot with his cell 'phone in one hand, his plastic bottle of fashionable water in the other hand, a tin cricket stuck in one ear, and a bipod or tripod or something stuck in the other ear.

 

Is the Constitution available as a download?

 

-30-

 

 

 

Today's Horoscope


Remember: Nobody is perfect. Whatever you lack in talent and ability, you more than make up for in well-timed excuses.

-- From The Onion via Happy Catholic

DSC09118: Ghost 1.0

DSC09118: Ghost 1.0, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

The light and shadows cast by the big window were just amazing this evening. She was sitting on the floor with the light dancing about her and causing different patterns on the floor. I love the shadow caused by the light on against her head. She was just starting to turn her head in my direction. At this point, i was standing and not laying on the floor.

Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 120 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09123: Ghost 1.3

DSC09123: Ghost 1.3, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I was on the floor photographing her. I love the blurry background (Bokeh) behind her. The sun was shinning in through the big window on the stairs and hitting her. Shadows were dancing around because of the wind that was blowing outside. I am not sure what she is looking up at, but it gives a good side profile of her face.

Exposure: 0.067 sec (1/15)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Bike Trials.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone. MC Trial system.
From RMStringer

DSC08787: Star Bright...

DSC08787: Star Bright..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

When i took this set of photos i looked at the craftsman as doing art and that is how i approached the photographic aspect. I did not look at it as work, which was ease for me because i am not the one doing it. I told this to them as i took the different photos. I looked at it from an artistic perspective.

I thought that the was an amazing photo. The bright star pattern that the welding makes and the highlight of the smoke are very nice. I love hos the gloved hand is softly illuminated showing the texture of the leather glove. I love the sparks shooting off in all directions as he makes his weld. I took this with the other work photos.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1600)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Stonehenge Sunset

Stonehenge Sunset, originally uploaded by Heaven`s Gate (John).

From Time to Time i find a photo that i just have to post that is not my work. I get permission from the photographer and then post to my blog. This is one such photo. Please enjoy!

Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Salisbury.
One of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, although this has since been advanced to 2400-2200 BC.
The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 .
New archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C, when the first ditches were being built around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years when the giant stones which mark the landmark were put up.
For a daytime view, please link below :
www.flickr.com/photos/59303791@N00/2917367909/

Uploaded by Heaven`s Gate (John) on 13 Oct 08, 3.43AM CDT.

Rays of hope- for a better tommorow

Rays of hope- for a better tommorow, originally uploaded by green umbrella.

I saw this photo while posting to one of the groups on Flickr that i belong to. I thought that you might enjoy it as much as i did! Posted by permission as always!



Rays of hope- for a better tommorow

Uploaded by green umbrella on 21 Oct 08, 6.18PM CDT.

Stained Glass: Crop

Stained Glass: Crop, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I did a crop of the photo and this is what i got. Lighted brick on one side and negative space on the other broken with the stained glass window in the middle.

Exposure: 0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Sun & Clouds...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Processing RAW Files in Adobe Lightroom

I saw this article in a post that i read on Flickr and thought that you might like to read it.

The following tutorial on Processing RAW Files using Adobe Lightroom was submitted by John Short from www.canonphoto.co.uk and www.johnshort.co.uk

Why do we read so often then it is best to shoot your image in raw and not as jpegs?

The first image in this tutorial is a jpeg of a Gannet where I have deliberately blown the highlights. One of the problems with a jpeg image is once exposed it is processed in your camera and the raw data is lost. If you have blown the highlights the information is simply not there for you to recover in your favourite processing application.

The following images are the basic steps in processing a raw file and I hope will demonstrate to you the benefits of shooting in raw mode. If you want to try to emulate my final image using the jpeg file and your favourite image editing software be my guest. It will be interesting to see what can be achieved in comparison with working with the raw file.

Adobe Lightroom is not just a processing application for raw files, it is also a library for storing, retrieving and searching for images. I have 20,000 raw files on my computer and Lightroom has catalogued them all in the library for instant display. Images can be filed by title,date metadata and so on. This aspect of Lightroom is really for a different tutorial and if there is interest I will put one together but for today let us concentrate on processing your raw files.

First we must open our raw file in the develop module of Lightroom. This screen capture shows the basic image in Lightroom with the develop module circled in red. The picture of the Gannet is ‘as taken’ and saved as a jpeg for you to see the blown highlights.( if you feel like taking on the challenge feel free to try and process the basic jpeg version of the image.

The first change I always make to an image is to try and correct exposure problems by reducing or increasing the exposure slider. The exposure values are roughly equivalent to f stops and you can either type directly into the box or move the slider with your mouse. In this instance I have reduced the exposure by 1.27, just over 1 f stop.

Now we can adjust the recovery slider.This tool will only effect the highlights and will recover additional detail that may not be visible in the original image.

leave the fill in tool for now and go instead to the Blacks, this darkens the darkest parts of the image without affecting the highlights. It is the opposite of the recovery tool used earlier. Moving the slider only a slight amount will give the appearance of more depth. In this instance I have increased the blacks by 5

The fill tool brings details back into the shadow areas without affecting the highlights. This is a great tool for pulling detail back into the shadow areas and in this example I’ve increased the fill tool by 11.

In the top left corner of Lightroom select 1:1 this will enlarge the image in your viewing screen to full size. the clarity slider increases local contrast making the image appear sharper. This tool needs use with care, it is all too easy to overdo the effect.

The vibrancy control will enable you to increase the depth of colour without the risk of over saturation , I find it a subtle enhancer for colour depth.

All that remains now is to export the image as a tiff to your favourite processing application for the final touches.

In this example I have only shown the basic processing tools available in Lightroom. The objective is to whet your appetite and to illustrate the benefits of working In raw. If you think you can achieve the quality from a jpeg then do try with the gannet.jpg image. You will soon see that the lost highlights are lost forever.

Here’s the first and last image side by side (click to enlarge):

At a later date perhaps it will be worth while looking at some of the more advanced tools such as noise reduction and curves!

DSC09037: Doll

DSC09037: Doll, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I little guy sitting on the trailer at the church for the pumpkin sale.

Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/5
Focal Length: 250 mm
ISO Speed: 200

dreadnought

dreadnought, originally uploaded by telmo32.

Origional Photography by telmo32

USS Bonhomme Richard

Fleet Week San Francisco

A carrier is not really a dreadnought, which is a battleship; but who could resist that word?

Uploaded by telmo32 on 19 Oct 08, 10.28AM CDT.

Old P&S Camera Contest!

These are the winners from the contes that was going on in the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 group that i am an Admin for.

I have supplied Hyper-links to the photographers work as well.

The contest ran for about 8 days and here were the rules:
Post photos taken with your older P&S Cameras.

+MEDIUM FORMAT+
+Number Photographs+
+Post 4 Lines of EXIF Data+
+Tell What Kind Of Camera Used+
+Tell Where It Was Taken+

Here are the 4 that i have choosen to post on my blog!

1:

manimalmagic has fleas (don't touch)

Kodak P880
1/80s
f/2.8
24mm (in 35mm terms)
ISO50
Taken in Hillegom, the Netherlands, at the mental health facility grounds which I frequent :/

2:

Naomi Frost

FujiFilm FinePix S7000
2secs
f/5
ISO200
R72 filter
tripod and shutter release

3:

L' Moy...ॐ

Camera: Kodak Z812 IS Zoom
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 5.9 mm

Manistee, Michigan... Spring Break 08

4:

manimalmagic has fleas (don't touch)

Kodak P880
1/500s
f/4.1
ISO50
140mm (in 35mm terms)
Heemstede, the Netherlands


What is your opinion?
Blogroll Me!

DSC09059: Me = Reflection!

DSC09059: Me = Reflection!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Me taking a reflective photo at the church yesterday evening. A new self portrait if you will!

Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08987: Lines and Angles

DSC08987: Lines and Angles, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is a photo of the exterior of the church. My main focus of this photo was the sky and how it is broken up by the angles and lines of the structure of the church. The white low roof line that is through most of the photo and then the main sanctuary and the shingles of the roof and how it sweeps up to the sky. I used a high f/-stop to give a good depth of field to this photo. I love the lone tree that stands above the main entrance to the church. The building was built in 1970.

Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/10
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC09024: Blue Light...

DSC09024: Blue Light..., originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is perhaps my favorite photo that i took in the church sanctuary today. I was able to be let in to get some photos while i was there helping sell pumpkins. The lighting was all turned off and i placed my camera in BULB mode so i had total control ov it. I love the blue light that is spilling into the dark seating area with just a glimpse of the stained glass that is i the triangular windows.

Exposure: 0.1 sec (1/10)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Late evening sky!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Late Season Rose.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
OFallon IL Methodist Church. From RMStringer

X marks the spot!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Evening Con Trail.

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

Obama's Citizenship (Ep. 6: October Surprise)

October Surprise!

Good Morning Sky!

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC08843: Plow Tracks

DSC08843: Plow Tracks, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

I love the plow rows in the field. They really stand out.

Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/14
Focal Length: 80 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Tears For Fears - Mad World

I love this song. It is one that got away from me though. I remember it from the 80s but did not really discover it until several years ago.

DSC00017: Getting Bigger!

DSC00017: Getting Bigger!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another in the Forest Park Balloon Glow Fireworks set.

Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

Harvesting Corn...

Taken with my LGVX8600 1.3Megapixel phone.
From RMStringer

DSC00132: Boom!

DSC00132: Boom!, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

Another firework explosion from the 2008 Balloon Glow held in Forest Park located in St Louis MO.

Exposure: 0.25 sec (1/4)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08949: The Dance

DSC08949: The Dance, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is my second attempt at taking a "portrait" type photograph. I did several in color which i was not very happy with, and more in B/W on Saturday of my daughter and her friend.

It was "Homecoming" dance night in our town so we made our daughter suffer through several photograph of her and her friend.

She suffered and complained but i took many photos of her because me and the wife wanted to and it was good practice for me.

I think that this is an incredible photo of her and i really love the way it turned out. I used the Minolta 35-105 for this photo and a "Back Flash" for the photo outside.

Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08826: Split Personna 1.1

DSC08826: Split Personna 1.1, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is a wider view of the field located off of Millburn School road close to HWY 159. The urban scenery and the rural setting makes for a very stark contrast that we do not live in a very big world anymore.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO Speed: 200

DSC08838: Soybean

DSC08838: Soybean, originally uploaded by RMStringer.

This is of a Soybean that is ready for harvest. I had never seen what they looked like in nature. They do not look like much. If i did not know better, i would have said that they look like a dried weed near the ditch i had to cross to get this photo.

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 105 mm
ISO Speed: 200