NeoBlog

Distant Rain

2010-03-10T22:44:00.000-08:00

Dancing

2010-03-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

Sale

2010-03-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Looking For A Clear View

2010-02-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes little people get the best view.

That's it for the Academy photos! Next, a self-portrait and then a day trip to Santa Cruz for a lousy Valentine's Day (that produced some good photos).

Old And Young

2010-02-25T19:54:00.000-08:00

Another kid watches the Foucault pendulum, as does grandma.

Tomorrow: Watching the pendulum from behind bars.

Watching And Waiting

2010-02-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

The Academy has one of those big pendulums. You know the kind: it knocks down a little pin every few minutes as its swing rotates with the earth's spin. As it gets closer to knocking down another pin, a crowd gathers, as if it was some sort of momentous occasion. It's funny, because it's nothing special, but everyone wants to see it. Once the pin is horizontal, everyone forgets about the pendulum until their next visit. This boy was waiting and watching.

This is another no-look, though this one was taken with my 100mm macro lens, thus the narrow depth of field and inaccurate focus. Most of my hip shots are taken with my 21mm, which is infinitely more forgiving. Despite the flaws, I really like this photo.

Tomorrow and Friday's photos also feature people watching the pendulum, though they have better focusing.

I think I'm going to go through my gallery and add a new tag for no-look photos.

BBuutttteerrffllyy

2010-02-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

Two-fer Tuesday.

The second is not a crop of the first, I was just inching forward, taking a few dozen photos, until I finally got too close for this fellow's comfort and he flew off. I like both photos and couldn't decide which to post, so you get both. Yay for indecisiveness?

Tomorrow: Watching.

Academy of Butterflies

2010-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

The Academy of Science has a lot of butterflies in their rainforest sphere. This is one of them

I have two more photos of this fuzzy fellow, in a different location, coming tomorrow.

Back

2010-02-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the unannounced break. I was in Connecticut from the 12th through th 17th, and while I had uploaded photos to post, I had inconsistent internet access during the second half of my trip. I liked Connecticut. I miss the snow.

A smile and a sweater. This no-look shot produced unusual framing, but I like it.

Next: a butterfly.

Caught

2010-02-15T18:46:00.001-08:00

I think this is the first time someone is looking right at the camera in one of my no-look snaps. I like it.

There is another "caught" photo coming up later in the set, but it's a ways off.

Next: A smile and a sweater.

Mid-Syllable

2010-02-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I should carry a notepad with me, because I remember knowing what he was talking about, but now the memory is gone.

Monday: caught.

Look Both Ways

2010-02-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

I really like this one, odd framing aside.

You know that I like to shoot from the hip, but this one was shot from the shoulder: held my camera up like I was resting my arm and looked the other way while I snapped the photo. I am stealthy, yo.

Tomorrow: mid-syllable.

I'm A Fish Derp Derp Derp

2010-02-10T21:51:00.000-08:00

Another noisy fish. Posting because I like the colors and the fish's "duuuuh" "expression."

Tomorrow: the first of four people photos. Been looking forward to posting these.

Tell The Kids They're Just Playing (also: A Rant)

2010-02-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

They're not doing what you (you dirty-minded person, you) think they're doing. This was a fleeting moment: the one on top was just strolling along, not caring that it had just run over someone.

It's hard to keep highlights from blowing out in the bright lights of the Academy. This photo would be a lot better if that wasn't a concern.

Did you notice the digital noise in yesterday's photo? It is most readily apparent in the dark area at the top. That's another photo that would be a lot better if not for one stupid problem. My damn K10D is from the early production run of that camera, which became known for having really bad vertical banding patterns (noise) in low-light situations. Pentax released a firmware fix for it, but it only reduced the problem's severity rather than fixing it completely. As far as I know, they never offered to replace the affected cameras or tried further firmware fixes. I have never been able to shoot long nighttime exposures (or effectively turn up the exposure in post-processing of underexposed photos like yesterday's) because of this problem. Due to the expense of buying a new (or used) replacement camera, I will have to avoid these shooting situations for a long time to come, and this really makes me mad.

I can't send the camera in for any kind of repair or replacement, because it is years out of warranty and I don't think they'd do anything anyway. I can't sell the camera to get a new one, because who is going to pay anything for a camera with a problem like this, that is also multiple generations behind? It also has a problem with alignment: No matter how level the scene looks in my viewfinder, the photo is always noticeably tilted. This means either the sensor is misaligned, or the prism is. I sent the camera in (while it was under warranty) for this problem as well as a back-focusing issue, and when it came back it was only partly fixed. I just didn't notice right away, because I'd assumed they had done it right.

Basically, I am stuck with a lemon, and every time I come up against this noise problem I get really mad at myself for being so loyal to Pentax. I have no desire (nor could I afford) to switch brands (no one else makes lenses like Pentax's little primes), but I'm getting real tired of my camera.

Maybe that's the real reason I shoot so rarely these days.

Academics

2010-02-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Finally! Pictures from my second trip to the new California Academy of Science begin now. Here's the first, a fishy face.

Tomorrow: tell the little ones they're "playing."

Check out this little ad. It's not a service I know anything about, but my dad plays the pharmacist in their ad, which I think is pretty cool. :D

Eyes Down

2010-02-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

Accidental wordplay?

So I've taken very few photos since October, pretty much only taking the camera out for family events or board games strewn about on the street. I wasn't sure why this was. Yesterday, while catching up with a friend, I think I figured it out: I carry my camera in a much less convenient bag now.

In the past, I used small, flip-open bags. They didn't have much padding, but I'm pretty careful with my stuff so that didn't matter. My little olive green Domke bag, which has been confused with a purse by more than a couple people, is the most convenient camera bag in the world, it just limits what else one can carry with it. I used my larger Crumpler laptop/messenger bag for many years, since it provided ample room for the stuff I wanted to keep with me, but it was too limiting for longer trips. I have a Lowepro dedicated camera backpack, but it ONLY carries camera stuff. There's no room for anything else, the way it's laid out.

In October, a friend gave me a new Tamrac backpack for my birthday. The thing is fantastic: lots of room for camera stuff in the bottom 3/5ths, and the top is a big space for lots of other stuff. What I'm realizing now is that the less-convenient storage method of having to unzip a tight, water-resistant zipper makes me less likely to pull out my camera compared to lifting up a flap of fabric.

This will not do. I will have to come up with a solution.

Forgot to mention, this is the last pic before the California Academy of Science set. This is not nearly as neat as some of the stuff coming up next week (I'm not sure if I'm going to continue posting on weekends). I'm aching to get to the hip-shot people pictures.

Dam Photo

2010-02-04T20:07:00.000-08:00

Whups! I was having so much fun not making a living today that I almost forgot to post a photo. Here's a nice blue scene:

That tower is perfectly centered, and the horizontal center line is right at its base, but some weird illusion makes it seem off. At least, it does to me.

'Course, if I really wanted this to be a good photo I would have put the tower on one or two 1/3rd lines. I guess I just liked the symmetry: everything is reflected except the dam on the left. In fact, I wonder if it's the dam that is making the image seem off. Damn.

Tomorrow: Peanut Butt.

More Aggravation

2010-02-03T21:14:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's will be better.

Nevermind about changing RSS feeds, I just got hit with a bombshell yesterday: Blogger is ending support for publishing blogs to private websites (like mine) via FTP/SFTP very soon. This means that, if I want to continue to use Blogger, I either have to move this blog to blogspot.com, which I will not do, or use their Custom Domain option, which I am completely confused about. I am hoping I can find more info on Custom Domain, because I don't like the little bit I've read about it so far. All my web skills are from the late 90s, and I don't understand nor want to spend the time to learn about all the crap required to implement the Custom Domain option.

Of course, there's another option: stop using Blogger. I use WordPress (with ComicPress) for neopifex.com, but what you see there is barely more than a default layout. WordPress requires an understanding of CSS and PHP that I just don't have, nor do I have the time or resources to learn them. I just redesigned this damned blog, I don't want to have to do it all over again, using an architecture I don't understand!

There is a fourth (nuclear) option, but I don't even want to think about that one right now.

This really sucks. At least tomorrow's picture will be prettier than today's.

Color Saturbation

2010-02-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

You may look at this photo and think, "Them colors is crazy!" If you do think that, I suggest you go take an English class, because your grammar is atrocious.

Shot looking straight up through some trees. I actually had to dial back on the colors to make this look less crazy.

Tomorrow: more foliage. Jeeze, this set is boring me. Thursday's photo will be a lot better, promise.

ONE MORE TIME: Switch to the new RSS feed! Current feed is going away Wednesday!

A Day In The Life (Hourly Comics Day)

2010-02-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Hourly Comic Day. I decided to take part, even though I wouldn't be able to actually draw anything til I got home from work. Well, here you go, an hourly highlight clip show of my day. I hope it doesn't bore you to tears.

Page 1:

Click for the remaining parts:

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

You can see I changed my mind after making that last one. I honestly don't know why I bothered with this. It was fun for a while, but I'm really not cut out for this.

Natural Warming Filters

2010-02-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

Dying leaves have such nice, warm colors to them, especially when there's light filtering through them.

I have sooooo much to do tonight! Gah, where did this all come from? Gonna try to take part in Hourly Comics Day as best I can (the way I'm doing it is kinda cheating, but it's not like people care about my comics anyway). Tomorrow: crazy colors overhead.

Don't forget to switch to the new RSS feed! The current one goes away in two days!

Underfoot

2010-01-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

NOTICE: If you read this via the RSS feed, please change over to the new feed ASAP. This one will be going away in three days!

Gah, this set is off to a lame start. I should have just gone out of order and started with the Academy of Science photos rather than these, but I feel a need to post them chronologically. Here's something underfoot.

Tomorrow's will be better, I think. The one after that is kinda crazy.

Looking Up

2010-01-30T12:45:00.000-08:00

This one's not really that great, I just love red leaves vs blue sky. It's such a nice contrast. There's nothing like the vivid colors of mid-autumn foliage, and this is only partly like that, since it was taken in mid-winter. Here in California, our seasons are off by one.

This and the next five pictures are from a hike around the Lafayette Reservoir last January. Tomorrow: red wood.

If anyone out there has any comments on the new layout, I'd love to hear them.

Mew Year, Mew Photos

2010-01-29T11:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the latest version of neovenator.com, now with more minimalism and some ads! If you use an adblocker, I'd be immensely appreciative if you'd whitelist my site. Ads here should just be text or small, unobtrusive images. If things get annoying, please let me know.

What better way to start off a new set of photos with a couple of everyone's favorite black fluffball, Serendipity?

ARE YOU AWAKE WAKE UP FEED ME I AM STARVING OH WOE I AM BUT SKIN AND BONES.

So the plan for this set is one photo at a time, most days. Like today, there will be a couple double-shots, but I want to make this last.

Next: a walk around Lafayette Reservoir.

Coming Soon

2010-01-26T18:28:00.000-08:00

I have finished editing my photos from 2009 and will begin posting them soon, but first I need to finish my site redesign. It is going to be very minimal, and there are going to be some ads.

Since my work hours have been cut to 3 days a week and a second job is hard to come by, I need to do something to offset the cost of hosting. I realize this blog gets almost no visitors, but I guess ads are better than nothing. My CafePress store brings in zero dollars, so I'm even thinking about converting that into a pile of free stores rather than one premium store.

If you're seeing this via the RSS feed (including Facebook readers), you'll probably see ads at the bottom of each post. It is my intention to keep any ads on my site or feed as unobtrusive and tame as possible, so please do let me know if they become a problem for you.

I expect all these changes to go live by the end of the week, and for the start of my 2009 photo-posting to begin at the same time. I'm excited about getting started. I'm kinda amazed at some of the photos I took last year.