It's possible you're blog reading on a portable thingee, maybe a cell phone, iPad or a miniature lap top. Because of this, you probably blow off long blogs, photo arrays and anything else that's extended beyond a few minutes worth of attention. These reasons also apply to the commenting or not commenting process. Plus, while you may have a keyboard in your cubicle, it shows a lack of office respect if the keyboard is actually used.
So I'm going to repost some of my deleted blogs, blogs with words and even a story to them. There will be few photos, just short sentences and words that sound like they mean something.
Feel free to break the Office Code and leave a comment.
thankyouverymuch
Just a moment of miscellany
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
the other woodworking
Before it was firewood, it was a tree, specifically a 110 ft. tall Western Hemlock ... then me and my chain saw happened.
photo by Bill Stankus
photo by Bill Stankus
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Are you lazy?
Despite advances in digital cameras, camera companies cannot improve humans.
Perhaps you've been drinking (for several hours) and suddenly before you is an awesome blooming cactus or a beautiful model, lost on her way to a car show ... or perhaps it's getting dark but you really want to take snaps of that oh so cute baby squirrel-bird-kitten-hamster-slug-three toed sloth ... and you realize from experience, all your previous attempts turned out looking crappy-blurry-unidentifiable.
Cheer up, the old fashioned tripod still works and it's really really really an excellent photo tool.
ps: Movies lie.
Women smoking in movies are sexy and provocative. Guys with big guns in their pants, I mean in their shoulder holster, are sexy macho studs. Army generals with tons of chest ribbons and chomping on a cigar are smarter than a combo of Napoleon, Caesar, Rommel and Sargent Pepper. Justice is always served, especially in the films about Washington D.C. and politicians.
So, just because cool looking photographers dash through movies and TV shows hand holding their $8000 cameras and they're snapping pics in twilight or shadows... doesn't make it that easy in real life. Well, it is possible if you are doing arty blurry, out of focus shots.
Try a tripod - it really is something more than an extra bulky gizmo to haul around.
Peace out.
photos by Bill Stankus
w/out a tripod
Perhaps you've been drinking (for several hours) and suddenly before you is an awesome blooming cactus or a beautiful model, lost on her way to a car show ... or perhaps it's getting dark but you really want to take snaps of that oh so cute baby squirrel-bird-kitten-hamster-slug-three toed sloth ... and you realize from experience, all your previous attempts turned out looking crappy-blurry-unidentifiable.
Cheer up, the old fashioned tripod still works and it's really really really an excellent photo tool.
ps: Movies lie.
Women smoking in movies are sexy and provocative. Guys with big guns in their pants, I mean in their shoulder holster, are sexy macho studs. Army generals with tons of chest ribbons and chomping on a cigar are smarter than a combo of Napoleon, Caesar, Rommel and Sargent Pepper. Justice is always served, especially in the films about Washington D.C. and politicians.
So, just because cool looking photographers dash through movies and TV shows hand holding their $8000 cameras and they're snapping pics in twilight or shadows... doesn't make it that easy in real life. Well, it is possible if you are doing arty blurry, out of focus shots.
Try a tripod - it really is something more than an extra bulky gizmo to haul around.
Peace out.
photos by Bill Stankus
w/out a tripod
Monday, September 26, 2011
On a clear day
... I can see my workbench.
photos by Bill Stankus
For those curious, the top is solid hard maple laminations and measures 88" in length. The two widths are 33.5" and 26.5". The work surface height from floor is 35.5"
The legs are also maple and the connecting beam between the leg assemblies is European Beech.
Two Record brand quick release vises (52D and 53E) are original to the workbench.
Yes, I made the workbench.
photos by Bill Stankus
For those curious, the top is solid hard maple laminations and measures 88" in length. The two widths are 33.5" and 26.5". The work surface height from floor is 35.5"
The legs are also maple and the connecting beam between the leg assemblies is European Beech.
Two Record brand quick release vises (52D and 53E) are original to the workbench.
Yes, I made the workbench.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Tarp Shoes - The Latest Thing in the Northwest
Clamoring throngs are impatiently waiting for the on-the-spot construction of Tarp Shoes. Soft, roomy and semi-waterproof ... they're don't have traction for hiking trails but are excellent for gum encrusted urban sidewalks.
Besides, you can tell it's serious business - the cobbler is wearing a hard hat.
photo by Bill Stankus
Besides, you can tell it's serious business - the cobbler is wearing a hard hat.
photo by Bill Stankus
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Free food at the sewage plant
no kidding, people are in food lines ... and it is a sewage treatment plant
photo by Bill Stankus
photo by Bill Stankus
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
your attention please
It's sooo taxing using the keyboard to write stuff ... so, for awhile, I'm mostly posting photos. I know, I know, you want to read every scintillating word I can dredge up from my angst-riddled soul ... but the pain, the agony!
The problem is, if I return to writing I'll have to drink less wine and hold a thought for more than a few minutes ... oh, look, there's rain drops on the driveway ... uh, where was I? Oh yes, if I somehow focus on something worth writing ... I will, and I promise I'll post it ... every single letter, confused verb and tortured adjective. And I'll even do a spell check. Promise.
The problem is, if I return to writing I'll have to drink less wine and hold a thought for more than a few minutes ... oh, look, there's rain drops on the driveway ... uh, where was I? Oh yes, if I somehow focus on something worth writing ... I will, and I promise I'll post it ... every single letter, confused verb and tortured adjective. And I'll even do a spell check. Promise.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
above the Yakima River
There's a trail, along the high ridge overlooking the Yakima River, with a glorious view ...
The Yakima River, in eastern Washington, is a world-class destination for catch and release trout fishing. Generally speaking, walking the Skyline Ridge Trail and fishing aren't done at the same time.
color photo by Bill Stankus
The Yakima River, in eastern Washington, is a world-class destination for catch and release trout fishing. Generally speaking, walking the Skyline Ridge Trail and fishing aren't done at the same time.
color photo by Bill Stankus
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
What to do with photo film
black and white film, that is ...
Without beating it too hard, digital photography is about using a smart camera and even more clever applications (Photoshop) to take pictures. The photographer is almost irrelevant, especially when the camera is in it's auto mode. As long as the shutter button is pushed - whether by a squirrel or human, a nearly perfectly exposed photo is captured. Humans are better with Photoshop than squirrels so imperfections can be corrected, stuff can be erased from the scene or the human can use any number of 'special effects' to jazz up the photo.
Film cameras are different. The photographer needs to understand the relationship of a few things (depth of field, shutter speed, f/stops) and then intregrate eyes, hands with the technical knowledge in order to take a picture.
Generally a roll of film has 36 exposures on it and after 36 shutter snaps a new roll of film is required. There is no instant gratification when using film, each roll will need processing. **
** For his masterpiece book, "The Americans", Robert Frank spent 10 months traveling and photographing. Returning home he then spent one year developing 767 rolls of film, making contact sheets and printing 1000 preliminary prints. There are 83 photos in the book.
The basic developing process goes something like this:
In a pitch-black room a film canister is opened, the film is removed and rolled into a spool which is about the size of a doughnut. Taking a conservative approach, it's best to batch develop no more more than 2 or 3 rolls of film at one time. The spools are placed in a lightproof tank and the room lights can be switched on for the rest of the process.
To develop the film certain chemicals are required:
• Developer
• Stop Bath
• Fixer (Hypo)
Because film reacts to the temperature of liquids, two tools are necessary:
• Thermometer
• Timer
Note: Chemicals wear out (deplete) after being used several times so it best to refresh or replace the chemicals as necessary. Add extra time to the developing process if the developer has been used several times and not refreshed.
The length of time for the developer-stop bath-fixer cycle varies, depending upon the products used. A rough time estimate is approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
To keep the film in fresh chemicals while in the developing tank, it's necessary to agitate the solution. This is done by hand holding the tank and gently rocking it back and forth. This is usually done for a few seconds at 30 second intervals throughout the development cycle.
When the film is through the chemical process, running water is used to wash the film. Improperly washed film will retain residual chemicals and that leads to fading, cracking, peeling or curling. Washing can be reduced by using a fixer reducing agent (referred to as, 'hypo clear'). This can shorten the washing from 30+ minutes to less than 5 minutes.
To keep the drying film free of water spots a wetting agent, such as Photo-Flo, is a good last step to the washing process. Use a squeegee to remove any residual water from the film.
Next, hang the film to dry in a dust-free location.
Once the film is dried, scissor cut the long film strip into sections ... five or six frames are the usual lengths. (A 36 exposure roll of film is about 6 feet in length).
Some people can look at negatives and see potentially good images. Most of us make contact prints and from those select which negative to use for printing.
Epilog
If you use Photoshop and magnify a digital image 2000% what is seen are pixel squares. By comparison, with magnification, film grain looks like dots of sand. Different types of film and different development chemicals will effect grain density and size. Film grain ... the original RAW.
Without beating it too hard, digital photography is about using a smart camera and even more clever applications (Photoshop) to take pictures. The photographer is almost irrelevant, especially when the camera is in it's auto mode. As long as the shutter button is pushed - whether by a squirrel or human, a nearly perfectly exposed photo is captured. Humans are better with Photoshop than squirrels so imperfections can be corrected, stuff can be erased from the scene or the human can use any number of 'special effects' to jazz up the photo.
Film cameras are different. The photographer needs to understand the relationship of a few things (depth of field, shutter speed, f/stops) and then intregrate eyes, hands with the technical knowledge in order to take a picture.
Generally a roll of film has 36 exposures on it and after 36 shutter snaps a new roll of film is required. There is no instant gratification when using film, each roll will need processing. **
** For his masterpiece book, "The Americans", Robert Frank spent 10 months traveling and photographing. Returning home he then spent one year developing 767 rolls of film, making contact sheets and printing 1000 preliminary prints. There are 83 photos in the book.
The basic developing process goes something like this:
In a pitch-black room a film canister is opened, the film is removed and rolled into a spool which is about the size of a doughnut. Taking a conservative approach, it's best to batch develop no more more than 2 or 3 rolls of film at one time. The spools are placed in a lightproof tank and the room lights can be switched on for the rest of the process.
To develop the film certain chemicals are required:
• Developer
• Stop Bath
• Fixer (Hypo)
Because film reacts to the temperature of liquids, two tools are necessary:
• Thermometer
• Timer
Note: Chemicals wear out (deplete) after being used several times so it best to refresh or replace the chemicals as necessary. Add extra time to the developing process if the developer has been used several times and not refreshed.
The length of time for the developer-stop bath-fixer cycle varies, depending upon the products used. A rough time estimate is approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
To keep the film in fresh chemicals while in the developing tank, it's necessary to agitate the solution. This is done by hand holding the tank and gently rocking it back and forth. This is usually done for a few seconds at 30 second intervals throughout the development cycle.
When the film is through the chemical process, running water is used to wash the film. Improperly washed film will retain residual chemicals and that leads to fading, cracking, peeling or curling. Washing can be reduced by using a fixer reducing agent (referred to as, 'hypo clear'). This can shorten the washing from 30+ minutes to less than 5 minutes.
To keep the drying film free of water spots a wetting agent, such as Photo-Flo, is a good last step to the washing process. Use a squeegee to remove any residual water from the film.
Next, hang the film to dry in a dust-free location.
Once the film is dried, scissor cut the long film strip into sections ... five or six frames are the usual lengths. (A 36 exposure roll of film is about 6 feet in length).
Some people can look at negatives and see potentially good images. Most of us make contact prints and from those select which negative to use for printing.
Epilog
If you use Photoshop and magnify a digital image 2000% what is seen are pixel squares. By comparison, with magnification, film grain looks like dots of sand. Different types of film and different development chemicals will effect grain density and size. Film grain ... the original RAW.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
I'm going back
... at least for a little while
and only for black and white
Imagine, everything on the camera, prior to snapping the pic, must be manually adjusted.
Then there's the darkroom with chemicals, tank & reels, thermometer and a timer all ... used to produce a long, wet strip of negative film. After the film dries, comes the enlarger, photo paper, more chemicals, trays, a reddish colored light and maybe a good print.
Sweet.
and only for black and white
Imagine, everything on the camera, prior to snapping the pic, must be manually adjusted.
Then there's the darkroom with chemicals, tank & reels, thermometer and a timer all ... used to produce a long, wet strip of negative film. After the film dries, comes the enlarger, photo paper, more chemicals, trays, a reddish colored light and maybe a good print.
Sweet.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Outside my front door
We live on a hillside and the general stuff of lawns, tweaking a shrub or two doesn't count.
The most common native vegetation on our property includes: Salal, Thimbleberry, Trillium, Oregon grape, Blackberry, Horsetail Equisetum, Skunk Cabbage, Stinging Nettles, Douglas Fir, Big Leaf Maple, Red Alder, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar and a variety of ferns and moss.
Animals and birds come and go and over the years there's been deer, bobcat, coyotes, raccoons, mountain beavers, a variety of squirrel, hawks, owls, blue jays, nuthatches, crows and many other birds.
Working on the property is mainly about land management... thinning fast growing alders, maples and firs ... pulling out the stinging nettles, dragging away fallen trees and other fun stuff. At least once a year we rent a large chipper machine and then spend six or so hours feeding tree limbs and branches in to it. The results are huge piles wood chips and mulch ... which is used for ground cover, erosion and weed control.
If I walk straight out my front door, across the driveway and walk another 20 feet uphill, this is where I'll be.
If I walk from the front door and turn to the right and go about 60 feet I will encounter, what we refer to as, "the ravine'.
The most common native vegetation on our property includes: Salal, Thimbleberry, Trillium, Oregon grape, Blackberry, Horsetail Equisetum, Skunk Cabbage, Stinging Nettles, Douglas Fir, Big Leaf Maple, Red Alder, Western Hemlock, Western Red Cedar and a variety of ferns and moss.
Animals and birds come and go and over the years there's been deer, bobcat, coyotes, raccoons, mountain beavers, a variety of squirrel, hawks, owls, blue jays, nuthatches, crows and many other birds.
Working on the property is mainly about land management... thinning fast growing alders, maples and firs ... pulling out the stinging nettles, dragging away fallen trees and other fun stuff. At least once a year we rent a large chipper machine and then spend six or so hours feeding tree limbs and branches in to it. The results are huge piles wood chips and mulch ... which is used for ground cover, erosion and weed control.
If I walk straight out my front door, across the driveway and walk another 20 feet uphill, this is where I'll be.
If I walk from the front door and turn to the right and go about 60 feet I will encounter, what we refer to as, "the ravine'.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Guns
I wrote this last year ... because of today's senseless slaughter of children, I'm reposting it.
----
Once upon a time, especially in the movies, real men carried guns 24/7. Besides being tall, lean and bow legged, they frequently said, “Ah shoot”, especially if they spilled their shot glass in a saloon. These were tough, strong men, often wearing heavy leather belts crammed with dozens of big bullets. During mating season they accessorized with several fully loaded bandoleers, making an “X” on their chest thus becoming targets of lustful damsels and sly dance hall girls.
Before there were SUVs and Sony things, real men used American single action 45 caliber revolvers, called “Colt”, a name they often gave their first born, especially if he was good at high school football. With Colt, this awesome hunk, the pistol not the quarterback, of hand-held powerful steel, they dueled in bars and shot rattlesnakes, bear, raccoons and often their own toes. But they lived by an outdoor code, so cactus and dust devils were also fair game.
Life was good for shooters until 1975 when it was discovered John Wayne was an old fart and the outdoors no longer existed. Every square inch of America was covered in asphalt, malls and sub-divisions. Thankfully, every hamlet and town had gun emporiums with indoor shooting ranges. Thus, tons of lead could still fly, paper targets could be shredded and bonding between six-shooter bros and full clip dudes could continue.
When society turned sour for our pistol packin’ John Galts, they put away their six-shooters and started buying assault rifles. Instead of sexy bandoleers, they showed off their dark, slightly curved, extra long, magazine clips to one and all, even if there was sometimes a premature ejection. With these twelve inchers firmly in their grasp, they knew who was “da man” and who wasn’t.
Today, there’s approximately 1,245 legal hunters in America who rarely do poaching. If the sun is just right, you can see these manly men because camo is their favorite color clothing, that is, when they’re not wearing Men's Warehouse jackets. You can spot an American hunter in traffic because their pick-up truck’s mirrors are festooned with dangling rabbit’s feet and spent cartridges. Another giveaway; their trucks have shiny chrome busty nudes glued on the rubber mud flaps. These are meant to delight other drivers and passengers, usually soccer moms and school buses.
Hunter’s wives (aka, “The Little Woman”) are stay at-home moms. They're skilled too ... they happily gut deer and tan the hides of these beasts. Hunters are also proud parents - their eight or so home schooled children are not really feral tho they’re usually bare ass naked while waiting for squirrel skin undies and moccasins. They read too: Gun digest and lots of tech manuals, such as, "How to Field Strip an M1 Abrams Tank". These kiddies are well trained and very adapt doing re-loads, swabbing muzzles and chasing down spent rounds.
Non-hunting gun owners, having no outdoor places to shoot their automatic rifles, join anti-government movements because they love America so much. They also join clubs, such as, the NRA (Nauseating Reeking Armpits) and they stockpile ammo in case the U.S. is invaded by Somali pirates or Finland.
Staying faithful to many a Hollywood script, a few gunsters keep their skills in top-notch shape by spray shooting schools, quickie-marts, bars, TV sets, stop signs, beach balls, Wal-Marts, coconuts, banks, post offices, McDonalds, rush hour traffic, billboards, police stations, their wives, their children and each other.
Thank goodness we have the god-given right to keep and bear arms. No, guns don’t kill people and neither does smoking. It just seems that way.
Typical gun room found in most American homes
----
Once upon a time, especially in the movies, real men carried guns 24/7. Besides being tall, lean and bow legged, they frequently said, “Ah shoot”, especially if they spilled their shot glass in a saloon. These were tough, strong men, often wearing heavy leather belts crammed with dozens of big bullets. During mating season they accessorized with several fully loaded bandoleers, making an “X” on their chest thus becoming targets of lustful damsels and sly dance hall girls.
Before there were SUVs and Sony things, real men used American single action 45 caliber revolvers, called “Colt”, a name they often gave their first born, especially if he was good at high school football. With Colt, this awesome hunk, the pistol not the quarterback, of hand-held powerful steel, they dueled in bars and shot rattlesnakes, bear, raccoons and often their own toes. But they lived by an outdoor code, so cactus and dust devils were also fair game.
Life was good for shooters until 1975 when it was discovered John Wayne was an old fart and the outdoors no longer existed. Every square inch of America was covered in asphalt, malls and sub-divisions. Thankfully, every hamlet and town had gun emporiums with indoor shooting ranges. Thus, tons of lead could still fly, paper targets could be shredded and bonding between six-shooter bros and full clip dudes could continue.
When society turned sour for our pistol packin’ John Galts, they put away their six-shooters and started buying assault rifles. Instead of sexy bandoleers, they showed off their dark, slightly curved, extra long, magazine clips to one and all, even if there was sometimes a premature ejection. With these twelve inchers firmly in their grasp, they knew who was “da man” and who wasn’t.
Today, there’s approximately 1,245 legal hunters in America who rarely do poaching. If the sun is just right, you can see these manly men because camo is their favorite color clothing, that is, when they’re not wearing Men's Warehouse jackets. You can spot an American hunter in traffic because their pick-up truck’s mirrors are festooned with dangling rabbit’s feet and spent cartridges. Another giveaway; their trucks have shiny chrome busty nudes glued on the rubber mud flaps. These are meant to delight other drivers and passengers, usually soccer moms and school buses.
Hunter’s wives (aka, “The Little Woman”) are stay at-home moms. They're skilled too ... they happily gut deer and tan the hides of these beasts. Hunters are also proud parents - their eight or so home schooled children are not really feral tho they’re usually bare ass naked while waiting for squirrel skin undies and moccasins. They read too: Gun digest and lots of tech manuals, such as, "How to Field Strip an M1 Abrams Tank". These kiddies are well trained and very adapt doing re-loads, swabbing muzzles and chasing down spent rounds.
Non-hunting gun owners, having no outdoor places to shoot their automatic rifles, join anti-government movements because they love America so much. They also join clubs, such as, the NRA (Nauseating Reeking Armpits) and they stockpile ammo in case the U.S. is invaded by Somali pirates or Finland.
Staying faithful to many a Hollywood script, a few gunsters keep their skills in top-notch shape by spray shooting schools, quickie-marts, bars, TV sets, stop signs, beach balls, Wal-Marts, coconuts, banks, post offices, McDonalds, rush hour traffic, billboards, police stations, their wives, their children and each other.
Thank goodness we have the god-given right to keep and bear arms. No, guns don’t kill people and neither does smoking. It just seems that way.
Typical gun room found in most American homes
Genie's cousin, right?
Hurry up kid, move along, I'm next in line... (and I've a plan) I've got a biscuit to distract the French guard dog then I’ll have several minutes to find out just how magical she really is.
She does grant three wishes, right? Let's see ... what will it be? A new car or maybe the state of Texas or maybe a yacht. Yeah, I need a yacht.
She does grant three wishes, right? Let's see ... what will it be? A new car or maybe the state of Texas or maybe a yacht. Yeah, I need a yacht.
She was with me for moments
Ah, Beauty ... you never gave me a chance ... we didn't even exchange numbers. I know, I know, there's tomorrow ... if only I'm willing to wait but I have to catch a flight back home. At least we had Main Street. We'll always have Main Street. Good-bye and please, don't look back as you dance away from me.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
owl
Watching each other.
Don't see Owl too often.
I was standing on our patio.
Owl was about 6 meters away.
........
photo by Bill Stankus
camera - Canon G11
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I know what I said about silence, but it's 9/11
We were drawn to the memorial at the Seattle Center ... It was a quiet event, no speeches, just a few fire department personnel and people.
Flowers were placed in the fountain while some sat and others slowly moved around the area in an almost aimless fashion.
Once in a while someone would silently shake hands with the fire fighters. We stayed maybe 30 minutes, feeling a crowd energy rarely experienced. We were one people, filled with resolve and promise. Life would go on, return to normal but each of us knew, we would never forget.
photos taken by Bill Stankus
Flowers were placed in the fountain while some sat and others slowly moved around the area in an almost aimless fashion.
Once in a while someone would silently shake hands with the fire fighters. We stayed maybe 30 minutes, feeling a crowd energy rarely experienced. We were one people, filled with resolve and promise. Life would go on, return to normal but each of us knew, we would never forget.
photos taken by Bill Stankus
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