Author Archives: Wizzer

Getting Down with Bluegrass

Posted by on February 20, 2012 No comments

This weekend we managed to pry ourselves out of the house and get out to accomplish things!  First was taking a long walk to make sure we got some extra steps on our FitBit’s.  2.6 miles of walking out for lunch, and errands netted us quite the step count.  After that it was off to Old town Alexandria to meet up with Sarah’s Sister and Brother-In-Law.  You see, it was Josh’s Birthday and because he loves music, the plan was to go out and hear some live.  The place that was picked….Tiffany Tavern.

When I heard “Tavern” I was all set to see a pub-like atmosphere with some fish and chips and Shepard’s pie. (although, I a a bit spoiled when it comes to Shepard’s Pie) Unfortunately, when we arrived I noticed that it was a lot more “Dineric” and less “Pubish”  The food was ok, and the service was great, that is, until the band started playing.  After that we rarely saw a waitress.  (Maybe they were groupies that were fawning over the band members)  I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t go there, but it was not the greatest place.  I give it a good solid “Meh”

So, how was the band?  The band was actually great!  Fun fact, as a kid I grew up around Bluegrass music so I am no stranger to it, and for the most part, really do enjoy it.  The technique that goes into it is outstanding and it’s one of the forms of music that comes from a very deep rooted story based culture.  Satyr Hill came with 6 band members (although I believe that a few of them were just visiting) and a rocken good time!  You can see pictures from the set here at my Flickr page, and enjoy the slideshow below.

Oh, and the final step count for that day?

Gadget Time!!

Posted by on February 16, 2012 No comments

It’s been a while since I have posted about some interesting gadgets, and I happen to have come across a few that are post worthy!  So here goes.

Having driven the MINI around for the last few months, and being a part of the DC Metro MINI club, I REALLY enjoy my car.  Many of the club owners like to make videos of their drives using the GoPro brand cameras.  Being a camera type guy, I thought I would check one out and have some fun.  So here is my pro/con list

 

 

Pro:

  • Light weight – Very small for just the camera and easy to pocket.
  • TONS of attachments (I got the Motor-sport version)
  • Easy to use – Menus are quick and easy
  • Cool Wide Angle – Gets everything in the shot
  • Good Quality (Not great, but good) – Auto adjustment of speed and ISO does oddly in low light

Con:

  • Over Simplified – It would be great if there were a few more options and configurations.
  • Low light sucks – In low light it ramps up the ISO a lot so there is some significant grain. But it’s not really meant for low light so….
  • Ball Joint mount would rock. – All of the mounts are pivot one way, you can add pivot points in, but it increases vibration.

Overall, I like it.  It is currently mounted behind my rear view mirror and is nearly invisible to my FOV while driving.

This ties into another gadget I picked up.  The OBDII adapter for Blue-Tooth.  This is a chip that plugs into the data-port on my MINI (and any car after 1996) and provides all sorts of information on real time data from the engine to fault codes.  I connect to it using my Android phone and an app Called Torque.

Now I just need to know what all that data actually means!  (I am still learning).

Now, how does this all come together?  Well, there is another android app called aLapRecorder HD.  This connects to the OBDII chip and then can record all of that data for a specific drive.  I can then output that data into a format that can be overlayed on to the GoPro video.

I will be using this for future drives out with the MINI to record the results.  Especially the upcoming MINI’s on The Dragon event.  If you have any questions about the above gadgets, please feel free to ask!

On the subject of Jelly Beans

Posted by on February 15, 2012 No comments

The other day Sarah was out at an event with some friends while I gleefully stayed home and slept of played video games.  Sometimes we do this.  Well, when she came home she was loaded down with various food stuffs that were excess from the event.  Some very evil person sent her home with a jar of Jelly Belly brand jelly beans.

O_O

Yes, the most amazing jelly bean on the planet.  It is taking all of my willpower to not devour the whole jar in one sitting (it’s a big jar too).  To combat my desire to “eat all the things”, I decided to set up a little photo shoot.  Below are the results:

Forever Alone
No one likes the black jelly beans!

Jelly Bean Statistics
As you can see from this chart, we show 100% Deliciousness.

Both of these shots were done with my SB600 strobe mounted on the Gorilla pod stand, positioned about 2 feet away and the Lightsphere about 1 ½ feet above the subject. (Triggered remotely)

3 Years

Posted by on February 13, 2012 3 comments

My life is pretty wacky.  I am a pretty huge geek on a number of levels.  At 37 I still love to play video games, I love comic books (Batman > Superman), I own and have worn many different costumes from Superhero Spandex to StormTrooper Armor.  I sometimes collect various toys and still love to play with Legos.  I can discuss the inner workings of the Star Trek Holodeck and have seen the entire run’s of shows from Firefly to Doctor Who.

Just 10-15 years ago I would have been considered an Outcast to society, (some may still think that) but, I love who I am, and I love what I do.  I have many friends that think/act/enjoy like I do and those are my family.  Some people may look at me and think the typically “Bro” thing of “How do you ever date?”

Well, here is the secret.  Almost 5 years ago I met someone perfect.  She worked at a comic book store and we had so many of the same interests.  She loved to play her Super Nintendo on a tiny CRT screen and would stay up late nights playing Fallout 2.  She had assembled a Teen Titans Raven costume to wear and has a Batman tattoo.  It was a match made in Gotham.

3 years ago today we escaped out to Las Vegas to get hitched.  Family and friends were still there and it wasn’t weird.  I wore a suit, she wore a dress (which for us was still like wearing a costume).  Ever since that time, I am constantly amazed that we managed to find each other and still wonder/fear that this amazing dream will end.

I hope it never does.

Happy Anniversary Sarah!

MINI Photoshoot

Posted by on February 6, 2012 No comments

This last Saturday we scheduled some time with the MINI club (DC Metro MINI’s) to get a bunch of us out for a photo shoot.  Turns out a lot of the MINI folks are really into photography as well!  One of the folks found a really nice parking garage and we line up about 15 MINI’s to start taking pictures.  After we spent about 3 hours shooting in the garage we headed out to Wolf Trap in Northern VA for some outside shots.  Unfortunately it started to rain so I ended up putting my D5100 away (no weather sealing).  Thankfully some of the others had the right equipment and we got some great shots.

You can see all of the shots at these flickr links, below is just a few of the shots:

MINI Photo Shoot

MINI Photo Shoot

IMG_6936.jpg

IMG_7002.jpg

Fun Filters!

Posted by on February 3, 2012 No comments
Inspired by an interesting Reddit post I thought I would try out a new technique.  In the post, they talking about forgetting your lens cap and just using a cut off water bottle to hold you over till you can get a new one.  Some of the posters thought it would make for an interesting shot if you forgot to take it off before shooting.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Well, Kind of.  Actually, using the bottom of the bottle turns out a really crappy shot…..

But, the TOP of the bottle, on the other hand.  I thought, well if I can see out the center of the bottle, now THAT might make an interesting shot.  Sure enough, it did!

This is what the setup was like:

And these are the resulting shots (click to embiggen):

Random Objects

Posted by on February 3, 2012 No comments

In my quest to take more pictures I have decided to go with a theme.  Random Objects.  Just some things you may pass every day and not take notice of.  For the past few weeks I have made it a point to climb to the top of our 6 floor stairwell just to get some stairs into my daily routine.  In doing so I pass by these pipes every day.  This one caught a very nice shadow and looked interesting:

Open Here

Scarfs are cool.

Posted by on February 1, 2012 No comments
I have been a very long time reader of a web comic called Real Life Comics.  I found the series back in probably around 2002, went back and read all past strips and then have been reading ever since.  Needless to say, I have been a big fan.  Unfortunately, I never really got into posting on some of the forums and fan groups because I just didn’t need yet another social site to try and keep up with. None the less, I love the strip and the work that Greg does.  Every now and then he would throw up a strip that nearly mirrors conversations that Sarah and I have had!  (Some of them almost verbatim).

Well yesterday Greg posted about a charity auction that he was helping out with by donating his hand made 4th Doctor Who scarf!  Now, Sarah already owns a 4th Doctor scarf and loves it.  I have always been jealous of her massive warmth in who-dom.  So I got pretty excited about the potential to have my own that 1: Was hand made by someone who I am a big fan of, 2: helps out a great charity!

So Last night I sat and watched the timer tick down on the auction waiting for the price to skyrocket out of my range and was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t!  For just over $200 I am now the proud owner of Greg Dean’s Hand Made Doctor Who Scarf!

Big thanks go out to Greg for making laugh on a (nearly) daily basis!

Testing FRAPS with SWTOR

Posted by on January 30, 2012 No comments

A long time ago (blah blah galaxy) I tried my hand at some Machinima video capture.  For those who don’t know, Machinima is using video game footage, re-edited together to make a video.  A lot of folks use the medium to make music videos, some people have ran with it and made full series of funny videos (like Red Vs. Blue).  Well, a few years back some friends and I tried to make a series called Stupid Hobbitsess.  It was made using the Lord Of The Rings Online game.  Unfortunately, the videos were pulled from YouTube because of Digital rights for some of the music used.  (less than 30 seconds worth).  So now, they only exist on my Hard Drive.  I may see if I can get them up here somewhere.

Anyways, I used a capture software called FRAPS.  It’s one of the popular choices for Video Game capture.  Problem is, back in the day, when I ran the capture on my old system, it would lag the game…..a lot.  On a while I decided to try and run FRAPS behind The Old Republic and see what the hit would be.  I was amazed to find that there was no lag at all.  Now, it is an updated system and FRAPS has been updated quite a few times since then so it may be more streamlined.  Below is a sample capture of some in game footage.  This kind of stirs the creative juices a bit, well see if anything comes from it.

Ninja Edit:  Looks like the old Myspace page for Stupid Hobbitsess is still up with the videos.  If you dare venture into Myspace land, you can see them here

TARDIS Long Exposure pictures

Posted by on January 28, 2012 No comments

Using the same technique I was talking about in my last post, I decided to take a good subject out to a good location and try again.  This time I went to one of the local Battlefield areas and found a great hill that provided an amazing view.  L st night the weather was nice and clear so there were some good stars out as well.

I opted for two styles of picture, the straight long exposure that I turned in a good B/W shot, and a colorful light painting shot.  For the subject, I used my ½ scale TARDIS that my son and I built.  The light painting was actually done with Sonic Screwdrivers as my son and his friend ran wildly around the TARDIS.

Overall I am happy with the results.  They aren’t HDR, this is just a single shot taken between 2-3 min long.  I fired the strobe once or twice on the outside of the TARDIS to give detail and then twice inside to give the light.  (Click for Flickr Link)

TARDIS at Night

Sonic Stars