Nubster's PhotoBlog

The Best Cat Toy Ever

2009-01-04T20:29:01Z

The cats got a new toy for Christmas from my sister. On Christmas day, Her Highness the Princess Cocoa completely forgot herself. She chased the "bird" until she did a good ol’ doggy pant - out of breath, mouth wide open, and loud (horrors!). Formerly reclusive, she now begs us for a game when we get up.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T20:42:47Z

It has been a blessing to share photos and thoughts with my friends on Photoblog this year. Best wishes for a happy and safe new year! Hobbes - thanks for your questions! Here's how this one was done: * Set camera to “bulb” mode (with flash) to keep the shutter open indefinitely * Stand in front of the camera and click the shutter. Flash fires and picture of self is taken. * Keep the shutter release button mashed down so the shutter stays open! I took a bunch of pictures of just myself after the flash fired. It's such a habit to let go because it's “done.” * Now that the shutter is still open(!), start writing (frontwards). When done, close the shutter. * Reverse the picture in editing. Tip: make sure the room is dark, or else the background will seep through and you'll become a ghost. Learned that one the hard way. This one was inspired by, but is a far cry from LIFE / "Picasso Drawing with Light." I have a LIFE book and the photographer explained how he had set up his photo.

Just a Test: RAW vs JPEG

2008-12-26T14:18:04Z

Many, many thanks to Hobbes for suggesting RAW format. I had heard of it but hadn't seriously considered using it. A RAW converted to JPEG for upload would just amount to a JPEG, right? Wrong! (Proof of how little I know.) This time the camera was set to capture a RAW and JPEG simultaneously, so each pair is identical except for file format. All were cropped, but no curves were applied, so the colors are what came straight out of the camera. The RAWs were converted to JPEG and all were scaled to 800 pixels across for upload. Seeing is believing!

Caturday with Cocoa

2008-12-23T23:39:13Z

Cocoa is getting a little more adventurous - with her humans, anyway. Hiding is still one of her favorite activities.

Ice at Last

2008-12-21T17:30:34Z

When I got up this morning the freezing rain had turned to rain. The tiny icicles on the leaves and branches were about to disappear. Although I'm glad the ice did not stay, I wish it had been around for another hour or two.

Magpie by Night

2008-12-14T20:24:57Z

This weekend it was time to clean the house for Christmas eve (the part that visitors see, anyway). As I began the semi-annual rinsing of the crystal bowl with red glass pebbles, Jarvo's excellent post came to mind: "Are We Not All Magpies?" From there I couldn't resist getting out the black velvet and continuing. P.S. Anyone know how to remove the pixellation in the highlights? I tried uploading an unscaled as well as photos scaled to 800 pxl wide. Both turned out the same way on the post. Thanks for any suggestions.

Simple Pleasure

2008-12-07T20:51:21Z

Every morning when I wake up and go to the kitchen, there is only one thought: "boil some water." From there I remember to make coffee. That leads to the next step in my routine. By the time the water boils I am on the way to getting ready for work. Weekend mornings are the best - there is nothing much to do after boiling water.

Rainy November Morning

2008-11-30T20:12:27Z

Steve and Me

2008-11-29T23:03:38Z

Today was the day to get a picture for our Christmas card. Steve does not like to spend a lot of time in front of the lens, so I took a lot of test shots by clicking the shutter, running around in front and hooking my arm around the air. I marked his spot with a leaf - what a great idea! Especially since there were several leaves around that all looked alike. Finally it was time for "us." I took Steve to his spot and ran around three more times. We got it on the third shot, when I said something that can't be repeated. Works every time!

Le Chat Gastronomique

2008-11-28T12:49:15Z

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!