Thursday, April 30, 2009

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse

Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
Forty Mile Point Lighthouse
On the way to Mackinac Island this past weekend we took the scenic route along the east coast of Michigan to catch a couple of lighthouses. This is the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse which we caught as the rain was approaching and the sun began its decent. Through exposure blending of three branketed exposures I was able to capture this image from the cold, very windy beach. Sadly the lighthouse was closed for the season and the light was not on. Perhaps I'll have the chance to try again in August when they're planning a Geocaching event at the park.

Friday, April 17, 2009

My Letter on Printing Cameras to the Daily Giz Wiz

Back in January I had sent a letter to Leo Laporte and Dick DeBartolo of the Daily Giz Wiz about the past attempts at digital cameras with printers. On today's show (DGW810) Dick read that letter (as we know Leo never reads his e-mail), though he started by calling me "David Wattenberg" (my father's name) and ended by reading the URL for this blog wrong (congrats to you who might have still found it). Thanks Dick.

The Daily Giz Wiz is a great show and part of my daily listening. If you haven't heard it, head over and check out the show. The chemistry between Leo and Dick is different some most of the other TWIT shows and really lightens my day.

For those interested in the letter, here's that text as originally sent on January 19, 2009:

You mentioned the new Polaroid digital camera with built-in printer, but they were not the first to attempt the combo. Nearly a decade ago Olympus released the C-211Z -- a 2.1 Megapixel camera with built in photo printer. To make certain that the camera would not succeed, they used Polaroid 500 instant film though for the printer:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0007/00072502c211zoom.asp

I seem to recall a more recent release from Olympus though with a built-in dye-sub printer. None of those attempts made it far, though would certainly find a proud home in the collection of any gadget warehouse or collector of failed photo gear.


Darryl Wattenberg
PhotoBlog: http://DarrylsPhotoBlog.BlogSpot.com/
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/darrylsphotoblog/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/darrylw4

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Spring is Budding

Spring is Budding

We took a long walk along the Ohio & Erie Canalway with Adalay's parents to get out of the house and find a few geocaches. I brought the D700 along but didn't really find much to shoot (especially since we spent most of the time walking). This bud on the canal side of the trail caught me attention in the setting sun.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Wild Rose in the Evening

Wild Rose in the Evening

We took a long walk along the Ohio & Erie Canalway with Adalay's parents to get out of the house and find a few geocaches. I brought the D700 along but didn't really find much to shoot (especially since we spent most of the time walking). The fading light caught these leaves though in a way that makes them look like they're glowing.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

April 12 of 12: Quacky's Day

I decided to try something a little different for this month's 12 of 12. This time, I'm documenting the first day in the life of a Geocaching Travel Bug named "Quacky." I originally wanted a blue chick for the concept which hit me Saturday morning, but after hitting a few stores on the drive to Akron we came across this yellow ducky pacifier holder. After removing the ribbon to hold the pacifier, we have a great travel bug with its own clip to attach him to a nearby branch or container edge to allow photos. Finally I had a subject and theme: a day in the life of a Geocaching Travel Bug. So while we spent our Easter Sunday with family in Akron, then Geocaching our way home to Metro Detroit, I captured the day of our young friend on his first geocaching journey. Next weekend he'll find his way into a Geocache and hopefully collect may new stories and photos as other Geocacher move him around the world.
Quacky's Day: Starting the DayQuacky's Day: Checking for CacheQuacky's Day: Quacky's First Cache
Quacky's Day: Brush Your Bill/TeethQuacky's Day: Keeping Track of MoneyQuacky's Day: Leaving the Hotel for Cache #2
Quacky's Day: Out For a WalkQuacky's Day: Leaving a PresentQuacky's Day: Another Find
Quacky's Day: Filling UpQuacky's Day: The Last Cache and a New FriendQuacky's Day: Setting Up the Travel Bug Dog Tag

Thanks again to Chad Darnell for creating the 12 of 12 Project, and to Sonny & Sandy of the Podcacher Podcast for pushing myself and the Geocaching community to participate in the 12 of 12.