Matthew Bafford's Musings

Microwave Popcorn

Don't be a slave to consumer ignorance! Cook up the last of that microwave popcorn (if you can stomach the artificial ingredients), and make your own.

With Stars and Stripes

Reston, VA

This "DEMOCRACY" sign kind of looks like you'd find it in an old insane asylum.

Off-centered People

A fun little shot with the nearly empty glass of 90 Minute IPA (from Dogfish Head):

I think I like this take better, although the word "people" isn't quite visible:

After a bit of encouragement from a friend, I took this (admittedly, better) picture:

Then paying around with the bokeh by shooting through the center hole on a CD gave this trippy effect:

Now... that's enough of THAT.

Green Pepper Sauce

from Chipotle, of course

En Garde!

Audrey's Chance to Shine

Now that Gwyneth is riding all over the place, the focus is on getting Audrey comfortable on two wheels. It can't be easy being the younger of two by only a year; peoples' expectations are high, and it's easy for everyone to forget how much younger you are. Luckily Audrey overcomes this pretty readily. She might lack in stamina, and she complains when she gets tired, but when she really wants something she figures it out.

Like with Gwyneth, we started her off with just coasting. She's tiny, though, and it's hard for her to walk with the pedals on the bike. So we removed them.

After a few trips to a local parking lot, she went from nothing to coasting downhill:

Of course, she gets tired, and frustrated, but it's best to just leave her alone and let her stew.

Eventually she's back on the bike and coasting again.

The balance is there, and she's trying to pedal without pedals, so she asked for her pedals back on again. Of course, pedals make it easier to fall...

... and hurt yourself...

But they also let you go fast and go far!

By the end of the two hours, Audrey was able to pedal pretty far by herself, and she'll be zooming along without any help just like her sister before we know it.

revisiting and re-processing some photos

I spent some time recently going back over some of my favorite photos trying to pick out ones that didn't quite make the cut and see if I could salvage them. I think these turned out pretty well - the use of B&W helps a lot. All of these are from the same weekend (last Thanksgiving). 

I especially like how this one turned out:

Compressing the levels significantly and filtering out some of the background noise helped turn a pretty good picture into an great one. The sensor noise (which gets emphasized during the processing) seems to work really well for the picture, too.

The previous one was originally posted without much processing.  I definitely like the end result of the more processed photo.

Turtle and the Hare

Actually, it's more like the tortoise and the other tortoise, but I took some artistic liberty. Last week when the temperatures were soaring to the upper 90s I went for my semi-regular run at the local Sugarloaf Mountain. On the weekends Sugarloaf is home to an excessive number of otherwise exclusively urban explorers out looking to have a little fun in the wild unknown. During the week, however, it is a local treasure that I'm overjoyed to have been able to live near for the past year. This (relatively) small park is home to some awesome running trails, climbable rock, and a lot of wildlife. All within just about 10 minutes fun drive for me. This last time, despite the heat, I decided to reenact an old fable. The contestants:

This was taken post-run. It was hot. Sadly, I think my opponent won, but I can't be entirely sure, as I saw him only after I finished. These were all taken with my Canon SD870. I am having a really hard time getting it to focus on macro shots. The last picture, for example, is focused really well, just not on the object I want. I guess I should get a DSLR, but I don't remember it being quite as difficult with my old SD800. Still, these were some good shots of a very photogenic animal.

Old memories through pictures

I was recently going through some backups I created back in early 2000, when I discovered some pictures I'd taken with my first digital camera. I have no idea what the model of the camera was, but it was very much first generation. My grandfather loved technology, and I would often get hand-me-downs from him, one of which was this camera. It's shocking how far the technology has come since that time.

The pictures below are not spectacular, and were at full resolution only 420x240 (.1008MP) pixels, 24bit color, and only about 30kB in size.

In comparison, my current phone takes pictures many times larger than that (5MP), with better color depth, and with a bigger lens. The pictures are all from, I think, Cypresss Gardens (SWAMP), a place my mom and I visited on one of our many trips to Folly Beach, SC. I have many fond memories of going to the beach with her, and it's a shame these are the only pictures that I know of. Neither of us is actually pictured, as I think we both felt about the same way about cameras. I'm pretty sure the location where these were all taken is somewhere around here:

Cypress Gardens Information

View Larger Map

 

I've included all of the pictures at full original resolution purely as an illustration of how far technology has come.

 

Obviously slow shutter speeds and sensors - my foot is a ghost despite the bright lights.

Look, a lizard!  I don't think the camera had any sort of zoom, either.

 

 

I think that might actually be a snake going across the path.

 

 

Turtles?

 

 

There was an old cemetery on the grounds.

I think we hoped to actually read this again.  Information about the graveyard.

 

Canon SD870is Mini-Review

I've been a long time happy owner of the SD800 camera. Despite my objections about the megapixel inflation game that Canon is playing right alongside all of the other manufacturers, it's been an awesome camera for me. Sadly, my SD800 was stolen over the past weekend and I was forced to purchase a new SD870. My initial thoughts on this camera are below - these are as a comparison to the SD800 I purchased before. In a nutshell, I love the Canon SD series ("Digital ELPH"). They have small lenses and small sensors, but they can take some awesome pictures. They are small enough to be in your pocket at all times, so you end up taking a lot of shots with them that you'd never get with a bigger camera. Do they match up to a DSLR (or even a bigger "prosumer" camera)? Of course not, but they hold their own quite well. Canon in general has had my support for quite a while for a variety of reasons. This is my fourth Canon digital camera (I've also owned an SD230 and Powershot S1), and I'm sticking with the company. Besides making good sensors and lenses, I am very happy that they also tend to use standard memory formats, unlike other companies. On a side note, my mother's Powershot S1 (my old camera) recently exhibited some odd behavior that was obviously due to sensor problems. It turns out Canon is well aware of this issue and is repairing/replacing all cameras affected by the problem free of charge (including shipping) out of warranty. For more details: http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html. In my mom's case, the S1 was replaced by an S5 free of charge. Thank you, Canon!

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In short, the SD870is is the direct upgrade to the SD800is, but with a bigger screen (3" vs. 2.5"). Canon's SD line is confusing to follow, and the model numbers don't necessarily make sense. Just because it has a bigger number doesn't mean it's a better camera. The SD800/SD870 both share the wider angle lens, which I've grown quite accustomed to. On the face the SD870 just seems like a minor upgrade (with the exception of the screen). Initial impressions:

• The new 3" screen is awesome. It's huge, and it provides a LOT of detail. The colors look great. Losing the optical viewfinder is not even an issue, as it's always been a weak viewfinder on the entire SD line. I don't ever see people using viewfinders on this form-factor camera, so props to Canon for dropping it. The new screen is perfectly big enough for composing and reviewing your picture. Get a screen protector.
• The power button is larger and protrudes more. This is actually bad, as it allows for easier turning on of the camera in your pocket. This is probably the biggest weakness, and I wish Canon had not done this. The old design was perfect.
• The auto and manual modes have been consolidated to the same physical switch. Previously I was constantly switching modes pulling the camera out of my pocket. Now it stays in the same mode unless I change it manually (through the set button menu). This means switching from auto to digital macro is easier as well.
• Focusing and general responsiveness seems faster. Not much.
• Low light support seems better.
• The 8MP is probably useless. Less pictures on my 2GB card now.
• It feels a bit less sturdy than the SD800. Not flimsy, just not as much of a tank as before.
• I really like that the ISO being used, even when on "Auto" or "Hi" ISO mode, is displayed on the screen now. I don't know that this helps at all, but I like seeing this info. The ISO chosen is now displayed in the review information as well. This used to only be show if you manually selected an ISO value. I don't know if it's recorded in the EXIF information.
• The battery meter is now always displayed instead of only when the power is low.
• ISO shift. If you turn it on and put it on the print button, the print button flashes blue if the ISO is too low for the lighting conditions. Press the print button, and it shifts the ISO up to the lowest value that'll work. So 80 might become 120 or 250. You can also set it to "auto ISO shift", and it always shifts it up. Not sure how the latter differs from "Auto" or "Hi".
• The (previously absolutely useless) print button can be assigned functions now. Most useful function is screen blank, but there are a couple of others - for example, toggle the display overlay on and off.
• Reviewing mode is now a button you press on the front of the camera instead of an option on the mode switch. This is a great move in my mind, as previously I would consistently switch to review mode while pulling the camera out of my pocket.

The four-way pad has become a method for selecting the camera mode as well. If you roll your finger around the wing, the mode changes. It's kind of like the ipod, only less sensitive, and I haven't really decided if it's a gimmick or not.

Canon still hasn't fixed some issues that have bugged me - like the fact the camera forgets you're in burst mode when you turn the camera off, but over all this is a good improvement. If they'd only left the power button alone, I'd have no real complaints about this upgrade to the SD800.