Kinda Blah

Weekend Update… Well, the weekend was kinda-sorta a bust. Not that anything unusual or untoward happened, it was just…blah. The news seemed to be “All Biden – All the Frickin’ Time,” and that was much more than enough to put me off. And there were the usual hordes of Talking Heads swarming all over my teevee, telling me what to expect and what not to expect out of this week’s Dimwit Gathering in Denver… as if I actually gave a shit. As far as that goes, I really don’t care about NEXT week’s similar gathering in Minneapolis-St. Paul, for what that’s worth. Don’t get me wrong, Gentle Reader, I’m still paying attention. But it’s pretty damned hard to do, at this point. I’m burned out…nay, fried… on things political right now. I’m hoping something/anything will restore my interest, but I’m not all that hopeful.

The one bright spot in life, as I see it right now… the Olympics… are over. And what a bright spot it was! So many new world records; so many astounding feats of athleticism, beauty, and raw courage; so many individual moments of glory and crushing disappointments; such drama! And what a show it was, too, in both the technical and aesthetic senses. The Chinese definitely put their best foot forward and showed the world they are indeed a world-class player on the international stage… provided you don’t look behind the curtain, that is.

I watched last night’s Closing Ceremony twice… once during the prime-time tape-delayed broadcast, and then again when they re-ran the tape-delay during the overnight/late night broadcast. While the Closing Ceremony didn’t have the impact of the Opening Ceremony… I mean: how could it possibly?… it was certainly “good enough.” One got the inevitable “been there, done that” sort of feeling while watching the production, which is kinda an indicator of how rapidly we can become jaded these days. Or perhaps it’s an indicator of how rapidly I become jaded… I dunno. But here’s my take-away from last evening’s ceremony: brilliant. That, and Jimmy Page is old. Heh.

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Digital photography is easy, right? Think again! It’s a lot harder than it looks… especially if you happen to be a photographer for National Geographic Magazine, on assignment to photograph Stonehenge for the magazine’s cover. The cover shot of Stonehenge on the left is the product of hours upon hours of work, including 42 hours of night-time shooting that didn’t yield photos worthy of NatGeo’s cover. But, as you can see from the results on the left, the photographer was ultimately… and spectacularly… successful.

Here is the final formula for the cover shot: Hasselblad Flexbody with 15mm of drop dialed in to a Phase One P45 back, ISO was set at 100, the lens was a Hasselblad Distagon 40mm set at f11, there were 12 SureFire lights aimed at the stones which were on for about 12 seconds during the 15 minute total exposure. Dressed in black, I then walked through the scene painting additional light on the stones to create some of edge highlights.

The whole story… including a couple of false starts, lots of technical detail, and more great photos… is related in the story “Shooting Stonehenge,” on NGM photographer Ken Geiger’s digital photography blog. It’s fascinating stuff.

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Today’s Pic: Dipping into the archives for a picture of SN3 on an uncharacteristically gray and chilly day in Florida, in April of 2003. I took this photo at the east-bound rest area just across the Alabama-Florida state line on I-10. SN1, Grandson Sean, Bobby (who now demands to be called “Robert,” a sure-fire indication he’s growing up way too fast), and I were on our way to Cape Canaveral to attend the commissioning of the USS Mason (DDG87)… which happened to be SN2’s then-current ride. A Good Time was had by all, needless to say. The Navy knows how to throw a party!

Speaking of parties...

The locals loved the Mason, too. Or the money. One or the other... (insert Smiley-Face thingie here.)