Fyi

I have posted an entry in the Guest Forum.

Fyi ~ Mr. Lee's world

You just have to love this - it's part ingenious, part genius.

urban ku # 71 ~ wherein I break radio silence

The Cottage • click to embiggenAs you know, The Landscapist is not about gear and technique. I rarely discuss it. This is one of those 'rarely's. The reason that I am breaking radio silence on the topic is simple - I want to give credit where credit due. In this case, to Olympus.

In my analog heyday, I was a Nikon guy (35mm-wise). Today, every once in a while, I glance over at the Nikon bodies and lenses (3 bodies, 6 lenses) and remember the good old days. There they sit, neglected and unused for going on 3 years now. Whenever I get the urge to shoot film, it's large format - 8×10, for me. 35mm color picturing just seems like to much hassle and too many limitations.

Once I made the leap to digital, I just became addicted to the speed, ease, and tremendous control of digital files in the digital darkroom. For the first couple years I pictured with a high-end 'prosumer' digicam - 7mp with non-interchangeable 4-1 zoom lens camera which could capture RAW files. A great camera which produced wonderful prints - keeping in mind that I am not a digital 'perfectionist'. Those early ku prints still stand up very very well when displayed side-by-side with those of made from my first dslr - an 8mp Olympus E-500.

I chose the Olympus because of the size of the camera and lenses (their 'pro' lens are optically superb) that result from the 4/3rds format,and the fact that the 4/3rds format is an "open' format, meaning that all lenses made for the 4/3rds format by any camera maker are interchangeable on any maker's cameras. Now that Leica has committed to 4/3rds, that is an exciting capability.

Yesterday, my new 10mp Olympus E-510 arrived and, halleluiah, it's a gem. The biggest benefit of the new camera is the fact that Olympus has put IS (image stabilization) in the body - now all my lens are IS. Halleluiah.

Last evening, after a very hot and humid round of golf, I retired to The Cottage in Lake Placid for some refreshing beer and gazpacho (the wife and kids are out of town). Out came the camera for its first exposures. All I can say is that I am very pleased with the results - very low noise at ISO 400 and very sharp detailed results aided by the IS (I balanced the camera on a railing at 1/2 second ss). FYI, the color balance is a bit on the warm side because I picture with only partially corrected WB under tungsten light - I like the warmth.

So there you have it - that's about a technical as I get. I posted this topic because I think Olympus deserves credit for bucking the 'system' with its commitment (along with Leica, Panasonic and Sigma [lenses]) to the 4/3rds format.

For anyone who is considering a 10mp camera, the Olympus E510 and E410 (no IS) are very worthy competitors in the marketplace - especially when you consider the superb compact 'pro' optics.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

FYI ~ Canoe trip dates

For those interested in the great offer they can't refuse canoe trip, the dates are Friday, August 17 - Monday, August 20.

The plan is for a 4-day, 3-night outing. Participants are invited to take the complete trip, but shorter stays are possible. We will be staying at a wilderness basecamp so late arrivals and early departues are easy enough.

So, now is the time to confirm in order to get this thing organized. Let me know, via email (link on sidebar), ASAP.

FYI ~ Toby Lloyd-Jones

Quite a long while back I posted a topic about the pictures of Toby Lloyd-Jones. Very good stuff. Toby has been kind enough to send me a link to his Polaroid series Streetlights. Again very good stuff. Check it out.

Thanks, Toby. Great to hear from you and nice to know you're still stopping by the place.

FYI ~ fly like a bug

Fly like a bug • click to embiggenHugo makes his first major Adirondack marketing debut. This is a spread from the new 2007 Activity Guide - a project which I am bringing to completion today (right, Carol?).

The picture is from last weekend when I took Hugo to play mini-golf and to jump around in those inflatible things. All the while he was keeping a sharp eye on the bungy jumping thing. He eventually said that he wanted to do it - "Me not scared".

He loved it because, as he said, "Me fly like a bug". Living as we do in the Adirondacks, 'bug" is the proper and fitting analogy. He's a smart little bugger.

Update on Friday, June 1, 2007 at 01:13PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Aaron wrote(about my ex); I can tell you that Sharon (my mother/Nana) is not too happy with you regarding this photo! I think her words were "is he nuts? I wanna see Hugo live to be 3!"

FYI - a history lesson and a renewed invitation

The wife's delight
The wife making delights
Hugo's (at 11 months) first overnighter
Quite early morning on Franklin Falls Pond
An early Adirondack guide with his 'sport' (client) in an Adirondack Guideboat

Nearly 30,000 miles of streams and brooks that emerge from the Adirondack mountains and forests form the network from which 1,000 miles of powerful Adirondack rivers gather their volume and strength. Add to that over 3,000 lakes and ponds and it's no mystery why waterways were the early 'highways' of the Adirondacks.

In keeping with the earlier topic of the environment driving human history, two wonderful inventions of humankind came about as a result of the influence on man of this natural waterway phenomena - the Adirondack guideboat and the Adirondack 'pack' canoe. Both are marvels of human ingenuity and they are things of beauty as well.

click to embiggenThe Adirondack guideboat was first created as an early 'pickup truck'. It's primary use was to move large volumes of stuff around the landscape. Eventually, as the tourist trade took hold, they were used to haul tourists (aka, 'sports') and their stuff around the landscape. The boats were/are light, fast, stable and carry a lot of stuff. As seen in the photo, guides often allowed their 'sport' to use a steering paddle when they were rowing from the bow position.

The Adirondack 'pack' canoe is epitomised by the Rushton 'Sairy Gamp' which was built for George Washington Sears, nom de plume - 'Nessmuk'. Nessmuk (a small man) was a nationally syndicated sportswriter who traversed the Adirondacks - 266 miles - in his 9ft, 10lb canoe. The year was 1883.

Rushton did not promise that the laden Sairy Gamp would float or survive. That did not discourage Nessmuk, whose motto was "Go light; the lighter the better, so that you have the simplest material for health, comfort and enjoyment." You can read Nessmuk's writing about his Adirondack traverse here. Look under Letters to Forest and Stream, Cruise of the Siary Gamp, 1883. It is truly fascinating reading.

Pack boats are typically very nimble and very light which makes them ideally suited for winding rivers and streams, replete with lots of 'carries' (portage). Dispite their diminutive size and weight - ours are 12 ft./21 lbs. - they, like their guideboat brethern, carry a lot of stuff. Our cherry-trimmed kevlar/carbon fiber 'Spitfires'carry up to 375 lbs. - typically, in 2 boats, that's me, the wife, 2 dogs, and enough gear and provisions for as long as we want to be away.

In any event, I tell you all of this because only a few people have responded to my Make them an offer they can't refuse. Once again I extend the invitation. Come on people - it'll be fun and a chance to meet new and interesting people. Not to mention traversing a wilderness landscape in the best example of a 125 year+ old tradition.

It's not arduous or dangerous and it's good for the body and soul.

PS - I have not had time to respond to those who have responded but, just to let you know, I want to schedule this for late August. Let me know if this works for you.

FYI

On a somewhat lighter note than the past few topics, this just in - Digital cameras are good for the environment. Take it for what it's worth, it's not exactly the result of in-depth research but it sounds good.

PS I should mention that the headline is a bit misleading. What it should say is 'Digital cameras are less harmful to the environment.'