Gelkote

Lately I’ve been playing around with tweaks or hacks on vanilla digital photography.

First is time lapse photography. I shoot the pictures on a Canon SD800 IS running CHDK firmware and the Ultra Intervalometer script. The .jpgs are then stitched together using Photolapse. The battery lasts over 2 hours shooting a frame every 15 seconds with the screen remaining on the entire time. For longer shoots I picked up a generic ACK-DC30 adapter from BestBatt.com. The price seemed right and they shipped it fast.

Still trying to sort a few items out. The CardTricks software is helpful in preparing the SD card but I’m unable to use anything larger than 1GB. Also sorting out the best interval for taking the pictures in different circumstances, best frames per second (FPS) and the right codec for saving. It will come in time. Below is a partial time lapse of the windows being replaced back on October 17th.

The second thing is called Through the Viewfinder photography or TTV for short. The name explains it all really. The primary camera shoots through the lens of an older camera which results in cropped, slightly dirty and surreal pictures. The type of camera for TTV consist of two lens. One for the film and the other for the viewfinder. Kodak had a line called Duaflex but I picked up an Argoflex Seventy-Five for $15 which will work just fine.

TTV of Georgie showing Seventy-Five – October 5th, 2008

In addition to the cameras, the process requires construction of a “contraption” to marry the two cameras in darkness. I haven’t had a chance to bust out the scissors, cardboard and tape just yet but it is on my list of things to do. Below are two quick examples shot without a contraption. They aren’t particularly exciting but give you a feel for TTV.

TTV of Sam – October 20th, 2008

TTV of Georgie – October 20th, 2008

Finally is an article on how convert old lenses to work on digital SLRs through the use of adapter rings. I haven’t done anything with this yet but it looks interesting.

It’s time to round out my recent junking posts by sharing two amazing pictures I found last Saturday.

There is more to the story than these two poorly scanned photographs of a house and a man. The picture of the house had the caption “Uncle Sturless’ home on LaSalle Ave, Buffalo, N.Y.” pen written in the margins and a 426 house number clearly visible in the photograph on the porch. Piecing it together, it’s simple to determine the exact address of the house from picture! The second picture with the gentleman confirms the address and provides a second angle. But there is more, LaSalle Avenue in Buffalo, NY is currently on Google Streetview! I’m uncertain the exact house since they all look alike but it’s right there! How cool is that?!

View Larger Map

I’m planning on sending the current resident copies of the photos and a short story where I found them. I hope they will enjoy how the pictures were found some 333 miles away from their home and share their story back. I’ll let you know if I hear anything.

Congratulations, well played and thank you sir. We are all so proud.

Patrick Moberg‘s November 4, 2008

I’ve rambled on about pencils but there is a second part to this story and that’s a store called Home of Used Furniture on West Front Street in Findlay. It’s where I purchased the pencils and sharpener in the earlier post as well as some other items.

It isn’t exactly a store but a cross between an estate auction and a garage sale. I didn’t even know the place existed but owner Nancy Hizer has been doing it for 26 years. Nancy scatters furniture and knickknacks in and around her garage and house which she openly invites folks to browse but is quick to remind this time of year that when the temperature drops below 40 degrees she closes for the season.

Buttons, buttons, buttons… – November 1st, 2008

I picked up a few neat pictures for the cube and a handful of buttons. That added to the pencils and pencil sharper came to around $23 dollars. Not too bad for some cool stuff and a new friend. Nancy is very down to earth and loves to chat. As she was heading into her house to make change someone accidentally broke a porcelain bird. Without missing a beat, Nancy yelled something like more pieces for her to sell.

Enjoy the latest pictures for my cube but know that there are two I’m not sharing. Those two will land us in Buffalo, round out the story and will be shared in the final post.

Guard Dog

Fishy Family

Nature Coasting on Paradise Glacier

US Army Only

Toy Turtle

A.B.C. Tournament/Toledo 1960

No Feeding the Animals

I’m now the owner of 78 old fashioned pencils complete with their own PENS and PENCILS cup wrapped in fake wood. Some of the pencils are from insurance companies, a few seed stores, one says Future Farmers of America and a couple are from folks who ran for political office. Others have graphical designs like the one with glittery stars or the two with shamrocks.

Pencils – November 1st, 2008

There are also those with manufacturer names and model numbers. Pencils like the Blaisdel’s Ben Franklin Indelible 561 Red, Empire’s Delco 878 or the U.S. Pencil Company’s USCO 486.

More Pencils – November 1st, 2008

Of course what good are pencils without a pencil sharpener? That’s why I now have an Apsco VacuHold V-10 sharpener. It doesn’t grip to the table anymore so sharpening takes two hands, use of multiple fingers and a helping of patience but it does work in the end.

Apsco VacuHold V-10 Pencil Sharpener – November 1st, 2008

So why do I have 78 pencils and a pencil sharpener which I didn’t have this time 48 hours ago? It’s almost midnight and I’m too tired to share right now. I’ll give you a teaser, the answer is part of a larger story which indirectly has something to do with 40 degrees, a broken bird, Buffalo, NY and those crazy B&W photographs I collect for my cube.

Say tuned, I’ll paint a clearer picture over two upcoming posts. In the meantime, check out Bob Truby’s Brand Name Pencils website.

I was grocery shopping at Kroger today when I noticed that Tropicana OJ was onsale or was it. The sale tag stopped me dead in my tracks for a good minute. I truly felt like a retard and that’s even with the price per ounce calculated on the price tag. So as Howie might say, deal or no deal?

Shopping for OJ at Kroger – November 1st, 2008