Godox or God Ox PB960, Sunpak 120J, Nikon SB-800

The Chinese name is actually literally God Ox.  What a strong brand.

As a owner of two good old Sunpak 120J's, I always want some power pack.  Even I have the original pack in form but not in substance.  I use some rechargeable battery to power the pack.  It's a bit cumbersome I have a separate branded charger to charge the battery and when fully charged I put it back into the holder.  You probably don't know what I am talking about.  I am too lazy to take any pictures.

Universal Smart Charger.  Not just phone could be smart.

Not all sync cords are created equal.  Some are obviously better.  The one on the right is better, which is a Paramount cable by the way.  The one on the left is the original Sunpak cable that has bad contact with the PC outlet on the D810 camera.  Bad.  I think the locking one is the best but I have yet to try one.

My SB-600 is kind of broken, the battery door has bad contacts when I don't use reputable branded batteries.  I think there is some play to the battery door which can result in bad connection with some batteries.  The hot shoe is cracked and the knocking pin is ruined.

And so I bought a SB-800 which is similar but better than the SB-600.  It accepts external battery pack.  It provides more option and plays.

I did some research and in the end, I bought the Godox PB960 pack with a cable for Nikon.  The connection as I understood it is a Quantum cable connection.  Though I can't find any affirmation online that the Godox PB960 can work with the Sunpak 120J I decided to give it a try.  Lucky me I was able to find a Quantum CS4 cable connecting the PB960 to the 120J.

The items arrived and everything just works.

Moving on to some other distractions.

Recap: now I can power two 120J with external powerpacks which definitely provide more flashes and much faster recycle time.  Or I can shoot my SB-800 using high speed sync with instantaneous recycle time, almost.

UPDATE:
7/23/2018
Something is not right when the power pack is attached to the Nikon SB-800.  Initially I thought it just worked.  But I guess it's iffy actually.  Because the SB-800 needs 4AA even when it's supposed to be powered by the pack, so even when the SB-800 is not getting the power from the pack I wouldn't know or it wasn't obvious when the AA are in good power.  Many months ago when I knew the 4AA were running low and then it became apparent that the pack was not powering the SB-800.
My feeling is it's the cable or the ProPac NX cable.  I watched a YouTube video which was similar to what I experience.  Though initially I thought if I power the ProPac and then the SB-800 in that particular everything would work.  It does work but then it is iffy.  Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't.  I tried 1/1 manual mode so the SB-800 which uses the most power and more noticeable in the cycling time when it draws from the pack or when it draws from the 4AA.  When the SB-800 actually draws power from the pack, I can see the cycling time is faster and the pack's red ready light actually goes dark for a second when it's getting ready for the SB-800.  When the SB-800 is drawing power from its own 4AA (even when it's attached to the pack), the cycling time takes much longer and the ready light on the pack doesn't goes dark at all.
I am debating if I should buy a quantum cable or paramount cable or simply take a chance with another Godox ProPac NX cable.  There is a possiblity that the SB-800 is the culprit but I doubt it.

NIKON, QUANTUM, GODOX, BACKUP, NAS, RAID

It's not hard to get distracted at all.

I can easily spend hours and hours on those items.

I can never have enough storage space.  I can never fully understand backup, mirror, RAID 0 and RAID 1, RSYNC, JBOD.  Just when I thought RAID 1 is a good idea then maybe not.  My USB external hard drive is very iffy.  I can't be sure if the hard drive is the culprit or the enclosure or the computer.  Sometimes I see it and more often than not, I don't see it.  Can I even trust it?  Would a NAS serve me better?  Or just another piece of hardware I need to baby sit going forward?  Nothing runs itself.  It always needs some intervention.  Should I get a NAS harddrive for a NAS when I know I won't do RAID?  Would NAS be a good file server, fast enough?  Does it even matter?  5400 or 7200 rpm?

At the end of the day, I usually end up not knowing where my files are.

Should I get a power pack for my flashes?  I can look at them for hours and days.  What cable should I get?  What power pack should I get?  Are they compatible with my good old Sunpak 120J and Nikon SB-800?  Would the power pack toast them all?  Is Godox good or good enough?

Whenever I feel like I need the distraction I look those things up.

Relaxed Fit

I have my quirks.

I am no fan of slim or skinny fit jeans for the simple reason that I basically am too thick read fat and too old to wear any.  I can't stand any jeans that market as relaxed fit.  What is that?  If I want to feel relaxed, I wear sweat pants.  Why do you need to feel relaxed when you wear a pair of jeans?  Plus isn't relaxed more of an attitude than a fit?  I just wear them regular fit jeans loose; that would be my "relaxed fit" jeans.  I think relaxed fit is an oxymoron.

Lifestyle, Danner, and Nikkor

I have a vague sense of what lifestyle means.  Nothing too negative but nothing too positive here.

I notice Danner, the boots manufacturer actually lists some or actually many of its boots under the Lifestyle banner.  For me that's a questionable classification.  Lifestyle as in fake, wanna be?  I think it's really a brave move.  I mean I wear biker jacket and I don't even own a bike.  I wear tennis shoes and I don't even play tennis (not anymore).  But to explicitly state your products as lifestyle I think it's a brave move especially considering Danner, I think, has a history of manufacturing genuine goods for the military and the like of hunters and gatherers from way back.  For me, lifestyle is almost like a dirty word.

While I am on this topic and in the spirit of one always needs to find something to complain about ...
I can't help but notice NikonUSA likes to classify their lenses into categories, not objectively by focal length or zoom range or max f/stop, but PEOPLE & EVENTS, SPORTS & ACTION, NATURE & WILDLIFE, MACRO & CLOSE-UP, VIDEO, AND SPECIAL PURPOSE.  To me, the only category that kind of makes sense is MACRO & CLOSE-UP.

Optex England 16:9 No 5086

This is an anamorphic adapter that can squeeze the picture from 4:3 to 16:9 or from 16:9 to 16x4/3:9.

I put this adapter in front of my Nikon taking lenses.  Basically I have a hard time getting any subject focused.  Despite what I read or my impression of what I read, this adapter is supposed to work best with longer lenses.  Not my experience.  I have tried my 50mm and 105mm lenses.  And it's just impossible to focus at any distance.  The image just goes blur and won't align.  The only exception is my 28mm AIS f/2 lens.  For some reason, I am able to focus with this image taking lens, I mean not great but better than any lens I have.  The camera I use for this is my Nikon D7000 camera which is a cropped 1.5x sensor.  I applied my hack to it so it has a higher bit rate.  I think the hack site is down or forever gone so I don't know nor do I remember what exactly the hack is.  I don't know the upside of the hack.  The downsides are the file is bigger and I can't play the footage on the camera.

I got this Optex thing a while back and I really think it's border line garbage for my intended anamorphic use as I can't really focus on the thing, not on center not on the edges, not with most lenses.  It doesn't work well with my D810 full frame at all.  The only combination that works is the D7000 and 28mm f/2 lens.  And even that it's not great.  The image is a bit fuzzy and there is no detail to speak of.  I don't remember how much I paid for it.  But I think it is much less than the real thing or even comes close to the more popular model.  So perhaps the price is fair.

The video software that can desqueeze the footage and I have experience on are Final Cut Pro X, Hand Brake and DaVinci Resolve.  I mean I got it to work without fully understanding how it works.

Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant is a tacit admission that the current cinema lacks imagination and courage to make a better sci-fi movie.

I am old so no doubt I will say I remember once upon a time in Aliens (1986), when the crew needs to seal the door, they actually do it like welding the doors shut with some big weld gun like with lots of muscle, grunting and urgency.  Now Alien: Covenant, the very miscast female protagonist Daniels played by Katherine Waterston just shouts out "Mother, close the door" as in calling out the space craft's omni present computer to just shut the door behind her.  That's convenient but where is the action, tension and urgency?  None really.  I try pretty hard to stay awake during the entire movie.  In the end, Ridley Scott jumps the shark and has this stupid shower scene.  I feel like that's it.  No doubt it's a bad movie.  Anytime you see a shower scene like in Hurt Locker (2008), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), it can't be any good, the scene if not the entire movie.  Shower scenes are just corny unless by Hitchcock or something.  And of course, this one is of no exception.

When you are old and becoming a curmudgeon, you wonder if you can ever enjoy a movie again.  Alien:  Covenant unfortunately confirms that you simply can't.

Anything new is just old, but not as good not even close.

Some deep thoughts

I like the combination of my D810 and the Nikkor 16-35 f/4, and together with my Sunpak 120J.  For some reason, I don't quite like the D810 with the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8.

I am still shooting with my D700.  I like the small file size.  But the lack of detail becomes quite apparent when compared to the D810 files.  I like it better with the 70-200 f/2.8

There are always people who take better pictures than you.

The only edge to have is you work harder and smarter.  And if you can't work smarter because of inherently stupid then you just need to work harder.

Ghost in the Shell (2017) and Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Ghost in the Shell asks the perennial question every human being asks and yet unable to answer--Who am I?  Those who think they have the answer are usually mistaken.

Major who is given a body, not just any body but a Scarlett Johansson body, finds her law enforcement gig less fulfilling without a memory of her past even when reassured by her creator, Dr. Phil, played by the lovely Juliette Binoche, that life is defined by what one does rather than one's memories or past.  And of course, like Major, nobody is free from his past and everybody is burdened by history.

The movie doesn't come with any surprise everything happens just as expected or even like a déjà vu.  Every futuristic cityscape scene is derivative of Blade Runner except it is a knockoff and ten times cheesier.  The Hong Kong streetscape can be interesting only if the post production doesn't feel obliged to add more and more and yet more video gimmickries to the mix.  The few architectural shots are almost facsimile copies of Peter Stewart's pictures of the same.  The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is supposed to give audience an immersive experience but sometimes I can't help but feel like watching 4:3 standard definition TV, also the PG-13 rating doesn't help either.

Nothing good can come out of any existential crisis not even good cinema in this case.  Scarlett Johansson does have very good skin which manages to salvage the movie from downright unwatchable to somewhat entertaining and somewhat watchable.  Between Kong: Skull Island and Ghost in the Shell, the choice is obvious.

X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Picture

It retails for $99.  Wow, just wow.  Again the plug-in to LR CC could be a bit robust.  LR CC just couldn't find it automatically or it didn't install into the correct current directory.  I have to manually add it to LR CC.  I don't know whose fault it is.  I think the software hasn't been updated for CC and the plug-in just went somewhere else.  I didn't pay retail so I guess I don't feel too bad.  I guess if you are not a paid professional yet, this is your passport to being one.

Nikon ViewNX-i

Nikon probably has the most confusing bundle of software when it comes to imaging.  It offers a bunch of software that are confusing.  But over the years I have learned to put up with them as they are free until this last version ViewNX-i that pushed me over the edge.

The software should first and foremost does no harm to my pictures.  Once it crossed that line, it's done.  I emailed Nikon support of course they won't say nothing one way or another back in December 2016.

Anyway this pushed me to consider Lightroom CC which is kind of the industry standard I suppose.

Kill Bill and Ghost in the Shell

Ghost in the Shell has this which reminds me of Kill Bill Volume I.  The KB sequence is really bad ass.  Judging the Ghost teaser, I don't think it measures up in terms of badassness.  But we will see.

Schott Leather Jacket

Over the years I have acquired a few leather jackets.

My first one was from Diesel when I didn't know about Diesel.  I bought it from a shop in downtown Manhattan.  I wasn't afraid to ask for a discount.  It was a bundled deal.  I got a tweed sack jacket from Joshua Blacker used for $10 and I think I paid the jacket for about maybe $300 all in all.  Back then it was actually made in Italy.  It was a biker's jacket all right.  The leather was good and so was the styling.  But it wasn't functionally very sound.  The sleeves don't have zipper to narrow and cut the wind out.  The sleeves aren't designed long enough so it won't ride up to your elbow when you are riding a bike, not that I would ever find out by experience.  Or when you hold on a subway strap hanger. (The purchase took place circa 1989 in downtown.  Back then I had no Internet, so it was just by looking others' and then I saw the jacket the simple line, it was love at first sight.  I got lots of compliments.  Then like most other relationships I found out its shortcomings over the years ... but that's another story.)

Then I think I progressed.  I bought a car coat from Schott.  It has quilt diamond shaped lining.  It was warm.  It has hidden breast pocket inside and two hand pockets with flaps on the front.  The thing is I do put my ungloved hands inside the front pockets when I walk around in the cold.  Before long the pocket flaps got kinked and blended out of shape.  The coat doesn't come with any centre or side vents.  So I don't know why it's a car coat.  Maybe it's not called a car coat.  When you sit down in a car the coat would got bunched up if you don't unbutton as there are no vents to allow the coat to re-shape when you are sitting down driving a car.  (The purchase probably done in Canal Jeans in downtown Manhattan.  I loved Canal Jeans.  It was probably in the early 1990s.  1994 maybe?)

Then I got another Schott, a 141 café racer jacket.  The 1 series is made of naked cow hide while the 641 is made of steer hide.  I am not expert of hide but from what I read the steer cow hide is stiffer and treated so it's more water resistant.  I own two 141 of different sizes.  When you don't know what fits until you own both for a period of time, ha-ha.  They both come with removable faux fir liners.  They add some warmth but since they are fluffy liners it doesn't give you that smooth putting on and taking off experience.  I prefer satin lining so it's smooth to put on and take off.  The jacket has two waist pockets and one chest pockets.  They come with zippers.  The sleeves also come with cuff zippers to block wind out or make your arms look slimmer.  I like the zippered pockets so nothing will fall out.  It's quite important especially you feel insecure.  The liner has an inside leather patched pocket, no zipper though.  It features side buckles to adjust the waist to block off wind.  But I find the leather strap could be an inch longer; over time as the strap rubs against my bag, the strap just come undone from the buckle, an inch longer strap could probably prevent this from happening.  (The first 141 I bought probably form David Z in downtown around 2005 or so, I remember wearing my chunky black cotton mock neck , so I  sized it up to 44.  Later after a few years I bought another one online, this time a size 42)

My latest is a Schott 125.  It's a happy eBay find.  The seller for some reason doesn't list it as a Schott (even all the metal snaps have the name Schott over it), instead the seller mistakenly called it Leathercraft based on the cleaning label.  So the price is not eBay market price for a Schott jacket.  I haven't looked up its vintage based on the tiny label inside the little coin or watch pocket yet.  The jacket is very clean inside and out. The pocket lining is almost pristine.  So that's a good thing.  The jacket misses the detachable liner.  Oh well.  May as well as this old 125 model, the Schott label is actually on the liner.  Compared to my 141, the leather is a touch thinner, that's relatively speaking.  Now I know my 141 is really beefy almost like weight training myself simply by putting it on.  The 125 doesn't come with a half belt so nothing to flap around.  It does come with two belt loops in the front and one in the back.  The jacket does come with side laced gussets and cuff zippers.  Cuff zippers are nice except on two scenarios.  When you want to leave the jacket on to work on your notebook, the zippers would scratch the surface of your very expensive notebook, even though I don't really care that much but it bothers me the zippers are hitting on the aluminum surface.  Maybe that's why some other brands have the cuff zipper on the top?  Another scenario is when your jacket doesn't really fit you that well and the sleeves become extra long.  A biker jacket should have longer sleeves and that's a given.  But extra long?  When you zip the cuffs up, the sleeves would balloon up and look weird ....  After asking on some forum from Schott NYC, their very knowledgable staff member Gail reckons that the jacket was made circa 1985.  Wow, that was some 32 years ago.

Random Thoughts

When I shoot my DSLR, I expect I can shoot more than 1000 frames in one outing.  I was shooting my kid's HS FON performance.  I shot more than 1400 frames between 7 to 10 I think.  And I still have power left.  I don't know how others shoot with camera that can only last a few hundred shots.

Shopping on eBay can be therapeutic.  It distracts.

Does it even make sense to fix my Nikon F5?  The main command dial has been erratic.  I would like to restore to spec but the price may be too high for my liking.

Oscars 2017

huffingtonpost
Finally Oscars was fun to watch, not because Jimmy Kimmel was particularly funny or I am a big fan of those movies.  It's because the production or Price Water House, a professional firm screwed up.  It was unintentionally funny.  The presenters, namely almost octogenarians Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway seemingly got the Best Actress envelope for the Best Picture.  Warren Beatty later on stage divulged that the envelope says Emma Stone La La Land.  So he was noticeably perplexed but not his co presenter, the always cheerful Fay Dunaway.  Perhaps Beatty thinks OK, let her be the fall gal.  Dunaway was only too happy to announce La La Land like without a doubt.

Within minutes, all hell broke loose.  It was pandemonium on stage.

Beatty was trying to explain himself and Kimmel was quick to chastise him like "Warren, what did you do?" and concurring that "Well, you weren't funny."  When Beatty tried to correct himself inching toward the microphone with the correct envelope, the visibly upset and somewhat livid La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz who just gave his Best Picture acceptance speech thanking his wife and everybody was quick to snap the card out of Beatty's hand without so much as acknowledging the man, like he was  some old fart or some nobody.  Poor Beatty.  And Dunaway was no where to be found ...
Even it was Faye who made the actual announcement (though Beatty was kind of let her have it), everybody was ready to just throw Beatty under the bus.
PricewaterhouseCoopers was quick to issue a statement basically admitting that they screwed up.

John Wick: Chapter 2

Could that be his slick unkempt hair, his beard, his immaculate bespoke suits or his mildly bowed gait?  Keanu Reeves' John Wick proves once again irresistible to an audience who craves gun porn and on-screen violence with an R rating.  Enough water downed PG-13 violent content already.  I don't recall any recent action movie that is as satisfying as it is unrelenting and unapologetic.  It harks back to an era when John Woo ruled the on screen gun play in the eighties, except of course, JWC2 is light years ahead in production value in addition to being more realistic, relatively speaking.  JWC2's mute henchman or henchwoman character even reminds me that one character in A Better Tomorrow II who doesn't utter a single word only to kill and be killed.  And then of course JWC2's violence is literally ball busting and eviscerating, a nod to Bruce Lee's kind of street style no holds barred fights.  The final big fight is a homage to the 1973 Enter The Dragon:  A room of mirrors is the choice of hideout for the villain in JWC2 as well.

If you hate on screen violence and on screen gun violence in particular, do not go see it, it will give you nightmare.

The State of Online Shopping, Clothes Edition

My online experience started with Amazon.

That must be over some fifteen years ago.

Still something has never changed.  Shops selling clothes for the most part do a very poor job.  What does S, M, L or 38, 40, 42 mean exactly.  I don't have a clue.

Why is it so lazy not to include measurements?  Because you know size 42 doesn't necessarily mean 42 inches.  Even pants listed as 34 don't mean 34 inches.

When it comes to online shopping especially clothing, we are still in the stone age.  Sure the web site may be HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and all the cutting edge and the company spends a fortune on it but hey they can't tell you what a Large is.

2017 USA Cyclocross National Championships

I was shooting without a press pass for this event.  I don't know much about biking or cyclocross.  I haven't had any meaningful ownership of any bicycle since high school.

I didn't go shoot all week I only went for the last two days, Saturday and Sunday.  I put myself up in the nearby Hilton otherwise known to the public as Super8.  I ordered room service from a nearby Michelin 4-star restaurant for dinner while going through my pictures and uploading them to Instagram.  Before I knew it, a Rolls Royce rolled up and dropped off my dinner.

For this event, I decided to go wider than my usual 20-35 or 16-35.  I went for the Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye from my library in Adorama Rental.  I was committed to it for the simple reason that I paid for it might as well used it to the fullest.  To fill the frame of the fisheye lens is to go really close and that's what I did and tried to do all day every day.  The above were shot using the fisheye lens.  My other setup was the usual 70-200 f/2.8, charity of my dear friend.

Weeks before the event I tried to get some press credential.  I even followed up when I didn't hear anything.  I even emailed and texted the parties involved.  The first one left his job and the second one never replied my text or would have none of my bull shit; a reflection of what a photographer I am.  Anyway I still proceeded to book my Hilton even I didn't get no press pass.  I guess I simply spectate if I am not allowed to take pictures.  Packing is always challenging; should I bring my 600mm or 800mm?  Should I use my F-stop Ajna or the biggest Shinn?  In the end, I settled for a small no-brand backpack my kids got from scouting but considered too uncool to use.  For me that's just true normcore I couldn't pass up.  Though I have to say before this, I had never ever shoot wearing a backpack, a slingback messenger bag yes but never a backpack.  I actively use two camera setups and I actually don't need to carry a bag for equipment in the field because the two camera setups are always in use and won't stay in the bag anyway.

It always takes me longer than I thought no matter I knew it would take longer than I thought to last minute pack my stuff to the car the morning I leave the house.

Google tells me I need some 2 hours to get there.  I am happy with the morning traffic.  When I got to the venue I was pointed to go to the parking lot some where across some highway.  It was a minor miracle I was able to find the parking lot without GPS or not driving back to the highway inadvertently.

It took me forever to take my gear out and to get everything I need ready.  The car was parked not too close to the course so I didn't imagine myself coming back to the car to pick up something I forgot; I would only come back to the car to drive away when the day was done.  I needed to make sure I had everything I needed for the shoot as if it's very important like I was paid to do it or like my career was on the line.  "If you don't take money, they can't tell you what to do, kid."

Nikon D810 with Nikkor 16mm f/2.8 fisheye.  Nikon D700 with the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8.  Sunpak 160J, PC sync cable, power cable with power pack.  Junior bracket.  Nikkor 16-35 f/4 carried as a spare in my backpack--or simply for weight training or back breaking purpose.  I also carried my rocket blower which turned out to be useful when the almost blizzard like snow came later in the day.  And yes the two rain covers too.

Snow came in the afternoon and it never relented.  Bad weather kind of makes good pictures for me.

I didn't set up my flash when I left the parking lot so it was a bit of a hassle to set it up there in the course amid all the actions.  I ended up hand holding the 120J (just as planned) without using the bracket as the days prior I noticed the bracket could get into the fisheye angle of view, ever slightly.  Anyway while I was shooting, see the above pictures,  I noticed I dropped the knurled knot and the flash anti twist plate--even I wasn't attaching the flash to the bracket, I had the knob went through the plate and screwed onto the flash shoe.  During the shooting frenzy, the knob must have come unscrewed and fell on the ground together with the leaves and falling snow.  Talking about finding a needle in the haystack.  I almost gave up searching in between shots.  Luckily I or my foot found the knurled knob and then the tiny anti hot shoe twist plate.  I felt very lucky.  I don't know what I am going to do without the knob and the plate, they are my life.

It got ridiculously cold and snowy as the day went on.  I took a breather buying lunch from one of the food trucks.

to be continued . . .

I was glad I remembered to bring the two rain covers from home and more importantly carried them in the field.  I needed them.  The cover was long enough to accommodate a long lens.  However it turned out too long and unwieldy for the 16mm fisheye.  Sometimes the cover was too loose and got into the picture view.  In the end I just removed the cover all together for the 16mm lens.  Both camera and lens performed almost flawlessly under sub zero temperature, wind and snow.  My fingers aren't all that lucky.  Skin fell off after a week and they are still numb.

I guess some observations merit and merit sharing.

I am in general a cheap person.  I use the camera strap that comes with the camera.  I don't have any fancy straps or carrying system.  When the camera is hanging from my neck I feel safe and secured.  The constant neck pain reminded me the camera setups were in place where they needed to be.  My hands can be free if I want to without dropping the camera.  Of course there are drawbacks.  When I shoot vertical which is actually infrequent with my D700 and grip, too often the strap got into the viewfinder which can be annoying and shot stopping (the rain cover made it 10 times worse).  With my D810 and 16mm fisheye I simply did not shoot vertical.  Also I do not have a grip for my D810 so that kind of discouraged me to shoot vertical anyway.

I did use my rocket blower to blow away the snowflakes which came down non stop and got accumulated on my viewfinder and whatnot.  I grabbed my rocket blower to blow the flakes away.  It didn't look too professional but it worked.  I guess it beats blowing with my breath as my breath would most likely fog up the viewfinder, even I guess, momentarily.

The junior races might not be as exciting as the U23 or the elites' but in terms of licensing potential it's better or equally good or I mean bad?  I am speaking from experience here.  So don't write off the junior races if licensing your shots is what you have in mind--I try to be pedantic here, I don't sell my pictures I license them.

It was a challenge, a real struggle to carry two camera setups a backpack and weigh 200 pounds to use the potty.  I just felt lucky without dropping anything.  I hope I never need to make the decision to retrieve or not to retrieve . . .

The day's program came to an end and I was happy to drive to check-in my Hilton which was just some 10 or 15 minutes away in snowy road condition.

The place was better than expected.  The bed was nicely made, the bathroom was all clean and with ample supply of towels.  The WiFi was sufficiently fast at least for download, the upload was slow just as what I would expect from cable.  I ordered from a neighborhood Michelin 4-star restaurant.  Unlike New York, there was no such thing as free delivery but I still need to order a certain amount to be worth their trouble.  About an hour later, my phone rang and I was ready to pick up my delivery.  I gave a hefty tips for the Rolls Royce chauffeured delivery.  I only ate half of my dinner and put the half in the fridge.  The bathroom vent made some weird noise non stop and the TV remote worked haphazardly.  The TV remote was designed in such a way one can't easily change the battery.  Anyway I wasn't a big TV watcher plus I was too busy Light Rooming my pictures.

I had breakfast in the Hilton.  It was quite an experience.  There was this dude, sort of in bike attire presumably a cyclocross racer who just casually grabbed a napkin and blew his nose and put the used napkin now full of booger and snot into the stir up waste basket right next to the coffee urns and other Hilton breakfast delicacies.  A woman was rightfully appalled and took it upon herself to empty it to the trash bin which was just about ten feet away.  Then he was at it again.  I was disgusted by his lack of manner and utter oblivious to decorum.  After all we were staying in a Hilton.

The second day wasn't as exciting as the first.  Good or better weather did not help my pictures.  The highlight was I met Nick a real photographer and videographer.  I meant to meet Nick when I was at the UCI Cyclocross at Rockland Community College.  The first day highlight was I bumped into Coach David and his family; DJ, one of the Star Track riders was in the race and Matt's girlfriend was racing as well.

I almost left before the elite race began as I was tired, cold and worried about driving back to New York.  I had four slices of white bread I got from breakfast for lunch.  Plus a hotdog I got from SRAM.  I honestly don't know what SRAM does.  For all I know, they make hotdogs.  After the elite race started came the third highlight of the 2-day event.  I bumped into track sheriff Karl from Kissena.  We had a good chat.  Karl was all smile, happily shooting a real camera with real black and white film.  I was instantly diminished, my toy cameras and all.  It took me some time to recover to begin shooting again.

Without a press pass wasn't a big issue except when it was.  I did get asked to leave the course once though.  With the press vest one can I assume get inside the course when the winner rides across the finish line.  Without the vest I got the excuse of not getting the position I needed to get the shot.

It was a once in a lifetime experience for me.  I figure if it's held somewhere else I wouldn't bother or have the resources to go.

Experience

Experience is something sometimes you can't really replace, at least for me.

I just got my hands on a Nikon 16mm AF-D f/2.8 fisheye.  The thing is it has a 180 degrees of coverage, and hence the fisheye designation.

Now I like to shoot with my flash bracket and flash mounted.  The thing is the 180 coverage can get the bracket'S grip ever slightly into the picture if I am not careful enough.

My older version of the Custom Bracket Junior, I dare say, doesn't design with fisheye in mind, or with much flexibility when mounting.  I can't slide to the right or left to accommodate for wider coverage lens like a 16mm fisheye.  Sometimes it just takes a few millimeters to make a difference.  I only have the option to shift the bracket further back closer to my body but then my hand or fingers would have a difficult time getting in between the camera's grip and the bracket grip, as the bracket doesn't provide the option to shift it a bit to the right.  Normally a 16mm lens doesn't present a problem as I have a 16-35mm f/4 and it never causes any problem.  The angle of view wouldn't get in the way; it's only when the fisheye's 180 degrees of coverage that the bracket grip gets into the way.

Now I am contemplating of actually left hand holding the flash when shooting.  It certainly isn't a good solution for me.  I am old school, I like to cradle my lens with my left hand while depressing the shutter using my right hand index finger.

Moonlight (2016)

There is probably a dozen reasons to see a movie.  But this is a first for me--I would like to hear your take on it.

Barry Jenkins' Moonlight tells the age-old story of growing up and finding one's place in this world.  If you are some kid living in a Manhattan high-rise that bears your family name, your struggle could be setting up a lemonade stand in that posh apartment building.  But's that's another story for another time.  If you are Chiron aka Little or Black, the protagonist of Moonlight, it could be a myriad of things like being black growing up sexually unsure in a single mother household in a drug, poverty, and violence infested environment.

Chiron's life is a series of disappointments.  His mom is a crack addict who ends up in rehab.  His only father figure Juan whose tenderness and generosity are as genuine as he is a crack supplier, his mom's crack supplier no less.  His first romantic sexual encounter is his only friend Kevin who also betrays him for the acceptance of a group of bullies.  All these people love Chiron.  But love simply is not enough.  Chiron ends up trapping in the street, with seeming success, just like his childhood father figure.

Trevante Rhodes who plays the adult Chiron delivers the most awkward, in the best sense of the word, and the sexually palpable scene when Chiron confesses to Kevin that he is the only man that ever touches him.  The film ends with a shot pulling in from behind Little, the little Chiron, in the beach then Little looking into the camera.  Chiron is no longer the frail kid that he was, he is a bona fide trapper that can easily bench press ten times his body weight and kills a grown man with his bare hand but deep down he is still that same awkward child who yearns to connect, to love and to be loved.  Aren't we all?

Arrival (2016)

Arrival (2016).  Or how to read ink squirt from giant alien octopus.  This borefest is about time and how time doesn't have a beginning or an end, that is, provided that you know how to communicate in squirt ink.  Louise, played by Amy Adams, is a linguist enlisted by the US army to communicate with the aliens.  Together with some guy called Ian, played by Jeremy Renner, the two keep going in and out of the giant spacecraft parked or floated somewhere above Montana.  Often times a boring movie is just a boring movie.  Arrival fails to deliver any intellectual rigor in the sci-fi genre nor jolts us with any action if only to wake us up every now and then.  The cinematography is a constant drab and looks horribly underexposed.  Amy Adams' performance is not understated, just underwhelming.  With the help of a $2 freshly brewed small coffee I manage to stay awake the entire time if only in a fugue state which is not too different from what Louise experiences in the movie.

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II

I was thinking about getting one on eBay.  The older version of course.  So naturally I tried to play with one when I got the chance at the Exp Plus Photo 2016.

I shoot regularly with my 70-200 but this 300mm is on another level.  I am glad I tried it.  I don't think I can shoot an event with this lens.  Not the entire event anyway.  The 70-200 is versatile enough but this 300mm is quite specialized I imagine.  It won't be too feasible to carry around this 300mm on location for 3 hours or longer, unless you have an assistant.  For any extended shooting, I think a monopod is a must just so your arms and back can thank you later.

I certainly appreciate the 70-200, more so than ever.

Custom Brackets

When you want to buy something photographic and yet don't have $2,799.95 for the latest Nikkor AF-S 70-200 f/2.8E FL, you can buy something like a lens hood, a sync cable, a filter or some flash bracket.

I am a fan of Custom Brackets.

My first one is the CB Mini-RC.  The camera screw is the "D" type kind while the flash screw is not.  So you do need a coin to tighten your flash up.  I like this bracket.  It looks cool even if it doesn't do anything at all.  I am a fan of accessorizing your camera.  The biggest fault is of course there is no anti-twist built-in.  I understand you can buy an anti-twist plate AT separately for $15 only.  I don't know how effective it is.  So while I am shooting with this flash bracket, I have to adjust the camera screw to re-orient the bracket and the flash.  It keeps you on your toe and busy making you work harder, look more professional, more on edge.

The latest Mini-RC comes with some improvements.  The flash screw is now D type as well, so you can leave home without any quarters or coins, just bring your hundreds.  The most important improvement is anti-twist.  This is the number one improvement that I need, the rest is just icing on the cake.  Now it comes with what Custom Brackets call "camera anti-twist post," two of them.  They can be positioned and tightened by a 1/8" Allen wrench provided.  So you may want to carry a 1/8" Allen wrench when you are out and about with the bracket.  During my field test, for about 3 hours, shooting in the jungle in extreme heat and cold, both horizontal and vertical, the bracket never twists and I don't have to tighten the screws with the Allen wrench.  I think this is a big improvement.  The new one is also about 1cm wider than the old one, which I think is a good thing.

Custom Brackets CB Junior
This is a more elaborate bracket than the Mini-RC.  It flips and extends.  This is an old version which doesn't even allow you to add any anti-twisting plate, nor does it come with any D type screw at all.  If you don't have a coin or a quarter, you are screwed.  Either your bracket or your camera may fall off your hand.  I guarantee the bracket will twist like crazy even if you only shoot horizontal.  Another drawback of this bracket is it's difficult to pack and carry.  This thing is sticking out every where.  It's just hard to put it inside a bag.  The Mini-RC totally wins in pack and carry as it's basically flat, small and weighs nothing.

Event Photographer Experience

My experience as a "photographer" or "event photographer."  My fourth time doing the same event different venue though.

Nikon D810, though it has 36MP but when I convert the NEFs I usually downsize them to 4000 pixels on the long side make them 12MP just like the D700 files!  I need the mega pixels just in case--the truth is that "just in case" never happened.

Nikkor 20-35 f/2.8, this lens was iffy when it is cold or very cold.  It failed me on two occasions.  The aperture blades got stuck and pictures overexposed.  Now that I know, I can always just shoot at f/2.8 circumstances allow.  The Nikkor 16-35 f/4 is reliable but since f/4 is not as bright it's really not so great when you are taking pictures in a dark venue like most dinner parties I am in.

Sunpak 120J with sync cable to the camera PC socket and battery pack.  I have it set at the "red" automatic to take the guess work out of it.  My setting is 1/60 and f/8 which should give me ample depth of field and fast enough shutter speed to avoid blurry pictures (given the relatively short flash duration, wide angle coverage, and not so close-up shots).  The battery pack is great when you want to have fast recycle time and long lasting battery life.  It's a bit of a hassle to shoulder carry the pack that I have to put up with.

Custom Bracket Junior (old version).  Like most other good brackets, it's is very good except one thing; it twists on the body.  This one doesn't come with a D-ring so I have to use a quarter to tighten screw to the tripod mount.  And that night I just didn't have a quarter with me.  When I asked the wait staff they didn't have one either.  They probably didn't trust me with a quarter.  So one lent me a Swiss army kind of knife with a very small blade, I was afraid I would break the blade so I handled it with extreme care.  Thank you man!  The bracket not only just twisted but came very loose in the middle of the shoot.  You certainly don't want to drop your flash or even worse your camera.  The sync cable and the power cable can be unwieldy and sometimes you pick up the camera and forget about the battery pack which may just end up dropping on the floor.

AF-S.  Normally AF-S is set for focus priority by default.  Though I use AF-C most of the time when I am shooting cycling or any other sports.  I switched to AF-S so I can recompose and lock focus.  In some instances, the camera had trouble locking focus because the subject was too dark or lacked contrast.  So I changed the AF-S to release priority so the shutter would fire even focus is not locked.  (This would give me trouble later on.)  I don't want my subject to wait or I look like an idiot when the shutter doesn't fire--the focus even not locked should be good enough or actually spot on even it's not locked, I hope.

Half way through the shoot, video time.  Initially I planned to shoot with my iPhone but then I don't need too many equipment hanging around my shoulder or my neck.  So I used my D810 for video as well.  And that's trouble.  In the middle of the video shoot, I decided that I wanted to change the lens AF to M so I can manually focus.  What a brilliant idea.  After video, I switched the camera settings from B back to A or whatever I thought shooting stills should be.  And I thought I had everything under control.  And of course I didn't.  In the middle of eating, drinking and people asked me to take pictures, I totally forgot about switching the lens back to AF.  So for the rest of the evening I was shooting with no focusing, not AF not manual just no focusing.  The last manual focus distance was left at some 20 feet away.  But "lucky" me most, actually all of the shots were wide angle, 7 to 10 feet away (at the same time, if not, I guess I would have noticed it already), and I was shooting at f/8.  The f/8 saved me plus before the video I had most of my shots already.  So the out of focus shots weren't that plenty and weren't obvious enough.  Still it's a mistake that I shouldn't have made.

If I used the Nikkor 16-35 f/4, it wouldn't happen as there is no need to switch to manual focus, you can simply grab the focusing ring to focus manually (* this is not entirely true, I want to manual focus in video not letting the lens to find focus so for the Nikkor 16-35 I still might have switched the lens to fully manual when shooting video).

If I left AF-S in focus priority, the default, it wouldn't happen as I wouldn't be able to fire the shutter if the focus can't be locked.  Alas, I changed it to AF-S release priority so shutter fire even when focus is not locked.

Lesson learned.  Always double and triple check your settings.

Dragon girl (drachenmadchen) Full Martial Arts School Documentary

PC, virus, anti-virus

I proclaim I enjoy living dangerously devoid of any anti virus program.  The truth is even I don't make mistakes clicking and installing crap, somebody else will.   And sometimes I do have the honor to take care of this nasty business.  Nobody would admit he makes any mistakes and in the end it's all a mystery.  How it happened nobody knows.

When it comes to PC, there is Windows defense, firewall and a whole boat load of third party software that are supposed to protect you from yourself and all the nasties from others.  In general I have a deep mistrust of those software, it's like you have the potential of actually installing some crap claiming to protect you from other crap.  I really don't know what or who to trust.  I am just happy whatever security measures that come with Windows and have them turned on.

But in the end, some how, someone is going to install, to click Ok despite repeated warnings because he just needs to play that game.

Then the whole wireless network comes crashing down.

Auto Glass Claim Experience

I use Gekko as my auto insurance.  I am just too lazy to find out what's out there from others.  I don't need all the hassles just so I can save perhaps a few dollars or a few thousand dollars.  I am too lazy to do that.

Even Gekko lists a 1-800 number for glass claim but when I called it just directs me to download the mobile app.  From there you just do your claim on your mobile.  I don't think you can even do it on their website.  If you are inept with apps, mobile phone or in general techno averse, good luck with that.  I don't think you can even file a glass claim over the phone.  It seems to me Gekko even does away the call center at least for glass claims.  I remember I used to call them.

The world just keeps moving on.

Cinema Mount Mark II audio cable extension

I asked support about the audio cable extension.

Specifically, I asked does it serve the purpose of the RODE SC7 or SC4 cable.  Their answer is an unequivocal yes.  I can use the supplied cable for that.
So I bought the RODE VideoMicro without buying the TRS to TRRS cable.
And you know what it does NOT work.  Apparently the male of the cable is TRRS but the female is not a TRS to TRRS receptacle.  Or that's just a faulty cable or they don't know what they are talking about.  A disappointment for sure.  I was hoping to use the iPhone and the Rode VideoMicro to shoot something tomorrow now I just can't even the eBay seller promptly shipped the order so I can receive it on time.  Alas, I'd have to shoot the Rode with my D810 for still and video now.

PS:  Now I suspect the audio extension cable is really just an extension for TRRS to TRRS only.  Why?  Because the mount is kind of blocked it needs a rather slim jack without the bulk so as to plug the jack in, if the TRRS is any bigger it won't be able to properly plugged in.

UPDATE:
9/15/2016
I ordered the RODE SC7 TRS to TRRS patch cable.  And it works with the iPhone with or without the extension cable supplied with the Cinema Mount Mark II audio extension cable.  Like I expected you really need to use the extension cable as the opening is kind of small and even if you don't run the SC7 through the hold you can't mount the iPhone flat on the mount as like I said it's more like an enclosure and there is just no front room to accommodate the budge of the SC7 plug.  So again, the provided audio extension cable is just like what its name says it is an extension cable of TRRS to TRRS.  If you were to plug in a TRS it simply won't work even you can plug in everything.

After using the setup for a few weeks.  My initial assessment still holds true.  It's quite tiring to mount the iPhone.  It's difficult to access the mic/headphone jack, lightning jack, the volume control because it's more of an enclosure.  It's troublesome when one recorded a clip and wants to listen the audio using a headphone, you simply have to remove the iPhone from the mount to unplug and plug back the jack.  The tripod mount hole is on the wrong side, it should really be underneath the lens.

All in all, even without using the Beastgrip Pro, I think it's a better design, I would like the option of tightening the grip like the cinema mount mark ii and a lower price.  I guess I can keep dreaming.

Cinema Mount Mark II, a first look

The thing with iPhone photography and videography is it is different things to different people.  Filmmaker, Sean Baker did it because of budget constraint and yet you can do it for a myriad of reasons, like you got nothing better to do with your life.

I have to say the CMM2 is pretty well built.  My point of reference is Nikon, Canon and Hasselblad kind of cameras and also the mini ball head sold on eBay shipped directly from China.  The CMM2 is definitely not as well built as the aforementioned cameras but it's head and shoulder above the almost disposable mini ball head.

That being said is the CMM2 well designed?  Well it depends.  I like certain aspects of it and I think some are just inherent to what it is, a cage, a grip, an add-on.

Part of the appeals to shoot with an iPhone is it's supposed to be convenient.  Not so much when you add a cage even the CMM2 is not gigantic.

Is it easy to mount the phone into that thing?  Not really.  I definitely need to fiddle with the vertical mount as the thing is screw-on tight with springs for tension, not just spring grab mount the phone.  Plus the clamps or jaws are on the right side not so centered.  I am a bit bothered by it.  The fact that it's screw tight gives you more confident to how unmovable and secure the phone is when mounted.  But at the same time the moves aren't exactly buttery smooth when you need to adjust the mount vertically and horizontally.  The horizontal movement is mostly for aligning the phone camera to the hole of the mounting plate.

There is a cutout on the right side of the cage to let you pass the mic cable, but it's not like fully open access.  I have the iPhone SE and it's not too easy to attach the lightning cable should you want to sit the phone flushed to the right of the cage while attaching the phone to portable power,  I mean you don't really want to anyway.  The phone is just easier to operate if it doesn't sit flushed to the right of the cage.  Because I can't and I shouldn't flush-right mount the phone to the cage, then it's quite iffy and fiddly to mount the phone correctly so it's easy to access and the lens is dead on center to the opening of the lens opening of the mounting plate.

The cold shoe is not exactly easy to mount, A quarter would be a bit too big or even a nickel to turn the screw down.  Maybe a dime would be ideal (yes, just confirmed).

The cage comes with a wide angle/macro lens attachment.  It mounts on a 37mm mounting plate which can be adjusted horizontally and vertically freely to line up with the phone's lens.  And hence the curse of too much freedom.  If you are anal about a perfect alignment you may be a bit concerned as you can only eye ball the alignment.  For the most part it works and works well enough.  The mounting plate has some play to it but then again it is not bad enough to worry about.  I mean even a Nikon mount and a mounted Nikkor can have some play to it, at least some.  If the attachment is mounted off center the image suffers that I am pretty sure as I witnessed some myself: it's off center to be bad when you watch the video but not off center to render total blackout or visible vignette to notice right away.

Even I keep referring it as a cage but it's actually quite an enclosure.  Access to the phone is sufficient but not like an cage you almost have open access to the phone mounted inside.  You can't remove the lens side of the enclosure at all meaning you can't use the grip with your own lens attachments.

The filter holder works and the blue and gray graduated filters are nice additions to the setup.  If you shoot open sky landscape it helps to bring the sky closer to the exposure of the earth or the foreground.

The mic extension is not a TRS to TRRS cord.  It's really just an extension ... I think.  It looks and feels like a quality cord.

Maybe, just maybe, the Beastgrip Pro is actually a bit better if you absolutely don't consider the price.

Cinema Mount Mark II and Beastgrip Pro

I don't know why or the etymology of "Mark II" in general.  Since when "Mark II" means version 2 or something?  The first time I saw this usage was from Canon's first most popular full frame  EOS 5D, its subsequent versions are all called Mark something.  And I take it it means version.  Nikon has its own somewhat confusing naming scheme, for its flagship models like Nikon D3 or Nikon D4, their minor upgrade or refinement naming is by appending the letter "s" at the end.  So the model looks like plural but it is not.  Any major upgrade actually merits a jump in the number, like the latest Nikon D5 is the successor of the Nikon D4.

What the heck am I talking about?

I have never used the Cinema Mount or the Beastgrip Pro.  But I am somewhat fascinated by them, enough to open this post that is and enough to place an order on the former.  It is almost an impulse buy, or not, considering I have been eyeing them for a long long time.  The actual buy is I think always impulsive.

I am quite sure Beastgrip Pro is a "better" product in the sense that it got a cooler website, better PR ... but there is always a but, the pricing is just a bit off for my taste and wallet.  I actually saw the Cinema Mount in the wild some time ago and its owner seemed quite happy with it.  Currently the Beastgrip Pro is asking for close to $170 for the cage and a wide angle lens while the Cinema Mount Mark II is fetching for less than $90 with a wide angle lens, a filter holder and 2 graduated ND filters which I am a sucker of I think, and some other goodies like an mic extension cord (I think it's more than just an extension, it probably allows regular mic jack to be plugged to the headphone jack of an iPhone but I can't be sure) and lens mount unscrew thingy ... YouTube reviews on the Cinema Mount Mark II are almost non-existent except for 3 or actually 2 because one is just a duplicate of another.  You know one thing always leads to another.  The holy grail of lens adapter for iPhone is the Moondog lab anamorphic lens adapter which sells for $175.  Then you need to have some software to actually edit the footage like Final Cut Pro X which costs like $300 ...

The friendly web page with user friendly spelling just seals the deal for me.


UPDATE:
8/21/2017
A couple of weeks, I read from Beastgrip's website, they successfully barred Cinema Mount from selling in the US.  I can confirm that I can find them on Amazon but it says not available.  So Beastgrip is pulling in its weight enforcing its patent.

Nikon D700 and D810

Again if you look for scientific analysis this is not the place.  The below is a matter of opinion from an amateur shooter.

AF-C is important to me, I want fast accurate focus tracking.  On paper the D810 seems or actually states that it is using the same AF as the D4, which I assume is superb.  I don't own a D4 or D4s, but being a flagship or the last flagship camera, I can just assume it's superb, right?

My experience with the D810 is that, the AF is accurate but AF tracking is not so hot.  In comparison, the D700 seems track better at least when I am using the D9 or dynamic 9 points at shutter priority.  I tried the Group Focus in D810 and it isn't that hot either.  The D700 files just look sharper, cleaner and more in focus in most of the time than the D810.  It's not that I don't have any good files from the D810 but there is something about the D700 that I like.  The files are smaller, the processing time is shorter, images look sharper from NEF to JPEG ...

Again further shooting is needed to re judge the camera.

I got the D700 in early 2015 and the D810 in early 2016.  The same AF-S 70-200 VR is mounted.

iPhone videography . . .

I found it quite strange and unusual that I could not find anywhere a comparison between the Cinema Mount and the Beastgrip Pro mount for mobile phones.  I just couldn't find any comparison between the two.

The moondog labs seem to be the only company that manufactures an anamorphic lens or adapter for the iPhone.  Yet I couldn't find a review or in depth review of the quality of the lens.  Most would say it's a good lens but how about corner sharpness, close focusing, color fringing and the like?  There seems to be quite a number of versions now, mainly for different models of iPhones, for different cases, or grips.  Or the 37mm thread version which should fit most of the 37mm mounting plate out there.  However it defeats its somewhat universal mounting purpose when one actually has to buy a 37mm mounting plate for the BeastGrip Pro mount.  That's a bit strange to me.  Again I could not find any review on that.  Or why it couldn't use the generic lens mounting plate that comes with the BeastGrip Pro other than my obvious guess, it doesn't fit or fit as well as the specially made mounting plate for the Moondog Labs anamorphic lens adapter.

On top of that, I also wonder how does a 37mm thread anamorphic lens align?  For the clip on or lock on version I can understand.  It's so machined that the horizontal is aligned properly.  But if you were to screw on an adapter chances are you do have to fine tune the horizontal alignment separate from the screw mount.

I just wish Moondog Labs would do a better job explaining all these.  They do a pretty decent job explaining the de-squeezing part though.

I personally own an Optex 1.33 anamorphic adapter.  It's impossible to focus in most cases and the edges are all fuzzy.  For the most part if you are into arty stuff or don't care about sharpness, it could be perfectly fine.



 

Untitled

Sign of being a failure

You taking the same intro course over and over again.  As you simply couldn't finish what you started.  It's like a bad dream or an infinite loop you can't wake up from or get out.  You need a hard reset but you are hesitant to do it.

If you don't make the choice, somebody will make it for you.  It probably doesn't make any difference.  Or it probably does.  But in the end everybody dies so it doesn't really matter.

Untitled

There is some advantage of being such a failure.

You don't get to wake up in the middle of the night thinking that you are such a fraud.  That never happened to me.

AF and MF

Minolta may not be the first manufacturer that does auto focus but that's the company I remember them of in the late 80s.

As an amateur I shot color negative and had them developed in 3R, or 3x2" prints.  For the longest time, that's how I judged my pictures.

You asked your subjects to remain still before you pressed the shutter release button.  Rarely, if at all, did I shoot any moving subjects because you and your subjects should remain stationary when taking pictures, that's just a given.  Auto focus was not even germane to what or how I shot.  A focusing screen with split, micro prism, and the ground glass is all I need.  The choice is just whether is a horizontal or a 45 degree split.  Actually it wasn't much of a choice.  My first Ricoh came with a 45 degree split while Nikon came with a horizontal split focusing screen.

My first auto focus camera was the Nikon F5, a camera imported from the future, as proclaimed by their marketing folks.  F5 was supposed to have the latest and greatest AF, at least that's what I was led to believe.  But through out almost its entire life I never put it to the test; I was using my old manual focus lenses and years later when I shot with my first AF lens, the 24-85 f/2.8~4, it was never ever for any action photographs anyway.

In short, I have never shot any action using a manual focus lens.

I am sure it can be done.  Maybe just not by me?

I guess what I am trying to write is for the sake of "money saving" does it make sense to buy a MF lens to shoot action?

I have been using my 80-200 f/2.8 and beginning last year the 70-200 f/2.8 VR for the majority of my action shots.  I almost use AF-C and 9 points exclusively.

My longest lens is the MF 300mm f/4.5 which I used a handful of times and maybe once on the velodrome.  I like the color rendition.  I did have one shot that I quite like, not the kind of fast action shot.  But definitely not stationary, it's in focus and has the emotion pull of the moment.  The 300mm on a DX sensor seems longish but on a FX sensor well not that long.  It's subjective but if I am going to get a tele photo lens, it's going to be at least 400mm.

Ethics in Photojournalism

http://web.mit.edu/drb/Public/PhotoThesis/

Last year, I was at Red Hook.  There was an accident.  A rider crashed.  I took a few pictures of it.  A bystander said "Come on man!" to express his disapproval, I guess.

There were designated volunteers and EMS on scene for incidents like that.

6 Days of Kissena, Day 3 Ladies' Day

iMovie and File Format

I use iMovie because predictably it's "free" if you own or have access to a Mac.  Arguably it's an easier to use video editing software and relatively stable.  I used a bunch of Linux video editing software and they just crashed and burnt every few minutes.

Here is the biggest discovery ever for me.

I notice iMovie actually lags when editing, that's it stutters as I try to edit the footage or video clips.  That prompted me to try out Final Cut Pro X and the problem went away, seemingly.  After my FCPX expired after the one-month trial period, I was hard pressed to pay $300 to own a working copy.  I mean if you make money out of it, it seems like a bargain.  I am going to spare my thoughts on this.

After some Google searches, I think I found out why the stuttering.  I think it has to do with the source file format.

In FCPX, I edit the MOV files directly from my Nikon D7000, as I can de-squeeze my anamorphic footage in FCPX without changing the file format first.  I don't remember if I ever used HandBrake to un-squeeze and then edit in FCPX and if so did it show any lagging at all.

iMovie doesn't allow me to un-squeeze the footage while editing.  So I used HandBrake to un-squeeze the footage to 2.35:1 and along the way I think I compressed the file quite a lot.  And I think hence the difficulty of iMovie when editing.  I am assuming iMovie has trouble editing "highly" ompressed mp4 files.  The file was changed to mpeg4 in mp4.

I now de-squeeze files in H.264 (default mpeg4) in mp4 and retain a higher bit rate at 8000kb/s (default is 1000).  When I edit them in  iMovie, it doesn't lag anymore.

A word of caution:  I really don't know for sure, just want to share my experience.  When it becomes technical stuff which video editing is, I just test it out to see what works or works better without spending tons of money or time reading up.

Also, I use a Nikon hack to increase the recording bit rate at I think 65mbps in 1080p at 24fps.  I am sure along the way when I use HandBrake to de-squeeze a lot of data are lost.  Still when editing the stutter goes away.

Flash Sync, Again

The thing with flash sync is you know about it and sometimes you just have to ignore it.

I was shooting the velodrome again this past Sunday and I would just like to shoot some back light fill flash using my Nikkor 16-35 f/4 to mix things up a bit.

exif tells me the above were shot at f/9, 1/500 and f/8, 1/640.  I probably used 1/8 of the power of the Sunpak 120J.  The max sync of the D700 is at 1/250s but since the ambient was so bright  there were no noticeable black half frame to speak of.  The riders were riding fast and close, 1/640 can barely stop the action.  The subject was about 10 feet away so the motion blur was not too obvious unless viewed at 100%.  Maybe I have to shoot at 1/800 of a second?  I routinely shoot at 1/1000 of a second just so I am sure I got clean shots.

Flash Sync

Just when I thought I have it down like long time ago, I got confused again, none other than from Nikon USA, or in this case Dave Black or the editor or both of them. http://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/article/huceaq1c/using-auto-fp-high-speed-sync-to-illuminate-fast-sports-action.html

My understanding (mind you, I always got things wrong) is Auto FP doesn't stop fast action.  Auto FP provides pulses of light continuously for the duration of the shutter staying open.  Essentially FP sync is like sunlight or continuous lighting.

Apparently Dave Black's article kind of implies or states that FP high speed sync stops action or has to do with shooting actions.  I know it says illuminate fast sports action.  FP high speed, in my mind, has to do with using a bigger aperture, the fact that it uses a high speed is just incidental and not an end as to stop action.  Because it can't.  Of course, Dave Black proves otherwise or so it seems.

So once again, I am confused.

Since I am pretty much a desktop photographer, I can't be or won't be testing what I read.

Here is another article on the topic, the guy is apparently a genius.

http://www.scantips.com/lights/flashbasics2b.html

The Mermaid (2016)

I am surprised and delighted that The Mermaid is played in theaters in New York City.  I have been a Chow's fan since I discovered his brand of comedy many years ago.  Back then as there was only video tape and I wasn't especially well off or well connected so I only saw his works haphazardly.  On the occasions I saw his movies or some snippets or episodes of his TV series, I thoroughly enjoyed them.  Chow always plays this beloved underdog who despite or because of his non sensical non sequitur acts and his utter disregard to the absurd and seemingly insurmountable reality, always overcomes.

 Then one day Chow appeared on the cover of the Sunday New York Times magazine.  If I remember correctly it was a fashion issue.  He was doing a mid air split or something next to a lamp post, a silly pose, I think.  That should be around the time of Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle, two of my favorites that kind of established him somewhat in the consciousness of Hollywood.  More importantly and reassuringly, Chow proves that he can make great dramatic comedy with Hong Kong production in his rear view mirror with much of his comedic integrity intact though I can see that Chow is shedding most of his witty nonsensical Cantonese dialogues that define and catapult his career early on, in favor of more action and better production which translate better in cinema worldwide.

The Mermaid or Mei Ren Yu (2016) is a Chow's film without Chow in front of the camera.  Things certainly won't be the same without Chow being front and center on everything.  With Mei, Chow has crossed the line of being stupendously silly to being incoherently stupid.  It used to be that the audience does the laughing, may that be something Chow or his crew says or does while he and his crew appear totally oblivious to the plight and absurdity of their situation.  Mei is just the opposite, often times, the comedy is heavy-handed and the only persons laughing are the self-aware actors themselves, it feels so forced.   I can see Chow tries to add production value so as to appear Hollywood or something (there is indeed a 3D version) but both the production and special effects just fall flat.  Nobody goes to see a Chow's movie for its special effects or production value so what if they are sub-par compared to Hollywood's?  It wouldn't matter one iota if the comedy holds up.  Alas, this isn't the case.

Perhaps the opening scene in which a group of tourists visit a museum best encapsulates the entire movie as envisioned by the director and experienced by me--the tourists, surrogate for the audience, visit a so-called museum only to discover that the exhibits are mere props and scams so the unscrupulous curator can turn a dime on the gullible and the unsuspected.  Chow's tourists laugh and jeer at the exhibits with gusto as while me in the real audience find the material hardly amusing.

I heard the movie is doing well in China and in Asia in general.  So what do I know?

Bellman CX-25P

I haven't mastered this gadget, maybe I never will.  It's just a fun contraption to make some strong coffee.  I've seen video on YouTube somewhat detailing what's the correct way to brew coffee out of this thingy but so far I am not able to replicate the result.  Perhaps it's my desire to do it my own way or my pure death instinct or my disability to follow any instructions.  The end result is the same.  The coffee doesn't come out right, too dark too bitter, too much sputtering.  For everyday coffee consumption I still use the no frill IKEA espresso pot which turns out to be very quick, very reliable despite the fact that the lid kind of falling apart from day one.  The milk frothing wand on the Bellman is a newer design with two nozzles but I could never get the milk frothed right.  On the other hand, again my IKEA battery frothing wand works pretty well as long as you got yourself a straight one.  I have another one that's ever slightly bended and it simply doesn't work all that well at all.

Regarding after sales, this Bellman is manufactured in Taiwan, I guess based on some old Italian make some time ago.  It's distributed by some Ng company in America.  I once wrote to them about the little pressure gauge and they never bother to write me back.  So I say lousy or questionable after sales service.

Cleaning is a bit involved with the Bellman as there are simply more parts to dissemble.  And because of the gauge, the handle, the top, the frothing wand, all the protruding parts, it's a bit hard to put on any dish rack to let it hang or sit dry, plus even if you were to flip the body upside down you won't be able to drip the water down because the design of the top opening.  But this doesn't bother me too much as I never ever bother to thoroughly clean the contraption, I just rinse it and all its parts with warm water.  Sometimes I don't get why people tend to clean everything with detergent, I mean is it oily or greasy?  No.  Any oil is coffee oil so I wouldn't bother to scrub or clean it with detergent at all.

Time to revisit YouTube again.

Ruby on Rails

Problem installing Rails.  Well what else is new?  Right?

Thankfully, there is no new problem under the sun.  At least not the kind of problems I encounter, definitely not the cutting edge type.

This website saves me.

http://www.ericluwj.com/2015/10/29/installing-ruby-on-rails-on-osx.html

gem install nokogiri -- --with-xml2-include=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.11.sdk/usr/include/libxml2 --use-system-libraries

The El Capitan section is what resolves my issue:- Rails is not installing because some libxml2 issues.  My problem solving skill is pretty much cook book recipe approach.  I don't know why it works but it works.

Carnegie