Baggage

Since I've been doing some gear organizing recently I thought I'd give an overview of my bags. It was also an excuse to take some photos without actually having to leave the house.

Crumpler 6 Million Dollar Home:



I love this bag. It's the perfect size, style, and fit for walking around just about anywhere, and is able to hold a surprising amount of gear. It's even good for light hiking (which I used it for in Hawaii) and is extremely comfortable.

I also enjoy the somewhat whimsical naming and marketing of the Crumpler products. There's a certain style that for whatever reason I find very appealing. Next thing you know I'll be looking at MacBook Pros...



Lowepro Flipside 300:



Up until I got the Tokina, the 6MDH held everything really well, so it was really the only thing I needed. With the addition of the Tok, things got a little tighter, so I decided to use the Crumpler as more of a 'pack as needed' bag and look into something a little larger for actual hiking and when I need more stuff (who doesnt?)

After reading numerous reviews for about a billion different bags, I stumbled across the Lowepro Flipside 300. It seemed to pretty much be the holy trinity of bag-dom: right size, nice looking, and reasonably priced. It also has a neat rear-entry system to improve security and allow the bag to swivel about the waist for easy access.

After considerable research and debating, I decided to bite the bullet and ordered one for our upcoming trip to Maine, on which there will be considerable hiking.

I must say I am extremely pleased based on my initial impressions. The bag seems to be very well made, and holds all of my gear with a little room to grow. It's got nice straps and a very well padded back and seems quite comfortable. Plus it's small and light weight enough that I won't think twice about the comfort for hiking.

Kittie Cop Out

This is what is known as a cop-out.

I've never been sure why it is called that (although I could probably find out in about 30 seconds on wikipedia), but I am quite aware of what it represents. In this case, today's photo is of our beloved cat Franklin aka 'Little Cat'. He was our first pet together, and with his little sister, Nalla, rounds out our little family.

Generally if I get a new lens or other piece of photographic gear, instead of rushing out to find one of the many interesting events/people/locations/etc here in the greater Cleveland/Akron area, I instead spend my time taking pictures of our cats. And while whimsical and exceptionally cute, they aren't exactly groundbreaking subject matter.

Hopefully I am able to get out and shoot some other, more interesting, local subjects, but for now, here is a portrait of Franklin taken in extreme wide angle, along with all the distortion-y goodness that accompanies it.

Tokina 12-24 mm f4 (1/10, f4, ISO400 @ 12 mm)

MoPar Wanderings

Randi's brother came into town for her birthday celebration, and we spent most of yesterday out exploring the Cleveland/Akron area.

After a nice trip up to Legacy Village, and a rather dissappointing visit to a wine and blues festival, we found out that a huge car show was going on down in Massillon, which is just down the road from our house.

The show was quite large, and there were some really fantastic cars including a Shelby GT500, all the usual 'Cudas, Roadrunners, and such, as well as the only Skyline GT I've ever seen in person.

For the most part, the lighting was terrible, and there were only a few spots on the main street where the buildings were at the right angle to block the sun. Couple that with a general compulsion to walk in front of me while I was trying to get a shot, and I didn't get too many photos.

Really the only one that came out even close to passable was this Camero SS ('67 or '68) with a 502 big block. This car was stunning in person.

Taken with my new Tokina 12-24 mm f4 (1/400, f4, ISO 200 @ 12 mm)



I really like the perspective distortion from the wide angle lens, and the ability to be ~3 feet from the car and still get the whole thing in the frame. I can't wait to take this lens to Mid-Ohio this year.

Lightboxing

The light box was inspired by this thread on the Canon photography forum, which I had found while doing research on DSLR's. I figured that for less than $20, it might be a fun way to learn a little bit about lighting, and would be a good photo activity for days when the weather was less than perfect (quite frequent in NE Ohio).

Additionally, it's been a great way to learn more about Photoshop and get a glimpse of just how powerful some of the tools it includes are.

This is one of the first pictures I took using the box, and remains one of my favorites, as I think both the color and composition turned out really well.

Taken with a Canon EF 50 mm f1.4