tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75203738308349457752011-07-31T02:32:32.482-04:00blog ... websiteeditor in chiefnoreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-89987403705666808852011-05-06T08:45:00.002-04:002011-05-06T08:48:05.902-04:00

...As I have promised before, some of my photographs have now been optimized for several screen resolutions for best visual effect on your screen. Available as a free download atgrabiec design...

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-62996490311989266812010-02-08T04:11:00.000-05:002010-02-08T18:15:13.532-05:00

Weather has been cooperating in the last few days. We're a few days pastHawaii headed for Guam. Nothing dramatic happened and I hate to post samepics time and again. These have a double rainbow, which came and went in amatter of minutes, and a couple of Picasa processed images. As I have statedmany times before, I am a strong promoter of programs like Picasa due totheir inherent simplicity, great

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-88715287080975432872010-01-28T23:59:00.000-05:002010-01-29T00:03:48.842-05:00

Here I am again with these two photos of the Sun setting on the horizon.Weather has been on a rough side for the last couple of days and swellslowly increasing to some 20 feet and working its way towards our beam (notexactly best of things, as it increases roll and lessens cruising comfort).All else is well and in about 3 days we should reach a Hawaii waypoint ....Received: from MPD at Globe

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-53063816146535958142010-01-27T07:44:00.001-05:002010-01-27T09:35:02.201-05:00

At last after a long period of breaking the ship out 5-month longretirement,we have completed the load of grain for Middle East and departed.Bad weather awaited us (as seen in the photograph), but the southerly routechosen played out well (vs. the northern route suggested by the oftenunreliable and down right dangerous weather routing service. I'll beupdating this blog with more trip photos as

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-29079220941492094382010-01-27T07:44:00.000-05:002010-01-27T09:32:59.827-05:00

This is a unique class of vessels that were built in the early 1980's tocircumvent some regulations in order to decrease required manning levels(among other requirements). The result was a design that was attempted onlya handful of times, has always been more of a pain for any shipyard periodsthan an actual benefit to anybody (although I would think some acountantsmight want to argue).This is a

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-63491206782297199082009-12-18T22:33:00.002-05:002009-12-18T22:35:02.587-05:00

To all interested I will be away for several months, but intend to update my whereabouts to this blog via email feed. This unfortunately may bring in some entries not at their prettiest, but should still keep a good count of events awaiting me....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-12569097122960800042008-12-16T12:39:00.001-05:002008-12-16T12:39:44.972-05:00

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-28611468711401641662008-11-16T07:56:00.019-05:002008-11-23T11:32:15.979-05:00

You may have noticed a new feed in the right pane of this blog. I'm calling it "Equipment News" and what's in it will change as dreams change. What dreams you ask?Well, in digital picture taking, camera is one component. An obvious first one, as you need something to take that photograph WITH, then you go on through software processing and printing stage. Back to that camera, I say you need to

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-10501872750378992972008-11-11T09:10:00.013-05:002008-11-11T15:13:58.996-05:00

As I have stated on numerous occasions, my primary program for web work is Picasa, a free organizer and image manipulator from Google. While I use other porgrams and lean toward making Adobe's Lightroom my main platform, I will continue to advocate the incredible value of Picasa, because for the most part, it is indeed most what most people need. It's flexibility is more than adequate, it's

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-91868867580534217502008-11-10T21:25:00.023-05:002008-11-11T15:17:01.797-05:00

While not much to report, I've had some great photographic challenges come my way during recent passage through Suez Canal. It's not a place I actually enjoy going back to and I truly believe someone should write a book on world's mentalities. I would even publish it in the For Dummies series. Imagine that title: "World's Mentalities for Dummies". Not meant to induce pain or disrespect in any of

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-14257876182365215062008-03-10T16:55:00.004-04:002008-11-10T22:07:39.762-05:00

Shot on the way up to Port Arthur, TX....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-33979782487902094442008-02-28T18:34:00.005-05:002008-03-10T17:00:28.365-04:00

Just started a blog Mad Pontoon dedicated to web site design with focus on photography presentation, but also delving into general issues of site design. I'm a definite novice in the field of "pure" web design (pure as in - hand coded in it's entirety). The pure approach, while quite a chore for a newcomer, produces more manageable results, cleaner code, and helps in site updates down the line.

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-84097475557130305462008-02-21T20:46:00.003-05:002008-11-10T22:12:34.236-05:00

Most of the day today there was an ever flowing fog throughout much of the lower Mississippi. Hard to argue with it....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-55449986566894351682008-02-20T20:09:00.004-05:002008-11-10T22:13:04.720-05:00

I have put together a small web site about open air museums (skansens) in southeastern Poland. I will add more images in a near future....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-48301152000843416322008-02-16T01:04:00.003-05:002008-11-10T22:13:20.556-05:00

It's an odd view in a way and you get to smell a lot of differentstuff before you see it - Houston skyline....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-48687208660573297212008-02-16T01:00:00.003-05:002008-11-10T22:13:43.374-05:00

An otherwise average shot got some help from a low light angle from rising sun and the "holes' in the sky made the upper part more interesting too. Unpromising scene delivered in the end quite a bit more....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-25993162227669470222008-02-12T18:45:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:14:04.818-05:00

Every time I go by, I can't hold myself from not taking a shot... . The beauty lies in the white (or nearly so) smoke coming out of the stacks in contrast to a dark sky. Best time to wait for the moment is during thunderous weather, which brings along quick cloud pattern changes and lets the sun in and out. Amaizng how proper timing changes the mood of a photograph. In this instance, each of the

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-84715243972856725462008-02-03T20:06:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:14:24.977-05:00

These are ships that have been laid-up or almost put to rest. In times of war, they can still be manned and deployed into war zones for troop transportation/support and other military sea-lift operations. A great photo opportunity....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-61161976073816554762008-02-03T19:01:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:14:41.028-05:00

Shot in skansen in Sanok, southeastern Poland....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-77496877865459882502008-01-29T18:52:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:15:07.835-05:00

Entering port of Houston is always about getting that front-seatglance at what it takes to make our cars go....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-73628946216367079282008-01-22T22:57:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:15:28.241-05:00

Chalmette, LA. Playing with Picasa again: color shot with "filteredB&W", "tint", and "sharpen"....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-39689588077874433362008-01-21T17:45:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:15:47.988-05:00

Lots and lots of chimneys....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-16193321425918563532008-01-20T19:05:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:16:09.476-05:00

It's 17:45 on January 20th, 2008 and sun has set again....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-55249733443114177532008-01-20T09:16:00.002-05:002008-11-10T22:16:29.969-05:00

As I'm working with Picasa, new ways to play with photos keep popping up. Here is a function called "focal B&W", or a simple way to convert to B&W with an area left in color....

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-53770675276872201822008-01-09T10:51:00.001-05:002008-01-21T17:59:23.473-05:00

This is another one from that $70 2-"cool"-light set up, slightly toned.

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-66652222455647980602008-01-07T03:13:00.000-05:002008-01-08T23:09:49.612-05:00

I'd like to see sensor improvements in noise handling far more than a pixel count (which has already reached an above-needed level, especially in small cameras). Call it "Qaulity over Quantity".There should be a focus on cutting down the noise AND some strict standard of testing for such, by which ALL manufacturers would have to go by - well, that's a pipe dream.I'd like to see serious effort on

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-82241235713520431202008-01-06T11:26:00.001-05:002008-01-21T18:02:43.078-05:00

This simple portrait was shot using a $70 2-"cool"-light set-up with umbrellas. Ideal? Nope, but quite satisfactory nevertheless.

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-90265697225296927322008-01-06T01:36:00.000-05:002008-01-06T11:50:42.883-05:00

I have posted a short review of a wonderful photo technique book titledElements of Black and White Photography by George E. Todd. Check it out, especially since it can now be had for very little.I'm running my two blogs in parallel for the moment, hence this announcement. This blog has a different ultimate target as it will focus largely on my own photography and related essays. On occasions I

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-62953069561614949402008-01-05T00:22:00.001-05:002008-01-06T11:49:41.047-05:00

Within Port of Jacksonville, FL - taken on 02.25.2005

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-46236550616763865382008-01-03T08:13:00.000-05:002008-01-06T11:51:58.863-05:00

Just came across this little Flash based Simple Viewer applet, that can be used for image display on your web site. Best part, it's free. Or you can spend $45 and remove the SimpleViewer (non-disruptive) link and have more options to customize it.View a demo or see the Simple Viewer site.

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-74663715418959928052008-01-02T22:50:00.000-05:002008-01-06T11:51:01.965-05:00

This is a repeat of my announcement from ElusiveFoto blog about a new discussion forum that (for now) will only deal with photographer's web site design and creation.I will be writing on the subject on these two blogs, but my intent is to post on the forum most of what I find. There is now so many image oriented sites, many excellent, many bad, that I thought it would help, if we could

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-43995356919575292662008-01-02T21:29:00.001-05:002008-01-06T11:49:56.654-05:00

A shot of myself (also called an auto portrait ) taken about 2 years ago. My involvement with photography started out a while back. In fact I was around 5, when my father took me into his darkroom for the first time.

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7520373830834945775.post-13748079461988074402008-01-02T10:59:00.001-05:002008-01-19T19:23:43.352-05:00

Recently I've started using Google's Picasa2 for emailing photos to friends and places. It's an amazing tool, especially given it's "steep" price of ZERO dollars. Simple, effective, bulletproof for the uninitiated. In other words - worth every penny.There is enough adjustments and effects to keep anyone busy for quite some time. And results are professional. No one will know you never had any

editor in chiefnoreply@blogger.com0