Category Archives: My Blog

Waxing Gibbous

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Day 3 of my #fivedayquest  , thanks to +Elizabeth Hahn 
5 days / 5 photos / tag a new person each day to join
1 photo for 5 days of your daily life.

I teach at a private residential college in a rural community in the hills above the Napa Valley…and nestled in the 1800 acres of forest land behind the college, we have a Celestron 1400 telescope in a nicely-sized observatory dome. Besides being used for astronomy labs, it is open for public viewing every Friday night (weather permitting). 

Last night I went in to learn the process of initial calibration/alignment that then allows for easy finding of hundreds of interesting objects in the sky…Now I'll be able to come back on my own in the future and use the DSLR adapter to play in the dark…

Having the moon this bright makes other objects harder to see, but we got great views of Jupiter and 4 of its moons, along with Saturn and it's amazing rings.  A couple-dozen students stopped in to ooh and ahhh.  It's fun to see 18-22 year-olds get excited about "sciency" things.

This was shot with my Samsung Galaxy S5 just held up to the eyepiece of the telescope

For this third day of the five day quest, I tag +Joe Dolister   Joe, you are under absolutely no pressure to do the fivedayquest, but if you want to, you can! Just post a photo of daily life for five days. :-)

#astrophotography   #lunarphotography     #androidography   #androidphotography  

Waxing Gibbous
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Day 3 of my #fivedayquest  , thanks to +Elizabeth Hahn 
5 days / 5 photos / tag a new person each day to join
1 photo for 5 days of your daily life.

I teach at a private residential college in a rural community in the hills above the Napa Valley…and nestled in the 1800 acres of forest land behind the college, we have a Celestron 1400 telescope in a nicely-sized observatory dome. Besides being used for astronomy labs, it is open for public viewing every Friday night (weather permitting).

Last night I went in to learn the process of initial calibration/alignment that then allows for easy finding of hundreds of interesting objects in the sky…Now I’ll be able to come back on my own in the future and use the DSLR adapter to play in the dark…

Having the moon this bright makes other objects harder to see, but we got great views of Jupiter and 4 of its moons, along with Saturn and it’s amazing rings.  A couple-dozen students stopped in to ooh and ahhh.  It’s fun to see 18-22 year-olds get excited about “sciency” things.

This was shot with my Samsung Galaxy S5 just held up to the eyepiece of the telescope

For this third day of the five day quest, I tag +Joe Dolister   Joe, you are under absolutely no pressure to do the fivedayquest, but if you want to, you can! Just post a photo of daily life for five days. :-)

#astrophotography   #lunarphotography  

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Stuck in Commute Traffic
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Day 2 of my #fivedayquest   , thanks to +Elizabeth Hahn 
5 days / 5 photos / tag a new person each day to join
1 photo for 5 days of your daily life

One of the nice things about living and working in a rural community is that this is what my commute looks like… This trail starts just a few yards past the end of my driveway, and pops out of the trees at the edge of the small college campus where I teach.  It's about a 10 minute walk to my office…. or a 2-minute drive ;-}

For this first of the five day quest, I tag +John Balboni.  John, you are under absolutely no pressure to do the fivedayquest, but if you want to, you can! Just post a photo of daily life for five days. :-)

 
Stuck in Commute Traffic
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Day 2 of my #fivedayquest   , thanks to +Elizabeth Hahn 
5 days / 5 photos / tag a new person each day to join
1 photo for 5 days of your daily life

One of the nice things about living and working in a rural community is that this is what my commute looks like… This trail starts just a few yards past the end of my driveway, and pops out of the trees at the edge of the small college campus where I teach.  It’s about a 10 minute walk to my office…. or a 2-minute drive ;-}

For this first of the five day quest, I tag +John Balboni.  John, you are under absolutely no pressure to do the fivedayquest, but if you want to, you can! Just post a photo of daily life for five days. :-)

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I'll Take Pansy as a Complement

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They're not exotic…they can be found at any Home Depot or Lowes, ready for transplanting… but I love it when people (and companies) take the time to beautify their property with these little jewels. 

Seeing these made me stop and think… Am I doing my part to make the world around me just a bit more beautiful for those I interact with? How about you?

I found this lovely mix of colorful Pansies planted outside the Student Center at the college where I teach.

#floralfriday   The +FloralFriday theme was created by +Tamara Pruessner and is co-curated by +Beth Akerman, +Kiki Nelson, and +Eustace James.
#floralphotography  
#napavalley   #pansies  

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The Torture Chamber

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Day 1 of my #fivedayquest , thanks to +Elizabeth Hahn tagging me.
5 days / 5 photos / tag a new person each day to join
1 photo for 5 days of your daily life

This is one of the computer labs in the Business Department at the college where my day job is Associate Professor of Information Systems.  Seven of the students here are taking a midterm exam for my class Fundamentals of Data Communication.

#5dayquest  

As part of my responsibilities here, I make sure that about 80 computers keep humming along, ready for student use in many different classes, with a wide variety of business software.
  I've been babysitting/upgrading/reconfiguring the systems here for the past 24 years…my, oh my, how things have changed since those pre-Internet days!

Yes… that's me over by the door with my ever-present Coke Zero…tripping the shutter via WiFi…
Point to ponder…why is there always at least one section of fluorescent bulbs out?

For this first of the five day quest, I tag +Heather Webb. Heather, you are under absolutely no pressure to do the fivedayquest, but if you want to, you can! Just post a photo of daily life for five days. :-)

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What will they patent next?  …the process of positioning two people side by side,…

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What will they patent next?  …the process of positioning two people side by side, having them look at a camera, and say Cheese! ???

Embedded Link

You Can Close The Studio, Amazon Patents Photographing On Seamless White – DIY Photography
I am not really sure how to tag this other than a big #fail for the USPTO, or a huge Kudos for Amazon’s IP attorneys. In a patent simply called Studio arrangement Amazon took IP ownership on what we all call shooting against a seamless white backdrop. The patent describes the arrangement of elements in […]

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An interesting twist on stock photography

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rather than shoot stock and hope someone wants it, Image Brief lets potential clients specify what they want…and if you can shoot it, or have it in your archives, you can show your work to them (but you'll be competing with others for 'easy' assignments!)

Embedded Link

Join me on ImageBrief
ImageBrief is where professional photographers respond to live image requests from the world’s largest ad agencies, brands and publishers.

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May The Fourth Be With You

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The unique Rieger pipe organ on the campus of Pacific Union College (where I teach) has earned a nickname among some of the locals… 
Can you guess what it is?? 

This is an archive photo taken prior to the installation of a speaker cluster that now really messes up the view of this magnificent machine.

#architecture   #architecturephotography   #maythe4thbewithyou  

May The Fourth Be With You
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The unique Rieger pipe organ on the campus of Pacific Union College (where I teach) has earned the nickname Darth Vadar. 
Can you figure out why??

This is an archive photo taken prior to the installation of a speaker cluster that now really messes up the view of this magnificent machine.

#architecture   #architecturephotography   #maythe4thbewithyou  

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St Helena Roses

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Just a fabulously lovely day in the Napa Valley today.. but just enough time for a quick phone snap on my way back home from an appointment.

#androidography   #androidphotography  
#napavalley  #landscapephotography +Landscape Photography +Landscape Photography Show +Margaret Tompkins +Jim Warthman +Kevin Rowe +Johan Peijnenburg +David Heath Williams +Tom Hierl +Carolyn Lim +Howard L. Smith +Kai Kosonen +Sheila B. DuBois +Toshi Nakamura +David Pilasky +Bill Wood 

St Helena Roses
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Just a fabulously lovely day in the Napa Valley today.. but just enough time for a quick phone snap on my way back home from an appointment.

#androidography   #androidphotography
#napavalley  #landscapephotography +Landscape Photography +Landscape Photography Show +Margaret Tompkins +Jim Warthman +Kevin Rowe +Johan Peijnenburg +David Heath Williams +Tom Hierl +Carolyn Lim +Howard L. Smith +Kai Kosonen +Sheila B. DuBois +Toshi Nakamura +David Pilasky +Bill Wood 

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Howell Mountain Sphere

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Just another lovely day on our little mountain…
Click inside for the 360° view.

Shot with my trusty GS5
#androidphotography   #photosphere 
#androidography   #landscapephotography   +Landscape Photography +Landscape Photography Show +Margaret Tompkins +Jim Warthman +Kevin Rowe +Johan Peijnenburg +David Heath Williams +Tom Hierl +Carolyn Lim +Howard L. Smith +Kai Kosonen +Sheila B. DuBois +Toshi Nakamura +David Pilasky +Bill Wood 
+Landscape Photography Show 

Howell Mountain Sphere
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Just another lovely day on our little mountain…

Shot with my trusty Samsung
#androidphotoraphy #photosphere
#androidography
#landscapephotography

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Going live in 10 minutes

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Learn about motion graphics for video projects from +Seán Duggan 

Reshared post from +The Photoshop Show

Join your hosts +Jan Kabili and +Ron Clifford as we  learn how to create stunning visual effects and motion graphics for your video projects using a tool you already know and love. Adobe Photoshop Artist and Teacher Seán Duggan gives us a look into this magical world of mixing still and motion in amazing video composites.

He has also launched a great new +lynda.com video taking you in depth into this fantastic and creative process:http://bit.ly/1mRmCh3

If you can`t make the live show (for some unimaginable reason)  you can always watch the replay right here on this event or on our YouTube Channel here:
http://bit.ly/1mRngLj

+Seán Duggan +Erika Thornes +Dave Bell 
Can`t wait to see you there, and remember………sharing is caring!
#photoshop   #video   #tutorial  

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