I'm changing gallery software in the next couple of days. So many open source choices out there... it's hard to choose. In addition to which there are flickr and the like. Do I want to post everything on flickr? I don't know. I think the dream - for all amateur photographers - is to have the hobby pay for itself. Shutterfly has some pro galleries and there must be 10 more good choices out there for hosted gallery services (and dozens more bad choices). But, I am a dinosaur of the pre .net age. I like the idea of the self contained server platform. Thus I think I will be using gallery 2.

It is probably worth noting that on this, my homepage, I am going for canned solutions. I like experimenting with open-source software and seeing what it can do. So, this site besides being my gallery, will be a carefully integrated open-source powered site - a gallery of the hard work of others.

* I have added an image area on the right sidebar that will randomly pull an image from the gallery. If you click on it it will take you to the gallery.

So, I was at Hunt's in Providence today window shopping. I'm not actually in the market for anything, I'm trying not to spend money until I maximize what I have. It has been a very good experience so far working with fixed "normal" lenses. The normal lens for a 35mm camera is 50mm (which is what I have for my 60's era Nikon f). After my experience borrowing the 21mm wide lens (which I used to shoot the National Geographic worthy shots that were ruined by the lab .... it's kind of like the size of the fish that got away) I'm hungry for another taste of ab-normal lenses. So, I asked and Hunt's answered, presenting me with the 1 lens they had with the little prongs that my Nikon f prism needs to read the aperture. The prongs aren't solid, they have little cutouts so this is an "AI" lens which is one generation newer than the camera I have. I checked it over and while playing with it I realized that it had a little tab that opened and closed the aperture. I asked if this would interfere with the camera but no one knew (I am assuming this is an "AI" specific lens feature.) The lens is a 35-135mm zoom/macro Tokina. I don't know much about Tokina lenses, but they are (apparently) a well known Japanese lens co. and I'm willing to take some things on faith - that and the $35 price tag for this almost perfect lens (no visible defects in the glass). I couldn't turn it down.

So I got home and admired how the aperture opened and closed as I rotated the f ring. I put it on my camera and whoops - all of a sudden the aperature was wide open. I turned the ring and it didn't change! My lens was not as great a deal as I had thought. This was too bad! I didn't understand - maybe I could cut off the tab. I scoured the web looking up "AI' and "non-ai" lenses trying to figure out modifications I could make. 45 minutes were spent scouring for cutting instructions. Eventually I discovered a page that explained that the aperture stays wide open until you take a photo..... ohhhh.... whoops ... - so it closes down to the right size as I release the shutter. Good to know. Saved my ruining a great deal on a lens.

** 10/18/06 update - I found out after this article that Tokina is just part of the name Tokina Hoya. Hoya is a big name.

I ran across a link for a DIY panoramic head and I think it is brilliant. I got up early on Saturday morning, cut some plywood, made a run to the Depot and put it all together in time to catch the end of a local farmers market. The trick with panoramic heads (if you've ever tried to stitch together a panorama) is that if you pan the camera normally on a regular tripod the resulting image is usable but will probably need more editing to make it right. By using a pano head you can have the lens pivot directly over the center of the tripod and move the body on the outside of the arch. This makes the resulting images much more accurate for use in panoramas.

After the farmers market we went over to Thayer street and had some lunch at Roba Dolce. With the persmission of the manager I shot a panaroma of the inside. You can see the results to the left or you can look at a little diagram I put together explaining what I mean about pivot point.

So, I got a voicemail from Renaissance Imaging today. They didn't beat around the bush. "Your film is ruined. It got stuck in the machine." I was looking forward to displaying some of the 21mm wide shots I got from my little trip up to the lobster boats of Saugus, MA and the Saugus Iron works national historical site.

On Saturday I had hopped up to Mass. and had lunch with the family. Went out with Bill to Saugus and we discussed some of the rules of thumb behind judging expsoure, meter reading from your hand, and the paralax effect of shooting wide. I only shot one roll of Kodak Elite Chrome 35mm out of my Nikon f using the funky looking 21mm lense for the Nikon that essentially turns the Nikon into a rangefinder. This image is a hot link to http://www.cameraquest.com/jpg4/nf2141.jpg . I'll get my own picture when I go back up to shoot hopefully. The 21mm f4 set Nikon apart at the time as having the widest lens for a Japanese SLR in '59 by a longshot. It is an odd looking lens that sticks so far back in the body that you have to lock the lens up. The mini television looking device mounted on the right is the special viewfinder to see the 21mm wide frame correctly.