Postal rates go up again tomorrow. I understand that part of the issue is that the cost of fuel is through the roof. But, the PO is still complaining that e-mail has eroded their business and driven up their cost per letter. This comes from the same hypocrites that gave away CD ROMS for the world’s largest ISP in every one of their lobbies.

"Here’s your sign!" (With apologies to Bill Engvall)

Okay, here’s the "more later" I promised.

This photograph was made in what might be considered an unusual manner. But, I’ve stumbled on to something that really seems to work well — using a telephoto zoom in conjunction with an extension tube to allow it to focus super-close. In this case, the lens is my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, and the extension tube is a Promaster 36mm tube.

Working with this combination is a little touchy. Unlike a normal macro lens, which is usually a fixed focal length (prime) lens, a multi-step focusing technique is required. First, you sorta frame and really-rough-focus by moving the camera in relation to the subject. Then, you rough-focus with the zoom ring. Finally, you fine focus with the focus ring (or autofocus). If your subject hasn’t moved on you, then you’re ready for setting the exposure and tripping the shutter.

This procedure wouldn’t be to hateful on a tripod with focusing rails. However, when shooting at the Flights of Fancy butterfly live exhibit at Brookside Gardens, tripods aren’t allowed. So, this was done hand-held. I made 307 exposures this way over a two-and-one-half hour period, of which I "finished" 34. You can see those images at the new Orchard Studios gallery pages. You’ll find them in the featured galleries section for a limited time, along with pictures from our recent trip to western Montana.

It is very, very, very good!

I took this photograph today using the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS that I’ve been off-and-on complaining about. We were at the annual Brookside Gardens Wings of Fancy event, and I was experimenting. More on that in a later posting, but I was so taken with this image that I wanted to get it up on the site right away!

For this shot, the camera’s set at ISO800, and the exposure is f/8 at 1/160. The pop-up flash is on, fired through a Gary Fong Puffer. The lens is zoomed all the way to 200mm, and, since Brookside doesn’t allow tripods in the butterfly house, I’m handheld. There is nothing to complain about here. Sure, I maybe should have been at f/11 or so to gain a little more depth of field, but frankly, I’ll take this kind of performance any day.

We took a walk around Wilde Lake tonight. Unfortunately, we got there a little late for photographs, although I did manage to snag a couple of good ones of this Great Blue Heron. He posed fairly well for us for a while, and then got tired of us and went off to find some dinner.

Even if it wasn’t a great night for photography, we did get to see a few neat things — a pair of Baltimore Orioles, a mama duck with some really tiny ducklings, a couple of sand pipers and a few duck squabbles — and talked to some really nice folks as we walked.

It’s interesting to me that the Wilde Lake area really seems more like a community than other parts of Columbia. It’s as if James Rouse’s dream is still alive and well there.

Once upon a time, before the Interstate Highway System, our nation’s roadways were dotted with something called "motor courts" — the forerunner of our modern hotels and motels. Most were family-owned and operated, and the layout was pretty much the same — a U-shaped, single-story building with the rooms (which consisted of a single bedroom and a bathroom), and a separate building with an office and restaurant. Some motor courts had separate buildings for each room.

With the advent of the interstates, motor courts have been largely by-passed, and many, like the one shown here, have gone out of business, replaced by multi-floor chain hotels with fancy meeting rooms and glitzy bars. The motor courts that still survive often now have full time residents living in their rooms, or, the motel portion is closed in favor of the more lucrative restaurant portion of the business.

Guys, you know how it goes. You work your butt off, and bring home your best offering to your bride, only to be flatly rejected. Well, it’s no different in the animal kingdom. Take, for instance, this Osprey pair we saw this past Sunday at Blackwater …

Our hero has literally brought home the bacon, in the form of a freshly caught fish …

He presents the morsel to his mate …

  Her response to his hard work? "You expect to bring that into this house? Get that thing out of here!"

Our hero is obviously taken aback — shocked even! Why would she reject his gift — reject him?!?

Dejected, he flies off to find a sympathetic friend to offer him some consolation.

He spies his friend, Mr. Bald Eagle.

After a brief conversation, they both agree that he’s screwed, and maybe Mr. Bald Eagle will have better luck. The osprey drops the fish, and the eagle dives to pick it up.

Still bewildered, the osprey flies home to his mate.

Typically, even though the situation is now long over, the female just can’t drop the topic, and she continues to berate the hapless male.

After a time, she finally calms down, and the male settles in to see what other "trouble" he can get into.

The images above are from a series of about 60 images, and are presented in chronological order. I apologize that some of the images in this sequence are soft or blurred. I was firing fast, using a very long lens. Even so, the birds were at quite a distance, and I was forced to severely crop the images. An example of one of the full-frame shots is below:

All images in this sequence are copyright © Geren W. Mortensen, Jr., All Rights Reserved.

While some of our friends in the CMPG were out shooting pictures at the kinetic race this weekend, we were on the eastern shore, at Assateague Island, and the inaugural Jazz and Blues Bash in Berlin.

For whatever reason, the 70-200 decided it was going to make really sharp pictures. I don’t know what to think about the thing, as I’ve been getting much better results the last couple of times I’ve used it. Anyway a few of my pictures from yesterday are up on Flickr, with more to follow.

I’ve mentioned here and there (mostly on Flickr) that I’ve been having some intermittent focusing issues which were most noticeable when using the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. I thought perhaps there was a lens issue of some sort, or user error, or both.

However, someone else has mentioned having similar problems with their 40D and a different lens. This, just after they had gotten the camera back from Canon — supposedly for a cleaning. In this case, the mirror appeared to have some sort of filmy haze on it.

The focusing sensors are in the prism, so, it seems reasonable that a dirty mirror or focusing screen could account for soft focus issues. As soon as I get home, I’m checking that mirror and screen!

The new sofa arrived from Bassett’s on Saturday afternoon. That was cause for a fair amount of scurrying around to make room for it, as all of the AcoustiSound equipment was stacked in the living room. I had been meaning to get out all last week and get a sheet of heavy plywood to “floor” the van, and so that had to be done early Saturday morning.

I got lucky at the Home Depot, and found someone to lop 6″ off the end of the sheet so it would fit. Seem’s Ford’s better idea (Ford marketers coined the “better idea people” phrase for their advertising some years back. Notice that you haven’t heard that for a while) for the Windstar was to make the floor area behind the seats too small for a full sheet of plywood or drywall, limiting its usefulness as an actual van.

Anyway, with the sheet of plywood installed, it’s a lot easier to load and unload the sound gear, as the wheels on the racks don’t fall into the seat mount holes, and the big, heavy, carpet-covered speakers can be slid in and out much more easily. Sliding carpet against carpet is almost like trying to move a sleeping elephant (don’t ask. It’s early, and I’m very tired).

Anyway, the couch is exactly what we wanted. It was a little hard to be sure in the store with just the little fabric swatches to go on, but it works so well in the room, and it’s really, really comfy!

If Nationwide Insurance doesn’t offer insurance in all states, can they really call themselves “Nationwide”?