Update: The lens isn’t really a “fail”. It’s just quirky. I decided to keep it, but I just won’t try to use it in full manual mode without first adjusting the exposure compensation on my camera. As I said below, when I put my camera in Aperture Priority mode, the photos are fine (aka properly exposed). So, I’ll probably just only use this lens in that mode.

…..
So, I finally got the lens Saturday. But, I had to head out of town at the last minute on Sunday, so I didn’t get to take any test shots until I got back and recovered from the trip. From looking at the lens, it looks fine. No oil on the aperture blades, no fungus on the glass, no scratches or chips in the glass, and the body was okay, etc.

However, when I put the lens on my K10D and started taking test shots, I noticed that the photos taken with the lens wide open at f2.8 were DARKER than the photos taken stopped down to f5.6. In fact, the f5.6 aperture setting seemed to be this lens’ “sweet spot”, as it got the exposure right. The photos taken at f8 through f22 were all supposed to gradually get darker as the aperture got smaller. Looking at the photos in the order taken (from largest to smallest aperture: f2.8, f5.6, f8, f11, f16, f22), the darkening of the photos should have followed an easily detectible progression from brightest/lightest to darkest. That didn’t happen.

The weird thing is that when I took the camera out of full manual mode and put it in Av mode (aperture priority), the exposure in the shots was balanced correctly. But, if I want to grow my technical skills, I can’t get into the habit of shooting in Av mode all the time. But, if I only shoot in Av, without understanding how to use manual mode, how would I know what to do if I needed to use full manual mode in a difficult lighting situation? Exactly. I’ve contacted the seller to arrange a return and refund.

My first serious attempt at shooting fireworks, during a pre-4th celebration on June 26th, are in a post called SummerFest on the Green Fireworks. Comparing this set to the last set, I think I show definite improvement. Things didn’t go according to plan, but I was able to improvise and get decent results. So, what didn’t go according to plan?

Well, this time I had my complete tripod… but I forgot to bring the remote control for my camera. I put the camera on the tripod anyway, because I figured that even if I did have to manually press the shutter-release button, there would still be less camera shake than if I hand-held the camera to take the shots.

All things considered, I think the results are okay. My goal for this set of pics was to improve over the last set, and I did. So, I guess I can say mission accomplished. Here are my favorite five pics from the 4th of July. Don’t forget that you have to click on the pics to see them full-sized.

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful lady who liked to take pictures. One day, when the weather was almost perfect, the beautiful lady decided to go to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area to see what interesting things she could find to photograph. When she got there, the beautiful lady had several trails to follow. Loving to be near water, she decided to take the trail that followed the course of the river…

Down the stone steps…

Past the hidden creek…

Through the shady woods…

To the open area on the riverbank…

Where someone built a pier…

And a house…

And their very own island…

At the end of her visit, the beautiful lady was tired but very happy. She went home, and after her aging body recovered from the miles she’d walked, she edited her pictures and found that they were good. The beautiful lady shared her pictures and lived happily ever after.

The End.

This past Saturday my boyfriend and I attended the city of Morrow’s annual SummerFest on the Green. Starting in the early evening around 6pm, it’s a family/community day kind of thing. There were rides and games for the kids, an open hydrant for anybody who wanted to get wet, food vendors for the hungry, and a pretty good band that played a variety of music. A good time was had by all, and at 10pm, the fireworks show started.

I was really excited about the fireworks, because it’s challenging to get good fireworks photos. I went online before we left, and got a few pointers for photographing fireworks and made a crib sheet from an index card, LOL. Things didn’t go as planned, as I couldn’t use my tripod, which is the best way to take some types of photos like fireworks. I left the tripod’s quick-release plate, that attaches to the bottom of the camera, at home, so I had to hand-hold the camera and do my best to keep as steady as possible and catch the fireworks. I think I did a pretty good job, but you be the judge.

Camera: Pentax K10D, ISO: 100, Shooting Mode: Bulb (B), Lenses: Pentax Takumar (Bayonet) 135mm f2.5 & SMC Pentax-M 50mm f1.7

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne, 30 June 1917 – 9 May 2010. Rest in peace.

I came across this poem while surfing the ‘Net. It’s hilarious and I wish I’d known of it way back when, when I was a student.

23rd Psalm for Students

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not flunk
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break
He restores my faith in study guides
He leads me to better study habits
For my grades’ sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades
I will not have a nervous breakdown
For thou art with me
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me
Thou givest me the answer in moments of blankness
Thou anointest my head with understanding
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognise.
Surely passing grades and flying colours shall follow me
All the days of my examinations
And I shall not have to dwell in this exam hall forever.

I have created a new page on the blog called ‘Gallery’ (see the top menu), where I will – again – share the results of my photography hobby. I finally got around to searching out the new(er) plugins that allow bloggers to have integrated gallery pages, and/or mini galleries in a post or on the sidebar. I decided to try NextGEN Gallery, and so far I like it although I haven’t viewed my blog from a browser other than Firefox 3.6 yet.

As my long time readers know, at different times I’ve had a photoblog, photography portfolio, and my Facebook photos linked to this blog. In the case of Facebook, they were pulled from there and displayed in photo albums on here. Those options worked when those were all the really reliable options available, but in the last couple of years there have been some WordPress plugins coming out that allow galleries to be integrated directly into blogs. Take it from me that this is a LOT less work, LOL.

Enjoy the pics!

I’m really late talking about this, but better late than never…

Well y’all, I called it! When I wrote my review of the season four finale of Lincoln Heights back in November 2009, I predicted that ABC Family would be pulling the plug, even though the network swore they were not planning to kill the show. How did I know for sure? As I said then, anyone who is a Lincoln Heights fan knows that there is always a killer cliffhanger at the end of each season’s finale, and the season four finale was wrapped up, and tied in a pretty little bow, as if to make sure the show ended on a good note. This was no doubt done to ward off the same type of firestorm that the network was engulfed in when they abruptly pulled the plug on Kyle XY. The first reliable confirmation I got about LH being canceled was from Rhyon Brown (“Lizzie”), who posted a video on YouTube saying the show was canceled. Other cast members took to Twitter to confirm the cancellation.

Now, does anyone besides me find it suspicious that Lincoln Heights was cancelled right when it was beginning to become recognized and lauded in the black American community? The show won several NAACP Image Awards, and the three “Sutton women” appeared in TV interviews and on black-oriented talk shows like the Mo’Nique Show. So, their buzz was finally building in the black community and suddenly… BAM!, the show is no more. You’re damned skippy I’m suspicious about how this went down. And, I’m further ticked off that ABC Family would have the cast out doing press if they knew they were pulling the plug. There is no way in two hells that ABC Family can convince me that this show’s cancellation was an unexpected, last minute decision.

I hope and pray that another network picks up and continues Lincoln Heights. This was an EXCELLENT show that showed a strong black family, headed by two strong and loving parents who had a great marriage. As much as I loathe what BET has become, if they picked up Lincoln Heights I’d watch. However, I’d much rather that TV One or the forthcoming OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network), or another much less ghetto fabulous network picked up the show. TV One is showing the reruns of season four. Let’s hope they’re planning on buying the show from ABC Family and reviving it. With so few quality black television shows on the air now, we (especially our youth) need this show.

Yes, folks, you read that right. I have a little sumthin sumthin going on for Mr. Toriano Adaryll Jackson, aka Tito Jackson. I think I mentioned it in my review of The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.

Well, I also did a video blog reviewing the show, but decided to only upload the part where I talked about Tito. This video has been up on YouTube for a few weeks now (as have a few other videos), but I’m just getting around to posting it on this blog. Check it out:

Update: I ended up going to a different Super Bowl party than the one below. My friend ended up not feeling well and called me at the last minute to cancel. So, I called another friend and went to another party. I had a good time, and all was well. At the end of the day, I feel I was where I was supposed to be, so I have no complaints.

I will be going to my first real Super Bowl party in a few hours. Last week a friend sent me an email about the party and asked me if I wanted to go. With advance tickets only being $5 I said sure. So, after I finish this post I’ll begin getting ready to attend the 2nd Annual “Stewperbowl” hosted by 2 Live Stews, two brothers (biological, that is) by the last name of Stewart who host a sports talk radio show here in Atlanta.

I’ll do a post about how the party goes sometime after I get back.