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The phrase “tall ships” means tall-mast rigged sailing ships. Historically important … modernly fascinating … and just plain fun. These ships remind us of the golden age of sail, before the rise of motor power.
The largest tall ships are referred to as Class A, having a length more than 40 meters. (The bowsprit is Not included in that measure.) Vessels shorter than Class A are designated as Class B, C, and D; these are not the largest but are still very impressive.
Today, we have more than sixty Class A tall ships across the globe. More than half are European and eight are American. This includes the U.S.S. Constitution, which is based here in Massachussetts. U.S.S. Constitution, also known as Old Ironsides (a nickname earned in active battle), is retired from service but retains the title “the world’s oldest commissioned naval ship”, meaning it is officially staffed with Navy officers and sailors.
A gathering of tall ships is often referred to as Operation Sail or OpSail; but these events do not happen very often. The largest gathering in my memory occurred in 2000 under the moniker Sail Boston. We last saw OpSail on the east coast in 2012, in part to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the War of 1812.
Sail Boston happens once again in 2017 – more than fifty tall ships!
>> SailBoston.com
Upcoming 2015 tall ship events
Philadelphia PA … June 25 – 28, 2015 … more than a dozen ships
Among dozens of annual sand-sculpting competitions across the United States, some are open to amateurs, some are limited to proven master sculptors, and some include both. Of the master competitions, two occur within New England. By invitation only, master sculptors participate and compete to win cash prizes.
You can visit during the competition and see the artists at work, or you can visit during days following the competition. Sculptures are created at a distance away from the surf, so that they will not be washed away. Barring rain or strong winds that erode the sculptures, the completed works may remain on display for a week or more. A visit at sunrise or sunset can be particularly rewarding as the warm light of the sun rakes across the beach.
Hampton Beach Sand Sculpting Competition (Hampton Beach, NH), June 18-20, 2015. Now in its fifteenth year, this competition will bring together ten master sculptors. Also, one giant sculpture will be created by a team of sculptors on behalf of one corporate sponsor.
Website: www.hamptonbeach.org/sandcastle-competition.cfm.
Revere Beach Sand Sculpting Festival (Revere, MA) , July 24-26, 2015.
An annual event since 2004, this festival also includes live music and a fireworks display. Revere is close to Boston and you may choose to visit via the MBTA public rail system; Revere Beach Station is only one block away from the beach.
Website: reverebeach.com.
More master sand sculpting events beyond New England:
AIA Sandcastle Competition (Galveston, TX), American Sandsculpting Championship (Fort Myers Beach, FL), Arts In Action (Port Angeles, WA), Blue Water SandFest (Port Huron, MI), Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest (Canon Beach, OR), Headlands BeachFest (Mentor, OH), Navarre Beach Sand Sculpting Festival (Navarre Beach, FL), SandSations (Long Beach, WA), Sandcastle Days (South Padre Island, TX), Sanding Ovations Sand Sculpting Competition and Music Festival (Treasure Island, FL), Siesta Key Crystal Classic (Siesta Key, FL), U.S. Sand sculpting Competition (Sand Diego, CA), Virginia Beach International Sandsculpting Championship (Virginia Beach, VA).
Last October, I listed Drones for Under $2000. A week later, DJI announced a new quadcopter drone, Inspire 1, which was notable, but far above the $2000 price point. This week, DJI announced the third incarnation of it’s original Phantom, which now incorporates some features from Inspire but retains the more affordable price tag of the Phantom line. Here are the broad brush strokes.
Phantom 3 (DJI press release photo)
Phantom 3
Improved camera system supports video and stills. Phantom 3 “pro” supports 4K video resolution.
3-axis gimbal, similar to Phanom 2 Vision
The new gimbal seems to pan, unlike its predecessor on the Phantom 2 Vision+
Digital video downlink sends live video feed to your mobile device on the ground (up to 720p)
Downward-facing visual and ultrasonic sensors allow position hold without GPS (indoors), like the Inspire 1
Improvements in motors and motor control provide better stability and longer battery life.
Phantom 3 vs Inspire 1
Inspire 1 is larger than Phantom and can fly faster
Inspire 1 allows unobstructed 360 degree camera rotation – retracting landing struts will not obstruct the view.
Inspire 1 supports dual pilot operation.
Phantom is theoretically much more durable than Inspire
Phantom costs far less than Inspire
Phantom provides a slightly longer flight time.
Not to be left behind, 3D Robotics will soon release their new quadcopter, currently known as SOLO.
For the purpose of illustrating a theme, I was recently offered the task of photographing bread.
Final image (digitally modified using photoshop)
Here are the steps in making this image.
Although I originally thought this shoot might require actually baking my own bread, I quickly discarded that thought and went to my local market. The market sells specialty loaves that are far more attractive than anything I can make. So I purchased two different loaves of bread.
Initially, I photographed the unbroken/unsliced loaves. Then I thought to slice the bread, but instead chose to tear it in half for a more natural look. Good call.
Original bread photo unmodified
After photographing for a half hour, this is the image I chose as the best.
Compare this original to the final image (shown before it). For a larger view, click on either image.
In Photoshop, I copied the image onto two new layers and applied a different filter to each layer. The first is a stylized using a plugin by Topaz Labs. But the effect is largely obscured by the next layer above it.
The next layer applies an artistic painting look using a plugin filter called Snap Art by Alien Skin. Through the use of a layer mask, the effect is not applied to the inside of the bread loaf. See the layers panel snapshot below. Where the mask is dark, you see the underlying layer.
Finally, to highlight the bread, I created a darkened vignette using a curves layer. The final image is shown at the beginning of this blog post.
Here’s a marketing/promotional item I created recently.
Accordion card
This accordion card has 5 pages front & back, for a total of 10 faces. The five images you can see on this side are scenic photos. The other side has four event photos, two sporting events, and two non-sport. The last panel has info about me, including my contact info.
The quality of the piece is excellent. I am very pleased with how it printed. It was printed by Miller’s Lab on “classic felt” paper, 130# / 325 GSM. Each folded card is 3.5 x 5″. In retrospect, I am very happy with the size; small enough to fit in any pocket, yet large enough that the photo quality is clearly evident. Although Millers does offer an optional coating on the felt paper, I had their paper samples in hand and judged that a coating wasn’t necessary; I am glad for that decision. Unfortunately, the lab does not fold them, as you can see the flattened cards in the background of the photo here. I had to fold them all. Envelopes are provided.
Here are a few vendors that provide accordion cards.
# of pages / # of panel faces / dimensions
The grey season. In the northeast, wintertime without snow is a drag, particularly for outdoor photographers. I need some snow here. Not just on the ground – we need snow sticking to tree branches.
This winter has brought a fair amount of precipitation, but it’s been rain rather than snow. What little snow we’ve seen has quickly washed away as snow turned into rain. So here are a few shots from last winter.
Old grist mill, in winter
The first is an old grist mill. It is pretty – I hope that much is obvious. However, the light may not be obvious. The orientation of the mill and surrounding trees doesn’t catch much direct sunlight. The sun is setting on the other side of those trees. The light is what it is and there’s no changing it.
In photography, we have to be aware of the orientation of the subject with regard to the light. When the light on the subject is not what we would prefer, you can sometimes move the subject, but not if the subject is a building. You can sometimes move the light, but not if the light happens to be the sun. You might come back at a different time of day, when the sun is in a different position. However, I believe this mill is in shadow of the trees both morning and evening.
Church at sunset
Sometimes, in outdoor photography, using only available light, there’s nothing you can do to change the light on the subject. But you might find a different subject to photograph. Across the street, a church was catching the light of the setting sun. So, I photographed the church. And next to the church is a historic one-room schoolhouse. Nice light, eh?
(To see a larger view, click on any image. )
One-room schoolhouse
I included this last image (schoolhouse) in a recent 2015 wall calendar.
As recently as 1983, the world record for largest pumpkin was still less than 500 lbs.
Just twenty-nine years later, 2012, the world record had increased four fold … 2009 lbs, established at the Topsfield Fair. The first pumpkin ever to weigh more than one ton.
The photo here shows the giant pumpkin weigh-off competition at the 2012 Deerfield Fair. A new world record was established, but the record only lasted one day, as the record was beaten the very next day at Topsfield Fair. (Happily, I was preset at both these competitions.)
In 2014, the title moved to Europe. 2323 lbs, grown in Switzerland.
The term “drone” is commonly used in pop media, more common than alternative terminology UAS (unmanned aircraft system) or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). To my mind, a drone implies an automated military device – I prefer the term quadcopter.
As far as you or I are concerned, we serve as the remote pilots while standing on terra firma. We operate a radio transmitter while the copter is equipped with a matching radio receiver. Different radio systems are available and they are not all compatible. For example, some communicate via a 2.4 GHz radio frequency, while others utilize a 5.8 GHz. The differences are not limited to radio frequency alone.
Anything that is labeled as Ready-To-Fly (RTF) will include a radio transmitter that is compatible with the drone. If the product is not advertised as RTF, it may not include a transmitter, which is preferable for anyone who intends to re-use an existing transmitter they already have.
3D Robotics Iris+ … $750
3D Robotics RTF X8 … $1,350
Blade 350 QX – $470
DJI Phantom I … $400
DJI Phantom II Vison+ … $1,300
Gaui … 330X … $400
Gaui … 500X … $1,150
Gaui … 540H / hexcopter (6 rotors) … $600 does not include transmitter
Parrot AR drone … $300
Quantum Nova … $320
Quantum Venture … $400
TurboAce Matrix … $900
HUBSAN X4 H107C-HD
SteadiDrone QU4D … $1700
Walkera QR X350 … $400
Walkera QR 800 … $1,700
Walkera TALI h500 / hexcopter (6 rotors) … $1900
For aerial photography purposes, you need a stable device that is easy to control – consider electric copters only. Gas-powered machines are loud, extremely fast, and potentially very dangerous.
The rotational force of a single-rotor will tend to rotate the entire machine; this is why traditional helicopters have a small tail rotor, to counteract the rotational force. Coaxial dual-rotor designs solve the rotational force problem by spinning two rotors in opposite directions, but this reduces the total lifting force. Multi-rotor copters, with four or more independent rotors, solve the rotational problem by spinning half the rotors in a clockwise rotation and the other rotors in counter-clockwise rotation.
I expect (but have not verified) that all of the copters listed above are capable of lifting a small camera. In the cases of some smaller copters, I had doubts and so did not include those in this list.
Please note that most of these copters will rely upon rechargeable LiPo batteries, for which I offer two tips. A single battery might give you eight minutes of flight or twenty minutes of flight – so do have more than one battery. These batteries are relatively high power devices and there have been stories of such batteries causing fire, sometimes during the charging process. Do use protective LiPo storage bags such as LiPo Safe.
The most commonly used camera for these copters is a GoPro 3 or newer (e.g. Go Pro 3, Go Pro 3+, or GoPro 4). Personally, I have used the Hero 3+ Black Edition; while I find that it captures great video, I am not impressed by the still image JPEGs. Listed here are some of the available small “action cameras”, all of which I expect are primarily intended for video.
CamOne Infinity
Contour+2
ContourROAM3
Drift Ghost-S
Garmin VIRB Elite
Gear-Pro HD Sport Action Camera
GoPro HERO3+
GoPro HERO4
Ion Air Pro 3
JVC GC-XA2
Mobius Action Camera Pro
Polaroid XS100i
Polaroid Cube
Replay XD Prime X
Sony AS20
Sony HS100V
The last component for aerial photography is perhaps the first component to select when building a new system. A motorized/computerized gimbal is necessary for aerial video, to remove the unwanted effects of aircraft movement. The gimbal holds the camera, detects aircraft movement, and automatically moves the camera to counteract the aircraft movement. Without one of these devices, your level horizon will be ruined anytime the copter moves left or right. Gimbals are often designed to match the size and weight of specific cameras. So, if you are thinking of using a specific camera, you need to be sure that you can get a gimbal that accommodates that camera.
Bicyclist making a photograph at Glacier National Park
The National Forest Service wants to charge you a large fee to make photographs on national lands (national forests or national parks). The proposal covers “still photography and commercial filming” … without any further clarification, that seems to include you making a photo with your camera phone.
The proposal, an iterative evolution of past interim proposals because past efforts have been unclear.
Do check it out ASAP. The Forest Service is accepting public comments until November 3rd. You can easily provide your input on-line at the link above. I did.
