Knuckledragger

Not precisely IDM, but close enough. Exhibit A: Exhibit B:

Cats, squirrels and other critters will have to wait. Let's talk about using an unnecessarily shallow depth of field. Last night it was cold AF, especially by Vineyard standards. In spite of that, I picked one of my new lenses, bundled up and went downtown. Zero points for guessing which one I chose. As I have said repeatedly, the list of things that have encountered in my life that lived up to the hype were (in no order): Citizen Kane, Ardbeg Uigeadail, Biosphere's Substrata, Tapatio hot sauce and the Canon EF 85mm F/1.2L (II). I last shot with the 85L in 2009, when it was a relatively new lens. Also, when I was a young, spry man in his 30s who had no problem lugging around a glass boat anchor + camera body for hours on end. The 85L is so comically fat, it changes the entire shooting experience. The balance of the camera feels different. Every shot takes just a bit more effort. I actually find it easier to hold things steady for longer exposures than with some lighter lenses. Of course, the depth of field is (to use the technical term) non-fucking-existent. I'm not old. You're old. (This joke works a lot better on places that aren't Head-Case.) Shot wide-open because I can. Downtown EDG's Christmas decorations (which are so famous, people come from all over the world for the "Christmas in Edgartown" first lighting.) TBH this is not a terribly compelling shot. It does look a bit like a still from a movie. Same idea, reflected off a truck. There's no real artistry to the wafer thin DoF, but it looks neat. It actually takes a fair amount of work (and some luck) to use such a shallow plane of focus effectively. I actually really like these two. The ornaments are sufficiently in focus, and the background is a warm cozy dream. The way I describe the 85L's handling of OOF highlight is that it paints them. It looks like a less cloying version of a Hallmark card. That's about it from an hour's walk. My hit rate was abysmal. Not terrible surprising, as I was shooting in Program mode with auto ISO. The 5D kept the 85 at max aperture and 1/80th shutter speed, while it adjusted auto ISO on the fly. Most of the Christmas lights are LED, and strobe at 60Hz. This effect is noticeable to the naked eye and super obvious in photos. I have two shots of the same doorway where one strand is out and then other. It looks comically bad. Also, while the 85L's shallow DoF is amusing, it's not reliably useful. It turns out that having more than a paper sheet's worth of a frame in-focus is good idea. Who knew? If it's not so ball freezingly cold, I'm going to back out and shoot more lights. I won't lug the 85 again. 35 years ago I dislocated my left shoulder and it never healed correctly. It was in absolute agony by the end of last night. If I'm smart, I'll take my OG 50mm F/1.8 (arguably the best lens I own for actually taking photos and not dicking around.) The 17-40mm is also a great walkaround lens. Modern bodies have sufficient high ISO performance that it's F/4 aperture is not a problem. I also have a strong notion to make use of the 135 F/2L. It's not as over the top as the 85L (what is, this side of Leica?) but its optical qualities are legendary.

Just heard that Ken Downie of The Black Dog passed. TBD released a fantastic number of IDM gems in the first half of the 90s. My personal favorite is Raxmus:

Two things: (1) This time of year (we're picoseconds from the solstice), the sun does some funny things. (2) My CZJ 135mm F/3.5 Sonnar is one of my favorite lenses, full stop. I describe the images it renders as "handsome." Everything is sharp, colorful, and has the right amount of distance between subjects. In a different universe, I might use a 135mm on a medium format (Hasselblad makes a neat 135mm that'll set you back about 5 large.) It is not the narrow FoV that I like, it's what is to my biased eyes the "correct" amount of telescopic compression. To wit: Note the birds in the upper left corner. Earlier, I was capturing fall colors with the Sonnar: Also this photo got into Flickr's "Explore" section: Nearly 5000 views and 150 favorites later. TBH I find the whole thing kind of silly. Longtime listeners may recall me mentioning that Explore is heavily botted and most of the photos that end up in it are eye catching, but not particularly good. TBH that's what the above is, I think. The Sonnar's bokeh is quite good and the little cedar tree is tack sharp. With that said, the framing is nothing special. It's just a snapshot with a shallow DoF. The Sonnar is a great lens. Flickr is dumb. Bonus, previous photos of mine that I have made it into Explore: The pond next to Edgartown harbor. 2020 rework of a photo I took in 2006. IR version of the same area, 2013. A bungalow, across from Cannonball Park. As I said, eye-catching but not necessarily good. Next time: Cats, squirrels and whatever I get up to with some new glass (more on that later.)

I'm gonna go with the The Princess Bride. Saw in theaters in '86 and have watched it periodically throughout the decades. Andre the Giant said he was happiest on the set of that film. It was the one time he felt normal.

My D200 is now over 20 years old, and while it shows its age, it still works. The 300 F/4 I keep permanently attached to it is from 1987, but it has aged like a fine wine. I use the combination to catch the local wildlife, usually without leaving my house. The "lawn crew." This is from September, and the Hathaway house has now seen major renovations. More on that later. An osprey looking for lunch. The corner of the mower shed is a prime squirrel snack bar. "I have an acorn, and you don't!" *honk* *honk* Canada geese don't actually like the pond that much, because it's surrounded by trees. They prefer Sweetened Water Pond, across the street. Even though it's a much smaller pond, it's open and they find id easier to access. With that said, the geese will sometimes slum it and land in Jernegan pond. The ducks are slightly more frequent in their appearances, but they too prefer the more open pond. A great blue heron taking off the moment he caught sight of me. Herons do NOT like humans. *gobble* Survived another thanksgiving. I took a bunch of photos of this fatso, but I've only one I've edited so far. Tune in next time for fall colors, antique lenses, and irritated kitties.

Lukewarm take: None of them will be missed.

RIP Steve Cropper, best known for a great many things, not the least of which was being an MG and Blues Brother.

Oh. Shit. There's someone on island selling off their EF lens collection: 24-70mm F/2.8 II (very functional but not super interesting zoom) 100mm F/2.8L Macro (expensive new, unfamiliar to me) 135mm F/2L (niche, but exceptional) 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6 II (bird annoyer tele-zoom) 85mm F/1.2L II (Gojira) BRB, selling off some antiques.

I've been off the air for nearly 3 years at this point. So today I did the logical thing and pay Native Instruments to upgrade from Traktor Pro 3 to 4. So far the experience has been absolute misery. Their install app wants to contact every tracking site in the known universe and has taken ...45 minutes to download what purports to be a 500MB install.

A while back, I bought a lot of camera gear because I wanted one specific piece. The lot was cheaper than the item on its own, because eBay. Included in the pile of gear was a Tamron "vacation lens" (all-in-wonder, not good at anything) 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD A010. Yes, that's its name. I was not expecting much with the Tamron and it's barely delivered even on that meager promise. With that said, I did have some fun with it. This past September, I took the 5D IV and Tamron for a walk around downtown EDG. This New Beetle is parked in front of this shop all summer. 78mm @ F/9, 1/200. Old Beetle! It made genuine air cooled noises, and belched out noxious exhaust fumes. 87mm @ F/8, 1/200. The main drag, which is one way, because it was built for horses. 70mm @ F/8, 1/200. Zoomed in on the same, 179mm @ F/7.1, 1/250. Main St. never meant to hold a Wagoneer. A rather famous boat, with Chappy in the background. 28mm @ F/10, 1/320. Speaking of famous, the Dolphin returns to harbor. 71mm @ F/10 1/320. Both On Time ferries, 109mm @ F/9, 1/320. A Series III on Kelly St. That's a pet pickup truck I see in the summer behind it. 195mm @ F/7.1, 1/200. The line for the On Time, Daggett St. 97mm @ F/8, 1/160. Mose St. is two way, and has parking. It's even less suited for Wagoneers. 97mm @ F/8, 1/200. The Connaught House, now just another goddamn rental. 109mm @ F/8, 1/250. North Water St. 179mm @ F/7.1, 1/250. A cute MG and absolutely garbage bokeh. 223mm @ F/7.1, 1/320. South Water St, which I have callously ignored for 20 years now. 87mm @ F/8, 1/200. September is still vacation for some. 43,mm @ F/8, 1/250. The Tamron is not a very good lens. It covers a large focal range and not well. I had to work over many of the above pretty thoroughly to get decent results. I also had a bunch of shots that were not really worth the effort to salvage. Tune in next time for Vineyard wildlife and some seasonal colors.

I, ahem, like to sing sea shanties, so I cheerfully pay for Proton VPN. Don't let the UK government back you into a corner!

Jimmy Cliff was an absolute legend. I saw The Harder They Come on VHS in the 1980s when I was entirely too young for such things. It left a lasting impact on me.

Look at this moldering (or in this case, mouldering) old geezers. L to R: Some UK psytrance DJ named Liquid Ross that I cannot pretend to care about, Dr. Alex Patterson AKA Mr. The Orb and some Irish ginger who is simultaneously the most most important figure and biggest bell-end in all of IDM AKA Richard Dinklage James the Aphex Twinkie himself.