Welcome to Windinsight

This is an attempt to respond to some emails and thoughts that may be of general interest and to be in touch.
As the site and situations change from time to time a dated post will also be made.

Blog entries occasionally change and clarify a bit after rereadings, constructive feedback, and rethinking...

Jan.Feb.Mar.
Apr.2011

Journal 2011

*index

Tuesday - Friday December 28th - 31st ~ Re: New iMac

The old PC is retiring and a new iMac has taken over. It may take a few weeks to get another Photoshop and a few other programs that are no longer supported by this change. Finding my way around in this beast may take a while as well. Hopefully it will support the older html on the site which the 06 MacBook does not, otherwise a major rework will be necessary. Still working within safe tables & doing copy/paste, haven't attempted anything serious with html just yet.

Wednesday, December 29th ~ Downloaded an upgraded and necessary Photoshop CS5, a new FTP and brought some files into iPhoto 11. Will try to write some html over a page in the site next to see if the iMac supports the old site based on a PC created platform and landscape. The overall processing speed is amazing. (Photoshop CS3 didn't work with this Mac - Version 10 6 5.)

Reworked the Blog (for 2011) with success and will start modifying other parts of the site to see what works. Will get out and squeeze off some fresh pics as well. Looks like the old PC can finally be completely retired. The 06 MacBook problems with editing site html (PC based) seems to be solved using this new Mac. Not sure how or why at this point other than this beast has been improved to support so much more.

Final Cut will also be an add on program that will allow creating and edit video with ease. Trying to edit video with good results on the slower/small capacity 06 MacBook (using 06/09 iMovie) was a chore. Am now looking forward to being able to improve in both video and photographic results over the next few years.

Thursday, December 30th ~ Still wandering around in Photoshop and adjusting to the differences with the Mac. Took some shots around LaSalle today walking the beach.

Please click on the thumbnail to enlarge the pic below

Saturday, December 11th ~ Re: Site and Blog

The site will be in slow down mode for the next few weeks with the hustle and bustle of the season, and the lack of wind driven activities for now. The camera is always handy and nearby, but archived pics will more likely be recycled onto the main page from day to day.

The Blog will be moved to Travels for now. Incoming emails including thoughts and questions have slowed down as they always have at this time of year. The Blog was an attempt to both answer questions and be in touch with site conditions. Not entirely sure at this time of what shape, focus, and placement it will have, if any.

The site will continue to keep on continuing to keep on continuing and may change (somewhat) depending on whether the current PC remains or a new Mac takes over. A makeover may be due and fitting as the same old face of windinsight.com may be getting a bit tired.

Took a few minutes and reread the site objectives stated somewhat loosely last December 31st. Perhaps a review of those thoughts would be a good place to start in thinking about 2011 and just how the site will continue.

Friday, December 3rd ~ Re: Magilla Schaus ~ Sept 1951 - Nov 2009

Magilla was the president of the Wyldewood Surf Club, and a long term member and local representative of the ESA (Eastern Surfing Association). He was a part of the original Wydewood Surf Club of the early 60's.

He passed away from cancer November 10th, 2009. As a tribute to his memory local and distant surfers held a celebration of his life and a paddle out into the surf (John O'Hear's home where Magilla was married) from Wyldewood Beach at noon five days after his passing on November 15th, 2009.

Wyldewood Surf Club

Eastern Surfing Association (one of many Tributes)

A conversation with Magilla ~ Buffalo Evening News

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

Saturday, November 27th ~ Re: Capital Espesso ~ 1499 Queen St., West, Toronto

(Daughter) Maggie, Damien, and Alex opened Capital Espresso a few weeks ago and have been enjoying a growing and amazing success since their move from down the street at Blondie's.

The video and stills were shot with the Canon EOS 7D, 17 - 55 f2.8 IS, hand held, using both flash and available light. Photoshop was not used to adjust the still shots to try to match the vid and no transitions were added to the video.

video & stills ~ Grand Opening - Capital Espresso

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

November 23rd ~ re: damaged hull

Yes, it was the magic of Photoshop. Cloned the nearby sky into the hull and added some beige foam, some shadow around the break, and then burned the area. The only real damage may have been an emotional one. My sincere apologies to both the very capable rider and the caring, trusting owner.

The site, quite simply, needs some dark, gut-wrenching, dramatic emphasis from time to time.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

November 22nd ~ re: Beaches

Beaches are such a wondrous assault on the senses. Seeing the shallow water sand ripples become the gravel shoreline, barefoot walks, the moon on the water, a bonfire, leaving the stability of the shore with board and rig in hand for the soft, fluid moving platform of waves, may it never end. Always a destination, anytime.

Shooting in late afternoon and diffused light make for easier exposures in this comforting sand and water corner of our world.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

November 9th ~ re: Chakra Acupoints

Hey, you can't make this stuff up, it's too well documented in the literature. The only real problem is locating the neuro connector synapse-accupoint to adjust to American beer and American coffee.

Life isn't always fair.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

October 24th ~ re: Serendipity ~ Nights in Rodanthe

This was an endangered Rodanthe oceanfront home about to be lost to the Atlantic. It was the main location setting of the movie Nights In Rodanthe in which Richard Gere played the starring roll.

The following links describe the plight and saving of the home including the move to its present location just across the road from where we are staying. The text and pics are quite interesting.

The home has been restored and can be rented. It currently appears as it did in the movie.

Info about the current status of Serendipity

More info about the home, now for rent

a helicopter video of Serendipity being moved to its new location

another short vid from the ground

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

Friday, October 22nd ~ on our way to Rodanthe, North Carolina.

Hopefully we'll have a good wireless connection when we arrive. We should be able to report late Saturday or early Sunday.

October 3rd ~ new video (Sept. 24th - 25th)

Bouncy footage on the water (GoPro headcam mount) and the telephoto zooms (200mm - 400mm) with the Canon EOS 7D are a bit shaky even with the tripod mount.

Berni's GoPro video is very smooth and stable, until sadly his mast shattered. His video extension mounted on the rear of the boom worked well. His windsurfing talent helps to make the video interesting as well.

Berni's Long Beach video used a GoPro Hero mounted on a boom extension (which he created)

windinsight video Sept. 24th - 25th Long Beach/Club LaSalle

Sept. 27th ~ Lighting: without fill flash

The following pics used reflected light from the sail or the white interior of the cockpit. Was able to shoot into sunlight without a flash and get good exposures in otherwise backlit conditions. The reflected image in the sunglass lens was perhaps a bit over the top =)

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics

Sept. 21st ~ re: pics on Sunday, September 19th

(If you've been following the challenge of the lenses read on. One small, light, but slower 18 - 250mm Tamron f 3.5 - 6.3 in one camera vs. two heavier, larger, bulkier but faster Canon lenses 17 - 55mm & 70 - 200mm f 2.8 in two cameras)

It was light air, so I used the Canon EFS 17 - 55 f 2.8 and the Canon EF 70mm - 200mm f 2.8 in a Canon EOS 40D and a Canon EOS 7D respectively.

The colours and exposures were generally better especially both in lower light and backlit conditions using the faster lenses as you might expect. It was 4 - 6 knots and using the two cameras with the heavier lenses weren't much of an issue. The Tamron performs well in bright light and handles much more easily in windy, wavy conditions. The Canon lenses are about 6 - 7 times more expensive (and much heavier & unweildy) compared to the single Tamron lens. They are much more capable overall and a better build quality but suitabilty considerations have to be made when making a lens choice. You can see some differences if you compare the 2 pages and the light conditions.

Canon lenses ~ 2 pics below left. Tamron lens ~ 2 pics below right.

A few times had the wrong lens for a shot ~ either needing the telephoto zoom or the wide angle and that lens/camera wasn't close by. C'est la vie!

Page 10 ~ Canon 17 -55mm & 70 - 200mm lenses

Page 9 ~ Tamron 18 - 250mm lens

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

Sept. 16th ~ re: Followup (last three entries) - Fibonacci is for after the shot, not before

It just happens that when you apply a Fibonacci Ratio to many interesting compositions that it fits into the photo. Yes, I totally agree, to try to think about applying it before shooting a picture would be hugely foolish, confusing, (and quite impossible bouncing around on a sailboat in high wind). The Rule Of Thirds is something which you can almost always apply before taking a shot. Many cameras have a GRID divided into thirds built into the screen to help with the composition. If 'thirds' are not available you can guess the shot ~ Nothing significant in the centre ~ Horizon high or low ~ Subject to one side. Easy as Pi.

The Fibonacci Numbers have been around a long time too. Here's a link below giving some more insight into the principle and the way it works.

The Fibonacci Numbers (in sequence) and how they shape the spiral

Sept. 15th ~ re: Followup email - Look for these in your pics ~ The Fibonacci Ratio and The Rule Of Thirds

Simply speaking don't put your subject in the centre and avoid putting the horizon in the centre. It makes for a better photographic composition. Read on if you enjoy a technical situation.

In the shot below from last summer I overlaid the Fibonacci Ratio and the Rule of Thirds onto the picture. The subject is in the lower middle third and the spiral flows around the subject and sailboat. If you look carefully there's another rule of thirds going on within the middle lower Rule of Thirds. (somewhat complicated) Didn't plan this in the shot in any way, simply had the Rule Of Thirds in mind when the pic was being squeezed off. Kept the horizon and the subject out of the centre of the pic. (It was windy and wavy.)

From spiral galaxies to snail shells the Fibonacci connection (noted below ~ Sept.12th link) is somewhat mind boggling when you think about it. (Shazam!)

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

Sept. 12th ~ re: crops & colour of pics

The size/ratio choice of the thumbnails and pictures is a personal decision made when preparing the final images for viewing on a page. Pictures are cropped in a (length:width) ratio of 3:2 (4 X 6) or 5:4 (8 X 10). When the pictures are being taken the *Rule Of Thirds is almost always in mind while panning and waiting for a shot to come into view. Usually luck and patience pays off and a good shot occurs. When cropping a pic for use on the website one of the two aforementioned ratios plus using the Rule Of Thirds both help to produce a better composition. (Row 1 below ~ L (3:2 -4 X 6) R (5:4 - 8 X 10)

The colour of the picture is often out a bit. The shots below were taken with a slower, lighter, compact, much less capable and inexpensive Tamron 18 - 250mm lens. It's difficult to carry and use the larger, heavier, more technically capable, and much faster Canon lenses when crewing on a sailboat especially in higher winds. I carry and use what's safest, easiest and most comfortable.

Corrections used in Photoshop include adjusting the hue, saturation, shadow/highlights and changing the levels of exposure usually to overcome the need to underexpose the original pictures. Exposure and light problems frequently result with the many directions in which sunlight presents itself in a session with a camera . Pics are taken without the aid of any flash, polarizing, skylight, etc filters on the good and very handy but not so technically capable huge zoom Tamron lens. When sunlight is well-angled, usually behind, (like morning and later afternoon) very little needs to be adjusted. Shooting with a zoom into bright light, directly overhead light, and low light usually presents a need for both manual camera adjustments and colour/exposure/brightness/some kind of correction with an editing tool like Photoshop. I'm still somewhat of an intermediate resulting in some noticeable and questionable final results.

(Row 2 - below 2 left) Somewhat more challenging exposures shooting into brighter light (Row 2 - below 2 right) Easier exposures with incoming side sunlight at a better angle.

Picked up some very helpful reflected light from the sail on the crew and cabin area in the first pic (Row 2) below left.

*Rule Of Thirds

*A different way of explaining of the Rule Of Thirds (The Fibonacci Spiral or The Divine Proportion).

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics below

Sept. 5th ~ Follow-up: September 4th

The struggle continues.

Sacrificed some picture quality today (perhaps) with increased ISO's. Used f stops of 11 - 16 to increase the chance of getting a more in-focus shots. The (left) shot below is sharp and in-focus from the subject to the shoreline using an f stop of 16, (ISOs 800, and 1/800 sec.) The late afternoon incoming light provided good exposures for all the pictures below. A lower shutter speed worked well as overall motion was not as fast and active today.

The very high shutter speeds and low ISOs were too restrictive and unnecessary yesterday. The lower f stops likely helped to contribute to some of the out of focus blur in a few of the shots (the one posted in the second row below) because of the very narrow depths of field. (Mind you the auto spot focus point was off the subject a bit as well.) Many pictures taken yesterday could have been improved with more depth of field and a larger central focus setting. And, of course a better incoming sunlight angle which is not a controllable variable. Live and learn.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pic

Sept. 4th ~ Re: Setting choices ~ (not sure about the woulda coulda shoulda)

It was very windy on Saturday and being way overpowered I spent way more time with the camera than on the water.

The first photo session was shooting into very bright overhead sunlight from the beach looking south. Two challenges that resulted in some poor exposures. Chose to shoot with very low ISOs (100 - 250), a high shutter speed of 1/2500 sec. (handholding a long lens), underexposing by 1/3 - 2/3, and f stops around 5.6 thinking these numbers might work ok. Faces were dark and poorly exposed. I don't think that anything can be done to correct the resulting poor exposures given the situation and the position of the camera. (2 on the left)

May try slightly overexposing (correction) future shots taken into overhead light but I know that will blow out a lot of the surrounding colour in the pic.

Using the same numbers a few hours later with sunlight coming in more from behind faces were illuminated a bit better both from the sunlight and some reflected sunlight from the sail resulting in better overall exposures. (2 pics on the right)

Had a few out of focus shots handholding and tracking with the 50 - 500mm. Switched from a centre focus to a spot focus and simply was off target with a number of in-focus shots because of the the high wind, tired arms, and heavy lens. Epilog/conclusion: For best results shoot later in the afternoon when when the sunlight's angle will give better exposures and get more depth of field. Set f stops for greater depths of field by increasing ISOs and reducing shutter speed a bit.

Favourite shot of the day was the jump below. The low ISO, max zoom, and 1/2500 sec. shutter speed paid off on this one. Would loved to have been in the frontside of this one with a speedlight!

Did some video with the 7D and the Olympus and will begin working some of the footage later in the week when the wind shuts off. Looking forward as well to using the new GoPro HD helmet cam tomorrow.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics

Sept. 2nd ~ Re: Follow-up with the slower Tamron 18 - 250 mm lens.

As the early evening light fades in late summer so do the options with a slower lens. Higher ISOs are needed to increase shutter speed allowing a camera to be handheld with longer telephoto shots. As well depth of field has to be considered so that more of the picture foreground and background are in focus. Something has to give. Perhaps the slower lens should be put away and a faster lens attached. But the bulkier, heavier, limited telephoto capabilities of the 18 - 55 and the 75 - 200 f 2.8 can get in the way when crewing responsibilities make carrying and using extra lenses difficult.

Nothing is easy. With everything we do there's a price to pay and a challenge involved. Keeps the mind working and alert. Ha!

Compromise and careful choice will determine what to do from now on in a given session.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics

Sept. 1st ~ Re: Wasn't able to get great results shooting into early evening light with the
slower Tamron 18 - 250 f 3.5 - 6.3 lens last Wednesday.

I suspect the coatings on the lens isn't near as good as that used on the L glass in the faster Canon lenses, and I wasn't using any kind of lens filter. The advantage of the much less expensive Tamron is its very small size, light weight, and huge telephoto range. To have tried to use two Canon cameras with an 18 - 55mm and the bulky 75 - 200mm f 2.8 lenses in the 16 - 18 knot conditions while crewing would have been almost impossible. So it's better to squeeze off and get a fair to good exposure rather than nothing. (below ~> 2 on the left)

The Tamron lens does work well with the same sunlight striking the subject (below ~> 2 on the right) and in bright sunlight when balancing ISOs, shutter speed and depth of field isn't such an issue.

Please click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pics

We'll be working the Tamron as a DSLR video lens with the 7D both on a tripod and in a hand held stabilizing rig of some kind in the next few months when telephoto zoom is needed.

Jan.Feb.Mar.
Apr.2011

Journal 2011

index