Random Photos

[jtbell]

The Peachtree Center station is MARTA's deepest, 120' below street level, in solid rock which was left exposed at track level.

The longest escalator is 190'. It’s not this one.

It ends at the back of the mezzanine level that you can see in the first photo.

 

[jtbell]

While riding around Atlanta on MARTA, I stopped at the airport, mainly to use a restroom, and found a display of model aircraft and other memorabilia from WWII.

 

[jtbell]

While walking near my hotel in an Atlanta suburb, I found some "button art".

A Google Maps search turned up a few more of these, within walking distance of my hotel. Something to keep in mind for future visits here.

 

[DennisN]

The Peachtree Center station is MARTA's deepest, 120' below street level, in solid rock which was left exposed at track level.

Very nice perspective in that photo!

 

[jtbell]

On my way home from Atlanta today, I made a detour south of Athens GA to visit the Iron Horse.

I learned about it only last week, from a New York Times article, a few days before I left for Atlanta. After years of neglect and vandalism, it was restored and reinstalled about two months ago. The linked Wikipedia article has a photo from before the restoration.

 

[phinds]

Old toy, new rider

On the left is my son, almost 40 years ago and on the right is his son a few days ago. The tricycle is one I made/turned/carved out of red oak for my son

 

[berkeman]

Wow, amazing job of extricating this woman and saving her life:

https://www.firehouse.com/rescue/ve...fighters-use-extrication-skills-to-free-woman

The driver survived with the help of an airbag and a reclining seat, photos show.

A child was also in the car, but was freed by good Samaritans, the Chattanooga Fire Department said in a Jan. 26 Facebook post.

However, the woman’s entrapment was so complex, firefighters were forced to get creative, officials said.

“The driver was pinned under the weight of the tree, the windshield and the dashboard,” the fire department wrote.

“Firefighters had to build cribbing, which is a temporary wooden structure used to support heavy objects. ... They also used airbags to lift the huge tree in order to remove the doors of the car to get the driver out. It was an extended, challenging operation that took focus, patience and skill.”

The woman was hospitalized “with injuries to her lower extremities.” The child was not seriously hurt, officials said.

A relative of the woman and child shared an update Jan. 27 on social media, reporting she “has a concussion, some vertebrae impacts, and (is) overall pretty banged up.”

Meanwhile, her son has bruising, a jammed finger/wrist and “a little head bump,” the post said.

 

[pinball1970]

Oldham

 

[Andy Resnick]

I haven't decided if this is real or a trick of the light:

 

[renormalize]

I haven't decided if this is real or a trick of the light:

View attachment 356689

Something fishy about that photo.

 

[Tom.G]

I just checked my pocket and found a match. Here is what the U.S. Mint has to say:
"The person on the obverse (heads) of the quarter is George Washington, our first president. He's been on the quarter since 1932, the 200th anniversary of his birth. The right-facing portrait of Washington dates to 2022. Quarters before that showed him facing to the left."

reference: https://kids.usmint.gov/about-the-mint/quarter

Cheers,
Tom

 

[pinball1970]

Gig in Yorkshire, Rotherham. A brewery with a tap and gig Venue as part of the complex.

Stage left brewing vessels

Stage right, "dressing room" I assume the wheel barrow is used for the mash or cleaning the kit.

The flowers were not for us, especially.

I bought this Ludwig kit last Wed and the vocalist picked it up so I did not actually see it out of it case till I set it up. It is blurred because the 26 inch bass drum has its own gravitational field.

 

[Andy Resnick]

Had another go at photographing snow:

 

[pinball1970]

Slightly better image. I took saturation totally off as the spot lights were glaring everything. It could be 1970, the best year ever!

 

[pinball1970]

care of Katie

 

[nsaspook]

 

[pinball1970]

C/O Katie. I need a better device!

 

[pinball1970]

The sun is setting just as I'm leaving work.

This is Daisy Nook Oldham.

 

[pinball1970]

 

[pinball1970]

 

[DennisN]

Slightly off topic, but I post it here since it is about camera lenses...

I got this link from a friend and it seems to be a crazy lens construction, f/0.38 is just ridiculous...
I notify @Andy Resnick and @collinsmark of course...

f/0.38 camera lens made with oil immersion microscope objective

 

[DennisN]

I bought this Ludwig kit last Wed and the vocalist picked it up so I did not actually see it out of it case till I set it up. It is blurred because the 26 inch bass drum has its own gravitational field.

So you've got both Pearl and Ludwig drums now?
Anyway, that's a ridiculously big kick drum...

 

[DennisN]

Had another go at photographing snow:

Lovely!

 

[pinball1970]

So you've got both Pearl and Ludwig drums now?
Anyway, that's a ridiculously big kick drum...

I used a Pearl and Yamaha but kit before was a 1970s Premier. I had to get a Ludwig and it had to be 26 inch bass drum. Inspired by the best.

 

[DennisN]

I used a Pearl and Yamaha but kit before was a 1970s Premier.

Pearl is my personal favorite when it comes to drum samples and I like DW too (I often use multivelocity sample libraries for drums).

 

[Andy Resnick]

Slightly off topic, but I post it here since it is about camera lenses...

I got this link from a friend and it seems to be a crazy lens construction, f/0.38 is just ridiculous...
I notify @Andy Resnick and @collinsmark of course...

f/0.38 camera lens made with oil immersion microscope objective

Clever- he's using the microscope objective in reverse. I'm not sure the NA (in object space) is what he thinks it is, tho.

 

[pinball1970]

Pearl is my personal favorite when it comes to drum samples and I like DW too (I often use multivelocity sample libraries for drums).

I stand in for another drummer for a Rainbow tribute and he uses a DM. Never heard of them till a couple of years ago.
They look pro but not as cool as a Slingerland, Ludwig or Gretch. Plus they were a bit dead on the toms, I was not feeling it. Could be the way he tuned them or the heads, I like boom!
Best drum sound ever? Buddy Rich had a few different ones between 1960-1986 and they were all great because he would never tolerate anything less than perfect. This could even be worth a thread because the amount of physics going on playing drums is immense.
(Yeah physics is EVERYTHING but I meant some specific features, tension, speed of sound, elasticity, GRAVITY! acoustics....)

 

[fresh_42]

A reconstruction model of a 'Neanderthal Man' in modern clothing; stands in front of Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany. He's leaning on the railing in the exhibit as if he was a normal visitor taking a break.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=628745763005867&set=a.300695952477518

 

[morrobay]

Lake Superior from sister in Wisconsin

 

[pinball1970]

Lake Superior from sister in Wisconsin View attachment 357085

Very different to your climate!

 

[berkeman]

Lake Superior from sister in Wisconsin

Wow, please tell her that it is beautiful. That's the kind of picture where you can feel being there.

 

[jtbell]

Lake Superior from sister in Wisconsin

Definitely chillier than South Carolina today. We had a record high of 79F for the date. Normally it would be in the 50s.

 

[collinsmark]

Mittens update:

Mr. Mittens, My neighbor's cat, doesn't pop over as often. But he does visit occasionally, enough to stay in touch. He knows he's not going to get any food out of me. He has a loving and caring family just a couple doors down.

I managed to get a couple of photographs over the last month or so.

Figure 1. Stealth-master Mittens. Natural light. He seamlessly blends into his surroundings.

Figure 2. Mr. Mittens questioning his decisions after being roused from a peaceful, late morning slumber. Natural light. He's behind a bay-window curtain where he has a good view of traffic and birds.

 

[DennisN]

A couple of previously unedited shots from two years ago on the topic of snow and ice:

And two shots of a piece of ice I was playing around with in the sun two years ago...
(I remember I posted one shot of it before in this thread)

A piece of ice with a colorful background:

Just ice against the sky:

 

[Andy Resnick]

22 degree halo tonight:

At least, I'm pretty sure it's the 22 degree halo... the most amazing site that I would check with (Atoptics) is no more, unfortunately. Image taken with Nikon D810 + Zeiss 15/2.8 @ f/4.

Here's the star of the show (same lens, different exposure, 300% zoom):

 

[Averagesupernova]

Mr. Mittens, My neighbor's cat, doesn't pop over as often. But he does visit occasionally, enough to stay in touch. He knows he's not going to get any food out of me. He has a loving and caring family just a couple doors down.

I would have a hard time not feeding that cat. It makes me wonder if Mr. Mittens gets a scolding at home for some reason when he comes to visit you. I've known people who grew up within walking distance of their grandparents house. A good scolding at home was a sure motivator to go see Grandma and Grandpa.

 

[DennisN]

Guitar modding continued...

Here's the other one, a Squire Affinity 2012 (Black).

It's currently being modded, so what you see in the photo below is the guitar body without any pickups. You can see through the holes in the pickguard that I have shielded the interior with copper foil (this greatly reduces noise).

My custom surf/dream pop guitar is now assembled, and it's nicknamed "Surfbird".
Here it is:

I still need to do neck adjustment, adjust string heights and then do intonation, and after that the guitar should be ready to go.

Schematics is highly recommended to do when you build custom guitars:

Some close-ups:

Left: Roller string retainers on headstock (decreases friction and helps with holding tune while bending
& using the guitar vibrato arm). Right: Lockable tuners. Bottom: Bridge roller saddles (decreases friction and
helps with the same as the roller string retainers).

Left: The three pickups (two Rockabilly single coils (GFS Surf 90) and one lipstick pickup); five pickup combinations are possible with my wiring. Right: The volume and tone controls with two top hat bell knobs, otherwise usually seen on Gibson guitars.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm having fun, so I will probably do another custom guitar...

I'm planning on doing a Telecaster-style guitar, since I haven't got one of those, but it will likely become a little "bastard" that doesn't look like a standard Telecaster; it will be a "Weirdocaster" .

I'm thinking of fitting two Telecaster pickups into a Stratocaster body, along with a couple
of dual hot rail pickups. This will make it into a Telecaster which also has a vibrato system (standard
Telecasters haven't got any), and the extra dual hot rail pickups will make it possible for it
to double as a Stratocaster. So it will become sort of a lovebaby of a Tele and a Strat. The wiring will probably be quite tricky to do, but no pain, no gain.

Left: I've got an empty Stratocaster body and a neck, but unfortunately I will have to drill/carve out more space for the pickups. Top: Two Telecaster pickups (neck & bridge) I've got lying around. Bottom: I will have to do a custom pickguard, since my pickup combination will be very unusual.

A little extra guitar nerdiness, if I may...

Telecaster bodies are rather heavy (except Telecaster Thinlines) and not as comfortable as Stratocasters in my opinion, for instance Stratocasters have belly cuts (image) while Telecasters are usually completely flat (image). And I'm keen on comfortability and ergonomics, so I prefer Stratocaster bodies.

There are good reasons why Stratocasters are such extremely popular guitars, and it's not because Jimi Hendrix played one .

They may not be very sexy guitars, but the design is simply great; they are very comfortable and ergonomic, they are versatile and they usually sound from good to great. And if I'm not mistaken there are two Stratocasters on stage on the first photo @pinball1970 posted before, in front of what I guess is a Marshall cabinet and amp (?).

I've only played one guitar that I have found more comfortable than Stratocasters, and it's a PRS copy (a Harley Benton CST-24T) I bought cheap second hand which is incredibly comfortable. It's not a great guitar, but pretty good, and fun to play.

 

[pinball1970]

And if I'm not mistaken there are two Stratocasters on stage on the first photo @pinball1970 posted before, in front of what I guess is a Marshall cabinet and amp (?).

It is Purple/Richie so yes on the strat. I'll check the amps and feedback.

 

[nsaspook]

What is best in life. Kids doing well in school.

 

[jtbell]

We have a new neighbor down the street, at least it's the first time I've seen it outdoors.

 

[DennisN]

Two tele shots of paddlers from a couple of years ago when I was down by the sea testing tele lenses. The paddlers were pretty far away from me; I used a manual Tokina 400mm lens and a tripod here.

 

[DennisN]

A couple of previously unedited flower shots...

Persian cornflower

Poppy anemones

Poppy anemones

Wood cranesbill

A red tulip

...and an ivy (well, it's not a flower, is it? ):

 

[nsaspook]

 

[nsaspook]

Testing a SECS/GEM Host interface emulator on a processing tool.

Documentation pictures

Testing the prototype RS232 tester.

 

[morrobay]

Shopping with Thai girlfriend. Father Chinese that's why her white skin . Two main ethnicities here: The wealthy Chinese Thai elites centered in Bangkok .That includes: the royalty, and high ranking military and government. Then the Lao Thais that make up the farming populations upcountry. As well as the factory and service worker across the country. By the way she is not part of the Chinese/Thai elite. Gold ? About $375 for that small necklace. Just looking.(All gold shops are Chinese/Thai)

 

[Rive]

Napoli
Too much happened there and it's still too close so for now just some clouds and lights, before-, after- and between rains:

And: Pompeii is BIG.

Ps.: did anybody else noticed that at the end of a long, busy and exciting day somehow the morning suddenly feels kind of distant: not yet a yesterday, but like some kind of 'another today' already?
Really strange feeling.

Ps.: in case there is somebody here from Napoli, can I get a recipe for that traditional potato-pasta-cheese meal, please?... Somehow, on the Land of the Hundred Pizzeria Every Street the first restaurant we tried just did not serve any pizza, and the second outright declared 'no pizza' at the door. And, both was good...

 

[jtbell]

Napoli
Too much happened there

At least Vesuvius stayed quiet, right?

 

[fresh_42]

At least Vesuvius stayed quiet, right?

And hopefully, the Phlegraean Fields which are probably even more dangerous. Not that Santorini was an opening of something severe.

 

[DennisN]

A couple of European rabbits shot a couple of years ago:

(Gear: Sony A6000 + Sony 55-210mm*)

* Gosh, I would really love to have an autofocus zoom that goes up to at least 300mm, but they are really expensive.

 

[Rive]

At least Vesuvius stayed quiet, right?

Well, actually no