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It's a toss up between a 77mm Expodisc, 1GB Sandisk Extreme CF's, this Singh-ray filter, this timer remote, or this flash on the list of most wanted birthday items this year. Of course, the real deal is the coveted 600mm f/4L IS, but I just don't see getting that as a gift. Hehe. *sigh* The wish list lives on.

A carnivorous plant at waters edge waits on a little victom to enter the trapdoor... cool stuff.

The rain stopped for just a moment and the sun peeked out... but now the weekend is gone. :-(

This rain has us all socked in. So much for outdoor photos this weekend. Yuck.

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is tath the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a ttoal mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid des not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Alrighty then... rain, rain, and more rain. It's not exactly how I had planned to spend my weekend. Where did the wonderful weather go that we had last weekend?! Ugg. So, I'm getting on my lazy arse and working on my commercial site today (claytonbownds.com). The DNS record is still in transit, so you may not be able to get there for another couple of days. I am moving the hosting to a faster server... finally. This means better resolution and less compression on the photos posted there... which is good because they will all be for sale. I am waiting on the prints from the shoot with Urs and Sandra last weekend for their engagement photos. I'll post one of the stragglers at the bottom. I didn't include this in the print set, but I may go back and have a large format print done for them later. I've been testing the new lightbox EL made for me, but don't have anything to post yet. We're still working the bugs out.

Congratulations!

Little Known Facts Bout Texas... Beaumont to El Paso: 742 miles Beaumont to Chicago: 770 miles World's first rodeo was in Pecos... July 4, 1883. The Flagship Hotel in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built over water. The Heisman Trophy was named after John William Heisman who was the first full time coach for Rice University in Houston. Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other area in North America. Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America's only remaining flock of whooping cranes. Jalapeno jelly originated in Lake Jackson in 1978. The worst natural disaster in U.S. history was in 1900 caused by a hurricane in which over 8,000 lives were lost on Galveston Island. The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was Houston. El Paso is closer to California than to Dallas. Laredo is the world's largest inland port. Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden with over 38,000 bushes with 500 varieties on 22 acres. The state shell is the Lightning Whelk. King Ranch is larger than Rhode Island. Tropical Storm Claudette brought a U.S. rainfall record of 43 inches in 24 hours in and around Alvin in July 1979. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, instead of by annexation. (This allows the Texas flag to fly at the same height as the US flag.) A Live Oak tree near Fulton is estimated to be 1500 years old. Caddo Lake is the only natural lake in the state. Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. There is no period after Dr in Dr Pepper. Texas has had six capital cities ... 1. Washington-on-the-Brazos 2. Harrisburg 3. Galveston 4. Velasco 5. West Columbia 6. Austin The Capitol Dome in Austin is the only dome in the U.S. which is taller than the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (by 7 feet). The name Texas comes from the Hasini Indian word "tejas" meaning "friends." Tejas is not Mexican for Texas. The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston. The State animal is the Armadillo.* *An interesting bit of trivia about the armadillo is they always have four babies! They have one egg which splits into four and they either have four males or four females.

"This movie was shot in 3B - three beers - and it looks good, eh?" Where's Waldo? I've been pretty busy with work. Cigars and Guinness with "the guys" at Molly's the other night seems like last night because the last day or so has been a blur. EL made me a custom light box that serves as a diffuser for jewelry photography. It works in a very similar fashion to the trademarked Cocoon or CloudDome, but was hundreds of dollars cheaper. Cotton fabric and half inch PVC plumbing are the main ingredients. The idea is to flood the external surfaces of the box with a constant temperature light. It doesn't matter what bulbs you use really as long as you have the ability to define a custom white balance with your camera body. Halogens and cool whites will be really cold, where daylights should be warmer. Actual daylight (not in the shade or under overcast skies, but in the sun) is about 5500 degrees Kelvin. I've found that even a little cloudiness can cause a great variation in the temperature of the light. For those that don't really get why this is important, not having the white balance set correctly can cause your photos to come out looking tinted. White balance with a color temperature lower than the actual light temperature will result in shots looking bluish, while higher than actual will cause orange tinted shots. To some extent, this can be corrected in post processing... after all, Photoshop is an amazing tool that few on Earth have mastered to it's capability. Anyhoo, I got off track. So you set a custom white balance to match the light now living in the box through the fabric. The cloth box has a circular opening cut in the front face for lens access. I took some test shots last night and discovered a few things to improve upon. I'm hoping to make another test run this evening. These enclosures are pretty much the standard when photographing jewelry because of the technical issues with reflectance in the metal and/or gems. I don't usually photograph jewelry, so I didn't have one handy, but received a request for a commission to shoot a custom piece soon, so it was necessary. I also got a shipment in from the lab yesterday. The Cypresswood Sunrise, Great Blue Gardener, Early Summit Solitude, Sunrise at the Bend, Chapel Hill, Mystic Path, and a nifty flower shot... all in quantity 4x5 or 4x6 to make cards like we did last year for the local craft fair. We thought we'd print some more up since there has been some local interest. I shot a series of engagement photos for some new friends on Sunday. I am waiting on the proofs now. In preparation for our camping trip, I got a new camera bag. I ended up selecting the Lowepro Photo Trekker AW II because I wanted to fit everything in one bag to use as a carry on for the flight. I think it will just barely make it. Continental's policy is no more than 51" for the sum of dimensions (L+W+H) and no more than 40 pounds. I also found out that Henry needs a special "ticket" to fly with us in the cabin... $160.00 round trip for him to sit with EL during the journey. That works out to about $27 per pound. That pup is running the house. Well, I have a bunch of documentation to write this morning and a couple of meetings to attend, so I need to submerge myself in a vat of coffee... drink my way out ala Strange Brew. Hiccup.

So, I saw over on Lisa's site a little variation on the 23rd/5th meme going around... her post was the 5th sentence from the 23rd page of the book you are currently reading, not the nearest book you find. That would change things significantly in my case. Anyhoo, I heard this hooha on the radio this morning about the powers that be trying to stop the use of ultrasound technology in non-medical venues. I support this opinion. It's not great for the fetus and little fetal portrait studios doing ultrasound so mommy and daddy can have a refrigerator magnet with a blog of developed embryo should be shut down. However, the use of ultrasound during abortion counseling for women on the fence is definitely borderline because, like the dude said, the damaging effects of ultrasound on a fetus are significantly less than the damaging effects of an abortion on a fetus. Makes sense to me. Thus ends me plug for something in the news. On another (more fun) note, I ran across this site that pimps National Geographic expeditions. That is for me! Holy shit... check out this 13 day safari: Days 1 and 2: Atlanta or New York/Windhoek, Namibia Depart on an overnight flight to Johannesburg. Upon arrival, connect by scheduled flight to Windhoek, Namibia’s historic capital city, and transfer to our resort. Days 3 and 4: Skeleton Coast Fly northwest by private light aircraft along the scenic Skeleton Coast to the remote Kaokoveld in the northwestern corner of Namibia. Our group splits in two, with everyone spending two nights at the Skeleton Coast Camp and two nights at Serra Cafema Camp. The Skeleton Coast, named after the many ships that were wrecked along its treacherous shores, is one of the most hauntingly beautiful places on Earth. It is wild, desolate, and uninhabited, and represents a microcosm of the Namib Desert with everything from windswept plains, towering canyons, and soaring sand dunes to seal colonies, shipwrecks, and an array of desert-adapted wildlife. Travel through this landscape of never ending vistas in specially outfitted safari vehicles, with frequent stops to explore on foot. Perhaps you will see a gemsbok, one of the few large mammals that has evolved to living on the sand. Days 5 and 6: Skeleton Coast/Serra Cafema Fly from Skeleton Coast Camp to Serra Cafema Camp on the Kunene River. We share this remote region with the Himba people, one of the last true nomadic cultures of Africa. Your lodgings will be wonderfully furnished safari tents beneath big, shady Albida trees on the Kunene River. The river’s reed banks are home to crocodiles and an extraordinary array of bird life, including the Cinderella waxbill, one of southern Africa’s rarest birds. Activities include nature drives to appreciate the breathtaking scenery and wildlife, eco-dune biking excursions, a leisurely boating excursion on the Kunene River, and trekking in the remote mountain and river valleys. During our stay, we hope to meet members of the nomadic Himba tribe and learn about their unique lifestyle and traditions. Days 7, 8, and 9: Okavango Delta, Botswana Travel by light aircraft to Botswana’s famous Okavango Delta. Botswana is widely recognized as one of Africa’s prime safari destinations, and the Okavango Delta offers a game-rich, unspoiled wilderness in a unique wetland oasis. You’ll have a broad array of exhilarating options for exploring the delta’s complex maze of lagoons, channels, and islands. Activities include fishing, trekking the islands, boating, and taking dugout canoe trips along the floodplain with members of the local BaYei tribe. There will also be plenty of opportunities for up close encounters with the delta’s abundant wildlife during day and night drives in open 4x4 vehicles. Days 10 and 11: Linyanti Enjoy stunning aerial views of the Okavango Delta as you fly north to the Linyanti Reserve. The Linyanti is a private reserve adjoining Botswana’s Chobe National Park, and you will be sharing this breathtaking area with a myriad of elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, crocodiles, hippos, sitatungas, lechwe, and spotted hyenas. The reserve is also a prime spot for bird-watching. Explore the reserve’s magnificent terrain and wildlife during day and night game drives. There will also be opportunities for hiking, fishing, and motorboating (subject to water level). The Linyanti is famous for its vocal bird life, so be prepared to be serenaded in the evenings and mornings by a chorus of warbling, punctuated by occasional lion roars and elephant trumpets. Days 12 and 13: Linyanti/Maun/Johannesburg/Atlanta or New York After breakfast, fly from Linyanti by light aircraft to Maun. Connect onto a scheduled flight to Johannesburg and transfer to your flight to Atlanta or New York, arriving the next day. Yeah, it's about ten grand... yeah, I'd need a 600mm f/4 before we left (another eight grand)... but still... wow. Amazing. My sweet wife made me fresh coffee and breakfast this morning before work. Oddly, whenever I eat breakfast (which I usually don't), I am twice as hungry by lunch than when I skip breakfast. It's only ten-ish and I'm a starvin' marvin. My tummy is a'grumblin'... I am the proud owner of a Sigma 15mm f/2.8 EX fisheye and the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. I also received a spare battery for my camera body yesterday, a 500D fitted for my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and a Hoya R72 for the 17-40mm. I have a Cokin P-series filter system with some ND filters and grad-ND filters coming soon as well. All of this is carefully planned prep for our camping trip up the north shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota this summer. I am really exacited about it. I hope to get some good landscape shots. I want to shoot Split Rock and many of the other famous sceneries as well as have the opportunity to re-shoot Enger Tower and Gooseberry Falls with a new outlook. EL has been great about planning the photo ops. We're taking henry with us, so that should be interesting. He's a handful for sure. I have a ton to do this morning... gotta run.

Instructions: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence on your blog along with these instructions. "Antes de operar sobre quipos conectados a lineas de alimentacion, quitarse las joyas (inculuidos amillos, collares y relojes)." via Jett

A moment of silence please. If anyone hits the Lotto... I still want this.

Flyballs... how many can you count?

If you think the Scorpions rocked... check this out. (hehe... thanks Jason)

Does anyone know what sort of flower this hover fly is pollenating?

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM and close-up diopter (Canon 500D)

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM and close-up diopter (Canon 500D)

EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM and close-up diopter (Canon 500D)

EF MP-E65 (65mm with extension)

EF MP-E65 (65mm with extension)

All shots were handheld with a diffused (Stoffen Omnibounce) Speedlite 550-EX slaved off a ST-E2 (Speedlite IR transmitter) and manually exposed for direct flash despite the bright ambient light in my yard. I would love to know what type of flower that is... a weed of some sort? Anyhoo, it's very nice.

Fredricksburg, TX