It tuns out that Hangar 1 Vodka really is distilled in a hangar – hangar number 22 on the abandoned Alameda Naval Base, to be exact. The distillery is situated in the hangar with the best possible view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge through their huge windows. They pour 12 different spirits for…
Author: thedude
Geek Love
Advertised as “the web’s fastest growing matchmaking and dating website“.
More Interior Shots
Got a home for sale? Better call me. I can make any place look like a million bucks. Of course, that was very easy to do this time…
What a Shame
The owners of Andrew and Barbara’s loft will be painting over this awesome example of Andrew’s skill as a muralist. Andrew has a better understanding of perspective and of how to fool the eye than anyone I’ve ever known. His work is amazing. You can’t see it here, but Andrew even took the time to…
Home is Where the Hardware Is
Andrew and Barbara still have a lot of work to do, but they have come a l-o-n-g way on the road to making their new house into a home. Their beloved neon casts a warm glow into the living room – definitely a “good sign”. The walls and ceilings have been patched and sport a…
Nice to See You, Ben!
Thanks for everything Ben. We had a wonderful time last night! While the girls were making dinner, I tried something entirely new with my new camera and PhotoShop CS2. Stay tuned for details.
I Missed One
I was looking at my Carnaval pictures again, and came across this shot. I’m not entirely sure what this guy is supposed to be. A mosquito? Some sort of green and red fish-thing? (Probably a mosquito, I guess… Ideas?) I do love the shot, though. He seems to be having such a great time… 🙂…
I’ll Take Mine RAW
It turns out that one of the greatest things about my new camera is the way it integrates with PhotoShop CS2. The RAW (NEF) file import tool is loaded with goodies. Below are just a few… Starting on the left above, you can see that CS2’s NEF import tool includes the usual white balance adjustments….
Later That Night…
We dined on some of the best barbequed oysters I’ve ever tasted at Tom’s cool pad. Spectacular view, fabulous oysters. Thanks for a lovely evening, Tom and Julie!
A Good Day to Own a Camera
San Francisco’s Carnaval celebration is an eyeful! Women (and a few men) of all ages, shapes and colors get a chance to cut it loose and strut they stuff – much to the delight of this photographer! Oh my! I had to deal with direct sunlight when shooting these, so I used the camera’s low…
No Escaping the Construction
This shot was taken in a first-floor office here at work. Noise, dust, concrete splattered on the windows – it’s even worse than the constuction at home!
Printing D2X Images (Really Large)
It’s difficult to get a shot of this image without glare, but you get the idea. This was printed 40 inches wide from one of my tulip images without any fancy footwork at all. Just a tiny levels adjustment and unsharp mask in PhotoShop. Pictopia did the rest. It looks fantastic – much better than…
The Never-Ending 50th Anniversary Party
Oh well, another excuse to eat, drink and take people pictures… Evidently, these are three things I really like to do. (See below.) Congratulations once again to Dorothy and Frank – my favorite In-Laws. Fifty years. That really is quite an accomplishment. More fabulous photos here.
This Looks Like Fun
Personalized postage!
Dinner With New Friends
Last night we had the pleasure of meeting Professor Perry Samson – the founder of weatherunderground.com and his wife Deborah over another delicious Thai meal at Chris and Ben’s. Jerry Alexander provided a few bottles of superb wine, which flowed as smoothly as the conversation. We celebrated Don and Jum’s recent marriage and wished that…
Phase One De-Construction
Barbara and Andrew slogging through the debris on their way to habitability. The house is already a much sunnier, happier place than it was. I can’t wait to see what this talented team will make of it.
E-mail Worse Than Pot?
CNN.com – E-mails ‘hurt IQ more than pot’ Mark Morford has another look at this story.
Housing in the Bay Area
My dear friends Andrew, Barbara and Ursula are the proud owners of a new home. I recommend you to check in from time to time and follow the story of this house in Oakland. I was shocked and awed when I saw this 1,000 square foot, $360,000 house, and I know you will be too.
Bad Feather Day?
Everyone has one from time to time, I guess… Even Nova. Hey, digital photograpehrs! Sigma has a cool lens coming out “towards the end of this month.” If the price is right, this culd be very cool. A small, light, fast “standard” focal-length lens for DSLR’s? I’m highly impressed with my first Sigma lens’ capabilities….
This is Just Too Easy
This camera is so wonderful. It doesn’t seem to matter what I point it at – the results are spectacular. Even the mundane becomes captivating. I’m so totally blown away by the fact that I can walk a block up 4th street and shoot images that would not be possible with any other camera. The…
Nikon D70 for Sale SOLD!
When I made the decision to purchase the D2X, I assumed that I’d keep my Nikon D70 and use it as a second body. Well, that was before I dropped my wallet into a sewer in France. The other reason I’m selling the D70 is that the results I get from the D2X are somewhat…
Koln to Dusseldorf at 2,000 Miles an Hour
I finally finished a couple of time-lapse videos from our recent trip to Europe! I think they’re pretty cool. Of course, I was there, so they may not have the same impact on you, but I hope you’ll check them out anyway. To create these, I zip-tied the camera on a monopod to the railing…
Dusseldorf
I made this panorama of the riverfront from the deck of our ship in Dusseldorf without a tripod, and the stitching of the 8 images did not go too well, but you get the idea. I also made two time-lapse videos of the trip from Koln to Dusseldorf, and they turned out pretty cool, but…
Castles and Currywurst – The Trip to Koblenz
Today was the first day we saw the sun since arriving in Europe. And what a lovely day it was! Before today, I was worried that I might not get any photos on this trip to rival those of from our Thailand trip. It turns out though, that Germany is home to some pretty fabulous…
Heidelberg and Rudesheim
Despite mostly gloomy weather, we are having a wonderful time. The pace is fast and furious. Today we toured the castle in the beautiful city of Heidelberg and saw a barrel with a capactity of 58,000 gallons of white wine. Unfortunately, the barrel is empty these days. From there, we sailed to Rudesheim and took…
Money Down the Drain
Quite literally. Today while enjoying an espresso in the shadow of the magnificent 466 foot tall Strasbourg Cathedral, I reached for my wallet and accidentally knocked it off the table. I watched in stunned disbelief as the thin wallet swished silently through an equally thin crack in a sewer grate underneath our table. The wallet…
Europe By Boat
Today we began a 9 day cruise along the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland, north through France, Germany and ending in Amsterdam. Our spotlerss ship is the beautiful, six-year-old River Queen, operated by Uniworld. Our room is very nice – luxurious, in fact. There are 125 passengers and 37 crew on board. The 100% american…
Nikon D2X First Impressions
My newest Nikon digital camera is a work of art. It feels solid, shoots smooth and fast, and the images are the best I have ever seen from any digital camera. However, to really appreciate them, you’ll have to use your imagination a bit. You see – the 12.4 megapixel images are 4288 x 2848…
Gabby
I don’t often photograph children, but I found four year old Gabby to be simply irresistable. I posted these at a somewhat higher resolution than I normally do. I am anxious to compare these D70 images with those from The D2X. 🙂