Photoshop fun.

Long day on the bike in the 40 degree cold rain. Still better than a lot of other options. Got home after dark. Happened to have the Nikon along. I've been meaning to get a shot of a sign on top of a downtown theater. So I did.

I had thrown the Gorilla Pod into the trunk. With the Nikon set up on the Givi trunk I took a few shots. This was my very first one and was actually one of the best. Settings were at ISO 200, 1/3 second, f/8 and at a 102mm focal length.

It's pretty cool how the neon lights up the building around it. Of course, you know some of us can't leave well enough alone! You also know what's coming, don't you?

Recently, several of us seem to have been setting trends for each other. I did some black and white. So Bluekat did a post with a black and white photo with a touch of color. You can see it here. So then Mike did a post with the Toys R Us logo done in the same treatment. You can see that here.

As I'm looking at this photo, I'm considering the possibilities. I am using Photoshop Elements 7. For the life of me, I haven't been able to find a history brush. You'll have to see the tutorial, but basically it means converting a color photo to black and white or grayscale. Then the history brush restores select portions to the original color version. Elements 7 doesn't seem to have that. So I did it the long way. There's an option to saturate and desaturate a photo. So I literally painted the photo into greyscale. A big brush for the large areas and a small brush where I carefully traced around the sign. Now my mouse finger and hand are falling off. There has got to be a better way. It might entail spending the money for one of the CS versions.

Once done with the saturation exercise, I tweaked the contrast and brightness just a bit. Despite the fatigue factor, I think the finished product is pretty striking. As you can see, it's almost 11 PM. As an end to the day I'm posting the photo for your feedback. I hope you like it as much as I do. Time for bed. Good night!

Miles and smiles,

Dan

Looking ahead.

This week marks the completion of four years for this blog. Not that it really matters. We humans, however, seem to have this propensity for observing milestones. Some of these occasions, like anniversaries, always seem to inspire contemplation in us. We look back at what was. We ask ourselves questions. How was it? What worked? What didn't work? Did we accomplish our planned objectives? Then, armed with those answers, we turn our focus forward, into the future. More questions. What will we leave the same? What will we do differently? Do we have new objectives or are we still working on the current set?

I was out at Camp Adair the other day. Once upon a time it was a World War II army base. If you click on the link you can read more about it. The house I'm living in was part of a development built for military personnel stationed at the camp. Now Camp Adair has a diverse variety of uses. There are both hunting and hiking opportunities. Hopefully in separate areas! A lot of it is a wildlife refuge. I wanted to play with the Nikon on a foggy, wet, day. There's some enclosures where a few game birds are on display. Some are native and some aren't.

Katie went with me. There was a bit of drizzle. We'd packed a big umbrella. I felt like such a celebrity with Katie holding the umbrella over me and the camera. When I'd finish with one group of birds she would carry my camera bag for me to the next place I would set up. What a doll!

I took many photos. I found myself especially drawn to eyes, though. Maybe it was partly because of the time of year. New Year's is another time for contemplation. The anniversary of the blog was on my mind. Eyes tell the story. They reveal character. Vision, to a large extent, controls our pathway in life. We go where we look. Specifically in our riding. More generally speaking in our overall lives. Much of the input that affects our lives comes through our eyes.

Looking back on the blog, I sort of apologize to those of you who came here recently looking for motorcycle information and mostly saw photos. Photography has become a new passion for me. The more I learn the more intrigued I get. I don't totally apologize, however. It is my blog, after all, and should reflect what's on my mind. On the other hand, I do bill the blog as motorcycle related. So the content should consist of that primarily.

Then again, there's the photography thing! Oh, I mentioned that already, didn't I? It's been a fascinating journey so far. I see a lot of books on the subject. I've read what seems like a ton of them. Not many reflect the actual journey of discovery. I think there's a lot of folks like me who would venture further with it if they had someone to follow. On a personal and simple level. I'd like to provide that pathway for people. However, I don't really want to start another blog to do it. Maintaining one blog to any level of competence is enough for me. There has to be time for actually riding a bike, you know!

The plan for the blog is to concentrate primarily on motorcycle content. Motorcycles are still my world and huge love. There remains so much information to share about riding and managing risk successfully. I enjoy sharing that kind of thing. My passion as a riding instructor still burns. Those of us who ride a lot, especially as motorcycle commuters, need all we can get in the way of useful weapons and tactics. There's practical information on dealing with weather and other stuff to pass on, as well. I like the fact that I've developed the reputation of being a source for training information. I want to keep that part going.

Somebody recently asked me a question after I put Clement Salvadori's article here in the blog, for example. The article mentioned how many riders have one year's experience repeated several times over instead of actually having several year's experience. The question was about how to actually build that experience, even with a short riding season each year. It's a great question that beckons to be explored.

Riders continue to fall short in their visual lead and scanning habits. Even if they do look, a lot don't actually have a plan for what they're looking for. There's so many things like this that still beg to be addressed. The plan is to spend some time with these kinds of things here.

I'm also finding that I've become increasingly fascinated by my students as individuals. Not that I haven't been involved with them in that way all along. Primarily, though, it's been from the perspective of making sure they get what they need as students. That will always be my primary goal with them. On the side, though, I'm becoming more interested in their individual personal stories. I want to develop this aspect more in the blog. I deeply believe we can all learn from each other. In addition, humans are more alike than they are different. It's so much fun to read about somebody and find that we can really relate.

Somehow along the way I'm going to try to weave in the photographic journey. Not just in the photos about riding. I have this vision of sharing a sort of "here's what I've found if it helps you" thing. It will always be paced at the level I'm at. Which isn't real high, right now, but is increasing. The trouble is that most of those who read here are already pretty good photographers. I've learned from you, not the other way around. The trick will be to attract photography newbies to a motorcycle blog. Hmm, if it could be done successfully there might be some riding newbies, too!

I don't know how it will work out. My crystal ball is a bit foggy at the moment. It might turn out that, if I still feel the urge to share, a separate blog may be required. For now, though, I'll try out this way. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a turkey like this guy.

He did have some pretty feathers, it turns out.

This friendly Tom was so close to the fence that I couldn't get the wire out of the photo. For the most part I put the lense close to the wire which got it out of the way. What to do when the subject hugs the fence? Just call the wire an artistic effect!

As the new year begins, I raise a glass and toast year five. I cherish the friendships I've developed here over the last four years. Here's a wish that these friendships deepen and may more be added to them!

Miles and smiles,

Dan

For old f Dave

Dave suggested I do the grayscale conversion on this waterfall picture. It was a great idea. I agree that it looks good. How odd that diving into the world of color digital photography would lead to a fascination with black and white!

Black and white is a whole new world of light and tones. It's amazing how black and white can often be more expressive than color. Thanks a lot, Dave. Now I'm starting to wonder how my whole world looks in grayscale!

Miles and smiles,

Dan

Bearly sober with a happy ending.

Remember our friend the drunken teddy? Unlike his lovable cousin Winnie the Pooh, our fuzzy character is turning out to be a bit less adorable. Yes, he's made the national news this time. All he ever wanted is to find a place to sleep it off. The front steps of a police station seemed like a safe place. Until all heck broke loose.

This is how we last saw drunken Teddy. Sleeping it off under some bushes in a parking lot's landscaping. For a while afterwards Teddy did try to pull it together. He cleaned up and got a job. Which enabled him to buy a used bike. I gave Teddy some riding pointers. The biggest one being to always ride straight, of course. For a while I thought that riding and making new friends would keep Teddy on the straight and narrow.

Here's Teddy with his friend Hambone. They're getting ready to ride. For a while Teddy actually did clean up his act. He and Hambone logged quite a few trouble free and fun miles. Until Hambone had an appointment with a roasting oven. Being left on his own, Teddy found a different group to hang out with. At first they spent a lot of time hanging out at the mall.

You know how it is, though. With not much useful to do and, with peer pressure egging him on, Teddy found that old habits die hard. At first it was just an occasional dip into the honey pot. Apple cider left until it "sparkled", if you know what I mean. Next thing you know Teddy was strung out on those sweet, fruity, mixed drinks with toys in them.

Staggering out of the lounge at Denny's on Sunday night, Teddy spotted a convenient place across the road to tuck in out of the weather.

The wind was blowing a bit cold. Tumbling in the wind was a plastic bag. It rolled across Teddy who grabbed it and wrapped it around himself. The bag cut the wind chill and Teddy passed out. Only to be discovered by Oregon State Police office personnel as they reported for work at 8 AM.

Having never encountered a drunken teddy sleeping it off in a plastic bag before, they backed off and called a supervisor. Having the philosophy that one can't be too careful when confronted with a suspicious bundle these days, the parking lot was evacuated. The ramp leading up to the front porch where Teddy lay snoring was flagged off with yellow crime scene tape. The Bomb Squad was called.

Teddy woke up to being prodded by a terrifying apparition. What looked like an alien was standing over him. In the alien's hand was a scary device that hummed. The alien was running the humming device over Teddy's body. Teddy passed out. This time from fear instead of alcohol. When Teddy woke up later, he was spread out on a table. Sure he was being "probed" by the aliens in their Mothership, Teddy passed out once again.

Eventually things got worked out so that everyone was on the same page. Teddy realized that the police officers weren't aliens. The cops realized Teddy wasn't a bomb. The humming device was actually a portable x-ray machine. Now the question was where to go from here. Sitting in the front seat of a police cruiser, Teddy pondered the bad choices he had made up to this point.

It was time to make a decision. His next ride could be in the back of the police car with the destination sign reading "Zoo". The State Police Sergeant happened to be a Peter, Paul, and Mary fan. Softly playing in the background was the song "Puff the Magic Dragon". Suddenly, Teddy has his answer. He needed a child to love. The responsibility would keep Teddy on the straight and narrow. The exchange of affection would brighten both of their lives. The Sergeant agreed to let Teddy ride along with him. Sooner or later they would find a child stressed from the trouble that adults often drag innocent children into.

Teddy and the child could offer support and comfort to each other. It would be a win-win situation for them both. You may see Teddy riding shotgun with the cop when you're on the highway. I hope that they don't soon find a child. Children should be given the gift of maintaining their innocence. Unfortunately, life isn't perfect. Somewhere a child will need Teddy and Teddy will need the child.

Wave if you see Teddy in the police cruiser. If you don't see him, know he found his calling and be glad that he and a child found each other.

Notes: This is loosely based on an actual event. The first three photos are mine, taken with the G11. The two that look like newspaper photos actually are. I scanned them from the Albany Democrat Herald. The credit goes to the paper's photographers. As does the photo of the bear in the seat belt. The bear on the table is from an Oregon State Police news release. Here is the story and a couple of links.

What appears to be the good intentions of someone to donate a teddy bear to Oregon State Police (OSP) unfortunately led to a brief closure of the OSP Albany office Monday morning. The office was re-opened after an OSP bomb technician closely inspected the teddy bear left outside the front door over the weekend. The inspection confirmed it was in fact a teddy bear, and OSP now has the bear ready to comfort a child when needed.

On December 28, 2009 at approximately 8:00 a.m. an OSP office staff employee opening the Albany office for regular business spotted a teddy bear inside an opaque plastic bag which had been placed next to the front door. Unaware of who or why it was left there, the decision was made to keep the office closed until OSP bomb technicians could respond from Salem to examine it and ensure it was nothing more than what it appeared to be.

Within 30 minutes bomb technicians arrived, took an x-ray picture and confirmed it wasn't a dangerous object. The office was re-opened about 9:00 a.m.

OSP believes the teddy bear was left at the front door to give to a child involved in a traumatic incident. For several years, police and fire agencies use donated stuffed animals to give to children involved in a traumatic incident. Most donations are provided to OSP offices by local organizations, but sometimes people stop by OSP offices during regular business hours to drop off teddy bears and other stuff animals to help troopers comfort children when they need a buddy.

Just in time for the upcoming New Year's holiday weekend when troopers will be responding to many emergencies, the teddy bear has found a new temporary home in an OSP sergeant's patrol car. Soon, it will be placed in the hands of a child who needs such a buddy.

The OSP Explosives Unit personnel remind everyone that if you see a suspicious, unknown object or possible explosive device to leave it where it was spotted and not handle it. Move all people away from the area and contact your local law enforcement agency or OSP.

Photograph Source: Oregon State Police

Picture link.

Newspaper link.

Miles and smiles,

Dan

The rest of the story.


As most of you guessed, the new FJR is actually a model. A most excellent one, I must add. The photo below is a good example of why you should take a peak at the background when you take a photo. This is the same photo as in the previous post. For the last one I zoomed in. With a wide aperature and shallow depth of field the background was unrecognizable. This is the same setting but with less focal length. I know it's a great shot of my garbage can, but it does add scale for the bike in the foreground. So I left it as is.

The model was a gift from a good friend. He said he thought I would enjoy it. Yes, I'm enjoying it immensely, Ray. Thank you so much! I'm very impressed. The detail is amazing and accurate. The handlebars turn and the wheels spin. The mirrors are on flexible stalks so they don't easily break off. As you can see, the sidestand deploys and actually holds the bike up.

This seemed a perfect opportunity to play with the D40. It's amazing how switching lenses and aperature settings can affect the photo. You can make a toy look almost real. The Nikon has settings to change where the camera focuses. Not only the distance, but the specific spot in the view. This was an exercise in utilizing that option plus others. I enjoyed playing with composition and depth of field. It's tough with both a very large object and a very small object in the same photo. I find that selective framing worked best.

Some views are from above but most are right down on ground level. That's been another revelation about making photos. You have to move around and look at things from different angles. Somewhere I read that you can't be afraid to get right down on the ground or wherever you need to be in order to get great shots. One can't worry too much about what passersby think. Of course, I've never cared about that, anyway!

The box claims the model is on a 1:12 scale. The recommendation is that it be enjoyed by kids three and up. I know, here come the jokes about finally having a bike I can handle. Go ahead and take your jabs. Just remember that I'm taking names.

Here is the website for Maisto, which the box says was the birthplace of the model. Click here. The motorcycle page is here. According to the website, this model is diecast. It feels nice and heavy in my hand.


I tried to capture the little brother trying to copy big sister by having both bikes with the front wheels tilted toward the sidestand. Hmmm, I see that Elvira's sidestand is scraped pretty good. I wonder how that happened.

I was gratified to see that Photoshop made no adjustments when I asked it to automatically fix the exposure. At least something is slightly coming together in my photographic journey. I made use of a fill flash with a diffuser for the shots where the model is underneath Elvira.

Like I say, the scale of one subject compared to the other made perspective difficult for me.


>

Anyway, this has been a lot of fun. At least for me. It's also been an enjoyable learning experience. I'm proving the adage that one sometimes has to take many photos to get a few good ones. In my case, a whole bunch. I took somewhere near a hundred over two days to get a few good ones. The term "good" is pretty subjective at times. I didn't get the sidestand and sidestand idea until I reviewed the previous shots. In those poses Elvira was on her centerstand and the front tire was straight on the model. Then I had this flash that it would be kind of cute to show the little bike with the front wheel tilted like it was trying to match Big Sister. It was back out again for some more shots.

Don't be surprised to see the baby FJR pop up once in a while in the future. The learning process never ends.

Miles and smiles,

Dan

P.S. Stay tuned. I owe Dave, aka old f, a waterfall photo.

New addition to the family.

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the two-wheeled stable. This happens to be a 2006 Yamaha FJR 1300. We're having a bit of trouble figuring out the pecking order. Since this is a new addition, albeit an older model, does it become Elvira's little brother? Or does Elvira become the little sister based on the model year? Time will tell. Or maybe tomorrow's post will.

Here's an "artistic" front view.

Notice my mastery of the depth of field? The front of the bike is clearly focused while the back of the bike is artistically blurred. A few months ago I couldn't even spell "depth of field"!

More photos tomorrow. Maybe even the rest of the story.

Miles and smiles,

Dan

Black and White Christmas.

Christmas day. Late afternoon sunshine.

Katie standing there wondering where the heck Elvira and I have disappeared to, now! Just like that guy. One of these days she's going to steal the keys. Do an intervention. Conduct an exorcism.

Actually, this is really Katie but it's not my house. This place is in the neighborhood, though. We were taking a walk in the afternoon sunshine. After I had washed Elvira, of course. You have to get your priorities straight. You knew a motorcycle would be involved, even on Christmas Day.

As we walked by the house I was thinking how it would be a perfect subject for a black and white photographic rendition. This place is so stately. It stands out from all the other houses. Each year at Christmas there is a lighted tree in each of the four front windows.

Now that the G11 is in the family it gets taken along on most outings. As was true this day. The small sized Canon has enough sophistication to stand on its own. The greatest value to me is the fact that it's so easy to slip into a pocket. It's great for me, but I suspect not so much for Katie. She ends up standing around while I play with camera settings and such. God bless her, she's as patient as you'd expect from a best friend. Hey, it evens out. I'm a gourmet cook and even do dishes. Art takes more than one form.

Katie says she knows how I am. I get interested in something new and immerse myself in it, striving for excellence. I think she finds it intriguing herself to be along for the ride. She often says that living with me is never boring. That might be a compliment. I'm not really sure.

Anyway, the way the light was hitting the side of the house appealed to me. The house is lighter on the left and gets darker on the right. It's amazing how much the contrast in lighting adds a depth to something. To me there's so much more interest in the contrasts than there would be in having the house lit evenly across. To think, I used to be "one of those" who only knew to have the "sun behind your back" when taking photos! All right, that wasn't very long ago, but I have now been "enlightened". Pun intended.

After taking a photo of the house by itself I persuaded Katie to model for me. Since it didn't appear anyone was home, I had her stand at the end of their sidewalk near the street. Katie was wearing a long coat with this new fuzzy hat she got. It's two toned brown and looks Russian. The combination of her looking like a stately Russian woman and the stately house seemed to go together.

The photo probably isn't as well composed as it could be. However, it's my photo and my expression. It did what I wanted it to. I wanted to get the front doors of the house in the photo since those are a distinguishing feature. The sun was coming in from the left so I wanted Katie looking that way since the sun would light her face. I have her almost too far to the left so that she appears to be looking out of the photo. It's borderline. She looks like she could be looking at something just out of the picture. Like a bike that just zoomed down the street!

For these photos I took them in color and then changed them in Photoshop. There's a setting for converting to black and white from color. I chose to try it differently. I put the color photo into the default project bin and made a duplicate layer. Then I went to the sliders where you can change colors, hues, and saturation. I simply removed the color saturation and left everything else alone. It seems to me that this method allows you to keep the pixel brightness which adds a bit of depth to the black and white rendition. You'd probably have to call it grayscale instead of black and white, I suppose.

Sitting down to supper, I saw something out of the dining room window that made me jump up to grab the Nikon and the tripod. Did I mention Katie's patience?

This is one case where the original is almost better than the grayscale conversion. The orange glow is from the porch light of the house.

I narrowed the aperature and changed the focus area to make the chimney more prominent than the branches in the foreground. It did get rid of the orange porch light glow, though. It's probably more of a Halloween photo than Christmas but fog was what we had.

Oh, by the way, just in case you're wondering where the heck the motorcycles are, I'm putting in a grayscale photo of Elvira on a bridge. This is a motorcycle blog, but I'm taking a fun side trip with the camera thing. Twice the fun!

I really like this one because you can see the ripples in the asphalt reflecting in Elvira's bodywork. Makes her look like she has the fur of some exotic cat.

Don't feel sorry for me but this week is forced vacation time. Our company shuts down and we must take a paid week off. I'm doing a few projects and playing with the camera. Speaking of playing, wait until you see the next post. My great friend Ray gave me a new motorcycle. I took delivery on Christmas Eve Day. Can't wait to share the photos. Here's a hint. It's another FJR.

Miles and smiles,

Dan

How NOT to use a bike.

This came across our instructor's e-mail list. Since this is a blog about riding to work, riding for work, and using a motorcycle for everyday transportation, it seemed like just the thing to share here. First off, the photo.

The caption for the photo was "Desk Jockey". I would not recommend this as a way to ride for work. Upon closer examination the object turns out to be a bar-b-que grill of sorts. Even then, this is not the way to do mobile catering.

As to credits for the photo, it has been around a while. The instructor who posted it saw it here.

http://pnwriders.com/roseburg/121483-caption-picture.html

This is the forum for Pacific Northwest riders. I'm happy to say that we finally got the technical difficulties sorted out and I can now post on this forum. Time for some Winter Tag!

Inquiry was made of the poster. Here is the reply.

Re: Biker with desk

I'm not sure. I'm always searching for funny pictures. I have a couple hundred saved on my computer. I post random 'caption this' pictures every day on another forum, everyone there loves it. Sometimes I find them on websites or blogs, other times I just do a google search for "funny" this or that. I don't remember where that particular one came from.

Turns out this photo has, indeed, been around a while. Here is an earlier posting.

http://www.pashnit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15475

The bottom line is that I'm not sure who to credit for the photo. I just want to make clear that it is not of my originality and is probably considered in the public domain by now. If it's your photo, please feel free to claim it here.

As for the rest of us, it might be fun to offer alternate captions. Go for it but keep it "G" rated, please!

Miles and smiles,

Dan

Dear Santa

It was great to meet your twin brother last Christmas. Up until then I had no idea that you even had a brother. That helps explain how you manage to be so many places in such short order. Splitting the work load in half is a great idea! As a fellow traveling man, I have to wonder who gets stuck with the expenses, though.

You two are certainly invited to come by again this year. Slide a big bag of cool stuff down my chimney and I'll take you and your brother on some more of those Oregon roads you loved so much last time. Actually, it was cool for me, too. Being with you two, we didn't have to worry about ice and snow at all. Somehow we simply glided over it all. Almost like we were piloting sleighs instead of bikes. Hmmmm.

We might even get the opportunity to engage in some Grinch hunting.

I have to admit it really got my pulse racing when you and your brother had one treed in that big oak last year. The sight of the Grinch glowing with this ghastly green and red, your two bikes trying to climb the tree like some sort of rabid reindeer, and the sound of your maniacal Ho Ho Ho's that would make a kid dive under their bed were pretty stirring at some primeival level. That is an experience I won't soon forget, let me tell you!

Just in case the prospect of another thrilling ride isn't enough, here's another possibility.

That has to be better than milk and cookies any day, right? I mean, how often do you get a Heritage Mall gift card? I've left a pint of Southern Comfort on the mantle to sort of top things off.

Sure hope to see you this year!

Sincerely,

Irondad

Postscript:

Whatever good things this holiday season means to you, I hope you find them in abundance. For me it's about friends, family, and reflection. It's a troubled world but there is still much to be thankful for. We all have a lot of good to share with each other. Thus begins world peace. It's the combined efforts of individuals. You and I.

I send you my warmest regards and best wishes for the future. I thank you all for the connection we have made in our blogging world.

Peace.

Nothing much.

Everybody's out and about and busy getting ready for Christmas. I had to work today. Nothing strenuous, just some more distributor calls. I chose to ride despite the freezing temperatures and fog. Getting a later start, Katie had come out to sit on the couch with me for a bit this morning. She has a robe that feels like a big, soft, kitten. Katie told me she just couldn't figure out why I still like to ride in this cold. Cuddling next to her, I wondered about it myself.

Since there's not much going on, I decided to post a few pictures I took at Washington Square Mall this morning. I planned my schedule to allow some practice time with indoor camera settings unaided by the use of a flash. This is the area that I seem to be having the most trouble with. I don't want to use too high of an ISO setting due to the "noise" factor. If I set the aperature at about f8 or smaller the shutter speed is slow which makes my photos blurry since I'm not using a tripod while walking about. I'll get there. These photos are more for exposure than composition. Bear that in mind before you comment on their quality!

This post is appropriately titled as this really doesn't amount to much. I'm having a Conchscooter moment. There's a great appeal to wandering around snapping photos then posting them with comments. My comments won't be as witty or wise as Conch's though. Again, I called the post "Nothing Much" for a reason!

Cold and foggy all day. The temperature never got over 37 degrees ( f ). I saw a couple of other civilian bikes during the day. Both were BMW riders. Between Beaverton and Hillsboro I saw three Washington County motor cops at scattered intervals. All three officers gifted me with big waves.

This water had been ice just a few minutes before. It melted while I dug the camera out.

There are always so many sparkly things to see in a mall. Especially during Christmas. I seem to be a sucker for blue LED's for some reason.

Sparkles take many forms.

As Mike had already shown us, some sparkles are more compelling to us than others.

Santa's pad at the mall is well decorated. I had a small issue here. The next few photos are just some exercises in aperature settings as they affect shutter speed.




Then there was this kid watching the proceedings. The line to have a photo taken with Santa was long. I'm sorry to say I screwed up the settings and don't have a picture of the mile long line.

Mama was pretty indulgent about me taking a photo of her son. I really want to take some kid photos. I'm not sure how to go about it. In today's society I could be mistaken for some pervert taking pictures of people's kids. I guess I'll wait until I have the grandson with me and take a lot of pictures of him.

I am using both the G11 and the D40. I went a bit far when I took a photo of the photographer in the Santa booth.

It wasn't long before a woman came over and told me I wasn't allowed to take photos around their operation. Yeah, I could have argued about it, but I also respect the fact that they sell photos and don't want folks trying to get their own for free. They aren't the only show in town, anyway.

I did discreetly snap a photo of a couple of kids at play. That's an advantage of not using a flash! The play area was surprisingly empty. Perhaps they were all at this store.

I once found a Lego in my daughter's diaper, but that is a whole other story that won't be told here. This store looks like entering some sort of time tunnel or something.

One of these was taken with the G11 and the other with the D40. Not that it matters at all.

There were some other photos but I'll save you from them. This is kind of like family vacation slides, isn't it?

When I got back to Elvira, I found her showing a Charger which end of her it would see once we got onto the open road.

Business called so it was time to get with it. With no electrics I have to admit that I was a true Iceman when I got home. I think literal ice water was running through my veins. Still better on the bike, no matter how cold!

Miles and smiles,

Dan