July 19, 2013

  • July 4, 2013

    So I figured I’d toss another post up before Xanga’s demise in 11 days. Here are some fireworks from this past July 4th, as seen in Sleepy Hollow, NY. I was a bit too lazy to locate and use my tripod, so I just used my camera bag instead.


    [5D2 - Canon 70-200/4L@109mm, f/11, 8, ISO 800]

June 23, 2013

  • Moar Product Shotz

    So I posted a review on XDA the other day for the Oppo Find 5. Great device thanks to their developer friendly attitude. Since the review I’ve loaded CyanogenMod 10 on there, and basically made it a better Nexus than my various Nexus phones. :P It also has a crazy screen (1080p, 441 ppi, hardware calibrated to D6504K as per my measurements) that I consider at least as good as the HTC One, and leagues better than the Galaxy S 4 (1080p, but oversaturated), iPhone 5 (low low res, under 720p), and Nexus 4 (720p but bad calibration)!

    But getting back to the photography, I decided to use my espresso cart for the shot foundation rather than creating a lightbox like I usually do. I don’t think it turned out half bad!


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/11, 1/20, ISO 3200]


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 1250]


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@60mm, f/5.6, 1/25, ISO 3200]


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@70mm, f/5.6, 1/50, ISO 3200]


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@70mm, f/5.6, 1/80, ISO 2500]


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/5.6, 1/50, ISO 3200]

June 21, 2013

  • Nerdy Nonsense

    When your processor’s surface irregularities become the limiting factor in your water loop‘s cooling efficiency, a few minutes with some sandpaper buys you about 5-10 C, a couple of pretty pictures, and some insta e-peen.


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@70mm, f/2.8, 1/20, ISO 3200]

June 20, 2013

  • Pour Diary – Entry #4

    I had the urge for a mid-morning latte, so I figured I’d take a pic… This time, I tried making the rosetta leaves a bit thinner and not drawing the center line all the way through the bottommost leaves.

    Machine: Rancilio Silvia V3 w/ Auber Pre-Infusion PID (23s extraction @ 201F w/ 1.2s infusion for 2.5s, 284F steam)
    Grinder: Baratza Preciso (coarseness: 92/440)
    Beans: PT’s Coffee Southpaw Espresso


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/2.8, 1/60, ISO 500]

June 10, 2013

  • Waterloop Heaven

    I finally got around to putting in that water loop. I’ve had the components for well over a year, but never had the time. I still didn’t install the GPU blocks, but that will come another day. I didn’t want to deal with taking off the stock heatsinks quite yet. After all, Asus does some (relatively) decent stuff with their higher end cards. I’m just sad I didn’t do this a year ago when these parts were all bleeding edge. :P
     

    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@28mm, f/2.8, 1/25, ISO 3200]
     

    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@40mm, f/2.8, 1/25, ISO 3200]
     
    And for my fellow nerds out there, here are her specs… :)
     
    Water Loop:
    • Swiftech MCP 655-B Pump
    • XSPC Raystorm CPU Block
    • 2x XSPC Rasa GPU Blocks (not yet installed)
    • XSPC RX480 v2 – badass 480mm triple-width radiator
    • Tygon Silver antimicrobial tubing (and a silver strip in reservoir)
    • 8x 120mm Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15 – superb for radiators
    • 2x 140mm Air Penetrator AP-141 – fantastic for high restriction

    Computer:

    • Intel Core i7 2600k @ 5.0 GHz – stable at 5.1 and I’m sure I can tease out a solid 5.2, but way too high voltage
    • 2x Asus GTX 670 DirectCu II TOP – haven’t played with OC too much yet
    • 2x 120GB Corsair Force GT in RAID 0 for OS – it’s FAST http://goo.gl/rTzxy
    • 16 GB G.SKILL Sniper Ultra Low Voltage RAM (1.25v)
    • Asus P8Z68-V Pro Motherboard
    • 3x Platter Drives for storage (2 in RAID 1 for photography, other for m1sc pr0nz)
    • Kingwin Lazer 1000W PSU
    • Lian Li PC-A70F Case

June 6, 2013

  • Pour Diary – Entry #3

    So it looks like I jumped the gun a bit on leaving… I thought Xanga was closing its doors on June 15, not July 15. In any case, I’ll keep posting here until THE XANGA WORLD CHANGES AS WE KNOW IT!!!! Could I be more dramatic? Thought not. Anyway, in case you haven’t heard, my new home is on Google+. I encourage all to join me there, especially if you post photography, as there are tons of photo communities (and pretty much communities for everything else)!

    Machine: Rancilio Silvia V3 w/ Auber Pre-Infusion PID (23s extraction @ 197F w/ 1.2s infusion for 2.5s, 284F steam)
    Grinder: Baratza Preciso (coarseness: 54/440)
    Beans: Coffee Labs Roasters Circus Dog Espresso Blend


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/2.8, 1/80, ISO 1250]

    Now that Rosettas are pretty easy and consistent as long as I don’t screw up and foam too long, what pour style should I learn next?

June 4, 2013

  • Now we’re getting somewhere…

    Kinda.

    Machine: Rancilio Silvia V3 w/ Auber Pre-Infusion PID (23s extraction @ 195F w/ 1.2s infusion for 2.5s, 283-284F steam)
    Grinder: Baratza Preciso (coarseness: 54/440)
    Beans: Coffee Labs Roasters Circus Dog Espresso Blend


    [5D2 - Tamron 28-75/2.8@75mm, f/2.8, 1/80, ISO 1000]

    PS. Circle me on Google+ if you want to see my pics after Xanga shuts down…

June 1, 2013

  • fin.

    Given the not-so-shocking news that Xanga’s shutting down in two weeks, I am moving to Google+. Actually, I lie. I’ve been there for quite some time, and it’s been my primary blog for about as long. However, Xanga always had a special place in my heart, and that’s why I’ve kept it as my primary photo repository for nearly ten years! I guess my 10th anniversary will never come, but here’s to the good times, Xanga!

  • Espresso Perfetto

    So this is what just under $1400 of espresso gear looks like. My espresso station consists of a Rancilio Silvia V3 Espresso Machine (with Auber Pre-Infusion PID electronic controller modification), a Baratza Preciso Conical Burr Grinder, a 58mm Rattleware SS Tamper, and a few other miscellaneous items. The tea gear is mainly a temperature-adjustable electronic water boiler (for different types of tea) and mesh screens of various sizes for different mugs.


    [5D2 - Sigmalux 50.4, f/1.4, 1/40, ISO 500]


    [5D2 - Sigmalux 50.4, f/4, 1/30, ISO 3200]


    [5D2 - Sigmalux 50.4, f/1.4, 1/40, ISO 500]

    PS. Here’s a blurrycam pic from my Nexus 4 in horrible lighting of one of my first rosettas on the new machine.

May 27, 2013

  • Early Awakening, Take II

    Looking back at my old photo library, I decided to take another pass at processing one of my old favorites that I unfortunately underexposed by about 2 stops. This particular shot was taken a few years ago, back when I was shooting with a little Rebel XT, before my XSi, 20D, and 5D2.


    [350D - Canon 70-200/4L@200mm, f/4, 1/125, ISO 200]