Had another blog-reader visitor drop in today for a tour. He got the full tour and we had a nice chat. Visitors are always welcome at the Field Lab. If I'm busy when you show up you will just have to help. For future reference....admission is a 6 pack of any kind of beer.
Worked this afternoon on installing a new shade screen for the west side of the porch. Just using old canvas drop cloth I bought at Home Depote before I even came out here. This really helps cut the afternoo
n sun on the swamp cooler and porch. Thinking of adding a shade cloth to temper the late sun beating down on the west side of my hut. I must be getting quite a lot of solar gain there as the siding gets pretty hot after 5PM.As luck would have it...I just happen to have a photo in the archives that perfectly illustrates today's work load. I shot this last September.
7 comments:
Good to hear the camera is still under warranty. I worked as a photojournalist myself back in the Nikon F2, F3 days, and know how important good, durable equipment is to a working photographer (I once dropped an F3 out of a Huey from about 20 feet up, and besides a busted filter and a chunk out of the lens, it came up shooting like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!). I've been extremely pleased with the photographic results of all three of the Canon digital cameras I've had, but the lens jamming problem has struck them all at one time or another--they're no Canon F-1! Nowadays I mostly just use my iPhone.....how low have the mighty fallen?
Your obvious pleasure in using the G-9, and the great results you've gotten, have had me researching the G-10, particularly because I like the Lieca ergonomics of it. I'm still a bit gun shy on the lens barrel, though, so I'm interested to hear what you find out about it.
BTW, in the Northern Territory ("the Territory") in Australia we used "parachutes", which were actually heavy duty UV treated tarps strung on tensioned steel cables linked to pylons to provide shade to dwellings. Once you get to know where the sun is at different times during the day during the summer you can place them for maximum shade coverage around a dwelling, and because we cut "the sails" in triangles, they actually become esthetically pleasing parts of the landscape. I'll try to send you some examples.
Good stuff! Love the blog!
I liked Bob's comments about the old Nikons. I have an old F1, and a Nikomat that I have carried with me all over North America for twenty years, and around the world once. They are still ticking just fine. However, nowadays it's hard to justify anything except digital, unless you're doing high-end work for high paying clients. The ease of use, and cost considerations of digital make it the only choice for the average Joe. Also, I agree that shading that dwelling will go a long way to keeping it cool. No cost involved after the initial installation. Low tech, very green. John, I'm glad that you included the humidity level with the day's high & low temps. I appriciate your work in keeping us informed.
"Most pads are made of either aspen fiber or cellulose .. A cellulose pad typically needs more air and water flow than does an aspen pad."
from this link:
Ohio State Evaporative Cooling Pads...
You say visitors are welcome, but how the heck do we find you out there in the desert?
BTW, love reading your blog -- it's become a daily ritual! Thanks for including the temps.
To beat the heat, as I've mentioned to John before in an e-mail: hammocks. Sleep in a nice, woven Mayan style hammock, and you'll be very cool because of the air circulating all around you. If you lie diagonally across the hammock, you are almost completely flat, and there are no pressure points on your body as there are when lying on a bed, so you sleep more soundly. You can't fall out of a Mayan style hammock, because there are no spreader bars to make it tippy. It's also way cheaper than buying a new mattress.
Here ends my hammock evangelism.
john i hope you don't mind us talking about cameras!! bob, that F3 story is incredible. i have one that was sent into space as a spectrophotometer about ten years ago. still works great, but i've switched to digital with a canon rebel and now a nikon D700. the G9 and G10 are aweseome and most of the pros i know use them as their "pocket camera." highly recommended...
john good to know about the field lab's "tour fee." i go out there every nov./oct. and will surely stop by!
I didnt think you would have as many visitors as you have had during these hot spring days. With the "new admission fee" you should have no problems keeping cool after a hard day's work.
I dont usually show up until Chili Cook-off time which for those not familiar with the event will be in November. You just might have a lot of visitors then as there will be no shortage of beer!!
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