Martinson Photos

February Sky

2012-02-01T10:14:00.001-06:00

A beautiful day in the sixties!

Art's New Hat

2012-01-13T13:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of Art in his new hat!

For The Birds

2011-10-04T06:39:00.000-05:00

Mary and I are vacationing on the beach here in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We're staying at the Hilton Garden Inn - one of the perks from Mary's extensive travel. Yesterday morning we had breakfast including waffles. Having a few pieces left over, I decided the beach birds might enjoy a treat. Did they ever! Before long, I had four or five dozen birds clamoring for a tidbit. I got these pictures as a result.

Dashboard Puzzle

2011-08-11T10:03:00.000-05:00

So, now the question is, where does one mount the radio(s), iPads, GPS, iPhones... No drilling holes in the gas tank this time.

Dragon Inn

2011-08-11T09:21:00.001-05:00

This Chinese Restaurant has been in downtown Overland Park for 37 years. I stopped there on the way home from work yesterday afternoon and took home some Bean Curd Family Style, Chinese Vegetables, and brown rice. I'll be stopping there again.

I took the picture especially for Sunny!

And No Hail Damage!

2011-08-09T20:21:00.000-05:00

Home At Last

2011-08-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

OK. It's a truck. But, it's a Chevy. And it's black.

UFO Invasion

2011-08-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

These rectangular UFOs were seen hovering outside our office window this morning during the first rain in quite some time. Whether the rain was caused by the UFOs or not, is not yet determined.

Water Lilies

2011-07-30T10:09:00.000-05:00

Today we had our first rain for the month of July. Here is a picture of the water garden.

Spring Rain

2011-04-15T09:14:00.001-05:00

The forecast calls for rain all day. But it is quite pleasant. And you don't have to shovel it! The Lilacs and Redbuds are now in bloom.

Waves of Snow

2011-02-20T10:35:00.000-06:00

I'd such rather be
not in a cave.
I'd much rather see
an ocean wave.

Sunny Day

2011-01-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

It's a sunny day! And not too cold!

Setting The Clocks Back

2010-11-07T16:45:00.000-06:00

Today concludes the first weekend of November. It's my son's birthday. This picture was taken as the sun was about to set.

Rainy Day

2010-10-22T14:32:00.000-05:00

I went out to the car to get some notes during lunch, and created this picture as it started to rain.

Good Morning Glory!

2010-10-02T08:38:00.000-05:00

Sunny and Ford

2010-09-27T07:59:00.000-05:00

Sunny sent me this picture from Estonia (look it up; I didn't know where it was either). She and Ford were there to attend a Tuberculosis conference. Looks like they had a wonderful time!

Tips on Taking Pictures of Food

2010-09-10T09:54:00.000-05:00

This link is from one of my favorite blogs on vegan baking. It explains a lot of things pertaining to f-stops, among others.

Check out the recipes while you're there! ;-)

A Full Dumpster Load of Yard Waste

2010-09-06T17:23:00.001-05:00

Mary and I spent the weekend filling a roll-off dumpster with yard waste, mostly dead tree limbs that had been trimmed from our Pin Oak by a professional. I told him that I'd take care of disposing of the limbs if he got them out of the tree. I don't think I'll elect that option again!

This picture illustrates the success of that project! I might need two of these...

Whale Chotsky On A Rock With Petunias and Basil

2010-06-24T17:00:00.002-05:00

Whale Chotsky On A Rock With Petunias and Basil
Originally uploaded by kcjam

Today I received a fun little gift from Casey. It arrived in great shape (nice packaging, Casey!) Here it is in the backyard. There are more pictures in the same Flickr album.

32 Years Ago

2010-06-20T20:08:00.000-05:00

We didn't have much, but we had all we needed... including some great macreme plant hangers...

Solar Flares

2010-05-23T11:19:00.001-05:00

No.

Not even a full eclipse.

This image was created with Gravilux, a most interesting application on the iPad platform. Worth checking out!

The Stone Wall

2010-05-09T16:54:00.001-05:00

This weekend I got a little carried away with yardwork, finally finishing the stone wall. I also backfilled it with 1600 lbs of top soil. I still need more... but not this weekend.

The Small Things

2010-04-06T08:57:00.000-05:00

OK. They're dry erase markers. Get over it. But if you had any idea how coveted these are where I work, you'd be happy too!

I need a moment alone to savor the moment. I'll get back to you.

Hail Storm Clouds

2010-04-05T09:03:00.000-05:00

A view to the east just after a hail storm.

And It Wasn't That Long Ago...

2010-03-25T20:33:00.000-05:00

We were fixing the roof!

Let There Be Flowers, Finally!

2010-03-25T16:39:00.000-05:00

Tofu at 888

2010-03-23T14:37:00.001-05:00

Tofu at 888
Originally uploaded by kcjam

Here is a great place to shop for veggies.

Daffodils: First Day of Spring 2010

2010-03-20T20:48:00.002-05:00

Yes. They're stuggling.

But I think they'll make it.

Spring

2010-03-20T17:07:00.002-05:00

It's the first day of spring! Here is the Holly plant next to my front door. I think I see a little green there. But what do I know...

Snow in Fredonia

2010-03-09T08:24:00.000-06:00

A couple of pictures from the folks in Fredonia.

A Sunny Day in New York

2010-03-04T16:35:00.003-06:00

"What is that bright light in the sky? It is so warm! What can it be?!" It would be easy enough for any person to ask such a question. Good to see Mom out and about!

And she has a nice cup of coffee to go with the sun. That is a load of snow!

The pictures were taken by my dad, Art! Good ones, Art!

New Digs

2009-11-21T09:40:00.002-06:00

This is our new office space. Lots of room, so far. But they plan to move in a new bunch of cubes any time soon. My "office" is the one on the far left. I haven't cleaned my desk yet. No rush on that...

That is Greg and Joan in the picture.

A Sunday Morning Ride

2009-06-07T12:20:00.001-05:00

This morning as I biked along Nall around 143rd Street, I noticed this
field of grass on the east side of the street. It was very pretty in
the morning light.

Gingko Leaves

2009-06-07T11:00:00.001-05:00

Gingko Leaves
Originally uploaded by kcjam

When I was in high school, we had two GIngko trees in our front yard. This picture was taken many years later in downtown Overland Park, KS at the farmer's market.

First One With a Toe Over The Line Wins...

2009-06-06T22:10:00.001-05:00

or...

Stiletto Urbanites 523

2009-06-06T21:30:00.001-05:00

There must be a hidden meaning...

Gull

2009-06-06T20:47:00.001-05:00

Take Only Pictures

2009-06-06T20:42:00.001-05:00

Leave only footprints...

OBX Sunrise - Photo by Mary Day

2009-06-06T20:37:00.003-05:00

and a kite...

OBX - Kitty Hawk

2009-06-06T20:32:00.001-05:00

Do What You Like

2009-06-06T20:23:00.001-05:00

Like what you do...

Life is good.

Kitty Hawk

2009-06-06T20:19:00.002-05:00

Best Room at OBX

2009-06-06T20:18:00.001-05:00

This is the room we stayed in at Hilton Gardens. Top floor. Corner.
Facing beech and hot tub in the corner. Wonderful.

Travelers

2009-06-06T15:24:00.001-05:00

Enjoying a beer or two while waiting for a ride somewhere...

One for Gail

2009-06-06T14:45:00.001-05:00

Iris

2009-05-07T21:35:00.001-05:00

Iris
Originally uploaded by kcjam

This picture is for Chuck.

Stop Dragon Inn

2009-05-07T19:49:00.001-05:00

Stop Dragon Inn
Originally uploaded by kcjam

When you're feeling down, remember this sign. This picture was actually taken a few years ago... and was also shamelessly photoshopped.... The essential elements are all in the positions shown, but there were some wires removed.

At any rate, this is in downtown Overland Park.

Chautauqua County

2009-01-10T15:43:00.012-06:00

I've been sorting through the '08 Christmas photos and came across this one captured, while driving, out the front window on the return trip to Kansas City. I took four frames using the existing exposure settings (f5.6 1/125). This is an image not often found in Johnson County, Kansas.

I said to Mary, take a look at that buggy. In the context of our return visit to Western New York, this is a very common sight, as common as the endless gray skies, piles of melting snow at the side of the road, and hundred year old homes. In case you thought otherwise, this Amish buggy is at an intersection of Main Street in Mayville, NY, the Chautauqua County Seat, and a hundred feet from the courthouse.

Our friends in Kansas City would say, "Really?!"

Yup. Really.

Not that it is a bad thing. It isn't. Just different.

-- more to come... jam

Business Cards

2009-01-10T12:14:00.004-06:00

What better way to spread the word of your work than through the use of a simple business card. When it comes to the business of photography though, does an off-the-rack hack really do the trick? I think not.

The other day, I ran into this from the blog of Niels Henriksen, well worth the read! I'm going to give it a shot. Are you?

So a man walks into a bar with a duck...

2009-01-02T13:17:00.005-06:00

Seriously though...

I was in the mall during the Christmas rush, doing what no reasonable person should ever do, shop in a mall just before Christmas, and I managed to find a seat dangerously close to a kiosk where two guys were hawking some kind of gee-whiz-toy gadget helicopter thing. As I sat, sacks all about (for my NY friends, those would be bags...), I reached for my Nikon D90 to take a picture of an interesting skylight.

One of the exuberant helicopter guys came right over with big smiles and full of questions. "How much for a camera like that?" First off, I was grateful he didn't try to sell me a helicopter. Second, I thought, "A camera like what?" What did he see in my hand that classified this camera as being of a certain type? By virtue of even asking the question, he was clearly ignorant of cameras or photography generally speaking. Anyone of that mind set would not be able to distinguish my camera from any number of big SLRs made in the last forty years, even those that used film! So, did he mean, big? Did he mean like with a long lens? Maybe one that comes in a big case? Or maybe one that you have to hold up to your eye? One that didn't fit in your pocket? Did he mean Nikon vs. Canon vs. any other big camera?

So, thinking he was reasonably serious about the question, I tried to quickly formulate an answer that didn't require a lecture series in photography. After all, he had helicopters to sell. He expected a ten second answer. I was stumped. Should I give him the price I paid for this camera? Should I include the price of the lens too? Should I go through the whole current Nikon lineup from the D40 all the way up to the D3x? Ha! "Oh, about eight grand. The lens is extra."

I finally compromised with, well this camera costs about a thousand, and the lens is half again that much. He was already two steps toward the next helicopter victim when he responded with, "I've been thinking about getting one of those. Thanks!"

Suppose you just parked your car and a man (or duck) comes up and says, "How much for a car like that?" Unless it said, BIOELECTRIC right across the hood, wouldn't you wonder what he meant? Like what? Small? Big? With four seats? Four doors? Four wheels?

I still wonder what he did with that 10 seconds of education between helicopter sales.

BTW... the picture here is not of THAT skylight, but another. Sorry. I have this thing about skylights.

-- jam

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-02T07:47:00.000-06:00

To start the year off right, I bought a new flash, the Nikon SB-900 to go with my also new Nikon D90 (thanks, Mary!). There are countless reviews on this unit: too expensive (the price has come down), too big (not if you're using it off camera), what was wrong with the SB-800? (nothing if you like a confusing user interface), etc. While I haven't had any time to seriously test the new flash, it promises to be a welcome addition to my Nikon family which started nearly 40 years ago with the FTN SLR and a 55mm 1.2 lens (now there! is a hunk of glass!).

The flash world has sure changed in recent years. It seems like just yesterday I was calculating distances, guide numbers, having sport coat pockets bulge with pop out bulbs, left pocket for new ones, right pocket for those already fired. There were also those L-brackets used to get the flash off the camera at least a little bit.

As with any new technology, there are those that will weep woefully with the loss of the good ol' days and the sheer power of those big bulbs. Not me. I'm perfectly content to place an SB-900 practically anywhere and have it seemlessly communicate with the modern digital SLR for exact exposures everytime. As anyone knows, composition is the key element in any photograph. Let's focus on that, and leave the magic of correct exposure to the partnership of camera and flash.

Next post, some pictures! Stay tuned!