Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34 mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos Grandma's Helper 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 360 — full exif & map — nearby photos Clearing Vines Mom thought the vines on the side of the house had crossed over from “quaint” to “a bit too much”, so we cleared them off for the first time in years. Of course, Anthony was excited to help as long as it meant climbing the ladder. 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1100 — full exif & map — nearby photos Safety First 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29 mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos I went up to tidy some small bits... 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos Tidying Up Photo by Anthony The siding looks dirty, but it's actually all the remains of the adhesive tendrils of the vines... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/16, ISO 1250 — full exif & map — nearby photos Remains of the Vine's Adhesive Tendrils These things seem to adhere on the molecular level; when I would try to pull them off of the wooden fences at my place in California when I lived there, they would take bits of wood with them because the bond was stronger than the wood. Amazing.... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/11, ISO 1800 — full exif & map — nearby photos These Bonds are Forever I searched around on the web but couldn't find anything on what this adhesive is or how on earth the plant makes it. 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32 mm — 1/125 sec, f/5, ISO 220 — full exif & map — nearby photos Checking Out The View From Above one last time 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos Back at Play The little edge of roof I'm standing on in “Tidying Up” above is covered with the same standard asphalt roofing shingles that cover the rest of the roof, and while they look bland and uniform from a distance, up close with a good macro lens they show all kinds of detail... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 900 — full exif & map — nearby photos Roofing Shingles perhaps 1/8th of an inch thick This is, of course, the answer to the Rocky “What am I?” Quiz from the other day. 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/320 sec, f/11, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos Big Clouds half an hour out of Tokyo After 15+ hours of flying, and 6+ hours of layovers, we're back in Kyoto after our annual summer visit to my folks. Cloud pictures make for easy posting fodder when I'm jetlagged, and though I didn't see another plane out the window, some big dynamic clouds made for some interest during a brief span a half an hour out of Tokyo. Previous years' “Back in Kyoto” posts (2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005) tended to also include an “Anthony sleeping on the plane” picture, but with not much room this time he slept with his head in my lap, so I was sort of stuck. I cropped a small bit of the plane window off the bottom of the picture above, but otherwise that's pretty much what it looked like. Lots of strong shadows and bubbling towers. I didn't realize it at the time, but you can see mountains in the far distance. Going wider brought some of the blue sky in, but also made it harder to shoot “through” the dirt on the window... 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1/640 sec, f/13, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos 10 Minutes Later and 3½ Miles Lower 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1/1250 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos A Minute Later and a Mile Lower last of the big stuff By this time our horizontal speed (“ground speed”) had slowed to less than 500mph, but we were bleeding altitude as if we were going straight down at 37mph. Couldn't tell a thing about the speed at the time, though. A few minutes later and the big stuff was all left behind, and we were about to descend into the heavy haze that is “summer in Japan”. A big monster cloud in the distance provided a backdrop... 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48 mm — 1/1600 sec, f/8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos Dipping Into the Haze It looks similar to this Tokyo big-cloud shot, but I think that was taken the previous day, so it's probably just coincidental. On the way out near the start of our trip, between Cleveland and Chicago, I was startled to look out the window of the plane to see what immediately struck me as the splat of a giant bird poop: 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/2000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos hazy dayz in Birdpoop City As I've posted many times, we're well acquainted with birds and all that goes with them, so perhaps that's why the visual association came to mind. My apologizes to Fostoria, Ohio for the momentary ill-mannered thought. 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 — full exif & map — nearby photos What am I? I put up my previous “What am I?” quiz (“Just-Arrived-After-a-Long-Flight “What am I?” Quiz) after I arrived for a summer at my folks' place a month ago, but now that I'm ready to spend the next couple of days in a tin can for our return to Kyoto, it seems reasonable to put up another quiz. Any guesses left in the comments will remain hidden from public view until jet lag starts to relinquish its hold on me this weekend. 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 — full exif & map — nearby photos Different Eras Two Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lenses, separated by 40 years and a lot of character The lens on the left is a new AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, and on the right is a circa-1969 Nikkor-S Auto 50mm f/1.4. The modern version has autofocus and a built-in CPU that communicates details about settings to the camera body, but is also made of plastic rather than the steel of the original, and comes completely devoid of character. Foremost a lens is a tool, but I wish it would at least aspire to look good. Modern Nikon lenses may well be optically wonderful, but looks-wise, they look to me now the same way that 80s hairstyles look to me now. Ugh. Anthony again attended the birthday part of a family friend, Katie Patterson. Last year was bowling. This year was rock climbing. Katie was turning six, and not intimidated by The Wall at all... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — full exif Birthday Girl Katie goes past vertical Anthony, on the other hand, was not so unintimidated, and it took a while for him to want to try it. 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 4500 — full exif Getting Harnessed Up ( I had good focus on similar shots, but I liked the hands in this one, even if out of focus ) He quickly decided he didn't like it, and descended. Most of the other kids were eager to climb... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 — full exif Quintessential Spiderman Shot Griffin tackles the far route Anthony eventually decided to try again... 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — full exif Past the Difficult Part and heading to the top 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1000 — full exif Enjoying the Ride with Pride In a previous life I used to do a lot of rock climbing, but I gave it up when I got married because my wedding ring would cut painfully into my finger, and I wouldn't take off the ring. (I've never had it off, and don't intend to.) Now I'm older, fatter, weaker, and less skilled, so I have no idea why I thought to give it a try. 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif Locking the Carabiner these photos by Ray Patterson 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1250 — full exif Mild Reverse Incline meant it was a bit harder than a ladder My arms quickly turned to jelly. This climb was little more than a bumpy
ladder, and back in the day I would have never even bothered with it, but
it was quite beyond my abilities now, so I cheated without remorse,
figuring not many would even realize that I was cheating. 
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — full exif “Borrowing” a Foothold from a different route Anthony was happy that I had tried, and I was happy that I didn't kill myself in front of an audience. There was ample time for climbing (all the kinds and a few of the parents), and then it was time for copious amounts of cake... 
Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 — full exif Blowing Out Her Candle Katie Patterson turns 6 | 
Jeffrey Friedl
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