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In my August post “Aunt Chickee and the 6½th Cousin”, I noted that Anthony is one of six cousins (one of my folks' six grandchildren), but that his Aunt Melissa (AKA “Aunt Chickee”) had one in the oven.
Claire Ann Friedl was born yesterday around noon. 7 lb, 1 oz, 19 1/4". (3,200g, 49cm), joining Grace Elizabeth (just shy of 4½) and Luke Allan (2¼) in Mike and Chickee's household.
Congrats!
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Along with my new MacPro I also picked up one of the new-generation dual-band (whatever that is) Time Capsules, which is like an Airport Extreme (router plus dual-band wireless base station) with a 1TB backup disk tacked on. I'll use the backup disk for Fumie's MacMini, and perhaps my old MacBook.
I became interested in it after getting an Airport Extreme for Fumie's folks when I set them up with an iMac, and it was so amazingly simple to set up (with dual networks, a secured one for them, and an open one for guests), that I wanted one to replace whatever old/slow 802.11b wireless base station I was using.
Anyway, after setting it up (which indeed was simplicity incarnate), I ran into two problems:
- Wireless connections generally worked, but were occasionally spotty, and not just when running the microwave oven.
- Fumie's MacMini could not get an IP address if I plugged it directly into one of the unit's three LAN connectors, but it had no troubles when connected through a switch (itself connected to one of the unit's three LAN connectors).
That second one is really odd. I talked to Apple Support over the phone, and we tried the standard stuff like resetting it, etc., and in the end they sent me a new one, which arrived today.
The wireless connections seem much better, but issue #2 still happened, and after futzing around, I think I figured it out: I think the Time Capsules have “weak” LAN ports.
From my data closet (where the Time Capsule sits) to the wall socket in the living room is perhaps 20m of Cat-5E cable, and then I had a 7m Cat-5 cable to her computer. That's well within spec for 100baseT connection, and indeed, in every other configuration I checked, it worked fine. For example, connecting Fumie's computer directly to the incoming WAN with the same wiring worked fine, and placing the Time Capsule at Fumie's desk and connecting it to the WAN there (then via its LAN to Fumie's computer with a short Cat-5 cable) was also good.
Back with the Time Capsule in the data closet, replacing the 7m length of Cat-5 with a 5m length of Cat-6A and suddenly it was getting a 1000baseT connection, as it should.
I'm no expert in this stuff, but it seems to me that the only explanation that fits is that the Time Capsule's LAN ports are underpowered in some way.
Not having paid much attention to cabling, I checked the cabling to the Mac Pro and found that it was Cat-5 and I was getting the 100baseT connection one would expect from Cat-5. I replaced that with a Cat-6 cable I had lying around, and now have a 1000baseT connection. That'll make connecting to Fumie's computer faster, though I still have only a 100Mbit fiber connection to the outside world (which goes to show that we all must suffer in our own ways :-D).
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Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Standing for a Portrait
the simplicity, the colors... this is one of my favorite shots of the day
In my previous posts about this weekend's visit to the gardens of the Eikando Temple in eastern Kyoto (“Holy Cow, the Gardens at Kyoto's Eikando Temple are Gorgeous!” and “More From Yesterday's Trip to the Eikando Temple”) I purposefully chose photos devoid of (or mostly devoid of) people, but in fact it was quite crowded.
I detest crowds. I grew up in rural Ohio, and am definitely not a city person. The crowds leading to the Eikando Temple were oppressive, made worse by the fact that it's right next to the Nanzen Temple, itself noted for its fall colors (as illustrated here, here, here, and here). Oppressive. The streets were positively packed with people, much to the chagrin of the taxis, cars, and huge tour buses trying to ply the same routes, not to mention each other.
But sometimes the ambiance of the situation turns the same potentially-oppressive crowds into a plus, into something that adds to the enjoyment of the moment, such as described in my “Cherry-Blossom Joie de Vivre in Kyoto” post from Spring 2008.
At the Eikando Temple this weekend, the same crowds that outside the temple were oppressive, inside were calm, lending a feeling of collective appreciation of the beauty. It was almost surreal.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Throngs on High
that's part of the Eikando Temple complex, but I never made it that far
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/400 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Counterbalance
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/500 sec, f/2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Generic Path
prior to the rain
I would normally look at the picture above and think “Ugh, pretty or not, the crowds are not worth it”, but in reality is was remarkably pleasant. You could stand in any one spot for an hour and still not explore all the photogenic possibilities the gardens presented. The garden layout was such that – and the beauty so plentiful – you could simply ignore the people and not want for something wonderful to fill your lens.
But if you were open to it, the people themselves became part of the beauty, offering all the more photographic opportunities. Most of the photos on this post are just to share the vibe, but some (like the first) are wonderful in their own right, I think.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Paul Barr
the guy with the big Nikon D3 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
I met Paul through my blog. He's an American photo geek who visits Kyoto every year (he made a brief appearance in this post last year), and since he's in town now, he joined me in visiting the temple.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Target Rich Environment”
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Checking the Map
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 45 mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Shoes
everyone in the background is either taking shoes off, or has just put them back on
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Class
Simple. Unpretentious. Classic.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Carpet of Yellow
an area of the garden filled with a layer of Ginkgo leaves
Ginkgo leaves are of a simple shape, and turn a simple, solid yellow (like this), and relatively small ginkgo trees line a lot of streets in Kyoto (and are neutered every year so that, I assume, the city can avoid the mess of the leaves). I'm not a big fan of ginkgos and their leaves, but a large tree can make a very pretty carpet.
I've still got most of the photos from this weekend's family bike outing to post, including some of a huge ginkgo tree on the grounds of the old imperial palace that was almost glowing it was so brilliant. Must. Find. Time. To. Post. More.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dubious
stabilization technique
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/4, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Empty
( relatively speaking )
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Dolled Up
I had no interest in photographing these “less classy” dolled up girls, but got the shot of someone who did
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Going with the Flow
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mini Conference
I wanted to stay for hours more, but was running late as it was, so had to leave.
Before heading our separate ways, Paul and I each bought a hot sweet potato from a vendor a 100m or so from the temple entrance. They're sold out of a little truck with a big steamer mounted in the back, similar to how one can get hot chestnuts on the streets of Paris...
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hot Potato
The water running down the mini canal is water that has found its way from Lake Biwa, traveling 20km through the Lake Biwa Canal that first brought drinking water and power-generation capabilities to Kyoto in the 1880s. Where the main canal dumps into the water-treatment area upon its arrival in Kyoto, a tiny finger splits off and slowly winds its way around a curve of the mountain to the south edge of the Nanzen Temple where it crosses a grand brick aqueduct. I'm surprised to find that I've posted no photos of it on my blog; the best I have is this shot under the aqueduct from a few years ago.
The finger of water then wraps around the Nanzen temple, bisects the Nanzen and Eikando temples, and runs down past where you see in this photo, eventually emptying into where the main canal picks up again after the 20m drop that fed the first power-generation plant in Japan 130 years ago.
It must have been a lot of work to create this little mini canal that takes a side trip around the Nanzen temple, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it was for.
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I've just released a new plugin, Focal-length Sort, conceptually similar to my Megapixel-sort plugin in that it fills gaps in Lightroom's Library Grid Filter that shouldn't be there in the first place. Like my Data Plot plugin, it can give you insight about how you use your lenses.
This makes 19 plugins for Adobe Lightroom that I've released, all available on my Lightroom Goodies page.
(This post previously mentioned a second new plugin, “Bulk Titler”, but I've withdrawn it because it turns out Tim Armes' LR/Transporter plugin, which I knew did a lot of things related to metadata import and export, also does exactly what my little plugin did. My “Bulk Titler” was almost a throw-away little thing, but LR/Transporter is a first-class professional tool, so I'm happy to point you to it.)
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I still haven't gone through all my photos from yesterday's trip to the garden at Kyoto's Eikando Temple, but I wanted to show a few more, so here are some from the middle of the batch. Like yesterday's most of these are best appreciated with a large, wide-gamut monitor.
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Filimenty
and a touch wet, from the recently-begun rain
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Passages
( Winner of the most cliché caption award, but it's 1am and I'm tired, so give me a break )
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/4, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Black Sheep
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Escheresque
It's hard to know where to focus, or what's going on
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/2, ISO 500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Don't Bug Me
I'm just hanging out under this leaf trying to keep dry
Nikon D700 + Zeiss 100mm f/2 — 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Autumnal Bloomer?