02 February 2010
I get so excited when I discover some cool new thing I can do with my Nikon D90. The latest one came about as I was perusing a few photography forums today. Apparently you can hold your lens in reverse to take macro shots. How cool is that? It works both with one lens reversed right on the body of the camera (they even have adapters for this) or with one lens mounted normally (a zoom for example) and another held in reverse in front of it (they make adapters for this too!).
Since I don't have the adapters, I just tested this concept with my kit lens (18-105) & my brother's super zoom (70-300) with a 50mm f1.8 held in reverse in front. It took me a few tries to figure out that I needed much more lighting and that I would need to move the whole setup back and forth to achieve a semblance of focus, but I did it!
As you can see in the photos, the focus is still a bit off, especially in photos 3-6. Nonetheless, I am very intrigued with this and will definitely play around more!
Photos 1 & 2 were taken with 18-105 mounted on camera body. Pictures 3-6 were taken with the big zoom mounted. The magnification on these is amazing. If you can't tell, photos 3 & 4 are of some very tightly knit fabric and photos 5 & 6 are close-ups of a paper with some print on it (font size 10). Just for reference I'm including that same paper captured just with the 50mm lens.
31 January 2010
My husband LOVEs apple pies, crisps, and whatever other variations this dessert comes in. It's pretty much the only dessert he ever orders in a restaurant. As a result, I'm always on the lookout for a recipe that won't leave me stranded in the kitchen for several hours making elaborate pie crusts. Lo and behold, the Perfect Apple Crisp!
It's simple, quick, and yes. Perfect.
15 September 2009
Have I mentioned that I love ice cream? Fruity sorbets tend to be my favorite and I am actually physically incapable of walking past Cones or Grom without getting at least a scoop. Once upon a time, 3-4 years ago, I had delicious kiwifruit and pear sorbet at Cones. Now, thanks to Sarah B. I can recreate them at home! For my birthday, she got me these amazing ice cream books: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book & The Perfect Scoop. Lo and behold my first creation - kiwifruit sorbet. It is everything I thought it would be and more. I can't wait to try all the fruity sorbet and granita recipes in these books. :)
25 August 2009
You were the erratically-moving squirrel trying to run across West Drive in the vicinity of 70th street right around 7:00PM Monday night (August 24th). You must have had a lot on your mind because you clearly didn't look both ways before trying to cross the street. I was nervously clutching my handlebars and hoping that no pedestrian would decide to walk out in front of me as I picked up speed riding downhill. Out of the corner of my eye I saw you jump out in front of a runner and quickly bounce out of her way. I barely had time to think "poor creature, she must be scared", when I saw you hurling toward me and my Raleigh Detour 6.5. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately (for me, not you) I had no time to respond as I gripped my handbars a little harder and felt my front tire roll over some part of your tiny squirrel body. I was surprised at the force with which you seemed to bounce off my bike and land with a thump in the middle of the road. In a state of mild shock and pleasant surprise at the sturdiness of my bike, I tried to look for you when I came around again (6 mile lap later) but you were gone. I'll take that as a sign that you made it. Good luck and no need to look for me...
04 August 2009
In my anticipation of getting a bike for my birthday (possibly this one), I've been googling biking in nyc. Now, I haven't ridden a bike since I was like 10, so I'm a bit nervous about doing it in the city but there is a wealth of information out there to help set me at ease. For example how about this factoid: NYC has 620 lane miles of bicycle paths, lanes and routes. That's encouraging, and hopefully increases my chances of finding one of these bike lanes and staying off the roads. Yes, I have a not-so-mild fear of riding next to cars... It's also interesting to note that commuter cycling has increased 35% in New York in the past year. Yeah!