2 posts tagged “skyline”
Model railroading and 'stitch' photography on the digicam are taking up a disproportionate amount of my leisure time - of which there isn't much to begin with! I am a rank amateur on both the hobbies and I am in awe of the folks who are at (or close) to the pinnacle of these hobbies. The technical language spoken in those rarefied circles - terms like marklin, bachmann and acronyms like GP40, A1916 etc for the former and detailed discussions on shutter speeds, aperture openings and optical zoom for the latter -can be quite intimidating for the wannabe hobbyist. Anyway another 'stich' shot that I got isn't as good as the previous one but captures a wider segment of the Manhattan skyline.
You can clearly see the curved waterline (unintentional!) which is a result of the individual snaps not being in sync. Need to work on this.
Ona separate track, I've also stumbled on a variety of renditions of "Canon" (Pachebel) - a jazz version, a rock version and so on. I particularly liked the adaptions by The Trans Siberian orchestra - unconventional to say the least!
So that pretty much accounts for Saturday - trying to build up my nascent hobbying skills while listening to various adaptions of Canon. Also intermittently watched CNN. It required some deft handling on their part to switch contexts seamlessly while simultaneously covering the deaths/funerals of Gerald Ford, Saddam Hussein and James Brown. It was almost jugglery - being appropriately respectful, sombre, matter-of-fact and investigative and switching between past and present - to weave a collage for each of them.
It's been a nice relaxed weekend. The weather has been gloomy enough not to tempt me outdoors but not so downright nasty as to come in the way of a jog or a stroll. So apart from devouring Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile", Economist's holiday issue, the New York Times and tinkering with my model railroad I have done little else. Actually tinkered with the 'stitch' feature of my digicam as well - and the result is not bad I thought. Need some more practice but this is pretty useful to get, for instance, Manhattan skyline snaps. I can string together 3-4 snaps and merge them to get a panoramic effect
I continue to be impressed with the hobby of model railroading -specifically the zeal of the hobbyists. I got outbid on ebay for a pair of motors that can be used on one of the "Athearn" locos. Bidding started at $1 but quickly escalated and reached $15. The bid closed when I wasn't online and my vigorious co-bidder trumped me to it. That meant a trip to "Red Caboose" on 45th between 5th and 6th. Al at Red Caboose had assured me that he had old motors and, sure enough, he came up with a couple. Red Caboose is quite a place and it doesn't take long for Al to find out that you're a newbie and his patience can wear thin at times. Anyway, some more soldering and tinkering finally did it - my old loco started running again. It's the yellow loco near the the top of the pic I am talking about
