Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Weeks 4 and 5

 So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022

Week 4 - Learn something new.  

First time I've used a Neutral Density Filter.  Goal was to get blurred water and lots of depth-of-field on a sunny day.

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Week 5 - Sepia

Using the internal Sepia filter in my Fujifilm X-T3 camera.

January 1972 on the Music Charts

 I managed to keep up the monthly lookback at pop music of 1971.  A couple of months were later than my mid-month goal, but they got done.  They didn't seem to be especially more or less popular than anything else I post, but I enjoy it, so we'll keep plugging.

50 years ago this month started 1972, one of the greatest years in pop/rock music.  At least IMHO.  So, what were we listening to to start the year?

There were 5 weeks in January of 1972, and there were 60 songs that spent time in the Top 40.  That's a little more turnover than we've seen through 1971, it will be interesting to see if it is a trend.  But over those 5 weeks, only 2 songs topped the charts:  Melanie's "Brand New Key"  It was replaced by Don McLean's "American Pie", which spent the next 3 weeks at #1.

Here's the top 10 songs of the month, ranked by average chart position over the 5 weeks of the month:

• American Pie - Don McLean - 1.3
• Brand New Key - Melanie - 1.5
• Let's Stay Together - Al Green - 4.7
• Sunshine - Jonathan Edwards - 4.7
• Scorpio - Dennis Coffey and The Detroit Guitar Band - 5.5
• Family Affair - Sly and The Family Stone - 7.3
• I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing - The New Seekers - 7.8
• You Are Everything - The Stylistics - 9.0
• Clean Up Woman - Betty Wright - 9.5
• Day After Day - Badfinger - 9.7

Twenty-Five (25) songs made their Top 40 debut, a couple of notable songs.  Here they are (listed by entering position):

• Never Been To Spain - Three Dog Night - 24
• The Witch Queen Of New Orleans - Redbone - 29
• Once You Understand - Think - 32
• Down By The Lazy River - The Osmonds - 32
• Black Dog - Led Zeppelin - 33
• Precious And Few - Climax - 34
• Stay With Me - Faces - 35
• Joy - Apollo featuring Tom Parker - 35
• Anticipation - Carly Simon - 36
• Without You - Nilsson - 36
• Feeling Alright - Joe Cocker - 36
• It's One Of Those Nights (Yes Love) - The Partridge Family - 37
• That's The Way I Feel About Cha - Bobby Womack and Peace - 37
• Fire And Water - Wilson Pickett - 37
• Don't Say You Don't Remember - Beverly Bremers - 37
• Bang A Gong (Get It On) - T. Rex - 37
• Make Me The Woman That You Go Home To - Gladys Knight And The Pips - 38
• Hurting Each Other - Carpenters - 38
• The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Robert John - 38
• Looking For A Love - The J. Geils Band - 39
• Together Let's Find Love - The 5th Dimension - 39
• Levon - Elton John - 40
• White Lies, Blue Eyes - Bullet - 40
• Me And Bobby McGee - Jerry Lee Lewis - 40
• Floy Joy - The Supremes - 40

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition - Week 3

So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  You can see how my year progresses by clicking on my tag:  52weekchallenge2022

Week 3 (15 Jan - 21 Jan) Landscape

First Snow of 2022, at least in St. Louis area... Watershed Nature Center, Edwardsville, IL

Throwback Thursday: The start of LSquared Imaging

 I was digging through the photo archives today, and came across a notebook that had printouts of the first dozen or so posts to LSquared Imaging.  Here's a scan of the printout of the FIRST post, from April 10th, 2002:

The photo is from February 2002, from a business trip to Ketchikan, Alaska.  It's been reposted here a few times, but here's the original!  Hard to beleive that I've been posting photos to the internet for almost 20 years, under the LSquared banner.  Kind of cool!

LSquared Imaging predates blogspot, if you check the URL at the bottom of the page shows:

Of course, AOL Hometown is long gone, Wikipedia says October 2008, but I was off AOL before then.

2021 My Year In Photography - Part 3

 I'm continuing to get these posted, not quite on my goal of 1/wk....  This is Part 3 of a series of videos, showing all of my images from 2021 that received some sort of recognition.  Today is Part 3, covering March 2021.  It's a little shorter than the previous editions, I think I like the ~3 minute target.  What do you think?

Click for Video (Youtube)

My critea were:\

Photos at 356project that were recognized as Popular or Trending.

Photos at BetterPhoto that received Editor's Pick, Staff Favorite, Finalist, or Winner (2nd place, 1st place).

As always, comments welcome!

Eagle Watching

 I had seen a couple of eagle photos recently, so we decided to take a run up the River Road this afternoon and see what we could see.  Pretty slim pickings, but always a nice way to spend an afternoon.  On the drive back from Grafton to Alton, we saw this eagle hanging out beside the road.  We had room to pull over, and I was able to walk a lot closer.  And managed a few decent shots with my humble 200 mm lens:

Capture52 - 52 Week Challenge - 2022 edition

So, there's a photography thing, Capture52, where they provide a weekly topic and you're challenged to take a photo based on it.    I discovered it on 365project a couple of years ago, and have dabbled with it a couple of times.  But I've never made it far into the year, never close to all 52 weeks.  But I'm giving it another shot in 2022.  It'll be interesting to see.  Besides their Facebook group (which has almost 2,400 members), and 365project, there's an Instagram hashtag, I'm trying to post to all three.  The first 2 weeks were especially hard for me, maybe getting through those will create some momentum!

Week 1 (1 Jan - 7 Jan) - Self-portrait

Introduce yourself. Who are you? What drives you? Extra challenge: Tell your story without including yourself in the image. No cheap selfies or snapchat filters!! Really put some thought into it.  I decided to include myself, as did a lot of folks.  But no "cheap selfie", this was my Fujifilm on a Tripod out in the field!

So, how do I make a self portrait that says something about me? Obviously I need a camera. And it needs to be a black and white shot. And something nature. I opted for Watershed Nature Center, one of my regular haunts for a couple of decades. Too bad I had to bundle up, and still could barely feel my fingers!

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Week 2 (8 Jan - 14 Jan) Street Photography  

Here’s an opportunity to get out and about and try some street photography. Capture an intriguing candid moment on the street of your local neighbourhood.

Just a little "slice of Life" from the Wal Mart parking lot on a Friday evening...

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Two weeks in, 50 to go!  At least week 3 is "Landscape".  More in my wheelhouse, at least.  Now if the days would just get a little linger so there's light after work.

Just checking...

So...  I got my replacement lens today, for my damaged 18-55mm...  (post on the old lens).  I decided to make sure it had the latest firmware (it did) and decided to check the firmware revisions on the rest of my Fujifilm stuff (2 bodies, 2 other lenses).  All needed updated, which I expected (since I don't remember the last time I looked firmware).

Of course, updating the firware meant remembering HOW to check the firmware, and how to do the updates.  But it's quite easy, and everything seems to still work!

Above is one of the test sots I did, that's the Fujifilm XT-3 with the 55-200mm lens.  Just something shot out the front door.

 

2021 My Year In Photography - Part 2

 As noted last Sunday, I decided to do a series of videos, showing all of my images from 2021 that received some sort of recognition.  Last week was part 1, which covered photos from January, 2021.  Today is Part 2, covering February 2021 (plus a couple of  January leftovers).

Click for Video (Youtube)

My critea were:\

Photos at 356project that were recognized as Popular or Trending.

Photos at BetterPhoto that received Editor's Pick, Staff Favorite, Finalist, or Winner (2nd place, 1st place).

As always, comments welcome!

Bummer

So, we managed to get the whole family together for a Christmas celebration (on 12/26/21).  The wife and I, all 3 kids, 2 spouses and 2 grandkids.  That's the first time in 2+ years that we've had everyone in one spot.  So I made ture to take my camera, and a tripod, so we could do some group photos.

When I pulled them up on my computer screen, I noticed a distinct blurriness on the left side of the screen.  My son in law was out of focus!  Now, as much as I'd like to blame him, it was pretty obviously a problem with the image.

Closer examination revealed that my 18-55mm lens was sitting crooked on the camera.  Bummer Bummer BUMMER.  I was able to confirm that it is the lens, not the mount, and there's no issue with other lenses.  So At least there's that.  I recall a recent outing where I had to make a sudden stop with the camera sitting on the passenger seat, and it launched to the floorboard.  I'm presuming that was when it happened.  The lens is 3 years old, and out of warranty.

 

Turns out Fujifilm only has 2 US repair centers, one in NY and 1 in NJ.  I reached out to one and got a quote for repair.  Which is estimated at about 50% of replacement cost, plus shipping to NJ.  And whatever time is involved in that.  I checked the local camera shop (well, more local that NJ!), and their web site shows they have an upgraded version in stock, for almost double the replacement cost.

So, a week later, I still haven't decided what to do.

1)  Send the lens to NJ for repair, hope it turns out to be less than the estimate, and hope it doesn't take too long.

2)  Buy a direct replacement.  I'd prefer to buy local (or local-ish), but they don't seem to have it in stock (and Amazon says they do).

3)  Turn the problem into an opportunity to upgrade to a higher specced version.  Which I can buy locally (as soon as I can spare a few hours to make the trek to the store).

I guess I need to make a decision and move forward....

Till then I'm stuck with my telephoto or wide angle lens.  Or my iPhone.  

New Cover Photo at LawheadPhoto.com

 I've been pretty good at keeping the cover photo updated over at LawheadPhoto.com.  My Goal is to change it every Sunday, I've slipped to Monday a couple of times, but have only missed one week out of the last 14.  Not bad with the holidays, work and other "life" intrusions.  Along with the cover photo, I've been adding an "Article" with a short discussion about each cover photo.

Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up through 2022.  

Check out the Home Page

And the Article

Thanks for noticin' me - Eeyore.

First Photo, 2022

 

I didn't take a single pgoto on 1/1/22.  Sometimes life is like that.  This is an iPhone photo taken 1/2/22/   Just a little something from the iPhone, processed with Snapseed (on the iPad).

But I'm not stressing about it, the "real" cameras will break out soon enough.  I actually like the spontaneity one can get with the iPhone, and the challenge of it's limited adjustability.  I took a few shots today while waiting for the vet to finish evaluating my old dog (since only one persone could go in the building, and that was my wife).  Look for a couple of those images to show up eventually.

2021 My Year In Photography - Part 1

 

I decided to do a video, showing all of my images from 2021 that received some sort of recognition.  As I got into it, I decided to break it up into segments that would run <5 minutes.  So here's Part 1, which covers January 2021.

My critea were:\

Photos at 356project that were recognized as Popular or Trending.

Photos at BetterPhoto that received Editor's Pick, Staff Favorite, Finalist, or Winner (2nd place, 1st place).

As always, comments welcome!

1971 - Last Look

 Over the last year, I posted monthly summaries of what was happening in the music Top 40.  You can review the series HERE.  It's been a fun project, and 1971 was a great year for music.  And 1972 was also a great year, maybe I'll keep it up.

Looking back over my data, I figued to add a few last observation:

A total of 718 songs spent time in Billboard's Hot 100 during 1971, and 290 songs made the coveted Top 40.  That's a lot of great music.

19 Songs topped the charts, listed here (in chronological order)

• My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (3 weeks)
• Knock Three Times - Dawn (3 Weeks)
• One Bad Apple - The Osmonds (5 weeks)
• Me And Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin (2 weeks)
• Just My Imagination - The Temptations (2 weeks)
• Joy To The World - Three Dog Night (6 weeks)
• Brown Sugar - The Rolling Stones (2 weeks)
• Want Ads - The Honey Cone (1 week)
• It's Too Late - Carole King (5 weeks)
• Indian Reservation - The Raiders (1 week)
• You've Got A Friend - James Taylor (1 week)
• How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Bee Gees (4 weeks)
• Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul McCartney (1 week)
• Go Away Little Girl - Donny Osmond (3 weeks)
• Maggie May - Rod Stewart (5 weeks)
• Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Cher (2 weeks)
• Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes (2 weeks)
• Family Affair - Sly and The Family Stone (2 weeks)
• Brand New Key - Melanie (1 week)

That's a great little playlist right there.

Meanwhile, there were some really great songs that made the charts, but fell short of the Top 40.  Here's 20 of my favorites, with peak position noted:

• Marianne - Stephen Stills (42)
• Cry Baby - Janis Joplin (42)
• Change Partners - Stephen Stills (43)
• Apeman - The Kinks (45)
• Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer (48)
• Walk Away - The James Gang (51)
• Ride With Me - Steppenwolf (52)
• House At Pooh Corner - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (53)
• Freedom - Jimi Hendrix (59) 
• Truckin' - Grateful Dead (64) 
• Black Night - Deep Purple (66)
• Black Dog - Led Zeppelin (67)
• Life Is A Carnival - The Band (68)
• C'mon - Poco (69)
• Military Madness - Graham Nash (73) 
• Hymn 43 - Jethro Tull (91)
• Revival - The Allman Brothers Band (92)
• Carey - Joni Mitchell (93)
• When You Dance I Can Really Love - Neil Young (93)
• Caught In A Dream - Alice Cooper (94)

So that's it.  Hope y'all liked it, we'll see if I stay inspired as we move into 2022.