Manual Flash Exposure Chart Generator

When photographic flashes were commonly operated in manual mode, they usually had a chart or dial on the flash to calculate the correct exposure based on the distance to the subject. Now that many flashes are designed primarily for automatic use, they may omit this aid, making it harder to use the flash in manual mode.

I thought it would be helpful, therefore, to make a spreadsheet that would generate a table of aperture settings and subject distances for any manual flash. You can download it here:

Manual Flash Exposure Chart Generator [XLS]

Fat Peppy (1997-2013)

Pepper “Fat Peppy” Allen passed away today at the age of 16 from a blood clot in his femoral artery. He was my wife’s loyal companion and obstructer-of-laptop-use; she had him longer than she’s had me. He will be deeply missed.

Team Soft G

Apparently, at least on Twitter, today is the day for all parties to declare their allegiance on the matter of the pronunciation of “GIF,” the Graphics Interchange Format.

I stand with the soft G. (The “JIF” pronunciation, if you must.)

My reasons, like my wallet, are bifold:

1. The creator of the format, Steve Wilhite, said that it is pronounced with a soft G, and this pronunciation was endorsed by his employer, CompuServe. The peanut-butter-like pronunciation was intentional. In my opinion, it is reasonable to grant inventors the privilege of naming their inventions, including their pronunciation*.  This privilege makes at least as much sense as patent protection.
2. The usual hard-G argument is that “Graphics” is pronounced with a hard G, so GIF should be as well. This is a stupid argument, based on a non-existent, made-up rule that is not invoked for any other acronym. Anyone who advances this argument deserves to lose**.

* Within reason, at least.
** Anyone who pronounces “SCUBA” with a short U, “UNICEF” with a CH , “LASER” with a short A and soft S (not Z), and “NASCAR” with a schwa for the first A is exempt from argument #2.

This would be a good time to get “fiancée/fiancé” right.

Jumbo Paper Towel Holder

I’m not sure how to set it up yet, but the “easy tear arm” is wicked sharp.

Postcard Project: Week 7

For background on the Postcard Project, please see the introductory post.

The conclusion of this year’s project consists of two historically important scenes that I photographed along the Path of the Flood Trail [PDF], which follows the path of the Great Flood of 1889 from the failed South Fork Dam to downtown Johnstown.

Postcard Project: Week 6

For background on the Postcard Project, please see the introductory post.

Home of the St. Michael campus of The Good Shepherd Dog Training.

Finally some “postcard skies” earlier this week. I had a couple of additional shots planned for Saturday, when the weather was decent, but I came down with a cold, and wasn’t up for walking a few miles with my gear. Maybe next week. In the meantime, we are once again under a Winter Storm Warning, with 4–8” of snow expected tonight and tomorrow.

I’ve been using Timehop to see my social media history from past years, and it mostly consists of last year’s Lenten project. The contrast in weather is shocking and depressing.