Sometimes, I just like taking snaps

[cwphoto]

This ones for you Pete, got the boys out working today mixing mud for a small bricklaying job I had to finish.

First we had to move a little dirt (and no, Tom isn't holding his old fella - he's just sitting on the wheelbarrow handle, told you they were snaps). Neither of them look too impressed - I had to drag them away from Cars to help me.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/160s @ f/5.6, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

You can't really tell where the project is in this shot, but I have built a cascading sheet water fountain into the rear of that retaining wall (if you look closely you can see the projection in the wall). I have built a pond in between the front and rear walls and need to cap the blocks that I recently laid for the sides of the pond (similar to how I capped the top of these two walls with the row of house-bricks, but at a perpendicular angle).

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM./ 1/320s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Nicky likes walking along this wall.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/320s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Tom likes to give advice.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/250s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[cdifoto]

Your snaps are in a whole other league compared to my snaps. Hell I'd consider your snaps as my effort shots. :eek:



Ka-Chow! :D

[cwphoto]

This is a set of hand-prints that Thomas and I made about three years ago when I first poured the footings (all 20 cubic meters (that's around 720 cubic feet for my Imperial friends) of it).

Nicholas (just a pup back then) has his hand in the impression made from Tom's, and Tom has his hand in the impression I made.

Blown background to prove to Don that they are just snaps. :D

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/125s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[jamison55]

Look who's got a 35 f1.4! Did I miss the announcement?

[cwphoto]

Look who's got a 35 f1.4! Did I miss the announcement?

This is the announcement. :D

...and the test, of sorts. :confused:

[jamison55]

Well the little blighters are looking plenty sharp ;)

Looks like you have enough SS left over to open it up a bit, though... What's this sissy f4 stuff? :D

[cdifoto]

Look who's got a 35 f1.4! Did I miss the announcement?

Shows how much I pay attention. I thought he's had a 35L for awhile. :rolleyes:

[cwphoto]

Nick waits patiently (a first for Nicholas) for the cement mixer to do its thing.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/200s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Well the little blighters are looking plenty sharp ;)

Looks like you have enough SS left over to open it up a bit, though... What's this sissy f4 stuff? :D

LOL. :D

I'm just warming up - be patient! ;)

OT: My better half has been critical of my family shots lately: "why does everything in the baclground always seem so blurry?"

Fair point: just because we can shoot at f/2.8 and better doesn't always mean we should. It's hard though when I'm a (near) wide-open Junkie!

[cwphoto]

It's just like when Mum makes a cake, just don't try and lick the bowl Boys!

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/125s @ f/4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Get out of my face or I'll hit you with this trowel!

Nicholas enjoying himself. :rolleyes:

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/500s @ f/2.8, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Here comes mess, oops - I mean fun. :o

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/500s @ f/2.8, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

Tom knows what to do.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/640s @ f/2.8, ISO 100:

[cdifoto]

OT: My better half has been critical of my family shots lately: "why does everything in the baclground always seem so blurry?"

That's funny. My mother said the same thing to me when I showed her some photos. My response "because I can". I don't remember what photos they were but I think it truly was because I could and not because it was the best choice. I rarely ever go past f/5.6 and I've been hitting f/8 lately only because sometimes I need to for proper exposure with the Sunpak 383 on auto. f/8 makes me cringe. Plus my sensor dirt that I'm too lazy to clean off starts to show up. :eek:

[cwphoto]

Quick boys, back to work - Mum's home!

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/100s @ f/5.6, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

That's funny. My mother said the same thing to me when I showed her some photos. My response "because I can". I don't remember what photos they were but I think it truly was because I could and not because it was the best choice. I rarely ever go past f/5.6 and I've been hitting f/8 lately only because sometimes I need to for proper exposure with the Sunpak 383 on auto. f/8 makes me cringe. Plus my sensor dirt that I'm too lazy to clean off starts to show up. :eek:

Don, I'm with ya all the way - especially the part about the sensor dirt... :o

[cdifoto]

Don, I'm with ya all the way - especially the part about the sensor dirt... :o

Yah why clean it when ya can just f/2 it away!?!? :D

[cwphoto]

...or f/1.4 it: ;)

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/125s @ f/1.4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

The Boys love lego.

EF 35mm f/1.4 L USM. 1/125s @ f/1.4, ISO 100:

[cwphoto]

100% crop of above:

[cwphoto]

And of previous wide-open shot:

[jamison55]

NOW we're talking!

[cdifoto]

Hoo-ah! :D

[achuang]

Good snap shots CW. You guys are funny, now we all know the real reason why you guys shoot near wide-open all the time - laziness :p
There can't be that much dirt on your sensors, well i hope not. Good to see you putting the boys to work. You have a very nice garden, i'm sure it'll look even better when it's all finished.

[boog]

CW, your snaps looked like my finished product. I believe that's kind of sad:rolleyes: . I've got a lot of work left to do. I'm with Don, I thought you already had the 35L. I could have sworn I'd seen you have some wedding shots with it. Great shots and good to see kids out working with pop instead of watching Cars. My wife and I had a disagreement over christmas. She wanted Nintendo Gameboy Advances for the kids. They're 5 and 3. I said they need to be outside playing ball, swinging and playing in the dirt. Then I got the "eye" and the that's going to cost you look and needless to say, my kids are the proud owners of Gameboy Advances. I tried. I'm with Don, I thought you already had that lens. I could have swore I'd seen some wedding pics with it. Anyway, congrats on the purchase and a beautiful garden.

[Nickcanada]

Nice lens, and great pics. :) Great lookin' yard too.

[24Peter]

This ones for you Pete, got the boys out working today mixing mud for a small bricklaying job I had to finish.


All I can say is, YEAHAAAA!! Put all those little buggers to work I say. Why when I were their age I was haulin' 40 lbs bags of coal two miles up the side of a mountain, and it was colder than a witch's tit out there too! :eek: (Always wanted to use that expression is a post... :D )

As for the pics, I really like the second lego shot - it has that MF feel. :)

[aparmley]

Smart shots mate! Congrats are in order - I've poured us two tall brews, nothing but the king of beers for this one!;) Nicely done Christian (on the lens). Thats a lot of work you've gotten done there, still some to go though, but damn, I can respect what you've done there. I don't miss being the "hired labor!" I can remember hand mixing over 150 80lb (36kg)bags of quikcrete for a walk way we made at my old mans house. Easy as 1.2.3!;)

[forno]

Jeez those boys are chip off the old block:D

What are you going to put in the pond ceedub?

I want to put one in under the kitchen window, not politically correct at the moment though with the drought:(

[cwphoto]

Smart shots mate! Congrats are in order - I've poured us two tall brews, nothing but the king of beers for this one!;) Nicely done Christian (on the lens). Thats a lot of work you've gotten done there, still some to go though, but damn, I can respect what you've done there. I don't miss being the "hired labor!" I can remember hand mixing over 150 80lb (36kg)bags of quikcrete for a walk way we made at my old mans house. Easy as 1.2.3!;)

1 Cement, 2 Sand, 3 Aggregate eh Parm?!

Did you hand-mix all that? Surely you had a mixer like me and not in the barrow? :eek:

I tried to find some 'before' shots but I must have archived them somewhere (will have another look when I get more time).

It was a big job: this wall retains the Western boundary for about 30m of its length at an average height of about 1.2m (4 feet), reaching 1.8m (6 feet) at its highest point. The footings (20cm deep) were 20 cubic meters deliver in three trucks in two sessions. There are L-shaped bars running across the footings and up inside the blocks every 40cm along the wall, as well as 6m horizontal bars in every 2nd block to tie the whole thing together. There is also 16mm mesh in the footings (some 1.2m wide).

The blocks are also core filled with concrete (mixed in my Grandfather's old mixer pictured previously) - about 4 cubic meters there.

I did everything myself (well the boys helped a bit too and Elissa painted most of the wall) except the cement render (wasn't confident in a project this large even after doing a day-course at the local brick-pits). Started two summers ago and almost finished - just have to line the pond with fibre-glass and connect the pump. Also need sand-stone cap for the letterbox.

One of the more satisfying aspects is the curve - quite challenging, and ironically the footings: preparing the formwork so that the steps (my land slopes front to back so the footings are stepped) were exactly 40cm (the height of two blocks) difference in height plus having all the L-bars every 40cm apart standing upright and across was too.

[cwphoto]

Jeez those boys are chip off the old block:D

What are you going to put in the pond ceedub?

I want to put one in under the kitchen window, not politically correct at the moment though with the drought:(

Yeah, they're their Father's Sons.

Was thinking some fishies but probably too high maintenance. I'll probably put some mesh across so the finished water level is only say 200mm deep (don't want any tragedies, there are so many little kids in our street), maybe some big pebbles on top for the cascade to fall onto like Niagara!

[cwphoto]

CW, your snaps looked like my finished product. I believe that's kind of sad:rolleyes: . I've got a lot of work left to do. I'm with Don, I thought you already had the 35L. I could have sworn I'd seen you have some wedding shots with it. Great shots and good to see kids out working with pop instead of watching Cars. My wife and I had a disagreement over christmas. She wanted Nintendo Gameboy Advances for the kids. They're 5 and 3. I said they need to be outside playing ball, swinging and playing in the dirt. Then I got the "eye" and the that's going to cost you look and needless to say, my kids are the proud owners of Gameboy Advances. I tried. I'm with Don, I thought you already had that lens. I could have swore I'd seen some wedding pics with it. Anyway, congrats on the purchase and a beautiful garden.

Thanks Boog, I know that Christmas situation very well (where do they learn that look?). :D

Nah, never even used the 35 L until last week. Jamie's had one for ages (perhaps it was his stuff you saw) and to be honest it was what he was getting out of it that inspired me. :)

Going back to a gear-list to avoid the confusion.

[cwphoto]

All I can say is, YEAHAAAA!! Put all those little buggers to work I say. Why when I were their age I was haulin' 40 lbs bags of coal two miles up the side of a mountain, and it was colder than a witch's tit out there too! :eek: (Always wanted to use that expression is a post... :D )

As for the pics, I really like the second lego shot - it has that MF feel. :)

Thanks Pete, knew you'd get a kick out of it - mind if I borrow that saying?

[cwphoto]

Nice lens, and great pics. :) Great lookin' yard too.

Thanks Nick, we're finally getting somewhere (see detail of project above). :)

[cwphoto]

Good snap shots CW. You guys are funny, now we all know the real reason why you guys shoot near wide-open all the time - laziness :p
There can't be that much dirt on your sensors, well i hope not. Good to see you putting the boys to work. You have a very nice garden, i'm sure it'll look even better when it's all finished.

Thanks Mate, my wife already has plans for the back-yard now. :rolleyes:

[24Peter]

Thanks Pete, knew you'd get a kick out of it - mind if I borrow that saying?

"Colder Than a Witch's Tit"? By all means. It's been freezing here in Los Angeles the last few days. Can't get that saying outta my head. It's so cold, the bird bath was partially frozen this morning. (Before the freeze) http://photos.imageevent.com/24peter/birdbathparttres/large/IMG_9813.JPG
http://imageevent.com/24peter/birdbathparttres

[cwphoto]

Found some old shots dating back to August 2003 of the front yard.

The footings had just been dug by an Excavator here:

[forno]

Lil tike in gummies:D