Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

The Camera Mode Wheel

Camera Mode WheelI have been in possession of my Canon EOS Rebel SL1 since last December. Damsel has had Canon EOS Rebels for years, but this one is my first semi-serious DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera.

Since I had little experience with DSLRs other than borrowing Damsel’s from time to time, I bought and read “Canon EOS Rebel SL1/100D for Dummies.” The book helped a lot in that it pointed out all of the special features of the camera including the menus plus all of the modes available on the wheel and a few more beyond that.

In this post I will discuss what the Canon manual describes as “creative modes,” which are P, Tv, Av and M seen in the image enclosed by an arc and braces on the upper left side of the wheel in the image. I won’t go into all the other modes available other than to enumerate them. Starting with the green box “A” on the left going counter-clockwise, the fixed modes are as follows:

  • Scene Intelligent Auto
  • Flash Off
  • Creative Auto
  • Portrait
  • Landscape
  • Close-up
  • Sports
  • and Special Scene Mode with a variety of kitschy settings available (snow, beach, fireworks, etc.)

Now for the creative modes:

P is for “Program AE,” which automatically selects aperture and shutter speed for you. If you select ISO AUTO, then this mode is more-or-less completely automatic with the exception that if you want the flash to fire, you must deploy the pop-up wink light manually. The latter is true for all of the creative modes. “P” is the mode I use the most.

Tv is for “Shutter Speed Priority.” Set the shutter speed to get the effect you desire. Long exposure time to blur motion and short exposure time to freeze it. Aperture and other settings are automatic. I have this mode set to a very fast shutter speed for normal use in case I see something moving that I wish to freeze. Switching modes is almost instantaneous while in the field.

Av is for “Aperture Priority.” Use a narrower aperture for greater depth of field. I have this set to a wide aperture to be able to capture objects with a blurred background. It’s good for portraits of people and photos of critters in the desert with attention focused on the subject and drawn away from the background.

M is for “Manual Settings.” The photographer can select both aperture and shutter speed settings. I keep this set for the occasional solar filter photography I do: very fast shutter speed and wide aperture seem to work best with the solar filter I use.

In the few months I have had this camera, I have tried to delve into the myriad functions and modes, but after this short time there is still much to be discovered. Regardless of that, I am very well pleased with the camera.

28 Apr 2015 by Entertainment Photography Technobabble

Replacing the Compost Bin

Compost Bins

“Nothing lasts in Arizona,” was the warning given to us by one of the guys installing stuff when we first moved here. Sure enough, the old compost bin installed in 2011 is, literally, coming apart at the seams. Even though this location is in the shade most of the day, the UV and other damage has taken its toll.

Enter the new compost bin; we don’t expect this one will last any longer, but it will replace the decrepit bin tomorrow. We will lift the old bin off of the heap and put it in the recycle bin after disassembly. The new bin will fit the footprint of the old one within a couple of inches. We may have to rake the compost toward the center of the heap before putting the new bin over it.

Despite the triple-digit heat in the summer and the frosts in the winter, our compost worms continue to thrive. A quick dig into the heap reveals many, many red wigglers doing their thing. We take a couple of quarts of composted soil out now and then for various of Damsel’s garden projects.

UPDATE 28 Apr 2015: As I said we would do, I replaced the old compost bin this morning. The footprint of the new bin was slightly smaller than the old one, so I had to shovel the compost edges into the wheelbarrow and shovel it back in to the new bin once in place. Dress up the edges with some of the one-inch red gravel and it looks great!

Replacing the Bin

27 Apr 2015 by Arizona Environment Home & Garden

Cactus Wren

Cactus Wren

I went outside this afternoon with the telephoto lens on the Canon SL1 to try my luck at capturing images of some of the local wildlife in their habitat. Damsel and I have already observed a couple of quail herding their spring chicks around but I had no such luck today.

I did see this cactus wren nibbling on the seed bell. I waited until it got off of the human-provided feeder and into this mesquite where it perched briefly for me to secure the shot. Click on the image to enlarge.

The cactus wren is the state bird of Arizona and, according to Wikipedia, has these additional attributes:

The cactus wren is the largest North American wren, at 18–23 cm (7.1–9.1 in) long. Unlike the smaller wrens, the cactus wren is easily seen. It has the loud voice characteristic of wrens. The cactus wren is much less shy than most of the family. Its marked white eyestripe, brown head, barred wings and tail, and spotted tail feathers make it easy to identify. Like most birds in its genus, it has a slightly curved bill. There is little sexual dimorphism.

My guess is that last dimorphism bit means that one cannot easily distinguish between males and females as is the case with many other birds. Why not just say that in the first place?

26 Apr 2015 by Arizona Critters Photography

A-h-h-h, That New Camera Smell

Beethoven’s Nose

I just came back in from the courtyard where I had been taking some pictures of ‘stuff,’ when I got in the house I was greeted by ‘Beethoven,’ our five year old min pin. He seemed very interested in the camera, so I let him sniff at it.

I guess I pressed on the shutter release just as his nose was up to the lens guard. I thought this was an interesting and humorous view of the curiosity of a small, but very loveable dog. Click on the image to enlarge.

25 Apr 2015 by Critters Humor Photography

Lawyer’s Tongue Cactus Flowers

Lawyer’s Tongue Cactus Flowers

These nice showy flowers are open on our Lawyer’s Tongue Cactus (opuntia engelmannii var. linguiformis). This cactus, which is now over three feet tall started from a single paddle that we rescued from a local park in 2011. We planted the paddle in a pot and it thrived in the courtyard until last winter when we transplanted it to the west side of the lot.

This is the first year that it is producing flowers and (hopefully) fruit. We would like to try and use the fruit in some recipes for syrup, juice or jellies. Maybe we will even make some Lawyer’s Tongue Margaritas this summer.

24 Apr 2015 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

First Saguaro Flower Buds Sighted

Saguaro Flower Buds

The first saguaro flower buds were sighted today and they are on our own big guy out front! We passed by the big saguaro today and I noticed what might be some flower buds on the crown of the cactus. Sure enough, when we got the pictures blown up big enough, we could see two or three buds.

In a few weeks, there will likely be many saguaro flowers open. I will be sure to post pictures of ours and any others that we might see around town. Yay for the Arizona State Flower! Click on the image to enlarge.

23 Apr 2015 by Arizona Flowers Home & Garden Photography

The Earth Day Scam

Instead of addressing the international and domestic issues of importance, the President creates a global warming distraction for his weekly radio address. Out-of-control spending, scandalous cabinet-level agencies running amok, Iran rapidly ramping up their nuclear weapons program and numerous other critical domestic and international issues go unmentioned in favor of the president’s proposed solution to no known problem.

This is all a subterfuge to deflect attention from the real issues mentioned above. We have cited dozens of examples that prove climate change, global disruption or whatever they are calling Global Warming these days to be a complete hoax. It’s in the numbers, stupid.

Meanwhile, the hypocrisy of Obama and some wealthy celebrity greenbats is demonstrated by the writers at Townhall.com:

Environmentalists use Earth Day as another opportunity to disparage the most important source of human prosperity and enriched quality of life – fossil fuels. Ironically, President Obama, whose method of travel makes him one of the single largest individual contributors of CO2 emissions, is once again firing up the engines of Air Force One on Earth Day. This time it’s a flight to the Florida everglades for a photo op to highlight global warming’s impact on the planet. Air Force One burns five gallons of fuel per minute. The flight to Florida will be around 150 minutes and use 750 gallons of fuel. And that doesn’t account for other military aircraft, C-17 transport planes for his fleet of limos and security vehicles, or the dozens of police escort vehicles used to move him around on the ground. It’s a very carbon laden trip for someone hoping to convince the public that CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming and the destruction of the Everglades. But this year’s Earth Day trip pales in comparison to overseas trips in 2011 and 2014, when President Obama’s travels used over 35,000 gallons of fuel and contributed 375 tons of carbon to the atmosphere.

These trips are the personification of hypocrisy, and typical of eco-hypocrites who don’t change their personnel carbon emission behavior while asking the rest of the world to do so. It’s the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ principle. President Obama is not the only environmental crusader who is producing a massive carbon footprint while decrying the use of fossil fuels. Hollywood eco-hypocrite Leonardo DiCaprio likes to talk the talk and not walk the walk. It was recently revealed that the movie star, who led the People’s Climate March in New York, flew by private jet from Los Angeles to New York six times in six weeks last year. DiCaprio, and other wealthy environmentalists like billionaire Richard Branson and Greenpeace’s Pascal Husting, want to save the planet by making it more difficult and expensive for the average person to enjoy mobility, while they jet set around the world in their private planes.

That’s the problem with their eco-ideology. The wealthy and privledged don’t have to suffer the consequences of environmental regulations that put average people out of work, and make it more difficult for the poor to maintain a basic quality of life that is dependent on the use of fossil fuels.

22 Apr 2015 by Environment Global Warming Greenbats Whacko Politics

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