A long, long time ago

A long, long time ago…
I can still remember
How that music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

lyrics from Don McLean’s American Pie

It’s amazing what you can find when you’re doing some cleaning around the house. Things you never thought you still had. For myself, I found a large number of old art pieces that I had done. Most were just experiments, seeing if I could capture form of the subject. And then there was an art piece that caught my eye. I didn’t do this one. No, this was done by a man named Scott McCullar.

For those in the know in the world of comics, Scott is an artist. I could go on about his artwork, but I think his own website (found here) can detail much better than I ever could. Scott and I met, well, online that is, through the DC Comics forums and the Green Arrow forums. Both of us had a great love of comics and in particular, specific characters. Scott was, and still is for that matter, the most knowledgeable person on the face of the planet with everything concerning Green Arrow. At the time when we met, I was building the Unofficial Hawkworld Home Page, everything needed to know about Hawkman and Hawkwoman, and eventually became a sort of continuity clean up for the mess DC Comics had gotten the characters into with the monthly Hawkworld series.

This also goes to explain my signature at the end of each blog entry. Keep ’em flyin’. I used that when I was around those old boards. And keep in mind, this is back in the days before phpbb boards were all the rage. Even before the days of Wikis. I think I just dated myself, there. But that sig line was also on the piece of artwork, which you can see here. I scanned it in Photoshop, cleaned up the piece as best I could without taking away from the original image. Now, I think I will have to find a new frame for it.

Until then…

Keep ’em flyin’.

 

You Outta Be In Pictures

I’ve really taken to snapping photos a lot lately. Not only is it a part of my job, but it truly is a wonderful hobby. And to think, my experience with digital cameras did not start that long ago.

My first digital camera was the Samsung Digimax D53. A pretty decent camera for simple point and click portrait pictures. I found that scenic shots came out great with this camera. It’s easy to use, and easy to transfer photos onto your computer for editing purposes, whether you have a simple photo manipulation program or are an expert Photoshop user. Light weight and easy to hold, this camera has the basic features needed to capture some very good shots.

With a high resolution image that it produces and a 2.4 inch LCD screen, that was just the beginning of what originally sold it for me. The 5 megapixel quality also was a selling point. But the camera had it’s share of problems for me.

I always found I had to remove the batteries, or even when turned off, it would drain the energy from them. It went through a pair of AA batteries like nothing. And the Energizer Rechargable batteries weren’t much of a help. There was one last problem. I take a lot of photos at the local hockey arena. And this camera just wasn’t up to the task. The photos would come out extremely blurry, and in some cases, motion blur filled the image.

I had to find something else.

After a long talk with a friend, she suggested I look at the Kodak line of digital cameras. So I did. I found the Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS. Compact, just like the Samsung, but it has so much more.

A 12X zoom, plus 8.2 megapixel resolution, this camera could also take the photos my Samsung was lacking in. Action shots. This camera also comes with a rechargable Li-Ion battery, and replaceable batteries are cheap. As well, it can handle a pair of AA batteries in a pinch.

As you can see, there is a slight difference in quality in the images taken. The top photo is of the Samsung Digimax D53, taken with the Kodak. While below, is the Kodak EasyShare Z812 IS, taken with the Samsung. Even before I began cropping down the images, I noticed a slight difference. The mug shot, that was taken with the Z812.

The nice thing about both cameras is they take the SD flash card. I already had one for the Samsung, so switching it over to the Kodak was no problem at all. I haven’t field tested the Kodak as much as I have the Digimax, but I hope that I’ll see an improvement. The Ice Hawks play at home to the Elrose Aces tonight, so I might just get a chance to see the camera in action.

Point. Click. Photo.

Until next time…

Keep ’em flyin’.