Yeah, I can fix a camera lens. (Rolling up sleeve) (Saying a prayer)

I purchased this old Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 lens nearly 20 years ago. It was the first external camera lens I’ve ever purchased that wasn’t primarily a kit lens, and I purchased it so that I could capture fast indoor action shots, so long as I had the lens open wide (at f/2.8 aperture) and cranked…

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A little yellow postcard from Iowa, 2025 edition

And here we go. Four photos went to Iowa for the 2025 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. I sent an infrared photo of a harness horse, I sent a shot of the sun piercing the New York City skyline, I sent a shot of a dandelion with a swirly bokeh background, and I sent a…

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I am the man on Fifth Avenue.

With the passage of H.R. 1, colloquially known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” I now know how I will die. I will die because the hospitals that take care of me either won’t exist any more, or they’ll charge me so much money that I cannot afford to seek medical care. I will die…

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Way down yonder in the cornfield …

In the late 1960’s, the most popular television show at the time was Laugh-In, a hyper-scattered comedy variety program that mixed surrealism with one-liners and ribald satire. Here’s the first episode of that series, and you can see the lightning as it flashes in the proverbial bottle. Laugh-In proved so popular that other television networks…

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Caption Time: The guest at my Primary Care visit

Yesterday I went to my primary care doctor for my annual physical. Apparently I’m healthy. Allegedly. I have a couple of upcoming appointments for routine maintenance, as do most people when they are a few years away from potential retirement. But as I waited for my doctor to see me … I noticed something on…

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They go on sale at 10:00 a.m. I bet they’re all gone at 10:03 a.m.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are really amazing me in this offseason. Last night they picked up Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey from the Miami Dolphins; they just signed DK Metcalf in the offseason, and somehow they still managed to convince Aaron Rodgers to join up for a one-year stint. Hell, I’m even hearing rumors that they’re…

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Those rocks are NOT from my head.

My girlfriend has made some major upgrades and restorations to her backyard. What was once a collection of overgrown paver stones that were originally part of her home is now a fully replaced and beautiful concrete pathway. But there’s one portion – a triangular patch between the deck and the back of the house –…

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The Pentacon Six TL walks through Congress Park

Come hell or high water, I’m going to make this Pentacon Six TL medium format film camera go through its paces. And with a roll of AGFA Aviphot infrared film in the chassis, and an R72 filter on the lens, I went to Saratoga Springs’ Congress Park for a few shots. And let’s start with…

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