Wayne “The Train” Hancock

For concert photography I have been favoring my Sony 50mm 1.4 lens quite heavily. It’s a fantastic piece of glass and the results speak for themselves. Last night I decided to break with the 50mm and work with my Tamron AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di while attending the Wayne Hancock show at Fitzgeralds.

Wayne Hancock at Fitzgeralds
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Wayne Hancock at Fitzgeralds
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As you can see, the Tamron did fine in terms of clarity and exposure. On top of that I was able to capitalize on the wider angle when framing up my shot.

I was still interested in close up work and the Tamron did not disappoint there, either:

Wayne Hancock at Fitzgeralds
Click to see full size

Wayne Hancock at Fitzgeralds
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But the true joy of this lens is the ability to shoot at a wider angle and from a greater distance so I am not having to crowd the stage…

Wayne Hancock at Fitzgeralds
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I am definitely going to experiment with this lens some more in the coming weeks.

The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

Long, LONG before there was American Idol there was a nationally syndicated program called The Gong Show.

Contestants would perform their variety act in front of a panel of celebrity judges and if they were not “gonged” in the first 20 seconds the judges would rate the performance on a scale of 1-10 and the winning act would receive a cash prize.

I vividly remember my my friends in Three Day Stubble getting “gonged” off the show almost immediately.

I watched the program pretty regularly “back in the day” but I don’t recall seeing this.

Watching this video it’s hard to imagine that the guy wearing the rocket would one day go on to score the music for movies like Batman The Motion Picture and the theme from the Simpsons.

I wonder what ever happened to the acts who’s only claim to fame may be that they lost to the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo on The Gong Show?

That makes two Gong Show conrestants I have met in person

And one time getting “gonged” myself from a recreation of the Gong Show.

There’s a hidden message here somewhere.

Technology makes for strange bedfellows

Exciting day yesterday!

Dwight Silverman arrived at the station with a copy of his new book, Microsoft Windows Vista: Peachpit Learning Series

There are several things that make this VERY cool to me, so forgive me being a bit of a techno-spazz.

1. Our friend Dwight published a book!
2. Technology Bytes now features an author who has published a book!
3. Technology Bytes is mentioned on the back cover of a nationally published book!

In other cool geek news, we had a special guest on the show last night. None other than James Kendrick of JK On The Run fame.

James is an expert on mobile computing and his blog is probably the single best source for anything related to that particular aspect of technology.

Thanks James! We appreciate you taking the time!

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Today I am grateful to live in a home where the occupants place a priority on stocking the fridge and the pantry in such a way as to allow for (amongst other things) the spontaneous baking of a batch of home made, triple choclolate brownies.

Since I have been asked for the recipe by several people:

3/4 c. Hershey’s cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. boiling water
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 bowl butter cream frosting

In bowl combine cocoa and baking soda. Blend 1/3 cup melted butter. Add boiling water; stir in sugar, eggs and remaining 1/3 cup melted butter. Stir until smooth. Add flour, vanilla and salt. Blend completely. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost with Butter Cream Frosting. About 3 dozen brownies.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes**. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed.

Capturing the moment II

As I mentioned earlier, getting the good self portraits while on vacation was a concern. That lead us to purchase a compact digital point and shoot camera.

Fellow photo bug Laanba from over at photine.net read the post and took the time to make a comment suggesting I have a look at the Xshot, something she had heard mentioned on the The Digital Photography Show podcast.

I went to the web site and had a look. What a great idea! Basically it’s a mono-pod that allows you to hold your compact camera up to 37 inches away from you. It’s light weight and when retracted will fit in your pocket, making it super easy to carry around.

Being the technology radio personality that I am I decided to contact the company to ask about the possibility of getting a review unit. The folks at Xshot were happy to oblige and I received it last week.

It’s very cool and I will be adding this to the travel kit for our trip to Spain. It will certainly be a bonus to be able to get those adorable couple shots in front of all those scenic landmarks.

To give you an example, here’s a hand held shot:

Now with the Xshot:

And for your ultimate avatar or profile pic at your favorite social networking site, compare these crops:

An added benefit to getting the camera out some distance is the effects of the flash tend to be way less harsh. And think about the slimming angle shots you can accomplish! A must have for Myspacers!

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