My friend texted me this morning asking me when the solar eclipse was, and I was about to answer, “It’s not,” since the path of totality passed across northern Europe. But then I thought to check and see if there was any portion visible from the US, and indeed there was. The irony of this being, I could see the smallest fragment from where I was, but not from where he
Category: Video
Tip Jar 32: Layer masks
Been meaning to get to this one for a while, just never set aside the time to do it. Finally started this past week with a few days to spare, which was good, because I ended up having to re-record it after finding the screen capture software wasn’t capturing, like, the screen, instead cropping off the sides a little. So let’s take a look at using layer masks, because they’re
Another brief look, in daylight
I’m quite pleased to have gotten this. I was up yesterday at first light, not exactly intentionally, but used the opportunity to watch for duck and geese raids on the pond edge. Instead, I realized I was hearing the juvie barred owl (Strix varia) calls from right in the backyard again, so I gathered the long lens and tripod and went out looking.
While two were in evidence from the calls, I
Even though he’s a handsome devil…
Wonder of wonders, I can actually put together a short video! Don’t get too used to it, though…
Total display/dispute lasted just a couple of minutes, and probably only occurred because the anole scampered across the door when the sun was right. We’ll see more of that reflective film (primarily in place so we can observe the wood ducks without spooking them) in a little bit.
By the
Tip Jar 26: Perspective tool
We’re halfway through now, and I regret picking this kind of topic a little, because many of these posts take a fair amount of work and I’m often pushing the deadline, like I am now. It’s not like there’s a firm deadline anyway, just the one I arbitrarily chose, and you probably couldn’t even tell me the one I blew by several hours. Still, I’m trying to be conscientious,
Right on top of it
Ha! More puns on multiple levels!
So sometime last year, when out early, I observed a northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) on top of a Leyland cypress tree, venting forth with a varied and seemingly neverending barrage of calls, many of them lifted from other birds I vowed then to return with the long lens and tripod and capture video of it. This finally happened, oh,
Can’t ask for more
I mentioned in the previous post that, after seeing the barred owl (Strix varia) family without a camera in hand, we may try to remedy that with another kayak excursion down there. However, yesterday I got busy on modifying the dock, and then the rains rolled in, so we never actually took the kayaks out.
Right around midnight, I was in the kitchen and heard the juvie call, and it sounded close
Tip Jar 25: Using the Clone or Rubber Stamp tool
Another entry in the GIMP tutorials, this one in patching grunge and unwanted doodads within your image. Generally a pretty straightforward process – until it isn’t, and this is intended to head off some of those stumbling blocks that can make things frustrating. Don’t get me wrong you will still have a lot of trial-and-error, back-and-forth attempts, especially
Tip Jar 24: Dodging and burning
Another post on digital editing, this one for (as it says,) dodging and burning, which is lightening or darkening selected portions of an image. This used to be a common darkroom technique, though it’s probably a bit less-so now, but it’s still handy to know how to accomplish. This is definitely one where practice and experimentation will improve the results. So herewith, a quick video
(Off) Estate Find 63
Poking around at night by the headlamp again, endeavoring not to get eaten by a bear, I realized there was a faint sound that kept repeating, and I didn’t recognize it as anything ‘typical’ – the frogs were making a racket down at the pond, but this wasn’t a frog. So I started following