timsackton's photostream  

Day 150.

Playing around with extreme beer close-ups tonight. This didn't quite come out exactly as I imagined, but I'm still pretty happy with it. The beer, by the way, is Victory Hop Whallop, a great, extremely hoppy IPA.

Taken May 29, 2012 in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
¹⁄₁₀₀ sec at f/22, ISO200, flash camera left, 1/32 power, very close in.
Lens: EF50mm f/1.4 USM with 56 mm of extension tubes.

Day 133.

Back to vacation photos for a bit. Eight more days to go.

Our first day in Rome was a bit hectic, as it took us a while to get organized and out the door in the morning. Our goal was the Villa Borghese, and specifically a 1:00 pm reservation for the Galleria Borghese.

Isaac and I managed to get out of the apartment somewhat before everybody else, and we had some time to wander around the gardens before meeting up for sandwiches and the museum (which Isaac skipped, thanks to my father-in-law who generously offered to take him to a playground so the rest of us could enjoy the Bernini sculptures in the museum toddler-free).

Isaac was in a cooperative mood, and was quite happy to show off one of his favorite vacation activities for the camera:
1) find a fountain.
2) find some rocks.
3) drop rocks in fountain, watch the splash.
4) repeat.

Rocks were quite a theme for us. Not only did he enjoy throwing them in fountains, but he left little piles of rocks on benches all over Italy, and collected several Ziploc bags full of them for us to take home. Two more rock shots in the comments.

Taken May 12, 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy
¹⁄₄₀₀ sec at f/7.1, ISO100, no flash.
Lens: EF50mm f/1.4 USM

Somtimes you just have to focus on the big pile of rocks you are making.
Taken May 12, 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy
¹⁄₈₀ sec at f/9.0, ISO100, no flash.
Lens: EF28mm f/1.8 USM

This is the little playground in the Villa Borghese where Isaac and his grandfather played while we enjoyed the museum. As was standard for this vacation, he left several piles of rocks on any available surface.
Taken May 12, 2012 in Rome, Lazio, Italy
¹⁄₄₀₀ sec at f/2.5, ISO100, no flash.
Lens: EF28mm f/1.8 USM

Day 149.

A few days ago, I noticed these baby birds nesting in one of the play structures at the local playground. With the day off today, and knowing we were going to spend a considerable amount of time playing at the playground today, I decided to try to get a nice shot. This is not perfect, but given the light, my lenses, and the difficulty of setting up a tripod in a place where I could actually photograph the bird, probably the best I can do.

Taken May 28, 2012 in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
¹⁄₁₂₅ sec at f/5.6, ISO800, no flash.
Lens: EF70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM with 36 mm of extension tubes.