it's still snowing and mighty cold

[backalley]

right now, it's -23c with a wind chill of -33c.
it's been snowing for most of the weekend.
the dog was limping before we reached the end of the block and yet she didn't want to turn around and come home.

some quick digi-snaps from the front door.

[GeneW]

Jeez, Joe, that is really cold! But I gotta tell ya, these digicam pics are super sharp. Hang on to that FZ20 if your hands can work it okay. It's impressive! Good shots! As for the snow, why don't y'all keep it out there for another month or two

Gene

[doubs43]

Joe, those shots show off the ability of your digital camera. As for the snow and cold; better you than me!

Walker

[mickeyobe]

The pictures are really nice. I especially like the gate.
It sounds like you are on the "balmy" west coast.
Come on to Toronto. The Bananas and oranges are almost ready to be harvested.

Mickey

[backalley]

i'm in dreary edmonton.
dreary today anyway.

as an update on the lumix, i am liking it more and more. it goes a bit funky sometimes with the focus but i'm not sure if it's the camera or me. using the macro mode is key for close ups where my former canon didn't seem to mind close ups in regular mode.
the lens is sharp, no doubt. these shots were taken while i was shaking from the cold.
i did a bit of a documentary for work and found the limits of the flash very quickly. if i did something like that again i might use a monopod or an add on flash.

as to weather, you guys in eastern canada are getting a break and we in the west are suffering early.

joe

[herron]

Joe:
Doesn't that Lumix have a Leica lens? It certainly is sharp! Thanks for sharing the photos, but I agree with the others...you can keep the snow for a while. I'd be happy if it only snowed on Christmas Eve and was completely melted by New Year's Day!

[backalley]

yes ron, it's a leica lens, but i think maybe designed by leica and made by panasonic or someone else. i read that somewhere. it is a 36 to 432 mm equivilent and 2.8 throughout the zoom range.
it's a very big lens on a small digital body.

[PeterW]

These are super-sharp pics, and beautifully exposed when it would have been only too 3easy to burn out the detail in the snow. That FZ20 is really doing the business.

As for the temperatures, rather you than me!

Ron (Herron), don't be mean about wanting snow from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve. Spare a thought for the poor guys and gals who have to be on call over the holiday; public utilities, emergency services, police, transport workers and so on. My daughter in law is working on Boxing Day because that's when the sales start.

I think these people would prefer not to have snow at all. Snow is very photogenic, but IMHO the best place for it is on Christmas cards. .

PeterW

[herron]

peterw said:

Ron (Herron), don't be mean about wanting snow from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve. Spare a thought for the poor guys and gals who have to be on call over the holiday; public utilities, emergency services, police, transport workers and so on. My daughter in law is working on Boxing Day because that's when the sales start.

I think these people would prefer not to have snow at all. Snow is very photogenic, but IMHO the best place for it is on Christmas cards. .

PeterW

Oh, I quite agree, Peter! I didn't say how much snow I would like on those days...which is only enough to be able to look out and say, "isn't that pretty!" If it was gone by the time I had to go anywhere would be perfectly suitable!



-----
By the way...what exactly is Boxing Day? I know it's December 26...but what is it?

[herron]

backalley said:

yes ron, it's a leica lens, but i think maybe designed by leica and made by panasonic or someone else. i read that somewhere. it is a 36 to 432 mm equivilent and 2.8 throughout the zoom range.
it's a very big lens on a small digital body.

I was once toying with the idea of the Panasonic Lumix digital that was identical to the Leica digital at the time...and I assumed it was also the same lens.

I didn't get it, for a lot of reasons, but seeing how crisp your photos are gives me a pang of regret!

[doubs43]

backalley said:

yes ron, it's a leica lens, but i think maybe designed by leica and made by panasonic or someone else. i read that somewhere. it is a 36 to 432 mm equivilent and 2.8 throughout the zoom range. it's a very big lens on a small digital body.

Joe, someone on either this board or another board posted some images that he took with a camera just like yours (IIRC) and the quality was VERY impressive! One was of a car sitting in a field that was taken from an overlook. The car was small but then at maximum zoom the details were amazing. Sadly, my need is for as wide a lens as possible and 36mm (35mm equivalent) won't do. My Sigma gives me 22.5mm (35mm equavilent) and sometimes that's not wide enough. I photograph the interiors of homes for our real estate web site.

Walker

[backalley]

walker,
if i could afford it, i think i would add the ricoh grd to the lumix and be very happy indeed.
it has a 28mm lens equivilent and i love the b&w shots i have seen from it.

joe

[physiognomy]

herron said:

Oh, I quite agree, Peter! I didn't say how much snow I would like on those days...which is only enough to be able to look out and say, "isn't that pretty!" If it was gone by the time I had to go anywhere would be perfectly suitable!

Sounds like you need to move to Colorado! The snow days we get here are crazy... It comes down & then the sun starts shining again!

Nice shots Joe... I like the one of the gate best.

Peter

[doubs43]

backalley said:

walker, if i could afford it, i think i would add the ricoh grd to the lumix and be very happy indeed. it has a 28mm lens equivilent and i love the b&w shots i have seen from it. joe

Joe, some day I hope the digital manufacturers wake up to the fact that there's a market out here for an 18~20mm (35mm equavilent) digital camera with either a hot shoe or PC connection and full manual control.

At the moment I believe it's easier for them to design and make a lens with a moderate wide angle to super telephoto zoom and John Q. Public is convinced that is exactly what they need. They're in the business to make money so that suits them just fine.

Walker

[PeterW]

Ron Herron asked:

By the way...what exactly is Boxing Day? I know it's December 26...but what is it?

Ron,
The name Boxing Day in the UK goes back 800 years or more to medieval times. Two explanations of the name are common.

The first is that alms boxes were placed at the back of churches for church members to donate money to the poor. These were tradionally opened and the money distributed once a year, on the day after Christmas. The alms boxes in those days weren't shaped like a box. They were hollow clay spheres with a slit in the top and were opened by breaking them. Some people say they were the inspiration for childrens' clay and pottery piggy banks. Today, in our so-called Welfare State, the boxes are for donating to the upkeep of the church.

The second explanation is that on the day after Christmas, which was a public holiday, it was traditional for the Lord and Lady of the manor to 'box-up' the left-over food and wine from their Christmas banquet and take it round as a gift to the tennants who lived and worked on their estates - hence the origin of a 'Christmas Box' from an employer to employees.

Nowadays Boxing day is still supposed to be a public holiday, but since the relaxing of trading laws many shops open on Boxing Day for the start of the New Year sales, which originally started on January 2.

Boxing Day is also the Feast of St. Stephen - remember the old carol about King Wencelas who looked out on the Feast of Stephen and went out in the snow with his page to bring in and feed a poor peasant who was gathering wood for fuel? This is said by some to be the start of the tradition of giving to the poor on the day after Christmas -

"Therefore Christian men be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now [ie, at Christmas time] do bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing".

PeterW