Who uses a dedicated camera device anymore, I mean really? Digital camera sales have dropped eighty-seven percent since 2010. And the reason for that is that smartphone cameras take a damn good picture. But there is one thing that no camera can do for you, and that’s composition. Follow these easy hints and you’ll be taking better pictures in no time. All the photos for this article were taken with the camera on the author’s Android phone, and all the post-production processing (except anonymizing faces with the NPC sticker) was done using tools (crop, adjust) available in-camera on my phone.
Recognize and Avoid Distracting Backgrounds
This man has a lamp coming out of his head.
Our attention is quickly drawn away from the subject of the photograph to the coat rack in the background.
Every picture tells a story. Everything in the picture is part of the story. The less that is in the picture, the more your audience can focus on the central elements of the story, whatever they may be.
When you take a photograph you tend to focus on your subject, and that’s a good thing. But you can take much better photos with little effort and no special equipment if you train yourself to look at the background before you take your picture. When taking photos of persons and things familiar to you, your mind tends to ignore stuff that’s just part of your subject’s natural habitat — all good. But others, who know the subject and setting less well, will quickly be distracted by the background elements of the photograph.
So how do we fix the photos above? The first photo is the most easy, we simply photograph the subject from a different angle to eliminate the lamp coming out of the subject’s head. Neutral, uniform backgrounds are the best. Fortunately the room has a beige wall so all we have to do is photograph the subject from an angle where the only thing behind him is empty wall.
Voila!
The second photo is a little more difficult to fix. It’s a small room full of room stuff so you have limited options. We ask the subject to move to a different seat on the couch so we can get a shot with only empty wall in the background, then we crop the photo very severely (to the green rectangle) to yield a tight head shot showing only the subject’s head and shoulders, and the empty wall behind him. That yields a photograph suitable for a personal profile, or an author photo for a publication.
The kitchen counter is the natural place to take this photo of a beer bottle for a product review. But the counter in the photo below is a virtual minefield of distractions with the plethora of kitchen counter items behind the beer bottle. Not to mention the washout in the upper right corner from the under-counter light and the reflections from various bright and shiny objects.
Crop to the green rectangle to eliminate the most distractions possible. But the best fix for this photo is re-posing the beer bottle.
Solution: Move the bucket of kitchen tools and pose the beer bottle in the corner on a silicone potholder. Schwanky.
The train layout below is also a challenge to photograph.
There’s a train in there somewhere, but the story this photo tells is of a room with blue walls and white trim which happens to have a train layout in it.
Cropping and adjusting the photo does a better job of showing the train, but it’s still obvious that it’s a train layout in someone’s house.
The hobbyist sees only his pretty John Deere flatcar with the removable tractors. The uninvested viewer sees the warning “Caution: Electrically Operated Product…” on the train transformer.
Solution: Move the train to a different part of the layout where there is no distracting background.
For a brief moment you suspend disbelief and it looks like a real train because there are no visual clues to scale.
Manipulate Reality
Let’s say we want to take a photograph of this logo mug. What do we do?
The strong vertical lines of the chair back, and the horizontal lines of the HVAC grate make this visually jarring.
We grab a common household object, a towel, and turn the chair from a negative to a plus! Towels, plain dark t-shirts, and pillowcases all make good improvised backgrounds. Chairs make good micro-studios for small object photography, as well as background holders for when you need to position a backdrop behind a larger object or part thereof.
And we crop to the green lines yielding a nicely composed photo that tells the story of a mug.
Take advantage of the Crop and Adjust tools on your smartphone. Auto-adjust yields a sharper and more colorful photograph than the original, and you can always save both versions if you want to re-do the original later. Always overshoot — take 2-3 shots of each pose using slightly different angles. You can improve focus in low light by using a tripod, bracing yourself when shooting, or by propping the camera up and using the self-timer feature.
“Tonio is an occasional s___-poster, intermittent copy editor, and general hanger-on.”
Perhaps Tonio is an occasional picture presenter as well.
We share a lot of framing thoughts. This works the same for presentations, advertisements, and work instructions.
Not to bust on your silicone pad, but I never use red or orange except to denote error or danger; it can be the smallest dab, but a hint of red is all people focus on.
All I noticed was that the inside corner needs cleaned out and re-caulked.
Ha, well-played.
I have the same potholder. It came as a pair with a black one.
One of those three pairs of tongs looks like the same model I own.
You did a great job on this. I really enjoyed it.
Awesome! Thanks for the writeup and advice!
I do. They’re easier to use, take better pictures and more useful features. By the time I’ve pawed at the display enough to get a passable, if fuzzy shot with a smartphone, I’d have gotten a dozen good shots with a real camera.
Agreed. Me too.
Now we are gonna fight over Canon vs Nikon, right?
I use both.
So…would you say you are bi-cameral?
I got a Nikon camera; I love to take a photograph; So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away
I never got into positive film much. I have a few slides but I don’t see the point. Too much trouble and extra equipment to view.
Delicious picture quality?
I wish I’d used slide film back in the olden days. It seemed like an esoteric dad thing to me then.
National Geographic shot exclusively on Kodachrome back in the day. They also had one of the few private (non Eastman Kodak) Kodachrome labs. It was a nasty process and was never released to the consumer market. Ektachrome (E-36) processing was bad enough and that was designed to be consumer friendly.
I grew up next to Kodak Park (their main factory complex). I dunno what those smokestacks were belching out – and it changed every so often – but it was powerful.
My mother was a photographer for the NG in the 50s and 60s. She would shoot everything on slide film.
Oh, wow. That was my dream job.
Nikon. I have a Nikon d850 full frame that shoots like a pro.
For film, I’m a Pentax guy. I usually have the K1000 SE when I leave the house. Simple. Basic. Stripped down. Although the Cannon Rebel is fun for combining great looking film with some digital functionality.
Heh. A Nikon D850 that shoots like a pro?
D00d, in the circles I move in, that’s pretty much the camera body of choice for the pros and semi-pros who shoot Nikon. Great camera body.
“Now we are gonna fight over Canon vs Nikon, right?”
I have a Nikon. But the Canon people I know will be ready to fight you in a second over how much better their camera is, regardless of whether it’s true or not. Canon people are the brand type folk, like Chevy and Ford people used to be.
I prefer video….
For my choices of subject matter, You wouldn’t notice the difference
Do you have any where there is a dude delivering a pizza in a shirt with some snazzy commentary that hides behind the bushes and then tells the audience that he likes to watch?
WAKKA WAKKA WAKKA!
I do landscapes and still life. Some birds.
I deliberately avoid taking pictures of people.
I also, although my old Sony bit the big one this winter, so I’ll need to buy a new one if I live through the pandemic/recession/zombie apocalypse.
The camera on my marginally-smart phone is pretty crappy because I cling to an outdated horizontal slider that it has the physical keypad I prefer for texting. I find it amusing that most commercials for smart phones now seem to focus on the camera and not on making phone calls.
For taking real pictures, I have a decent enough digital SLR or, for greater ease of use, a Kodak digital – both of which use easily removable SD cards for storage.
I don’t know what year my phone is. It still holds a charge for at least four days, so I’m in no hurry to get the latest scam full of whizbang features I’ll never use.
Okay, I do too. But we’re an increasingly small minority.
8×10 view camera or GTFO, bitches.
Kidding. Interchangeable-lens mirrorless digital. I’m an action and wildlife photographer. Also beefcake.
But I have actually used a Graflex Speed Graphic sheet film camera that I found in the back of the darkroom at work and they still had film in the fridge. Developing the negatives was special.
Same here. Canon 5DMkIII for the quality stuff and everything I do in the studio, Sony RX10 for upscale travel photos, Sony RX100 for a pocketable version when I’m going super-light. I only use the smartphone when I’m trying to get a shot of something that is otherwise verboten (or when I’ve forgotten one of my real cameras, following the old adage of “the best camera is the one you actually have in your hand”).
I’ve owned six camera brands over the decades (Argus-Cosina, Olympus [OM and Digital Four-Thirds] Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Konica-Minolta) and though I no longer have any of this system left, the Olympus OM System is still the one I have the most fond memories of.
My current top of the line camera is my Canon Rebel T7, but it’s bulky, so I have to intend to be taking pictures when I leave the house. When I do that I end up places like the Erie Canal or Lake Champlain.
Here are some ducks in the canals.
My first real-real camera was an OM-1. I miss her.
One of the greatest film SLR cameras in history, IMNSHO. A masterpiece of miniaturization/engineering. Maitani-san was a freakin’ genius. At one time I owned OM-1 (several variants), OM-2Sp, and OM-4 (non-titanium version). Plus a buttload of lenses and accessories, which I’m happy to say I got a lot of use out of.
My cheapo Samsung phone has a 64 megapixel camera. But there’s no way in most cases it can get photos as good as my DSLR camera. The thing is, I’m not carrying that thing around with me all of the time.
People always have their phone with them, and they do take amazing pictures compared to just a few years go, so I think it’s just convenience and most people just want to take selfies of their self to stare at all of the time and post on facebook anyway, they’re not concerned with taking good pictures and you take hundreds of pics with your phone, you get lucky sometimes and get a good one, you can just delete the rest.
I take a lot of pictures with my digital, move to Picasa and enhance, crop, etc. Make a dvd, set to music and no one even watches them. Pretty much have given up on others, all are so busy sending their own stuff out for me to ignore.
I’m de facto class historian for my high school class. One time, about 10 years ago, I think 60th year reunion I did a collection of old reunion pictures, plus the new ones, mailed out about 25 dvds. Got 1 or 2 Thank Yous. Now I take the pictures, email a few out to a few people, keep the rest for my own enjoyment.
We are besieged with information and don’t have time for the option of adding more on info into our lives. As a kid I really enjoyed looking through old family photo albums, with my Mom explaining who this person is or where/when that picture was taken. It was a great way to enjoy an evening. No soccer practice either.
Thank you! I like to think in terms of composition when taking photos, which for me is primarily documenting travels. (NOT posed shots smiling in front of some landmark. I just want the landscape, thank you very much!)
For a future article, any tips on photographing black cats? (Yes, I’m letting my Crazy Cat Lady flag fly!)
Photographing in color might help.
/snark
Whose Stratocaster is that on the left?
Mr. GT’s. He has an…extensive…collection. Bad case of GAS.*
*Gear Acquisition Syndrome
I’m sure you already know this, but that’s a huge affliction with men, whether they like guns, guitars, computers, cars, workout equipment…etc.
Yup! The first two for sure, plus the third for a while (not so much anymore.)
Some sort of peroxide treatment for the cat’s fur?
Dark gray background, lots of ambient (indirect) light. Use the SLR on a tripod and a remote shutter trip. Spot meter on the cat or the dark background. Basically you’re forcing a long exposure.
Thanks! Just gotta cross your fingers that the cat stays put.
Manipulate reality. Find a background like a blanket that you know will be irresistable. Plant it in a location with good lighting and wait.
Photographing darker subjects is a specialty in some towns. I understand that, when the subject is posed, adding reflected light is important. Some guys were really good at it, so there must be some top tricks to its.
Go buy a copy of the book “Light Science and Magic” by Hunter, Biver and Fuqua (now in its 5th edition). Best effin’ book on photographic lighting I’ve ever run across, and worthy of working through in a studio setting, page-by-page, it’s that good. You don’t need to own a studio setup to benefit from it. It helps you to think about the quality and quantity of light no matter the situation you find yourself in.
The price on the 5th edition is much higher than when I bought it (when it was first released in 2015). If you can find used of the 4th edition, that one’s very good, too.
Toughest darkroom challenge ever (pre-digital). Historical photos of a church baptism. Adult outdoor baptism in the Summer in Virginia. Black congregation. It is traditional to wear white when being baptized. Photograph the original photo (no negative). Start making prints using lots of dodging and burning to try to keep faces visible and not have baptismal garments look gray and dingy. After about forty minutes you come up with a decent print (a photograph of the original); take this print and photograph it because they want a ton of copies now (and as suspected ordered more later) and there is no way I can produce that many identical custom prints. Make final prints from negative of photo of of original photo.
Precisely the way Ansel Adams used to make copies of his masterworks: spend up to several days in the darkroom making the print that he had a vision of out of the actual negs that are surprisingly disappointing when printed “flat,” and then photographing the “vision” print.
If that guy had access to modern Photoshop and a high-quality digital camera, he would’ve gone apeshit seeing what he could have done in just a few minutes. It’s a golden age for good photography right now.
I’m amazed at what in-camera (yes, including phone) auto-correct can do to pop saturation and contrast. Doesn’t always get it right for professional work but does a really good job at casual snapshots.
Yeah, that would be tough.
I’ve had difficult printing assignments but none quite that bad.
I did, however, manage to dodge and burn a severe case of acne away for some girl in college. She was quite grateful
Retouching was a PITA. I was never particularly good at it. I was never much of a portrait photographer. I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned it.
Remember the cameras meter is trying to expose for middle grey. If you are filling the frame with a black cat it will look grey. On a real slr type camera you can adjust with negative exposure compensation to move the histogram to the left (more dark pixels) and the cat will look more black instead of grey.
Another option is to take a meter reading on a more neutral area and then recompose over the black cat with the same exposure setting
I recently dusted off the old DSLR and took a few potatographs. It’s nice to use a camera that automagically* manages to make stuff look better than it does to the naked eye.
*I like aperture-priority mode, with whatever compensation suits.
I I found a Nikon D60 in the alley a few weeks ago! Meant to place an ad on CL before all this craziness.
Get out there and take some ph- oh. Stay at home and take some photos!
Is this gonna progress to tips on taking good nudes?
I hope so.
The hard part is finding someone who looks good nude and convincing them to take their clothes off.
exactly
the overlap between those who reveal and those who should be revealing is unsuitably tiny
It’s all supply and demand. Those who have a great deal of demand on their hotness can set a higher price for showing off the goods.
I’m fortunate in that I’ve developed relationships with several models who fit the bill. My big problem is that I really don’t have a visual project that would take advantage of said relationships, even though they keep asking me. I know I’m not supposed to think like this, but I keep thinking that all of the good nude figure studies have been done. Only very occasionally (mebbe once a year) do I see someone’s work that makes me go “Wow, good job! Very original!”
“all of the good nude figure studies have been done.”
Yep.
That is actually true. And there are only so many poses. If I see one more bear doing the Rita Hayworth “armpit” shot pose I’m going to gag.
??
Gilda?
May not be RH, but it’s a classic mid-century pinup pose with the chick kneeling erect with an arm behind her head showing an armpit.
And it’s a not bad pose, it just grates on me when I see a guy doing that. Probably some type of self-loathing issue. There are plenty of good bear poses which naturally show the armpit if you’re into that.
Still ??. You’ll have to post an example pic, I fear.
Heh.
So in the early 90s I discovered the really good beefcake photographers online. Like, really good. So I wrote a storyline where an artist dude painted himself (no face) in such a pose.
Then about many years later, I realized that it was so cliche it was painful. When I re-edited the book I made the character make fun of himself for doing it.
I shot a lot of nudes.
Young college girls are very vain.
I cant show any of them because the deal I made was that I would never show any of them without their explicit permission.
All black and whites. I think they are all in a cardboard box in the attic now along with my complete darkroom. Occasionally I dream of digging all that stuff out and setting it up. Then I mix another drink and come here.
So what you’re saying is we’re impeding your hobbies?
Yes.
*goes to mix a drink*
*narrows gaze*
I don’t do nudes, but I do a lot of underwear work. Props. I always pose with some type of prop like bike helmet and gloves. Not overly-themed, but give the model something to do with their hands.
Yep.
If you want a master class in photography see this movie
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101316/
It covers all five classic rules of photography very well
1.in, in, in, big, big, big
2.framing
3.perspective
4.black as a basic element
5.rule of thirds
Always liked this one.
There is a silly soap opera that my wife loves
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094229/
I watch it now and then with her because the photography is so damned good.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Wrobleski
Heartland.
Yeah, it’s filmed near Calgary, Alberta. And yes, the country around Calgary really does look like that. Photographer’s dream, especially if you’re into landscapes. A target-rich environment.
I remember that fillum!
I used to love photography. Still have a pair of jeans with developer (pew) stain on em. Even bought a new SLR battery and a roll of Potsdam recently.
Damn.
Damn to which?
That you’re still doing chemistry-based photography. And I’d never heard of Potsdam (film) but now I’m fascinated.
That was quite some time ago, because I rarely discard stuff. Haven’t yet restarted, but your appreciation is appreciated.
I got into photography because 20C point-n-shoot cameras were so dismal. Want to shoot a subject less than a meter away? Forget it.
Rule of Thirds
Over and over
Rule of thirds is about the only thing I remember from high school photography class in the mid 1980s. G/d bless you, Mr. Stelmack (Southie, Marine, teacher of drafting/architectural rendering/photography/video production).
Harold and Maude also.
I laughed harder than I probably should at ‘San Francisco Asks Homeless Residents To Poop At Home’.
Will possibly share some photos later if I find any recent ones I like.
{wink, wink, nudge, nudge}
Say no more!
I used to do a ton of photography. I loved it. Since the advent of digital I just don’t have the same passion for it. When you had a limited number of exposures it really got you to pay attention to the composition and lighting.
Great article and advice Tonio!
Your lamp in pic four is lovely, even with the crooked shade! 😉
You people…
Great article Tonio! One thing I first figured out when I bought a DSL and started reading photography books like the one below, which I recommend, is that composition and subject matter rule over pixel count. Sure it’s great to have too of the line equipment, but a great picture is a great picture, regardless of resolution.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1607748509/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_EAJEEbQ469C71
Top of the line
Another thing I learned, related to composition.
https://petapixel.com/2016/10/24/golden-ratio-better-rule-thirds/
Easier to achieve that with computers now.
Golden *hour*!
OT (my sincere apologies) – reposted from morning links, now dead.
“a bunch of goat herders in Afghanistan”
OK, not to pick on you x80…. that one really bakes my onion. It is not a “bunch of goat herders” – the combatants in Afghanistan are primarily foreigners, paid by the Saudis, and anyone else hoping to have their more troublesome elements go wage war outside their own lands. Without Pak sanctuaries, foreign recruiting and arming, this would have been reduced to the low level, constant tribal disputations that have been rumbling along for some long time. The Hazara, Uzbeks and Tajiks aren’t exactly filling the ranks of the Taliban or Haqqanis. Most of the Pashtun want to be left alone, as they have been fighting since the early-mid 1970s.
Yes, there are some locals jumping in – that supreme asshole Hekmatyar Gulbuddin did for a long time, until he managed to cut a deal. His HIG were the ones that took the most shots at yours truly. But the Chechens, Iranians, Arabs and Pak Pashtuns are almost all the people fighting to get their influence or part of Afghanistan.
The time I was in AF (2004-2005) we would annihilate columns of Talib, marching into Afghanistan from Pakistan…by the time I left, they were changing to smaller, dispersed groups. The stream of fighters keeps on flowing – but it ain’t “goat herders”.
A more honest Pentagon assessment would say – “we can kill them, but they will keep coming unless things change. Don’t look like they will for the foreseeable future, so let us depart.”
Not that you need the ‘backup’, Swiss, but I will add my concurrence. I was on the ground from Sep ’04 through May ’06 – with a total of 4-5 months at home mixed in there – all along the eastern border with Pakistan, from as far north as Jalalabad all the way south to Qandahar, with a good bit of time in the middle, across the border from Miram Shah, Pakistan. Goat herders aren’t/weren’t the problem; neither were the Kuchi.
During that time, we watched the tactics change as foreign fighters living on the Pak side of the border began to import the IED/suicide bombing tactics that had been perfected in Iraq against US/coalition forces there.
You cleared the 30 minute window. You’re good.
As I said the Pentagon led we, the people, to believe, this was an In and Out incursion. I sat through those briefings where “Light at the end of the tunnel” was presented as some kind of factual info. Where the VC were some farmers that wore black jammies at night.If my presentation wasn’t clear I take full responsibility for that but my opinion that the Pentagon is any thing more than crystal ball gazers and optimists with a pretty bad track record still stands.
Thanks for your clarifications.
Thanks Tonio
I have shot a lot of film in years past, but not so much as of late. All my stuff got stolen a few years back and I’ve slowly been building up a new kit.
I do miss film at times for the printing aspect of it. I don’t miss developing rolls at all hours of the night.
I miss smoking weed under the darkroom vent hood.
I took classes at the Maryland Institute of Art for a short period. Smoking weed was a prerequisite for a good grade.
Sorry about the theft. ☹️
Yeah, it could sure become expensive at times.
I was primarily a lab tech in my early (chemistry) days. There is nothing worse than developing other people’s family photos. Except when a forensics roll from the Sheriff’s department came in.
That must have been… interesting.
I briefly worked for a lab that developed porn — not exclusively, but we had this one customer.
Do tell…
Was the customer into eating ass?
No, fairly ordinary thicc black women. Sometimes featuring a guy (yep, all the way). Not sure whether they guy was the photographer or a random model.
At the time (circa 1980) rimming would have been very hardcore.
I admit, I’m lazy. I normally let other people develop my film as well. What we have in Buffalo is “Dark Beers. Dark Rooms”. A bunch of us get together in a big studio and drink beer and develop film. Makes it more enjoyable when you’re around other people.
Who uses a dedicated camera device anymore, I mean really? Digital camera sales have dropped eighty-seven percent since 2010. And the reason for that is that smartphone cameras take a damn good picture.
I still have a dedicated camera, but i honestly think the new Iphone 10 takes better pictures. I bought the camera since it’s water proof and used to take pictures in the rain a lot for work. Durable camera.
Thanks, Tonio.
Ergonomically, I prefer a real camera. Since all my pictures typically end up shrunk before being shared, my main requirements are on target, in focus, and properly zoomed. Zooming a smartphone is a royal pain in the ass, especially compared to just pushing the zoom lever in the direction you want to adjust.
Quick question, do the new phones have manual focus options?
There are add-on options for that but they generally suck.
Otherwise, the most expensive phones generally have more than one lend to select from.
After my visit to the Knoxville zoo, I realized I wanted manual focus, because the autofocus kept wanting to take pictures of the enclosure fences rather than the animals.
Can you change the focus point by tapping on the image?
…before you take the photo?
Why would I tap on an image?
And tapping on an image will shift where the phone is aimed, making the tap useless.
And no, I’ve not met a camera where tapping on an image does anyhting but take the picture.
*camera or phone.
Nah, the best phones will track where you tapped until you take the picture.
The best phones make and receive phone calls, maybe text messages.
Also, how are you holding the phone such that you have any hands free with which to tap at the screen?
You don’t use your penis?
Obscures too much of the image, can’t see what I’m trying to take a picture of.
I use a tabletop tripod and cell phone clamp for some work. Self-timer minimizes camera shake which is increasingly a problem for me.
While it makes sense in terms of freeing up hands, I tend to photograph while walkabout, and only Used my tripod once for photography.
A “selfie stick” or other monopod-like accessory for cellphones can be useful for manually-assisted focusing.
Yeah, that’s always an issue at the zoo. Also want the ability to jack the iso up when in the aquarium. Flash won’t work because of the glass.
I’ll admit that the new phones can compensate very well for exposure issues.
https://imgur.com/gallery/PWMxilG
Put the camera against the glass if that’s allowed.
You really need a decent telephoto zoom lenses for zoo pictures. Then the enclosure net almost disappears, if you’re lucky.
The tiger looks a little crosseyed.
I’m tempted by the Hasselblad snap-on camera back for the Moto Droid phones. But that temptation is driven as much by the brand name as anything.
Yeah I saw those but I was afraid they would get abandoned way too quickly.
I made some investment in the Samsung DSLR system only to see that get canned last year.
I don’t know, I just know I have seen pics taken of the exact same scene, (giant moon rising over a snow covered ridge) with my camera and a friends new Iphone 10 back a few years when they first came out. As far as I know the lenses have only gotten better.
How much of that was done in-house at apple and how much was licensed from a camera maker who can just as easily put the same tech in a normal camera without the added espense of a phone?
Yeah, my Elph doesn’t butt-dial my distant relatives while I’m trying to listen to a podcast.
Why are there pictures of Wolf Blitzer?
Ouch. I’m much taller than Blitzer (ie, over five feet) and have a less round face.
We’ll see if there’s Liberty in Lynchburg
Thousands of Liberty students expected to return to campus amid coronavirus outbreak
I think the issue with modern CGI spectacles is primarily the framing and Rule of Thirds being ignored in favor of cramming as much as possible into the shot as a distraction to the unreal aspects of the effects.
I hated the Star Wars prequels for this reason. They abandoned the simple, almost Western style, shot composition of the first three for complete and total bombast.
I’m pretty sure that was the problem with the Special Editions that Lucas put out as well.
That and lose the sense of focus, because those CGI guys want you to know how much work they put into that thing in the background, so it always stays in focus even though it’s not at the correct focal length of the lens they are trying replicate, making the image look flat and boring.
Absolutely. It’s like nobody ever taught them what aperture and depth of field are.
They computer modellers, not photographers or cameramen.
Have you looked at web pages lately? I dont what the hell they are teaching in colleges these days. Most web pages are functionally unreadable.
I doubt most students these days have heard half of the terms we have been discussing.
I thought I hated the prequels – then I saw “The Force Awakens”. So much crammed onto the screen with so little plot and character development, I had a headache halfway through.
@spencernoon
Watch the real estate market.
My neighbor is an @Airbnb super host.
She is on forums with other hosts.
Many of them have 10+ mortgages.
0 guests are booking their properties.
They are running out of cash.
Commercial real estate is tanking, fast. Every REIT manager out there is shitting bricks.
Yeah. Shutting business down (or kneecapping them), doesn’t get rid of the rent payments or other fixed costs. That’s where the real damage is coming.
Sigh….
well at least i like my house, so i’m not planning on moving in the next 10 years….
It’s real now. Greta Thunberg has Covid-19.
Even if she does, she still has a 99.9% survival chance for her risk group.
But she has other health issues….
…that aren’t the mental kind?
It’s a real issue!
“thinks she has”
?
Maybe she can’t smell the CO2 anymore?
*golf clap*
*chuckle*
/giggle
How dare you?!
I inadvertently chuckled at that.
I am a bad person. I do bad things. I should feel bad.
You’re in the right place.
Truth:)
OFFS! But I’m glad I’m not the only one who has now taken notice of this trend. If I go to Bing home page, the news items at the bottom are polluted with celebrities saying ‘Hey, I have the virus!’. #MeWuhan2! Fuck, what are they waiting for their victim award? STFU, you aren’t special, a lot of people have it, apparently.
Saw people calling it a week ago – it will be how celebrities attention whore now that they can’t go out in public.
A song for our time of strife and trouble
Tonio, this is a great quick piece for us novices. I generally suck at taking photos, know nothing on the subject, despite spending a ton of time around media folks, including professional photographers and serious amateur ones. But I see things and think, “YES! This would be a beautiful picture.” Yet it is rare that I can capture what I see. I’ll try to incorporate some of these tips from now on.
Thank you.
Start with making sure your subject takes up at least 50% of the frame. And as Tonio says make sure people don’t have trees or lamps growing out of their heads.
Defense Production Act – any Glibs have insights? Why are the Dems so keen on Trump engaging (other than the obvious – control)? Are the unions pushing this to make everyone a government employee?
The more they forced the centralization of the decisions, the more they can assign blame.
At least that’s what Pelosi is thinking. She’s always weighing the situation in the most cynical way possible.
As a sales manager, I would never sign any DARS paperwork; it infuriated my clients. I never cared in two ways:
a/ if the client wants to have inventory for the Pentagon, buy a Quonset hut in New Mexico, buy all you want, and leave me out of it.
b/ if there is a real defense emergency, other martial-law-type provisions would take over my manufacturing anyway; DARS is not needed.
I’m not signing up for the USG to take over my company: come and take it.
They know one day they will have their fascist in the White House.
Defense Production Act – any Glibs have insights? Why are the Dems so keen on Trump engaging (other than the obvious – control)? Are the unions pushing this to make everyone a government employee?
I would say the people from the Magic Hat school of economics think all that stuff will just magically appear, with no lead time or production ramp-up needed, if el Presidente merely claps his hands and utters the magic words.
Evul private profiteers would never think to conjure any of that stuff up on their own initiative.
Dude, what we need to stop this virus is more money thrown at green projects that will fail no matter how much money we throw at them.
Yep.
Expect that the calls for ‘government to save us’ to increase if things go south. Particularly by the populist mobs and the would be leaders of such.
I am with Don. Leave me out of it.
*lifts slat in blind, squints, drops slat, checks shotgun magazine*
I think that’s about right. All this has demonstrated that there are two things people don’t understand, and that’s how prices work and how industry works. For most people, prices are arbitrary numbers set by greedy people who want to make as much money as possible in the short term and factories are black boxes that generate products according to the wishes of their corporate ownership using resources that appear out of thin air. Also, logistics aren’t really a thing; when you need stuff someone just makes it and it appears at the location where it’s needed. Whole thing takes about ten minutes, max.
I need a good course on taking better photos of people. I’m not bad at landscapes. But my wife is always complaining that the pics I take of her are not good. And I admit, I’m just not good at it. Something something angles, lighting, I dunno.
The flash on the camera is terrible for portraits because it’s full on. Having the flash offset, either on a tripod, or at the very least, handheld off to the side can help. You can also bounce the light off of a reflector, or use a diffuser. Portrait photography is its own field.
This
Portrait photography absolutely requires indirect lighting.
I try to never use a flash. That’s not the problem, I don’t know what it is, I just don’t do people pictures well.
I really hate flash – built-in on both my cameras – and try to avoid using it whenever possible.
Same. I do use fill flash sometimes, ie to give that little bit of extra light when shooting outdoors.
Recently I was playing with multiple flash setup in the studio. Disappointing results and a lot of work.
You need to turn off the “make her butt look bigger setting.” This is factory defaulted to “on” each time the photo app starts.
Get her to relax and smile. Take multiple photos. By the third or fourth exposure she’ll start relaxing. Talk to her while shooting.
Thanks, Tonio. I’ll give that a try. She does seem to get too serious and maybe tense up when she knows she’s going to be in a photo.
Tell her bad jokes. The bigger the groaner, the better. Get her to stick her tongue out at you, give you a raspberry, etc.
These all seem to help my less-experienced subjects loosen up.
^This.
And “say cheese” relaxes people with it’s hackneyed cheesiness.
I prefer “Everybody say ‘Shit!'” Gets a laugh if you haven’t used it too often,
It floors some people
I have the world’s worst case of resting bitch face. I have to remind myself to smile when I’m doing selfies.
“Talk to her while shooting.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWfQD72nNB8
“And I’m spent.”
LOL. But I take great butt pics, it’s the face photos that I’m bad at!
Lighting: The shadow cast by the nose should be at 45 degrees down right or left. Get in close so the face is 50% or more of the frame. If they are looking right have them in the 1/3 left of the frame. If they are looking left have them in the 1/3 right of the frame.
Start with that.
Whatever the first thing your eye is drawn to when looking at the photo (if it is a person it is almost always the person’s eyes) put that in the top third, right or left third of the frame. These simple rules will make. your photos much much better.
Most people are drawn to the eyes of a subject, which is also why it’s important to use the eyes (or one eye, if your depth-of-field is really shallow) as a focal point. You can, of course, break these rules if you’re trying for different looks or a picture that’s trying to force you to look at something else.
Now I feel ill. Acton is the chick behind everything Chancellor DeWine is doing in Ohio. She’s a total loon.
https://www.10tv.com/article/im-so-proud-9-year-old-girl-writes-thank-you-letter-dr-amy-acton-2020-mar
Good grief.
I seriously remember when 9 year olds were not into politics.
I remember when people told nine year olds to STFU.
this too
These are the kids who grow up to be politicians
Thanks for pulling that. It gives me more then enough info to know not to go read the whole article.
What a bunch of horse fuckin’ shit. How many times do we have to gag at these people having children read a script to try and sell their nonsense?
I remember when people told nine year olds to STFU.
Those were the days.
*smiles wistfully*
And you did it, or an ass whooping was headed your way. Truly, the good old days.
Bring those days back.
OMWC and his roll of duct tape is doing his best! But he’s only one man and the van only holds so many 9 year-olds.
He needs to practice catch an release.
Maybe he could write the date and place on the duct tape that he puts over their mouth before releasing them. Then when he catches them again later, he can track their migratory patterns?
UK update: from what I can tell, the army may very quickly find itself being deployed in more than just a logistical role in the “fight” against “the invisible killer”. One of the union-sponsored talking points that has been constant for the left here in I can’t remember how long is that there aren’t “enough” cops and that “Tory cuts” are “dangerous” and leave people vulnerable to “not enough police”. Well, given the opportunity now, there’s a chance to establish a “new normal” by enlisting the military to police private citizens. Yay.
If only law abiding citizens could provide for their own security.
ha ha!
* points at British subject *
* gets proper American M4 butt to the temple *
* stops laughing *
/ former badass American
I think pongo still relies on his trusty SA80 in such situations. I dunno what the most recent upgrade brings to the package, but I believe I am still a lot safer having one of them pointed at me than anything US-made.
A weirdly good / bad rifle. Really accurate for a standard issue military rifle. Really terrible ergonomics. Now fairly reliable now that HK rebuilt the things – still would want it in a desert.
I like the ergonomics of the SA80 actually better than the M4/M16/AR15. Never failed to go bang on the 100 or so blanks i shot through them, both single and auto.
Limeys need to put hand guards on their GPMG. Like the crayon eaters, they don’t seem to believe in them.
I’ve tried the AUG and loved it – never tries the SA80. I was shocked to hear that the ejection port can’t be changed for lefties.
If only law abiding citizens could provide for their own security.
or possess a chef’s knife to prep their own food..
I am at a loss for words. Growing up I was very familiar with the term ‘free Englishmen’. You should get. your ass on an airplane JD. Or a ship. Get the hell out of there. They are about to shit the bed in a big way.
Part of me would love to move to the states, but realistically I’m too old and don’t have any of the required skills. I’m sure there’s a way, but it’s likely not feasible. Anyway, more immediately, I think borders are closed here, although I think that’s just incoming. Outgoing I’m not sure they give a shit about since it’s potential cases leaving rather than arriving.
American chicks love the accent. Get a fiance visa.
+1 Colin
I’m sure there’s a way,
Sure. Just gay-marry a Glib. Easy-peasy.
gay-marry
I can get behind that!
Hey JD, even before all this craziness (hereinafter referred to as EBATC) I meant to tell you that I love your country and probably most of its denizens.
(I’m single; want to get married? I think I’m too old for you though. How desperate are you? 😉 )
Sure. Let’s do it in Vegas. I’ve a tendency toward more mature ladies anyway.
“not enough police”
Get the ones on Facebook patrol off their asses and walking a beat. That might help.
If they weren’t policing what people say on social media, this wouldn’t be an issue.
MADISON (WLUK) — Gov. Tony Evers is requiring Wisconsin residents to stay at home for at least a month.
Evers on Tuesday issued what he calls a “Safer at Home” order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The order takes effect at 8 a.m. Wednesday and remains in effect until 8 a.m. April 24, or until a superseding order is issued.’
Not two weeks, but a friggin month.
Damnit! My favorite liquor store is just across the bridge in SoupTown.
That’s fucking harsh.
That’s fucked up. And I keep seeing stuff like this…
That’s just unbelievable. Of course, California’ edict doesn’t have an end date so maybe I’m being too optimistic thinking this crap will end before then.
Any Glibs out there with a medical/virology/epidemiology/etc background, I would love to know the metrics we should be watching to understand if this is a real problem, whether it’s getting better or worse, and how to know when it is subsiding. The daily count of number of infected and dead means nothing to me. The numbers looks small, they are rolling given the assumed incubation period, and I still can’t tell what percentage of infections lead to a serious medical condition.
The most useful data point is one nobody is reporting, to my knowledge:
Excess death rate.
They probably can’t really calculate it yet, but they can’t really calculate anything very useful yet. That will wait until we have much more widespread testing. Until we get that, the “R” number for transmissability is suspect, and of course the actual mortality rate is way over-stated.
I was trying to get some work done for my side business, but I’m too pissed now. Perhaps I’ll just start day drinking.
I’m with you. I’m probably most pissed that more people aren’t pissed.
Uffda. Now our governor will feel like a sissy if he lets us run around willy nilly here.
I’m sure he came up with the 4/24 date based on some scientific formula, right?
What do you want? If people run around doing whatever they want it will be utter chaos! Anarchy!. You don’t want that! That is scary!
Well, given the opportunity now, there’s a chance to establish a “new normal” by enlisting the military to police private citizens. Yay.
The Belfast model?
Also needs more Posse Comitatus.
“new normal”. *rage*
Most of my photography is done at work to document a test setup or a test result. I have taken over the documentation because most people are bad at taking these specific photographs. As an example, two of the engineers I work with are semi-pro photographers who mostly do portraits. Their test documentation pictures are framed way too close, there is no perspective.
The purpose of a photograph is to tell a story. Every story needs some background. I want to know where that part broke. I want to see what it was like before it broke. I want to see how the part was setup and where the loads were applied.
Sony RX10 for stills
FASTCAM SA4 for high speed (up to 500,00 frames per second) video
The RX10’s a surprisingly great camera. I use mine more often than any other I own.
Now I wish I had my Pentax 1000 back and a hundred miles of tech-pan.
My wife sold my Pentax K1000 for $10 at a garage sale without asking me first. ;^(
Holy shit. You mean Ex-wife…right?
Lol
Shoot to Kill
So many people flocked to the nation’s capital to see its signature cherry blossom trees reach peak bloom over the weekend that authorities have called on the National Guard to help control the crowds — and prevent further coronavirus transmissions.
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Sunday ordered the Metropolitan Police Department to work with the National Guard to enforce a restricted access zone around the tree-lined Tidal Basin to ensure social distancing. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will also be restricted at the National Mall and Jefferson Memorial.
Despite repeated warnings to avoid large gatherings, hundreds of people were seen walking almost should-to-shoulder to get a close look or snap a selfie at the stunning site.
The National Parks Service said the crowds were making it “increasingly difficult” to ensure “effective social distancing.”
OBEY
Any numbers out there on how many people got the Corona Virus from walking within 6ft of a sick person while outside?
Unless someone sneezes coughs directly on you, I have a hard time thinking that you could get sick from merely walking around outside.
Just to be sure i’ve been shooting anyone who gets within 7 feet.
And that is why Europe is fucked. Because they refuse to use proper measurements and while they are trying to convert their so-called meters into feet, the virus gets them.
I would have put the cup behind the back of the chair to symbolize the glibs’ separation from the insanity of the statist masses. A form of imprisonment I’d say.
For a few weeks now, I’ve been trying to get a good shot of Minneapolis’ Foshay Tower. I work right across the street from it and have a great view. The best opportunities are in the morning, when “Foshay” is lit up at the top and there’s still a bit of overnight fog. No luck capturing a good shot thus far but I’ll keep trying. Thanks for the tips and the article, Tonio.
Yeah, patience is the key there. Just keep trying.
Typically in Ohio, when it’s not crappy weather it’s hazy out except early morning. Unfortunately, I’m not an early bird.
Any Glibs out there with a medical/virology/epidemiology/etc background, I would love to know the metrics we should be watching to understand if this is a real problem, whether it’s getting better or worse, and how to know when it is subsiding. The daily count of number of infected and dead means nothing to me. The numbers looks small, they are rolling given the assumed incubation period, and I still can’t tell what percentage of infections lead to a serious medical condition.
My poorly educated hypothesis: More tests mean more “confirmed” cases, but at this point that tells us essentially nothing about the toxicity of the virus, other than what we already knew/surmised. Old and sick people are at much higher risk. Not every young healthy person is immune.
The best thing about having a more accurate number with respect to actual infection rates is it will drive down the mortality rate. If all the “known” cases were discovered posthumously, the mortality rate is 100%.
Yeah, even before testing, we’re seeing around 1.3% death rate, which is within normal flu parameters. Given how many people that have it don’t have symptoms, and how many others who have symptoms aren’t going to report because they don’t want to be chained to a hospital bed, you have to think that rate is much, much lower. Take NYC out of the numbers and the whole thing has been a giant nothing burger so far. With testing getting under way, we’ll see a giant surge in cases, which will be pointed to by polititions and the media as justification to destroy the economy, but to your point, all it really means is that it’s way less lethal than it was sold to be.
aren’t normal flu parameters like .005 to .2?
I suspect our measured rate is at least twice to three times as high as reality though. somewhere around .15 to .6% is probably this one.
We just lack the data for an apples-to-apples with the flu.
I’m still betting the final real mortality rate will be no more than 50% higher than the flu, or 0.15%. Concentrated among the usual at-risk groups.
Speaking of the flu. How has things like the stay-at-home orders etc. affected the numbers for the “regular” flu?
Let’s hope nobody studies it, because if they show it cuts down on the flu (and flu deaths), the new normal will be stay-at-home orders every year from December – February or March.
“If it saves one life. . . .”
That’s the part that I’m worried about for next year. Wouldn’t it be pretty standard for this virus to mutate into a new strain by next year? Then we get to do this all over again?
The flu is roughly 1 out of 2500 but, that being said, you’re correct and the virus probably isn’t as dangerous as was once thought for most people although it is more dangerous than the flu for the average Joe to some extent. For certain populations, though-the elderly and those with lung and heart issues, it is highly lethal and is much more dangerous than the flu. The length of symptoms is also quite a bit longer for many people which is an issue as relates to the availability of ventilation machines and the like.
It’s not anything to sneeze at.
And then in 5 or 10 years, the real black death shows up and everyone ignores it.
“And then in 5 or 10 years, the real black death shows up and everyone ignores it.”
This. They push this much further and you won’t be able to keep people indoors at all, no matter what. People are already tired of it.
In case they haven’t noticed, Americans have close to zero patience about anything. We live in a world of instant gratification.
Keeping people inside for months, doing nothing?, lol, good fucking luck.
For certain populations, though-the elderly and those with lung and heart issues, it is highly lethal and is much more dangerous than the flu.
Could well be, but I’m not sure we have the data for that yet.
The flu kills roughly 1 in 1000 people (who have a confirmed case). Varies year to year, of course. I’m betting this kill no more than 1.50 in 1000 people. The spread over at-risk groups could well be different than the flu, but so far it looks like the at-risk groups are pretty similar (with the possible exception of children, who are somewhat at risk for the flu, and don’t look to be particularly at risk for the CCP Virus).
But the data is all so preliminary.
Normally a lab test is verified by the CDC for much longer before it’s fully offered to the public.
https://preview.redd.it/zf8dqnwkylo41.png?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=c4a1bbb0a4554896c4473879801d463b5e61a48a
stay home if u sicc,
come over if u thicc
What about rick?
Bernie, you dog.
XX took digital photography this year. She loves it. Her teachers thinks she has a really good eye and I believe it, and her teacher even nominated one of her photos for something. I’d be more excited, but our excitement over her job is overpowering that.
I just heard fish flakes cure the virus. I ate the whole canister just to be safe.
Mmmm… Maybe use them in meatloaf instead of bread crumbs.
What I want to know is why garlic. My brother fed that crap to his fish. The smell was foul.
I take fish antibiotics, but they are the same pills sold for people.
Called into an ERT (emergency response team) meeting where we are role-playing a suspected Covid-19 response. JFC. A lot of ERT people loooove to hype up the risks of their work.
I guess LARPing is fun.
Until you run into a real dragon.
My wife has a print framed and hanging in our bathroom of a dragon picking its teeth with a jousting pole and an empty suit of armor at its feet.
There’s a line between, “Training like you fight” so that you have muscle memory in stressful situations, and Training for stupid.
Training for stupid is much more popular.
To be fair, we have gone after real dragons here. But a lot of them want to put the Level A armor on to do an unknown odor investigation.
What is level A armor?
The Far Side
“A lot of ERT people loooove to hype up the risks of their work.”
Yep. Our Saaaaaaaaafety Team put 10″ yellow stickers on the floor spaced 6 feet apart at the time clocks. You are supposed to stand on the sticker like a good little sheep while you wait to punch in or out.
Then they sent out a memo saying that failure to maintain social distancing could lead to termination of your job.
The most annoying thing is when you get two (or more) off duty cops together at any social gathering. They love to start telling stories, and the one-ups-manship. In such a situation it usually takes no more than 3 stories to get one where someone is bragging about a blatant constitutional violation.
Brings to mind this scene:
https://youtu.be/6w-07V2q_DE
What about inert people?
A lot of ERT people loooove to hype up the risks of their work.
You don’t say.
Thanks, Tonnio. That was fun.
Sunday I was putzing in the yard and noticed a huge flock of large, white birds heading north towards the lake. I thought “the pelicans are back!” So, I hopped on the bike and pedaled out to the lake to check them out. Turns out they weren’t pelicans. At first I though they were Snow Geese, but research showed them to be Tundra Swans on their way to their Artic breeding grounds. Last Spring I say a moose near the same spot.
http://imgur.com/a/wQeUb1Y
http://imgur.com/a/jk4Ottj
Way too far away for the phone. Used a Oympus OM-D. Love the small size. I miss my OM-1.
Not bad Mikey. Not bad at all. Good composition.
Thx. A tiny bit of cropping afterwards, but mostly I was just grabbing what shots I could. The birds were real skittish. I was barely able to get the camera out in time for the shot of the flock. All the others were discards – image stabelization is a wonder, but it couldn’t save them
Cool pics!
It’s amazing how alike the Tundra Swans and Trumpeter Swans are. We have a large number of Trumpeters here – they are humungous! And noisy.
They have been back here for about 4-5 weeks. First to show up in the spring, last to leave in the fall. They will sit on the ice at Emily Lake, mostly paired up. Their call is sort of similar to a Canada but when you hear the 2 together, very different, very distinct. Good pictures, Mikey
Thank you!
I managed to get to Kroger for a beer run, w/o being stopped, asked for my papers, or shot in the head.
All in all, not a bad day.
You were shot in the ass, weren’t you?
The nuts. Then the drugs fell out.
I can’t make it 3 houses down without having to shoot some CV crazed zombie.
I’m in the delivery range of three breweries. I’ve already ordered from Fat Head’s once, Masthead wants me to order a case to deliver it, while Sibling Revelry will deliver as little as two six packs. As of a quick refresh, they’re all still apparently taking orders. The first two offer food as well, so can easily stay open under the restaurant exemption. Not so sure about Sibling Revelry.
I just went online and checked Walmarts stock in all local stores. It depends on how close you are to the city. Closer, they don’t have jackshit. Farther out, they have everything in stock.
Now don’t you guys get any ideas, all that stuff is mine!
Something something crisis going to waste
Obese people are at risk too. We really ought to ban Hamburgers, Shakes, Fries….
That’s a good way to get millions of nicotine addicts to break curfew in order to seek out nicotine. Then again, you could always just toss them in Ryker’s where they’ll get, you guessed it, coronavirus. But then, it isn’t about public health, it’s about control.
The Great Wuhan Virus Panic has several motivating factors – legitimate worry about disease, Orange Man Bad, the media’s inherent interest in hyping the living daylights out of anything bad – but I’m starting to think that it’s driven largely because it IS a big problem in NYC. So many media types either live in NYC now or have lived there in the past, or have many friends and co-workers living there, that they inevitably focus largely on what is going on there and simply speak of the country as a whole as if NYC accurately reflected what is going on elsewhere. It has the effect of cranking the hysteria up a few more notches beyond what it would be otherwise.
Speaking of that…
TW: Daily Beast and Cuomo.
“Cuomo Blasts Feds: ‘My Mother Is Not Expendable’”
….as of press time, no comment from Winston
Well, Andy, wait until you get that socialized medicine all you dems think is so wonderful, then we’ll find out just how expendable she is. And probably you too, old man if you’re over 60. I mean unless you just think you’ll be dear leader forever.
You’d think he’d be familiar with the work of Ezekiel Emanuel.
Also, it inspires absolute gales of laughter when I hear an abortion absolutist stomp his feet and yell about the sanctity of life.
“You’d think he’d be familiar with the work of Ezekiel Emanuel.”
Is Leon Kass still alive? Those two are of the same ilk. They can both jump off a fucking bridge right now and make the world a better place for those of us left.
Be interesting to see how they’re going to pay for National Heath Care with 30% of Americans still employed after they destroy the economy. It was bad enough with only 40% working.
What they mean by national healthcare is rationing and only the elite having care. What they mean by ‘healthcare is a human right’ is ‘none for you’.
It’ll be great for him and his, see, he has the connections, which means he’s more important. What he really means is that all you hourly workers and service industry people, you’re expendable.
But all of us in the private sector are expendable.
And there’s the “hoax” lie again.
So in addition to all women, Al New Yorkers have no agency either. You have to do what Trump says even if it means you die.
Ask any Brazilian. There are only 2 places in the United States. NYC and Disney World. That’s all of it, the whole thing.
The narrative that Trump is 100% responsible for every, single missing piece of “necessary” medical equipment/supplies is nauseating and absurd. “But if he just MADE those companies make what we need!” As Naptown said above, people fundamentally don’t understand how industry, logistics, production, etc. works.
I think people don’t realize it in those specific terms but most seem to be getting that the “We don’t have medical equipment because of Trump” narrative is bullshit.
Companies can make anything they want, at any time, but they won’t because their owners are too busy jumping into swimming pools full of money. If they just made stuff that people need like they should, they’d have to spend some of those zillions they’re hoarding up! / DU poster
And I guess we’re just supposed to sacrifice all of those companies’ employees too so the rest of us can live in safety.
We’ll make them keep all of the employees! And they’ll get $15 an hour! We can’t just let companies do what they want, that’s why we have capitalism and everyone is being killed by it!
So how many cop shooting deaths in NYC are being reclassified as CV deaths?
Well, if you’re out looking to buy loosies or something and they have to shoot you, of course that’s a CV death. And something about gun control.
it’s driven largely because it IS a big problem in NYC
Yup. The legacy media’s center of gravity is still NYC, and they are incredibly parochial.
“Cuomo Blasts Feds: ‘My Mother Is Not Expendable’”
Then you should probably put her in lockdown far away from NYC or any other urban area.
How many have died already? Why’s Cuomo’s mother special?
Sunday I was putzing in the yard and noticed a huge flock of large, white birds heading north towards the lake. I thought “the pelicans are back!” So, I hopped on the bike and pedaled out to the lake to check them out.
I was north of Great Falls about a week and a half ago, and there was a huge flock of white birds on the water too far away for me to tell for sure what they were. I assumed they were pelicans, but maybe not.
“noticed a huge flock of large, white birds heading north”
It’s Flag and his minions flying up to NYC.
The UPS guy just dropped off our regular shipment of parrot food from Amazon. Life goes on.
I don’t know how you bought anything from Amazon. I thought they suspended all shipping for a month. Wife and I both tried to order quite a few different items, no go.
Really? Are you prime members? We had some kind of dog treats and my kid’s gym drink mix delivered this week. I doubt either are essential.
Maybe that’s it. They have pet stuff, but no humans stuff. On count of the pets haven’t learned online hoarding yet.
Yeah, just wait until they get your Amazon login. The bad news: RealBitch dolls are not returnable.
I am a prime member, anything I look at has delivery dates into May, nothing even in April.
Yep. I just said fuck it for now with Amazon.
Hey, this was an ESSENTIAL shipment!
Parker is NOT expendible!
http://imgur.com/a/U8NzZgQ
I am not a fan.
Parrot is asshole!
They can get pretty cranky.
Odd. I just ordered a bath fan that will be here Sat.
No one’s hoarding bath fans, yet…
What’s the link? I want to see what the estimated delivery would be for me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJT45A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Huh, it says it can arrive saturday.
I just got something within 3-4 days. Might be consider health item though. Mute Nasal Dilator. Trying to replace Breath Right strips. Just started a week ago but seem to do a much job, and without the adhesive messing with completion.
without the adhesive messing with completion
Dude, the duct tape goes on the . . . oh, never mind.
Lovely plumage, the Norwegian Blue.
Killed by the CV?
We finally got our 5 cases of split pea soup. UPS delivered today. We ordered it before they announced they were holding all non-essential deliveries.
*There is no split pea soup in the stores here and when I asked about it the grocer had no idea what that was. Seriously? Who doesn’t know what split pea soup is?
1 can of split pea soup
1 medium slice of sweet onion chopped finely
1 slice of bacon cooked and crumbled
a dash of cayenne
simmer until onion is clear
Wife and I eat a yummy meal for less than two bucks. Sometimes I make a lettuce, bell pepper, tomato salad on the side.
What brand, Campbell’s?
Yes.
We can get dry split peas here but not the canned soup. I dont know what that is all about. Wife says she prefers the canned over the dried peas so that is what I feed her.
I use exactly the same recipe on lentils and it is very tasty and hearty. I tried tossing a few lentils in the split pea soup and for some reason the different textures clashed and it wasn’t so good. I wont do that again. It’s either lentils or split peas exclusively.
I like the Campbell’s split pea but I’ve never added additional stuff but that sounds good enough to give it a try. Also, you could do a lot worse than a few cases of split pea soup as a disaster prep food.
Mrs. Suthenboy has odd tastes. I prefer neck bones or salt pork (almost bacon) but for some reason she doesn’t like neck bones. (?)
I cant complain as I like bacon because…..well, bacon.
I am not sure why but most women dont like meat as much as men do.
*hugs
Btw dried split peas are better imo…I cook them with a good ham bone(Honey baked hams is one of my fave but overpriced).
I always add. I see preprepared foods as a base on which to build. All of them.
Funny, wife just made dinner and split pea soup was part of it. And yummy mash taters.
It’s almost that easy to make your own. Dried split peas, bacon, ham, onion, cayenne or hot sauce. Remove the bacon mid way t brought, add the ham pieces for the last 30-60 minutes.
*through
My wife just made it from dried. There’s no ham in it, but it’s good whatever is in it.
Yeah, I’m a fan of using sausage, specifically the hot variety.
See above….for some reason wife doesn’t like the dried. I cant tell the difference but whatever she wants, she gets.
BREAKING…
Looks like having the shit they were doing exposed forced her to eat crow…
Wow – just wow.
We’re going to miss out on zillions of tax payer monies as it is! We’ll steal the rest of their money later!
The donks can’t seem to do anything without shooting themselves in the dick.
Did she really think no one would notice?
She’s been doing this a long time, and for most of that time, this was perfectly routine.
The California Democrat said she’ll try to pass the Senate’s projected $1.8 trillion measure by unanimous consent, meaning House members can say yes without having to come to Capitol Hill to vote.
Umm, that’s not really how unanimous consent works. In a corporate board setting, a “consent agenda” is a set of routine items that are gavelled through unless a board member objects, then they go through the motion/second/vote process.
Illustrating once again that Nancy Pelosi has never spoken an honest word.
House rules are house rules, and they arent similar to anything anywhere else.
Whew, that’s actually very good news.
No kidding. I could hear Repub knees knocking from here. I would have put 60/40 odds on her garbage bill passing. I was thinking about writing my Senators (one Repub, one Dem) and informing them of my views on this particular maneuver.
Both of mine are broke dicks. One cause he is self quarantined for hanging with Rand. The other because he’s Mitt Romney.
If Mitt was running against Sinema, I’d vote for Sinema.
“If it has poison pills in it, and they know certain things are poison pills, then they don’t want unanimous consent – they just want an ideological statement.” – Nancy Pelosi
She’s got balls, that’s for sure. I think she truly understands that her base doesn’t care if she lies. As long as they get what they want. In fact, they expect her to.
Partisan useful idiots are who they are. Her base will lap this up without question.
I know. I work with them. They think Trump called the CCP Virus a hoax, that he called it Kung Flu, that he cut CDC funding – you name the lie, they swallowed it whole.
Trump wanted to cut CDC funding and that’s what really matters. It matters even more than the fact that their budget didn’t actually get cut.
So the Russians are going to knock off one rep to change the course of history?
Excellent article, Tonio. Thanks for writing it!
Thanks Tonio. I already took bomb-ass pics…now I’m upping my game.
Thanks Tonio!
The better half has been making it a habit to put CNN on during the day, both for background noise and to hear about any news that might pop up. It’s been a real eye-opener, I’ve got to say. The daytime anchors are doing a full-court press to crucify Trump’s handling of all this. One anchor, who I can describe best as a bimbo, said something like, “How can Trump talk about trying to ‘open the country back up’ by Easter when New York still doesn’t have enough ventilators? Shouldn’t he be more worried about getting ventilators to people who need them?” And I thought, “That’s true; why am I sitting here listening to some idiot hack on TV when I could be typing things on a computer? Why do I chew this gum while I’m trying to walk?”
Life during coronacation is much mo’ betta if you avoid cable news, I find. TCM has some good stuff on. And, you know, silence–which is rarer than toilet paper around my house–is also pretty nice.
Thankfully… no cable. Unfortunately the girlfriend likes to try to pass news on to me from Facebook, and her family is big CNN fans…
One anchor, who I can describe best as a bimbo</em
S.C Cupp?
“Life is much mo’ betta if you avoid cable news”
We can easily tell how important and dire this situation is because everybody took a moment to stop their relentless criticism of the President.
Oh, wait…
How can Trump talk about trying to ‘open the country back up’ by Easter when New York still doesn’t have enough ventilators?
What were just saying about how parochial the media is?
Plus, what Raven said. I only watch the local news because the anchor is smoking hot MILF and the weathergirl is obviously taking her cues from Mexican “meterologists”.
They do have a certain level of professionalism…
Links to pics, or it’s fake news.
The MILF. The headshot doesn’t do justice.
Weathergirl isn’t jumping out at me. Typical crap local news site; they don’t have a page for their on-air staff.
No matter what they did with the Senate bill, no matter how hard we working stiffs are going to get fucked because of it, they’d better get their heads of their fucking asses and let people go back to work. And people are going stir crazy even if they can WFH, these lock downs are not good. There’s no virus on the planet as bad as millions of angry stir crazy Americans. And it’s just starting to get warm outside. Cancelling Spring, bad, very very bad idea.
I asked a friend where the money was coming from, he said’ “Debt”. I asked him if I borrowed $5 from him would I have to pay it back? He laughed, said’ “With interest”
Amazing that more people don’t understand that debts have to be paid back. I’m not talking about my kids now.
This comment has little or nothing to do with unrelated comments.