Blue Angels HDR

After shooting the Blue Angels in a mid-afternoon light for so many years, I thought I would try something a little different: I camped in front of Boeing Field to view of take-off and landing, and processed my favorite pix with Photomatix in single shot mode.

Blue Angels in formation
Blue Angels in formation

 

Blue Angels
Blue Angels with HDR processing

 

For comparison, below is the same shot as above converted to JPEG from Lightroom using LR’s built-in editing. (Adjustments made: slight boosts in exposure, blacks, sat, sharpening, and noise reduction.)

Blue Angels
Blue Angels with standard processing

 

Of course, this could also be a testament to my post-processing LR skills, which I’m always looking to build up.

 

More Blue Angel shots, including some favorites over the past few years, are up in this gallery.

Alaska bound: “and the horse they rode in on”

The plan was simple enough: pack up the bikes and scoot up to Deadhorse, TV camera crew in tow, cash in on the Alaska reality show boom, and retire to a place where a soft Pacific breeze tickles our toes and twisties encrust the hills. We thought of names like “Alaska State Bikers”, “Biking Alaska”, and “Deadliest Bikers”. Hm, okay, we need to work on the titles a bit. But surely the 49th state has enough juice left for one more compelling show series that we could squeeze some advertising dollars interested in a targeted audience full of self-important snark and frugality…?

Well, at least the dream lives on. Truth be told, we’re a just couple of guys who got three weeks off from work so we could stick our feet in the Beaufort Sea. It will likely be the most north I would ever stand on this planet, unless I get shipwrecked when attempting a circum-navigational route through the Northwest Passage, but that’s for our sequel series.

Brady and Craig
Brady and Craig

Let’s cut over to gear pix and commentary…

Trip gear with the 1200GS
The full spread

 

Close-up view
Close-up view

Here is the overall strategy…

  • Packed enough clothes for 4 days, and to handle a temperature range of mid-30s to 90s.
  • Electronics: Netbook with Windows 7, Kindle to store copies of documentation, Windows Phone 7
  • Photography:
    • Canon 50D with 17-40L zoom, 70-200 zoom, 1.4x extender, polarizer, extra batteries & storage cards.
    • GoPro HD with assorted attachments
  • GPS: Garmin nuvi 550 (waterproof and has AK maps)
  • Lodging: I hate sleeping on the ground…
    • Warbonnet Blackbird hammock with Big Mama tarp & Yeti UQ
    • If I am grounded…REI HD2, Exped SynMat 7
    • I need a pillow…Thermarest squishy pillow
    • Marmot sleeping bag with Sea-to-Summit silk-cotton liner
  • Kitchen: plan to cook in and eat out about 50-50
    • Alcohol stove for water boiling, fueled by HEET
    • MSR pot set
    • GobSparkâ„¢ Armageddon FireSteel (I just love the way that sounds)
    • Becker BK2 knife (this thing is a beast, batons through wood, and you can slice-n-dice tomatoes)
  • Tools
    • Basic toolkit with hex, torx, wrenchs, etc. Can take either wheel off if needed.
    • BestRest cyclepump, patch kit
    • Safety wire (it’s better than duct tape, particularly after my last repair episode)
    • Tool tube holding some of this goodies is tucked under the rear rack
    • Victorinox MUT
  • Assorted odds and ends
    • Aerostich Darien suit
    • Just two pairs of shoes: riding boots and Keens
    • Camelback pak with water
    • Blindfold for sleeping
    • Bike cover
    • 2 gallon fuel can – above placement is just a prop, planned to add the real on the road
1200GS all loaded up and ready to go
1200GS loaded up and ready to go

 

Let’s ride.

 

My first HDR

I just became a HDR convert. Holy cow. Let’s see what you think…

BEFORE

Mountain range east of Mt St Helens - single RAW capture. Colors are flat, and there is little depth to the picture.

AFTER

Mountain range east of Mt St Helens - after HDR post processing with Photomatix and Photoshop. Notice the colors and overall vibrancy.

What a difference using a single RAW capture. Higher fidelity and more even exposure is typically achieved with 3-5 RAW shots spanning across exposure settings like (+2, +1, 0, -1, -2) or (+2, 0 , -2). Multiple exposure execution would have taken care of the blown highlights in the clouds, which were too far gone to compensate in Photomatix or Photoshop. Very impressive processing.

Photomatix is now on my recommend list.

How to: hockey puck on BMW 1200 GS sidestand

The BMW 1200 GS sidestand is notorious for digging into soft dirt when deployed with a loaded bike, which can result in a bike tip over. Not fun putting a 600 pound bike back upright, even more of a hassle if you’re solo. There are several workarounds to prevent a sidestand dig in, ranging from free (coaster on a string) to $30-40 (manufactured metal plate extenders to surround the sidestand base plate).

Let’s go with the hockey puck approach – it’s cheap and easy. There are a few different ways to install, I went with the ‘sandwich’ approach:

Hockey puck base on sidestand

1) Acquire a puck. They’re $3-5 new in a store, or perhaps you have one lying around.

2) Cut it in half like you would slice off a stick of salami, using a band saw or cross cut saw. No need to be super precise, helps if they are relatively even.

3) Select one half for the bottom, and the other for the top.

  • On the bottom half, trace an outline of the sidestand base with a Sharpie. Then carve a slight indent of the outline with a dremel or pocket knife. This will enable the sidestand base to sit within the base.
  • On the top half, carve out a notch for the sidestand arm so that the top and bottom puck halves will line up with each other.

hockey puck cut in half with notches

4) Center both pieces below and atop the base of the sidestand. Identify three locations where to bolt the pieces to each other without hitting the base. Drill holes through both pieces at the locations. This is what I used:

  • three #6-32 x 1-1/4″ machine screws
  • three #6 washers
  • one 9/64 drill bit for drilling

After drilling, taper the holes on the bottom of the lower pieces so that the machine screws will sit embedded within the puck. This allows the bike to rest on the puck and not the screws.

5) Attach screws through the bottom half of the puck, and align with the sidestand base. Place top half atop the sidestand, and fit the screws through the top half. This may take some juggling, as the screw hole size should be snug and tight with the screws.

6) Secure screws with washers and nuts. Tighten down. Add loc-tite.

Sidestand with puck in up position

There should be clearance between the puck and the center stand in up position as well as the muffler.

You’re good to go.

UPDATE July 2011: alas, this approach failed after a week of use. Cutting the puck in half reduced it’s durability, and it shortly broke apart. Moved over to the Touratech sidestand solution, works great.