Thanks so much!

Not something you want to wake up next to for sure.

That is good to know. We had a mother and its babies around here a couple of years ago so this is probably an offspring. Also a few raccoons. It is rather odd since we live in the center of a city of over 110,000.

Thanks Stan. Agree. I have also been told they have a weak cardiovascular system and can literally be scared to death. I do not know if that is a fact or not.

Jim

Thank you. Jim

Neither did I until one got into my former warehouse and called animal control and was told not to touch or transport it to another location. Giant rats is what they remind me of.

With California's spate of rain over the winter and cool weather continuing to prevail, we have had a bumper crop of weeds and bugs. At my daughter and son in law's house they have a 2.5 acre parcel filled with all kinds of native plants. Thousands of Ladybugs have appeared. My Grandson love's them and enjoyed holding them. Here are a couple of shots from the afternoon hunt.

(Download)


(Download)

Late last eve our little dog started making wimpering noises and my wife went to the back door to see what the fuss was about. She opened the door and told me to come peek quickly. There was a juvenile opossum getting a drink in our backyard. I grabbed my camera and followed him where he hid behind our A/C unit and edge of the house. After tinkering with camera settings in the dark for a minute, I was able to capture his face (thanks to the SB400 speedlight).

In California the opposum is a protected species. They are very timid creatures. No harm became of this guy and he at the scraps of bread we left for him. We are certain his relatives are in the area.

(Download)

These were a couple of quick snapshots of my new Grandson and my wife. There are 58 years between them. The Nikon Z9 has no problem finding eyes especially with the Z 105mm attached. I had the new "skin softening" feature active on the camera which seems to smooth the pores of the skin out. A bit more buttery IMHO. Anyone else try it since the firmware release?

(Download)


(Download)

Thank you.

What a grand set Mark! The photos tell a story and show the raw guts of your granddaughter's determination. Winning! Great work.

Jim

Our 5 Guys Burger folded like a house of cards. GONE. Fortunately the best burger in town, IN & OUT Burger, has not significantly raised their prices and they are the freshest nices fast food in town and the most polite servers.

And that is CHEAP at McDonalds. My wife and I rarely... and I mean RARELY eat at McDonalds. Last week we were shocked when we ordered a Big Mac single sandwich, Quarter Pounder meal, Kid's Hamburger meal, and 1 large drink. $30! 4 years ago that order would be about half that. Inflation here in California due to the ultra minimum wage increase has killed the middle class. It has actually backlashed on the minimum wage workers because costs are passed through to consumer. A giant economical boomerang.

Thank you. I had my equipment already set up so it didn't take too much time. I spent maybe 10 mins on the whole thing including post process. I did a single shot in advance (as I do all my stacks) to compare how much detail (grain). The stack seems to "pop" the "nugget" look of the belt surface. Good question. Have a good Saturday.

Jim

Here is a practice stack I did tonight with a vintage Nikon belt buckle. This buckle was produced exclusively in the 1970's for Nikon, Inc. by Indiangiver Company. Made in the USA.

Equipment: Nikon Z9, Nikkor Z 105mm MC, tripod, overhead LED room lighting

25 stacked photos. Aperture Priority, 3 step width, 3 sec. interval @ ISO-64, f/3.2 1/5 sec.

Post processed with Helicon Focus 8, Nikon NX2, Photoshop Elements 7.

(Download)