Aphids Anyone?

33944 - Aphids Anyone?
Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

My first day with my vintage 1960's Nikon F Bellows attachment. This is a closeup of a rose bud before it blooms. These aphids were not visible to the naked eye, but 10x magnification brought them into clear view. Later photos with a reversed 20mm lens can get magnifcation greater than 20x? Not bad for good old 60's technology working on a modern DSLR. Long live the Nikon F Mount. View the rest of this gallery here.

Sonoma Mountain at Sunset

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

Once a year, Northern California is rewarded with a month of green rolling hills and warm days. At this time, it looks like Ireland and most of the Happy Cows commercials are filmed for the California cheese campaigns. This set celebrates the views from Sonoma Mountain on the East Side of Petaluma. View the rest of the gallery here.

33532 - Parker ball point

33532 - Parker ball point
Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

Old Technology still works: Nikon Bellows II (from the 60's) with a manual focus 35mm lens (from the 70's) reversed gives one quite a bit of magnification, as you can see. I am waiting for my manual focus 20mm lens (from the 60's) to arrive this week to get even more magnification. Reversing a 20mm lens will give me 20X magnification with my D200! Since Nikon has not changed their F- mount for their cameras since the 60's, the D200 and D2 series cameras can take advantage of all the legendary Nikon lenses from earlier eras. View the rest of the gallery here.

33308 - Rawlings Ball and Glove

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

Little League baseball is a bond that connects many boys and some girls in our culture. In the earlier days of TV, when there were only three main networks, we all shared a common reference point. One could use a line from All in the Family and people would get it.

No longer. Our media so fragmented (hundreds of cable channels, thousands of video/audio podcasts, millions of web sites), it is difficult to find universal bonds today.

The feel of a scuffed baseball in our hands and the smell of a worn baseball mitt is one of those universal bonds for many Americans. The ritual is repeated every Spring from sea to shining sea.View the rest of the gallery here.

Camelia at Rest

Camelia at Rest
Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

I love my Nikon D200 camera for many reasons. One great reason is that the camera works (and meters!) with legendary Nikon AI and AI-S manual focus lenses. This is one of my first photos taken with a 25-year old 35mm f/2 AIS lens that I purchased on EBay. The color and sharpness speaks for itself. Another upgrade to my lens collection. View the rest of the gallery here.

Japanese Maple New Growth

Finally our maple added some leaves and buds to its red branches. Here is a macro shot of some new entries to the world. View the rest of the gallery here.

Opening Day!

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

It's amazing how much Little Leaguers can sometimes look like Big Leaguers. I am capturing the budding Little League Season in Petaluma at XPortraits.com.


See the rest of the gallery here.

Poppy Closing Up at Dusk

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

We took a nice walk through Helen Putnam Park, on Petaluma's West Side. There are some nice panorama shots here, here, and here.


See the rest of the gallery here.

Blooms

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

All the trees are now flowering, including this beauty in my neighbor's yard.


See the rest of the gallery here.

Calla Lilly Showing Off

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

Our garden is starting to bloom. These guys are among the first to greet us in the Spring.

See the rest of the gallery here.

Richmond High Wins District Championship

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Originally uploaded by PhotoSensei.

Richmond High's talented point guard was carried on his teammates' (much larger) shoulders to celebrate their victory over Montgomery.

See the rest of the gallery here.