A New Project
As 2016 comes to a close I have been looking forward to new projects to take on in 2017, and part of what’s coming is a little website called Stuart Answers.
For years now I’ve been answering (mostly) tech questions for friends and family. I decided to start uploading them in a continuous archive so that they could potentially help others who have the same questions too.
There are larger things I have planned for 2017 as well, but they’re not ready to be announced yet. Thanks for joining me this year!
Constellation Prize
I was lucky enough to be able to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower this year, which was a particularly good year for it. I tried my hand at some astrophotography for the first time. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to capture a meteor, but I did this consolation prize (or rather constellation prize, thanks Moh!), instead. It’s not perfect, but I’m proud of this first real attempt. The orange glow behind the tree is actually the Moon setting at about 1:15am.
Pretty Pigeon
Everett Habitat Restoration Project
Saw a barge dumping lots of what appears to be sand/gravel along the shore in Everett, turns out it’s a habitat restoration project!
Ruffled Feathers
Squirrel on a Bench
I’ve recently traded in my old Sony a77 for an a6000 and I must say, I’m impressed. It’s tiny, inexpensive, performs very well for both photos and video, and is cheap to put underwater.
It’s also a great platform for adapting vintage glass! The photograph below was taken with the Minolta 70-210mm f/4 “beercan” lens on the first real day I took the new camera out for a shoot.
I can’t wait to get the a6000 underwater and see how it performs in that environment!
Grove of the Patriarchs
Devin and I explored the Grove of the Patriarchs near Mount Rainier as a last hurrah before the end of summer. I strapped a GoPro to my shoulder to record the whole experience. Afterward I threw the footage into the Microsoft Hyperlapse Pro preview as a test. I quite liked the end result (especially with some music over the top) so here it is for you to enjoy.
Some photos from the trip:
Tritonia Dive
In early August I assisted Dr. James Murray Ph.D. in his search for Tritonia diomedea among the sea pen beds near Langley, WA. Although we didn’t find what we were looking for, the sea pens were wonderful. I made sure to bring along my GoPro dive rig to capture it and now you can see them too!