HDR photography with Nikon D80

I recently have taken on a project to convert old color photo slides into a digital format.  I started this project by using a flatbed scanner with a film attachment that came with it.  I quickly realized that this approach would take a very long time to execute and the results were not that great.

I then had the idea of using a slide projector to project the image onto my fixed projector screen and then take digital photos of the projected image with my Nikon D80 DSLR camera.  Not thinking it through, I took a shot of the projected image while my camera was in auto mode.  The results were not acceptable.

You can see in this image that the background color and brightness came out good but the facial features were under exposed.  Also, the sky on the project image was much more of a blue than the resulting digital image.

(ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., 50mm lens)

So, I decided to switch my camera into full manual mode to figure out the correct exposure settings to use for capturing the facial features.  I was able to lock in on some settings that fixed the exposure for capturing the details of the facial features but now the background was over exposed and did not look anywhere close to the original slide.  Arg!

You can see the over exposed backgrounds in this image.

(ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/15 sec., 50mm lens)

Thus, I knew I had to take an under exposed shot to capture the background and also take an over exposed shot to capture the details of the face.

That's when I thought of using the high-dynamic-range (HDR) technique for capturing a vivid portrayal of the family slide based photographs.  I proceeded to take several shots with the D80 in manual mode but this turned out to be an inefficient method.  After each shot, I would move the wheel on the camera to adjust the exposure settings and then take the next shot.   Each time I touched the camera, I not only risked messing up the framing but I also struggled to see the settings in low light conditions.  Also, the less I touch the camera to adjust, the faster this project will be completed.   I mean we are talking about converting hundreds of slides into digital format.  So, I knew I needed a better solution.

Then, I discovered that the Nikon D80 has a bracketing mode which can be used to automatically adjust the exposure setting and take three pictures without me needing to readjust the camera settings.  That means, when I use the D80 with the IR remote fire controller, I don't have to touch the camera at all while taking the sampling of exposures necessary to use the HDR photo merging technique.

You can see the HDR image has a much better range and proper exposure for the background and facial features as compared to the original projected image.

 

(HDR merged images from D80 2.0EV exposed bracketing)

This tutorial helped me set the camera up for bracketing.
http://blog.julienviet.com/2009/01/06/nikon-d80-hdr-bracketing-tutorial/

I just love learning new ways to solve a problem with technology.

Stock Market Game

Lately, I've been thinking about investing in the stock market as an additional savings option.  However, I don't really know what I'm doing yet and thus have been hesitant about jumping in feet first.

After researching setting up a brokerage account, I found out that there is a free virtual stock exchange game available from MarketWatch which allows you to buy and sell publicly traded stocks with play money.  The game even follows the stock market to track your gains and losses.

I created a password protected private game for myself so that I could learn about investing before I use real money.  On my first day, I bought 30 shares for GameStop (GME) and 25 shares for Titan Machinery (TITN).  I chose these because I was seeking small value stocks to see how they would fare.  At the close of the first day, my overall gains metric ended up losing $33.31.  I'm sure glad this is just virtual money.  I configured the game to last 2 weeks so it will be fun seeing what happens at the end.

The neat thing about this game is that it uses real stock symbols and market fluctuations.  I am so impressed that I can simulate real transactions that I would be choosing with a brokerage account.  I'll try my hand on the stock market with virtual money for now.

If anyone wants to join, let me know and we can play against each other.  We can also set up an advanced game.  But first, I need to figure out the normal level.

http://www.marketwatch.com/game/

Update: The game is finished now and I ended up losing $82.62.  At one point, my loses were approaching $150 due to a sharp market sell off of TITN based upon less than expected net returns for the company.  The GME stock actually performed very well in the last two days and this is what kept my virtual loses down.  I ended up learning through this process.  Here are some of the lessons that I believe apply to my personal style of investment.

• I don't want to get caught up in trying to ride short term gains and instead I should look to longer term investments with maybe even focusing on dividend stocks.  I read that if you pick the right dividend stock, the company actually can use the required dividend payout as a goal to hit for the shareholders which drives motivation for company growth.
• I also came to understand the draw to penny stocks but came to realize that those stocks are the most likely to have the highest risk associated which could mean further loses.  But you can do well with penny stocks if your goal is to ride market games and trade actively.
• I found out that there are funds available that will try to chase a market index to equal its performance.  This seems like a good option as long as the fees are relatively small.  The Russell 1000 based funds seem like a good choice but I need to research these further.
• I read up on stock market strategies that include concepts such as trending value and fundamental index.  I need to research these strategies further to see if they would be a good fit for me but the fundamental index strategy seems like a good one.

At this point, I think GME would be a good stock to own but I wonder how this company will fare once the game consoles go to an online only format for gaming.  I'd be cautious about owning GME stock for long term investments.  I believe games will be going to cloud based storage which would adversely affect the profit capabilities of the GME stores.

Now, I think I'm going to start another game which focuses on additional dividend stocks to see what happens.  This time, I'll extend the game period to several months.

Eagle Shirtmakers Dress Shirts

I've always had difficulty when it comes to buying dress shirts.  I never trusted buying shirts with the neck and arm measurements and instead would try to buy shirts (such as Dockers or Columbia brand) which came in the S, M, L, XL sizing.  However, I have reversed that trend and have now finally figured out how to buy a dress shirt for myself.

Over the last Christmas holiday break, I decided that I needed to find some new dress shirts that I could wear to my job which would also work with my suits.  I read a few articles on how to pick out dress shirts and I didn't realize that there are several factors that one needs to consider when buying a dress shirt.  Those factors include the material, the collar type, the cuff type, and shirt construction.  I found this article to be very helpful.

With this new knowledge, I went through my closet and cleaned out tons of dress shirts that didn't fit right due to either being too small in the neck to fit comfortably with a tie or shirts that were too short for my arm length.  I figured that throwing away these shirts would require me to go buy dress shirts that fit right.  I  decided to take my own measurements (with a standard metal measuring tape no less) and found out that I need a 17 34/35 shirt size.  This made me feel more confident then ever going shopping for dress shirts.

So, now I knew that I was looking for any reasonably priced shirt that was an oxford or twill woven shirt with a spread collar and barrel cuffs.  I had researched Stafford shirts and found that they were reasonably priced with good reviews.  Thus, JCPenny was my first stop on my shopping trip.

When I arrived, I found out that the selection was overwhelming.  I couldn't find any Stafford shirts with a spread collar that were in my size.  So, I decided to buy a few oxford style Stafford shirts with a button down collar instead.  These shirts work but it was not exactly what I was looking for in the store.  So, I headed to another store.

The next store to visit was Belk.  They were having an after Christmas sale on men's dress shirts and had several selections displayed in the front of the men's section.  One of those displays were for Eagle Shirtmakers shirts.  These dress shirts had all of the ingredients that I wanted.  They had a spread collar, barrel cuffs, twill, and offered several muted colors.  However, their price range was a little bit much for my liking.  They were priced at around $40 for one shirt although they are marketed in the $70 range.  I typically don't like to spend more than $20 for a shirt of any kind.  Even so, I was feeling a little desperate since I threw away most of my dress shirts at home.  I decided to take a chance on these shirts.  I am SO glad that I did!

Eagle Shirtmakers shirts have become my new favorite shirt.  They fit nice and feel good when I wear them.  I'm very impressed with them and will continue to buy these shirts when I can afford it.  I did find that Stein Mart sells them but they price them the same as when I found them on sale at Belk.  They do mark them down a bit after some time so I'll just keep checking in periodically to see if I can get any good deals there.

In conclusion, if anyone wants to buy me a dress shirt, now you know what I like. ;)

I love my insane chicken salad

YES! It's Friday! That means I get to have my insane chicken salad from Zaxby's. They have one of the best takeout salads. I'm a regular customer for them at 11 AM every Friday. I've worked it out in my family's budget that I get to have this treat each week.

For those that don't know, the insane chicken salad is the house salad from Zaxby's with a chili head kick. I discovered one day that they will make modifications to the salad upon request. So, I order the house salad with buffalo chicken dipped in their insane sauce. The insane sauce is the hottest sauce that is available. I absolutely love it! I always get excited when I smell the intense flavor when it comes through my window

I remember I discovered this on my way back from southern GA when we stopped in Atlanta for lunch. I ordered a regular house salad and 5 insane level chicken wings. The cashier then asked me if I would like the salad to have insane sauce on it as well. I said, "YES! I didn't know you could do that!" That's the day I fell in love with this salad. Thank you ma'am for asking that question!

One time when I ordered it, a worker brought it out to my table and said "Sir, I don't know how you can eat this!" That made me laugh.

I had something similar happen at Baumhower's restaurant when I ordered their hottest wings. I ordered wings with the Bring Da' Pain sauce and the waiter asked "Do you like to taste your food?" Why yes. Yes I do. I just like for my food to be intense.

In closing, I highly recommend the Zaxby's house salad.  In particular, those that are willing and ABLE, try it with the insane chicken.  But, I caution you.  The insane sauce should only be consumed by professional chili heads.