New Camera

The Samsung camera arrived today, along with a care package from Mom.  I took it out for a test run this afternoon.  I like it, it will certainly not replace the big cameras but it is nice to actually be able to control all aspects of the exposure even in a small body.  The only problem is it is a bit bigger and a good bit heavier than I expected, as well as having a very nice metal body.  I don’t know if I will want to take this camera on the Yellow Brick Road challenge run.  It will be excellent for sticking in my backpack and keeping with me during the day, though.

Nothing really interesting on my end today.  I went to classes, swam a mile, and did my laundry.  If I get run over by a truck on tomorrow’s 4.2 mile run, at least I will be wearing clean underwear .  Tracy had a full day, though.  She got Kathryn to college and moved into her dorm and made it back in time to take James to his orientation.  She is pretty amazing; you could make a good case that I am superfluous.  We did try out a three way video conference with Kathryn tonight.  I did not have a good connection, possibly the Honduran guy three doors down who was watching a soccer match on his computer was sucking up all the bandwidth (it was hilarious though, he was wearing headphones and kept shouting LOUDLY at the computer as the game went on.  At one point there were three of us in the hallway debating whether we needed to rush the room and put him in restraints).  Oh, one more amusing story.  While I was video chatting with Tracy, she was trying to call James down the bedroom; he did not hear her and she was getting aggravated.  From 800 miles away, I could see what game he was playing on his computer, open a chat window, and tell him his mother was calling him.  Technology is cool.

I will finish off with some shots from the new camera.  I don’t think it will go with me on the run tomorrow; I have a case on order from Amazon that has not arrived yet.  These are basically test shots after supper.  For a compact camera, I think it did pretty well.

The Madison dorm, I live in the matching Washington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not telephoto, I was within ten feet of these deer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is my dorm in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When you look at the last shot, you can see the smaller sensor struggles with high contrast shooting, the sky is completely blown out.  I also tried some indoor action shots in the Crossroads, the area adjacent to the cafeteria where people can gather to play games or watch TV.  The results were not as good as a real camera but better than any other compact camera I have used; overall I am happy with it and I expect to get better as I learn the camera’s capabilities.

There are billiards tables here but surprisingly, ping pong is the main challenge.  Some of these guys take it pretty seriously, if I tried playing it would be 21-0 and over very quickly.  Our Muslim students are celebrating Ramadan right now, so they tend to gather at the Crossroads until just before the cafeteria closes, then grab a “to go” meal to eat after the sun goes down.  Their fast is pretty strict, they are not even allowed to drink water during the day.  From talking to them, some are taking a variance for the Challenge Run days, though.

Hamza from Nigeria – he is celebrating Ramadan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These guys aren’t.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crossroads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noel from NYPD. We are in the same group in Officer Involved Shootings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard from Louisiana

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our laundry room. Exciting, isn’t it?