It's cold

It's been very cold here, especially in California. Last night the news reported the temps dropped to 30 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, below freezing! Even in Fremont the temp was as low as 35. I really don't like the weather when it's that cold. I much rather have rain or overcast days but when it's just cold I'm always freezing.

Even worse is riding a motorcycle in this weather. Your hands feel like popsicles and even you’re your nose is numb from the cold. It’s hard to stay warm but it is possible. I found these few links about keeping warm.

Ride in the Winter

Ride my own's Winter tips

AMA's cold weather riding tips

Most of the time when I ride in the winter time I use my textile jacket but this season I think I’ll try a different approach. Wearing my leather suit I’ll also add my rain gear to block out the cold wind. I have a pair of Aerostich three digit glove covers which should block out the wind to my hands as well. Ideally you would have electric gear such as a heating vest running from your motorcycle’s battery. Many people say this is the best way to keep warm but it is more expensive.

I want to ride my motorcycle more often but with the weather being so cold and just not having much free time makes it hard. Also ever try Christmas shopping on a motorcycle? ;)

Disappointed with film?

Last Friday I went to take photos of Treasure Island and Pier 39 in San Francisco. I decided to take my film camera instead of my digital camera to use up some film I had left in the fridge. Now my film camera is a nice, a Canon EOS 3 with a power drive with some lens. Using Kodak 100 Ultra Color at late afternoon/night I was really disappointed in the quality of pictures that came out. I was really unimpressed with the night pictures that appear soft or unfocused correctly. Here’s an example.



Here’s a larger 800 x 600 version for viewing as well.

800 x 600

Compared to my digital camera the image just doesn’t look as sharp. But it could be for many reasons, the tripod might have been shaken or even vibration from my releasing the shutter.

One thing my film camera does very well is depth of field stuff. I love how this looks when using a fast lens like the 50mm f/1.4 lens. Here’s a picture of my Grandma’s kitchen table.



Of course I did have some better photos, I like this one of the Blue Mermaid restaurant.




After developing and film cost I spent about $15 per roll of 36 exposure film. Now that comes out to about $0.42 per picture. It’s much more expensive than I guessed before, even using a cheap photo store like Costco. For now I’m going to stick with my digital camera but next year I’ll purchase a new digital SLR and reuse my lens for the new camera. The primary cost is high, about $1500 for just the body but I think if you start figuring the total cost it’s not too far from taking pictures with a film SLR.

Rob