DIY Magnetic Knife Block

 I know it's not photography, but I recently went ahead with a DIY project to make a magnetic knife block. It was inspired by the purchase of two Japanese kitchen knives (from the Chef's Armoury in Stanmore) - not wanting to 'taint' the blades by inserting them in to our old knife block, I thought a magnetic version would be the go.

Actually making the block from a slab of Oregon timber was not the hardest part - working out how many magnets were required - and what type and size to use was tricky - I found a website that outlined the type of magnet (rare earth - neodymium are the strongest) was needed and bought 20, 12 x 6.5mm magnets (from www.amfmagnets.com.au in Rozelle). Even though these are not much bigger than a hearing aid battery, they were incredibly strong - I broke two while testing them out on the thickness of the timber. They obviously snap onto anything metal and two of them cracked and split when they smashed into each other. It was then I read the safety instructions which recommended wearing gloves. Good advice. Here's how it went:

Marketing versus Reality

'Tis the season of...

I haven't posted anything for months - lockdown blues, perhaps, nearly two months of on/off, on/off tradies making an unbelievable mess and noise (but only when they could be bothered to turn up) finishing an update of my Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements 2021 book plus a lot of work in the veggie garden.

I had a momentary brain snap in Aldi a few weeks ago and bought this gingerbread train kit. Natalie and I spent over an hour mixing up icing sugar (the 'glue') and assembling the train from the supplied instructions. It wasn't a bad result but, as it turned out, the humidity at that time prevented the icing from setting and so the construction began to lean at an alarming angle.

 

The was the final result, but what the marketing photo depicted wasn't quite the same as the final version as the cab, and its roof, began a slow slide to the left. The gingerbread driver fell into the engine compartment (currently awaiting the results from a worksafe enquiry) and his cab leant over at an alarming angle. A couple of hours later it collapsed. I should have made a time lapse video of the event. Despite it's downfall, it still tasted good. 

End of Year Book Sale

Running up to the end of this year, there's a chance to pick up a copy of my 2020 Mastering Adobe Photoshop Elements book from Packt Publishing for just $5. Click the book picture below to access the link and payment information.

Day out at Mt Tomah Botanic Garden

Here are a few snaps taken on a gloriously-sunny day trip up to the Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens...

 

Stunning peony in full sun
(Pic by Natalie Hitchens)

Always hopeful to get some good bird shots - so my tool of the trade on the day was a (ridiculous) heavy 420mm telephoto lens. But, even for flowers, it proved to be quite useful because its shallow DOF was perfect for isolating the subject and throwing the background, such as it was, completely out of focus.
(Pic by Robin Nichols)

Freshly hatched cicada
The noise created by these little beggars at Mt Tomah botanic gardens was deafening, almost painful to the ears!
(Pic by Graham Robinson)

King protea
Nice shot of the almost felt-like petals of the king protea (Protea cynaroides)
(Pic by Vinnie Nguyen)

Brilliant bottle brushes at Mt Tomah
(Pic by Natalie Hitchens)

A nice combination of red waratah and white daisies.
Shots like this one require quite a bit of careful processing because of the contrast - deep shade and bright white textured highlights. This RAW file worked out well.
(Pic by Vinnie Nguyen)

Another view of one of Mt Tomahs amazing king proteas
(Pic by Graham Robinson)

Giant dinner-plate sized flower from the protea family
With a distant background, the shallow DOF separates the subject nicely from its background.
(Pic by Natalie Hitchens)

Rhododendron in pink
Macro close-up of the inside of this amazing Himalayan flower.
(Pic by Robin Nichols)

King protea flower
(Pic by Graham Robinson)

More proteas
Nice to see good compositional balance in this shot - with the sharp foreground image contrasted with the the out of focus flower head in the background.
(Pic by Vinnie Nguyen)

Stunning close-up shot of an everlasting flower in full bloom
(Pic by Natalie Hitchens)

Waterfall that runs through the gardens
Who says you can't hand-hold with a slow shutter speed?
(Pin sharp results from Graham Robinson - Olympus stabilisation, 1/5s @ f22)

Another type of (pinwheel?) protea
These flowers are reputed to be among the oldest flowers on earth
(Pic by Vinnie Ngyuen)

Peak flowering time
Another close-up shot of an sumptuously-coloured rhododendron flower
(Pic by Robin Nichols)

Another massive king protea, with pond and waterfall in the background
(Pic by Vinnie Nguyen)

Floral pattern
A nice semi-abstract shot highlighting the leaves as well as the flower heads.
(Pic by Graham Robinson)

Love the depth of colour.
Iridescent iris, close-up with 100mm Macro lens
(Pic by Robin Nichols)

Peony with bee
(Pic by Natalie Hitchens)

Day Trip to Mount Annan Botanic Garden

Here are a few shots from a recent day trip to visit the Mt Annan Botanic Gardens - perfect timing as the everlasting flowers and the were out in full bloom making for some very colourful close-ups. I apologise in advance - I have not had the time to research the correct names of everything we photographed - we were content with being surrounded by such lovely colour and brilliance!

Everlasting daisies were the mainstay of the display at Mt Annan Botanic Gardens

I tend to mix my photo lens choice between a Macro lens and a long lens - in this case I used a 300mm f2.8 Canon telephoto. A bit of overkill but I'd brought it along in the hope of seeing some interesting birds - which we did - but it was also useful to isolate subjects while producing sublime out of focus bokeh effects behind the main subject. But it is a heavy piece of kit to carry for any length of time.

While a general view of the gardens is always a good idea, I far prefer to go in as close as possible. Natalie was using (her) Macro lens so I was left with my old 24-70mm lens to frame this close-up. It's actually a good lens for close-ups even though it's not officially a Macro lens, it will focus pretty close to the subject. Like the 300mm telephoto, it's still big and heavy...

General view of the flowering gardens at Mt Annan.
(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

King orchid shot against a silvery foliage backdrop
(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

Cycad seed
Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

Flannel flowers
(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

Waratahs in bloom
(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

For me one of the most attractive parts of Mt Annan Gardens is that the area is divided into specific botanic zones: eucalypts, Banksia, bottlebrushe, etc, making it easier to appreciate the different species. This is the Wattle garden - in full bloom. Spectacular! 

 

 

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

(Photo by Natalie Hitchens)

 

Armchair Safari: Kyoto

 Here's our latest in our series of Armchair Safaris - Kyoto.
It's a bit of an epic at 55 mins but if you have been to Kyoto you'll certainly know it's a place full of interest and beauty.

Review: Pivo Pod - Auto Tracking Smartphone Support

One item I accidentally came across while searching for a smartphone tripod holder/adapter (see my review of the Ulanzi ST-03) was this curious gadget: Pivo, a tiny auto-tracking support for smartphones - which also doubles as a 360-degree rotational panorama tool, plus it has multi-stream live capabilities (whatever that means), a remote control (c/w a spare battery no less) plus voice command capability - all organised thru its App.

To be frank, I had to look up what some of Pivo's terminology actually means. From what I read, this product specifically targets the needs of solo 'influencers' by allowing them to present themselves as more professional YouTubers. I had a little giggle at the marketing spiel because, if you are clueless about exposure, lighting, composition, colour and design - as many YouTubers I've watched appear to be - no gear on earth is going to pull the proverbial rabbit out of your technical hat to save the creative day, however famous you might think you are.

But (and there's always a but) this inexpensive (US$110?) little gizmo offers something that all solo users value very highly - and that's auto tracking. What this means is that, once set up (and paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth) it will follow the subject's movement as it records video - as if you really have someone recording you with the camera mounted on a professional tripod.

On testing this feature certainly provides the audience with the definite impression that it's not just you on your own in front of a smartphone taped to a cake tin (or whatever comes to hand), and that you have, at the very least, a real camera person tracking the action in the studio.

It's a product that won a design award in 2018.

And it's also the Russian word for beer, surely a good omen. So I ordered one - at the time it was on special for US$109.

So, once unpacked (sorry, no unboxing video) it's best to plug the Pivo into a USB hub to charge with the supplied (very short) cable. Mine was already half charged. Next step is to download the Pivo Pod app - from the App store or Google Play.

Start the Pod by holding down the 'On' button for three seconds, run the App and press 'Pair' to connect the device via Bluetooth. It took just 5 seconds then it was good to go. I wish my smartphone would pair with my car radio as quickly...

Select the AI face detect mode, lock the smartphone into the Pivo cradle using the knurled knob. I shoot in the landscape format. Tap the screen to identify your face and it just locks onto your face and you are good to go. It's that easy.

Pivo has both a face recognition mode, and a body mode (in case you are jumping about in the room). Both seem to work very well. I noticed that there's also a horse mode? I couldn't find a horse to test this mode on.

At the point of sale I noticed that there was also a Pivo Pod Silver version - costing US$20 more - which claims to work 2x faster. I didn't think I needed this - I'm not going to start filing aerobics classes any time soon. For a talking head scenario, the cheaper model works really well for me.

The remote control is also a very handy extra included in the base price - this is used to control the Pod from a distance - you might be on the other side of the studio, so it can be used simply to start recording, but also to increase/decrease rotational speed, change direction, and to toggle between video and photo records modes

Good Design Points

Pivo has three slide-out feet - they are only 10mm long, but they provide good additional stability for table-mounted operation.