ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Saturday 6 June 2015

NEW AND OLD. (06/06/15)

It’s a bit wild out today, windy and wet with the odd burst of sunshine.

A couple of new things to report, the first of them is Windows 10. This is a free upgrade from Windows 7, the free bit lasts a year from it’s release in July. It could be great but to be honest I have absolute faith in Windows 7 and will probably miss it.

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This looks very exciting but will be far from free. I can get my laptop fitted for a USB-C port but haven’t had a price back from PCSpecialists nor have I got anything to plug it into but it does look impressive and were I to win the lottery then I could have a system and camera upgrade to take advantage of all it offers.

I remember when HDR took so long to process I could cook a three course meal while it spat and image out. Spit is the wrong verb, dribbled would be more apt. Now it is a matter of seconds, if that. I use the GPU where I can but haven’t found an option to do so in Photomatix. If I could switch from the CPU it would most likely work in real time. Things have speeded up and are getting really fast. My GPU is 660whatsits/sec. I can now almost double that with a processor that will fit in the laptop, the downside is that they cost as much as my laptop and it wasn’t cheap. It was good value unlike the overpriced stuff in PC Globe or whatever they call themselves this week. I really should learn to build my own and then install Linux or one of it’s siblings like Umbuto or Lumbago. It would not be cheap but it might save a fortune if luck was on my side. It would also give me a sense of achievement, expand my use of naughty words and provide hours of entertainment.

All todays images are HDR and pushed hard.

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I wouldn’t go so far as to say this was a big hit yesterday but the affection these inspire surprised me. It’s sad that this ones great grandaughter the Defender is no longer built. I think this is a Mk III or IV. I had a Mk II, it was my dad’s but I looked after it, tried teaching my sister to drive in it, not an experience I would consider repeating. I remember the best bit was there were only about three different sized spanners required and once you got underneath you could sit up. The seats were awful and sent ones bum into spasms of pain after a few miles then numbness set in. They would go almost anywhere but if it was slippery they climbed slopes at a slight angle with power on. If you arrived at a narrow gate then there was a definite knack to negotiating it. Speed up then power off and aim.

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I don’t know why I’m posting these, I ought to have left the Land Rover till last. This is a vacuum slurry spreader. This one used to spray pig shit.

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This old two share plough would be wept over by the old Grey Ferguson competition ploughers. Though I suspect it is a bit refined for them. I suspect it is a Fordson one.

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A Wallace potato lifter, The modern ones work much the same way but go at twenty miles an hour.

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A ride on Cultivator. I can’t imagine the “Safety Elves” allowing anyone to sit up on this.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

22 comments:

  1. Enjoyed these pictures a bunch. Yesterday's Land Rover was fantastic, and these are right up there.

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  2. Oh yes, they are superb, old, rusty and very well photographed. And, I forgot, I love your header, pretty.

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    1. Cheers Bob. The header is temporary. I'm working on a moving one.

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  3. Photos are superb as always. I'll reserve judgement on Windows 10 until I've played with it although it can't be worse than Windows 8. As for USB-C while it looks promising I think it's going to be a right mess -- this nicely explains why.

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    1. Mark, Microsoft have a death wish when it comes to designing OSs. I am very wary but have asked for the download to have a look. I haven't found anything awry with 7. I'll pop it on my old Toshiba.
      USB2 I find fast enough. I use a Transcend external drive for 2K video and a it more than that for timelapse. I read the link and whilst it isn't a gimmick it is a marketing tool. Thanks.

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  4. Nice shots Adrian, I like this effect. I think I have a tutorial for creating this effect using GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program).

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    1. Ian, I haven't used GIMP for years, there is nothing wrong with it. Photoshop doesn't do a good job with HDR but Gimp is worth a try. Photomatix is the best I have used and they do a basic version free.

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  5. He truly has some interesting old farm machinery and equipment laying around. Sadly any restoration by me of the Land Rover is beyond both my engineering and equally financial ability. I know that Landrover announced the demise of the defender but apparently it maybe a short lived decision.

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    1. Douglas, it would be a shame if it is no longer built but the price has got a bit silly.

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  6. Very like HDR's. Great shot and beautiful colours.

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  7. Old stuff always has a great story. An old farm kid like me appreciates this stuff.

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    1. Red, machinery from an age when things moved more slowly.

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  8. That potato lifter looks modern compared to the model my grandfather used when I was a child. Reminds me how much I hated picking up potatoes. The old Land Rover looks even smarter today than it did yesterday. That's a mighty find looking cultivator. The owner obviously thinks so too, not taking any risk of someone nicking it, is he?

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    1. Pauline, he has it chained up. It is a superb machine. I have never harvested potatoes except for the few I've grown.

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  9. When it comes to things like this HDR is a great addition to the whimsy toolkit. I know you never thought you'd hear me say this but I love every one of them. Just so long as you don't do it to my favourite landscapes (to often anyway).

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    1. Graham, it works in town, in buildings and at night very well. I haven't done any for a long time. It was so horrid yesterday that I had to brighten the day somehow.

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  10. There's the highly processed HDR and the naturally processed HDR. I don't do either often, but both have their place.

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    1. John, I don't over process. These are just right :-)

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  11. Good job with these. Always amazes me when 'junk' can be turned to art (sometimes just by changing one's way of looking at it - sometimes with a bit more help).

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