The “Girl”

I was networking socially from the privacy of my living room, viewing recent posts and photos that friends and groups were uploading to the stream, most of it garbage, the occasional laugh. Click. Like. Like. Share? Eh… That’s when I saw her. There were many admirers of course, she is amazing. And the comments, I was not the first. How beautiful she appeared there before us all, teasing, to admire. Exposed. Vulnerable. Yet quietly confident in a mysterious sort of way. I fell for her immediately, as did many others. On a fateful whim, I asked if she was available… She was going to being going home with someone someday, and I had hoped that lucky guy was going to be me. It was not right away that I found out she was available and of all the would be takers, but in the end she was mine! Meeting someone online can be awkward, nonetheless I was impatiently waiting patiently for the day to arrive that I would finally get to see her in person. We’ve all heard stories, or have been victims of misleading profile pictures but this was not the case now at all. Everything about her in real life was so much brighter, richer, and despite her mottled tones being painted on thick textured paper, she really seemed alive. Almost as much so as the very talented artist and amazing person who created her.

What is she thinking about?

Perspective Counts.

With her various brushes and techniques, Alana Meserve flows intriguing stripes, punches in patches and punctuated palettes of dribbled and dripped drops of color that come together to capture the spirit of the subject in a way I have never experienced. Simply stated- I love this painting. I feel lucky to get to see it, not just a photo of it, daily. I felt touched to have been gifted this and appreciate it no end. Visiting Alana and her Husband (a super rad dude and also very musically talented) at their home the day I received my “Girl” in the very studio she was brought to life, I tried to explain to Alana how much it meant to me and how amazing she and the girl are.

Here are some of random close ups of some details I find interesting.

Does it hurt. Or does it feel good?

Detail of a drip and a run.

Curves Close Up

Foot Fetish?

She now hangs on my wall, where I see her daily.   Alana is having an art show very soon and her works will be available for purchase.

More info on the art show here- http://www.rawartists.org/alanmeserve
You can see more of her work on her website http://www.alanameserve.com/
Or on her facebook page Alana-Meserve-Watercolors
Thank You for checking out TheMorningRoast.com and thank you Alana!

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POOOOOOOF!

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Snowmobile Hideout

Seeing the zone for the first time invoked more than a few hoots, hollers and high fives. This place was amazing, 3 downhill ski trails, all connected at the summit and interconected via a series of glades and ravine cross cuts that provided nearly endless options and almost limitless powdery fresh runs.

Poof!

Braaaaping with Laffin! Sending a booter, built weeks prior at a secret location!

Getting swallowed by a cloud of powder.

Full throttle out!

Send it, 2 fingaz!

Getting rowdy cutting swaths.

20 dollar dig outs! What are friends for?

Photographer self portrait. (In the goggle lens)

Sometime you see things just the right way.

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If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

Adam Hauck Shredding Highland Dirt Jumps

Insane Burke Mountain Drift Trike Run!

Snowy Owl in the sun on the coast of Maine.

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Snowy Owl profile shot.

Hello there. It noticed me.

Face to face with a Snowy Owl

I thought it was going to fly away. It ruffled it’s feathers a bit and then…

It made tracks! The Owl decided to trek across the snow to find shelter from the winds.

Snowy Owl footprints.

Snowy Owl footprint and my hand print for size comparison.

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If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

Whistler Wildlife

Red Tail Hawks Mating in Maine

Remember to Like, Share, Pin, Tweet, G+, Submit and Comment. You are the best, thank you!

How long will those brakes last?

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Tucked and leading the charge.

Hairpin corner at speed. Going to the outside here would be bad…

Nifty. Getting Drifty.

The whole crew in tow.

Speeds over 40mph at times coming into these long drifts.

Coming in hot!

Checking what’s left of the brakes…

It was a rush just watching him rage those corners. The drivers behind said they could smell the rubber from Max’s brakes heating up as he hung it all out.  Want a drift trike?  They are being mass produced by Max yet, but if the demand and money is there, it can be done.  Braaaaap!

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There were Dragonflies everywhere around Lost Lake.

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Dragonfly hovering in place.

Bunny staring me down, ready to make a move.

Stellars Jay in Whistler, B.C. Canana.

Not sure the type of bird, this was perched on mossy rock wall.

Squirrel on the rocks looking for snacks.

I almost walked into this friendly little guy. Unsure of the species, anyone know?

This slug was pretty big. It may not look it, but it was as fat as a hotdog!

All images shot with a Canon 60D and either an 18-135mm or 70-300mm lens.  Click on images for full view.  As always, please Like and Share TheMorningRoast!  Supported by our advertisers and friends!

At the top of the world, the lens is facing East.

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Tag anyone we missed, anyone you ride with, share the love!

It all started back past them there hills.

It may be a small part of the mountain…

…but it is on top!

Ten of us went to Whistler and we brought you all with us.  A collaborative, cooperative effort, we collected a native rock, painstakingly painted it and smuggled it to the top of the mountain.  From the peak, look East toward home, you will see it resting on a mountain top cairn as homage to family and friends.  Show some love, Like and Share.  Get shirts and see more at AMATEUR

Stop motion studio shoot on my down comforter, canon 60d and a remote trigger.

And here is the short clip it all created.  You may have to watch it a few times, as there are times where multiple little things are happening with each of the characters.  It made me laugh.  I hope you like it.  (after watching this a few times, I noticed some export errors… glitches that shouldn’t be there, that happened when I was exporting the project as an avi file… I will have to try again, and I will update)

As always, please share with friends, and give me a like or tweet, or whatever.  Don’t forget to take a look at the ads if anything catches your attention, it helps support the site and maybe more little battles?

A high quality, professional and affordable way to tap into 240 volt home power.

The 3 pong 240 volt plug and socket. NEMA 15-50r.

The unit I made allows me to plug into a NEMA 15-50R receptacle, which is a 240v 3 prong  socket, found commonly for stoves and dryers.  There is a short length of 10/3 wire that leads to another boxed 15-50r outlet, as well as a 20 foot 10/3 insulated cord at the end of which is the “power box”.  Inside the box there are 2 DPST Relays (switches, contacts).  That stands for “Dual Pole, Single Throw”, basically meaning 2 lanes of power turned on at the same time…

Each relay is powered independently by a 120v source, that can be plugged into any 120 volt outlet or timer.  Each relay is capable of supplying loads of upto 30A at 240V, which combined is more than my breaker is rated for, but I would never max out the relays anyway.   Just be aware of that.  However, the relays themselves only require around a half an amp to be switched on, so there is very very little load being drawn from the 120v source or through your timers.

A Dual Pole Single Throw relay

The Power Box has 2 x 240V outputs per relay, each of which could supply upto 15a at 240 (which is the same wattage as 30A at 120v!).  The benefits of this should be apparent.  In total, the box has 4 outputs- 2 independently timed pairs of 240v outlets.

What this amounts to is the ability to run your laundry or stove, while remotely being able to power on one or more devices, such as drills, lathes, lights, and other equipment which is able to draw the higher voltage.  Just be aware not to run the home appliance while running shop equipment as this may overload the breaker.

Similar boxes are upward of 450 dollars, and not made of nearly the same quality components.  I have used American made relays, a NEMA rated poly enclosure, top quality conductors, etc.  Not only does it look cool, but it was fun to make, and only cost about 120 bucks.  It could have been 100 had I not gone with a clear top.  90 for a 10 foot cord version.  If you don’t need the extra 15-50r outlet, maybe 80 bucks.  Even cheaper still- use only one relay, depending on the load you are intending on running.  Stop wasting hundos on stuff that ain’t fundo yo.

Here are some more pics and descriptions of how to do this.

Drilling holes to mount the relays

I use a drill bit slightly larger that the hardware to allow a little wiggle room to ease fitment.

Drilling holes for the power and trigger cords, and their respective keepers.

Here you can see we need 7 holes for this particular unit.  One for the main 240 volt power supply coming in, which is on the left.  This is a 10/3 supply line, and needed a 3/4 inch keeper.  That required some opening up beyond my largest bit, as the keeper needs almost a 1 inch hole.  From the left you then see an empty hole labelled “trigger 1, 120v”, and then 5 more keepers all set in place- another trigger, and the 4 x 240v switched outlets.

The keepers. Arrow points at rubber sealing washer.

Threaded end through the hole…

And thread the nut on the backside to hold it in place.

You will want to be sure to have all your holes drilled before you mount the relays, or start running cables.  Just makes life much easier.

Easy way to measure the length of insulation you need to remove.

Here you can see that I have the relays secured in the box, and I begin to cut some wiring it up.  In this shot I am approximating the length of insulation I need to cut away from the 10/3 to gain access to the wires inside.  I like nice smooth bends that allow a little slack.  This should help keep the connection joints stress free.  And me too.

10/3 power wire. You can go as far as you need with this stuff.

Stripping back the 10/3. I cut away the paper.

Stripping back the wires to receive a crimp ring terminal.

I always cut away about as much wire insulation as the length of the terminals colored insulator.  A little more would be okay, but really, try not to go overboard.

Perfect fit.

Notice not too much wire is sticking out the end near the ring.  The green insulation is seated against the terminal inside the yellow insulator.  The terminal is 10-14ga item.

Running the power supply cord.

Making the connection on one leg of the 240 volt relay.

Connecting both relays with some jumpers.

The jumpers I used ( the blue and white wires) made with short sections of 10ga. wire and some crimp terminals.  This allows a nice clean installation of both relays.  I ran the ground to a bolt in the middle of the box to make it an easy run for all 7 wires coming it.

Now that the power supply is connected I will be able to begin with the triggers and outputs.  The triggers I used were just recycled appliance cords.  I got lucky and found a black one and a gray one, so now the two will be easily distinguished.  Which will be a handy feature, with all the cords I have!

12 volt trigger cords.

The 4 outlet cords are made of some nice 12/3 wire I had, and some NEMA 5-15R extension cord female ends.  These are made for 120 use, but I am using them here for 240 to save on the cost of replacing the cord sets from my equipment.  If you choose to do this, just be aware to never plug a 120 device into your outputs.  Just because the plug will fit does not mean it will work.  It will do damage- not play your stereo twice as loud.

NEMA 5-15r socket to be used for 240v outlet.

So, if you are making one of these, at this point you have 6 more wires to run into the box and terminate.  To the left you see a pic of all my cords pre stripped and ready for terminals.  I used some yellow ones made for 10-14 gauge wire and blue ones for 12-16 gauge wire, as on my triggers.

There are a total of 7 ground wires that will secured to the post, so leave enough slack to ensure you are not packing them directly on top of one another, allowing the wires to run out at different angles.

Crimp ring size comparison.

Running a trigger wire, checking the length.

Do this with every wire, making sure it will reach it’s contact, and the ground.  In this case, the ground is always the longest lead, so if it will reach there, you will be safe.  Mark the sheath,  cut it back and strip the ends.

All connections are made.  It may seem confusing, but it is very simple!

Maintain the ability to plug in the existing appliance.

I try to make sure there are nice easy bends in all my wires.  Note the ground post and all it’s connections.  Ground is marked with the label “GND”.  Now, this may seem confusing or like there are too many wires going all all over the place.  But-

For each cable coming in, there are ONLY 3 connections.  And luckily in this case, polarity does not matter.  You can hook the relay triggers up however you want, and you can hook the 240 volt lines up however you want.  All the grounds get connected together.

The white and black wire from the 240 are EACH supplying 120 volts.  120+120=240.  The green is the ground. I used blue and clear wire to make my jumpers.  Electricity doesn’t care what color the wire is, use whatever color you want, just keep you scheme consistent.

You may notice my triggers also use black, white and green wires.  To keep a clean theme going, I wire them black to the left, white to the right.

For those of you paying attention, you may notice my outputs use a slightly different convention with brown, blue and green/yellow.  That is fine by me, so I used brown to go with black and blue to go with white.  The green and green/yellow became the ground.

The final product.

You can make your main tether as long or short as you want or need to.  The outputs could be longer, or integrated into the box as wall style outlets.  You could also use heavy duty extension cords, though that would most likely add to the cost.  Not that it would matter much because you are saving a lot by making it how you like.  If you wanted, you could integrate a timer directly into the design.  For my purposes I plug my triggers into timers.   If you wanted all 4 outputs could come from one relay, or you could use 4 relays each with one output and independent triggers.  OR, you could share a trigger across several relays.  You could use distribution blocks if you just wanted simple continuous non triggered power.

There are many ways you can configure a unit like this.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask below.  I check back frequently and will do my best to try and help.  Thank you for reading.

Keep your feet off the table!

Cropped version of the image above.

Hiking back to shred more laps. Yes, I got that! And here they are finally.

Playing around in photoshop a little bit, images taken with a fisheye lens on the front of a canon 60d.

Look closely. 360 over the skipper, steezy table on the the hip.

Tuck no hander, one of my favorite tricks.  I hope to pull these off someday.  A while back Adam had given me some pointers when I was working on them in the foam pit.  I’ve pulled them into an air bag, but this how they are properly executed, dirt to dirt. With alotta air in between.

I was going to lighten this next one up, but I recall the man himself saying he liked it dark like this.   It grew on me too, with the colors in the sky and leaves.

Silhouetted against a stand of hardwoods ready to drop leaves, Hauck drops a bomb on this hip.

The next two were taken approximately .2 seconds apart and I couldn’t decide which I liked best, so here are both.

And…   Still holding that toboggan.

One of my favorite shots.

This next one I had a little fun with… Blk Mrkt rider, riding with black skies.  I thought it was cool.

There’s a storm coming.

And a parting shot.  For now….

He reps his sponsors very well.  I never knew about blk mrkt before him, now I will definitely be buying one of their DJ’s.  After seeing how sick all the Profile components are, I must say, I would love some of those hubs too.

Photography note: All images taken with a Canon 60d camera with a Canon 70-300mm IS lens at minimum aperture, and a Bower fish-eye f3.5 lens focused to infinity.  Processing done in photoshop.

Feel free to like, share, or click on any pic for a full screen version.  Find TheMorningRoast on facebook, twitter and pinterest.  Copy all you want, just tell a friend about the site.

More to come- Check back every Morning while you get your Roast on, and enjoy ;-)!

Maine Red Tail Hawk about to take flight. 300mm , f5.6 , 1/320th sec.

Do you wish you could take professional looking photos of birds and wildlife in their natural habitats?  If you want to produce better results with your DSLR camera and capture beautiful photographs of Eagles, Hawks, Osprey or even Chickadees and Finches at your feeder, then read on!

It all starts with getting comfortable with your own cameras features, various knobs, dials, menus and settings.  It can be a lot to digest all in a single sitting, so try to tackle one feature per photo shoot over the course of a few days.  I practiced with my new Canon 60D by taking literally hundreds of snapshots of my Bulldog in the amazing landscape of my living room.  It will pay off in many ways.  Trust me.

You will begin to notice that your fingers precisely know where to search for this dial or that, and you learn the menus so you can flip to them on the fly.  This will all help you to make quicker adjustments in the field to account for various lighting conditions or when you have to make an aperture change to fine tune your depth of field.  When you are stalking wildlife you do not want to have to refer to a user manual or else you may miss an opportunity to get that once in a lifetime shot.

Once you are familiar with your camera, you will want to pay particular attention to the “M” setting (on Canon), which is the full manual setting.  This allows you to control everything.  Shutter speed, f stop (also: aperture), ISO settings, color temperature amongst many others. I have taken thousands of pictures, and can honestly say that I still haven’t explored every option my set up has to offer.  But for now we will focus on the settings for the big three which are shutter speed, aperture and ISO.  For more a more detailed explanation of the various factors look here.

300mm , f5.6 , 1/320th of a second, ISO 400 Blurry, but note the sky is “clear”

300mm , f5.6 , 1/8000th of a second, ISO 3200 Sharp, but note the “grainy” sky from the higher ISO setting

Birds are fast.  And they are instinctive.  So you have to be prepared.  And you have to be set on a fast shutter speed.  I have taken pics at 1/1200of a second and still had blurry wingtips.  Under 1/1000 and forget about quality flight pictures.  In this range, I find it useful only for shots of birds perched on limb.  But as soon as they take off, my subjects become, at times, so blurry you cannot tell what you are looking at.  Whenever conditions allow, I always opt for the fast shutter speed I can obtain without sacrificing the quality by shooting at too high an ISO setting.

Next is Aperture.  I always keep this set at the lowest possible setting, which is synonymous with the “fastest” setting.  This will work great for capturing your subject I motion, and will also help to separate your subject for the fore and background quite nicely by keeping only the bird in focus and blurring the rest out focus.

If you are trying to shoot a larger number of birds in a group on the water, in a flock or perhaps a line of Pigeons on a telephone wire you can open the depth of field by choosing a higher (slower) aperture and this will bring some of the birds in front of and behind the subject in the center.  This will cause you to have to choose a slower shutter speed or higher ISO setting to get that optimum exposure that you are after.

Lastly, we will note the ISO setting.  I like to shoot with this set to as low as possible, usually in the 100 to 400 range.  When I have to I will bump it up to 800, but even at this setting I start to notice some noise introduced into my image, which I do not like.  But I rarely have to go that far, usually only resorting that in lower evening light, overcast days or when I am shooting into thicker trees where no sky can be seen within my the frame.