Eyewear

Hi folks!
Just thinking about eyewear and the various brands that I have used or currently use. In my snowboard days it was and still is 'Smith' products and also have used their products for use in cycling and running. Usually with interchangeable lenses to compensate for varying light conditions. I still have an older pair of 'slider 2' at home and use them working around the yard, or under my helmet when I am riding my motorcycle.

Oakley's - can not go wrong with these folks, but you also thin out your wallet and I think you are spending more money for a name. My pair right now has interchangeable lenses, but you must be careful about taking in/out as you can break the catch pieces on the edge...bam! Out more money!

I have used some 'Axleys' but not really impressed by them. I also use some 'Ryders' and for a less expensive alternative found them to be very good eyewear and lenses. I have interchangeable on this pair also and for running me all of about $50, well worth the investment.

This leads me to my most recent trial....Tifosi optics. I recently purchased the "Slip" model with the Fototec lens and find them pretty awesome. I really like the ability of the lens to lighten and darken with the changing light conditions and they only ran me about $60! They have good ventilation and fit my bit larger noggin pretty well. I have not tried other brands (with this type technology) but do not want to spend the money on them (well over $125 - average) just to see if I like them. Would be happy to test them for FREE if anyone is reading this that has those connections! I would really like to test some more of the Tifosi though as in the past four weeks I have been very impressed for the versatility, fit and function of the eyewear. Can not say enough about the prices as they are very reasonable.

Thanks for reading, Tim

Kings Valley and Experimentation

Went out to take some shots at the Kings Valley Road Race this past Saturday April 12th. Absolute beautiful day, a few high clouds and the sun beaming down with temps in the upper 50's for a 10 AM start time.

Had driven the course a week prior so was trying to get some locations to catch the packs, using mostly climbs and one section of flat and then to the finish.

Not my best day behind the lens as I was messing with the 'burst' mode on the camera and doing some messing with E/V values which allows me to over/under expose the shots. This is going to cost me a little more time in the post production which is not something I enjoy all that much. It is so much nicer to get the shot in the moment instead of trying to come back to it a day or two later. I was also using my other Pentax digital SLR with a 12-24 wide angle lens and it works great when things are sitting still, but when folks are churning the gears out....well, not always the best, but it was fun to use and shoot at some pretty high speed.

Included is a the shot of south end of the women's peloton heading north through Kings Valley! I will have the rest of the days shots posted to my 'smugmug' area by mid-week. Will be posting approximately 150 of the various categories.

Thanks for reading! Tim -

Finch and upcoming Kings Valley

I have been pretty lazy and have not gotten a photo of my new two wheeled toy! Soon I will and hope you are impressed by the horsepower I will be able to put down with this steed!

In the meantime, things are clipping away, day by day. I went out scouting the route for an upcoming bicycle race (kings valley) so I will be out there shooting some photos for the day[4/12]. Part of it to get shots for the teams web-site and the other to post out and hopefully sell a few afterward. With today's economy more folks seem to spend their money on $4,000 plus bicycles then a few bucks on a shot of themselves racing. Like their mom was out there and got a better shot? Of course this pertains to the bicycle culture life in Oregon, not the general public.

Cropped in on a 'golden finch' that was hanging out by the feed grounds in the backyard. This shot is actually last year about this time but I have quite a few variations of Finch's that come to get the free dinner. In the next few days I am going to start posting out to my 'smugmug' account and get that up to date. Need to have some fresh photos out there to choose from you know?!

Well not much else, just got back from the gym and need to relax my legs. Thanks for checking in. Tim -