Remembering PRESTAGS

Italian Breakfast

Fresh and warm from the bakery. Spaghetti Bolognese Arancini and Pane Di Casa bread.

(This is also my first post using an iPad).

Sound Recording 3 - Padua, Italy

Our trip to England and Italy in May was far more of a photography trip than a sound recording trip. I took three cameras, plus photos on the mobile phones of the boss and I. The folder of photographs after the trip is over 45 GB and has over 6,000 photos!

In Padua we stayed in the Hotel Casa del Pellegrino with a wonderful view of the Basilica of St Anthony across the street. In the photo below, our room was the two windows to the right of the circular ornament with cherubs.

Looking out of our balcony window, here is a view of the street and the Basilica using a fish eye lens.

We spent a lot of time in the Basilica and exploring Padua, and I didn't do much recording. One early morning I put the Tascam DR 100 and Sony stereo mic in the flower pot on the balcony. While the view was spectacular, the recording was only of light birdsong and traffic driving up and down the street.

Here is a tiny sample, slightly interesting because it captured two camera clicks, probably taking the photo above. Remember the volume may need to be turned up. With the car driving past, the stereo should come out clearly on stereo headphones or two spaced speakers.

Padua Birds Camera Car

A WavePad view of this sound snippet.

When I analysed the whole recording afterwards I found the best bit. The bells of the Basilica!

Basilica St Anthony Padua Church Bells

A very distinctive pattern in WavePad.

The Basilica bell tower.

We treated Padua as a pilgrimage, and it was just as uplifting as our previous visit long ago in 2007. Lots of wonderful memories and photographs of Padua, and nice to have a few sounds as well.

 

What is it with watches?

Spetz' last post has me thinking. I throw out obsolete stuff with great abandon. However, I do not believe I have ever thrown out a watch. As John Michael Young would say: ' the great thing about Napoleon at Waterloo is that you can set it up in 10 minutes, an every game is different."

What John really wants us to ask, is why are watches special? Is it their beautiful mechanisms? Perhaps the cost friends and families went to to buy one for us? Or the fact that men in Australia were not allowed to wear jewellery until recently, and the watch was an exception? Or the humble service it provides us at a glance reminding us how much time we have left on a wargame before we have to race off to an appointment?

Although I never realised it. but all my watches have history:

I wore this one to work every day in the 90s.

In the noughties I became more managerial and my watch changed.

As a football coach, I need to move players off and on the field at set time to give everyone a fair run and have my best team on at the start and end of the game.

I was an early adopter of the smart watch. The Samsung Gear was great for this time, particularly for taking phone calls while playing tennis and pushing my fitness.

I had a brief foray into Apply Watches, but it was a sad experience. I broke two. I have never broken a watch before or since. I think the Apple Watch suit those who want to track their heart beat while sitting on a pile of cushions on the sofa watching porn.

However, my passion for smart watches did not abate, and I am very happy with the Samsung Gear 3; at least until the Chinese invade. To quote John Michael Young:

The Swiss, armed with pikes, halberds, and other pole-arms, had proven invincible, defeating many Austrian attempts to invade Switzerland. At Arbedo, however, the Swiss ran into the Milanese, unset the Italian Condottiere Carmagnola, with an army divided between mounted knights and bowmen.

Nikon 16-85 Testing for the GAS Arrival

I am excited about my new GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) attack, to be collected next week: the Nikon D7500 and the Nikkor AF-S DX 16-80mm f2.8.

My aim is that this will be my new travel walk-around combo, especially for my next trip to Italy.

I'm hoping the 16-80mm with f2.8 will be great for outdoor scenic shots, plus great inside Churches.

The closest I can come to seeing what the 16-80 range will be like is having a play with my D7200 and a second hand 16-85mm f3.5 I purchased some time ago.

This morning I took some shots at Canada Bay. Stupidly, I didn't do any at exactly 80mm.

The 16mm is great for scenic shots:

Here is the Bushell's factory at 16mm and then with different zoom.

At 16mm:

At 42mm:

At 85mm:

Here are some shots of a bright blue car on the side of the road:

At 16mm:

At 34mm:

At 85mm:

Yes this is a great range.

Now I need to play around indoors. Although I'll probably have the actual GAS attack by then.

 

Pasta Meat & Parmesan

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Roast Potatoes & Rosemary

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Veal & Mozzarella

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Linguine With Clams & Mussels

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Tiramisu

Rome, Italy.

January 2018.

Bruschetta

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Linguine With Prawns & Creamy Sauce

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Linguine With Seafood

Naples, Italy.

December 2017.

Paccheri With Pistachio Pesto

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Clementines

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Naples, Italy.

December 2017.

Antipasto 2 (Sorrento)

Sorrento, Italy.

December 2017.

Antipasto 1 (Rome)

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Penne With Basil Pesto

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Anchovy Pizza

Rome, Italy.

December 2017.

Pizzas

Paul has been to Rome and he rates the pizzas 10 out of 10. Thin soft bases, real mozzarella, not too much tomato. Normally one topping only, eg salami. Melts in the mouth.

Paul's favourite pizza: anchovie. Can't even take a photo before a slice is ripped away.