Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Two

[Mark_K]

Nice pictures JP.

 

For us, the sky around the moon went from mostly cloudy to totally clear about 10:05. So, we didn't see much prelude but had a great view of the total eclipse.

 

We also saw a shooting star flash by just to the side of the eclipsed moon. I kind of felt like I should go out and buy a lottery ticket.

[mysty]

JP, your photos are STUPENDOUS! I am gobsmacked! I only managed to get a couple shots and they are little dinky things in comparison! WOW man!

 

Lucky duck Mark! I have never seen a shooting star!

 

Lola, I slept through most of it as well. Did my best to angle around trees and walked down the street trying to get a good vantage point. Without a lot of sucess.

 

Jeff I definitely need some P time. Not working well for me yet. Lots of "deletes" required.

[jpalbny]

Thanks all for the compliments. I had to pull out a lot of tricks... Some of the blood moon shots are 2.5 second exposures, and even with a tripod there is a lot of wiggle from pushing the shutter release button which will ruin your shot. So I had to do the delayed exposure trick (the kind you used to do to take an old-fashioned selfie). Push the shutter, get away from the camera, wait 10 seconds, and the shutter releases. By then the wiggling from pushing the shutter button has stopped and your image is still.

 

The exposures run the gamut from 1/60th (bright moon shots) to 2.5 seconds. A lot of the time, I had to do the settings manually (S-mode) because the camera can't expose a bright object properly when the surroundings are totally dark. I could have tried spot metering I suppose but playing with S-mode accomplished the same thing.

 

I was able to take all of the moon shots at ISO 100, until totality. Then it was so much dimmer that I had to speed up to ISO 2000. I tried a few at 6400 but unacceptably grainy.

 

So, there are 10x as many shots in my computer folder that you'll never see. Glad you liked the ones I chose, though!

 

As an aside, Chris' Dad bought this lens years ago, and when he sold the house, we kept it. It's been so long since then, I forgot we had it. I am kicking myself for not bringing it to Africa for our safari! I could have had some amazing shots with a 170-500 zoom lens on a DSLR! Grr... Next time!

[spinnaker2]

Daughter and I sat in driveway in lawn chairs and watched. Mosquitos had a banquet until we lathered up with skin so soft.

Pretty amazing. Quite hazy due to recent rain, and all looked gauzy for awhile, then became clearer.

Thanks for the photos JP. They are great.

I should have set up a tripod and it was so darn humid that my camera lens just wouldn't unfog quickly.

I blame my unpreparedness on being sick.

The show was just spectacular, blood red pink luscious and eerie! Like a pink flamingo moon, or the inside of a pink grapefruit with a weird glow.

Doubt that I will be around for the next one, at least in human form.

Enjoy the day all!

Drspin is going to work today, first time in a week.

I reiterate, please, if you fall in the risk category, get the flu shot. drspin was waiting until the beginning of October, and sadly the bug was waiting for him earlier.

[jpalbny]

spinnaker2 - glad you are both on the mend. We have our vaccine supply here in Albany, so I will heed your advice.

[Randyk47]

I'd actually lost track of, maybe not paid much attention to would be more correct, the blood moon event until I caught jpalbny's post last night. Luckily I saw the posts and pictures early enough we were able to watch the event. Unfortunately we had a light hazy cloud covering that filtered a lot of the event but we could see it. Great pictures and wish we'd had that clear of view.

[Mark_K]

JP, your photos are STUPENDOUS! I am gobsmacked! I only managed to get a couple shots and they are little dinky things in comparison! WOW man!

 

Lucky duck Mark! I have never seen a shooting star!

 

Lola, I slept through most of it as well. Did my best to angle around trees and walked down the street trying to get a good vantage point. Without a lot of sucess.

 

Jeff I definitely need some P time. Not working well for me yet. Lots of "deletes" required.

 

 

Mark your calendar for the overnight hours of next August 13/14, it's the peak in the Ottawa area of next year's Perseid meteor showers. If the weather's clear you'll see a lot more than one.

[duct tape]

Missed the whole magilla in Istanbul. Too cloudy and polluted.

Edited September 28, 2015 by duct tape

[UKCruiseJeff]

JP,

 

Yes ... thanks. The problem is that our time in the UK was around 3:40 am ... and currently the deal I have with wifey is that our "bed time" is 2am and not much later. I only need a few hours sleep. So we missed it. At 2am it was just a normal full moon. I don't mean to be boring but your pictures are genuinely quite exceptional and I would feel so muc a sense of pride and achievement if I were you. They are a memory ... a perfect memory .. of an excpetional night. A night in times passee influenced what people believed or feared and your pictures captured it perfectly. This makes me sound like an idiot, but the image, the detail, the colour and ... very importantly that blackness surrounding the moon. It is in that blackness that lurks infinite secrets and it is the whole shebang that makes those pictures you took iconic and unique. Ta muchly. :)

 

Spinkins ..... sorry about the mossies. In the UK there is a growing feeling in "awakening research" that the jab is a waste of time in that by the time it is developed and being jabbed the cunning strains have rapidly morphed and it is then the wrong jab for current risks and the side effects and risks are now greater than the potential immunisation benefit. You might recall one of my small empires was a research company and I am interested in intepretation and misinterpration of data into misnonformation.

 

It is human nature to presume safely unpresumable consequences, and in this case that if Drspin had had the jab earlier the flu might have been prevented, but that is a presumption. Not saying anything about anything. I do not know what strain of flu Drspin acquired, but just because Drspin acquired flu this does not automatically mean that the strain he got would have been immunised by the dose he had (in your view) later. Console yourself in that even if he had had the jab earlier it might nhot have prevented the flu. Just trying to help in a rather clumsy way. Send my love to doggy and Drspin.

 

M. This is a moment for Old Betsy. Frances De La Tour was not intended for once every few decade moon shots. It's for piccies. :D

 

I might be a soppy git but I really loved how the cooler gave me a chance to see JP's piccies which we were all able to share. A person I "know" took some piccies I really like.

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

My only arty farty unworthy shot compared with JP's ... taken ar 2ish

 

[mysty]

Mark your calendar for the overnight hours of next August 13/14, it's the peak in the Ottawa area of next year's Perseid meteor showers. If the weather's clear you'll see a lot more than one.

Thanks Mark! I've always wanted to see that show and have never managed it before. I will mark my calendar!

[mysty]

Missed the whole magilla in Istanbul. Too cloudy and polluted.

Sorry you missed it DT! I missed a good portion as well with my early bedtime. :(

[mysty]

Daughter and I sat in driveway in lawn chairs and watched. Mosquitos had a banquet until we lathered up with skin so soft.

Pretty amazing. Quite hazy due to recent rain, and all looked gauzy for awhile, then became clearer.

Thanks for the photos JP. They are great.

I should have set up a tripod and it was so darn humid that my camera lens just wouldn't unfog quickly.

I blame my unpreparedness on being sick.

The show was just spectacular, blood red pink luscious and eerie! Like a pink flamingo moon, or the inside of a pink grapefruit with a weird glow.

Doubt that I will be around for the next one, at least in human form.

Enjoy the day all!

Drspin is going to work today, first time in a week.

I reiterate, please, if you fall in the risk category, get the flu shot. drspin was waiting until the beginning of October, and sadly the bug was waiting for him earlier.

Spinnaker2, so glad you got to enjoy the show and not get eaten by the nasty bugs! Good to hear that you are on the mend! Love your descriptions of the colours! You are a poetess!

[mysty]

Jeff, I really should have known better than to use poor Frances. She is heart-broken now and Old Betsy is gloating. :( Oh well. Live and hopefully learn.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Missed the whole magilla in Istanbul. Too cloudy and polluted.

 

If I had been offered a choice between Istanbul and my "goings on" in my back garden I would have taken the kebab in a heart beat.

 

Really enjoy that trip and do keep us informed!

 

Sadly my favourite eatery in Istanbul is now shut. I have this effect on places. Visit. Tell everyone. Shut down.

 

Hacibaba RIP.

 

Jeff

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=hacibaba+istanbul&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAmoVChMIncTfoeyZyAIVBLMUCh34QghQ&biw=1280&bih=617&dpr=1.5

 

We use to sit outside and wait for them to open. They would feel sorry for us and let us in. We'd sit in the terace overlooking the mosque and cats. They'd bring us wine and nibbles until they opened

 

 

Edited September 28, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff, I really should have known better than to use poor Frances. She is heart-broken now and Old Betsy is gloating. :( Oh well. Live and hopefully learn.

 

 

It is best not to learn and hopefully live. We have JP. Delegate.

 

:D

 

Jeff

[UKCruiseJeff]

I furtively tell you about our table today in Trattoria Siciliana. ;)

 

Once again something on my mind not eaten anywhere before that had to be tried and plated but is unamed.

 

I fried some Italien meat balls, and flash boiled and fried some fresh gnocci with those balls. I made a buttery and creamy sauce from Noily, button mushrooms, long braised red onion and veg boillon ... lots of double cream ....lots of butter ...and chopped parsley and mixed the whole shebang together for a final bake and drunk a lot of Picpoul. Next time, we will leave the meatballs out which were a distraction and unecessary imho.

 

This is it.

 

ps Wifey liked it and scoffed it up.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[mysty]

Jeff, that is a very imaginative dish! And it looks incredible! I wish I had the palate to cook like that. My problem is that I can't imagine flavours or how they would possibly pair. I need recipes and even then, my success rate is abysmal.

[TLCOhio]

Jeff, that is a very imaginative dish! And it looks incredible! I wish I had the palate to cook like that. My problem is that I can't imagine flavours or how they would possibly pair. I need recipes and even then, my success rate is abysmal.

 

YES!! YES!! That dish looks great and is very imaginative. Appreciate this posting.

 

Fun to read from Jeff: "Sadly my favourite eatery in Istanbul is now shut. I have this effect on places. Visit. Tell everyone. Shut down."

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 121,502 views for this posting.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeff, that is a very imaginative dish! And it looks incredible! I wish I had the palate to cook like that. My problem is that I can't imagine flavours or how they would possibly pair. I need recipes and even then, my success rate is abysmal.

 

Thanks M, that is very kind. I think you might have in fact put your finger on it.

 

I do not know whether this is in all people, or whether it is acquired or taught. I presumed we all do the same taste wise. For example, I can hear a cookery programme talking through a recipe and they will prepare a meal and add ingredients. As they are added, I can "taste" it as it progresses. I will often say "that needs a bit more salt". I have always thought all of us were the same and that we could taste as we hear. Wifey says not which confuses me. :confused:

 

So when i create something from scratch and imagination, I can have a taste created purely n my mind with textures and then ingredients .... then make it. I always presumed we all operated in the same way. That is why so much of what I cook I haven't eaten anywhere before.

 

This meal wifey thinks would be something an Austrian would do, I think it is Italian. We will never know.

 

Jeff

 

ps this would be a perfect SS meal imho ie inexpensive, I think impressive, bulk preparable and possibly elegantly presented in a bowl plate.

 

 

EDITED: thanks Terry ...

Edited September 28, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[jpalbny]

Jeff, I could see that dish in either Northern Italy (Südtirol) or in the Ticino region of Austria. I think you are both right! Would taste great with Grüner Veltliner or a nice Pinot Grigio.

 

I cook a little like you but still need a baseline idea of a recipe, before I modify it. One of the fun parts of travel is all the new foods you taste. They just add to the number of combinations you can whip up at home!

[mysty]

Your wife is right (yet again :)) Jeff! It may be innate or it may be acquired but it is not universal! Unless of course, I am the odd man out here. It is not my experience. I have never been able to imagine food tastes. I enjoy eating but I can't create with food. And so your wife is blessed when it comes to your meals! :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks M ....

 

JP, yes a Gruner would have been perfect. It's annoying that Gruner is so cheap in Austria but the few we get in the UK seems too expensive for a really young wine. We only had one visit to Vienna this year and we miss Gruner in quarter litre mugs. The Picpoul to me tastes very similar ... perhaps a touch more refined. I agree with what you say travel wise, the game changer for me was the discovery of Asian cuisines which seem to be so varied. It has led to so much discovery for me and also feeds my passion for "cheats" ie the belief that if you can get 90% there, then you should be content because trying to do the extra effort for the extra 10% often takes you further back rather than forward.

 

For example something that would horrify many, last night I had some chinese chicken spcey dim sum in some chicken consome and it was certainly 110% there for me but most people don't think of how they might construct what they want from what is readily available. Why would I make that stock and try to make dumplings. Would they really be better or worst than what I ate for a bit of imaginitive combining.

 

Of course a slug of Fino is entirely optional for anyone else and I guess makes it not Asian anymore, but I am not constrained by these considerations and it made a really lovely supper and took my 90% of the way back to Singapore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was identical to the best of what I eat .... and here are some authentic versions ..

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=asian+soup+with+dumpling&biw=1280&bih=617&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI9q7jz5uayAIVBDAaCh1X7Qz-

 

 

 

Jeff

Edited September 28, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[jpalbny]

Jeff - somehow I missed your picture earlier... love the bright glow and haze next to the dark tree branches in crisp focus. Nice! I took a few like that early on while the moon was still on the horizon, full and yellow (the Harvest Moon). But the orb is overexposed and therefore lacks detail through the branches.

 

I wonder if HDR on max range would capture the tree branch without overexposing the moon? I didn't try any HDR shots last night, which might have helped capture the red glow of the eclipsed portion, without overexposing the remaining uneclipsed crescent. Oh well; I had a blast changing settings as the light changed.

 

And it was nice to rediscover that awesome 500 mm zoom lens, which I had forgotten about! I will have to consider whether I want to lug it to Madagascar for our next wildlife photographing safari...

 

**

 

We had a great time this past weekend in the Finger Lakes with our travel pals. The six of us had good laughs, good meals, and tasted a lot of great wine. We were more selective than we sometimes are, and only came home with 2-1/2 cases this time. This includes a 2005 Riesling that is drinking incredibly well right now but could age another few years, and a few newer reds (2012 Lemberger AKA Blaufränkisch, and 2013 Cab Franc) that need a few years in the bottle. They are safely stashed in the bottom shelf of the wine fridge where they can rest undisturbed until their time comes.

 

There are a few New York wineries growing Gruner Veltliner. Their version is a little bit bland but occasionally they have a good vintage and it's pretty tasty.

 

Picpoul is tasty, if I'm thinking about the same grape... From the Langue d'Oc region of France? We have enjoyed a few bottles of that in summers past.

Edited September 28, 2015 by jpalbny

[UKCruiseJeff]

Thanks. Sadly, I suspect that mastering the camera is a bit like DIY and sadly I was unable to work out how to manually focus the camera and it seemed to have some problems coping without help. I did try HDR on auto and full range but it didn't really work. I found a full size tripod I had bought on an Amazon flash sale some time ago and had forgotten. Last night was clearly a DSLR night. ;)

 

This was a close as I got to the moon ...

 

 

That wine sounds lovely JP. The Picpoul was bought in bulk a month or two back. I think it was around 8 cases. Sadly my Samsung wine fridge has largely become a passthru store as it only goes down to 4 degrees but I think is more like 5 or 6 and so we have a second standard fridge that is kept lower. The Picpoul offer earned me miles and effectively we are being paid to drink it for the next few weeks. It is a lovely Langeudoc wine and is an all rounder seafood and fish wine.

 

I'm surprised your a Riesling drinker as a lot of what you've mentioned seems to be young fresh, lemony sharp,wines rather than flowery and fuller. I seem to have morphed into a singular path of oaked reds and very young light as possible whites with roses being completely light. I hate roses that are almost syrupy and over flowery, Bone dry in white and rose. And deep and heavy reds.

 

Jeff.

Edited September 28, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff