MovingPictures

My Weight Loss, 510 Pounds to 248 Pounds...

The New Face of Liberty...

A Liberty Tax waver in Ypsilanti, Michigan...

64 Gig Verizon Black iPad 2, Canon XH-A1s for Sale...

64 Gig Verizon Black iPad 2 for Sale...comes with a Gumdrop iPad cover, box and original charger. Bought for $829, plus $70 for the case, looking to get $775 obo - E-mail me at [email protected] if interested. Also selling a Canon XH-A1s on ebay, check out the sale HERE.

My Canon XH-A1s for Sale on eBay...

My Canon XH-A1s for sale on eBay...

Go to Bid HERE...

Canon XH-A1s for Sale...

Have a Canon XH-A1s for sale, like new, have box and everything with it, extra batteries, asking $2700, e-mail me @ [email protected] if interested...I will entertain offers!

 

 

A New Slideshow Trial...

I am experimenting with the program called SoundSlides, hope you like it...

Tornado Caught Close to Home Today...

I caught a tornado tonight just South of Van Wert, Ohio looking south on SR 127. The leading edge of the tornado is visible, but the back end was rain wrapped. The death toll for the tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri yesterday is up to 116, with search and rescue still continuing.

Audio From Rescue Efforts in Joplin, Missouri...

 

JoplinAftermath

I searched on my iPhone and found the Jasper County Missouri Law Enforcement audio feed and recorded just over 30 minutes of their rescue efforts tonight in Joplin, MO. It is a haunting, interesting look at what these people have to deal with in the wake of a disaster like tonight's tornado. Click the above bar for audio clip.

G-Form Extreme iPad Case, in my Hands, in Time...

The G-Form Extreme iPad Sleeve on my desk today.

With the help of Cathy from G-Form, I now have in my hot little hands one of their newest products to protect my iPad for my upcoming storm chase into the plains, before its official release. The G-Form iPad Extreme Sleeve™ protects your iPad or iPad2 from impact by utilizing RPT-Reactive Protection Technology, a combination of PORON® XRD™ material and proprietary G-Form design and manufacturing. The Extreme Sleeve™ is water-resistant, soft, flexible, lightweight and changes its molecular structure on impact. Cathy tells me it is a bit of miracle molecular manipulation that makes the sleeve so impact resistant. They have a bunch of great products and I recommend a visit to their website.

On the Ground for 450 Miles, Four States, no words...

Image by Brian Tang.

No words can describe the radar montage of the most impressive supercell from 04/27/11 massive tornado outbreak. This cell traveled about 450 miles and lasted over 8 hours, and was on the ground through four states! It also was responsible for the large, violent tornado that caused the destruction in Tuscaloosa, the North side of Birmingham, Alabama and a number of other cities in its destructive. NOAA has put up a special webpage on the April 2011 tornado information page.

An image of the tornado as Tuscaloosa, AL, the big purple dot is the debris ball.

The National Weather Service preliminary tornado track map fro 04/27/11.

04/27/11 Tornado Outbreak Captured from Space...

Apologies to All, But Just Wait, it's Worth It...

I would like to apologize to the people that have been downloading my Diana Lite app and then decide to upgrade to my full "The DIana" app for the Digital Diana camera function. The app has been held up in the iTunes store and should be approved any day. All of the holders of version 1.1 of "The Diana" will get the major upgrade to the new app with the Digital Diana camera function. I encourage you to shoot away, with the app, and then have fun in Photoshop with your images. You can lighten or darken the border or the image, play with the saturation, throw in some blur where you want it, make the image your own.

Get "The Diana" app now in the iTunes store. - Thanks, Allan Detrich

Digital Diana Photo...

A Few New Things in the Works for "The Diana" app...

I have a few new tweaks to my Diana Camera app. that is on sale in the iTunes store HERE. The app. icon that will be on your phone will have a new look, see the above photo. Plus the app will have updated photos, and a new "Digital Diana" photo feature. I am hoping to get the new version released in a few weeks, but is still under construction. With the release of this app, I will also release a "Lite" version of the original app. which will be free. Everyone that has already purchased my Diana app. will get the new features of the "Full" app. since they have already purchased the app for .99 cents. I will keep you informed on the firm release date.

New iPhone Camera is a Fun Art Project...

I got my new iPhone 4 this week and have been impressed with the new camera system, a 5 mega-pixel camera that you can select the focus point and also the point of exposure. We went to the beach yesterday for my son Noah's birthday party, alot of family came to the annual bash. I pointed the camera and shot away. I got some neat photos of my mom and day and the grandkids. I also used a new program I got for the iPhone, Plastic Bullet, which gives your photos the feel of using old, plastic toy cameras, kinda like the Diana cameras I used to collect. You can see all the Plastic Bullet variations HERE.

 

New iPhone in Hand, In and Out in 35 Minutes...

I must say I timed it right today as my son Noah and I ventured to the Crocker Park Apple store in Cleveland. I was one of the luck people to get a reservation on the 15th through the Apple website, just before it crashed and shut down the pre-order business for Apple and ATT. My plan was to head to the store and get there about 11:15 a.m., figuring the 7:00 a.m. morning rush would be gone and the lunch crowd would not be there yet. Well...at least I was right about the noon lunch crowd not being there yet. First, we were lucky and got a parking spot just a few stores down from the Apple store, my parking luck strikes again. As Noah and I walked up to the store, we saw hundreds of people lined up waiting for their turn to enter the store in search of their new phones, congratulations to Steve Jobs for doing it again. 

We asked a store employee where to go if you had a confirmed reservation to pick up a phone, and she pointed in the direction of the line, which wrapped around the building. I asked "that line" and pointed to the multitude of people hovering in the shade. She replied "no" this line and pointed to a little string of six people, to the left of the big line, thankfully this was the reservation line. We quickly took our place in line and started to chat with others expressing their thanks that they too, had reserved a phone over the internet. The two lines merged as we got closer to the front door of the store. We started to chat with some of the people and found that they had gotten in line at about midnight last night, it was now almost 12 hours later. I had promised my old iPhone 3 to my son to use as an iPod touch, he was playing with it in line and was video taped by a local Cleveland TV station. I asked for the phone back and figured I would use the camera for its last official act for me. I snapped a few photos of people in the lines. At this point in time, it was our turn to visit the Disneyland for gadget freaks, the Apple store.

I was greeted by an employee and was given my phone in just a few minutes and then sent to another table for activation, meantime Noah was playing with all the Apple products and was having a good old time. I was done and we left the store, in just about 35 minutes, not a bad day. Now home to sync it and figure out all the new functions.

The line outside the Apple store in Cleveland.

A couple of Apple fans that have waited in line for 12 hours.

Techno Solution to Wedding Ring Photo Problem...

When I shoot a wedding I always shoot a macro detail shot of the couples wedding rings as part of my nights routine during dinner service. Last night dinner was being served and I approached the newly married couple for their rings. I was handed a semi-traditional gold  and diamond wedding ring from the bride, and the groom handed me a black, titanium wedding ring. I had not seen anything like that before and as my shoot progressed, it presented a tricky problem. I usually shoot the rings with the brides flowers or something that is relevant to the couple or wedding ceremony, see a slideshow of my wedding ring photos HERE. The problem I had with this ring was that it was BLACK, and presented no reflections or details at all. It just photographed like a BLACK blob compared to light colored flowers. I tried different things for about a half hour during dinner and was getting very frustrated. I then got a text message from my friend Chris to my iPhone sitting on the table beside me, then it hit me...

I would use the calendar function on the phone and input an entry into the calendar that says Wedding Day for June 19th. I laid the black ring on the screen and then the gold ring leaned up against the other ring, creating a nice light on the diamond and gold band. Solution found, photo created, and the bride and groom loved the photo...

Another satisfied customer...

Below is another photo from last night...

New iPhone 4 ordered...

Got my iPhone 4 pre-ordered today, get to pick it up on the 24th like the other 4 million people that were on the Apple site trying to pre-order theirs at the same time, what a pain in the ass it was to get through to the server...

Waiting For Storms in Eastern Iowa...

We got to Eastern Iowa yesterday and have set up for todays storms, which gives us a 10% tornado probability. We spent the night in Davenport, Iowa, had a nice Mexican dinner at a local joint called Papi's. I went to a local casino and won $230.00, this will help finance my trip, ha. When I got back it was time to hit the bed and even though it was close to time for SPC to update their new Day One outlook, we tried to sleep. Minutes later I saw my chase partner Chris Howell checking the outlook on his phone in bed and snapped this shot with my new Canon 1D Mark IV, shot at 1/6th of a second at f/4, at 5000 asa, truly amazing, only the light of his phone was used for this shot...

MINT 10.1mp Canon 40D and BG-E2n Grip for Sale...

Have an absolutely MINT 10.1 mp Canon 40D and BG-E2n battery grip for sale - $900.00 - e-mail me at [email protected] if interested - See Photos HERE.

For Sale - Sony HVR-Z7U - Mint ++ LOTS OF EXTRAS!!!

Sony HVR-Z7U - Mint PLUS LOTS OF EXTRAS!!!!!!

See it on Ebay, and contact me at [email protected] for details or sale, little use, must sell soon!! 

Thanks,

Allan

Canon 5D Mark II for Sale Soon...

Going to be selling my Canon 5D Mark II and grip and extra batteries soon, let me know if you might be interested, it is MINT. Email me @ [email protected].

For a Point and Shoot, Canon G11 Great in Low Light...

ISO 1600 1/8th at f/2.8

I got a new Canon G11 last night from Cleveland and have been playing with it all day, Canon boasted the the new camera (10 MP) was good up to 3200 ISO, and it seems to be true. I have shot the camera in near dark with great results. The shot above is included in a large size for comparison, just click on it and wait. Here is a LINK to some more snaps from this afternoon.

Canon G7 Plus Extras for Sale...

I have a Canon G7 for sale, (10.0 Mega Pixel) which is like new, in the box with 3 batteries and conversion lens adapter for sale for $325.00 plus shipping, if interested, BID HERE!!

For Those of You That Think the World is Ending...

Here is a real-time Google map that you can track all of the cases of Swine Flu in Ohio, New York, California, Mexico, or wherever you are, CLICK HERE to track the case nearest you!

Quickly Becoming a HD Snob, and Loving it...

We just got a 40 inch Sony Bravia HD TV, wow, it is amazing what we have been missing! My Dad and brother have had HD TVs for a while, we got a pretty big tax refund, so we found a great deal at Wal Mart and pulled the lever and bought one. My HD package all came together in one day, the TV and stand came in at the store and our HD DVR came via Fed Ex in the morning. Noah and I picked up the TV and stand at the store after school, and put together the stand after supper. Then I cracked open the TV box and plugged in all the wires. The HD reviever needed to be activated and after a little call to DirecTV, I was on my way to HD. I then had to figure out the imput used and BAM, welcome to the 21st century. You first need to know we have been watching TV on an ancient 19 inch TV and a smaller one in my office. Our 32 inch TV died last spring so for a year now we have had TV envy. My wife said a 32 inch would have been better, and I though a 46 inch would have been better, so we compromized. Thankfully we decided to pull the trigger, just in time for March Madness. Lets go Memphis!!!!!

First Mobile Post...

I moved into the world of high tech yesterday, I splurged and bought an iPhone. Yay for new toys, anyway, this is my first phoned-in blog test from sunny Cleveland, Ohio. Remember, this Is only a test, had this been an actual emergency you would have been asked to tune to your local stations for further instructions.

My Apple MacBook Lives...

The other day my MacBook locked up and so I attempted many times to re-start the thing and it decided it did not like something, and would not re-boot and flashed me the big old ? mark. There was not much I could do, so I took it to the Apple store in Westlake today and had one of the "Genius'" look at it. He hooked his diagnostic hard drive to it, and within 15 minutes, it was up and running. As far as I am concerned, he earned every bit of his title today. They also offered to fix the cracked case for the same price if I left it there. When I get it back in a couple of days, it should be almost like brand new. I also got the latest OS for it and a few new programs, can't wait to get it back! It has been a couple of long days without it this weekend!

New Flickr Tornado Chaser Group...

I recently joined Flickr to archive my enormous amount of photos and have been working on organizing them. I began to explore the groups and found none dedicated to storm chasing, so I created one. Any of you storm chasers out there that would like to join, I would love to have you, and help me spread the word. Click HERE to go to the site and Join, see you there and in the plains in a few months!! You can also go HERE to see my Flickr photostream, enjoy!

Canon 40D Plus Extras in Box for Sale...

I have a Canon 40D like new in box, plus extra batteries and BG-E2 battery grip in box for sale for $1100.00 if interested, e-mail me at [email protected].

The Shortest (and Coldest) Day of the Year...

I must admit, December 21st has always been one of my favorite days of the winter months. Although it is the shortest day of the year, it also marks the time that the days start to get longer. This also means that Spring and the storm chasing season will be getting here in a very short time. The druids always celebrated the different solstices sometimes by dancing naked in the woods, but I hate to say that they would freeze off some very private body parts if they did it in the vicinity of Fremont, Ohio tonight. The temp right now is -1 Degree F, in this winter wonderland. The sunset tonight was at 5:06 p.m. and I took this photo of Orion (I am pretty sure), virtually in the dark, with my new 5D Mark II, at 3200 ISO at 1/5th of a second at f/2.8.

Some Quick Snaps With my New EOS 5D Mark II...

I just got my Canon EOS 5D Mark II and have been playing around with it some higher ISO speeds and I must say, it is living up to the hype generated on the internet before its release. I shot at either 3200 or 6400 and the grain is minimal. I am posting some quick shots here, and am very impressed with the grain structure. I am looking forward to taking this camera storm chasing next year, will be great for those twilight tornadoes. The bottom shot is from my porch, during a slight snow here in Fremont, shot hand held, at 3200 ISO.

Got Half of My New Camera...

I recently had a theft of my truck and most of my camera gear. I have slowly rebuilt most of it, but decided to wait for the new Canon 5D Mark II, the new 21 mega-pixel, full frame camera that also shoots high def video. The camera is very hard to get at this point, but the word from those that have gotten the new hybrid is that it is amazing. Some of the videos that have been posted on the internet are pretty amazing also. Today I got the battery grip I ordered and am still waiting for my camera, ordered from several places, hoping it comes through soon. My one week of shooting video in Cleveland this month was put off till January, making next month very busy. I will be shooting in Cleveland 22 days next month; what a month that will be. I will let you know how the Canon 5D Mark II is when the camera half arrives, in the mean time, I will be playing with my new point and shoot, the Canon G10, so far it looks great! The video below by Dan Chung was shot with the Canon 5D Mark II.

Canon 5D Mark II - One Night in Beijing from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Massive Earthquake in Indonesia...

CNN/AP reporting a massive 7.7 mag earthquake has just occurred in Indonesia with a tsunami warning issued right away. More to come...

Sirius - XM Merger Finally Complete...

Friday evening the FCC finally got off their asses and did their civic duty and voted 3-2, agreeing that Sirius-XM merger would not be a monopoly of choices for mobile entertainment in the in-car entertainment market after 17 months of screwing around. The Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the merger over three months ago, The National Association of Broadcasters tried to buy off Senators and Congressmen to influence the FCC, and to stop the merger. Frankly, if the terrestrial broadcasters had something worth listening to, they would not to have to worry about the merger. This merger of two satellite radio stations took twice as long as the Exxon-Mobile merger of two oil companies which affects each and every person in this country, and we now have $4.00 gas. Maybe the government should have paid a little more attention to this merger and not the Sirius-XM merger, which will NOT affect over 280 million people in the United States if you do not subscribe. I think this will be a great thing for subscribers, I travel alot and Sirius is the best thing ever invented! So go out today and get yourself a Sirius radio and enjoy...

Sirius-ly Cool New Developments for Satellite Radio...