Kent Shafer

<p>Finally got around to repurposing the old Gra Lab as a kitchen timer. (When those hard cooked eggs are done, we <em>know</em> it, and probably our neighbors do too.)</p><div></div>

<p>Friends' cat, Zebra, guarding the window sill.</p><div></div>

<p>Lens repair estimate from Nikon website: US$600.</p>

<p>Thanks, everyone, for the sympathy and good wishes. And thank you, Shun for the links and reminder that things may not be as bad as they first appeared.</p> <p>When the accident happened, I was so disgusted that I just picked up the pieces and shut them away in the camera bag without looking too closely. Out of sight, out of mind. Today I finally decided to have a look. It seems the lens did break cleanly at the mount. Apart from that, there's no sign of external damage to the lens assembly, the lens shade, or the camera, and the camera seems to work just fine.</p> <p>So maybe this will need only the simple 15-minute repair job Bjorn describes in the first thread cited above. (Even so, it will probably cost more than the 25¢ and bottle of beer my grandfather used to pay for handyman work. ;<) )</p>

<p>And . . .</p><div></div>

<p>On a cheerier note than my post above, here are a couple of happy images from the 2014 Bowl-4-Animal-Rescue fundraiser, both made with the D700 and now-deceased 24-70 wide open at ISO 3200.</p><div></div>

<p>Last Saturday I shot pictures at the annual Bowl-4-Animal-Rescue event sponsored by pro bowlers Michelle Mullen and Aleta Sill. The event was successful, and I got some decent shots despite doing stupid stuff.</p> <p>First, while preparing for the event, I inadvertently put alkaline batteries in the Maha charger. One of them exploded, spewed its vital fluids, and wrecked the charger.</p> <p>Then I spent over an hour trying to clean a stubborn spot off the sensor before realizing it was actually a spot on the wall I was using for a test target.</p> <p>And finally, worst of all, near the end of the event I stupidly (stupidly!) left my D700 and 24-70 near the edge of a table where people were walking around. Someone brushed by and accidently knocked it off, breaking the lens off at its base and doing God-knows-what to the camera.</p> <p>This is the picture the camera made by itself as it hit the hard tiled floor. </p><div></div>

<p>I don't have any personal experience with the 85mm f/1.4 AIS but would just note that Bjørn Rørslett says the AF-D version (which I have and love) is better than the AIS (at wide apertures). Since the AF-D is available for around $750 from KEH (EX with caps and shade), I wouldn't pay $800 for the AIS version.</p>

<p>And this, much cropped because I didn't have a longer lens and was afraid to get any closer.</p><div></div>

<p>A couple of bugs for me this week.</p><div></div>

<p>My Retina IIIc has the 50mm f/2 Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon.</p>

<p>Thanks, robert and Chuck.</p>

<p>From last fall:</p><div></div>

<p>And . . .</p><div></div>

<p>Brief but intense hail storm yesterday here in suburban Detroit.</p><div></div>

<p>I also use a Weston Master V. When Mr. Milton at Quality Light Metrics replaced the selenium cell about a year ago, he told me it was the last one he had and, so far as he knew, the last one available in the world. I don't know whether other models use different cells so don't know if what he told me applied only to the Master V.</p>

<p>From earlier this year.</p><div></div>

<p>Life is just a . . .</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks, Allan.</p>

<p>.</p><div></div>

<p>Daphne and the bubble machine.</p><div></div>

<p>I sent KEH a link to this thread.</p>

<p>Oops! Here's the picture.</p><div></div>

<p>We've had a fair bit of rain here in southeast Michigan, but also plenty of good sunbathing weather.</p>

<p>Really fun to reminisce—thanks, Marc. </p>