Invertalon

GCI's IMO offer the best airtime... I just LOVE how they pack ejector air into the curvy dips and hops throughout the course. I prefer this over the standard straight hills for sure. I love me some Wildcat, Thunderhead, Roar, etc... Lightning Racer has probably the least forceful layout, and doesn't count

We have a few pets... My husky, Kobi... We have another dog, Nellie (Rot/Lab/Hound hybrid) a canary (Charlie) and four chickens. Pictures below of Kobi, Nellie and our chickens. We live in the middle of Cleveland, but they allow permits to raise hens. We get 3-4 eggs per day, and are such awesome pets. Friendly, run right up to you. Delicious treats they leave behind as well! They are great fun... You would never think! Kobi Brodie... Our White Leghorn, our most crazy hen. She is so funny. Ms. Waddles... Just roaming around the yard. Barb and Tilly... They are Barred Rocks. Nellie, our other dog!

A shot from my trip a few weeks ago to Orlando. MIB at twilight... Wish the stroller was not where it was, but I could not wait for somebody to remove it. I hope to do some careful editing to remove it though eventually. Took my gorillapod focus with me to be able to capture some nice twilight/night shots at the parks. Such a great choice to travel with when you can not bring the large tripod. 5D Mark II Samyang 14mm f/2.8 @ f/8

Super excited to see the new mat racers, they appear to be an 8-lane proslide octopus model... (edit: did not see above comment about this... here is link to product page). http://www.proslide.com/rides_07_b.php I will actually check the waterpark out this year there, no doubt.

No ride. Hell, two hours is about my limit really. I am by far a credit whore though... I have been to many parks where I skip rides because they are not worth my time. I only ride the ones I want, care less about the ones I don't! But yeah, two hours is about it. I prefer to keep it under about an hour though.

I look forward to the new management, for sure. I have high hopes for this guy.

With all due respect, they look like a bunch of poorly thrown together photoshop filters. And again, no hard feelings or anything... I think every single one of those images would look much better in the natural state. They look way to "abstract" to be considered dreamscapes, especially if you look at well done ones. They should give you the sensation of a dream, great depth of a mood or feeling, etc... not like your high on LSD

That is my good ole' 135 f/2L... If there is a lens that offers amazing bokeh, it is that one! Wide open at f/2.

Few from the Pittsburgh Aviary this weekend. IMG_8399.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr IMG_8433.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr IMG_8452.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr IMG_8341.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr IMG_8331.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr IMG_8408.jpg by invertalon, on Flickr

Sure they do, all the time. Most B&M's come with pre-installed trims right out of the factory. Maverick had them as well (as well as many new Intamin rides do).

Can't wait for this ride... I will be there close to opening day for it, for sure.

They were claiming over a million lights were used for the event. I was just suprised how complete it all looked, especially for a first-time event. It looked like they have been doing it for years as they did a really nice job with it all. Like I said above, I hope it expands next year to include more of the park.

Some pictures from this first annual event at Kennywood... The crowd was quite large and the park looked great. They really did an awesome job with the lights. For the price, it was a great way to spend an hour or two at the park with a few select rides open as well. I hope next year they expand the event to more of the park, maybe including the full size turtle. Some of the rides open include the kiddy area, Auto Race, The Kangaroo, Aero 360, Merry-Go-Round and a few other rides. On to the pictures... Higher resolution files can be found here: You can get $2 off picking up a coupon at Giant Eagle locally Hanging from Sky Rocket Santa was located inside the Racer station Ice carving Even the aliens brought gifts! Kangroo is awesome. Penguin Display... Fitting, no? View from across the lake... They had a light show that followed along to music. Around the lake they sold hot cocoa, smores and had bondfires to keep warm. Bye bye Santa! Final shot of the tree before heading out.

I was at the Holiday event this past Saturday... It was really, really nice. I was suprised for a first time event how well done it was. I got pictures from it I will post later tonight hopefully. It was very busy as well. I can see this expanding next year already into a larger area of the park (and hopefully more rides, like the turtle!).

Terrible... "DISLIKE"

Honestly for me (for the ones I actually care about), the least exciting one to me is Hershey's... I mean it looks fun and all, but I much look more forward to the other rides (Leviathan, Wild Eagle & X-Flight). I am sure I will enjoy them all though. I don't really like to judge before I ride, it's kind of silly.

Real, It is really nice at the Columbus Zoo... Never been to the Toledo Zoo, but Columbus has nice displays everywhere you look. Cleveland Zoo back when they had Zoo Lights was nothing compared (although still nice). The day we went it was packed, but not a big deal since just walking around looking at lights anyway. We enjoy going every year. That is a nice picture of the Tiger, can I give one suggestion though? Straighten the "horizon" so the eyes lay equal distance from the top. I noticed it right away that it appeared "crooked". If you wanted it crooked no problem, just giving a friendly suggestion! I think it would make it look better though. I miss having my telephotos when I go to zoo's and such... At one point I had 300mm and 400mm lenses, along with my TC's and my 7D (1.6x crop). So at one point I had the equiv. of 672mm of reach @ f/5.6… But after switching to the 5D2 I sold off those lenses and currently 200mm is my limit, 280mm with a TC. I may pick up the 300 or 400 again though to use, but I just feel like I may not use them often enough. I been more on a wider kick ever since I got my 5D... Oh well, that is the fun of it, right? Swapping gear all the time... I may just pick up a 7D again or a 50D, I seen a few 7D’s selling for just around $1000 now… The crop factor with my 70-200 and TC will give me 448mm again when I need it, versus more lenses.

I have reallllly bad white coat syndrome. So bad, I had to buy a monitor to check it myself at home and record it a few times a month and report to my doctor every physical. Normally, my B.P. is 134/78 or so... Still elevated, but I am improving that. Changing diet and stuff. My resting pulse is around 64. At the doctors, my B.P. is usually 155/85.. My last visit before my out-patient surgery, it was 170/100 or something... The lady wondered if I was OK, really concerned. I told her I was fine and just have a bad case of WCS... This happens at the dentist too when they check it there for whatever reason. I just get really stressed out I guess, because I don't feel all that hyped up. The 170/100 was my highest recorded ever, though! My doctor did confirm my B.P. monitor I use at home is accurate to his, though. I don't know why, but it just shoots up when people take it besides myself. Even those stupid things in stores by the pharmacy. Stresses me out!

Another panoramic from me, taken at Columbus Zoo Lights this past weekend. It is composed of 55 full size images, stitched together in CS5. I had to reduce the size down quite a bit to upload to Flickr... It is only 44% of it's original size, still huge though.... 11,000 pixel across. The original is 25,000 pixel on the wide end. If you click on the image, view original size. Columbus Zoo WildLights Panoramic by invertalon, on Flickr Also, a picture from GL at the end of the season. Wildwater Kingdom @ GL by invertalon, on Flickr

We went to CW for the first time for the Haunt this year... It was such a great park. This ride will add another *needed* ride, as it has many lack-luster rides. I have NO problem at all with two monster B&M's in one park. The more, the better! I will be there in spring to ride this beast. I can't wait! Glad I am only about four hours away.

Everyday Shoes: New Balance 998's (Black) Size 15 - 4E Wide. Work Boots: (2) Pair of Timberland Boots. One Steel Toe Pro - Metguard and the other a standard steeltoe brown work boot.

That is the only downfall, those quick-deals that you always seem to miss. I hate that! I almost bit the bullet on a used 7D for like $1050 I believe it was, mint. That is a great price. I would not mind having two bodies again. Especially the 7D/5D2 combo. It would be nice to get the extra reach with a few of my lenses and have the ability at some of the events I shoot to have two bodies with two different lenses and not having to swap. I will keep looking I suppose

I had and used the 50 1.8 for well over a year. I got it for like $60 cash locally and it was a fun little lens. But once I start using much better lenses it fell to the backburner. The build is like a fisher price toy at best. Optically it is not bad, but background blur is not nearly as nice as many other lenses (bokehhhhh!) and the AF is clunky. The 50 1.4 improves in all the areas the 1.8 falls short. My buddy has one and loves it. I never used it personally. The 430 II flash is great. Like you, I could not justify the price of the 580 for myself. I simply don't use flash enough. I have always been more of a natural light type of person, but use it when I really need it. When I have used it, I was surprised at the range of it. Where I thought there was no way it would reach so far it would. I have been impressed with it. Where do you get your gear used? Have you ever been on the Canon (photography on the net) forums or Fred Miranda? That is where I buy all my used camera gear. Honest sellers, very detailed on condition and history (for the most part). I have snagged some amazing deals there. I always try to avoid flea-bay myself. Especially for selling, as you avoid the insane eBay fee’s. So you make a lot more money when you sell as well on those forums. I always try to get my gear used… You can save some really good money that way and eliminate much of the depreciation. The little lenses actually have. I can sell almost every lens I own for more then I paid. That is one good thing about this hobby... Prices may be insane up front, but if you ever need to unload your gear or exchange for other lenses, you get 95%+ of your money back if you got a good deal on it new or bought it used for a good price. Plus with all the Canon price increases and such, a few of my lenses are worth more than I paid now. So at least it is not a permanent money pit. I have a ton invested in my gear, so it is nice to know I can get almost all my money back if I had to sell it off. Good luck with your decision!

I got my B&H catelog today as well. Mine looked a bit abused though, lol Would you really mind the gap between 70mm and 100mm if you went with the 24-70? It would only require a few steps forward or back if need be with either lens to fill the gap. I really love my 24-105 as a walkaround, personally. Would love the f/2.8 aperture, but I would rather take less weight and IS for my general zoom. I used the 28-105 on my bosses camera at work and hate it. Mostly the build quality though. The L zooms just have such good build quality and have much better IQ. You will be very happy with either choice, for sure. Both amazing lenses! I am waiting for the 24-70 II before I consider that one, though! I used the 24-105 on my 7D and it was an amazing combo. Not the widest lens, but very usable. Have you looked at the 17-55 f/2.8? That lens is awesome on crop bodies as a walkaround. Not much reach on the long end though. So many options... Between the 50's, go for the 1.4... The 1.8 is not bad, but you get so many improvenance in build, AF and IQ to make it worth the upcharge.

High end IPS monitors may be calibrated very well from the factory, but you pay big money for them. I bought a $250 Dell IPS and used my Spyder 3 to calibrate it. The viewing angle is amazing compared to the TN(?) type LCD I had prior. If you shifted just a hair off center the colors changed and it was just terrible. IPS displays eliminate that color shift and the colors are beautiful from even the most crazy viewing angles. I love it. Not to mention this screen is more matte finish, so glare is no problem either. I love it! I would go for a nice mid-level IPS and pick up a Spyder3 monitor calibration device. They are very easy to run. Just install the software, select your settings (default, really) and chose what adjustments you have available to you... RGB Sliders, Brightness, Contrast, etc... The program will then run a quick color test, and you will adjust the RGB sliders until you get the targets in the middle of the ideal settings. Once there, you let it run another quick check. You will then adjust the brightness level until you hit the target of 120 cm/d (default). It will then run the final color check for a few minutes where it creates a profile that boots with your computer each time you start it. Every 30 days or so it will have you re-check your calibration because over time they do change. But it is really easy to do and makes a big difference! The Spyder3 Pro will even monitor light levels for you if you want it to, but I just disable that feature. Here is a link to the Spyder on B&H website: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/525535-REG/Datacolor_DC_S3P100_Spyder3Pro_Display_Calibration_System.html Note: They also have cheaper versions that have more limited features. Not sure of the differences though personally. But you can look through and see if a cheaper model will be a better fit. You could also just buy the device and use it on your current monitor. Most likely your monitor is either too cool or warm, which is why your prints are not matching. It can be really frustrating (it was for me). This device fixed everything. The photos I print at home on my Canon 9000 II or the ones I send out to MPIX to get printed with no color correction come back perfect. It is worth it! Hope this helps some!