Westwood is the Home of UCLA

Westwood Village offers some great photo opportunities.  The Village adjoins the UCLA campus.  Typically the streets of the Village are filled with students.  Wilshire Boulevard is just a few blocks from the south entrance to the campus and has become a mini downtown of high-rise offices.  The primary Los Angeles Federal Building is there too.  I went there expecting to find a demonstration against Iran but all was quiet.  So instead I ventured the streets of the village for these photos.  The index finger provides the description.  These photos will be added to the Los Angeles Gallery at the top of this blog. 

•Los Angeles Photo Gallery

So what am I doing with my Panasonic Z28 camera?  A camera class induced my purchase of this somewhat complicated device.  It can be used as a point and shoot but offers shutter priority and/or aperture priority and a variety of other controls..  The Los Angeles Photo Gallery on the right will be continuously updated.

Easy 35mm Slide Scanning

With over 2,000 35mm slides and the new digital world it is appropriate to want to scan them onto a CD.  The issue was doing this at a cost that would not break the bank.  I really did not want to buy a new HP printer with scanning capabilities.  The only model with this capability costs $300.00.  I have found the solution but it’s not pretty.  The Memor-ease 35mm film and slide converter does a beautiful job BUT it scans pictures one at a time in a 4 slide holder.  The cost is low at $50.00 and the package comes with Photoshop Elements 5.0. 

The software will not work in Windows 7 but does operate in Windows XP and all Vista versions.  Using Photoshop Elements you can do a Quick Fix or Full Edit before saving the scan.  It’s a great opportunity to see pictures you haven’t seen in years including old friends.  I am saving the pictures in a .jpeg format.  I found this scanner in Costco.  I will be working on this project for many months.

Second Opinons

We all know that obtaining a second opinion on health issues can make all the difference in the world. What about other problems of life? Your car has a hard starting problem and the mechanic tells you that it needs a new computer or your transmission won’t shift into reverse and you will need a complete rebuild. Do you take his word or do you talk to another mechanic?

I have had the car problems and found solutions that fixed the issue without major expense. My wife’s car would not shift into reverse. When I heard the price for a rebuilt transmission I went into shock. As a last resort I bought some transmission conditioner and followed the instructions on the can. After all it was a $5.00 can versus many thousands for the rebuilt transmission. The conditioner worked and we drove that car for another few years.

My latest experience was with my Canon digital camera. It’s about five years old. Suddenly the viewing screen would not focus. New batteries provided no results. The instruction manual provided no worthwhile help. I took the camera into a local camera specialty shop and they told me the cost to fix the camera would most likely exceed the price of a new point and shoot camera or about $200.00. I was about to throw the camera into the trash. As a last resort I found Canon on the internet. I was advised that there was a batch of cameras that had defective sensors and my camera was most likely one of them. The short story is that in less than two weeks my camera is home and functioning just fine. My cost was the purchase of a small carton. Canon even paid for the shipping charges.

High Surf In Southern California

Waves of warm water have entered Southern California from the South Pacific.  A surfer was killed in Newport Beach when a very high wave slammed him against the rocks.  That beach is south facing and is more inclined to experience the higher waves.  Western facing beaches have had waves that are somewhat smaller but are still quite significant.  This situation has brought many surf board riders to many beaches.  Malibu Beach is western facing but it is the closest to my home. The drive is about 17 miles.  The surfers were everywhere.   The colors were enhanced using Photoshop.  Some shading did not work out as I had expected.