PaulSeward.com
Photos of Phones and Phonographs (occasionally)
Modifications
I’ve not been posting much this week as I’ve spent most of my evenings going cross eyed trying to modify a chunk of my phone exchange so that it can talk to other phone exchanges. The easiest way to make sure I’ve done all the modifications seems to be to highlight the changes required on a copy of the diagram, then cross them out as I add/remove that chunk of wiring.
I’m quite glad that I’ve already got a working modified piece to use as a reference. You can see the nest of wiring I’m having to work my way through! The already modified one is at the top of the picture, the one that is a work in progress is at the bottom. I think I’ve done most of it now, I just need to reroute and reconnect some of the white wires and I’m done.
Hopefully.
Then if it works, I’ve only got to do it twice more on the other selectors! Fingers crossed…
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Geeky or Cute?
I’d have posted this earlier in the week, but didn’t want J to see it before I’d had a chance to give him half of it. Is this valentines gift geeky, cute, or both?
Click a poll option to vote!
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Splash! Splash!
Splash! Splash!
I’m not sure which of these I prefer, but they could both easily be entries for this weeks water themes photo-challenge. Photos of water droplets are probably a little on the obvious side for that though. I’ll see what else I can come up with before the deadline.
For those who want some tips on taking photos of splashes like this, Strobist has a tutorial which pretty much describes what I did: http://strobist.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-photograph-water-drops-with-one.html
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Obey the Squirrel!
Obey…
…the Squirrel!
Jonathan and I went for a brief photowalk at lunchtime, we were in search of water for this weeks photo-challenge theme. We didn’t find much interesting water, just a murky pond and a series of fountains that weren’t working. I managed to take this on Brandon Hill:
I’m not overly excited by it, even though the reflection is nice and clean. I think I might try to rustle up with something else for the challenge this week. Perhaps a walk along a canal at the weekend will turn something up.
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Bristol Zoo
I went to Bristol Zoo again today. There were a surprising number of animals outside braving the cold weather. I spent a good 10 minutes watching an otter dive in and out of an icy pool of water. Fascinating creatures, but far too quick to take a photo of, which is why that photo up there is of a Collared Lizard and not an otter.
The mongoose lemurs were out playing in the walk through bit, which meant I could get nice and close to them without any pesky glass/netting in the way. They’re gorgeous animals! Love ‘em!
The ringtail lemurs had just been fed so were too busy stuffing their faces to some out and play.
The prairie dogs were out and about as well. This one very much reminded me of This Sketch, but he sat down when I pointed a my camera his way. I’m still quite pleased with this shot though, the composition works nicely and the focus is pretty much spot on.
Obviously the seal/penguin coast got a visit. They’re just so photogenic when they’re sulking!
The Inca Terns just beg to be photographed as well. I’m sure I’ve taken this shot hundreds of times since I started going to the zoo, but I do so love the colour of their beaks/legs – and their moustaches are amazing!
Obligatory penguin photo! I’m wondering if he’s trying to hatch that rock.
I’m also quite pleased with this shot of the adult lioness. Considering my lens was pushed up against a mucky bit of glass and she was sat right at the back of the enclosure it’s come out quite nicely.
So, that’s another day at the zoo done with.
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Tannoy
At the railway today, John and I spent the day decommissioning the old Tannoy PA system. It’s got a few faults on it (mostly in the pre-amp stages) and it’s become too unreliable for regular use. So it’s been replaced by a more modern system, which has been built in such a way that should any one bit of it go faulty it’s easy to swap out that component for a new one (which was surprisingly difficult with this system) It’s now surplus to requirements.
The two power amps at the bottom aren’t original to the rack, but I think we might have the originals stored away somewhere (we’ve certainly got some spare *somethings* packed away) the rest of the rack originally came from British Rail when they disposed of it about 20 years ago. Both power amps are mono, and configured to drive 100V line PA speakers so I’m not tempted to have one at home!
The rack itself is in two halves, we’re thinking of keeping the top half of the chassis for re-use but the rest is going spare. So if anyone reading this wants a vintage, ex-BR Tannoy PA system, please give us a shout and I’ll forward your info to John. We are thinking of putting it on ebay, but if you want to snap it up before we do that a donation to the telecoms fund would be appreciated.
Obviously “buyer collects” from the Dean Forrest Railway – you shouldn’t need a van to collect it though. It’s very heavy, but not something a largeish car couldn’t handle.
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OMG!! SNOW!!1!eleventy!
We had snow in Bristol last night, it snowed for 12 hours straight!
This was the deepest snowdrift I could find this morning. It was all a bit pathetic really.
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Seeing
This weeks photo-challenge is “what does it mean to be a photographer” which is prompting me to do some thinking about what my thinking about photography is all about. On one hand, I see photography about light, how it moves, how it interacts with surfaces, how shadows form etc. On another hand, “subject, composition, timing” describes it quite well.
However, this week (partly prompted by the no-chimping session on Monday) I think it’s about seeing. Not just looking, but seeing. Paying attention to the details, looking at the frame before you press the button, watching for the right moment. Previsualisation comes into it a lot as well. Can I see the picture I want to take before I raise the camera to my eye? Can I make the image on the sensor match what my mind “saw”?
This one doesn’t fit the idea in any “pure” way, but I like both the reflection of the room and the texture of my cats cornea.
Posted in A photo a day - 2012 | 2 Comments »
Plume
Yes, I do own a feather boa. No it’s not pink.
I did take some other shots while I had the white seamless up (including some photos of TLR cameras similar to that one I took the other day) but I don’t like them nearly as much as this one.
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Frosty Coal
It was all frosty at the railway this morning, and it was so cold that the kettle was a solid lump of ice when we got there! There was a light dusting of frost on the coal pile and I thought it looked nice so here it is. At about lunchtime it started snowing properly, and there was probably 1/4″ by the time we left for the day, which is about 1/4″ more than there was when I got back to Bristol.
Pity really, I quite fancy some snow.
Posted in A photo a day - 2012 | 1 Comment »
