When A Post Comes From Chance
This Is Not The Post I Intended To Do
But I've already been called into work today, something that I haven't had to do before now, and so, it's not a normal Saturday for me, anyway.
I was going to do a dpoll about the effects of the hardfork, but I can see that some of those are currently floating around.
Thus, instead of another, and because of good fortune, I'm going to ask about something else. Something that was literally floating over my house earlier today.
Hot Air Balloon
We happen to be in a good place for hot air balloon flyovers, landings, unscheduled drops to the ground, you name it.
This morning I was just getting ready to put together the other post when I heard this noise. It's like a rush of air. Because I've heard it so many times, I knew what it was immediately. A balloon was really close, and someone was trying to keep it from getting closer by turning on the burner.
Fortunately, I had my DSLR camera and a decent zoom lens feet away from me, so after a quick change of batteries, I went out and took these pictures.
I thought I would share my thoughts, but also put the photos up to a vote, since I haven't ever done something like this before, and I'm in the mood for something a little lighter than what kind of epic damage another hardfork has or hasn't done to the blockchain (though all should continue to express themselves if they so desire—by all means).
(Don't worry, I think I will eventually come up with something regarding that, in case you were hoping I would. Otherwise, carry on with this post.)
First up is this standard longshot. I like it because of the darker blue sky, the vivid colors of the balloon, and the perspective, thanks to the leaves from a tree that grows in the space between the sidewalk and the street to one side of our house. Otherwise, nothing major.
This one I like because of the guy on the right. It looks like if he could, he'd lean as far over as possible to get the view. He's already doing more than I would dare do, if I even got into the balloon.
This next one is another angle shot. The vent is from my detached home office where I work on STEEM. You can see the balloon isn't quite floating directly over my house, but it was close enough before this that the trio in the gondola could clearly see I was taking photos of them. They were probably close enough to tell me to stop if they wanted to.
I really like this one because with the clouds in the background and the blurring of the fenceline below, it makes it look like they are in a totally different setting, possibly somewhere out in a desert.
This one is about the framing. Blurred tree in the foreground, all focus on the balloon.
This last one is pretty much the same shot, only zoomed out. I think it creates a totally different view.
All photos courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen. Camera: Olympus E-3 DSLR with a Zuiko Digital Telephoto Zoom Lens (50-200mm)
Disclaimer
I'm by no means a professional photographer, but I do like to take as good a photograph as I can, either from interesting angles or of subjects or events that aren't as common as some others might be.
So, you won't hurt my feelings if you like, dislike, or don't care about any of this. This is just me putting some photos I like out there for anyone who wants to vote and or comment on why they voted the way they do. Feel free to vote for more than just one if it strikes your fancy.
- I like No. 1
- It's No. 2 for me
- No. 3 is most to my liking
- I'll go with No. 4
- Clearly, it's No. 5
- Dude. No. 6
- Really? You call this a dPoll?
- Other (please elaborate)
Answer the question at dpoll.xyz.
Voted for
Hey, @jeffjagoe.
Yeah. It's my accidental favorite. I like it when I go about doing one thing (I thought the blurred fenceline along the bottom would be cool) and the setting or instance provides another (the clouds—didn't even see them when taking the photo).
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Awesome shots buddy! The all look pretty good, sorry for not being able to narrow down to just one! :^)
Hey, @stuffbyspencer.
I'm just glad people were able to find one they liked, let alone three? And since a couple of people did that, it's all good. No. 4 and No. 2 are my one and two, so I can't complain about any of this at all. :)
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @trincowski.
Yeah, good old leaning dude. :) What I'm not sure is what is around that was worth trying to see like that. :) His house in the distance maybe? They were floating that direction, basically, so they were getting closer to whatever it was he was straining to see. :)
!ENGAGE 20
Who knows?
By the way... how much is the Optical Zoom on that camera? It looks impressive.
The detachable lens is 50-200mm. The aperture is 2.8-3.5 throughout the range. It's been a good zoom lens, depending on what was happening.
Ah, that's a lot more professional than my compact camera! 😳
I used to own a newspaper business (nothing fancy—two small weekly newspapers for two small rural communities), so I had a few Olympus DSLR cameras with lenses. The E-3 is the best of the lot (I think it's prosumer, or something like that), and so are the lenses that I bought to go with it. I actually liked its predecessor better, the E-1, but I can't seem to find it anymore. It may have gone to my business partner when he decided to leave. :)
Voted for
Hey, @akdx.
Leaning man. Good choice. :) It's like, I wanna see, I don't wanna fall. How far can I take this? :)
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
I'm Christian looking at this on a Sunday while feeling grateful. Four is ethereal and gives me hope.
Hey, @bxlphabet.
Very cool. Ethereal. I'm glad you're feeling grateful and hopeful, too. :) There is much more to nature than nature itself, isn't there? A Creator to be grateful to, and hope that peace can be found if we look for it. :)
And I was on a such a roll this morning dishing these out in just one comment! Sorry.
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @vimukthi.
I'm with you on 4, the crowd is with you on 5, and No. 1 seems to be gaining some ground, too. I think that pretty much covers all the bases. :)
!ENGAGE 20
4 is actually my favorite. But I couldn't deny that 5 and 1 has a nice charm too.
Voted for
Hey, @marcybetancourt.
Me, too. :) Thank you for the response.
What's funny is, I didn't see all of what was going on in the background in the viewfinder. I knew the fence was there, but not the clouds. So, kind of a surprise composition. :)
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @russia-btc.
No. 1 and No. 5, eh? Well, No. 5 is running away with this poll, I think, so definitely with the majority. However, I think No. 1 (without looking), has got to be in second place. Very interesting what different people see and like. :)
!ENGAGE 100
👋 5 )
Posted using Partiko iOS
Voted for
Hey, @bluerobo.
Yeah, I'm inclined to agree. It just has a different feel to it.
Can I finally send this?
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @d-zero.
Yeah. I think it's hard to beat, but No. 5 seems to be the crowd favorite, so who am I to say? :)
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @maxer27.
I like it, too. Leaning man makes it, though seeing how the people in the gondola compare to the height of the balloon at full size is pretty cool, too. :)
!ENGAGE 20
Voted for
Hey, @fredkese.
!ENGAGE 20
No. 5 it is. I honestly didn't expect that one to be the choice, but that's why it's cool to ask. You find out what people like better. :)
Yea, you get to know for sure
Thanks for the tokens
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Voted for
Sorry. Meant to add this too. It's getting late.
!ENGAGE 20
Hey, @erica005.
Thanks for making your picks. No. 5 is definitely the favorite, and it looks like a couple of you went for No. 1 now. Very cool. :)
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I'm sorry. I meant to give you some of these tokens, too.
!ENGAGE 20.
Hey, drlobes. I appreciate the answer to the poll.
No. 5 is very much taking the poll at this point. Very interesting to me. I guess there's something about it you all are liking.
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For me I had to go for number 5 no technical reason for why its just the one I liked the most, and now I must go look for some of the polls about the hard fork I am intrigued to see what people are saying
And, I'm doing it again. I just need to start with this:
!ENGAGE 20
Thanks and that reminds me I must use my engage more I always forget
Hey, @tattoodjay.
No. 5 seems to be the growing favorite, which is interesting to me. It's always fun to see what people think about things, even something as simple as a series of balloon photos.
Since it's been a while since you commented, did you find the polls about the HF and were you surprised by any of the leading answers? I was surprised by one that basically said that they were 'meh' on the hardfork. I guess not being really happy or sad isn't necessarily 'meh' because it leaves out upset, disillusioned and demoralized, but hey. :)
That is interesting that you find that as well often I am surprised which shot in a post-seems to be people’s favorite often it is not what I expected
I didn’t come across any polls but I have seen a few posts and comments and finding similar a fair bit of meh and not happy with it
I am still a bit on the fence as it’s still early on but I do kind of understand what they were perhaps are trying to achieve and hope in the long run it could be a good thing fir the platform and us users big or small
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And... I meant to do this, too:
!ENGAGE 20
Hey, @literalypotato.
First one to choose multiple photos. :) I really like No. 4, as I said, and I would say No. 2 is second with the guy leaning.
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Man, I've got to remember to do this the first time around or it's going to be a little ridiculous with the needless comments just to drop some tokens.
!ENGAGE 20
Hey, @abbak7.
Thanks for the response.
Cleary No. 5 is in the lead so far and three for three at the moment. I wasn't expecting a runaway favorite per se, but maybe there's one in the making. :)
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A toss up on number two, I think he is trying to get an eyeful of some last gasp of summer sun bather in her fenced in back yard or pool.
You did a nice crop job on number five also. A number by each corresponding image in the future would make it easier, before going to the dpoll site, to remember what picture you wanted to pick
Edited because d-poll will not let me log in with keychain until I click a box or two to vote, and the elaborate text box never shows up.
It's going to take me a while to remember this, I can tell.
!ENGAGE 20
Hey, @bashadow.
re: edited
Don't have to worry about editing with me. I hardly notice something has or hasn't been.
re: crop job
No cropping on any of these photos. I messed with the levels a little, but this one and the one before didn't need any. Basically, they're resized, and that's about it. I did, however, zoom in for No. 5 and zoom out for No. 6, so good eye catching that. :) Coming from you, who spends a fair amount of time behind the lens. :)
re: eyeful
As good a guess as any as to what he's trying to risk his life for. :)
I'll keep the numbering in mind if I ever do this again. It's a pain putting any pictures into dpoll, let alone six!
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I like the framing of #5.
Hey, @thomasthewolf.
Thanks for the response.
I like it. Balloons don't normally hover in the bend of branches of a tree, but here this one was, or is it? That's the awesomeness of angle, framing and perspective. :)
!ENGAGE 20
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Howdy sir Glen! I like that second one because you can see the guy leaning out really good. But they're all really cool shots!
So you think the jury is still totally out on the hardforks?
Hey, @janton.
It's my second favorite, only because I like the cool effect and background of No. 4. I need to set it up so you can see the larger version, because it's much more dramatic of a leaning when it's bigger. The balloon kind of dominates.
re: hardforks
I don't know about the jury being out. I think there's too much polarization and not enough wait and see as far as that goes. You either think it's totally awesome or it's the worst thing ever from what I've been reading.
I've already read a comment/post from one of the architects of the proposal and he's already talking about how hard it is to curate (blaming it on wading through trash to find 'quality' content). Like, a) that's a revelation, and b) whatever the expectation of quality is, it needs to be dialed down or modified, or not confused with "what he likes to read about."
Am I frustrated? Yes. Definitely. :)
I haven't read anyone talking about the awesomeness of the hardfork, I can't imagine what they see as awesome about it!
Well, if you look at posts from aggroed, and some other witnesses, I think you see the positive side. Even whatsup is more or less onboard. theycallmedan I believe has one.
In other words, it's the bigger fish that are enjoying themselves. The one's who needed more incentive to do what the rest of us have been doing all along.
Ok but how does that help grow the platform with new members? Maybe it will all work out somehow in the long run.
Well, that's just it. I don't think they want users who don't bring some kind of investment with them. Even my amount, I'm starting to feel, is suspect. I hadn't felt like that before this most recent hardfork, since I made it through the RC debacle just fine.
Now, though, with the convergent linear curve, everything below 20 STEEM (however that's calculated), is being siphoned off more than usual to go to those with higher payout amounts. It was kind of like that before. Now, it's moreso.
So, I don't know the answer to that question. I just watched a video where andrarchy and vandeberg (I believe it was—one of the engineers at Steemit), were talking about how great it is that STEEM is not pay to play. But then they turned around and said it was stake to play—which doesn't necessarily mean you have to throw money at it, but in all practicality, if you really want to play, you need to invest something as a new member or you'll never get out of the hole.
Oh, that makes alot of sense. I mean, the structure doesn't make sense as far as growing steemit, I thought they needed big numbers of new members joining in order to sustain itself. Overall it sounds depressing the way they have it set up now.