Galleries

KLR Porting : Porting work done by Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing on a Kawasaki KLR650 cylinder head. Pictures taken by Cary, not me.

KLR Porting

Porting work done by Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing on a Kawasaki KLR650 ...

Updated: Mar 21, 2008 6:08pm PDT

REI Hoodoo 3 Tent : After comparing lots of tents to fill in a gap in my collection, I decided on the REI Hoodoo 3 tent. Supposed to accommodate 3, but they'd have to be pretty small. No problem though, this will only have to accommodate me and my stuff. $249 retail at REI plus $35 for the footprint (I didn't use the footprint in this setup that was just for photography).

REI Hoodoo 3 Tent

After comparing lots of tents to fill in a gap in my collection, I dec ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 9:30am PDT

KLR Footpeg Strengthening : My buddy Mike and I were talking about the whole business of strengthening the weak footpeg mounts on our KLRs. Mike didn't much like the idea of cutting the boxes open, chiseling the nuts out, welding new ones in, bending the box back together, etc.. He came up with the following method, and we did it to both of our bikes today. Note that this mod will preclude the use of aftermarket center stands or other lame accessories that use the center stand mounts.

KLR Footpeg Strengthening

My buddy Mike and I were talking about the whole business of strengthe ...

Updated: Nov 12, 2007 5:24am PDT

Yosemite High Country :

Yosemite High Country

Updated: Jun 18, 2007 7:50am PDT

Mono Lake :

Mono Lake

Updated: Jun 18, 2007 6:27am PDT

Bodie State Historic Park : Bodie is a ghost town that is kept in a state of "arrested decay" by the California State Parks Department.

Bodie State Historic Park

Bodie is a ghost town that is kept in a state of "arrested decay" by t ...

Updated: Jun 18, 2007 5:34am PDT

Palo Alto Baylands Bird Sanctuary :

Palo Alto Baylands Bird Sanctuary

Updated: May 28, 2007 11:56am PDT

SF Mission District's "Carnaval 2007" : Street festival that happens in SF's Latino Mission District every Memorial Day Weekend. I missed the parade, but shot these at the street festival afterwards.

SF Mission District's "Carnaval 2007"

Street festival that happens in SF's Latino Mission District every Mem ...

Updated: May 27, 2007 3:38pm PDT

Adventures in D80 Sensor Cleaning : I had originally tried the useless Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly SL700, which did nothing but move the dust around. I decided to try "the CopperHill method" and purchased the CopperHill Mega Kit. Image #1 is of the sky at f22 (it wasn't a clear sky), prior to doing any wet cleaning. All of the images have had "autolevel" applied in The Gimp to bring out the contrast. The originals of these pics are pretty large, but if you want to view them at 100% they are available here. I recommend just viewing them at medium or large size though since the state of the sensor is readily visible at those resolutions. To Nicholas' (of Copper Hill) credit, he has stuck with me through this fiasco and has given me many tips and much assistance, and has even offered a refund and sent me a bottle of Eclipse to try instead of the E2, all on his nickel. I know that he really wants me to be successful at this, and has supported me above and beyond the call of duty. That said, I am of the opinion that wet sensor cleaning is just not something I can do properly. I have cleaned this sensor over 20 times in two weeks and it still looks pretty bad, considering. I know lots of folks report fantastic results with this method... I wish I could. UPDATE: Nicholas at CopperHill has issued me a full refund, even though I didn't ask for one and don't feel one is necessary. Oh well, he's a helluva nice guy who really cares about his customers. UPDATE2: I got a Lens Pen Sensor Klear, and it removed the E2 mess. After dusting it with the charged Sensor Sweep brush, I am declaring success. See pics #17, #18, and #19.

Adventures in D80 Sensor Cleaning

I had originally tried the useless Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly SL700 ...

Updated: Jun 02, 2007 8:03am PDT

Big Pics of Little Flowers : All images made with Nikon D80, Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG lens (except where noted).

Big Pics of Little Flowers

All images made with Nikon D80, Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG lens (except wh ...

Updated: Aug 02, 2008 1:44pm PDT

San Francisco Zoo : A spring day at the zoo. All shots taken handheld with Nikon D80 & 70-300VR lens.

San Francisco Zoo

A spring day at the zoo. All shots taken handheld with Nikon D80 & 70- ...

Updated: Apr 20, 2007 5:52pm PDT

Red Oak Victory & Vacinity : Pictures shot on and around the WWII victory ship "Red Oak" in Richmond, CA.

Red Oak Victory & Vacinity

Pictures shot on and around the WWII victory ship "Red Oak" in Richmon ...

Updated: Apr 18, 2007 4:02am PDT

My Buddy "Chico" : This is Chico. He's a Blue & Gold Macaw (parrot), and he's my best buddy. Chico's about 15 years old now. Some of these were taken with older point & shoot cameras and are lower resolution, I include them here just because I like them.

My Buddy "Chico"

This is Chico. He's a Blue & Gold Macaw (parrot), and he's my best bu ...

Updated: Apr 18, 2007 4:11am PDT

San Francisco, General : General stuff shot around San Francisco

San Francisco, General

General stuff shot around San Francisco

Updated: Jul 30, 2008 5:14am PDT

San Francisco, Bay Shore : Along the San Francisco Bay shoreline

San Francisco, Bay Shore

Along the San Francisco Bay shoreline

Updated: May 06, 2007 5:51am PDT

San Francisco, Mission District : San Francisco's colorful Mission District

San Francisco, Mission District

San Francisco's colorful Mission District

Updated: Apr 18, 2007 4:04am PDT

KLR 705 Upgrade : After having done lots of upgrades to my 18,500 mile 2003 Kawasaki KLR650, the one thing left that really bugged me was the motor. It sounded terrible, vibrated a lot, and didn't have much power. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a 2006 used cylinder and head off EBay and sent them to Cary Aspy at Schnitz Racing in Decatur Illinois. Schnitz is a shop that specializes in drag bikes, but Cary is the Service Manager there and has a KLR... so he came up with some trick stuff that transforms the KLR650 motor into a fire-breathing beast. I ordered the 705 kit that consists of an oversized forged piston from J&E, a cryogenically-treated heavier sleeve from L.A. Sleeves and all the machine work and gaskets to put it all together. I also opted for Cary's "Stage II" headwork with oversize & polished ports, oversized stainless valves, lightened retainers, new guides, new seals, etc. We did the work at my buddy Mike's house up in Angels Camp California, in the Gold Country & foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. First order of business (after removing the side covers, seat, and tank) was to replace the stock KLR clutch springs with some heavy duty Barnett springs designed for a Kawasaki ZX-10. The 705/StageII makes enough power that it'll cause the stock KLR clutch to slip. We removed the water pump and the right side cover, and once that was off you have access to the oil strainer screen.

KLR 705 Upgrade

After having done lots of upgrades to my 18,500 mile 2003 Kawasaki KLR ...

Updated: Jun 19, 2008 6:05am PDT

Your Bio

Although at one time I was deeply into photography as a hobby (had Zone IV and Sinar 4x5 view cameras, my own 4x5 darkroom, read everything Ansel and Fred Picker wrote), I was away from photography as a hobby for quite a few years, owning a series of point & shoot digitals that I mostly just made snapshots with.

Recently I decided I wanted a DSLR, so I bought a Nikon D80 with the 18-135 kit lens. Since then, I have added several more lenses, bags, Gitzo tripod, etc... I fear it's beginning again.

I don't have any aspirations to become an artist or a pro, but I enjoy doing the best I can with my photography efforts. I make photographs primarily to please myself.

In mid-2007 I became discouraged with my efforts at photography and sold all my Nikon gear. Bought a Canon G9 to use for snapshots.

In late July 2008 I bought a Canon EOS 40D, some lenses, and a tripod, gonna give it another go!