There’s something about the new Olympus OM-D camera that I find… I dunno… aesthetically unbalanced. I don’t think it’s a pretty camera.
Is being “pretty” important? In the grand scheme of things for cameras, of course not, but I can tell you from very direct personal experience that, the more you love everything about a camera (including the look), the more you want to make use of it, and make it produce things just as beautiful and timeless as the camera itself. When I shoot with my Leica M6, I really take care to frame and choose my capture points. With the Fuji X100, ditto.
This camera’s feng shui just seems… off.
(via fuckyeahcameraporn)
Source: fuckyeahcameraporn
Dymaxion.: Why you should stop cold-brewing, and use the Japanese Iced Coffee Method.
First of all, let me say that I am predisposed towards iced coffee. My grandfather- who I idolize still- drank iced coffee starting at about 10am, and all day during the summer.
That said, iced coffee has something of a bad name among coffee aficionados. Hot coffee is seen as the natural way of…
Source: petergiuliano
This is an amazing photograph of Sammy Davis Jr.
He’s so much better known as his role in the Rat Pack, the suave, sophisticated Los Vegas guy, oozing a lot of coolness and hip and someone definitely used to the limelight and having his picture taken thousands of times. But in this picture, he’s just like anyone else, mugging for a self-shot photo with perhaps an uncomfortable smile, not really sure what he’s doing taking this candid. In short, he’s just like everyone out there!
Sammy Davis, Jr. with his Rolleiflex camera, 1950s
Source: hollyhocksandtulips
Source: hollyhocksandtulips
It is virutally impossible for to take a bad picture of a Leica camera. Of course, it’s more possible to take bad pictures WITH a Leica camera ;) Love the Brassy Leicas!
Source: anchordivision
One of a few…
Shot with a Leica M6 TTL and a 50mm M-Hexanon lens (Fantastic Minolta lens for M-Mount cameras). Tri-X film, 400ISO, shot indoors.
Leica M6 with a (sorta rare, maybe not) 0.85x rangefinder system. Most are 0.72x. I like this one for longer focal lengths, but unfortunately, 35mm is the widest lens I can safely use and still get the framing in place.
My super cherry mint (well, it’s been CLA’ed) Leica IIIf. Still takes fantastic photos, but they do have an “oldie sheen” to the captures when I scan them. Colours are really poppy. Photo taken with a Fuji X100 (irony!)
Q:Hi. When doing Hario pour overs I pour right from the electric Braun kettle and can only measure up tp about 190 deg f is that hot enough? I don't know how to get it hotter. I read about machines that deliver 200 deg f. Thanks
You might want to try pre-heating the hario pourover. Or boiling directly in the Hario? I find that the spout measured temperature (with the Fluke thermometer’s K-probe wire down the spout) on the Hario Buono pulled from the range top is over 200F the last time I measured mine (it was around 205F, but a bit below 200F when i measured the slurry in a V60)
Q:I have a Silvia/Rocky combo at home with a PID attached has helped immensely. However I still feel as though a ~30sec / 30ml Espresso shot is extremely hard to attain, resulting in either Ristretto style shots or over extracted shot that end up blonding much to early. Is it possible that the internal pressure of my machine is to high, requiring extra dense/fine grinds to produce an enjoyable shot or does my grind/doss simply need more work?
Personally, I haven’t seen much shot flow difference between a 9BAR shot and a 11 or 12BAR shot (though there is some). I’ve run the rotary pump on my Speedster as high as 12BAR, and as low as 8BAR, and the flow rate isn’t nearly as dramatic a difference as grinding coarser or finer, or dosing less or more.
The problem might be the Rocky itself. The Rocky was one of the best choices in the 1990s (it was designed in 1992 I believe) but has failed to keep up with the times. The real culprit on the Rocky is the big variance iin grind particle sizes when you jump a “click”. Compared to say a Vario from Baratza, one click on the Rocky is the equivalent of maybe half the full range of clicks on the Vario’s micro adjustment side, if not more. I find a full click on a Rocky can be the difference of as much as 3 or more seconds in shot flow time.
That said, the Rocky, along with good dosing, is definitely capable of delivering a 30 second, 30ml shot dose. I believe in working with the tools you do have, so I’d continue to fine tune your dose (amount of grounds used) and even look into how you pack your coffee with your tamper. Try creating a shallow convex bed of coffee in the portafilter (ie, use a slightly curved levelling tool so you have less coffee in the centre, more in the outer rim of the puck before tamping) to see if that helps? Also have you looked into the VST baskets?
