Billie W. Taylor II, Ph.D.
Photographer

My web sites have forced me into undertaking photography as another pastime. While creating my web sites I used a fine old Sony Mavica MVC-FD71 for all the photos. It was generally satisfactory, but the quality of many photographs was marginal at best. The first attempt to make better photos was to get a Matte Board with two 13W Flip Lights. This improved the lighting but did not solve the clarity problems. I finally realized that there was no way I could get the photos I wanted of pipes in my collection with this old camera so I went shopping for a better one. After consulting with several friends and camera shops, I finally settled on a Canon Rebel XT Digital SLR camera body with a Canon Speedlite 580EX II and a PROMASTER 18-200mm, f3.5-6.3 MACRO lens for general use plus a Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro Lens) with a Canon MR-14EX Ring Lite for the pipe photos. The results are evident throughout this site as well as the site devoted to my pipe collection.

The Promaster Zoom is heavy and didn't like the 35mm setting which was equivalent to 50mm film so I popped for a Canon 28-90mm zoom lens. But, even then, the rig was too heavy and cumbersome to wear around my neck all the time. As it happened my cell phone was dying and my Palm Zire was also having trouble, so I got a Palm Centro for daily use. The 1.2 megapixels seem to be sufficient for the web postings I do. It looks like I will be using the Palm for most shots and keep the Canon for detail work in the "studio.". Alas, the Centro finally passed away and so I got a Canon SD780 which did a fine job on our World Tour. But after that work-out, it was time to get another small camera and I opted for another Canon, this time a PowerShot A2200 HD.

Dayton Landmarks, Holidays, and Kitchen Remodel are a few photo slide shows that I have created to demonstrate the progress I have made in handling this very fine equipment, which is far better than I deserve. Another is Favorite Photos from our 2011 World Tour.

EQUIPMENT

Sony Mavica Camera

Canon Rebel XT Camera

Promaster 18-200mm Lens

Canon 100mm Macro Lens

Canon Ring Light

Close-up stand

Infinity Board

Flip Light

Canon Flash

Canon 28-90mm Lens

Palm Centro

Canon SD780 Camera

Canon A2200 Camera

DAYTON LANDMARKS

U. S. Air Force Museum

Boonschoft Museum of Discovery

Carillon Park

Dayton Institute of Art

Paul Lawrence Dunbar House

Dayton Masonic Temple

Packard Automobile Museum

Schuster Center for Performing Arts

Sunwatch Indian Village

Wright Brothers Memorial

Wright Cycle Company

HOLIDAYS

Stuffing the Thanksgiving Turkey

The Thanksgiving table is set

Ah-h-h-h!

The tree is ready...

...for all the gifts.

The stockings were hung....

Mimosas for Christmas brunch!

Santa brought Sims City 3 Ambitions.

We danced in the New Year.

The girls watched the Rose Parade on New Year's Day.

KITCHEN REMODEL

The movers put everything in boxes in the basement.

And we are ready to begin.

The EPA has rules for demolition.

First the rough electrical.

Then the rough plumbing is put in.

Next the rough drywall is done.

Old flooring is removed.

Everything is smoothed out.

New subflooring is installed.

The walls are giving two coats of primer.

New flooring is installed.

Installing new cabinets is begun.

More cabinets go in.

The Advantium microwave/convection/light oven is hung.

Electrical is nearly done and paint protection applied.

Cabinet doors are put on.

Painting is finished!

Door and drawer pulls are installed.

The quartz counters are installed.

The sink and stove are put in last.

The movers put everything back in and it took only 49 days!