#the best point and shoot camera under 200 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rose-pearls · 2 years

Text

Arrow - Part 2

Summary: the dogfighting starts and shows how good of a team you are. A bet takes place that makes everyone laugh except for your sister and Hangman.

Part 1 - Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

The first exercise is a mess, with Rooster acting emotional at something Maverick says and suddenly we are both doing 200-push-ups without Payback and Fanboy just because Rooster thought it was a good idea to try and get Maverick into a fight.

The Ivy’s come by when we are at 100 pushup’s and take a selfie of us while we are still doing push-ups and I just want to grab the camera and throw it away.

“And 200!”, I roll on my back and sit myself down while Rooster falls to the ground, probably exhausted just like me.

“I know your mad.”, I don’t even let Rooster finish before letting out a scoff.

“I am mad, because we are a team out there even if we don’t want to be one, I’m your WSO and you are the pilot. So, act like one.”, Rooster flinches at my words and I let out a sigh.

“You are a good pilot Rooster, but you let your emotions get the best of you when it comes to Maverick.”, Rooster let’s out a sigh and rubs a hand on his face. I decide to get closer to him.

“You don’t need to tell me what happened between the both of you but don’t let him get to you, that means he wins.”, the pilot let’s out a sigh before looking across the Deck.

“He pulled my papers.”, I look at him surprised, and suddenly understand why Rooster is angry.

“That was a shitty thing to do.”, Rooster let’s out a dry laugh and I put my hand on his shoulder surprising him.

“But you have the opportunity to prove just how good you are and how wrong he was to pull your papers. Don’t waste it!”, he looks at me surprised before smiling softly at me.

“Thanks, guess I needed a bit of a speech to get me back on track.”, we both start to chuckle, and I finally see the tension in his shoulders leave.

“Anytime partner.”, we smile at each other, and Rooster suddenly looks at me with a worried look.

“You seemed angry when you entered the F-18, want to talk about it?”, this time I let out a sigh and Rooster smiles sympathetically.

“I wasn’t brought back here because I’m the best of the best like you guys.”, Rooster looks ready to argue but I shoot him a look.

“My father is the one that made sure I was on this mission, I’m basically a fraud.”

“I haven’t flown with you before, but you went to Top Gun that means you are already a part of the 1% and I wouldn’t be surprised if you are just as good or even better than some people on this mission.”, I look at Rooster in surprise and the pilot has a kind smile on his face full of understanding.

“Guess we both got something to prove on this mission.”, Rooster laughs at that and gets up before giving me his hand to haul me up.

“Let’s do it together partner?”, I clasp my hand in his and let him take me up the floor.

“Let’s do this!”, we grin at each other and get back inside to get ready for our second exercise.

This time we are with Hangman, which is not a pleasant time as he is acting like an asshole.

“So, Arrow how does it feel to be a WSO and not a pilot?”, this man somehow has the ability to get on everyone nerves and he enjoys it.

“I prefer to be a WSO than an arrogant dick like you Bagman but thank you for the question.”, Rooster starts laughing and Hangman seems to be surprised at my words but before he can say anything Maverick is there, on top of our F-18.

I can see that he’s challenging Rooster trying to make him act without thinking but that is not going to happen a second time on my watch.

“Bradley.”, Rooster stops looking at Maverick and seems surprised to hear my voice.

“Don’t let him get to you, we have a mission.”, the words seem to have calmed down the pilot as he barks an order to Hangman and suddenly, we are dogfighting.

“On your left Hangman, Rooster 9’o clock.”, somehow, we manage to not get killed and at one point Hangman literally leaves us hanging.

“Freaking Hangman.”, I grumble under my breath, and I see Rooster nod in agreement but as Maverick follows Hangman I tap on Rooster’s shoulder and gives him a sign that he needs to follow them.

We end up behind Maverick and by some miracle we manage to kill him.

“Maverick, dead.”, I hear Rooster say proudly, and Hangman seems a bit angry that he didn’t manage to do it, but I still can’t believe we managed it.

Rooster lands on the tarmac and when the both of us leave the plane I feel Rooster’s arm around me, and he spins me around in the air making me laugh.

“We did it!”, I laugh at his words before nodding as he sets me on the floor.

“The only team to have killed him!”, Maverick says proudly while Rooster and I grin at each other before he throws an arm around my shoulders telling me we need to celebrate this.

What the both of us don’t see is Hangman and my sister’ angry stare as they watch us leave together.

The Hard Deck is full of music and life as we are all around the pool table talking about the training and how Maverick was which made Rooster a bit tense.

“Why don’t we play an eight-ball?”, everyone agrees at my words and Hangman quickly leaves his beer to come in front of me.

“Why don’t we make this game interesting Arrow.”, I narrow my eyes at Hangman and he just smirks.

“Rooster and you against your sister and I.”, I feel a presence behind me and know that it’s Rooster just like my sister has joined Hangman.

“Sure, why not.”, I tell him, but I can see that he isn’t finished.

“Let’s make this even more interesting and define what the winners gets when they win and what the losers have to do.”, I try not to roll my eyes at his dramatic acts but it’s getting hard.

“I’m sure you already have something in mind Bagman.”, the smirk doesn’t falter on his face as he gets closer to me, which means I have to look up to meet his eyes.

“The winners get bragging rights and get to choose the punishment for the losers.”

“Somehow I have a feeling you already chose a punishment.”, I cross my arms and Hangman gets so close that I can feel his chest against my arms.

“Smart girl.”, I glare at him and the only thing he does is smirk.

“But I won’t reveal it just yet, wouldn’t be as fun now, would it?”, Rooster takes my arm to lead me to the other side of the pool table.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Making a bet with Hangman is like making a deal with the devil.”, I snort at his words and Rooster has a cheeky grin.

“Then I guess we better win partner!”, we look at each other determined before going back to Hangman and Fire.

“You are on Hangman, get yourself ready for a little late-night swimming.”, Hangman looks ready to retort but I stop him.

“Naked.”, the rest of the group starts to laugh, and Hangman looks a bit scared for a moment before his determination sets in.

“I knew you wanted to see me naked Arrow, but I didn’t think this much.”, I roll my eyes at his answer and give Rooster the chance to start the game.

Hangman is an asshole but unfortunately, he can back it up, luckily Rooster is also strong, so we are all at equal scores.

“The last two balls are you ready to get naked Bagman?”, I laugh at Phoenix’s remark and Hangman rolls his eyes with a smirk.

“Don’t you worry Phoenix if I do end up naked, I’ll make sure you’re the first one to see.”, the female pilot has a disgusted look on her face, and everyone starts laughing.

“Common Bradshaw win this.”, Rooster gives me reassuring smile and gets ready to finish the game.

After a minute or two of suspense Rooster manages to get it in and then the eight ball.

“You are a man after my heart Bradley Bradshaw!”, Rooster laughs before hugging me in celebration. The rest of the crew is cheering except for Hangman and Fire who look unhappy at the results of the game.

“As much as telling you too go for a little night swim would be fun, I think it isn’t enough is it, Rooster?”, Rooster shakes his head, and we look at each other with grins.

“From now on until tomorrow same hour you have to do everything, we want you to do!”, the two other pilots look sick at the thought while Rooster and I grin at each other.

“Time starts now!”, Bob says while the clock chimes nine pm.

“You know I am quite thirsty after such a long game, aren’t you?”, Rooster asks me.

“Oh, I am but I’m also hungry for some In N Out.”, Rooster smirks and looks back at the two with his head tilted towards the door.

“Better get going! We will take a burger with animal fries and both a coke.”, I nod at Rooster’s order and as the two angry pilots get ready to leave, I stop them.

“Wait! Don’t you guys want something?”, the other pilots are grinning like Christmas came early before dropping their orders and Hangman has to write it all down.

“Better not get it wrong otherwise you have to get back.”, the two leave glaring at the group and we all start laughing.

“This is the best day of my life.”, Phoenix is grinning like a maniac and looks at us with pride.

“So, what are you going to be doing next?”, we both shrug our shoulders at Payback’s question.

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s good.”, we all look at Bob curiously and the WSO looks shy before telling us the best idea ever.

“Every time someone asks them a question or tell them to do something they have to say that they need your permission to do it.”, Rooster and I look at each other gleefully at the idea.

“You are a genius, Bob! I knew I liked you for a reason!”, Bob gives us a bright grin, and everyone starts laughing at the thought.

When they get back with the burgers, we decide to still make them go for a little night swim and when they get back soaked to the bone, we tell them their next mission.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, what if Cyclone asks something.”, everyone starts laughing at the idea, but Rooster and I just shrug our shoulders.

“Rules are rules.”

I have to say making this bet was the best thing we ever did, particularly when we saw Cyclone ask Hangman to get his F-18 ready and he has to tell him that he needs to ask Rooster or I first. It was the best day of our life as we were laughing behind the wall trying to be quiet.

#rooster fanfiction #rooster x you #rooster x y/n #rooster fanfic #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw #top gun x reader

163 notes · View notes

fononik · 2 years

Text

Making direct positive prints without a darkroom: pt. 1

Direct positive paper can be loaded directly into a large format camera or a pinhole camera to create positive image prints without an intermediate negative image. They are easily developed in a darkroom, just like any other photo paper, and contrast can be controlled by preflashing (exposing the paper to light) a certain amount before developing. This post will present a method to develop and preflash direct positive paper without a darkroom.

The specific paper being used is Harman Direct Positive Paper, which I purchased from B&H. The official data sheet rates the paper between ISO 1 and 3. I will be rating it at ISO 3 for these tests, and shooting in my Crown Graphic.

Exposure tests

First, I want to nail the proper exposure. My first time with this paper, I shot it outdoors, and one sheet was completely white (overexposed) with no image, and the other had an image which was severely overexposed. There may have been some user error (not closing the shutter for the first one...) but the second I thought I had rated correctly. I decided to do these exposure tests indoors in a more controlled setting.

(Henry is helping. Thanks Henry.)

I arranged some objects, exposure notes, and a gray, white, and black card under some lights. I took a spot reading off the gray card with my Sekonic for ISO 3, and this gave me an exposure time of 1 minute at f/11. I took four shots of this scene: -1, 0, +1, and +2, changing the shutter speed for each (so, 30 seconds, 1 min, 2 min, and 4 min). I overexposed for two stops because the paper is also rated at ISO 1, so there might be more wiggle room in that direction. Here are the four resulting prints:

Print 1, at -1 stop, is very underexposed, and print 3, at +1 stop, is very overexposed. However, print 2, while having the best exposure, is still extremely high contrast, which is characteristic of the paper. It fails to reproduce a range of gray tones without preflashing--notice the gray card is nearly as dark as the black card in print 2. Though, print 2, and therefore ISO 3, will be our starting point for the preflashing tests. (Also notice that print 4 has a chemical stain--I’ll get to this when discussing processing.)

In-camera preflashing

The data sheet links above gives one method for preflashing with a darkroom enlarger. Preflashing will soften the image and allow more gray tones to appear. However, as this method does not make use of a darkroom, I did in-camera preflashing. (Thanks to @ceegeedee for the suggestion!) There are a variety of methods out there already; for this one I will expose the print at my Raleno LED lightpad that I use for film scanning. I have it on a tiny point & shoot tripod, so I was able to position it on the camera rails like so:

However, as it is difficult to make a test strip, I will do four additional prints with differing degrees of preflashing. I read elsewhere that rating around -2 stops is good for preflashing, so my method here is as follows:

Take a picture of the scene at the proper exposure rating (here still ISO 3)

Take a spot reading of the light pad as configured above. Here, it metered for 1/60s at f/4.

Preflash (double expose the sheet) at a rating lower than this.

The four prints I shot next had the following exposure settings for the preflash stage. These are roughly -1, -2, -3, and -4, but not quite (as my lens is max f/4.7 and has the older shutter speed scale). The exposure settings for the four prints below are:

1/100s @ f/4.7 (roughly -1)

1/200s @ f/4.7

1/400s @ f/4.7

1/400s @ f/5.6 (roughly -4)

And here are the results:

Compare print 1 above with print 2 from the exposure tests. The gray card is now obviously a gray card, and there is much more shadow detail visible. (There was one change in the scene: I removed the clock, because it was casting a big shadow on the model camera and also because my cats knocked things over while I was processing.) Of these four, I think print 1 looks best, with maybe also print 2 looking decent (but still fairly high contrast). I didn’t do a preflash rated at 0, because I read it would be too bright, but now I am curious. Even this preflash rated at -1 from the light source makes a huge difference, and that’s what I’ll be trying in the field next time.

Processing

With preflashing able to be accomplished in-camera, the last step is processing. I used the same supplies to develop sheet film to develop these paper prints. I have a Stearman Press kit, which holds 4 sheets in flat holders. You may have luck with the sheet holders that fit into the round tanks, but there might be some potential issues. For one, the fiber paper gets very wavy and curly. This is what it looked like when I opened the tank after processing:

Normally, the sheets should be flat and not touching. Here they are not flat and touching. Oops. This is likely why the one print above had a chemical stain. However, the other 7 I processed this way turned out fine. I used Ilford Multigrade developer, and the one caveat is that you have to develop paper blind: you can’t look at the image as it appears as you would in a darkroom. I developed for 2 minutes with constant, gentle agitation. I think the development time worked and I didn’t notice any problems that I would attribute to this. The rest, stopping, fixing, washing, etc, work the same as in a darkroom; you’re just still using the tank. This method obviously requires both a changing bag and the equipment to develop sheet film, but that is still a lot less involved than using a full darkroom.

Potential issues

The exposure tests were done indoors with very long shutter speeds. There is the potential issue of how this paper handles reciprocity, and how the same changes in exposure settings will translate to much brighter scenes such as in sunlight. Also, if shooting outdoors, you do not necessarily need a light pad to preflash; any bright surface should do. It just needs to be consistently bright across the whole frame, so carrying a small diffuser of some sort might work just as well. Because you only get one chance at the image, the controlled methods here might not exactly translate to in the field, and you might end up with a ruined image. I hope to do similar tests of outdoor scenes soon.

#black and white #darkroom #large format #film #film photography #alternative process

14 notes · View notes

maximumpenguinbanana · 2 months

Text

Unforgettable Experiences in Saguaro National Park: Top Activities to Try

Are you ready to embark Things To Do In Saguaro National Park on an unforgettable adventure in Saguaro National Park? Look no further! This comprehensive guide will show you the top activities to do to make the most out of your trip to this desert oasis. From hiking through towering saguaro cacti to stargazing under the clear night sky, Saguaro National Park offers a wide range of experiences that will leave you in awe. So, pack your bags, put on your hiking boots, and get ready for an adventure of a lifetime!

Introduction

Saguaro National Park, located in southern Arizona, is home to the country's largest cacti. Spanning over 91,000 acres, this unique landscape offers visitors a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of the Sonoran Desert. Whether you're an avid hiker, nature lover, or simply looking for a peaceful retreat, Saguaro National Park has something for everyone. So, let's dive into the top activities that will make your visit truly unforgettable.

Hiking Amongst Giant Saguaro Cacti

One of the most iconic activities in Saguaro National Park is hiking through the majestic saguaro cacti. These towering giants reach heights up to 40 feet, and can live for more than 150 years. The park offers a variety of hiking trails for all skill levels, from leisurely strolls to challenging treks. Make sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and your camera to capture the stunning views along the way.

Sub-Heading: Top Hiking Trails in Saguaro National Park Valley View Overlook Trail Tanque Verde Ridge Trail King Canyon Trail Stargazing in the Desert Sky

As night falls over Saguaro National Park, another world comes alive above you. With minimal light pollution, this desert oasis offers some of the best stargazing opportunities in the country. Join a ranger-led program or simply lay out a blanket and gaze up at the millions of twinkling stars above. Don't forget to make a wish upon a shooting star!

Sub-Heading: Best Spots for Stargazing Signal Hill Picnic Area Mica View Picnic Area Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center Birdwatching Paradise

Saguaro National Park is a haven for birdwatchers, with over 200 species of birds calling this desert landscape home. From colorful hummingbirds to majestic raptors, you'll have plenty of opportunities to spot unique and rare bird species during your visit.

Sub-Heading: Must-See Birds in Saguaro National Park Gila Woodpecker Cactus Wren Elf Owl Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive

For those looking for a more relaxed way to experience the beauty of Saguaro National Park, hop in your car and take a scenic drive along the Cactus Forest Loop Drive. This 8-mile paved road winds through dense stands of saguaro cacti, offering breathtaking views at every turn.

Sub-Heading: Points of Interest Along Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive Javelina Rocks Freeman Homestead Trailhead Cactus Garden Trail Sunset Picnics with a View

There's nothing quite like watching the sun dip below the horizon while surrounded by towering saguaro cacti. Pack a picnic basket with your favorite snacks

1 note · View note

deepestfartqueen · 2 months

Text

Saguaro National park: Top activities to try

Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure in Saguaro National Park? You've come to the right place! In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the top activities you must try to make the most of your visit to this stunning desert oasis. From hiking through towering saguaro cacti to stargazing under the clear night sky, Saguaro National Park offers a wide range of experiences that will leave you Things To Do In Saguaro National Park in awe. So, pack your bags, put on your hiking boots, and get ready for an adventure of a lifetime!

Introduction

Saguaro National Park, located in southern Arizona, is home to the country's largest cacti. Spanning over 91,000 acres, this unique landscape offers visitors a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of the Sonoran Desert. Saguaro National Park offers something for everyone, whether you're a nature lover, an avid hiker or just looking for a peaceful getaway. So, let's dive into the top activities that will make your visit truly unforgettable.

Hiking Amongst Giant Saguaro Cacti

One of the most iconic activities in Saguaro National Park is hiking through the majestic saguaro cacti. These towering giants can reach heights of up to 40 feet and live for over 150 years. The park has a variety hiking trails that are suitable for all levels of experience, from leisurely walks to challenging treks. Make sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and your camera to capture the stunning views along the way.

Sub-Heading: Top Hiking Trails in Saguaro National Park Valley View Overlook Trail Tanque Verde Ridge Trail King Canyon Trail Stargazing in the Desert Sky

As night falls over Saguaro National Park, another world comes alive above you. With minimal light pollution, this desert oasis offers some of the best stargazing opportunities in the country. Join a ranger led program or just lay out a sheet and look up at the twinkling stars. Don't forget to make a wish upon a shooting star!

Sub-Heading: Best Spots for Stargazing Signal Hill Picnic Area Mica View Picnic Area Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center Birdwatching Paradise

Sub-Heading: Must-See Birds in Saguaro National Park Gila Woodpecker Cactus Wren Elf Owl Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive

Sub-Heading: Points of Interest Along Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive Javelina Rocks Freeman Homestead Trailhead Cactus Garden Trail Sunset Picnics with a View

There's nothing quite like watching the sun dip below the horizon while surrounded by towering saguaro cacti. Pack a picnic bask

1 note · View note

tinypeanutchild · 3 months

Text

Unforgettable Experiences in Saguaro National Park: Top Activities to Try

Are you ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure in Saguaro National Park? Look no further! This comprehensive guide will show you the top activities to do to make the most out of your trip to this desert oasis. From hiking through towering saguaro cacti to stargazing under the clear night sky, Saguaro National Park offers a wide range of experiences that will leave you in awe. So, pack your bags, put on your hiking boots, and get ready for an adventure of a lifetime!

Introduction

Saguaro National Park, located in southern Arizona, is home to the country's largest cacti. Spanning over 91,000 acres, this unique landscape offers visitors a glimpse into the beauty and diversity of the Sonoran Desert. Saguaro National Park offers something for everyone, whether you're a nature lover, an avid hiker or just looking for a peaceful getaway. So, let's dive into the https://desertwolftours.com/blog/things-to-do-in-saguaro-national-park/ top activities that will make your visit truly unforgettable.

Hiking Amongst Giant Saguaro Cacti

Sub-Heading: Top Hiking Trails in Saguaro National Park Valley View Overlook Trail Tanque Verde Ridge Trail King Canyon Trail Stargazing in the Desert Sky

As night falls over Saguaro National Park, another world comes alive above you. This desert oasis has some of the best stargazing in the country. Join a ranger led program or just lay out a sheet and look up at the twinkling stars. Don't forget to make a wish upon a shooting star!

Sub-Heading: Best Spots for Stargazing Signal Hill Picnic Area Mica View Picnic Area Rincon Mountain District Visitor Center Birdwatching Paradise

Sub-Heading: Must-See Birds in Saguaro National Park Gila Woodpecker Cactus Wren Elf Owl Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive

Sub-Heading: Points of Interest Along Cactus Forest Scenic Loop Drive Javelina Rocks Freeman Homestead Trailhead Cactus Garden Trail Sunset Picnics with a View

There's nothing quite like watching the sun dip below the horizon while surrounded by towering saguaro cacti. Pack a picnic basket with your favorite snacks and head to one of the park's designated picnic areas for an evenin

1 note · View note

lockadeal3 · 1 year

Text

Unmissable Camera Deals at Best Buy

Are you looking for a new camera but don’t want to break the bank? Don’t worry—you don’t have to! With the best deals on cameras from Best Buy, you can get your hands on the latest tech without spending all your hard-earned money. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing camera deals available right now.

Best Cameras Under $200

If you are looking for an affordable camera that still offers excellent quality, look no further than these budget-friendly options. You can expect features like HD video recording and image stabilization, as well as advanced settings for more experienced photographers. Examples include the Canon Powershot SX620 HS Digital Camera and Nikon Coolpix B500 Digital Camera.

Best Cameras Under $500

For those who want more features and better performance, cameras in this price range offer an excellent balance between quality and cost. These digital cameras come with a range of features such as advanced manual settings, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, and touchscreen LCD displays—ideal for those who want to take their photography skills to the next level. Examples include the Canon EOS Rebel T6 DSLR Camera Bundle or Nikon D7500 DSLR Camera Bundle.

Professional Cameras Over $500

For professional photographers or those who simply want top-of-the-line equipment, there is no shortage of amazing cameras available at Best Buy. These high-end digital cameras come with impressive features such as full frame sensors, 4K video recording capabilities, and professional lenses designed for superb image quality. Examples include the Sony Alpha A7 III Mirrorless Digital Camera Kit or Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Professional DSLR Kit.

Conclusion:

No matter what kind of camera you are looking for, Best Buy has something to suit every budget and need. From basic point-and-shoots to professional grade mirrorless cameras, there is something for everyone—all at unbeatable prices! So if you are in the market for a new camera, why not check out Best Buy today? You won't be disappointed!

0 notes

uxmikedoy · 1 year

Text

The Best 25 Trail Camera Under 100 Dollars

As we examine it more closely, it becomes apparent that it has a vast and complex history that is worth exploring best trail camera under 100.

Hunting is a popular pastime, enjoyed by people all over the world. But what happens when you want to take your hunting to the next level? You purchase a trail camera. Trail cameras are an essential tool for any outdoors enthusiast, and they offer an unparalleled view of nature from a distance. Without one, hunting would be much more difficult, if not impossible. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best trail cameras under 100 dollars, so that you can make the perfect purchase for your needs.

Best 25 Trail Cameras Under 100 Dollars

We all know that trail cameras are a great way to capture movement and wildlife in photos or videos. But what if you don't have a lot of money to invest? Or what if you just want the best camera possible without breaking the bank? Here are our picks for the best 25 trail cameras under 100 dollars! 1. Bushnell Trailcam 200 Heritage Edition This camera is perfect for beginners or those on a budget. It has high-quality sensors, has an easy-to-use touchscreen interface, and records footage in 1080p. 2. Nikon CoolPix L22 Digital SLR Camera This camera is perfect for those who love photography and want to start capturing videos as well. It is also very versatile, with features like Wi-Fi capabilities and 4x zoom lens. 3. Canon EOS Rebel T6i Digital SLR Camera Kit with EF-S18-135mm IS Standard Zoom Lens If you're looking for a camera that's both beginner friendly and still offers great quality, this might be the one for you. The Rebel T6i comes with features like touchscreen control, 5x digital zoom lens, and HD video recording at 30 frames per second. 4. Panasonic Lumix DMC - GF5 Camera If you're looking for something more expensive but still affordable, this camera is perfect for you! It has a 20 megapixel sensor, 3 inch LCD display screen, and can shoot videos up

How to Choose the Right Camera for You

Choosing the right camera for your trail photography needs is critical to success. There are many factors to consider, such as the type of photography you intend to do, your budget, and the specific conditions you will be shooting in. If you are just starting out and don’t know what kind of photography you want to pursue, a good place to start is by taking some beginner photography classes or workshops. This will give you a better understanding of how cameras work and help you figure out what settings would work best for your particular style of shooting. When it comes to choosing a camera for trail photography, there are a few things to consider. The first is the sensor size. A camera with a larger sensor will capture more detail than one with a smaller sensor. However, larger sensors can be more difficult to handle because they can be heavier and less portable. It’s also important to consider how much money you want to spend on your camera. Rangefinder cameras typically cost more than point-and-shoot models, but they offer greater quality and versatility. Point-and-shoot cameras are less expensive but may not provide the same level of image quality as a rangefinder model. Another factor to consider is the lens type. A zoom lens will let you take close-ups of wildlife without having to move close enough to scare them off, while a wide angle lens lets you get broader views of an area without getting too far away from the subject

Conclusion

If you're looking for a trail camera that's both affordable and effective, your best bet is the 25-dollar range. In this price range, you'll find cameras that can capture stunning photos and videos of all kinds of wildlife, making them great choices for hunters and nature lovers alike. Choosing the right trail camera is important, but don't forget to consider what features are important to you before making your purchase. Happy trails!

0 notes

victoryjust · 2 years

Text

Best panorama stitcher export raw

#BEST PANORAMA STITCHER EXPORT RAW SOFTWARE#

The ballhead I use has marked radians, though it’s not entirely necessary with Autopano stitching software because it does such a great job of calculating the stitch points. Using a tripod just makes sense more times than not if your end goal is high quality. I shoot most everything with the camera oriented horizontally because I’ve found that shooting vertically can give you some odd squashing in the rendered pano, depending on the projection-mapping type you choose in the software. I endeavor to shoot as accurate a representation as is possible under the current conditions. The only filters on my lenses are UV haze filters, mostly for protecting my investments. That’s also why I never use neutral-density filters, nor do I currently use polarizers. Basically, the image is as true to reality as possible. Shooting this way strips out in-camera sharpening, contrast, gamma and saturation levels. I shoot only RAW and with Picture Style set to Neutral (not Picture Style Faithful, as that will warm the image). Old-schoolers may call that cheating I call it technology. When I shoot panos that include both very far and very near things, I do exactly that. When you’re dealing with pano photography, you have the option of chucking the entire hyperfocal conversation into the trash bin of history and shooting a row of frames of the ground directly in front of you with a different focus. The white point adjusted on the histogram. Software can’t correct for a poorly metered frame.ģ. The lighting can change drastically from 0° to 90°, so I sweep the camera around and meter the entire expanse before settling on a median exposure. This method is tricky, though, especially if you’re shooting a really wide pano. I shoot underexposed because it’s the best way to ensure you’re getting everything with one exposure darks can be pulled up more efficiently than blown-out whites can be recovered. I’ve had the most success locking everything down in manual: shutter, aperture, focus, ISO-everything. There are a few schools of thought on whether you should set your exposure and focus and never change them throughout the multiple frames that will comprise the final pano. Also, for a zoom, that lens is amazingly sharp. The ƒ/2.8 is a bit hefty, and the ƒ/4 with the four-stop IS is a very capable low-light, handheld landscape shooter. I chose the 70-200mm ƒ/4 IS version over the ƒ/2.8 version for weight considerations. I think a 35mm would be the perfect pano lens, and the Canon EF 35mm ƒ/1.4L is famously sharp. The 24mm is really pushing the lower range of focal lengths for landscape panos, but for single-shot landscapes on a full-frame sensor, it’s almost perfect. Huge peaks looming in front of you shrink into puny insignificance. It makes faraway things look small, introducing artificiality. I prefer the 50mm over the 24mm for panos due to the perspective distortion the 24mm produces. This image needs to be tonally corrected it’s still slightly underexposed, even after histogram editing in Lightroom. Note the gap in the histogram toward the highlights. I’d rather lug the weight and know that I’m holding the best tools for the job than carry a slightly lighter load and always wonder if I could be getting cleaner originals.Ģ. You’ll notice those are mostly prime lenses I do that for sharpness. That’s a lot to add to a mountaineering pack that already weighs 60 pounds, so I just train harder. I take two extra batteries and a Brunton solar charger, an Induro carbon-fiber tripod with a ballhead (the ideal combination of light and sturdy), a Kata rain cover that will accommodate all the lenses, an OP/TECH chest harness and wrist strap, a remote timer, almost 200 gigabytes of SanDisk Extreme III CF cards, Pelican waterproof CF card holders and a Brunton trek pole that doubles as a monopod with a Joby ballhead. Here’s what I carry: a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 15mm fisheye, Canon 14mm, 24mm, 50mm prime lenses and the 70-200mm ƒ/4 IS zoom. It’s especially important to choose gear wisely when mountaineering. The RAW stitched panorama in the Autopano Giga panorama editor…looking a little dull. Here’s how it all comes together, in his own words.ġ. He consistently chooses quality over compromise-from the gear he buys to the way he shoots. His work, above all, is meticulous and precise. That pretty much sums up Brandon Riza’s theory about high-resolution landscape panorama photographs. Looking northeast toward Little Tahoma and the Ingraham Glacier from Cathedral Rocks, Mount Rainier, Cascade Range, Washington.

#Best panorama stitcher export raw

1 note · View note

dragonotaku-justineverything · 3 years

Note

Jaune was asked to be the photographer in Jessica's Cinder shoot, and he was more than happy to see her in a bikini at the Beacon pool. When they were done, her method of payment was laying back on a pool chair as Jaune fucked her breasts and splattered her face wit cum. The real Cinder was quite jealous.

So here’s my first attempt at a real smut/non sfw written piece with Jessica Nigri. I’m actually very nervous about posting this. I’ve been working on this for a while, constantly debating if I should even do it the entire time. I really hope this doesn’t make me look like a creep, but I also really wanted to finally try writing more raunchy stuff with Jessica Nigri.

But I put too much work into this to just NOT post it, so I guess we will all see how this first one goes and whether or not I’ll do anymore.

I’ll also be posting this to my Archive of Our Own account HERE.

So you all have been warned, what follows is a sort of one-shot (for now) smut piece of Jessica Nigri. You don’t enjoy stuff like that, you don’t have to read past this point.

*SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP*

The gorgeous Jessica Nigri stretched her arms out over her head and let out a throaty moan. She was currently standing waist deep in the pool in the backyard of her house. Her stretch also ‘unintentionally’ pushed out her chest, making her red and gold bikini strain to keep her well endowed chest contained. She opened her eyes, revealing that her irises were gold instead of brown, and looked over at Jaune who was so kind to offer to be her cameraman after her usual photographer bailed on her just that morning.

She ran her hands through her hair, which was now raven black instead of her usual blonde, and held that pose for the next set of pictures Jaune was going to take.

*SNAP* *SNAP*

Jaune, to his credit, did a great job at focusing on just taking the pictures and doing his job. It wasn’t easy. It got hard to maintain focus when Jessica started to pose more and more provocatively. He didn’t stare, but he had to check the pictures to make sure they were okay. With seeing so many sexy pictures, he couldn’t help the hard on that formed in his white swim trunks. He did the best he could to conceal it, but it was pointless.

Jessica saw the bulge forming from the start. She wasn’t offended or disgusted. She know the effect she had on guys and even some girls. She knew Jaune wasn’t a pervert, he just genuinely thought she was very attractive. That made her smirk a little proudly. It was nice knowing he thought she was pretty not just because she had big boobs.

*SNAP*

Jessica stopped posing and relaxed her body. She sighed and moved towards the stairs of her pool. As she started getting out, she looked to Jaune. “Alright Jaune, I think that’s plenty to work with. Thanks again so much for helping me out on such short notice.”

Jaune looked up from the camera screen, a bit startled by Jessica’s sudden voice. “Y-you sure? We could get a few more if you want.”

“Nah it’s fine. You’ve already taken at least 200 already. Put down the camera and I’ll go inside to get you your money.”

Jaune lowered the camera to waist level, but quickly waved his hand to dismiss Jessica’s. “No no, you don’t need to pay me. I was happy just to help out a friend.”

Jessica dramatically rolled her eyes at his dismissal. Seriously, he could really be too nice for his own good. “Jaune, I’m serious! You took four hours out of your Saturday off from Beacon to come down to Vale and help me with my shoot. I’m paying you.”

Jaune just sighed loudly. “Jessica, you don’t need to do that.”

Jessica grabbed a towel and started drying off her lower body as she fired back, “I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”

“I’m serious Jessica.”

“So am I.”

The bickering between the two friends continued for a few more minutes with the same pattern. Jessica would insist that Jaune take money from her, and he would decline each and every offer.

Their ‘argument’ finally ended when Jaune yelled, “I’m not taking your money Jessica!”

Jessica just groaned in frustration. She was getting really annoyed now. How selfless (or stubborn) do you have to be not to accept money you did a job to earn?! She huffed, blowing a strand of her now black hair off to the side, and crossed her arms under her ample chest. When her girls got pushed up a little because of that, she looked down at them. Then she got a naughty little idea.

“Oh alright, fine Jaune. You don’t have to take my money.”

Jaune sighed in relief. He didn’t like bickering with his friends, especially over something as silly as this. He knows he did earn the money, but he just wouldn’t feel right taking money from his friends. “Thank you Jessica, I just don’t like tak-”

“You can just fuck my big tits instead~.”

Jessica had barely finished saying her newest offer when Jaune promptly froze and turned bright red. The camera slipping from his stiff fingers jogged some life back into Jaune. He fumbled with the camera a few times before getting a solid grip on it again. He rigidly turned to look at the beautiful woman who just made his heart stop. She looked very amused with Jaune’s panic. She wasn’t laughing out loud, but her golden eyes lit up while her upper body shook a little with laughter that she was holding back with tightly shut lips.

It took a minute, but Jessica finally reeled in her shaking and Jaune managed to calm down his blush a little. Now instead of it being his whole face, only his cheeks and ears were red.

Jessica spoke first, her lips in a wide and somewhat smug grin. “Wow. That was quite the-*snrk* reaction, ha ha ha.”

“W-well c-can you blame me!?” Jaune defended himself. “Y-you can’t just go making jokes like that! H-how did you expect me to react!”

“I wasn’t joking.”

…

Jaune’s head tilted to the side, the blush on his face being replaced with a look of confusion. “Huh?”

“I was serious. I’ll give you a boobjob.”

Jaune had zero idea how to respond to that.

So instead, his jaw just went slack and hung open in disbelief. Jessica did him a favor and stepped closer to him. She raised his jaw up with one slender finger on his chin to close his mouth. She slid her nail lightly along the underside of his jawline back towards his ear and then up towards his chin again, flicking her finger off when she ran out of track to follow. The small smirk still on her lips, she asked, “So how do you wanna go about it?”

Jaune sputtered while the red coloring flowed back to his entire face, before managing to speak. “Jessica! How could you say something like that?!”

“What’s the big deal?”

Jaune looked away sheepishly. “Y-you shouldn’t throw your body around like that. I-it’s not right. Your body isn’t something to use like a tool. Especially not for payment.”

Jessica’s brow scrunched up a bit in confusion, before her eyes lit up with realization.“Oooooh, Jaune you’re-” Jessica stopped herself and thought for a bit. He thought that she was offering her body just to pay him back for his help. ‘Oh for the love of-!…Jaune, why do you have to be so sweet and cute, but sooo dense! Okay, blunt it is.’ “Okay Jaune, how about this. I’m going to tell you, very clearly, what I meant by what I said.”

“O-okay?”

“I WANT you to fuck my tits.” Before Jaune could make a sound at hearing this new revelation, Jessica continued. “You weren’t the only one who couldn’t help sneaking a few glances.”

Jaune’s brow raised in confusion. “W-wha?”

Jessica grinned almost hungrily at him. She bit her glossy lower lip and moved her index finger to point down several times. “Those white trunks of yours aren’t that great at hiding anything~.”

Jaune’s eyebrows scrunched together a bit in confusion. He looked down to see what she was referring to, and promptly turned red.

Jaune had apparently gotten a bit distracted by Jessica because he had completely forgotten about the stiff problem in his trunks and stopped trying to hide it some time ago. Well that problem hadn’t gone down in the least. Jessica’s proposition hadn’t helped either. His boner had shifted and started pressing into the front of his trunks full force, making a bulge that no one could miss.

“So what do ya say~?”

Jaune’s attention shot back up to Jessica. While he was looking down at his own crotch, she had moved very close to him. So close they were almost touching. Jaune had to tilt his head a bit to look down at her. He accidently looked down a little too far though and ended up staring directly down her cleavage since her wonderful, bountiful chest was only an inch away from touching his.

As much as Jaune wanted to, he couldn’t look away.

Jessica noticed that he was staring again almost immediately. With a smirk, she quickly bounced on the balls of her feet several times, getting her tits to bounce and jiggle beautifully in her tight red bikini top. Jaune’s eyes stayed locked on them.

“You wanna see if my big girls can help out with your little friend down there~?” Jessica’s eyes had a teasing glint, not that Jaune noticed. He just nodded his head to say yes, or he was still tracking her bouncing tits. Either way, both were good enough for Jessica. She gently took his hand and led him over to the closest pool chair next to a small glass table.

Jessica turned around and sat down on the soft, yellow cushion on the chair. She had to admit it felt pretty nice against her ass cheeks since it was warmed under the sun all day. She brought hands up to undo the knotted string on Jaune’s swim trunks and gently slid them down. The white trunks dropped to Jaune’s ankles, the man’s breath hitching when they did, and it was Jessica’s turn to stare.

Jaune’s very, very hard cock sprung free, no longer being confined in those trunks that now looked way too small to Jessica. ‘How did they manage to keep this dick contained? It has to be a good seven inches at least!’ The seven inch monster in question stood directly out from Jaune’s crotch, completely rigid and with the head aimed directly at her face.

Jessica stared down the shaft of the huge cock, not blinking. She inched her face closer to it briefly, but she pulled back just before her lips touched it. As much as she might want to, that wasn’t the deal. ‘There will probably be another time for that anyways~.’ Jessica heard Jaune whimper though when she pulled away. She glanced up at him with a small smirk. “Don’t worry Jaune, you’re gonna get something else. I think it will be even better too~.”

Jessica swung her legs up onto the lawn chair and scooted back on it. She arched her back and pushed out her chest before laying down against the inclined backrest. She reached over to the glass table and picked up the bottle of sunscreen that was on it next to her scroll. She hadn’t used it for the shoot, but it was always nice to be prepared for anything. After all, she was about to get some great use out of it now.

She flicked open the lid and turned it over right above her tits. She stared directly at Jaune with complete confidence as she squeezed the bottle and felt the chilly white cream landed all over the top and into the valley of her cleavage. For a good five seconds, Jessica just kept layering up the sunscreen. Finally the long, white stream from the bottle ended with a small pouf. She closed the lid and put it back down on the side table next to the chair. She jokingly cleared her throat and looked back to Jaune.

With a smile, she grabbed her own tits, almost slamming her hands down on the soft D cup mounds, still covered by her bikini top. Jaune unconsciously let out a high pitched noise when he saw those big mounds flatten a bit under her hands. His eyes stayed locked on her big tits as her hands slowly began to roll them around. The large amount of sunscreen on top of and in between them slowly began to get spread around every inch of her flawless skin, especially in the wonderful valley between her boobs.

Her smooth, tan skin was soon covered in obvious white streaks from the sunscreen being rubbed in just a little bit. The bikini top she was wearing also shifted and Jaune could just start to see the darker skin of her areolas, and her hard nipples pressing against the fabric.

“That should be enough.” Jessica stopped playing with her own tits and ran her slightly messy hands down her slim waist. She laid back against the back of the lawn chair and pushed her chest out. “Well Jaune, feel free to start whenever you come back to your senses~.”

While Jaune was indeed very distracted by her erotic show just now, he was still very aware of what she said. He hesitantly took a small step out of his swim trunks and closer towards the chair she was laying on, his shins now touching the frame of it and completely naked. A part of him still wanted to decline, another part even wanted to say he’d just take the money now, but those were both very small in comparison to the part of him that wanted what was being offered right in front of him.

Jaune carefully raised his right leg and climbed onto the chair as well, his knees pressing down on the cushion on either side of Jessica’s thighs. He slowly scooted his knees forward and soon had his hard cock positioned above her chest. He looked down at her, then realized he was still holding the camera. With one hand, Jaune reached over and set it down on the same table that the sunscreen bottle was on.

With his hands now free, he grabbed the top of the chair’s back above Jessica’s head. He lowered his hips to position his cock at the bottom of her boobs under the middle bikini strap. He looked at Jessica to make sure it was okay. Their eyes locked and Jessica bit her lower lip as she nodded. Without any more hesitation, Jaune slid his cock head into her vast cleavage.

His cock head hit the skin in between her tits and slid up inside with ease, getting both of them to shiver a bit. Jaune pushed his cock all the way through and pulled his hips back. Within seconds, Jaune had started a steady rhythm of fucking Jessica’s tits. Jaune continued to hump into her cleavage, already loving the amazing feeling enveloping his cock from the incredibly soft pillows enveloping his shaft.

Jessica was also enjoying herself. She looked down from Jaune’s blushing face to her cleavage. She was greeted by the sight of the head of Jaune’s cock popping out, now slick with white sunscreen too. She was pretty impressed that it was big enough to do that. She could also feel just how hot and hard his shaft was. ‘Fuck, it feels like a metal rod! Let’s see how he likes this though~.’

While Jaune did already seem to be in paradise, Jessica decided to make it just a bit more… interesting for him~.

With a smirk, she moved her hands back up to her tits and pushed them together. Jaune gasped as the soft tits that were around his cock started to squeeze down, rubbing the cock between them even more. He stopped moving just to get used to the new tightness. Jessica chuckled as she heard the man above her gasp, letting her know that she made a good move.

Jaune started rolling his hips forward once again, this time needing more force to push into her slick cleavage. Pretty soon, his rolling turned into full on thrusting. Jaune was now literally just fucking her tits without a second thought, letting out small grunt and groans as he did so. His grunts almost drowned out the slick ‘plap’ing sound of his cock pumping in and out between her slippery tits as he thrusted away.

Those weren’t the only noises being made though. Alongside Jaune’s grunts, his cock’s slick ‘plap’s, and Jessica’s own moans and giggles as she watched Jaune eagerly thrust away between her sensitive tits, was a creaking sound coming from the rocking chair they were on. With Jaune’s harder thrusting, the chair had started shaking quite a bit. Jaune had also tightened his grip on the back of the chair, unknowing pulling it towards him with his thrusts. Jessica felt the rocking, but thought nothing of it.

Until Jaune pulled so far that the back of the chair slipped out of the slot keeping its back inclined.

“Aaaah!”

With a surprised yelp, Jessica fell back with the chair. She let out a small “Oouf!” as the chair flattened out. It now looked more like a skinny bed.

“Jessica?! Are you okay?”

Jessica, now laying flat on her back, looked back up to Jaune who was propped above her. He looked at her worriedly and had stopped his thrusting. She smiled and nodded. “Yup! I’m all good. Actually, this position might be better~.” Her hands squeezed and rolled her tits around Jaune’s cock, enticing him to continue. “Though, I still haven’t gotten your white stuff on my tits~. So keep going~.”

Jaune looked at her for a second, but once he saw that she really was okay, he started rocking his cock back into her cleavage again. A few seconds later and he was back to thrusting between her tits as quickly as he had been. The new position they were in was definitely making it a lot easier for him to fuck the sexy cosplayer’s tits.

Jessica didn’t stop helping her girls rub his dick either. Her hands still firmly pushing them around Jaune’s shaft, even sinking her fingers into them a little, making her moan along with Jaune. She glanced over at the table next to them, thinking about pouring some more sunscreen on to help things get really messy, when something else caught her attention.

She saw her scroll though the glass. Seeing that it was more within her reach than the sunscreen bottle, she quickly got another idea. She moved her hand off her left tit and reached over to the table, now using one arm to keep her breasts wrapped tightly around the meaty rod fucking them. She smirked as she started her naughty little plan.

Jaune didn’t see Jessica reach for the table because his eyes were closed, just enjoying his own little paradise at the moment. For a whole minute, Jaune was only focused on pumping faster and faster into her slippery cleavage, his cock still gliding effortlessly into her deep valley. It felt too fucking good to stop now, and he wanted as much pleasure as he could get.

His heavy balls were sliding along her stomach and slapping into her underboob at this point with how heavy his thrusts had gotten. Jaune scrunched his eyes shut even harder and let loose a guttural moan as he felt himself get right to the edge. He could feel his cock twitch and pulse as he finally hit his breaking point.

“Fuuuuuuck! Jessicaaa!” Before Jaune even finished shouting her name, he was already unloading ropes of cum. “Uuuughfuck!” As he continued to release ropes of cum out without care, he felt absolute bliss shoot through him. Nothing could have ruined how amazing he felt right now.

For nearly a minute, Jaune kept shooting loads of his thick cum. He felt them get smaller and smaller though, and soon came to a full stop. Jaune panted heavily, coming down slowly from his climax. The best best one he’d ever had too. He slowly opened his eyes finally and looked down, and his slowly softening cock nearly shot back to attention when he did.

Underneath him was Jessica Nigri, covered in his spunk. everything from her head down to the top of her breasts was covered in thick white ropes of his cum. The sexiest part of that though was seeing her happily lick around her lips and scoop up what cum she could into her mouth, all with a sexy smirk on her glossy lips.

Jessica took her hands off her tits and started using them to scoop up cum off her face. She brought her fingers to her mouth and slowly pushed them past her lips one by one, sensually sucking them clean from cum. She moaned in the back of her throat, knowing Jaune was watching her now.

After all her fingers were clean, Jessica parted her lips slightly and pulled her last finger out of her mouth, pulling her bottom lip down a little as it slid out. She looked straight up into Jaune’s eyes and moaned in a sultry voice. “Mmmmmm~. Delicious~.” Jaune blushed when he heard that, getting a small chuckle from Jessica.

After waiting a couple of seconds to let Jaune calm down, Jessica started to sit up, prompting Jaune to back away from her and sit down on the long side of the chair. Jessica made sure that her bikini top was still somewhat fitted on her breasts as she sat up completely, then swung her legs off the chairs side to join Jaune sitting directly next to him. She stretched her arms up above her head with her fingers interlaced, letting out a relaxed sigh. Jaune didn’t stop himself from staring at her chest as she pushed it out.

Jessica’s arms fell back down to her side and she gently started to rub Jaune’s thigh with her right hand. “Mmmmuuuh that was pretty hot Jaune, you have fun~?”

Jaune looked over at her, and eagerly nodded his blushing head. “Yeah, t-that was amazing Jessica.”

Jessica kept smirking and patted his thigh twice with her hand. “Well, maybe that can happen again sometime. Whaddya think of that Jaune~?”

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Well then, I guess we’re gonna have to try to get together more often huh~? But for now, I think I’m going to go take a shower and get cleaned up a bit. You did get me pretty messy~.” Jessica stood up and picked up her scroll. “If you’d like, I have a spare bathroom with another shower that you could use.” With that, she started to sashay towards her house with a sexy sway in her hips.

Jaune started after those swaying hips and committed them to memory. As Jessica slid her home’s backdoor open, Jaune stood up and picked up his swim trunks, covered his crotch with them and jogged to catch up to her. Jessica stepped aside and let him in first, admiring his fine ass as he walked by. ‘I’m gonna have to compare mine with his sometime~. Those are some firm cheeks~.”

With that thought, Jessica stepped into her home as well and closed the door behind them.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chime~

Cinder’s musing on her scroll was interrupted as she received a video message. She also groaned when she saw who it was from. “Uuugh. What does that bimbo want now?” Cinder was really tired of being annoyed by Jessica. Jessica had tried to be ‘friends’ with her at first, but now just seemed to just enjoy annoying Cinder whenever she could. Just the thought of her right now started to make Cinder feel frustrated.

“Whatever it is, it’s probably just a waste of my time.”Despite her better judgement, Cinder still opened the message from Jessica, though a bit begrudgingly. After a few seconds of loading, the video started to play and she was greeted by the sight of her ‘counterpart’ Jessica recording herself by holding her scroll out above her. Cinder could see her body was rocking slightly, but before she could even wonder why that was, the camera began to pan down Jessica’s body.

Revealing a large cock quickly pumping back and forth between her sunscreen covered breasts.

Cinder’s head recoiled back slightly at seeing such a thing on her screen. Because she was farther away from the screen now, Cinder finally noticed that there was a small caption in a tinted dark blue line on the bottom of the video.

[I hope you like trying to catch up Cindy~. I think I have a good step up on you~.]

Cinder scoffed after reading that caption. “What on Remnant is she talking about? What could I possibly need to catch up with…. her…. on…” Cinder’s question trailed off as the camera angle panned again, completely flipping around this time. It landed on the face of a man propped above her.

Not just any strange man either. But Jaune Arc. The Jaune Arc that she had been trying to get to fuck her for weeks, with zero results. And now here he was on her scroll screen, currently fucking this bimbo’s tits!

The video ended while Cinder was ranting in her thoughts. It started to replay on a loop, but before it played the first five seconds again, the screen went blank. Then started to show cracks as Cinder slowly crushed it in her grip. She abruptly stood up and tossed her scroll on to the bed she’d been on.

She straightened out her red dress and started to pace towards the door. “Fine. If that slut wants to try to steal what I want, I’ll happily make her realize her mistake. You wanted me to ‘catch up’ Jessica? Well, I’ll make you regret those words.”

With a determined fire blazing in her eyes, she left the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She didn’t pay any of the scared students she passed a second thought. She had to think of a plan of how her desired fucktoy to get back, and rub that bimbo’s face in it when she did.

#rwby #jaune arc #jessica nigri #jaune x jessica nigri #cinder fall #archive of our own #ask #non sfw #lemon #smut story #anonymous

111 notes · View notes

saharamae21 · 3 years

Text

We Were Wild - Prologue

Hey guys. As you may be able to tell, I am a HUGE Minnesota Wild fan. A huge hockey fan in general. I decided to write a fanfic about the Wild and Kaprizov (the love of my life). I’m writing this for my own entertainment but I also hope you guys like it. Even if you aren’t a NHL fan, I think this will be a cute love story. You don’t need to know the players.

Thanks guys.

Also the title will probably change... Haha.

____________________________________________________

Prologue:

The cold always felt like home to me. Winter always made me happier than the summer ever could. With winter came skating and hot chocolate. It also brought blizzards and freezing temperatures, things that often reminded me of myself…

I woke up with the air feeling extra heavy within my room. The humidity would not let up, especially during a Minnesota summer. On top of that, my air conditioner sat broken in the window, mocking me.

I could hear the sounds of rush hour beginning. I pulled my curtains open to see the city bustling around me. I smiled down at the busy street below me. Whenever I looked out the window at the traffic below, I felt on top of the world. Something about the busy city made me feel at home. After spending my time at college up in the northland, I was happy to be back in the cities.

I let out a yawn and made my way down the hallway. I could see my college best friend and current roommate pouring a bowl of cereal out of the corner of my eye as I slipped into the bathroom.

“Kat! You aren’t really going to spend the rest of your summer in an ice rink, right?” Eliza yelled across the apartment at me when she heard the faucet running. I chuckled as I splashed the cool water on my face.

“You know I love hockey,” I retorted, grabbing my toothbrush. I heard her snicker and told me to come eat breakfast before I left. I shook my head though. My stomach was filled with butterflies at the idea of starting my new job.

I pulled my long brown hair out of my face and up into a high ponytail. I couldn’t have it getting in the way today. I applied a small amount of makeup before really looking at myself in the mirror. I smiled, trying my hardest not to look too tired.

“Come at least sit with me while I eat breakfast!” Eliza whined. I chuckled and walked out to the kitchen. I filled a glass of water and sat down next to her. She rolled her eyes when she saw the excitement in me. “You know they only want you because of the new Russian kid they’re bringing in. You’re basically going to be a translator, Katerina.”

Sadly, she was right. They hired me as a photographer, but they asked me to help their newest rookie out. I had a feeling that pictures would be lower on my task list then I had initially expected.

They hired me because I had hockey photography experience from college. I took photos for my university’s hockey team. Not to mention that they were one of the best college teams in the US. However, they also hired me because I was Russian.

Katerina Petrov, first generation immigrant. My parents immigrated to the US when I was four. My mother didn’t speak a word of English and my dad had a limited vocabulary. He basically got a factory job by saying, “I fix that for you,” and pointing at a machine. Russian was my first language and English was my second.

“I know…” I muttered. “But on top of that, they’re paying me to shoot their games. That’s my dream. Plus who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by the hottest team in the NHL.”

She laughed at my joke, knowing damn well that I was right. The Minnesota Wild has some of the best looking hockey players across North America. Still, Eliza looked at me and told me not to get my hopes up. She was right, this job might not be what I think it would be.

After she had finished eating, we both went back to our rooms to get ready for the day. She was off to her engineering job and I was heading to the TRIA Rink where the Minnesota Wild held practice. We lived very different lives.

My jaw hung open as I walked up to the building. I couldn’t believe that I was actually here. I secured my camerabag on my back and took a deep breath. I slipped my face mask on and pulled the door open.

Inside the lobby, Bruce Kluckhohn waited for me. He smiled at me as I walked in. I walked up confidently and offered him a handshake. I greeted him nicely with a huge smile on my face.

“Katerina, right?” he asked me. I smiled and held back my chuckle. Hearing my full name in an American accent always caught me off guard.

“You can call me Kat,” I said. He nodded in response and took me around the practice arena.

It was cold and empty when we got there. There was no sign of players anywhere. My head swiveled around to see everything about the room. I took mental notes on where the lights were and where the best spots to stand would be. I glanced at the plexiglass around the rink and smiled at how clear they were still.

“You won’t have to worry about that,” Bruce said as he motioned for me to follow him. I tilted my head in confusion and walked slowly behind him. We made our way around the rink and onto the bench. I could feel the chilled air radiating off of the ice. Bruce turned to me with a smile. “You will shoot from here.”

I stared at him in silence for a moment as my mind tried to process what he was saying. Why would I get such an awesome spot to shoot from? I opened my mouth to ask questions but I was interrupted by someone behind me. I turned around at the call of my name and saw someone I would recognize a mile away. Dean Evanson, the Wild’s head coach, stood right in front of me.

“Katerina, it’s wonderful to meet you,” he said with a smile. He shook my hand.

“Hi,” I said, freezing up a little bit. “You can call me Kat.”

I could tell he was surprised by my voice. I sounded very American and he was not expecting it. Even though I was Russian first, I lost my accent at a young age. I spoke English everywhere except for at home and having an accent made things harder for me growing up.

“Okay Kat,” he said, a smile on his face. “C,mon. I can show you the rest and explain things a little bit more.”

I nodded and followed him through the rest of the training facilities. It was a huge building and I could see myself getting lost before I got used to it. I listened carefully as he explained the situation to me. As I listened, I felt myself getting more and more discouraged. The reason I was here was to provide Bruce a hand. There was no guarantee that they would use my photos anyways. The main reason I was here was to help with communication between the coaches and their newest team member, Kirill Kaprizov. That’s why I would shoot their practices from the bench. It was so I could provide clarification at practice whenever he needed it.

“We really appreciate having you here and we look forward to seeing the talent you bring to our team,” Dean said as we made it back to the rink. I forced a smile on my face and nodded, telling him I would do my hardest before he walked away.

After he left, I looked out at the rink and noticed a few of the players skating on the ice. Bruce was over on the side opposite of me taking a few photos of the guys. There were no coaches around, but they looked like they were working on some drills. I walked over to the bench and pulled my camera out. I attached my 70-200 mm lens and adjusted my settings carefully. I snapped a couple of photos, observing the players on the ice. I immediately recognized a couple of them. Jared Spurgeon. Mats Zuccarello. Kevin Fiala. Matt Dumba. I could name them all. Well, all but one.

He looked young. He had to be around my age. His dirty blonde hair stuck out the back of his helmet. However, the thing I noticed the most was that he looked frustrated. He skated over to the bench, muttering to himself.

“I’m trying to understand, but I keep messing it up,” he said under his breath. However, he didn’t say it in English. This was him. This was Kirill Kaprizov.

“You’re working hard. Don’t worry, it will get easier,” I said to him.

His head shot in my direction. He had this dumbfounded look on his face as he stared at me.

“You can understand me?”

#saramae21 #mn wild #mn wild fanfic #mn wild fic #wild fic #wild fanfic #Minnesota wild #kirill kaprizov #kirill kaprizov fanfic #kirill kaprizov fic #hockey fic #hockey fanfic #nhl fanfiction #nhl fic

45 notes · View notes

originalengineerstranger-blog · 7 years

Link

#video cameras under 200 #waterproof camera under $200 #what is the best point and shoot camera under 200 #top 10 point and shoot cameras under 200 #slr cameras under 200 #point and shoot camera under 200 #good digital camera under 200

3 notes · View notes

spaceskam · 4 years

Text

our fainted thrill carries on (1/13)

and the season 2 fix it is here! warning for anxiety, ptsd, canon referenced violence (aka mentions of jesse), etc!

ao3

Michael watched Isobel drag Max’s body across the ground.

She was yelling at him to help, Liz was arguing with her, Kyle was trying his best to subdue the situation, and Rosa had left the cave pretty much the moment he entered to get away from Isobel. It was all too much for him on top of all the other bullshit he was already feeling.

His hand throbbed, aching with a dull handprint with nothing on the other side. He was attached to nothing. He supposed this was the true feeling of emptiness. The worst part was that he was still pissed at Max. He was pissed at him for being selfish, for shooting at him, for healing him, for acting like his problems didn’t matter. But wasn’t he the dick for hating a guy who was dead in front of him?

“Michael! Help me!” Isobel spat.

“That pod’s broken,” he offered limply. They all gave him their attention for some reason.

“What do you mean it’s broken?” Kyle asked. He seemed to be the only one with a level head which made sense. He was a doctor and all. Plus, he’d been slightly less likely to die in the last 48 hours than the rest of them. Felt fair that he played the calm guy.

“You put him in that thing and he gets fucked up like Noah.”

Isobel gave an irritated, mournful whine and then started tugging Max’s body in the other direction. How much did Max weigh? Over 200lbs? Probably. He was tall and he worked out, so over 200 made sense. How did alien BMI work?

“Michael! Why are you just staring?! Help me!” Isobel spat, dragging him out of his thoughts. Or, kind of. He tried to focus, he really did. It didn’t seem to work, his mind drifting away soon after she got his attention.

He didn’t like this feeling, this emptiness. It brought him back to nights alone in the airstream when Max was always busy being a cop and Isobel was always busy with everything she could get her hands on. Bringing him back to those moments brought him back to missing Alex. It ripped that band-aid off, pushing him towards that crash landing like always. He hated it. But in the moment? In the moment it felt good. Maybe he could figure out a way to have both…

“Guerin,” Kyle suddenly said, right in front of him. He genuinely looked concerned which was strange. “Are you alright? Are you in shock or are you having a panic attack? Or something else? Are you sleep-deprived?”

Michael blinked a few times and then looked around. Liz and Isobel had gotten a blanket and were in the process of getting Max’s body in that blanket to make him easier to carry since Michael was useless.

“I’m fine,” he said. Kyle gave him a look.

“Go home,” he said. Which didn’t sound right and apparently his face betrayed that. “You’re not in a good state of mind and you’re not going to help anyone, especially not yourself, if you stay here. So go home and get some sleep. Can you drive?”

Michael nodded, “I can drive.”

And drive he did.

Alex eventually gave up waiting outside Michael’s trailer, realizing that he wasn’t coming home.

He tried not to jump to conclusions about why. He knew Michael had to be going through some shit on top of what happened the day before if that little moment he’d seen him said anything. He could give him some space until he was ready.

Or, at least that’s what he thought until he entered his cabin and found Michael sitting on his couch in the dark.

“Hey,” Alex said when he saw him, locking the three locks on his door behind him. Michael didn’t look up at him, face just so painstakingly sad as he stared at the coffee table. Alex dropped his keys in the bowl beside the door and just waited for him to say something or do something.

“Max is dead,” he whispered, voice breaking, “My mom is dead and Max is dead and Isobel told me I need to move on and I tried, but I… I don’t know why I’m here.”

Alex slowly walked towards him, deciding the best option was to treat him like a wounded animal. He didn’t ask any questions as he made himself known by stepping in his line of sight. He wasn’t sure if he could actually see him, but he was trying his best. Alex noticed his hand was no longer scarred, a glowing layer on top of his skin. He ignored the mixed feelings that stirred in his stomach at the sight.

“You’re always welcome here, okay? No questions asked, no matter what you do or need,” Alex promised. Michael blinked slowly and his eyes drifted slowly to meet Alex’s, his current state of mind portraying how much he didn’t believe him. “I’m not going to be another person you lose, alright? It’s not happening. Tell me what you need.”

Michael was silent for a moment and then another before Alex realized he didn’t have an answer. He didn’t know what he needed. He wondered if anyone had actually ever asked him that before. So, he stepped a little closer and slowly but surely pulled him into a hug. They didn’t hug often, but he needed it. Honestly, they both did.

What Alex didn’t say was that he was thankful he was here. Caulfield was all too fresh on his mind and, even someone as great at compartmentalizing as he was, it was hard when it involved someone he loved and that someone was not doing well in its aftermath. It was just more shit and he knew if he felt like that, Michael must’ve felt it even more. So he wasn’t going to add to it, he was going to take some away.

“I’m gonna go get you a blanket and you can sleep on the couch. I’ll call Liz or Kyle and have them fill me in, you sleep,” Alex whispered to him, trying his best to be some form of comfort. Michael held onto him for a little bit longer before eventually letting go.

Alex did as he promised, fetching a blanket from his bedroom as well as a pillow. Michael pulled off his boots and curled up on the couch while Alex covered him up. He watched him for a moment, watched him cocoon himself for some semblance of comfort. Alex’s heart ached for him, but he couldn’t just watch him all night, so he went to his room and got his phone.

He called Kyle and grabbed a notebook, taking notes as he got filled in so he’d be able to order his thoughts better. Max was dead, Rosa was alive, Isobel had insisted they work on bringing Max back, and Liz was refusing to acknowledge the facts.

“Okay, what do you need me to do?” Alex asked, drawing a line under the top half of his notes and starting his first bullet point.

“Um, I-I guess we’re going ahead and trying to fix Max,” Kyle said, his voice hesitant and unnerved. Which made sense. In the margin of the page, Alex scribbled ‘make Kyle talk about Caulfield’. “So if you can help me find a space to make a lab, I guess?”

“I can do that,” Alex agreed, “Guerin’s here by the way. I know you don’t care, but I figured Isobel might.”

“Okay, good, good. I’ll tell the girls,” Kyle said. Some rustling sounded on his end and then he spoke again in a hushed voice, “I, uh, also need to talk to you about your dad.”

Alex sat up straight, his eyebrows furrowing. His heart skipped a beat involuntarily and he grabbed the remote on his bedside table, turning on his TV that showed a screen of all the cameras he had around his house. No one was trespassing outside, the doors were all locked (though he’d double-check before he took his prosthetic off), and Michael was still in a ball on the couch.

“He tried to shoot me,” Kyle said, voice still soft but he was clearly on edge.

“Excuse me?”

“I was wearing a vest and I put him in a medically induced coma. I just got him in the hospital when Liz called me, so I know where he’s at and he’s incapacitated as of right now, but this isn’t forever. We need to move Project Shepard headquarters soon or it’s going to get bigger than this,” Kyle warned. Alex decided not to tell him that it already was bigger than this.

“Okay, I’ll work on shifting everything I’ll work on finding a lab space. Hopefully in the same building and we’ll see what we can do. We can talk more about the specifics tomorrow, I guess. Are you good, though?” Alex asked.

“I’m as good as I can be. Sore, a little confused on how to be a brother all of the sudden,” Kyle sighed, “Look, I gotta go. Liz is trying to fill Rosa in on a decade of information, so I’m gonna try to help or something. Fuck.”

“Okay, take care of yourself. Call me if anything goes bump during the night,” Alex told him.

“I will.”

They hung up without saying goodbye.

“Michael.”

Michael sighed and looked up from the car he was working. Isobel stood a few feet away, face cleaned up and dressed almost regal as if that would cover up the fact that Max died last night. He was dead. Dead, dead, dead.

“What?” he asked. She scoffed, shaking her head.

“What is going on with you? That was so uncharacteristic for you to just leave and then I find out you went to Alex’s? After everything you said yesterday?” she laid out, not wasting any time. He didn’t respond right away. He didn’t really know how to. There wasn’t much to say. He’d hit his limit.

“What do you want me to say, Isobel? Nothing happened between us, I just ended up there because…”

“Because you love him,” Isobel filled in. Michael turned his focus back to the car. “And I know nothing happened because there’s something wrong with you and I don’t know Alex that well, but I know enough that he wouldn’t do anything when you’re... like this. You were off before Max decided to play martyr. So, what happened? Tell me.”

His jaw clenched, gripping the hood of the car until his hands ached. His left hand had a glove on it, hiding the handprint that felt like a taunting reminder of everything, but it still seized up far too fast. It’d been hurting all night and now all day and Michael had to wonder what exactly Max did to him if he didn’t heal it.

“Michael,” Isobel said firmly.

“What? What do you want me to say?” he demanded, “If you knew I was so off, why didn’t you say anything when we were talking yesterday? I thought my relationship problems weren’t that big a deal compared to yours?” Her eyes narrowed at him.

“This isn’t a relationship problem,” she said, scoffing, “It feels closer to the way Max felt after he brought back Liz. Like something is literally wrong inside your head, you’re on edge.” Michael scoffed, slamming the hood and turning to face her. “I didn’t say anything then because I didn’t feel it as strong until Max’s went out. Liz thinks that since my connection to him is shut down, the one I have with you is stronger.”

He felt something hit him deep in his gut. How was she doing that? How was she talking about Max dying as if it was just a small inconvenience? Hell, he barely even liked Max half the time and it felt like much more than an inconvenience.

“Okay,” Michael said, waiting for her to go on. Waiting for her to give him more of a reason to speak.

“What is wrong with you?” she said, ordering him like always.

“Honestly, Iz, none of your business.”

He pushed past her, heading towards the airstream so he could try to order his thoughts. But she followed because of course she did.

“I reported Noah missing this morning,” she said, dropping the subject of him. That got him to stop walking. This was too much. As many times as they’d been involved with a murder, they never had been so close to that person when they were alive. Reporting him missing meant it was real, meant they were going to find him, meant they were on the radar. Isobel stepped closer, lowering her voice. “I did it so I wouldn’t be as suspicious, I need to play the part of a grieving widow and I need your help.”

“Need my help? For what?” Michael sighed. He was tired again. He’d slept so hard at Alex’s, how was he so tired already?

“Liz is going to be working on the science-y part of bringing Max back,” she said. He furrowed his eyebrows.

“What does that have to do with you playing widow?”

“I need you to help me work on my powers and work on the science part with her,” Isobel said. He still stared at her, wondering how overworking him meant helping her play a role. “But, when the time comes, I need you to be on your best behavior, okay? People know I’m friends with you and I don’t need them thinking one of us killed Noah to be together.”

Michael stared at her for a little while before nodding. What else was he supposed to do except agree? Still, she took it as a positive and hugged him.

“Also, I think I’ll have to keep some space from Liz and Rosa. Rosa kind of wasn’t happy about me staying at Max’s last night and looking at Liz kind of pisses me off right now.”

“Iz…”

“I know, I know. It’s not her fault Max did what he did, but I’m still working on that, I’ve only had a few hours,” she said. Michael nodded and she again gave him that look. “When you’re ready to talk, I’ll listen, okay?”

He wasn’t sure if he could believe that.

“So Rosa’s good and my dad’s stable?”

“Yeah, I did tests on both of them. Max literally healed her completely, like any sign that she’d ever abused narcotics are gone. Guy gave her a brand new brain,” Kyle said, rolling his eyes. Alex couldn’t help but give a little smile. “And, like I said, I’ll make sure to keep your dad under until you’re ready for it. It’ll be hard since Flint is technically his medical power of attorney, but I’m already breaking rules for worse shit, so.”

“Thank you, man, I really appreciate it,” Alex said, sipping on his beer. Kyle gave a warm smile.

“Rosa said she wants to see you, by the way,” Kyle said, sipping on his beer. Alex tilted his head. “Yeah, she told me she asked Liz to tell you, but I honestly don’t think Liz is on par with where Rosa is. Like, Rosa isn’t really adjusting to having everyone back in her life, just the time jump, so she wants her friends around and Liz is… struggling.”

“I mean, I don’t blame her. It’s gotta be hard,” he agreed. Kyle gave me a look that said ‘you have no idea’ and then took a large swig of his drink. “But, yeah, I’ll make time and I can go see her tomorrow morning.”

When Alex had woken up that morning, Michael wasn’t there anymore. However, his dirty clothes were and he’d stolen some of Alex’s because they were apparently on the level of relationship where he did his fucking laundry. Besides that, though, he made a pot of coffee before he left and Alex was content enough.

“Speaking of, uh,” Alex said, eying Kyle, “Are you good? It’s been a rough couple days. Where’s your head at?”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “Alex Manes, are you trying to talk about feelings with me?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Fuck off, I’m trying to be a good friend or whatever the fuck. Nevermind.”

With a laugh, Kyle said, “I’m okay, I’m just a little more paranoid which isn’t a bad thing considering. Are you okay, though? You and Guerin cut it close getting out of there.”

Alex shifted in his seat. He’d slept twice since Caulfield, but he could already tell he had a brand new shade of red added to his nightmares. Hell, the only thing that got him back to sleep the night before was seeing that Michael was safe on his couch through the cameras. Part of him wanted to ask Guerin to keep coming back every night, but he didn’t want to sound needy.

“I’ll be okay. I’m more worried about him though,” Alex admitted. Maybe he had too much to drink or too little to eat or both. Kyle didn’t say anything. “He was so shaken up.”

“Where’s he at now?”

“Knowing him? Drinking and fucking with shit to pretend like he’s fine,” Alex sighed.

“Pretty sure Liz is doing the same,” Kyle said, tilting his beer bottle behind him. Sure enough, Liz was a few seats away talking to Maria and taking shots. She didn’t seem to notice that they were there.

“He did what?” Liz said, her face twisted in response to the tequila and doing a fantastic job at hiding the fact her boyfriend just died and that she was harboring a zombie.

“He just left without telling me why and now he won’t respond!” Maria groaned, rolling her eyes, “Boys are so stupid.”

“I can’t believe he was even here yesterday,” Liz laughed. Alex couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows, listening a little closer.

“Yeah, it was honestly kinda romantic before he left. He came in after the storm and just kissed me then played guitar for me, we kissed some more,” Maria said, giving an overexaggerated pout, “But then he ruined it by ignoring me, so.”

“Give him some time. I’m sure he had a good reason,” Liz said. Maria leaned a little closer.

“You know what was weird though? I noticed when he was playing‒his hand was healed. Like, I know it wasn’t like that two days ago, that’s weird, right?”

Alex felt his heart drop, confusion tying knots in his stomach. He kissed Maria. He went to Maria after he promised he would meet Alex, but then chose to go to him after Max died. What the hell did that mean? Was he too embarrassed to be sad in front of her? And to think he almost bought that she would actually step away.

But they weren’t together. Even if Caulfield happened, even if he tried to get his point across, even if he threw his dirty jeans in with his uniform that morning. They weren’t together.

Alex cleared his throat and tried to focus back on Kyle who was already watching him.

“You wanna go?” Kyle asked before he could even try to act like that hadn’t thrown him for a loop.

“Yes, actually.”

“Got it.”

“Oh, shit, you got buff.”

“Don’t tell him that.”

Alex grinned nonetheless, rolling his eyes as Rosa felt his biceps during their hug. He’d forgotten how much he missed her. It felt weird, hugging her and being reminded that she had been his idol back in the day. He’d wanted so badly to be like her when he was young, but now she was still 19 and he had grown out of everything she taught him.

“He already thinks he’s hot shit,” Kyle added once they pulled away.

“As if you don’t think you’re hot shit,” Alex shot back.

“Boys, boys, don’t fight, you’re both pretty,” Rosa insisted. They both let out soft laughs, sitting on the couch of Max Evans’ house like it was normal. But he supposed it would have to become normal.

“Where exactly is Liz?” Kyle asked, “I mean, I know they found Noah’s body this morning, but I thought she’d be here with you.”

“She left this morning to go to work and I think she has plans to meet up with the aliens to discuss what to do with the white savior,” Rosa explained. Alex snorted, folding in his lips to suppress a laugh.

“So, just a question, who all knows about this alien bullshit? Like who am I allowed to talk to?” Rosa asked, “Because the idea of being stuck here forever with just Liz and Isobel Evans dropping by kinda makes me want to scream.” Alex laughed, rubbing his leg mindlessly as he readjusted on Max’s stiff couch.

“Um, I think you’re all caught up on who knows. Me, Kyle, Michael, Isobel, Liz. That’s it, I think,” Alex said. He was technically leaving out a couple people, but that was territory he wasn’t in the mood for. Besides, those were the only people that mattered.

“What about Maria?”

“Why do you know, but not Maria?” Rosa asked, gesturing to Alex. That confused him and he looked to Kyle as if trying to understand why that had anything to do with anything. However, it became a little more clear when he remembered just how much of a package deal they’d been at one point in life.

“So, I don’t really wanna get into all the gritty details, but my dad was involved with alien shit. I found out through that and I’ve been using my military clearance to make sure no one gets caught when they do things like resurrect dead girls,” Alex pointed out, giving a teasing smile. Rosa snorted.

“You went into the military?”

“Air Force,” he said. She scoffed and leaned back into the couch, shaking her head at him.

“No wonder Liz thinks you’ve changed.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “She said that?”

“I mean, yeah,” Rosa said, “I asked if you could come over, but she acted like you weren’t the same person that you were when I saw you last and I had to ask Quarterback here to even get in touch with you.” Alex tried to not let that hit so hard. It made enough sense. It must’ve been hard to like him now that he wasn’t so nice, right? He shifted in his seat and Rosa, of course, spotted it immediately. “But fuck that, you know? I know Alex and you still own a room, so you’re still there.”

“He definitely does more than own a room now though,” Kyle jumped in. Rosa made a face like she didn’t have to be convinced to believe that.

“What about your music, though? Or boys? C’mon, give me all the gossip, I’ve missed out on a decade of boy drama. Spill.”

“Okay, I can’t really help on this topic, so I’m gonna raid the kitchen,” Kyle decided, earning laughs from both of them as he exited. But Rosa just leaned forward, eager for whatever he had to say.

“I don’t have much boy drama, sorry to disappoint,” he said, smiling sweetly. She rolled her eyes.

“Bullshit, you’re a fine piece of ass and you always have been,” Rosa insisted. Laughter bubbled out of Alex easier than it had in weeks. “At least what about Michael? He’s still around, so, like, something happened.”

Alex smiled a little sadly as she brought him up. He’d almost forgotten that she was the only one who knew, mainly because she was the only one who could see it from a mile away. He didn’t have to tell her anything, she just knew. She felt like his only safe space for so long and it was strange to remember that maybe, just maybe, he could have that back.

“Well, to shorten a long story, we’ve been kinda on and off since high school. We’re both just… It’s hard to be with someone when their family literally hunted your entire family, you know? I don’t blame him for not wanting me anymore,” he blurted. Rosa tilted her head, looking at him without a single ounce of pity. He loved her for it.

“Alex, fuck that. You’re a good person and if he doesn’t get that, then fuck him,” she said. He smiled and tossed his head back on the couch, groaning slightly.

“No, no, it’s just a lot. We keep just fucking up around each other. I push him away, he pushes me away, we never seem to be on the same page,” Alex tried.

“Then get on the same damn page,” she insisted. He looked over to her.

“How?”

“Alex, I know this sounds scary, but you speak to him.”

He huffed a laugh, glossing over how terrifying that actually sounded.

Talking with Rosa again felt like a certain type of therapy he didn’t know he needed, even if it was weird to throw Kyle in the mix. She was always able to unscramble things in his brain in a way that he understood. Even if right now, they were simply talking about what she’d missed over the last decade and they were skipping the serious stuff. This felt good.

A few hours passed and they’d agreed to hang out more until they could figure out what they were actually going to do about her. Honestly, it felt like the first conversation Alex had had in a while that wasn’t life or death. It was casual. And you know what?

Alex felt better.

The night before, after Alex had gotten back from the bar, Michael had shown up and let himself inside.

He was wearing his own clothes, the ones he stole from Alex nowhere to be seen, and crawled onto the couch without a word. Alex had watched in silent amazement as he re-locked the door without looking. He hoped one day he wouldn’t be so impressed every time Michael used his telekinesis. It would have to happen one day. Today wasn’t that day, though, and they shared no words as Alex let him sleep there. As confused as he was, he promised him a safe space and he wasn’t going to take that away.

If he slept a little better that night having Michael so close, no one had to know.

Tonight, Michael did the same thing. Alex, however, feeling a little more confident after his talk with Rosa, walked over to the back of the couch. With a mug of tea in his hands, he peered down at the man he loved more than anything in the world. He looked rough and sad, but equally adorable as he had the blanket pulled up to his nose. Eventually, he felt eyes on him.

“Is this your way of telling me to go?” Michael asked, his voice set like he expected this to happen despite the fact he never opened his eyes. Alex shook his head.

“No, I said you’re welcome and I meant it,” Alex told him, “But I do want to make it clear that I meant what I said before that too. I want to feel like myself and I want to stop fighting stupid battles and work on separating myself from my father. That means if we’re going to be around each other, things have to be different. We can’t repeat. We need to be completely open with each other so I can help you and your siblings.”

Michael opened his eyes, looking up at him with skepticism. He was always so skeptical of Alex unless they were fucking. What did that say about them as people?

“What if I don’t want your help?”

“Well, too bad. I’m doing it for more than just you. Which means I’m re-enlisting and I’m finding a space for you, Kyle, and Liz to use as a lab while working on whatever the hell Isobel is trying to do with Max that’ll be under military-grade protection,” Alex said honestly. Michael sat up so quick he almost fell off the couch. “But that being said, I would like your permission to look into your mother for just you.”

“Alex, I can’t let you‒”

“I want to.”

They stared at each other for a moment, letting the words sink in.

“Okay. Only if you want to,” Michael said, clearly still processing everything despite his words. Alex licked his lips and took a sip of his tea.

“And I know that you kissed Maria the other day,” Alex said boldly. Michael’s eyes flickered back up to him, frozen like he expected that to be the moment he was kicked out. “We’re not together, so I can’t be mad. But I’m letting you know I know.”

Michael just stared at him, not knowing what to say. That felt good. No wonder Michael left him speechless all the damn time. The power that held made him feel like he had control for once in his damn life.

“You’re still welcome here,” Alex told him before saying his goodnight and letting him curl back up on the couch.

Because, as honest as Alex was feeling, he couldn’t tell him how much he needed him only a few feet away.

#malex #malex fic #michael guerin #alex manes #roswell new mexico #my fic #our fainted thrill carries on #season 2 fix it

84 notes · View notes

alvaro755x · 3 years

Text

What Equipment Do You Need to Shoot Panoramas for Virtual Tours?

virtual tours SingaporeThe Camera - To make great all encompassing pictures you need a top notch DSLR camera with inconsistent focal points and ideally with openness organizing. You need inconsistent focal points since utilizing a fisheye or wide point focal point is practically fundamental to making a viable and definite display without taking a large portion of 1,000,000 individual pictures. Uing a wide point or fisheye focal point likewise implies you will need to put resources into an exceptionally high megapixel camera. This is on the grounds that a wide point focal point twists light to fit more picture on similar measure of pixels. A low megapixel camera won't have a sufficiently high goal to have the option to deal with the stretch round the edge of your fisheye picture. I would not utilize a fisheye focal point with anything short of a 16 megapixel camera and a wide-point focal point with under 10 megapixel camera.

On the off chance that your spending plan permits, unquestionably spring for a camera that highlights openness organizing, this will permit you to take High Unique Reach (or HDR) pictures and is an incredible device for creating entirely uncovered pictures for your virtual tours. High megapixels and openness organizing are highlights that you will discover on any expert grade DSLR camera. For passage level I energetically suggest the Group 60d, you can get one for around £600 and they produce phenomenal pictures. In case you will spend a bit more the Standard EOS 5D Imprint ii is as yet my go to decision for in a hurry photography anytime, bodies are accessible for under £2000.

The Focal point - Assessment contrasts with regards to what kind of focal point delivers the best outcomes. Some virtual tour picture takers utilize wide point focal points, others incline toward full fisheye. Both have their benefits: Wide point focal points make less pixel mutilation around the edges of the pictures and decrease the danger of pixilation inside a display that can genuinely harm the nature of your virtual tour. They do anyway need undeniably more pictures to make a solitary scene. This can enormously protract creation and post handling time and increment the possibilities that a couple of your pictures probably won't line as expected. Full fisheye focal points then again just need a couple of pictures to make a whole scene, the compromise is that they utilize similar measure of pixels to take a lot bigger photograph hence the pictures are lower quality. I find that on the off chance that you utilize a fish eye focal point appropriately, take photographs that are centered well and focus on how your pictures look then there isn't anything that a fisheye can't improve, simpler and quicker than a wide point. I enthusiastically suggest the Sigma 8mm self-adjust that you can get for around £800. Click here : virtual tours Singapore

The Stand - Mounts are something that beginner photographic artists quite often want to get off-base a number to times before they take care of business. You need to recollect that your all encompassing scene Should be revolved around the nodal point, your first concern is ensuring that the camera doesn't move even marginally from the nodal position during shooting. Your foes are twist, inadvertently thumping the stand and having to re position your mount head, these are generally avoidable by putting resources into some great durable gear. You can get a Manfrotto stand legs and ball head for under £500. A ball stand head is especially valuable as you can even out your Panohead effectively over a full(ish) 360 degrees, even in tough spots or harsh landscape. I as of late shot an all encompassing photo of a 4 story design from a shaft nine feet noticeable all around. The solitary way I could make the mount stable was by laying 2 legs on a wooden brace and the keep going on the shaft, the stand was almost multiplied over like an elderly person; without a ball mount head taking a display would have been incomprehensible.

The Panohead - A Panohead is an expert piece of gear that is utilized for finding the nodal (or no parallax) point. The nodal point is vital when accepting all encompassing pictures as it permits each picture to be taken from the very same viewpoint. Assuming the point of view shifts by even a couple of millimeters, articles will look somewhat nearer or further separated comparative with one another implying that when you come to fasten them together you will have enormous issues. There are methods of tending to this without putting resources into a mount and panohead, for instance the Philopod Pitch Variety technique is exceptionally famous anyway assuming you need displays that you can be certain will join together appropriately without fail, a decent stand and panohead are fundamental. Panoheads come in many shapes and sizes, from the financial plan cordial Panosaurous up to the enormous Mechanized Programmed Turning VR head. Having explored different avenues regarding a few of these I have discovered that there is almost no that you can achieve with the completely robotised super dooper T-800 Astala-vista child of Panoheads that you can't do with a mid reach tight particular set up. Get a ninja nodal for an honor winning yet refreshingly wallet cordial £200.

With a decent DSLR camera, the right focal point, a tough mount and a smooth panohead you are well en route to making delightful all encompassing pictures for use in a virtual tour.

#virtual tours Singapore

1 note · View note

airmanisr · 4 years

Video

Lockheed P-38 by Willard Womack Via Flickr: Often picked as the third best fighter in the US Air Forces during World War II, it nevertheless performed superbly in theaters which best matched its capabilities. It first flew in 1938 and was the only US Air Forces fighter plane to be in production during the entire war. Originally named the “Atalanta” from Greek Mythology , as was the custom with Lockheed to name their planes after mythological and celestial figures. The British name “Lighting” stuck and became official. One of the first planes with a nose wheel, which vastly improves ground handling along with landing and takeoff visibility. It also used a control wheel instead of a stick. Giving the pilot a place for both hands during combat instead of both on the stick, which is really made for only one hand. It was the first to fly over Berlin using drop tanks, the first to be ferried to England when in 1942, during operation Bolero, almost 200 Lighting's were ferried via Greenland to England. With it’s long range and high altitudes capabilities, one set an unofficial record of 44940 feet, more were converted to photo reconnaissance planes that any other type. Removing all the guns made a perfect place for the cameras. These were painted a solid blue color. With it’s double booms, center pod and tail section it developed problems with tail buffeting. This was solved by placing fillets where the wing attached to the fuselage. This tail configuration also caused it to have compressibility problems at a lower indicated airspeed than the other fighters. This was solved with a dive flaps under the wing just outside of the engines. However due to production and delivery problems it was not until 1944 that this fix was fully implemented. The early models used the leading edge of the wings as its intercooler to cool the compressed air from the turbochargers. These had many problems in the fridge air over Europe, where the fighting tented to be at high altitude. The oil in the regulators would congeal leaving the pilot with either not enough power to fly or too much power causing engine failure. The pilot also suffered from the cold, more so in the 38 than any other fighter. With no engine in front, no radiator lines under the cockpit, as in the P-51, a poor heater and flying for hours with outside temperatures far below zero, they could become almost Incapacitated. One piloted stated that their squadron finally descended to 3000 feet, despite the anti aircraft fire, just to warm up both themselves and the engines. The Eight Air Force got rid of them as soon as they could be replaced with P-51’s. However in the Pacific, where the air war was fought at lower altitudes, and the cold was not a problem it found its home. With its long range it was able to fly 900 miles, fight for fifteen minutes and fly back to base, even with one engine shot out. Having its four machine guns and one cannon in the nose, it could shoot down enemy aircraft at over a half a mile away. Helping to make it the most deathly fighter against the Japanese by shooting down more that any other plane. With the “J” and “L” models the controls were power boosted. Drop tanks were converted to carry cargo and some with windows to carry one person. Others were converted to carry a bombardier in the nose with a Norden Bomb Sight. A flight would drop their bombs on his signal. During the Battle of the Bismarck Sea they were used as bombers, dropping their bombs at a very low altitude, where they would skip off the water and into the side of a ship. By the end of the war slightly over ten thousand had been built. They help to inspire the 1950 Studebaker car with it’s pointed nose and headlights. The turbochargers acted as mufflers and gave the engines a different sound. That sound, mixed along with that of a Mustang, is the sound used in the movie “Return Of The Jedi” for the Speeder Bike. There are now only twenty seven left, with seven still flying.

#P-38 #aircraft

11 notes · View notes

mauserfrau · 4 years

Text

Afterthought - Bordertober

This... came out a lot different than I expected. I honestly don’t know what the hell.

More early CoV content. First time I posted anything with Mouthpiece. Please read the tags.

Before— Typhon never laid a hand on him.

That might have made things easier. He’d at least have been there, been with him, felt that his father knew him enough to backhand him when he screwed up.

But, no. As soon as Mama was in the ground...

“Daddy, I don’t feel good.”

“Daddy can you read to me?”

“Daddy, have you seen Lil Ty. I’m scared. I...”

“Daddy, I...”

“Daddy?”

There was seldom any answer after that, and then: a thrown glass, a sharp word, a glance in the reflection of a blank monitor.

If Tyreen hadn’t cuddled up against his back at night, he would have sworn some days that he had disappeared.

He wakes up in full sun, his head in his sister’s lap.

Troy gropes the seat beneath them. Right, they’re in the back of a Technical. The air conditioner cranks while he bundles himself tighter in an emergency blanket.

Tyreen pulls her headphones and smiles down at him. “Finally decide to join me, huh?”

“What time is it?” Troy yawns. His back grinds uncomfortably.

“No idea. We’re late though.”

Late is relative on Pandora. Shit happens.

Troy remembers he’s already scripted this tour out. Tyreen’s gotten almost too good at the verbal stabs for some of her lines.

He remembers too: “Hey, do you ever miss...”

Tyreen groans. She shoves her headphones back into place.

The outpost town is dusty, dim and sunburned. The sign advertising its underground caves hangs by half a rope and half a chain. People peer out of fractured windows as he and his sister make their way down the street.

The headman tells them, “We’ve had some, umm, trouble again. We did our best to clear them out...”

“Who’s them?” Troy yawns.

Tyreen snaps her fingers in his face. “Nylex Sen. False prophet. Preaches abstinence. One of her gangs.”

“Right, right.” He stops himself from rubbing his eyes. The whirr of the camera drone stirs his hair. And around him, the townspeople, they seem so close to their busted glass.

Bandits and supplicants filter in soon after their arrival. The hillsides glint with metal and backfires. People wearing knives and skulls and Children of the Vault tattoos come to pay tribute.

Troy blesses anybody who asks. Tyreen strings a handful of other headmen along and dances with psychos. Mouthpiece parks a truck in the town square, and she climbs up on the bed.

Troy smiles. It’s been a while since she’s done a gonzo sermon with wet armpits.

“So, what revelation should I go over for ya? Hmm?” she asks the crowd. To a thousand different answers, she talks about herself.

If he hadn’t heard it all before, her energy would enchant him.

He’s going to have to tell her to stop soon. They need at least an hour for wardrobe and makeup. She’s brushing close to busting her voice.

Troy pushes his footmen out of the way and he heads towards her, hoping to catch her eye.

He hears it halfway through the crush of bodies.

“Hey, Daddy?”

He starts.

No it’s...

It’s just a little girl.

Nobody he knows.

“Mama’s not here,” a man says gently, out of all the whispers. “The bad people’s tyrant got her. These are good people.”

Troy stares at his boots. He shakes Daddy from his mind.

He tries to, anyway.

They get into it once the kohl comes out. “I need to talk to you,” Troy insists. “I need you to listen.”

“I am listening,” Tyreen groans. She takes a hit of lip plumper. “Captive audience, by the way.”

“No, you’re not. Can you maybe be merciful for like five seconds?”

“I keep telling you, not that kind of god,” she sing-songs.

“Well, maybe I am.”

She pauses, turns, and flexes her swollen, pink mouth at him. “I know what you’re thinking.”

With a pencil close to his left eye, Troy accepts whatever she says next and the glitter for his markings, even though he finds the latter ridiculous.

“And OK, whatever. We make orphans too, you know.”

He tries, one more time, in that liminal, disarmed moment before they go on stage together. He tries to press on the heart of the matter.

“Let him go. We got away, Bro. Look at us! Look at them!” Tyreen opens her arms to the monitors, the way she used to when they did sky sermons all the time.

Bandits line the cavern as far as all the camera drones can see. Some stand up to their knees in too-clear toxic water.

Today, she’s dressed some fanciful sort of general, crystals on her coat.

Troy’s costume looks effete compared to hers. It feels though strangely comfortable. He fumbles his collars nonetheless. “I know you’re right, I just...”

She pulls him down to kiss him on the cheek. Without another word, she strides past the stage curtains.

Troy follows.

They declare the raid as an afterthought, tacked onto the end of divine nonsense and some Coleridge because Tyreen loves Coleridge.

They’ve no sooner descended the stage than the air bristles with weapons and people testing their guns.

Tyreen spins through the flickers of cordite.

Troy takes over the actual operation because the headman can’t make sense of his orders. So the guy’s supper for his sister then. For now— they’re under-manned and over-gunned and it’s far later in the day than Troy would have gotten started under any other circumstances. His is flack jacket doesn’t fit.

Snipers make short work of guards. Their people come gushing down the canyon at sunset, leaving smoke and spatter in their wake. The caged tyrant turns out to be so frail and thin there’s hardly any point in shooting the thing.

But somebody does it.

Troy, barely bloody, wanders in the middle of it all until someone calls him over.

Five of them. Five little boys. The one’s still in diapers. They shiver like dead leaves when anyone looks at them. Their skin is littered with hand prints.

The toothless old woman who had them under her bed grins up at Troy.

“What is this?” he says.

“Why, ah, God King, was it? Headman. Good sieur.” How she cackles. “Why, that’s yours. Don’t you know spoils when you see them?”

Troy feels the echoing snap in his muscles after he’s taken her. By the grace of his anger he holds her over his head. She struggles. He squeezes. Red slop sluices onto the floor.

In the corner of his eyes, the two oldest boys cradle each other close.

His heart thunders.

After— the air’s full of smoke and moonbeams. Troy makes his way to the back of a church. Which one? The one’s they’re at tonight. He lost track of the name someplace in the night.

His head hurts for a change.

“Hey, Ty?” he says, hand on the knob of the apartment door.

Tyreen sprawls over the tiny bed, a $200 bottle of gin clasped to her chest and headphones blinking in her ears. At the writing desk, Mouthpiece taps at a laser projection of a piano keyboard. He looks up, nods, and draws on with his notes.

Troy nods too. He leaves the door unlatched and walks back down the shadows still lining the hall.

#bordertober #border-tober #borderlands 3 #Calypso Twins #Troy Calypso #Tyreen Calypso #Troy Calypso PoV #Early Children of the Vault #violence #child abuse #dead animals #Tyreen preaching for a change #no seriously #I don't know what came over me

6 notes · View notes

letterboxd · 4 years

Photo

Green-Light Yourself.

As Merawi Gerima’s debut feature Residue lands on Netflix, he tells Gemma Gracewood about being the son of indie film legends, duty of care as a director, and why Akira is his go-to comfort movie.

Sometimes it’s impossible to move forward with your art until you’ve taken a good look back. In Merawi Gerima’s impressionistic and hypnotic first feature, Residue, a young man, Jay, returns from college on the West Coast to find that his Washington, DC neighborhood has been hugely transformed within a few short years. A white neighbor barks at him to turn his car stereo down. Familiar faces have disappeared. The gentrification is debilitating, but Jay’s efforts to work out his disorientation and rage through art meets opposition with old friends.

Like his lead character, Gerima is both a DC native and a graduate of a West Coast college (USC’s School of Cinematic Arts), and was similarly confronted by change when he got home. Making Residue was “absolutely something that I had to do because that was the only positive direction to pour my energies into,” he says. “I think that there was a lot of destructive potential in my life at that point. The film really was the first moment when I started to feel that I perhaps was not powerless in this situation.”

Derron “Rizzo” Scott as Mike in ‘Residue’.

Gentrification as a form of structural racism has long impacted Black communities, and Gerima is not the first in his family to cover this ground. His parents are the LA Rebellion filmmakers Haile Gerima, whose work includes the Golden Bear-nominated 1983 slavery drama Sankofa, and Shirikiana Aina, who documented changes to their DC neighborhood in her 1982 non-fiction short Brick by Brick.

Residue was a family affair; the Gerima name is all through the credits. “My aunts were the chefs; my sister, she was, like, the head of the catering.” Although his legendary father managed to get off lightly with Costco runs, Gerima’s equally impressive mother ended up anchoring two of the film’s most affecting scenes, as Tonya, the Mom of Jay’s childhood friend, Mike (Derron “Rizzo” Scott).

“I had somebody else cast—she was a no-show. My mother was on set that day, just kind of helping feed people. I knew that she had what we needed, emotionally speaking. She was actually trying to drive away to go find the woman; I was like, ‘Nah, I need you right now’. She did it, but at a great cost.” The thing about filming in your own neighborhood, Gerima explains, where you’ve raised not only your own but also everyone else’s kids, with varying outcomes, is you end up bringing that lived experience to your scenes. “It’s very real for her. She’s not acting. I almost cried once we finished filming. Nobody spoke for a long time.”

The scene taught Gerima much about a director’s duty of care—particularly when he dared to ask his mother for a second take of a pivotal scene that takes place in a downpour. “In preparing to shoot in the rain we made a few mistakes, with the camera, the placement, there was miscommunication with me and the DP [Mark Jeevaratnam]. I, he, we both agreed that we needed another take. When I asked my mother for another take, she just looked at us like, it hurt, it was painful to ask. She did what she could, but you could tell that she didn’t have it in her.” As it turns out, the first take was the one. “I thought we ruined everything, but once I slowed down, I just saw what a miracle it was.”

It’s impossible to separate Residue from its limited budget and circumstances. Structurally rich and technically unusual, the film is a triumph of local knowledge, happy accidents, and “hood auditions”, where people were pulled straight off the street into the cast. It’s infused with an all-hands-on-deck spirit, constructed scene-by-scene during a home edit by Gerima himself.

“We shot the first draft of the script. You know what I mean? We didn’t have time to wait for a rewrite. We didn’t have time to wait for money. We didn’t have time to wait for anything. In many ways, it was the source of many of our problems, but it was also the source of a lot of our freedom, because we weren’t tied down by money. We weren’t tied down by a locked-in script.”

Mark Jeevaratnam, Merawi Gerima (with camera), and Obinna Nwachukwu on the set of ‘Residue’.

At Slamdance this past January, Residue won the audience award, and an acting prize for its star, Obinna Nwachukwu, whose story is a lesson for other aspiring actors. He was right for the role (“He fit the bill in terms of, he knows DC lingo, he knows the culture, he’s from the area, which was incredibly important”). More importantly, he was available. “The fact that we didn’t have resources, we needed somebody like him. He wants to act. He designs his life in his way where he was able to give us two weeks without knowing much about us. Once we got him, everything else became a lot easier.”

After Slamdance, of course, 2020 took a bit of a turn. Residue was shortlisted for Cannes, but that was cancelled and in May Gerima told his college paper: “I think that the festival prospects for the rest of this year are getting dimmer by the day.” When we speak, however, he is in Venice, where his debut feature has just screened in the independent Venice Days section of La Biennale di Venezia. It turns out that Cannes Directors’ Fortnight head Paolo Moretti had put in a word with Venice Days. As 2020 goes, this is as good as it gets for new filmmakers—and is a beautiful demonstration of how the global festival community has pulled together to make something good out of the mess we’re in.

Likewise, Gerima is grateful to Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing, who made the Netflix deal. He notes that a Black-led distribution company is a luxury his parents never knew. “I think if Ava did not exist, our film probably would not have distribution. The broad imagination necessary to see the commercial potential of Black films is still not there. I’m often sad thinking about the fact that my parents had no such opportunity.” Like a scene straight out of Dolemite is My Name, Gerima describes how his folks would book their own theaters across the US and use the African diaspora to help fill them, “proving the commercial nature of these films, in communities that hungered for real Black stories”.

Merawi Gerima directs Jacari Dye on the set of ‘Residue’.

Gerima’s film appetite is wide, and he’s often looked outside the US for inspiration. Some of the most crucial films in his development as a director have been the 1968 post-revolutionary Cuban films Lucia and Memories of Underdevelopment. He is also a fan of La Lengua de las Mariposas (‘Butterfly’, 1999, José Luis Cuerda), which has “one of my favorite endings in film, period”. Japanese influences include Akiro Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (1954) and Kaneto Shindo’s The Naked Island (1960) and he also looks to Chilean legend Miguel Littin and Soviet directors Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Eisenstein and Nikita Mikhalkov. His go-to comfort film? “Akira. I don’t know if it’s comfort, but I watch it all the time! I just think it’s one of the best films ever made.”

On the home front, an “incredible, important” American film is Ivan Dixon’s 1973 action drama The Spook Who Sat by the Door, while the movies that “really put me onto talking to girls” are Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball and Rick Famuyiwa’s The Wood. “These are the types of films, circulating within the Black community [that] we memorize the lines to. That set the sexual compass of Black adolescents, you know what I mean?”

‘Sankofa’ (1993), written and directed by Haile Gerima.

His parents, however, remain Gerima’s greatest influence. “Sankofa was made without arbitration. Black stories that have no minders like that, nobody to answer to, often are far and away, the most honest types of Black storytelling that we see in film.” For other storytellers yet to take the first step, he offers this: “My best lesson from this film has been to always and at all times green-light my own self, my own actions, because that’s the only thing that I can control—and to not wait for conditions to be right or perfect.”

Acknowledging the privilege of being born into a filmmaking family, Gerima adds: “That may not apply to everybody. There are many, incredible things which prohibit action at times. But I think that there are many incredible conditions under which people can take action with the camera. I think that it’s really just a matter of how urgently that story burns within you. I can only say for myself, that’s the way the film got made. Without that, it would have been literally impossible.”

When asked who we should watch next, Gerima recommends 200 Meters, written and directed by Palestinian filmmaker Ameen Nayfeh. (“He’s an incredibly poised and principled filmmaker.”) The film won the audience award at Venice Days. He also recommends Really Love by Angel Kristi Williams, which won a SXSW Special Jury Recognition for acting, and will feature as a Special Presentation at AFI Fest next month.

‘Residue’ is in select US theaters and on Netflix now. Follow Gemma on Letterboxd.

#merawi gerima #haile gerima #la rebellion #residue #netflix #netflix film #array #array releasing #ava duvernay #washington dc #washington dc films #usc #usc cinema arts #letterboxd

7 notes · View notes