Post a picture... Any picture

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Davy, excellent. Did you just buy the "pool player" and use that as a way to self teach yourself?

Jack, I wouldn't normally consider running the base/cove on the wall like that outside of a wet area. That looks pretty sweet.

[Hamilton]

I suggested the slate base vs a wood base because i wasnt sure how a wood
base would look sitting on the irregular surface of slate. i imagined a terrible
caulk line where white base met the floor. everyone agreed it would look better
and we went forward with it.

[shutterbug]

Holy COW Kurt! That Indian is fanominal. How big is it, what kind of wood is it, and how long did it take to carve? Very cool.

And speaking of cool! So is the long exposure of the stars. WOW. Dang, here in the city I could never get something like that. There's way too much 'noise' at night to keep the lense open for much longer than 20 seconds . You're using a traditional camera I assume? Very neat stuff. Thanks so much for sharing!

I must have missed that promo at the 7-11! Davy, what's your "pool player" made of? He looks so shiny. Is he modeled after you ?

And of course Jack's work is always fanominal! Very nice! I'm assuming that's to be a pool table room?

Great stuff guys!

[Davy]

The tileman is made from Balsa wood, the pool player is made from pine.
I first seen the pool player at a local flea market. A man was there selling some of his carvings, some of his work was really neat and expensive. I watched him whittle on a piece of wood for a while and was amazed at how easy he made it look. He wanted 35 bucks for the pool player which I thought was too high. After I got home I wished I would have bought it. The next month the whittler was sick and not there but his wife was there selling his stuff. I asked her how much for the hippie, she said 25, so I bought it. He said the pool player/hippie took only 45 minutes to carve.

[Davy]

Here's a big grin.

[Dave the Tile Guy]

I was so upset about dropping my el-cheapo digital camera (Kodak CX4200)the other night (yes ruined it) that I went right onto ebay and bought myself a brand new one. Anyone have any reviews on the Minolta Dimage Z3? (http://kmpi.konicaminolta.us/eprise/...ages/DiMAGE_Z3) I bought that and its mate flash the minolta 2500d. Looking forward to getting it before we go to Vegas in two weeks.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Hi Marni,

I love your pictures and creative ways to transform the ordinary into the extrodinary!

The Indian head is 8 3/8" tall. To get a perspective, you may notice my left paw holding it while my right paw is clicking the picture. It is made out of butternut wood. (Wood smells kinda good when cutting it) And it took about 2 days of interrupted carving time. I think it would take about 8 hours to make another one like that.

Yep, a traditional camera is what I use for anything cool. I had photography in the first year of high school and have stayed with a manual controlled camera ever since (2.2 decades). I have kids now, so sometimes I wish I had a more automated camera to capture the quick action that takes place, but really like the ability to do whatever you want with the manual. The new digital cameras have a bunch of neat features, but still prefer the film cameras.

That night picture was taken in Northern Wisconsin and nowhere near any city lights. A few months ago, I was taking some other pictures at night and my exposure time was up around 30 minutes. You wouldn't believe how bright the pictures are. They almost look like they were taken during the day. And they were taken at close to midnight, with no moonlight. It was dark. I mean real dark. I used 100 speed film with the aperature turn all the way down for 30 minutes and the intense blue color of the sky is something else. Experimenting at night is just like painting. You start with a dark, black picture, and you "paint" with light here and there until you have your picture painted. While the shutter is open, I take my flashbulb and "paint" a blast of light on something that I want to be highlighted. Sometimes I'll use the flash 10 or 20 times for one picture to light up a distant object. All these neat exerimental pictures were done with a traditional camera and I don't have a scanner to put them here, or I'd show ya all. The night picture I showed was developed at Walgreens so I got a CD with the pictures. But the quality is crappy. The resolution doesn't do it justice.

Jack, good thinking on the irregular caulk lines you might have had with traditional baseboard. How tall did you make them? 4 1/2"ish?? Did you do anything to ease the square top edge?

[Hamilton]

I made the base 6", nope didnt bullnose the edge.... no need really nor would
i want to try to bullnose slate.

[muskymike]

Why not Jack? Here's some that I bullnosed.

[tileguytodd]

Really Jack, Why not???
Ive Profiled lots of Slate including these 30.00 each water jetted deer tracks on this hearth

[shutterbug]

Awfully sweet camera, Dave (the tile guy)! I dropped my last one too and broke the lens; actually it fell off the top of a beer bottle at the bar trying to get a timed group photo... live and learn Cripeny look at the zoom on that thing! Anti-shake... very nice. Hey here's a wonderful resource I just found that gives a great review of the camera. I don't recall that site being so indepth when I researched for the digicam I have now.

Yeah, I saw your fingers holding the Indian head up after I went back to take a closer look at it. It's still neat as heck no matter what size it is! Hmm, butternut wood. Sounds like it smells good Did you finish it with anything?

Yep, I like to play in the digi-darkroom, but I also like some stuff just as it is. Here's a picture of a bunch of rental bikes at a resort. Nothing changed except for a little cropping. It's one of my favorite shots from that trip I also like the b&w one I shot, but it doesn't show the rust and sand.

[Hamilton]

I might try it sometime seein that you folks have. bullnose slate that is.

[John Bridge]

Jack, I'll stick up for you. I've never bullnosed slate either.

I will, though, now that I know that Mike and Todd do it.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

(Holding up right hand) I have never bullnosed slate either, I swear.

You know Jack, I was thinking the same as you and wouldn't consider bullnosing them. I think because of the shaling, I think that it wouldn't come out good, kinda like routing a chippy piece of wood with a router bit and you don't end up with a smooth edge. When I asked, I was thinking that maybe you knocked-off the corner to chamfer it a bit. But now that the others have chimed-in, we are now geniuses and will do it if we need to.

Marni, no finish on it yet. I'll be putting some concoction on it when I get around to it. Probably in 30 years when I retire (although the busiest people I know are retired.....how does that work?)

[Dave the Tile Guy]

Thanks Shutterbug! Yeah I just got the camera this afternoon. Had to even leave work early just to come home and play with it! I can't believe all the functions in this cam...almost like an SLR 'cept for the fixed lens...but an equivalent 420mm zoom! its amazing. I've been running around the house all night snapping photos...learning all the functions of the cam. Definately need to get the NiMh batteries for it though! I've got the external flash coming tomorrow. That will give me a flash distance of almost 90 feet!! lol As soon as I get the hang of it and get some good shots I will post them...until then...a certain camera is calling me!