Author: Lisa Beal

Lisa’s Big, Fat Camera Collection







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Video


Top to bottom:
A. JVC
B. Panasonic
C. Panasonic
D. JVC GZMH77U HDD camcorder
E. Canon Vixia HDD+SDHC camcorder
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SLR / DSLR

Top to bottom:
A. Pentax ME super SLR
B. Pentax K1000SE SLR
C. Pentax ZX-5 SLR
– Focal M-200 flash w/W.A. Adapter & color filters
D. Pentax K20D DSLR w/pro master 7200EDF Digital flash
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Pentax lenses:

Top to bottom, left to right:
A. Sakar 0.42x fisheye
B. Pentax 35-80 AF
C. Pentax 28-70 AF
D. Tamron 28-200 AF
E. SMC Pentax-F 80-200
F. Toyo 200mm

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Support (tripods, clamps, etc)


Top to bottom:
A. MX2000 (brand unknown) tripod
B. Bogen 3001 tripod
C. Dynex DX-SW040 monopod
D. (2) Sima SVP-3 Videoprops
E. (2) ultra-compact “toy” tripods
F. Various Manfrotto quick releases

(No, Jim [Reed] and Bill [Reid — ‘no relation’], I do not plan on dragging all this to Oklahoma for this trip (LOL!) )

TRAVEL – 20 April 2012

  • 0300 – Rise and shine
  • 0330 – Off to the airport, thanks to help from my friend and neighbor, Stuart.
  • 0400 – Change my 9pm flight to a 7 am flight. Now I’ll have time to explore Arlington, Dallas, and the rest of the civilized world of Texas.
  • 0700 – Flight delayed 30 minutes, due to weather (How ironic!)
  • 1000 – Arrive in Dallas. Grab my bags, get a rental car, go to the hotel.
  • 1200 – Lunch at Mariano’s, home of the first frozen margarita machine. Its owner Mariano Martinez has been honored by the Smithsonian Museum for his invention, an adaptation of a common Slurpee machine into the mainstay margarita factory of restaurants across the nation.  Mariano is credited with doing more to sell tequila-based drinks than anyone else on the planet.
  • 1430 – Check in. Take a nap
  • 1800– Wake up.  I apparently have been battling acid reflux (a by-product of pigging out at Mariano’s).  I feel like my meal returned to visit the back of my throat for several hours as I napped.  No wonder all those painting of guys taking a siesta show them leaning against a building versus laying down. Oy! Lesson learned!Also, it looks like the others have not arrived yet (or are not interested in getting together for dinner).  Such is life!
  • 2145 – After venturing out to Fry’s Electronics and a visit to the Sonic drive-in  (for a banana milk shake to soothe the savage stomach). I’m turning in for the night.  I’m not very optimistic about our chances for sever weather for the next view days.  I wonder how we’ll pass the time.

PROLOGUE – 19 April 2012

Wow! I hate packing at the last minute.

I hate the thought that some piece of gear will not be working and I’d have to repair or replace it in the last 48 hours before departure. The lion’s share of my technological toys are specialized enough that a last minute replacement would mean a lot of stress, potentially going out-of-town for the replacements, and unexpected expense.

Odd as this may sound, I’m much more afraid of not being able to record a good storm than of the storm itself; I respect the weather, but fear making the mistake of waiting too long to check my equipment before the trip.

Work has been busy and a bit stressful. I’m very relieved to get out of there for 10 days, even though lots of work will be waiting for me when I return.

Now that all is in order, I can finally relax, just in time for a 6-hour nap before I head to the airport.