Mark Wolfe

The Vulcan -

Using only Photomatrix, what did you do?

Kan Wan said:

Nice try 'Mark Wolfe' to make a HDR, but it lacks that whump in the clouds that really makes it look like a HDR...

Shame I do not have that original photo to show you what Kan be done.

Using only Photomatrix, what more "whump" in the clouds could you achieve? And why? It seems to me about as surreal as you could want.

The Whale under Stormy Skies

He is not a gloater...

Perhaps...

Anyway, I thought the photo was pretty cool, but apparently not as good as it would have been in the hands of Kan.

I will watch in the future what I post. Try and keep it point-and-shoot simple.

Ok, I'll take the bait. Why did you photograph every girlie bar sign in Lamai?

As a record and for the designs.

I used to go out and not ever know the name of the place I was in since they all look the same. Someone would mention such-and-such a bar and I would not have the foggiest idea where it was, even though I might have been there before. So I thought I would record all of them and also I did this since I have an interest in design. You'd be surprised at all the minutia that is "hidden" in the signs. I mean most people never actually study the signs. They are all interesting works of art in their own right.

I photographed every girlie bar sign in Lamai (except the ones at the end of the walking street) and the total was 125.

If the average number of girls in any bar is five, you and your friend should have at least 625 girls to choose from to go with you to Bible study, or whatever it is you are really asking.

And yes, it will be pretty slow, tourist-wise.

Yes, it is only a "nice try." However, without being crafty at Photoshop (none was used) this is the nicest try I could achieve. Also remember that garbage in = garbage out, and these series of photos were shot with a poor-man's camera, not a Nikon D700 with a Canon EF 35mm lens, and with a camera hick's knowledge of settings.

If you really want to show me up, PM me your email and I will send you the separate images.

Remember, just to be fair, you have to use only Photomatrix software, as I did. When you blow me out of the water, please get a screen shot of the settings you used so I can see "how it's done."

Also, I am aware that HDR can be done in Photoshop, if you know what you are doing, which I don't. I also know that a single image in Photoshop can be manipulated to look as amazing as an HDR photo (more or less).

So I will never be able to leave the monastery of pedestrian photos because I will never be able to grab the stone from your hand....

I was there yesterday (did you see me?) and it was really stuffy, like the AC wasn't on.

The guy in the dog house giving out little bits of paper when you parked was a joke anyway. No loss there.

Lighting poor in Samui? You mean like the roads? Shocking!

I don't see anything different in the staff; they have always been useless.

In essence, you are saying that is is becoming more "Thai"? Relaxed standards...park where you will...all the reasons you came to Asia....

Keep him. Make a perch with no cage and see if he will fly around to find food and whatever else gulls do, and then come back on his/her own.

Take him to Chaweng and have his photo taken with tourists; there's some bucks in that, I bet. Or put a cam on his back and have him follow the KP trash-dumping (alleged) tourist boat to gather evidence.

Seriously, I knew a guy who bought some sort of "clean" sand you eat...supposedly scrubs your insides on the way through.

The KP Express is a high speed RIB that takes about 10 minutes to get to KP from Ban Rak.

Holy gull, that's fast! Is there like a huge air bag at the dock? RIB...Okay...er...rapid...uh...something "boat" I'd guess...but "I"?...Oh, hang on, it could be "rapid inflatable boat," right? No, that can't be right. Ten minutes? "Rigid" boat? Realistic? Romulan? Oh... a Romulan craft! Shit. No, no...well, let's just call it, "Really Intense Boat."

Keep it the bird. Train it to perch on your shoulder. I mean really, everyone has at some time or other fantasized about a bird that would stay perched on your shoulder. Here's YOUR chance!

Japhrodisiac:

syllium husk and bentonite clay supplies for a home detox/cleanse

Uh, is this the stuff you want to water down and force up your outlet in an effort to "detox/cleanse" your system? Did you run out of coffee grounds? Used tea leaves?

Dude! Buy a blender!

Seriously, syllium husk you can buy in any 7-Eleven. Bentonite clay is the stuff that they line the edges of the ring road with. Not the gravel, the stuff further out. There are numerous places that sell garden hoses, buckets and nozzles.

It's true, also, that salt sand in the right amounts ingested will help "scour" the intestines. Plenty of that around.

Enjoy your stay.

Any Bird (feathered) experts out there?

Today the K.Phangan express rescued a very waterlogged Gull type bird.

I have never seen a Gull around these parts and the nearest type of bird I can find in my books

is the Vega Gull. He is about 12 inches long with around a 24 inch wingspan, Black head and a white collar.

Black body with speckled white chest

He is eating small fish and drinking at the moment but is showing no enthusiasm for either swimming

or flying. I floated him in the sea but he rapidly became waterlogged even though he been preening a lot.

I can find no obvious injuries and think that perhaps he is just exhausted.

He is presently residing in the Dog cage and is showing no signs of distress, however I'm reluctant to

set him free at the moment as I do not think that he would last very long.

I would appreciate any advice regarding care and feeding.

What is the "K.Phangan express"? A train, newspaper or boat?

You mean what we plain folk might call a "seagull"? You seem to be doing the right thing and either it will be strong enough to fly the coop (you asked for it...) or you have a new pet.

Name?

Get good photographic evidence and sent it all to the Bangkok Post letters section. A copy editor might pitch it for a standalone. I'd submit several and write your own captions for them.

So you are flying into Suratthani, not Samui itself? Why not fly directly to Samui? Cost? It's a bit cheaper with the former method but the hassle factor and time increase.

here was the trick i wasn't going to bangkok. just wanted to know if it is as bad as it looked on telly last night.

Instead of lying, why didn't you just pose the question: Do you think it is safe to fly to Bangkok?

How interesting that you would lie just for the sake of it.

Dangerous? How? These protests have nothing to do with you or me, and aren't affecting transportation to BKK.

Or are you being silly?

I don't understand the "no respect from human." Should we respect the fish or the girl? Or both? Or my grandmother?

2169.... I like the ring of that.

Chayaphum you crazy man! Protesters hijack bus, use as roadblock for airport! Double trouble for OP! Better take private sea-plane!

Sorry, I'm lost as usual.

MyphuketLife

its not worth the risks.

You are kidding, right?

I love you.

You are exactly the sort of mindset that keep tourists away for no good reason, thus making Samui a less-crowded place.

I love you long time.

Why the hel_l bother posting something that no one understands? <deleted> is this about, as if anyone cares? What is "Shushi"? Or are you trying to spell sushi?

The mind is such a terrible thing to waste....

Or SBK a hippie chick.

You can't miss SBK, she's the only real live cartoon character on the loose in KP.

But seriously, I have never seen her.

What if she is really like 80 years old and can cast evil spell? Well, OK, that might be a reason to go to the party if she is there....

No. Yes. No.

I didn't consider or know about the massive fuel consumption, so I learned something.

Now my question is, why doesn't a two-stroke motorbike run dry in a few minutes of driving? Why do jet skis burn such tremendous amounts of fuel in such a short time?

Seems to me this thread will be closed when the party is held. Afterwords it is mute.

As for the gentler people in person theory, I don't doubt that. My point is that whatever a person is like "in person" will shatter whatever mental image I have of him as a poster.

I mean if people saw me they'd realize: "Jesus, haven't I seen him on the cover of GQ? What a physique! Look at all the beautiful women flocking around him. What a stallion! He radiates charisma; how can I too know him?"

See? You don't really want to see the "real" me, do you?