July 26, 2023
Well, this year the birthday was a little more muted than normal but still awesome (as usual… I can be such a kid at times… lol).
This year my sister and niece were away for my birthday, so her gift to us was to take care of her dog for a week, a little 3.5 pound ball of fire. 😀 😀
Of course that is not all that my niece, sister and mother did for me… there was a birthday cake, lots of really bad singing and a few super nice birthday cards before they left.
I’ll not post the private heart-felt messages written inside, but as you can see, my sister and niece always come through with something hilarious. Of course my mother wins the prize this year because she surprised me with the Beltuna Leader V accordion, an AMAZING instrument that I wrote about in an earlier blog post here.
Finally, I also took the time to get a couple little gifts for myself… of course it is either accordion or videography related.
I ordered a small cable that goes from USB-C to Mini USB to connect my phone to the audio interface without needing to use the Apple adapter.
I also purchased some higher output bulbs and special bulb holders to increase the amount of light that is shined on me while making my videos:
Because of the increased light I can address the following in my videos:
– I can increase aperture giving me a deeper depth of field and increased image sharpness
– I reduce/eliminate chromatic aberration, increase quality of the colours
– The increased aperture gives me a greater depth of field keeping more of me sharper
So, in real life, do the extra lights make a difference? Yes they made a big difference! They permit me to increase the aperture from F/2.2 to F/6.3, and that is huge. For all the improvements listed above… mission accomplished!
I’ve also better adjusted the bulbs since this picture, to better aim the light closer to the center:
So, all in all, it was an amazing birthday and I am super happy to again make it to the start of a new year of life. I am so grateful!