Smeggie

2020 has sucked in so many ways. Thankfully my brothers and sisters at my volunteer fire company pulled together a magnificent project. Operation Santa 2020! And it lifted spirits EVERYWHERE!......including ours! We decorated Santa's sleigh (a 2006 Pierce Fire Engine) and decked it out with an amazing light / sound synchronization system and a kick ass PA system. We literally rocked our way through our entire first due area (21 square miles) over 10 nights. Here's a little video of highlights from Operation Santa 2020! Hope you enjoy it. https://sterlingfire.smugmug.com/2020-Special-Events/Operation-Santa/i-X6LGqGQ/A Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and God Bless! Please stay safe!

Noooo.......come back to the dark side! It was fun seeing some of the gang yesterday.

There are currently no licensed mRNA vaccines in the United States. Pfizer's mRNA vaccine has received emergency authorization, but has not completed FDA approval. Moderna's vaccine is the very first vaccine they have put out. Hard pass for me..... I'll take my 99.7% chances with COVID for now.

Thinking of you, your father and the rest of your family, @WeednFeed. I can tell you're as genuine as he is.

These are stunning photos @corsicaman!

Had the day off yesterday and decided to go on a BIF (Bird In Flight) expedition for the day. I thought, there is no better place to do BIF photography, than Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna river that borders Maryland and Pennsylvania. This time of year, Conowingo is home to the largest population of migrating Bald Eagles east of the Mississippi river. It's not unusual to see several hundred of them. I recently bought the Canon EOS R6 full-frame mirrorless body and wanted to test it out with my Canon EF 500 f/4L USM IS lens and 1.4x III teleconverter (700mm effective focal length). The focus on the EOS R6 has 'eyeball' tracking setting for animals and people, so I wanted to put it (and the 20 frames per second) to the test. I am extremely impressed with the capabilities of this camera. I would usually only walk away with maybe 1/3 of my images being keepers (with my Canon 5D Mark IV)...to over 80% being keepers with the R6. I must confess that even with a wimberly, my skills at BIF acquisition with a long lens and panning need honing. But I will get there. All in all I am pleased with the camera and the shots I grabbed yesterday. If you're in the area of MD/PA/VA and are into bird photography, you really should go checkout Conowingo Dam. Just get there early because the place fills up quick!

If you'd just take a shower once in a while you wouldn't need all this perfume! Actually I have to confess that I have used Tux in the past. LOL

Welcome Price, enjoy playing with you!

I learned so much, way to go @pitbullpete!

Welcome Pacman, I live in NOVA near Dulles.

So sorry @Dukoo, may he rest in peace. Thoughts and prayers.

Nice Tautog! I heard they are delicious??

Best of luck Sabre, look forward to seeing you in the server soon!

And they still gave you the permit? LOL

Wife and I are hanging out in the Outer Banks for the week. Decided to get out and play with fire and photography. I'll be back in a few days just to harass @Angus

Making my mouth water @WeednFeed! Looks fantastic!

@JoeCamel it's always a pleasure playing in-game with you and the rest of the XI family. Very well spoken, thanks for reminding us what a special place this is.

Welcome to the funny farm @NG4

Welcome Red, FTAG is all I play.....

Welcome @nos been a pleasure playing with you the past few evenings!

I also have the Hero 7 black and it's a work horse and has so many built in capabilities. I use my son's Hero 7 silver as a backup but it is limited in what it can do. The stabilization in the Hero 7 Black is out of this world!

Gorgeous shots @BoomSlang!

These are super sharp! Very nice!

For those of you that aren't friends with me on Facebook.... My son and his fiancé delivered me and my wife a beautiful grandson on Wednesday. This is all new to us, be we are really stoked! And yes, he has more hair than I do! ? His name is Tilian.

Very happy to hear this @Lunkster!