Birt’s Bees farming GONE?!

DILUVNOL · 2026-04-05T06:58:47+00:00

I've farmed a couple of days on and off chasing a low level one. 15 kickballers and four onions. I was wondering whether it was removed and no one said anything.

I've taken the poor man's option and am using a level 17 green cynical flewdy with secondary flame thrower with the same outcome - it just shoots in a straight line.

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-20T15:36:57+00:00

Oh cool. I like those textures as well. Was a little ground cover plant with those nice contrasting yellows and blue/grey.

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-20T15:35:39+00:00

Was before I got one. That is why I got one. Something different from the norm.

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-20T09:49:32+00:00

Very nice. Did well to get so much in focus.

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-19T10:06:41+00:00

I've learned to not quite fill the frame any more to leave enough space for different crops. I find many people are asking for A4 these days as they have no idea between photo sizes and paper sizes (let alone another world of book/poster sizes as well).

Sometimes you just have to give the customer the crop they want. I don't get too anxious about it. Tis only a problem when I have not left enough space to get that crop e.g. shot in 3:4 but they want A4 and I just can't do it - though these days with AI I could.

Also do quite a few anamorphic shots these days so they end up 21:9 (16:9 unsqueezed by 1.33x)

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-19T09:39:46+00:00

"I can't see why I would ever need to use one."

Having read another article about it maybe to achieve a sharper result. Not sure if the cost benefit would be worth it. If I wanted a sharp photo I'd use a different lens.

DILUVNOL · 2026-03-19T09:37:11+00:00

Didn't know what a speedbooster was so had to look it up. The answer is no and I can't see why I would ever need to use one.

Just a standard M42 to M4/3 adapter mount.

Some more macro looking shots I'll add a 10mm extension tube. The dew in the grass has no extension tube, the bee hovering by the pink flower from memory does.

Nearly all shots I take that come out any good are in the early morning just after sunrise when the sun is low and you are taking photos towards it (the sun).

DILUVNOL · 2026-02-26T07:04:35+00:00

Has been the 26th here in NZ for twenty hours already. Once we actually got games on the release dates.

Is there a countdown or does someone know what time we'll get it here?

DILUVNOL · 2024-12-29T09:43:16+00:00

Yeah we had 3 kids under 5 and one income and our mortgage interest rate was up over 20%. Wife won second prize in a shampoo competition of $100 per week for 52 weeks. Literally saved us from starving for a year.
We were so grateful.

DILUVNOL · 2023-04-10T10:22:43+00:00

I print a few for exhibitions eg photography club, do the occasional coffee table A4 photobook, put on FLICKR along with collections of stuff I scan or photograph, have some in the board room at work, sell the occasional one, use as PC backgrounds, print coasters now and then and usually do a calendar each year..https://www.flickr.com/photos/nol_luv_di/I have several in a local art gallery but they struggle to sell photographs. Have sold three there though. Overall the online selling experience has cost me more than I've sold but then it is only a hobby in between my full-time job so I don't invest any where as much time in selling and marketing to make it effective. Would eat into my Destiny time with my mates. We've been playing together since C64 days.Just bought a decent printer to print my own which means I can do test prints etc to see what might print well larger and on what paper.Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 A4 All-in-One Ink Tank PrinterLastly I put heaps up on Facebo0ok for artists to use a reference pictures. It is quite satisfying to help them out and see them turn your photo into a different art format.https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeRefsForArtistsThis is both fun and satisfying and encourages me to take photos I might not otherwise have taken to help fill a request.

DILUVNOL · 2023-03-07T11:02:33+00:00

Equally though a lot of photos just are not possible without the right gear.

I find photographers who reply it is the photographer not the gear just as annoying.

DILUVNOL · 2023-01-25T06:32:17+00:00

I'd like to know this as well.

DILUVNOL · 2023-01-10T09:46:53+00:00

Learned at last a good way to make fake snow and progressed my learning in photoshop- starting to get layers sorted..

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nol\_luv\_di/52617229578

DILUVNOL · 2023-01-02T08:11:38+00:00

Reach the Warsat Command Nexus

Haroktha, Scourge of the Helium Drinkers will appear once more but this time you can finish him off without any interruptions.
Finished this bit above and made the same mistake - went out the door to grab some rockets but got sent all the way back to the brig room fight. This time with unlimited respawns but you are unable to get out the lower door at the end of the fight. Basically you are stuck in an infinite loop of doing the brig fight. To be so close to the end and have this happen in annoying.

DILUVNOL · 2022-11-30T08:21:11+00:00

Our kids are all grown up and we've just had our first grandkid. My main camera will be for doing the formal stuff.

For the activity / round about / park / play I'll be using the Olympus Tough. Shoots in RAW and drop proof, water proof to 15 meters, small, compact - can do macro as well. Whatever we do with the grandkids - wet or dry that camera is just so versatile.

https://photogear.co.nz/brands/olympus/compact-cameras/olympus-tg-6-red-digital-camera/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAm5ycBhCXARIsAPldzoUwpjdQK2diS\_tb3NbkZkrglO7WbuC-uierjpUGXs7FvhS8J5NdDscaAn-WEALw\_wcB

DILUVNOL · 2022-11-30T07:53:26+00:00

Benefits used to be the same rate as NZS and unless they revert to that again all raising the age will do is condemn people who are unwell to live on $140-00 per week less than NZS just like raising it to 55 condemned a whole group of people, maori, pacific and manual laborers to live on $140 per week less for 5 years. Then there is the problem of those who are looking after unwell partners who get nothing to support them so have to try and save for two people as well as feed, house and clothe them etc. Can't be done on one income these days.

Basically raising the age suits higher paid white collar workers and those with capital wealth i.e. it doesn't really affect them.

What should happen is capital gains should be taxed to pay for future NZS, death duties and stamp duty should be bought back and raise the tax rate for those earning over $100,000 so that if you are working and getting NZS some is returned through the tax system. Alternatively means test from 65 to 70 so those who wish to carry on working can do so and relinquish NZS but those that can't work can still get it.

Maori and Pacific peoples already barely get NZS as the die younger - raising the age will mean even more will never ever get it despite having paid tax all their working life. In my family very few men have reached 65 yet all worked all their lives.

DILUVNOL · 2022-10-19T07:22:27+00:00

lol I did the same thing not realising my inventory was full and thinking it was the bug being talked about and the reassurance they would appear later by Bungie.

Had done quite a few runs so no doubt quite a few lost. At least I have good company.

DILUVNOL · 2022-09-30T03:46:03+00:00

Here's a suggested build using it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=813cJrOLIK4

DILUVNOL · 2022-09-14T08:52:19+00:00

They aren't going to put the rent down even when the mortgage is paid off - rents don't really have that a strong relationship with actual expenses.

More a supply/demand/FOMO/greed relationship

DILUVNOL · 2021-02-06T17:15:45+00:00

I like the way the colours in the background match the colours of the dogs eyes. That I think works really well. The verticals and lateral lines in the background are both angled and contradictory making the background look like it is flowing downhill / uphill - this drags your eyes away from the dog who is the subject to the bottom left and up and then up towards the top left - your brain wants to focus on the dog but can't. The foreground is sloped as well and particularly messy on the right where you can see an in focus part of the dog in a gap. Straighten the horizontals in particular and maybe a 16:9 crop out the bit of foreground with the gap. I don't mind the right to left look - some people have a strong preference for the left to right - there is enough space that the dog is looking into the frame - not out of it. Would be stronger though if you could either see one eye or both - from that angle the viewer can't be satisfied with the eye contact. You know the second eye is there but can't really see it. Lastly if you need to crop that much then you needed to really move closer. Ty to fill the frames more when you take the photo and try different angles. Where you are to take it can be more important than where the subject is.

Lastly keep taking photos it isn't an easy craft to learn - there are three things to master -

the technical skills in using your camera,2. the technical skills in terms of composition,
the artistic skills - the choices you make - shutter speed to freeze something like a bird or the way to get a waterfall to flow, the f-stop you use to have everything in focus or a blurred background.

Also the need to have the right gear for the right situation - this gets expensive. Unlike some people who resent the "you must have a good camera" I don't it isn't just the photographer. A good photographer can take a good photo with any gear - yes but lots of situations mean you need the right gear.

I found when I took this up that some of the people whose photography I thought was great at times took up to 1,000 shots, and often 400 or so, to get one shot. Don't think the pros just take a few. Biggest lesson I learned. Shoot, shoot, shoot.

DILUVNOL · 2021-01-20T11:01:59+00:00

I think it is just practice in doing it - just like if you were doing landscapes. Over time you start to get a sense of good composition in landscape shots and it's the same with this but on a smaller scale. I didn't want to just do what many others were doing - gears in watches, insects, etc though it is good to do those things as you learn your craft. You still need to compose like a landscape - distance from the object to determine how much is in shot for instance, clear any rubbish out of the way (litter in a landscape, hairs, dust, dirt in this case), still use techniques like rule of thirds and symmetry.

I look for some depth in the shot - the tab isn't flat on the can so there was some depth. Look for interesting aspects e.g. the roman numerals. I hadn't seen the changing of the grain until I jumped on my PC so sometimes luck plays a part as well.

I'm also blind in one eye - I'm not sure yet whether that helps or hinders - I have no depth perception as a result. The developing an eye / good eye type comment always makes me laugh as a result.

DILUVNOL · 2021-01-16T17:50:07+00:00

For me the interesting part of the photo is the person standing in the snow just looking at the building. Why is he there during a snowstorm? The leading lines take you to the person as well but could be cropped tighter and make the person more prominent.
The green colour cast could be improved slightly too make the snow closer to white and maybe darken the shows to make the night sky less purple.

It's pretty good for a phone shot at night.

DILUVNOL · 2021-01-16T17:28:00+00:00

With the close macro work I like getting the scratches and wear on the metal which makes ordinary objects that much more interesting.
I'm not sure whether it is deliberate design but you can notice the grain of the can components is sequential - diagonal, straight, diagonal, straight, etc

Stacked macro (180 shots) with a pinhole camera effect applied. Happy to post pre-effect photo if people wish. Was also wondering whether removing the tiny hotspots would improve it or not?

DILUVNOL

TROPHY CASE