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Villa Ndio Studio A

With all the space we have here at Villa Ndio we decided to repurpose a few extra rooms.  Don’t woory, there are still plenty of bedrooms to accommodate visitors.  But one bedroom on the top floor has now changed over to be my photography studio, and we are calling it Studio A.  This distinguishes it from the old studio, which combined my photography with music, olive oil processing and other miscellaneous activities.   That studio, now named Studio B, will now also include Kathy’s sewing and two trundle beds, taken from Studio A and our expanded library.  These are big changes and it has taken quite an effort, still on-going, to move all the furniturre, books, beds, photoequipment and computers. I am quite happy with the results.

Now that I am just about all moved in to Studio A I am going through archive storage to make sure I have duplicates of the photos and all the non-photography related files storage for occasional access.

I will also be over-decorating the walls with some of my favorite photos of birds and butterflies and bugs and family and friends…

Here are a few photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pool pavillion

Fixing it up with new walls, along the back and half of two sides. It will make for a cozier chill spot by the pool and more camouflage for photographing birds and other wildlife.  I will be moving the fridge and cabinets from the cabanon to the Pavillion. Coffee maker, hotplate, and just maybe a small sink.

I am also thinking of including sliding trellis panels on the two sides with half walls. I have a clear drop down tarp for the pool side.

I am thinking the Pavillion can be expanded to one side with a pergola providing some shade above chaises lounges that can still be pulled out into the direct sunshine if desired. The pergola can be festooned with vine cover and hanging plants.

The cabanon will be used to store all pool maintenance items. I will have shelving there for storing all the seat cushions. I may be able to store most of the olive collection nets and crates there as well.

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Rumors of War


Rumors of War
by Kehinde Wiley examining equestrian portraiture in the canon of Western art history[1] culminating in a bronze monumental equestrian statue by the artist of an African-American young man (with dreadlocks in a ponytail, jeans ripped at the knees and Nike high-top sneakers), created in response to the statue of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart in Richmond, Virginia in particular and similar statues of high-ranking Confederate Army officers, some of which still stand in the United States despite persistent calls for their removal.[2] Since the installation of Rumors of War in Richmond, all of the statues of the military leaders of the Confederacy have been removed from Monument Avenue where they had been since the first decade of the 20th century.
From Wikipedia

Photographed on 27 December 2025 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

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Minolta AF 200mm F/2.8 G APO HS

This lens is great. It is rated 4.98 out of 5.00 for sharpness by Dyxum (4.96 overall). It has a macro limiter and a built in retractible lens hood. The focus is fast and accurate. It is an a-mount lens that I use directly on my SLT-A77V and with an LA-EA4 adapter on my e-mount cameras A7R2 and A7R3a.

Here are some professional reviews:
Phillip Reeve
Dyxum
Imaging Resource

…and here are some sample images.
Photoposts; Click on an image to see a full-screen image and image details

Mosaic: Click on any image to enlarge it and to start a slide show.

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Sony 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS Lens

This is a very handy multipurpose zoom lens that provides good image quality and is relatively inexpensive. Great for travel if your gear capacity is limited.

Dyxum gives this lens a sharpness rating of only 4.29 and a user rating of only 4.40 (out of 5.00). My own experience has been better.

From Brian Smith’s Ultimate Lens Guide

Sony-FE-24-240-F3-5-6-3-OSS-lens


Full-frame E-Mount telephoto zoom lens with the versatility to stretch from true wide-angle to super telephoto perspectives. Its advanced optical design includes 5 aspherical elements and 1 ED glass element for reduced chromatic and spherical aberrations in a compact design. Optical SteadyShot image stabilization facilitates sharper imaging in low light situations and when shooting at long telephoto lengths.

Professional reviews:

Here are some sample images of my own.