It has been a few years since I last updated Views of the Mahantango. I have been dealing with multiple issues that included moving house which precluded me from writing new entries. I have still been collecting fossils but in a much reduced way. When you move all of your collection and findings, it really brings into focus how much weight you have brought into your house. I culled about 1/3 of what I collected as not being good enough to keep and trimmed down some other pieces to reduce size and weight.
Now I am set up in a new location but I lost my exterior brick wall which was a nice neutral background for my photographs. It was a south facing wall so I could just walk out onto my patio and take pictures when the sun was shining so you could see the specimens in natural daylight. My new house is near some tall trees that block the southern sun and the exterior is mostly vinyl siding. But, I have an interior brick facade in a corner of the house that I don't use much. It was put in place by previous owners as they had a wood stove there in the past to help heat the house. I may one day install one of those myself but for now it is a suitable photography area.
I have two Hektar lamps from Ikea that bracket the area that I take photos in and each lamp has three heads that can be turned in multiple directions as well as turned on and off. I have 100 watt equivalent LED bulbs in each lamp head that project white light. It was as close as I could get to natural light while trying to stay economical. Some of my early pictures with this set up were taken with 60 watt equivalent LED bulbs that had a yellow light to them. I was not happy with the way this tinted the fossils which is why I turned to the other bulbs.
This blog has always been about documenting my field findings in photos and writing down the information that I have found naming the fossils, as well as some of the background research that I do to try and make sure everything is accurate. I am not always correct in what I write as sometimes my research is inaccurate or I just can't find any good information.
In preparation for restarting this blog I have written enough entries to post one every other day for the next four months. If I can keep up with my writing and photography, plus any research I will need to do, I should be able to maintain the pace for the rest of the year.
If you are finding this blog for the first time, or are a long time fan, welcome to the next phase of the documentation of my collection and research! I welcome any and all comments concerning the fossils I post about.
Regards,
-Dave
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