nola grub…

One of the dishes (besides fried chicken) I requested was homemade Jumbalaya. Mallory busted out tonight with her Cajun Style Jumbalaya. I’ve never actually watched her go through the cooking process. All I know this dish is the bomb!

I’m not sure about other types of Jumbalaya but I do know the style Mal cooks has some kick to it. I like spicy food so that’s a big plus for me.

For dessert Mal made her cheesecake blocks. At least that’s what I think she called them. Super delicious too!

Mandeville photos

Wifey and I took off for a bit and headed towards the Fountainebleau and Sunset Point areas. We have never gone to Sunset Point before and it’s a nice shot of the Pontchartrain Bridge that goes between New Orleans and Mandeville.

I’ve taken photo at the Fountainebleau Sugar Mill site before during one of our previous trips. It’s always a cool place to check out.

NOLA Bound…

Cruising AZ almost to New Mexico. It’s such a contrast between the drought ridden California landscape and the plush greenery in the Southen states.

I watched a few lightning patterns streak downwards to the ground.

Took this photo at a rest stop located off the East bound I-40 highway.

Note the subtle inclusion of the tree branches. Clever eh?!

Hot!!

It’s been getting warm but the last 2 days are record setting heat conditions. This is the kind of weather that an air conditioner is a necessity.

Brilliant me will checking out a Cadillac in this scorching weather. I must be nuts.

In just an hour it’s gotten hotter.

sigma mc-11

I picked up the Sigma MC-11 lens adapter that allows use of the Canon EF lenses to be used with the Sony A7iii e-mount system.

The first thing I did was update the existing firmware from 1.34 to version 1.37, I didn’t even bother researching what the changes would take effect.

My initial impression is positive. The MC-11 seems to work very well with a native Sigma lens. I have a 35mm 1.4 ART lens attached and the AF “feels” more responsive and less focus breathing.

I’m not a big fan of using adapters but since I have Canon L Glass (using a Metabones IV) and the mentioned Sigma ART. I did not want to migrate over to the Sony A7iii platform and spend a considerable amount of money trying to get the same focal length glass I already owned.

I was already satisfied with the optical quality with the hardware I owned so using the glass with an adapter with no degradation was very compelling.

I’m not sure if it is a normal function for the MC-11 with a Sigma lens. When I try to use the full MF mode it will not allow that menu function to be selected. I am able to select DMF “Direct Manual Focus” mode which I prefer using.

EDIT:
I was having issues using the Canon 70-200mm 2.8L lens with the Metabones V adapter. The focusing was noticeably off. Not only was it off it was consistent. There was a super cool looking bird on a branch and none of my shots came out clear using the 70-200mm.

I did some test afterwards using the Sigma MC-11 and 70-200mm and the results were spot on auto focusing. This came as a surprise as I had been reading the Metabones adapter was superior when using Canon glass and the Sigma was better when using its own glass.

This clearly was not the case. The Metabones does seem to have an edge in certain compatibility areas such as focus modes. The DMF seems to work better than Sigma.

I’m not sure if all this has to do with upgrading the firmware to both devices with the latest available. For now, my go to adapter is the Sigma.

oh honey

This allergy season year has been a super rough year for my wifey. I’m talking extreme hives and welts caused by something flying around the air. She has tried every over the counter allergy type of medicine out there but nothing seems to work.

I’ve read that local honey may help in fighting allergies. The thought is the bees use local pollen when producing the honey and this in turn creates some form of allergy resistance. This is not proven with any formal studies mostly a local remedy that seems to be going on for a long time. I thought I’d give it a whirl.

I had asked the locals what honey was being produced in our area and this particular brand came up.

low rider super show 2021

Wifey and I took off this morning to the San Joaquin County fairground to attend the annual Low Rider Super Show that was originally scheduled over a month ago but had been cancelled due to poor weather conditions, in this case rain.

This show was jammed packed. No matter what “type” of Low Rider” you’re into it was being displayed. From the everyday cruiser to the across the state trailer queens.

Wifey spotted a Filipino food truck and we beelined over to make our orders. Since we are up in Motherlode country it is not often you can buy Filipino food in the area. I actually can’t remember ever seeing an advertisement or food truck serving food from the PI.

It was a good day! Ended it with one of my wifeys Super Duper Sundaes. This photo doesn’t do it justice. It is freakin’ huge and filled with everything I like to eat!