Crumb on The Singemonkey

May 16, 2024

Thu, 16 May 2024 11:58:12 +0000

I’m getting to grips with the Nikon D600. It’s criminal how little I knew about this camera before. So now I’m trying to really learn it to get the most out of it.

One thing that involves is setting up a hybrid jpeg/raw approach where I have useable jpegs like I do for my Fuji - that require little to no editing for sanity and quick sharing. Here I’m experimenting with the jpeg at max saturation. Probably ott but I’m not ruling it out for wildlife and some landscapes and architecture.

April 22, 2024

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 14:41:50 +0000

His current favourite autumnal spot for taking his daytime zizz with the advantage of being able to see his rivals from the balcony.

April 14, 2024

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 11:50:40 +0000

This time last year, this boy was still missing - living on geckos and rainwater. It’s so delightful to have him back. We’ve got him airtagged now which will hopefully help us find him if it ever happens again. It would have last time given that he was stuck only 10m from home.

August 16, 2023

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:51:05 +0000

Mr Crumb had his first morning out since his injury. His knee seems to be about 80% - a little stiff when he’s been lying around for a bit. He enjoyed himself so much that he climbed under a blanket and slept the next five hours.

July 16, 2023

Sun, 16 Jul 2023 17:06:22 +0000

Boi has finished his eight weeks of isolation and is hanging out on the couch while I read Tintin. Bun’s in a sock drawer. There’s a fire.

July 13, 2023

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 11:56:55 +0000

8 weeks living in a tiny little room after surgery to fix the two ligaments he broke. He’s finally free to roam the house and is catching up. The vet was very pleased to see he was putting a certain amount of weight on the injured leg. It’s been a stressful time for all in the house. And this came so soon after he was missing for three weeks. A month indoors and then we’ll decide if we’re ever letting him go outside again.

April 18, 2023

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 11:46:37 +0000

Having this guy back is such an extraordinary relief. 3 weeks to the day. Despite spreading the word all over the neighbourhood and the peninsula (to the extent that people were excitedly asking me in the street whether I’d heard he’d been found), he was finally found 28 meters from where he sleeps on our bed. The house diagonally opposite is a sprawling complex of buildings with high wall. He likely entered through the open garage door and then, being scared to reveal himself to anyone, never took advantage of anyone coming or going to escape. So he hid around the property until he was finally trapped in the gym and was spotted behind the toilet bowl in its small washroom. Luckily I’d given a flyer to that resident about ten days or so ago and he went about getting hold of me. He’s healthy (and not the fat chap he was) and delighted to be home - not so his sister who was enjoying the best three weeks of her life😂 The support from the neighbourhood was extraordinary. I got to know them a little better. Obz is kinder and more diverse than I imagined.

January 21, 2023

Sat, 21 Jan 2023 10:12:30 +0000

The Boi in one of his brief spells of wakefulness.

Watching lens reviews can sometimes be useful. I discovered this ttartisan 50mm f1.2 is quite a bit less sharp and contrasty focused at its minimum distance at f1.2. So stopping down to f2 makes quite a big difference when focused close like this.

August 23, 2022

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 14:15:36 +0000

Doing some technical reading on the balcony with this chonky chap. It’s the first warm weather in a good long while and he’s here for it. 27 degrees according to the weather app. No doubt there’ll be plenty more cold weather ahead. But this is a nice break.

I’ve had a nasty cold for a week. Did a great show on Friday @noongunbrewery in Muizenberg. Thank goodness we do a lot of instrumentals because I couldn’t croak a note.

February 14, 2022

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 14:11:30 +0000

This fella has been feeling like the house is the siege of Stalingrad since the painting began. But he seems to gradually be accepting that he’s not in mortal danger.

November 11, 2021

Thu, 11 Nov 2021 12:37:10 +0000

The boy and I taking some down time this morning due to rolling blackouts from our shameful state power provider.

October 28, 2021

Thu, 28 Oct 2021 13:53:28 +0000

My boy is apparently now completely unfazed by the vacuum cleaner. Trinket, on the other hand, has once again gone into deep hiding. She still thinks it’s Stalingrad.

July 17, 2021

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 16:55:46 +0000

I realised I’ve never owned a fast wide-angle lens before. And I’ve gotta say, I like it. Mr. Crumb was assisting me by totally destroying the corner of the bed as he likes to do.

One thing no one’s mentioned about this fantastic little ttartisans 17mm f1.4: it has a screw-in metal lens cap. Everyone talks about how inconvenient that is. But in this case it screws tight with a half turn - making it in some ways easier to manage than a clip-on cap. The 50’s cap takes multiple turns and is totally impractical as a working lens cap. But this one on the tiny front element of 17mm is actually great.

July 01, 2021

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 17:02:56 +0000

They were having some mid-afternoon madness - usually reserved for the late evening. This chap is getting chonky again in defiance of my meal planning.

The box behind him is an extremely rare Gibson lap steel guitar from 1967 belonging to @sad_ivan (who was supposed to collect it after I discovered that fewer than 50 were known to have been made and hence they were a chunk more valuable than we’d suspected… but COVID).

April 09, 2021

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 17:17:17 +0000

Why yes. We are those kinds of childless cat owners.

March 19, 2021

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 15:41:25 +0000

A truer love you’ll seldom see.

The weather is beginning to turn in Cape Town. And Skitten is far more tolerant of this kind of thing than she was a few weeks ago. It’s my birthday which, for symbolic reasons, means it’s Skitten’s birthday too. It’s 14 now. A venerable creature. It still doesn’t know anything. A little less feisty and not quite as adventuresome. But otherwise very much the same strange little animal that @withoutaleaf sent me from Maatjiesfontein back in 2007.

February 02, 2021

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 11:29:17 +0000

When Mr. Crumb first met Skitten, he was a smitten kitten. It’s happened to many. Four years on, his love for Skitten is still deep, pure, and a regular source of annoyance to Skitten.

January 23, 2021

Sat, 23 Jan 2021 22:04:29 +0000

This fat boy is as tranquil as ever - fastidiously washing his face. He’s taken to lounging about in the shade outside - including in flower pots with his limbs hanging out. One day he’ll let me photograph him like that.

October 26, 2020

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 12:40:14 +0000

Spoiled Boi got a comfy spot provided under my morning balcony coffee chair. Taking a load off those big paws.

October 09, 2020

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 15:01:22 +0000

The sleepy midday Crumb.

August 08, 2020

Sat, 08 Aug 2020 18:27:50 +0000

We’re having a late winter cold snap.

August 07, 2020

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 18:44:28 +0000

Portrait of a handsome chap.

April 14, 2020

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 19:47:42 +0000

Housecats. Except they’re free to wander. Luckily Skitten does not, as a rule.

April 04, 2020

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 11:58:08 +0000

A fat, heavy bass guitar amplifier holding up a fat, heavy boi.

March 27, 2020

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 08:14:44 +0000

It’s the new normal here on my plague balcony of privilege (feat. Mr Crumb).

November 22, 2019

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 14:16:25 +0000

Summer updates. Our chonky chap is still improving his mid-morning sleeping technique.

October 25, 2019

Fri, 25 Oct 2019 16:38:28 +0000

A rare moment of sibling harmony from the gremmies.

October 03, 2019

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 12:35:14 +0000

And I shouldn’t keep Crumb from his fans. This is taken during his midday hard-burn sleep. Being this sleepy exhausts him and often requires him to take a post-sleep nap.

August 01, 2019

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 13:33:44 +0000

I’m still enjoying this custom jpeg profile I’ve made for my Fujifilm XE1. Still not missing shooting RAW.

June 27, 2019

Thu, 27 Jun 2019 12:24:30 +0000

It’s turning out a classic Cape June. And that means very chilly mornings - for which Mr Crumb has found ways of compensating.

June 24, 2019

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 09:17:12 +0000

Our boi visiting his new balcony for the first time. He was very nervous but realised he could watch a little dog pottering down the street without being noticed. I think he liked that.

April 28, 2019

Sun, 28 Apr 2019 14:22:20 +0000

Even more drastic dieting actions may need to be taken with this fat Crumb. I’m testing different jpeg setting with the XE1. The idea is to see if I can get the pictures I want without have to do any post-processing at all. RAW files are great for specific things you may want to do to a pic, but it’s a pain in the ass to have to process every single pic. This will hopefully be a bit more like shooting slide film - where I’d choose the look I wanted when I chose the film to load, and the rest was simply down to camera, composition, and timing.

April 26, 2019

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:06:13 +0000

We’re moving this boy towards set meals. He’s a serial snacker. A snacktopus. And it’s showing.

April 23, 2019

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 11:20:31 +0000

This handsome boy has rediscovered his tower.

April 15, 2019

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:06:51 +0000

This is Mr. Crumb’s sleepiest time of the day. And that’s saying something.

Carrying the new-old camera around, but until I get my eye in, I’ll just keep posting cat pics.

February 19, 2019

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 23:06:03 +0000

Every so often they sleep snuggled up like when they were babies.

Slow photography months for me. Today I spent a mind frazzling time learning about 5 months worth of Javascript in 24hrs. #fakingittilyouremakingit might be the single strongest way to learn. They should teach airline pilots that way. “Just get in the cockpit. Sound confident on the intercom. Google the startup procedure. One of our experienced pilots will email you back within two hours if you get really stuck. #bigkittens #gremmies #catsofinsta #salaciouscrumb #effietrinket #crumb #trinket #sleepycats #capesummer

February 11, 2019

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 18:18:41 +0000

My daft boy derping out with his tongue out.

February 07, 2019

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 12:47:08 +0000

Summertime sleepiness for Skitten and her no.1 fan, Mr. Salacious Crumb.

November 22, 2018

Thu, 22 Nov 2018 13:22:32 +0000

I’m not sure this is ok.

October 25, 2018

Thu, 25 Oct 2018 12:11:21 +0000

Still too hot. Mr. Crumb’s strategy is to snooze until the heatwave is over.

October 13, 2018

Sat, 13 Oct 2018 09:19:56 +0000

My boi goin crazy in the bathtub. I meant to trim the clip but insta’s tools are not old man proof.

October 01, 2018

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 14:26:42 +0000

He’s back and blepping. Also he’s grounded.

September 15, 2018

Sat, 15 Sep 2018 14:44:42 +0000

Hanging out with my boy listening to an interview on the beeb about the 60s London fashion scene.

August 24, 2018

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 16:25:38 +0000

So I had a brainwave yesterday. My 50mm f1.4 lens is so old that it will get stuck on my (very old) digital camera if I try to use it. But, aha! What if I put it on an extension tube? Well it works just fine at taking pictures of a grumpy looking Crumb. But it’ll only focus super close. .

August 17, 2018

Fri, 17 Aug 2018 16:05:25 +0000

Back to cat pics, I’m afraid. It came down in torrents last night. The dams are nearly at 60%. But the sun is shining beautifully for the liesured classes in Cape Town this afternoon. .

July 09, 2018

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 13:55:12 +0000

The business of the morning done, these two settle in for a truly productive Monday.

July 01, 2018

Sun, 01 Jul 2018 15:05:36 +0000

My favorite gormless thicc boi twitching in his dreams.

May 22, 2018

Tue, 22 May 2018 13:54:11 +0000

The gremmies having a lovely autumn afternoon.

May 10, 2018

Thu, 10 May 2018 08:41:14 +0000

Mr Crumb enjoying another perfect morning in Africa.

May 02, 2018

Wed, 02 May 2018 15:04:03 +0000

I don’t think they enjoyed being apart.

May 01, 2018

Tue, 01 May 2018 21:39:48 +0000

Crumb is pretty pleased to have his little sister home again.

May 01, 2018

Tue, 01 May 2018 20:56:37 +0000

Wicked little Miss Trinket is back home after turning us into shattered wrecks over the last three days.

March 26, 2018

Mon, 26 Mar 2018 00:08:26 +0000

WTF is this shit?

March 24, 2018

Sat, 24 Mar 2018 12:27:08 +0000

Crumb thinks Skitten is his ma and snuggles like this - something that Skitten is at long last grudgingly beginning to accept.

March 23, 2018

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 15:45:33 +0000

Having survived the horrors of the vacuum, Crumb and Trinket are being sweet to each other for a change.

March 05, 2018

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 13:08:42 +0000

Current status of Mr. Crumb: has eaten a sky raisin and is now napping hard.

February 28, 2018

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:43:10 +0000

None of this is of any interest to Mr. Crumb.

February 14, 2018

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:29:48 +0000

All cats all the time I’m afraid. I should start taking more interesting pics again as Feb goes on. My handsome boy is in danger of getting fat. He eats twice as much as the others.

This is that same 105mm Nikkor from the ‘70s that I posted last year. It’s my fave 35mm lens at the moment. On this crop sensor it’s a 158mm f2.5 - a perfect portrait lens.

February 10, 2018

Sat, 10 Feb 2018 12:10:54 +0000

An old dlsr like the Nikon D200 makes you work harder - a bit like shooting film. You don’t want to go above ISO400 to avoid noise. But it still has big advantages over a phone camera if used right.

December 19, 2017

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 00:04:51 +0000

He’s not the messiah, he’s just a very silly boy.

December 13, 2017

Wed, 13 Dec 2017 10:17:52 +0000

Mr Crumb is a bit of an anxious boi. When he’s scared like now (there’s a jackhammer doin him a concern) he snuggles up with Skitten.

November 09, 2017

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 12:41:21 +0000

Scared boi hiding from the vacuum cleaner 😢

October 31, 2017

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 19:05:58 +0000

The château. Skitten doesn’t like to be disturbed while Crumb is staying alert for sky-raisins.

October 23, 2017

Mon, 23 Oct 2017 15:00:07 +0000

This boy. So handsome. So gormless…

October 18, 2017

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 18:20:14 +0000

It’s been a long day involving a frightening vacuum cleaner.

October 13, 2017

Fri, 13 Oct 2017 13:49:48 +0000

Handsomest entitled princeling in Observatory.

October 02, 2017

Mon, 02 Oct 2017 13:06:03 +0000

If it gets too hot though, a smart Crumb cools off with a refreshing raid on an unattended watering can. 💦 .

September 04, 2017

Mon, 04 Sep 2017 14:03:55 +0000

This #boy is #hot. His first #spring and he’s barely #coping.

August 29, 2017

Tue, 29 Aug 2017 21:14:48 +0000

The #impossible has happened. They’re a #family now.

August 25, 2017

Fri, 25 Aug 2017 01:12:49 +0000

I do #love hanging out #latenight with this #boy.

May 08, 2017

Mon, 08 May 2017 19:46:23 +0000

#crumb is enjoying the #fire phenomenon.

May 08, 2017

Mon, 08 May 2017 13:04:17 +0000

May 05, 2017

Fri, 05 May 2017 18:02:03 +0000

#naptime for #gremmies in their #nest. #crumb’s little tongue is sticking out.

April 24, 2017

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 17:42:53 +0000

#nesting #gremmies #Crumb and #Trinket.

April 22, 2017

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 16:47:17 +0000

#crumb and #trinket.

April 12, 2017

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 21:49:16 +0000

The #gremmies in their #nest. Like two little #birds. Thank goodness I have #Crumb and #Trinket.

March 31, 2017

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 10:37:19 +0000

& sharing some in the

March 26, 2017

Sun, 26 Mar 2017 13:19:41 +0000

Lil #crumb is worn out from keeping us #awake.

March 19, 2017

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 13:11:02 +0000

Lil #crumb enjoying the last of the #summer #sunshine.