VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK • Cook Street Camera Angle
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Cook Street Camera Angle

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 1:56 pm
by Kite Kook
Hey Dave,

I am stuck at home right now, forced to watch rather than kite :( . Anyway, I was wondering if it is time to change the Cook Cam angle to face towards race rocks?

I know you like it facing more south when the sun is low. It is just that I am trying to watch the kiters and they are usually mostly out of range on the W and WSW like right now.

I also like to see what is coming in.

Great work on the Gordos cams. This site never seems to stop improving, so thanks for all the hard work!

Cheers,

Paul

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 3:38 pm
by Kite Kook
on the other hand, there still is a fair amount of glare, so perhaps this isn't the, uh, brightest suggestion...

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 3:46 pm
by Germ
I can see a kiter right now. Just have to wait for the right timing. Better than staring into the sun.

Chris

Re: Cook Street Camera Angle

Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:11 pm
by bwd
Kook St. Kite Kook wrote: I was wondering if it is time to change the Cook Cam angle to face towards race rocks?
Hi KSKK:

Good suggestion and yep there is a lot of glare on the water even at the current location. Today it looks like there was bad glare from about 2pm until 4pm. I have a polarizer on the lens already and its frustrating to see such a bad picture since its very hard to read the water when its like that. If I face it up towards Race Rocks like last year then the glare would be there from maybe 3pm until after 5 or so. So I'm not sure what the best solution is, other then a new location that looked downwind instead of up and into the sun.

Maybe someone has an idea...

dave

cook cam angle

Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 2:38 pm
by Kite Kook
well, if no one else thinks so, I should let this go. Just thought we could compromise a bit in these lightest months of the year to have it face the main area. We can still catch glimpes of the action when it is SW, but most of the kiting/windsurfing takes place further to the right of the cam.

I find it easier to gage the windspeed by looking at the kiters and windsurfers than looking at the water texture, as I often know the kites and riders and can judge the wake to estimate wind strength.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this? :?:

Re: cook cam angle

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 7:09 pm
by bwd
Kook St. Kite Kook wrote:well, if no one else thinks so, I should let this go. Just thought we could compromise a bit in these lightest months of the year to have it face the main area.
ok KSKK I moved the cam upwind a bit and also raised it up so we don't spy on people on the pathway (over time it had lowered a little).

Regarding the comments about getting rid of the wide angle...well it's not that simple. I thought about moving the house closer but thats a lot of work. Actually the zoom controls are all relative and I can't get it to move to a certain setting. I could get it to zoom out then in one step I guess, but I'd rather not since the camera is busy enough already. The wide angle is useful for sky conditions and seeing if there are kites on the water. I've been tracking the zoom button hits over the past week and the Image button is actually the most often hit one...
dave

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:35 pm
by KUS
you can....track the zoom button hits?? :lol:

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 9:23 pm
by Russian Dood
Not only number of hits, but also where all they came from.

Yep

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:14 pm
by bwd
KUS wrote:you can....track the zoom button hits?? :lol:
Yep I see all. If you are interested in seeing how active the Cook camera is check here:
http://www.bigwavedave.ca/zoomurls.txt

Today it had 72 zoom button hits, 30 (42%) were to the wide angle :shock:

Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 10:22 pm
by ~ pimp hand ~
Russian Guy wrote:Not only number of hits, but also where all they came from.
da man is always watchin'

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 6:17 am
by JL
He views Kook Kam in his left Sunglass lens & 'forum' in his right.

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:35 am
by KUS
ya know, Joe Public non-sailor kite flyer uses these cams so can you say with confidence the wide angle is used by your primary target group (dare I say) of kiters and wsurfers? :?: If not, maybe covering the button with something on the page so it's less visible might be an answer to constantly coming to the wide angle view which I must say is really annoying, especially b4 when my firefost wasn't letting me update/refresh. thx for the fix suggestion BTW, now it's fine. 8) Kus

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:44 am
by more force 4
OK, so we can hunt down the 'wide angle' enthusiasts. Damn license plate spotters. "Look, that truck is from Montana!" University of Guelph Library, heh? We know you are there, you will be reported to your supervisor for non-appropriate web site access....

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 10:54 am
by Wide Angle
I believe the wide angle is being used to see up wind to see if anyone is on the water. This is a better indicater of what is going on than zooming in on a small chunk of water. Can we get it pointed up wind a little then I can stop hitting -- all the time. Thanks

Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2005 11:34 am
by Wide Angle
Someone out there ROCKS! Ask and ye shall receive.