The Strength Of Observation

"It's on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way, so we must dig and delve unceasingly."

~Claude Monet

I have spent the last week or so digging deep into my archives, trying to get photos moved to the new computer. I should have saved the images to either a portable storage device, or online cloud, but I procrastinate a bit, so now I find myself tasked with going through files going all the way back to 2003, to make decisions about what to store, what to keep on a flash drive, and what to store in one of the older computers I keep for just that... storing files.

It's quite a task, I have a lot of images to file, but it's a lot of fun too! I have been smiling a lot the last few days as I reminisce about my kitty Elvis... gosh I miss him... and all the flowers and interesting places I have been in the last decade! I have come across photos, and memories, I hadn't considered in years! I think tip-toeing through the archives more often! Sometimes one forgets just how happy they really are, and how happy they have been!

Life is good!

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

Round Robin Photo Challenge: Lights! Camera! Action!

"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how faster travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."

~Terry Pratchett, Reaper Man

RRC: Lights, Camera Action

And yet another archived photo serves as my Round Robin Challenge photo, due to my computer crashing in November. It's going to take me a while to rebuild my files, so once again my apologies, but to be honest, I am a little happy to be sharing one of my favorite lighting mistakes. I took the picture above at the Tilden Park Carousel Christmas Fantasy, a few years back, and let me tell you, the lighting that night was not being kind. It was one of a very few times when I wished I was still using my 35mm film camera with all it's special lenses. Digital photography is worlds apart from film photography, in that I believe film is a lot more forgiving. But even in all my angst and hard work, I did get a shot I liked, and one that really kind of excited me! While the one photo at the top is clearer and more of a standard photo, the second photo almost seems magical to me. Like all the lights had come alive for a moment, and the star is racing up the tree! I don't know... the mistake photo is pleasing to my eye anyway!

What do you think?

Clear Photo...


Special Effect Photo By Mistake...


Thoughts?

 Now that you have seen my contribution to this edition of the Round Robin Photo Challenges, go see what other participants have posted. Just click the link at the top of this post to be redirected to the official Round Robin Challenge blog. I know Karen would love to see your post!


Mood: Happy

~Me :)

TipToe Through The Archives...

From For Ellipsis

"A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air."

-Eric Sloane

It was cold and rainy here yesterday, so I decided to spend the day looking into my archives to see what I did in autumns past. Here are some of my favorites. I am thinking about reviving my photo gallery blog, Ellipsis... Vignettes Legeres D' Ambiant (Ambient Light Vignettes). I don't know, we'll see. For now I have the following photos, hope you enjoy the look back with me.

Old Sacramento, November 22nd, 2006

From For Ellipsis

Golden Gate Park, October 9th, 2007

From For Ellipsis

Tilden Park, September 21st, 2007

From For Ellipsis

Pacific Grove, October 18th, 2007

From For Ellipsis

Cambria, California October 12th, 2006

From For Ellipsis

Bodega Bay, California, September 26th, 2007

From For Ellipsis

Golden Gate Park, October 9th, 2007

From For Ellipsis

The top photo was taken at Susan's Spot, Cisco Grove Gould Park, Placer County California, October 22nd, 2009

-Carly

Coming To You Live... And Now In XP!

From For Ellipsis

"To err is human, but to really foul things up it takes a computer."

-Farmer's Almanac, 1978

In an entry earlier this week, I shared with you a little about my current computer woes. If you didn't get the chance to read that entry, I will give it to you in a nutshell... a main display driver has gone out on the computer I bought just about 18 months ago... ERRRRGGGG! As bad as it is to have your relatively new computer give out, it could be worse. On the positive side of things, I do have my old computer as a back up while I do some shopping around for a new one. That's a good thing. After all, my back-up... putt-putt... computer is running lovely, uncomplicated, Windows XP Premium Home Edition. God I miss that operating system! VISTA SUCKS! I hated it from day one, but I was willing to learn my way around, and did so with the purchase of the book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Windows Vista." I highly recommend that book, as it will save you lots and lots of gray hair! Honestly, there should be some kind of support group!

So I am back to the basics and I don't mind waiting until I can find the exact right computer for us. A ton of storage room for my digital photographs, and plenty of speed and gooey display goodness for the gamer that is Alan. Well, both of us like to play games on the computer. He likes the strategy games like Two Worlds and Total War, while I like to climb into the world of the SIMS. I have been wanting to get the new SIMS3, now it just means it will be on my Christmas wish list. Christmas is just around the corner... yikes... how did that happen?

I expect the next few months will go by quickly. I will be busy enough getting my files on this computer in shape, and transferring them to an external hard drive. In an odd way, I am finding most of this task not so much daunting as, well, relaxing. I have enjoyed visiting my archives and looking over photos that I either overlooked or disregarded for whatever reason. Then there are the ones that loved dearly, like the two I used for this entry. The one above brings with it a nice memory of standing on a little bridge in the middle of Reno, Nevada, and taking a photo of a beautiful stream that runs through the middle of town. It was a cold day in October, and yet the sun was really hot. A typical autumn day, and yet that moment was anything but typical. If you really love photography, you know the feeling you get when you know you have found a great subject and everything just comes together. :) That is a good feeling.

From For Ellipsis

The second photo took more then a little patience... and courage to get. I have had a lifelong fear of spiders. All spiders. So one day, while walking in Tilden Park, I came across this icky... yikes... spider. You would think I would have ran the other way, but instead I took his picture because as gruesome as it was, it was also so very photogenic. To this day I am not sure what kind of spider it might be, whether or not it is dangerous, I don't have the nerve to look it up, but I do admire it's strange beauty. I love photography, and I love using that artistry to overcome my fears. It's a good thing to face up to what frightens you. Strong is better. I like strong.

:)

Opinions, opinions...
I am anxiously awaiting the release of Mircrosoft's Windows 7 operating system. How about you? Will you upgrade to it? Did you like Vista? Did you downgrade to Windows XP like some folks did? Tell me about your computer experiences, have you ever had a computer die after a relatively short time? Tell me everything.

-Carly

I Have Found The One!

From For Ellipsis

"A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints."

-Wilfred Peterson

Photography is my adventure. But you know that... right? I have been a little lost since my beloved Konica Minolta Dimage Z1 met with an untimely near death on New Year's Day, at the paws of two flying monkeys known as Dylan and Hendrix. Sigh.

My awesome little camera served me well, but I had been thinking about an upgrade for years. Then, along came my Type 2 Diabetes, and Elvis's cancer, and the loss of a family member and a good friend, and it all seemed to be putting the weight of the world on my creativity. I am doing a lot better. I can think about Elvis without crying, and I can almost hear my brother-in-law Darryl saying, "Girl, get back into life, go take some pictures!"

Yeah Darryl, I know.

Yesterday, Alan and I started our garden this year, and began planning what we are both looking forward to this summer and autumn. We bought some tomato plants and some pepper plants for the vegetable garden, and I got some seed packets for my ZIN garden witch included some flower packets and some hot peppers, but the star of my garden is the beautiful Japanese Maple tree we found at Home Depot. Alan said he wanted me to always be able to have a little bit of autumn around to make me smile.

My garden is in the very early stages, I will do some updating as it takes shape.

But back to the camera.

I have found the new one for me. The Panasonic DMC FZ28. I have done my research and it has some really good user ratings, as well as CNET reviews. Costco has it for around $350.00 but Amazon has it for $75.00 less. Here is where the big decisions are made. I can get it cheaper if I want to wait for it to arrive. I can do that, but in the past, I have had some trouble returning things to Amazon. Is it worth paying the extra $75.00 in order to have a simpler return in case of a problem?

Tricky... very tricky.

The next really big photography opportunity will be in mid-October, when Alan and I are finally going to make it up to Plumas county to see the amazing turning of the leaves. It's just amazing color everywhere you look. It's far enough off, that I can do as much shopping around as I want. I don't want to run into this decision. Until I am able to make the purchase, I have my Dimage working again, thanks to a couple of rubber bands! LOL. It looks dorky as hell, but it is still taking amazing photos!

The photo you see above, was taken in 2005 with my little injured camera. It was/is a nifty little camera, but it was only 3.2 mega pixels and a 10x optical zoom. The Panasonic features 10.0 mega pixels and an 18x optical zoom. It's definitely the step up I have been longing for! I keep thinking about how much better that photo would have been with less noise in it.

It gives me something to really look forward to, but the waiting is hell!


-Carly

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Red Eye!

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."

-Ansel Adams

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Show off a recent picture that is chock full of red eye. Because there's nothing more amusing than light reflecting off retinas, making folks and animals look like demon spawn! Admit it, sometimes it just gives you a giggle. For the purposes of this photo shoot, other reflective eye colors work too, so if you've got green or yellow glowing eyes (or some other color), bring 'em on.

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

You know, I don't have one single red eye photo in my digital files? I have a nifty little camera that all but eliminates that problem for me, but I do get the occasional "green eye" photo, especially when photographing my young man, Elvis. He has such gorgeous green eyes, and they are quite reflective at times, mostly when he is upset, or when his allergies are acting up. The picture I used for this entry was just a bad photo all the way around. I moved just as I was taking the photo, see, a spider dropped down on me just as I snapped the photo. Funny for Elvis, not so much for me. LOL. Actually, I laughed too, and then we finished taking his Christmas portrait. It's a good thing that the three of us all have a good sense of humor, we need it. :) And despite the bad photo, isn't he a cute elf? Doesn't he just put you in the Christmas spirit?

-OndineMonet
"My Elf"
Berkeley, California
December 2006
Late Evening

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Personally Obsolete

"Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera."

-Yousuf Karsh

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of something in your house you used to use a lot, but now hardly use at all. This could be a piece of obsolete technology, or some equipment for a hobby you no longer pursue, or just something you stopped fiddling with for no good reason at all - the basic idea is simply to highlight something that no longer has that much use for you, for whatever reason.

-John Scalzi (By The Way)

I have always been a shutterbug. For as long as I can remember anyway. Among the different types of cameras I have owned are a Brownie, a pocket 110, a Polaroid One Step, and the beauty in the above photo. That was my very first serious 35mm, a Minolta Maxxum 300si. I have all kinds of interchangeable lenses and specialty items to go along with it, and it was a pretty great camera. I thought I would use that camera forever, but Alan gave me a beautiful digital camera for Christmas 2004, and I have been in love with digital photography ever sense. I like being able to see the photo I have just taken, and know if it is a good shot or not. There's nothing worse then missing a great photo moment. Oh don't get me wrong, I haven't truly given up on the non-digital camera, I do use it from time to time, but in most ways, I prefer my digital. :)

-OndineMonet
Minolta Maxxum 300si
Berkeley, California
September 19th, 2007
Late Afternoon