Tag: camera

Change in the Neighborhood…Photo Op

My Place, Photographs, This and That, Writing and Blogging

 

My new camera is wonderful.   I love it…the way it feels, the reassuring heft, the quality of the photos.    The colors are glorious, landscapes good and clear, and focus…well, focus is not my strong suite.   I used to blame it on my eyesight, on the camera itself, pesky f-stops and shutter speeds, and my own tendency to shake.     But now the brutal truth of photography is shining brightly in my face in four large words:  read the manual stupid!

Actually I’m not stupid, just impatient.  The simpler the camera the less there is to know of techniques and tricks of the trade.   Point-n-shoot….way to go.   Except that I want to learn how to be a real photographer, not just a picture-taker.      Fully recognizant of the need to study the basics and memorize a few simple tips such as keeping the camera battery charged…and checking to see that there is an SD card in place.

Even as I write there is an imminent barn-collapse in the works across the road, where they are tearing down a big old greenhouse operation and are in the end-time of demolishing a big 100-year old barn and some assorted out buildings.    The greenhouse structures are already gone.     I do have photos of the destruction and clean-up.

Both of my camera batteries are charging.  Really.    My new Sony DSC-HX80 needed to be charged, and so did my little blue Sony which I like to keep fired up for back-up…and besides, it doesn’t require much thinking.

So hopefully the little orange charging lights will turn to green before the barn becomes a pile of rubble.

The latter may be a really big deal, as the front edge of the barn is maybe 20 feet from the edge of the road pavement.   It has been there for a century, before there was much of a road.    The operation will probably need a police car, maybe a fire truck…and a flag-person-crew to direct traffic.

… stay tuned.

 

SIDE SHOT BARN HOUSE TOYT
See house to the SouthWest of the barn.

B

SYMBOL'S BIG BARN
All these buildings will come down. 
BIG BARN GOOD CLOSE
The big dumpsters are rented, and when full are taken away to the dump.

 

 

 

Getting the most from Photography practice

Writing and Blogging

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Third From the Top.”

“Make sure I use these parcels of enlightenment to gain as much knowledge to make my blog photographs….as good as they can be.”

(This is the third sentence (slightly paraphrased) from Mark Bialczak’s blog, at http://markbialczak.com/2015/03/25/photo-101-keeping-my-edge-aligned/  which I highly recommend.)

(Actually Mark is referring to his photography using his camera phone, but in keeping with the assignment I elected to edit his words to adapt to my own post.   I hope he won’t mind 🙂

The hints and tips offered by bloggers and WordPress support people are invaluable to me  in improving my own photography skills.  In fact the very concept of being “required” to do the exercises is extremely helpful as it brings some order into my chaotic work schedule.   The word required in this useage refers to my own personal requirements, forcing me to participate–. there are NO mandatory requirements to the DailyPost feature. only suggestions.

I have been taking photographs for a very long time.  Haven’t won any prizes, but have  learned a lot through trial-and-error, and instruction here and there– from my staff photographer buddy at the newspaper where I worked years ago, and from my husband, who was an accomplished and experienced photographer.

My original working camera was a Yashika-Mat, which I still have.  However, I can’t find it at this moment when I want to take a photo of it.  [To see my search method of operation please see  https://mumbletymuse.com/2015/02/23/mad-woman-searching-for-lost-things/  which pretty much sums it up.]

Anyway, I supported five kids for two years with use of that camera…(not well, but adequately.)     It was recommended by my friend at the paper, as being relatively easy to use, and indeed it was quite serviceable.  The Yashika-Mat paid for itself several times over in the years I used it.  I was not a staff photographer, but as a reporter and then features writer I did personally take a lot of the casual photos used with my articles.

Later I had a variety of 35-mm SLR cameras, including a Nikon, a couple of Hewlett-Packards, another Nikon, and now my Sony Sure-Shot, which has a Carl Zeiss lens, and 4xZoom, plus a “no shake” feature to compensate for my…well, shaking.  🙂  Once I used some of the excellent advice and tips found here from Mark and other real photographers (and reading the instruction manual) I have come to respect this nice little Sony.  Still no prize-winning photos, but so far I have been very pleased with its range and versatility.

It is important to say that I depend heavily on automatic cameras, and it has been years since I actually tried to use the 35mm settings.  One of my difficulties was that it is hard to stay still, and my vision has not really been conducive to good focusing skills.    My proficiency with f-stops and lighting has never been excellent, either.

Nevertheless, over the years I have managed to take photos that are at least passable, some of them pretty high quality at least as far as esthetics, if not technical skills…if I do say so myself.  I would add, that my short-comings as a photographer have not particularly worsened with advancing age, so I can’t use that excuse.  🙂

Something that I have learned over the years is that skilled operation of almost anything comes with practice.  I know that’s pretty mundane, but still, part of my issues with photography has been lack of preparation, and neglecting to “get to know my camera.”

That means it wasn’t the best idea to take a brand new camera on a trip to Mexico and read the instruction manual in the van riding to and from wonderful photo-ops.  Sure, my photos that resulted were not all really bad, they just could have been better with a bit of effort on my part.

That’s the story of my life, photography chapter.

An unlikely visit from a Hummingbird.

This and That

My story about the Butterfly on my deck originally included a Hummingbird.  The tale is true, but I decided not to stretch my credibility by putting two improbable creatures in the same post, but they were in fact on my deck under a canopy at the same time.

There are a pair of the little birds that work the red Bee Balm, and the huge Hibiscus flowers, a brilliant scarlet.  We have had hummingbirds in the gardens for years, so although they never outwear their welcome and run short of charm, they are not really a novelty.   The birds prefer red, going after Million Bells hanging plants which they like so much they actually come around the plant to work the flowers hanging underneath the roof.  They are not shy about being inside the canopy.

Photo by Karen Chandler, Visioning

So, while I was trying to get the photos of the black and blue Butterfly with my battery-less camera a hummingbird came around the Million Bells and encountered me–standing less than arms length from his hovering pattern as he treaded air for maybe ten seconds before it flew up and away.   Maybe it saw its reflection in my glasses.

This is the first time a bird and I have been in such close proximity, although we do watch them frequently through the glass door.  Too bad the camera was following Murphy’s Law — if anything can go wrong, it will — and I admit it is the operator and not the camera that are to blame.

©Patricia Dreger, Sometime, 2011

[Thanks to photographer and blogger Karen Chandler, of Visioning, photography and digital scrapbooking, for permission to use her photo of the hummingbird.]

Butterflies and Cameras

This and That

 At first I thought it was artificial, a butterfly made of painted wood, with wire legs and antennae.  One of the kids had put it there to fool me, or as a surprise.   I stared at it closely, and one of its legs twitched almost imperceptibly.  Its black body was covered with white polka-dots, close together in horizontal rows.  It appeared almost surreal, its delicate wings black and a cobalt blue, with yellow and white dots.

My cellular phone was in my pocket, and I took three photos before the phone’s camera froze up.   It would not shut down, save, change functions… the light would not go off.

[Here’s where the plot thickens, in maddening illustration of Murphy’s Law of Cameras.]

My trusty Nikon had died, and I had been using my son’s camera.  It works well enough, as long as the packaging tape holding the battery case stays tightly in place.  But there was a problem, I had neglected to replace the batteries…I guess hoping for a break giving  another burst of power .   The power light flickered a couple of times then quit.  OH NO!  Prying off the tape was more difficult than it sounds, but there were four AA batteries in the refrigerator.      They would not work…apparently old batteries that should have been thrown away.

I kept glancing out the window, checking to make sure the butterfly was still there.   I tried to call my camera savvy daughter, who was not answering her phone.  Verizon had a “longer than normal wait” for service.   A small radio in my room had no batteries.  Finally another look into the refrigerator bag miraculously provided four brand new AAs, which worked fine.  The tape worked as it was supposed to and the battery case was in place.   The red light came on.

During my frantic search the butterfly continued to sit in place without moving, for a full twenty minutes.   Once it spread its wings fully and walked up the post a few inches, stretching its legs.  But when I went back outside, the camera ready–the butterfly was no longer there– apparently tired of waiting for me to get my act together.

Well…the photo that I did get turned out, proving that my butterfly was real.   I’m honored to have communicated with the butterfly.   Now if my camera skills, or rather my battery replacing skills improve–maybe I’ll be ready the next time nature leaves me a beautiful gift.

©Patricia Dreger, Sometime, 2011

NOW WHAT!!!! OR How I Wrote My First Blog Post

Daily Post, History, Writing and Blogging

OK, I admit that I had no clue where to begin.  So I’ll just follow my own advice and…. begin!  Write something.    Just get the old Muse working with a word, any word.   THE is a word, and the possibilities are endless… the Cat, the Tree, the Suitcase.  Go for it.  Go on…

There are always great ideas that pop into my head when I’m driving down the street, or dropping off to sleep–preferably NOT at the same time.  But try to think of a story idea instantly….its like asking a comedian to “say something funny.”    On the other hand, if said comedian is really funny, anything that he says can be hilarious to certain audiences. A look, facial expression, a way of walking…all can evoke laughter.   Just a mention of such comedic greats as Lucille Ball or Peter Boyle, brings at least a grin, and sometimes an outright guffaw.  So it follows that a writer can be expected to, well, write.

Well, actually I did keep a notebook of ideas when I was a newspaper writer back in the day.  Most any fragment of an idea can be thought into something worthy of elaboration, and eventually print.  Yes, I admit that a lot of ideas are dumb, downright stupid, inappropriate, hackneyed  or ill-conceived.   A lot of what is written is just plain wrong, sometimes mistakenly or deliberately entered misinformation.   Not that there is anything new under the sun, to borrow a phrase, but any idea has infinite versions.

So this is where my theme: SOMETIME, and its variations: Who, What, When, Where, How, Why…. comes in.  Please stop back often to see how the Sometime theme plays out.   We will be surprised together.