What's in My Bag

Hey, I actually did it!
And it's such an accomplishment, too. ;o)

As I Edit Christmas Photos...

Oh my.

I was just going through some of the photos we took on/around Christmas... (So that maybe one of these days I'll be able to go through the ones I took all the way back in the middle of November...) There are a few hilarious ones mixed in there, but I'm afraid I won't be sharing those.  Some of us probably wouldn't appreciate having them released onto the Internet.  (g)  Still, I get to laugh at them all I want, and I will e-mail them to the persons involved, so that they can also laugh at our own expense.

Note for future reference:  Jumping into the air for a group photo can yield some crazy results.

25 Days of Christmas (Photo Challenge)

I wrote about this yesterday on my photo blog, but in case there's someone who doesn't check that and yet is still interested in my silly little photo challenges/projects (unlikely), I thought I'd mention it here, too.  (Also, because when I post about something political, I tend to want to put something else so the political entry's not at the top of the page.  I know, I'm weird...)

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Hey, I managed to complete the Month of Gratitude Challenge!  (Er, well, after a fashion.  I didn't post a photo a day, but I took at least one every day, and eventually got them all posted before the end of November.)

Now I'm thinking of setting a personal challenge for myself for (most of) December.  I've seen similar group challenges on Flickr, but at this point, I'm going solo--  that is, not posting it to any group pool.

25 Days of Christmas
--The challenge, should I choose to accept it ;o), is to take (at least) one seasonally-themed, Christmasy, wintery photo a day (and post it to my photo blog, as well as my Flickr photostream), from December 1st to December 25th. 

And... that's pretty much it.  I'll try to post a photo every day, but, well, you've seen how that goes... So long as I'm at least taking a photo a day, I'll be satisfied. 

Anyone who cares to follow suit-- or link to one of your favorite holiday-themed photos-- is welcome to do so!
 

Catch-Up Entry

The weather forecasters didn't know what they were talking about, today.  No-one (that I heard/read) mentioned even a chance of rain for today, yet I drove to the grocery store through fairly heavy rain... walked through drizzle to get into the store... came home to find that it had rained here, too... and now it's drizzling raining heavily again.  I'm not really complaining (not now that I'm home and dry, I'm not), but it's unusual that they're this far off the mark about rain. 

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Around Halloween, Carrie and Victor announced that they're expecting their first child-- which will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family.  (ETA: Well, the first on both sides of our family, I mean-- but not the first on Victor's side.)  Obviously this was big news.  ;o)  (They told my parents by presenting them with a bucket of candy-- a very careful selection of candy, such as Sour Patch Kids, Sugar Babies, etc.)

The due date is sometime in mid-May (I think).  Still waiting to hear if I'm going to be an aunt or an uncle. (Ha ha. (g))  Seriously, though, I'm curious whether it's a boy or a girl.  (This is a perfect excuse for more crocheting, and I need to figure out what pattern and colors I want to use!)

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A while (month? I lose track of time) ago, my father brought a good pile of mulch up to our yard from the pond.  (Which reminds me, as if I needed reminding, that I need to finish spreading that. Time goes too quickly!!)  Anyway, I spent some time carting it around and spreading it over plantings and around trees.  At first, I took care that the dogs shouldn't be outside while I did this, because I thought they might get in the way.

See Trixie watching me through a window?  Isn't that adorable? ;o)

Later on, however, they managed to be out while I worked.  Trixie found the digging into Mulch Mountain very exciting.  Every time I jabbed the shovel into the pile, she pounced on it, growl-barking and biting it. (ETA again:  I meant that she pounced on the mulch pile-- not the shovel... which would be kind of dangerous.  It was almost like she thought I was attacking the pile and wanted to join in.)  (See?  I told you it was exciting.  Bet you didn't believe it was really that thrilling, did you?)

Once some of it was taken away, the pile of mulch became Molly's designated spot to wait for our return when we go on walks:

Outdoor pet beds-- yet another use for mulch!
 

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While I was out doing yard work, I happened to look up and catch sight of a huge flock of American White Pelicans.  You may recall that we spotted a group of these birds a couple years ago.  I posted a (shaky) video of it, back then.  This flock was much larger and therefore more impressive.  I ran to tell Donald, and while he snapped some photos, I got some more (shaky) video of the flock.

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Let's see... What else?

According to my (old) cheat-sheet of Subjects to Mention on the Blog, we went to Fairhope Pier to eat pizza and take photos.  Apparently it was ideal photo weather, because there were photographers everywhere.  And not just casual photographers, either.  There were people with tripods (and you guys, they were actually using them).  There were people with big, for real cameras and lenses.  There was even someone doing bridal portraits... of a bride... in her flowing white wedding gown and veil.  Seriously, it was like the local community college had sent out a whole class of Photography 101 students on a field trip to the pier. 

You couldn't ask for more beautiful weather.

...And then we saw a cruise ship leaving Mobile, which was also pretty neat. 

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After finishing with Project 365, I wanted to set up another photo blog for any smaller photo challenges I may decide to try.  Here it is for anyone interested:  The View Through My Lens.

Right now, I'm in the middle of a month-long challenge for November-- A Month of Gratitude.  The challenge (not surprisingly, given the title) is to take a photo a day representing something that makes you feel grateful.  One of my friends from the online community of polymer clay enthusiasts had the idea and invited people to join.  If you like, you can visit the Flickr group pool to see what has inspired others with gratitude.

So far, my photos for the challenge have been kind of random, but that's ok.  November always seems like a fairly busy month to me, so I'm feeling sufficiently challenged even with my random (sometimes not-so-great) photos.

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Ok, that's caught-up enough!  ;o)
I hope you're all enjoying your last full week of November!

This & That

Autumn has finally come... then gone away again... then returned.  I think it's here to stay, now.  (The hummingbirds also disappeared with the first taste of cool weather, and though we spotted a few stragglers a week or so later, I doubt we'll see more of them until next year.)  It's already difficult not to take the cooler, drier air for granted (how soon we forget the long heat and humidity that is summer!), and I've moved on to grumbling that we need rain.  Of course, the first rain we're likely to get this month would coincide with the day I need to drive in slightly unfamiliar territory-- but isn't that always the way these things work out?  I doubt it'll be blinding, flooding rain, at any rate, so that's ok. (A summer gusher can be scary when you're behind the wheel, trying to see a couple car-lengths ahead of you.  Fall drizzle is just atmospheric, so long as everyone else on the road behaves themselves.)

Parts of Sweden are already seeing snow this month.
...Nothing more to say about that, really... Just an observation.  (g)

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We bought four new crepe myrtles recently.  There's one Natchez (large tree type crepe myrtle, white flowers, cinnamon bark), one Victor (smaller, bushy / dwarf type crepe myrtle, dark red flowers), and two Tonto (smaller tree type crepe myrtle, red flowers). 

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Donald ran in the 5K Mullet Run in Fairhope, last weekend.  He had a time of 25:29 (which I would never have remembered if I hadn't asked him and written it down).  This wasn't quite as good as he'd hoped.  It still seemed pretty good to me, since if I'd tried to run it (which I didn't, being a sensible, lazy sort of person who preferred to walk the short-cut at a leisurely pace, pausing now and then to take photos), I'd have had to walk much of the way and would've ended up with a truly pathetic time.  Apparently, one part of the race-course is a hill/incline that lasts for about half a mile. (Donald's usual "track" doesn't have anything quite like that.)  And the whole thing was on asphalt (whereas Donald does most of his regular running on the soil/grass/pebbles of the easement).  So-- if it were me, I wouldn't worry too much about the time I got on this particular run... but then, I'm not really a runner, so what do I know about such things? ;o) (The not caring about my "personal best", etc. is probably a big part of why running holds no appeal for me.  Well, that and the aforesaid laziness.  I'd rather do a sprint than a 5K, any day.  Go as fast as you can for a brief period and call it a day.  Or better yet, let's just walk there, shall we?)

None of my photos from the run turned out great, but they're something to remember the day by. 

Here are some of the runners getting started (Donald was ahead of this group):

...And here's Donald getting near the finishing line:

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I finished my Project 365 (such as it was) earlier this month.  I've been taking a little of a break from the camera since then.  In one way, it's nice to not find myself thinking, "Oh, it's 6:00 and I still haven't taken my photo for the day!  What can I photograph this time that's not a dog, a flower, or a bug?"  But I am missing taking photos... which is silly, since there's nothing stopping me.  Whatever I might say about Project 365, it did do a pretty good job of "forcing" me to pick up the camera almost every day for a year.  I might need to come up with a few (smaller) personal challenges or goals to give myself a little direction/inspiration... 

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Also this month, we received the disc with Donald's family's home videos.  Donald, Ingela, and Thorbjörn went together and had their family's old 8mm (? ...I think...) home videos converted to digital as a gift for their parents.  Donald says that they probably hadn't watched the film for perhaps 25 years, since they didn't have a projector.  There was something almost magical about watching those old bits of film.  It's the first time I can remember watching people I recognize in such old, soundless films-- so that in itself made the experience unusual.  Also, because I wasn't there the first time around (like Donald was), I recognized the younger faces and old location details (wallpaper, etc.) only from photos.  Add to that the fact that (although good for old film) the quality has a definite vintage feel (just like the old photos), and what you get is something that feels vaguely impossible-- almost like watching an old photo come to life (as in the Harry Potter books/movies). 

It was a real treat to see them!

Argh!

This is exactly what I was writing about in my last post... (If you haven't read that one, this one will seem very random...)

Someone wrote (somewhere out there on the WWW) that while they have no problem with heavily edited photos, they request that you explain what you did-- how you edited it.  (Fine.  Seems a little picky to me if it's nothing extreme-- just adjusting the colors-- but whatever.)  It's the reason behind the request that I find irritating:

While some of prefer to get most of it right in camera others are using their digital editing skills and taking their images to another level. On the most part there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, however we believe that in today’s digital age one should at least be honest. If you have edited an image - put in a rainbow, a moon, intensified the colour - whatever you have done, just be honest. Don’t allow others to feel incompetent just because you can work an image editing program.

Did you catch that?

"Don't allow others to feel incompetent just because you can work an image editing program."

~insane satirical laughter omitted~

So, let me see if I've got this right... It's perfectly fine (I assume) for Sally Snapshot to feel "incompetent" if your straight-out-of-the-camera photograph is miles better than hers... But if your photo turns out better than hers "just because you can work an image editing program", that's no reason for the poor thing to feel "incompetent".

...Written like someone who doesn't him/herself know how to "work" those image editing programs, don't you think?

Sheesh, people.  Since when is it top priority that no-one ever feel incompetent?  Feeling inferior is just an occasional part of life for most people.  Every now and then, you may feel incompetent-- especially if you're constantly comparing yourself to others.  People have different levels of skill in the various areas of life.  Some people will take better photos than you, but you're going to have to learn to deal with it.  (It helps to remind yourself that you take better photos than someone else. (g))  Hey, a feeling of incompetency can sometimes even help you in the long-term by spurring you to better yourself.  (See?  You should be thanking those people who make you feel bad about yourself.)

...I sure hope I didn't just make anyone feel incompetent in the face of my superior ability to grump...

(Somewhat Grumpy) Letter on Photo-Editing

Dear Bossy-Britches People Who Write Disparagingly About Photo-Editing:

Who made you the Boss(es) of the World?  ;o)
Please not to lecture the rest of us about "honesty" or imply that "heavy" digital editing of photos is almost a sin.

I agree that editing can't fix everything.  However, if skillful editing takes a poor photo to the level of a presentable photo, where's the problem with that?  Who, exactly, is it hurting?  (Of course it's best-- and nicest-- to get a near-perfect photo right out of the camera, but I fail to see the problem if someone devotes the time, effort, and skill [yes, skill] it takes to improve a mediocre photo.)

Certainly there is such a thing as over-editing.  (I do it on purpose sometimes, myself, just for the fun of it.  ...And possibly I sometimes do it not on purpose.)  But seriously, who's to say what is over-edited?  Isn't that in the eye of the beholder?  Unless you're entering your photo in a contest or submitting it for critique to an instructor or a group of peers, chances are that no-one's going to come out and berate you for your obvious Photoshop addiction. ;o)

I think what really irks me about the way some people write about post-processing is the implication that editing is somehow inherently evil.  It's not.  I'm not a professional photographer, and I don't spend much any time hanging out on photography message boards, but I'm convinced that (by far) most professional photographers do post-process their work.  (Some more than others, of course.)  There's nothing deceitful about it.  It's merely part of the process of capturing and presenting an image.  Unless you're submitting work to a contest that specifically prohibits it-- or you're presenting a photo as "untouched"-- or in cases where extreme editing might damage its value (as in journalistic photos-- one of the few times I think "honesty" is an issue at all)-- I say you should go right ahead and do whatever you want.

It's not dishonest to clone something out of the photo.  It's not "bad form" to lighten, darken, cross-process-- whatever.  Go ahead and add filters-- all day long, if you like.  Layer multiple photos!  Stitch things together!  Put your mother as a baby into the crib beside your newborn son!  Who says the lines between "photography" and "digital art" have to be crisp, firm, and unwavering?  Photographers have been manipulating / post-processing / editing photos for almost as long as photos have been around--  long before Photoshop came along.  It's nothing new-- nothing scary-- and (usually) nothing nefarious.

I do hope you will at least consider my position before penning your next diatribe against so-called "heavy" photo editing.

Thanks so much!
--Michael

A Guide to Taking Better Photos (of Yourself)

Donald showed me this; I thought some of the rest of you might like it, too.  :o)

The funniest part is that I've used a few of those tips, myself. . .  (And they didn't even go into Photoshopping!)  I guess everyone has done some form of this, at some point. . . . Right? (g)

Updates in General

I haven't been blogging regularly for a while (as you may have noticed).  Now that I'm here to write, I'm not sure how much there is to say, but at least I can write brief catch-up summaries of the few things that do come to mind.

The Holidays--
Our holidays were happy and fairly busy.  We visited my father's side of the family about a week before Christmas, this year, and spent the actual Christmas Day with my mother's side.  (Generally, we alternate years, but it varies, depending on when visiting family are able to make the trip.)

We stayed up until midnight on New Year's Eve, though I must admit that for the last half-hour or so I would just as soon have been asleep.  I guess I'm old enough now to not really see much point in staying up until midnight.  (So sad. (g))  Maybe if there were something exciting happening at midnight, but when there's nothing much more than saying "Happy New Year!" and hearing some distant fireworks. . . (shrug)

We wound up spending New Year's Day at my maternal grandparents' house.  I think everyone on that side of the family made it, so it was a full house again.  After a tasty meal (complete with black-eyed peas and turnip greens for those who wanted to ensure good fortune and propsperity for the year to come ;o)) and some conversation, many of us went out for walks.  Donald and I ended up going with my parents to look again at the future site of their new home.

(I think I mentioned before that it's been definitely decided that they're building, now?  The location is within a short walk of our house and my grandparents' house.  We'll none of us ever have to worry about inconveniencing someone to check on our dogs during our vacations. (g))

Resolutions for the New Year--
I hardly know whether it's more customary these days to make (and post to your blog) resolutions or to mention that you don't bother with resolutions at all.  I fall more in the latter category, but if I did, most of them would be the usual-- exercise more regularly, eat more healthily, prune back distractions to focus on what's truly important to me, and so on.  But since I really don't do the whole resolution thing, I won't.  (Oh wait, I just did. . .)

The Weather--
(This is one of those things that feel silly to write about now, because it's been in the news so much that people are probably sick of it-- but someday it might be nice to remember that, oh yeah, this was the year we had that cold snap.)

So, we've been having this cold snap. . .  ;o)  Though our weather hasn't been record-breakingly cold, it's been very cold (with hard freeze warnings) for quite a few days in close proximity.  (And if you ask me, lows in the teens and highs that don't hit 40 are plenty cold, even if they don't break any records.) 

For someone who complains about how miserable it is most of the summer and makes grand plans for doing all sorts of yard work, come winter, I don't seem able to handle cold weather very cheerfully, either.  Well, ok, that's not completely true.  I'm fine as long as I don't have to stay outside too long, and bundling up properly really does make a world of difference.  The heater helps, too (though I can't help but keep a subconscious reckoning of how much it's running).  Still, I'd be happier if we could just stretch out autumn and spring for most of the year and forget this nonsense about summer and winter.  (If that didn't mean the end of life as we know it, that is.)

The Consequences of the Weather--
We took what we thought were all the necessary precautions to prevent cold-related catastrophes, yet on Sunday morning (after we'd both had our showers, fortunately), we noticed a drop in water pressure.  After a little investigation, we discovered that the water spigot at the site of our future garage had a burst pipe.  (I guess we hadn't done quite a good enough job protecting that one.)  We had to go buy a few supplies, but Donald was able to replace the cracked pipe, and he seems to have done it well, because so far, it's holding up.  It wasn't a difficult repair, but figuring out the problem and fetching the supplies still turned out to take a big chunk out of our day.  Frustrating-- but thank goodness it was something we could fix ourselves!

Other People Dealt with Worse--
Donald's family had some trouble with their electricity and telephone service (and maybe Internet, too?), at different times, recently.  No electricity in a Swedish winter can't be comfortable, so all things considered, I shouldn't complain too loudly about our little troubles.  (Everything's working again, now, as far as I know.)

Project 365--
It's still going.  I haven't given up on it, yet, and I'm unlikely to, at this point.  Of course, I'm fully capable of forgetting to take a photo, one of these days, but even if I do, I'll just take two the next day.  So far, though, I've taken at least one photograph every day for eighty-nine days.  (I haven't always uploaded one per day, but I'm giving myself a pass on that issue.)

My project photos are sometimes-- alright, often repetitive.  (There have been lots of photos of dogs-- one in particular-- for instance.)  Since it's mainly for my own entertainment, I'm declaring it "OK".  Why shouldn't it be repetitive, after all?  Life itself is pretty repetitive-- or at least mine is.  (Well, maybe that's a weak excuse. . .)

Part of me is a little (teeny-tiny bit) jealous of people who waited to start similar projects (or goals, challenges, whatever you want to call it) until the first of the year.  I'm not sure why.  I guess it just makes more sense to start this sort of thing at the beginning of the year.  Of course, there's nothing stopping me from keeping it going past photo 365/365. . . (We'll see. . .)

Other Projects--
There are many that need attention, some of them very interesting and others less so.  It's just a matter of kicking into gear on some of them (and trying not to ignore the less interesting ones too long). . .

Project 365, Here I Come!

After a while of watching some of my contacts on Flickr participate in "Project 365", I've decided to start my own project. The plan is to take (at least) one photo a day for a year!

I'll be posting the photos on my Flickr photostream (in this set) as well as in a blog devoted specifically to the project. (There's a link to the blog over in the sidebar, too, to make it easy to locate in the future.)

Hummingbirds

There are about three to five hummingbirds still frequenting our feeders. . .



Hovering, flitting, squeaking, and feeding. . .



Providing me with another excuse to play around with layers. . .



And giving me something to put on my blog. ;o)

Random Topics du Jour

Here's this Monday's handful of random topics: porch patio swing, hummingbirds, & local trails.

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Donald finished and hung the swing last week-- well, finished except for one more slat across the top that's more for decoration than function. We were short one board (or at least one deemed straight enough to use on this project), so one of these days we'll get one, paint it, and attach it. It works just fine as it is, though, and we've been enjoying it. I find sitting outside so much more pleasant when I'm in a swing than in a plain chair-- or even a rocker or glider. Swinging is just better-- a more soothing motion.

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We recently noticed a hummingbird checking out our flowers, so we dug out our feeders, filled them, hung them from the patio arbor (or whatever the proper name for that structure is), and have been enjoying hours of entertainment. There are usually at least three of the birds in the area, hovering in mid-air, perching in a nearby cypress (or on the fence or a shepherd's hook), fighting fiercely for use of the feeders, weaving around obstacles at break-neck speeds, and making their funny squeaky noises. They definitely earn their sugar-water with the amusement and sense of wonder they provide! (We even saw one eating a mosquito the other day. Now that's the way to my heart-- rid our yard of those horrid mosquitoes!)

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Thursday, we had a little outing to a few local spots we'd never visited before.

First, we tried the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge-- particularly, the Jeff Friend Trail and the refuge's portion of beach on the Gulf. The trail was nice enough, but the mosquitoes were positively awful. We spotted them almost immediately and sprayed ourselves with repellent, but I guess that wasn't enough, because they were still landing on and biting us-- sometimes right through our clothes.

(I cannot express how much I hate mosquitoes. I mean, I know no-one likes them, but I have a special loathing for them, because I'm one of those unfortunate people who seem to have a special attraction for flying blood-suckers. I don't know why, and I probably don't want to know why-- as I suspect it's nothing good-- but the nasty little monsters find me every time.)

The mosquitoes cut down on the pleasure of the trail. Maybe it'd be nicer later in the year... Fortunately, the second half of the trail seemed less of a mosquito haunt than the first half had been. I managed to take a few photos, instead of giving (more of) my crazy lady impression (swatting at seemingly invisible assailants).

The beach was... the beach. We didn't stay long because it was hot and we hadn't planned (or packed) for a day on the beach. It might be a good spot to go if you want to avoid crowds at the more familiar (more popular) stretches of beach, but the trade-off is that there's no public restroom.

Later, we checked out the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, which is actually a whole system of trails through the wilderness just north of the busy beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. We only walked a small portion of the trails available, but I was very impressed. Apparently this is a fairly new project. I think the trails (at least one of which follows what was once an old, disused road-- Highway 182) were christened just a couple of years ago, and there is still more work planned. The trails we walked (Twin Bridges and part of Catman Road) were very nicely paved-- ideal for biking or rollerblading-- and of course for walking, too. I find that it's so much easier to not worry about stepping on snakes when you're on a wide, paved path. ;o)



The only possible complaint I can see is that some of the trails (or combinations of them) would be pretty long walks-- especially considering that they're not loops. That's probably not an issue for cyclists, but casual hikers might find some of them a bit much. I guess you just have to walk until you're approximately half-way exhausted, so that you'll have enough stamina to make it back to the car. ;o)

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised, and I'm glad to know of another local spot for hiking and photography.

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It seems like there were other things on my mental list of blog topics, but they've disappeared...

(For those interested, there are more photos of the trails and the new swing on my Flickr photostream.)

Norwegian Village in Faux Tilt Shift

Donald converted this photo from the overlook in Aurland, Norway. . .



. . . to a faux tilt shift image:



Such a fun effect!

Testing. . .

Hey there!
I'm just seeing how bigger pictures will look in this new, wider format. . .

Variety Pack

It has been brought to my attention ;o) that I haven't blogged in a while. So let's see if I can scrape together a few things to make a new blog entry. . .

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We had a Fourth of July grill lunch with my father's side of the family (or at least those who could make it). I took some photos and video of my two youngest cousins (Jacob & Olivia) demonstrating their diving ability. They're up on my Flickr and Vimeo accounts, and if you're a friend or family, you can see them there (or in the case of the photos, on Facebook). (You'll need to be approved as family/friends, though-- just a matter of asking.)

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That brings me to Facebook, which I finally got around to using. (This after joining a while back and never even uploading a photo of myself.) Well, I used it for a few days and haven't been back since. I don't know why... It's more fun than I thought it would be, but I can see it becoming an(other) obsession-inducing Internet time-waster. I'm definitely going to drop out of the whole Mafia Wars thing. I just have enough places where I already waste time, and I don't need another. (I'd rather waste my time with Flickr, Vimeo, Blogger, and my off-line time-wasters.) "Thank you" to the people who tried to help get me "set up" on it, though. (g)

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Here's one for the "Oh My" category. Did you hear about Chia Obama? (It seems vaguely familiar to me, but I'm not sure where/when I heard about it before... From Donald, I think.) If you hadn't heard of it until now, let me assure you that I'm completely serious. It's a terra cotta Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia-style bust of you-know-who, originally intended to be sold by Walgreens, but quickly yanked off the shelves when someone decided that it was potentially offensive.

Still think I'm pulling your leg? Take a look at the commercial:



(Does it remind anyone else of an Oompa Loompa, with that orange complexion and green hair?)

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Our little area's been in the "big" news more that usual, lately.

First, the nominee for Surgeon General is from a town not terribly far to our west-- Bayou La Batre, AL. (Someone had a bit of trouble pronouncing the name, but because he made the fumble-- instead of, say, his predecessor-- it won't be used as proof of idiocy. Not that I think a mispronunciation indicates idiocy-- I've made too many of them myself to be of that opinion! (g)-- but you get my point.)

Second, there's the recent news story of the double murder in Beulah, near Pensacola, FL. Back when I lived with my parents, a drive to Pensacola led right through Beulah. (In other words, it's not very far away.) This story has been dominant in the local news, but I've also noticed that the national news is following it with greater than usual interest-- and Donald told me that it was even the top story on the online Swedish newspaper he reads!

(No, no comments on the stories themselves. For the first, I don't know enough about the doctor to make any relevant remarks. For the second, beyond the typical response that it's awful and I'm curious about the circumstances that led to it, there's nothing else to write.)

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I'm still having fun with photography, even if they're just run-of-the-mill nature and pet shots...

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Frequently, when I get e-mail saying that someone new is now "following" me on Twitter, Donald comments on it. (He himself doesn't "tweet".) I try not to pay too much attention to the notifications, myself, because if I did, I might start keeping track of the numbers-- and more specifically, keeping track of when they fall.

Twitter is a strange thing, with its instant feedback. The trending topics have more than once been my first alert of a news story. I've also used it to get an immediate feel for what people are saying about one subject or another. (However, I usually find that the results are skewed strongly to the left, as is typical online, in my experience. That does get old. ...Very old. But moving on...)

I'm sure that I've tweeted things that have lost me followers-- whether because I've made just one too many boring updates on local weather and the daily doings of my dog (Though honestly, who doesn't want to know what Trixie's up to? She's pretty darn fascinating!) or because I've dared to express an unpopular (on Twitter, at least) political opinion. Either way, it doesn't really matter. The key is that instant feedback-- that constantly rising or falling value of yourself (as a tweeter, if nothing else). I'm not a fan of that aspect of Twitter (or other social networking sites), to tell the truth, which is why I try not to glance up at that upper right-hand corner with the follower count. I don't need to know how many people deem me worthy of following today, as opposed to yesterday. But thanks anyway, Twitter.

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As if to make up for the drought of a month ago, we've been getting plenty of rain lately, and we're even supposed to get a "cold front" in the next few days. Of course, by "cold front" what the weatherman really means is that our highs should be in the upper 80s instead of the low-to-mid 90s. But hey! We'll take whatever we can get in the way of cooler weather! And it may actually be in the 60s overnight for a day or two! (Woo hoo!)

So, what's the weather like in Sweden, right now? Oh, just highs in the 70s is all. But it looks like they're getting rain and highs in the 60s, coming up soon, so I bet they're not too happy with their weather, either. I'd still trade, though. Sixties with rain? Sure. Bring - it - on. ;o)

By one reckoning, I probably ought to live in the Pacific Northwest, but I don't think I'd be happy in that political climate. Besides, that's a long move away from family and the places I grew up... And maybe I would get tired of the dreariness, eventually. It's hard to know how I'd react to nearly perpetual cloudcover, having always lived in such a warm, sunny place. Sure, we usually get a lot of rain here, but it comes in downpours-- generally with sun immediately before and after. Anyway-- "Bloom where you are planted", right?

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We're still considering different paint colors for the kitchen (and haven't even really looked at potential bath colors at all). Donald picked up a few (okay, more than a few) new paint chips, last time he was in a home improvement store, and now I think we're leaning towards one of those colors. But then I start having second thoughts and wonder if we ought to steer clear of blue/aqua-blue altogether. A different shade of yellow? A rich cream? A soft sand? Aaaaaah! Indecision! At least we're not in any big rush, so we have plenty of time to dither. We'll probably end up making our choice at the eleventh hour. (Part of the fun of painting is thinking about all the possibilities.)

More Snippets

More disconnected rambling:

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Granny's doctor said that there was no damage to her heart (very good news) and that her heartbeat had remained regular long enough to allow her to check out of the hospital on Saturday. By all accounts, she's been enjoying relaxing in the comforts of home.

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My "self-portrait challenge" is still on-going-- though in extended pause mode-- but I'm already declaring it a success. I may not have taught myself many (or any) new and incredible tricks with the camera, but I think I have been learning how to get a halfway decent photograph of myself.

Here are some of the things I've discovered as I've gone along:

* The most difficult aspect of self-portraiture (imho) is getting the focus just right. Thank goodness for digital photography! You may have to take ten or twenty photos to get one with the focus in the right spot-- and everything else just the way you want it-- but with digital cameras, that's no problem. The ability to instantly check your composition, focus, etc. in the preview screen and adjust your pose and camera settings accordingly really helps, too.

* The second most difficult aspect of self-portraiture is making the decision the take a photo of yourself. It's not always a pleasant prospect if you're already sensitive about your appearance or if you've come to dread looking at photos of yourself. If nothing else, after this project I'm definitely no longer "afraid" to point the camera in my own direction. I can weed out the bad ones and produce a presentable self-portrait. No-one else need ever see the embarrassing photos-- and I hardly have to look at them, myself, with my finger poised over "delete". ;o) (Technically, I guess I've always known these things, but experience has proven it and made me realize that it's nowhere near as painful a process as I once thought.)

* Photoshop is your very good friend. (g) Thank you, whoever invented the clone tool and the spot healing brush tool (among others in the Photoshop arsenal)!! And don't worry-- no, it's not cheating to use a photo-editing tool to remove a blemish here or smooth a wrinkle there. People have been retouching (or even "doctoring") photos for practically as long as photography's been around-- only these days it's so much easier (not to mention faster and cheaper) that anyone can do it. If you're the sort who feels that every pimple, scar, and crease must be preserved for an honest portrait, that's fine, but I have a feeling most of us can live with a few white lies in most of our self-portraits.

* I wear a lot of turquoise/teal tops around the house, these days. (g) Or at least I have just happened to be wearing that color in most of my self-portraits, so far. This is less a sign of my personal tastes than it is a sign of what colors designers have recently deemed best for low-priced fitted tees. (Though I do like teal.)

* I tend to like certain angles of myself better than others, and that is clearly reflected in the photos I choose to process and share. I guess all that stuff about people having a "good side" for photographing might be true, after all. ;o) My preferred angles seem to be those that make me look more slender-- and those that emphasize my eyes. The same is probably true for 99% of people. (I think I read somewhere, once, that most women name their eyes as their best physical feature.)

* Self-portraiture is actually fun and addictive. Previously, I hadn't taken many portraits of any kind-- beyond dog photos, I guess, if you count those as portraits-- so this is fairly new for me. There's lots of territory to explore. I think I'd be even more interested if it were easier to get the focus right, but that only makes it that much more exciting when you get a good one. I'm not sure how many photos I'll take before the end of this challenge-- or how many of them will be particularly good self-portraits-- but I think I can safely say that I'll continue experimenting with self-portraiture long after the challenge is over, and I think that qualifies this "project" as a definite triumph.

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I heard through the grapevine that someone was wondering where to find the photos of Donald up on the roof (to accompany the story, here in this blog). Unfortunately, it didn't occur to me to take a photo at that time, but I did take a snap of Donald painting lumber for our patio project. (No, it's still not finished. But we're getting close! The bulk of it is done.) I doubt he'll be very fond of this photo, what with his 'round-the-yard painting clothes and messy hair. (g) But the demands of our public must be met! ;o)

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After reading a bit at a time for a long while, I finally finished the "new" L.M. Montgomery biography by Mary Rubio. I added that fact to my list of topics to blog about, a week or however long ago it is that I started compiling this entry, but now I find that I can't remember what I wanted to say about it.

The book was an interesting read, though I was familiar with the general "story", having read the published journals and a handful of other LMM biographies and related texts. It's been years since I learned that her life wasn't always the rosy, joy-filled thing that one might have expected or hoped for the woman who wrote Anne of Green Gables. The blame of it (if blame is to be assigned) falls partly on fate, partly on certain people in her life, and partly on herself-- her own choices and traits-- as is usually the case. There were a few things I didn't particularly like in the book, and because the endnotes were reportedly cut back to suit the publisher, there were times where I wondered what evidence Rubio had used to form some of her conclusions. Overall, however, I enjoyed reading the book and discovering the many new bits and pieces of information presented. This despite the fact that it was at times a sad story. Rubio did a good job balancing some of Maud's more tragic periods (as presented in the journals) with the existing records of her doings and the memories of those who knew her personally. LMM herself acknowledged that her journals were her vent-- and anyone who has ever kept a journal knows that a diary never presents life as it truly is-- but it was still good to read that, even during her darker years, her life "went on".

Just before the biography came out, LMM's granddaughter published an article revealing that Maud's youngest son (Stuart, who died in the 1980s) had believed and told his children that his famous mother committed suicide. Some fans were shocked; others admitted that they'd always assumed as much. Her final published journal entries, scanty and brief in the last years of her life, do indicate that she was suffering mental anguish, as well as physical problems, but I'd always taken for granted that her reported cause of death was legitimate.

Rubio's account suggests that LMM might have accidentally taken an overdose of her medications, which were possibly poisonous and mind-altering. (Back when I first read the journals, I was struck by the many different medicines she mentions by name-- most of them unfamiliar to me. I find it very plausible that she and her husband Ewan may have suffered adverse effects, both mental and physical, from an unfortunate combination of powerful drugs.) Certainly Rubio calls into doubt the idea that the page Stuart found was really a suicide note. I tend to agree that, if nothing else, it was not originally intended to be/written as a suicide note, but as a commentary on the now missing pages of her journal notes.

I'd like to believe that Maud's death was accidental, but either way, her writing has given joy to generations and will likely continue to do so for many years to come.

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Over the weekend, I heard for the first time about this story. Apparently, nearly 400 miniature Eskies (American Eskimo Dogs) were rescued from a puppy mill in Washington State. Some of them were living in shocking conditions, such as makeshift cages created by placing a sheet of plywood over shopping carts. It's hard for me to even imagine 400 Eskies in one place... I'm not a fanatic when it comes to so-called "backyard breeders". I don't think it's wrong for a family to breed a pet, so long as they are committed to either finding good homes for or keeping the resultant pups-- but I don't see how anyone could run a real puppy mill. They simply mustn't look at dogs as valued pets, but as some sort of commodity. I would feel guilty keeping "food animals" in those kinds of conditions, nevermind a cat or dog.

I was surprised to see a story about an Eskie puppy mill, because in my experience, Eskies aren't that common-- at least, not around here. The only reason I found the story to begin with was that I was trying to find out if the dog I glimpsed in a movie trailer (The Proposal) was an Eskie. I think it is, which is also surprising, since-- well, again, Eskies just haven't been that common, in recent years. Maybe this movie will help bring them back into the public eye. (They were very popular during certain periods of history.) Some will say that no good can come of popularity, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of them around-- and it's not like this is Disney's 101 American Eskimo Dogs or something on that level. (g)

I'm feeling up to a challenge...

Of course, I may regret it later, but let's not get ahead of ourselves! ;o)

Getting out the camera and taking some pictures around the yard, last week, put me in the mood for setting myself some type of challenge, photographically speaking. Despite good intentions, I've never really gotten into taking self-portraits, and I think that would be a good exercise for me.

However I feel about most photos of myself, these days, I imagine that someday, someone (myself, my family) will probably wish that there were a few more of them in existence. Besides, it's the fact that this isn't my usual "style" of photography that makes it more of challenging. Also, it hasn't escaped me that if I'm the one taking them, I can also more easily destroy the bad ones so that they never see the light of day. (g) So, I've decided to challenge myself to take (at least) thirty self-portraits in thirty days.

Thirty in thirty sounds like a lot (to me, at least), but I'm cutting myself some slack. They don't all have to be full shots of my face. Some can be shadows, reflections, intentionally blurry, or focused on parts of my body other than my face. (Um, by that I mean headless shots, hands-only, maybe feet. Nothing too weird. ;o) You know me better than that, right?) Also, I may take several in one day and let the extras count for the next few days. None of this "you must take one photo every day" nonsense. It's just not practical-- neither is it important-- and if I make that one of my "rules", I'll only be tempted to cheat.

I hope/think/hope this will turn out to be fun. I'll try to learn a few new tricks along the way. Maybe I'll get a few good photos to add to the one or two fairly recent (as in taken within the past ten years) photos I'm currently willing to share online. ;o) (Joking. Kind of...)

Of course, anyone who wants to join in is welcome! (I'm not expecting anyone to, but you never know!) I'm planning to post my photos in their own set (album) at Flickr, but I may also cross-post some of them here. If you want to see all of them in one spot, visit my Self-Portrait Challenge set.

Here's my first effort:

Taking that photo, it all started coming back to me, why I never really got into self-portraiture before. (g) I have a feeling this really is going to be a challenge!

Chopped the top of my head off, there, but oh well! Oh, and the bottom is one of those intentionally blurry shots I hinted at earlier. (So convenient for days when you're not feeling especially presentable!) This photo was my inspiration. Think I kind of missed the mark, though. I may have to give this one another try, but that's the point-- practicing until I (maybe) get better at this kind of photography.

patio, photography/videography, etc.

Time for another snippety post, I think.

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Patio Update

(In the distance, faintly: "What? You mean to say that thing's still not finished?!")

Well, at least we're working on it again. This weekend we finished painting all the lumber we need to complete the top part. Now it's just a matter of putting them up there and attaching the shade cloth. Most of the rest of the project is for appearance's sake rather than functionality-- and after the shade cloth's up, we'll have a shadier spot to work on them. ;o)

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Stop-Motion Photography

You may have noticed from my Vimeo sidebar widget that I've taken an interest in stop-motion photography. In a moment of serendipity, last night I came across a link on a (seemingly unrelated) web page-- a suggestion that readers go watch the stop-motion videos at the "Home of the Twisted Films of PES". Apparently, one of his shorts won Honorable Mention at the Sundance Film Festival, and TIME Magazine voted it the #2 Viral Film of the Year-- but I'd never heard of him, so maybe some of you haven't, either.

A word of warning: I haven't watched all the films, but of those I have, a couple have been slightly "twisted", or at least maybe not quite the thing you want to watch with your children. So far, it seems that you can mostly tell which ones might be questionable by the titles-- "Pee-Nut" and the next one on the list of shorts-- but still, if you're concerned, you might want to preview them before sharing. Also the second "making of" film ends with a charming image of some guy using marijuana. I imagine Mr. PES thought it was very clever, but personally, I wasn't impressed. Yeah, I'm such a prude. (shrug)

Those things aside, some of these videos are very impressive, with their creative use of commonplace items for unexpected purposes. I definitely recommend watching the first three "shorts", if nothing else.

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Spy Lens

Hee hee. This "spy lens" thing looks like fun. It's a "lens" that attaches to the end of your regular lens. There's a cut-out in the side and a mirror so that you can point your camera at something harmless (a tree in the distance, for example) when you're actually taking a photo of someone to your left or right (or above or below you). Pretty neat! The only problem is that if people look at you (and your camera) very closely, I think they might begin to wonder why there's a hole in the lens. ;o) Still, at a distance that wouldn't be as much of an issue-- nor for kids or other people who aren't that familiar with lenses.

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Rag Quilting

I've been working on my second denim/flannel rag quilt for a while, now. I've worked on it for an hour here or there, then left it alone for a week at a time, which tends to make the process drag on forever. (I've read about people who whip up simple rag quilts in a day. Personally, I think that'd take all the enjoyment out of it, but it needn't take this long.) I thought I was finally getting close to finishing it, yesterday afternoon. Then I decided to give the back one more look before sewing the two halves together.

Hmph! Somehow I'd managed to mess things up, back there. I thought I'd finally gotten it all laid out perfectly, but no. I'd turned some things "wrong way 'round", and now I've had to rip out several seams. (The ripping of a seam is such an insulting sound...)

It's not the end of the world, of course. I could've even left it as it was-- the blanket would've worked just as well, and it probably wouldn't have been noticeable to most people-- but I decided it was worth a little more effort to get it just the way I'd originally intended.

I think this will be the only "on point" rag quilt I'll make, though, or at least the only one where I try to make the back patterned instead of random. For whatever reason, I've had a lot of trouble with this one.

Counting Down to Christmas

It was cold yesterday-- well, cold after a week with highs in the 70s. Yesterday, it wasn't supposed to even reach 50! (That qualifies as "cold" to me. (g) Also, I'm not completely sure if the forecast turned out to be correct. I really need to get an accurate thermometer for outside, one of these days.)

Personally, I prefer a little chill right around Christmas. Snow is usually way too much to hope for, but there should at least be a little nip in the air. Unfortunately, we're forecast to have warmer temperatures (and rain) by Wednesday and Thursday. Oh well! We'll just have to make the most of it! But this might mean no after-meal stroll. . .

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Online, everyone seems to get quiet right around this time of year. Too busy with Christmas preparations and early celebrations to blog, I guess. I am, too, but Molly and Trixie woke me earlier than usual, this morning-- too early to warrant starting any big, before-breakfast projects.

Of course, now that I'm here, I can't think of much to say, because the main thing on my mind is what I've managed to finish from my gift-making list and how much is still left to accomplish. And I can't very well write about that here, where some of my family are likely to read it.

Shall I also admit that I have nearly all my wrapping left to do? I was waiting until I had absolutely everything ready to wrap. Well, that's alright. Gift-wrapping is one of those things that put me in the Christmas mood. It's as good as Christmas music!

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Donald was excited, earlier this month, to discover that World Market is carrying a Swedish Christmas treat. In years past, World Market has been a source for genuine Swedish pepparkakor ("pepper cakes", gingersnaps) and glögg (mulled wine, though I think ours was a nonalcoholic version). (The pepparkakor are yummy; the glögg is. . . not, in my not-so-humble opinion.) This time, Donald found Julmust:

Julmust ("Christmas Must") is a special Swedish soda usually only sold around Christmas. (From what I've read, it sounds like they're expanding and selling it for other holidays and seasons as well, but I think it's mostly a Christmas tradition.) According to Donald (and Wikipedia), Julmust outsells Coca-Cola during the Christmas season-- with Coke sales sometimes dropping by as much as half!

My observations? First, it's extremely foamy when poured from a freshly opened bottle. Second, it looks just like Coke, aside from the thick foam, which eventually fades away.

When Donald said I "had" to taste it, at first I wasn't entirely unwilling. Despite my experience with glögg, I didn't see how any cola could be that bad. Still, better to err on the side of caution, so I gave it a tentative sniff. Hm. Distinctly medicinal. Not a good sign. I knew that nothing that smelt that way could taste good, but I took a sip anyway. Yep, just as I'd feared-- another nasty-tasting concoction. It tasted a little like beer smells-- possibly because hops and malt were on the list of ingredients. (Incidentally, I think it's funny that the ingredient that makes malted milk balls and malted milkshakes sooooo delicious is also in beer and whiskey, which seem kind of gross to me.)

My final verdict is "yucky", but apparently Swedes love the stuff. Wikipedia says that the country of about 9 million consumes 45 million liters each December-- about half of the total soft drink consumption for that month.

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After just a little playing around with video, I've already come up with this list of reasons why photography-- particularly macro photography-- is easier (for me) than videography:

• Photoshop is so much simpler than the video editing software! (Of course, this is because I'm more familiar with Photoshop-- or at least with the parts of it I use.)
• Processing photos doesn't require long waits. Rendering video sometimes does, especially if you try to use fancy effects. Fancy effects applied to photos take no time, by comparison.
  
• (Macro) photography is extremely focused. You find one "beauty spot"-- even in the midst of ugliness-- and in the end product, that is all that's visible. The other people viewing the photo have no idea whether that flower was growing in a woodland glen surrounded by hundred-year-old oaks or by the littered shoulder of a noisy highway. It's easier to idealize the world through photography, and that's generally what I like to do with the camera. (I'm sure it's easy for some people to do that with video, too, but I'm not at that point.)

Most of the problem is inexperience, which can be remedied with practice. Once this Christmas rush is past. . .

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Ok, enough chit-chat. Back to the top-secret stuff. ;o)

Photos & Flattery

I was flattered the other day when someone wrote me wanting to purchase one of my photos on Flickr. (I decided that the compliment was payment enough, particularly since I wasn't sure that the original would really be large enough to print on the scale he wanted.)

In the usual way of things, it wasn't a photo I'd have expected anyone to take special notice of. I'd supposed the world had already had its fill of "birds perched on dilapidated pier remnants" photos. ;o) However, the photo apparently struck a chord with this particular person, who has fond memories of growing up on the shores of Mobile Bay.

I don't know if he'll ever actually have it printed or not, but I like to think that he will. Imagining my photo resting calmly in the background of another person's life makes me smile. It's not all that often, lately, that I feel so connected to random strangers around the world. . .

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Speaking of photography. . .

Now that I know (most of) the secrets behind the dreamy photography technique I finally identified as "the Orton Effect"-- and have since moved on to fiddling with layers and textures-- I'm now looking into night-time photography. I don't really know much about it beyond the most basic basics, but I know that the possibilities intrigue me. It's wonderful, how many things there are to try with hobbies you love. You can really never run completely out of new avenues to explore, can you?