Scattered Thoughts . . .

All packed up and ready to go... We made the big summer move to the lake house yesterday. We managed to tie five kayaks on the roof of Sheila's car and the sailboat on the top of my car.  Both cars were loaded to capacity inside. Actually, Sheila's car bottomed out on the private road to the lake house.   Wow...  I was not ready for this move and it took a lot out of me! My spine is screaming, my feet are unhappy and my legs are uncooperative. I'm bent over like I'm 90 years old and I'm moving very slowly. The house, however, is now ready for guests and some fun times! Oh...  we planned to be out of the house and on the road to the lake house earlier than usual... one last visit to the bathroom... then dumped some Rid-X into the toilet to let some bacteria do its thing to the septic tank...  flush our new toilet... the Rid-X clumped up into a solid clump and clogged the toilet.   Ugggg....   On the road to the lake house... That's what I get

I've been stuck indoors this week due to some health issues so I've been sifting through photos and editing some of them. Today I'm having difficulty lifting my left arm in addition to all the nauseating symptoms of the past week keeping me close to our bathroom. Most of what I've done today with these photos required the use of a mouse with my right hand though so I happen to have a couple of photos to share. Both of these photos were shot at the lake and both photos were captured on beautiful sunny and warm days. The first photo I inserted below is of Kenzie kayaking with Nan. I had the sun at my back in this shot so the clarity is really nice and the background drops off smoothly and quickly. I like how they stand out against the shore in the background as well the clarity and tonal qualities... of course, this photo also reminds me of a typical nice day out on the lake so that is nice too! The second photo was shot by Sheila. She grabbed my camera while I was

I'm experiencing some poor health (I ran out of one of my medications so the next week or so will be quite miserable until this medication finally arrives) so I'm just sitting around at my computer sifting through some photos.  I came across a few photos of Gee that I shot this summer... I have many photos of Sheila but these four stood out this morning.... I recently shared a sunset photo very similar to this one, below, but I captured Sheila at the edge of the frame in this one... Sheila is pretty easy to photograph on any day but she is exceptionally easy to photograph when she is "Gee"... of course, Lukey and Kenzie make it easy too!

I've really been slacking on sharing photos from the lake. I'm even further behind in editing and sharing video but that is a whole other story. Since I have hundreds of photos from this year alone, there are always new lake photos to share. Recently, I pulled out a few interesting photos. In this first shot, this loon was way out there on the lake. The lake is almost a half mile across to the opposite shore and this loon was much closer to the other side of the lake than our side of the lake.  I was on our dock at the shore... it was early morning and the bugs were feasting on me... you can faintly see the remnants of morning fog closer to the shore across the lake. The lake was flat, calm and quiet... I steadied myself against a post like a village drunkard leaning on a lamp post... slowed my breathing, focused... then I saw this distant scene more clearly in my viewfinder.  A boat had just passed this loon and the wake created by the boat was reflecting the

I'm not quite sure why but I've been consumed with thoughts of the lake house lately... when I'm awake and even when I'm asleep and dreaming... all the time. Perhaps it is because my health has been mostly on the poor side since being at the lake earlier in the summer. Lately, my health has been exceptionally poor especially when it is warm or hot outside. I'm overwhelmingly exhausted on most days and can barely keep my eyes open nevermind find some energy to accomplish something small. I'm so exhausted that I find it impossible to stay focused on any task or to even think clearly. I don't know... maybe I simply want to go back to the lake house and do things. Don't get me wrong. I occasionally have a pretty good day. On these rare days, I find that I am using up this rare fairly good health on everyday chores like cutting the lawn, laundry, straightening the house or even showering. It doesn't take much to wear me down to the point of uselessnes

A month or so ago, I wrote about seeing loons sporting different colored plumage. I saw loons with a band of deep green on their necks... I saw loons with a band of deep blue on their necks... I saw loons with a black band on their necks. That left me wondering and searching for a reason. I was initially wondering if this was a sign of maturity... adolescence... breeding... or nesting. It turns out it was none of the above. I've found that the appearance of green or blue or purplish bands on some loons is simply due variables such as the angle of the light, wet or dry feathers, and the color temperature of the light. For example, near dusk or near sunrise, the color temperature is a very warm orange or yellow yet the color temperature at high noon is a much colder blue. When you combine these varying lighting scenarios with the angle to wet feathers, you can see different colors.   Even when you hold a clean, fresh bird feather in your hand, you can oftentimes see a changing

As happens on most mornings, we had a visitor right outside the house this morning...  I managed to capture a few nice photos this morning. It was not without tons of frustration and struggles though. This camera has been problematic for me for years. I'm not even sure why I am still attempting to shoot with this piece of junk. This morning, I resorted to switching to full manual mode (no Auto ISO, no Aperture Priority, no Shutter Priority, no Auto). All methods of auto-exposure were working incorrectly (white balance sucks on this camera too) and it has always been this way with this crappy Olympus camera. I've said this before but I'll say it again... I'll never buy another Olympus product again.  The other problem I've been having with this crappy camera and the other long distance camera I have is that the viewfinders are far too small for someone who wears eyeglasses. I need to find a new body with a much larger viewfinder or I must switch to

We got up at 5am this morning... my spine has been killing me... pain through the left side of my pelvis radiating to my hip (I'm even feeling it through my groin... fun times) ... and enough pain that it is keeping me up most of the night so we got up at 5am this morning and, fortunately, we were treated to quite a show! First, we saw blue sky! That is a bit unusual at the lake early in the morning since the lake is often shrouded in fog at this time of day. This morning was beautiful! (It is now overcast, windy and we are experiencing a passing shower.) Next, as I was sitting here at my desk overlooking the lake... with Sheila sitting on the couch beside me... I noticed something floating in the middle of the lake. It looked like a log... then it started changing direction slightly and we were debating whether it was a beaver or something along those lines... we both agreed it was too large to be a beaver...  I grabbed one of the cameras off my desk... the one with the l

So, while I am still recovering from another week or two of lousy health, I'm revisiting photos of events, vacations and wildlife I've shot. Since the lake is now on our minds, this blog entry includes photos I like from our times at the lake.  I have this first photo in two versions... I shot it in landscape orientation (picture frame in horizontal position) but also took a shot in portrait orientation (framed in the vertical position). I will sometimes take a shot of a subject both ways so that I have the option of displaying it on a wall either way depending upon the circumstances. Truth be told, I actually prefer the landscape version of this photo but I'm on a search for photos in the portrait orientation to hang in our living room. (I occasionally rotate photos through our frames on our walls and I have three frames to fill which are in portrait orientation.)  This was one of those "last night at the lake" times... it was our last paddle around the lak

Since I'm having some rather poor health this week, I've been trying to focus on improving my photography and videography. Over the past eight or nine years, I've done a lot of coursework in photography and, as a result, my photography has improved significantly over time. I just started studying videography very recently so that still needs a lot more coursework and practice. In the meantime, I have photography to help feel a bit productive on days when I'm struggling with my health. Our time at the lake is again close upon us so this is foremost in our thoughts now. Since the lake is what we've been thinking and talking about everyday, I've been revisiting old photos from the lake. I am sharing two panoramas here...  This first panorama was shot while I was in my kayak... I shot five handheld shots while sitting in my kayak... it was our last night at the lake this particular year. Sheila, Adam and I went for a short paddle before tying the kayaks on the

View of the night sky just after sunset from the deck. I think it is safe to say that we are all looking forward to heading to the lake. As I sit here typing this post, I can hear the rain falling outside my window and I can't help but hope the weather is nicer very soon. There is sailing to do... kayaks to paddle... swimming to be done... short hikes to be done... socializing with guests... a lot of photos to shoot... and simply enjoying ourselves every moment of every day. I'd prefer not to be doing all of this in the rain! Well, really, I'd prefer not to be doing any of that in the rain! Adam is graduating high school on Saturday so he is busy this week with finals and some last minute projects. I know he is looking forward to getting back out on the sailboat. I notice him eyeing the boat whenever he is in the yard. I am sure he is definitely ready to be graduating high school! So Adam is a bit antsy to get to the lake as well. I'm sure Sheila is looking