Scattered Thoughts . . .

I sent my two compositions of this week's lunar eclipse to the printer this evening.  I have all my prints done professionally so when I say I sent images to a printer, I am referring to a professional shop and not my own printer connected to my computer. For the final version of the prints, I added text on each. I wanted to make it easy to figure out the date, time and location of this event without having to go digging into the EXIF info (file properties). I wanted this info to be visible on the print itself. Although I feel text on photos adds a distraction, having this added information works in this situation. I'm looking forward to getting the high quality, Fuji Pearl Paper prints (Fuji Crystal Archive Digital Pearl Paper is glossy surface, silver halide color paper with a unique pearl-like, silvery iridescent appearance. The embedded pearl-like crystals give a high gloss effect reflectance) ... I order prints printed on this paper regularly and I have to say that t

This summer at the lake house was a bit unusual in that we saw and heard fewer loons than we normally do.  Loons are a bit odd. They are elusive yet they can be very playful around humans when they want to be but only when they don't feel threatened. They can be territorial yet they can congregate in groups of loons at times. For much of our time at the lake house this year and much to our disappointment, the loons tended to be elusive and quiet. One particular evening, however, a pair of loons approached the house... they paddled back and forth in front of the house about 200 feet from shore. They weren't bobbing and diving for food nor did they seem to be in any hurry to be anywhere. They just sort of slowly paddled back and forth as I quickly, but quietly, headed to our deckside dock with a camera in hand. For the most part, they ignored me as I laid across our dock shooting photos of them.  It was getting darker and darker by the second... it was dusk on this mountain

Waiting for the moon to rise above the treeline... As is the case when trying to accomplish anything, there were some obstacles to overcome when shooting the eclipse the other night. First, I should mention that there were a few things working in my favor which is unusual. The weather was good with clear skies at the same time as a major astronomical event. This combination has been a rarity in my lifetime. My health was doing quite well this particular day so I there were no major health problems to drag me down. (Plus, I pre-medicated with extra medications, just in case.) I was exhausted but I easily found a solution to that problem... just set up the tripod at the living room window and shoot out the window! The fact that these three things came together for one event was amazing... a rare lunar eclipse... on a night when we had clear skies... and also a day when I was feeling relatively well... this was amazing. Power lines and telephone lines getting in the way

It required approximately eight hours of work today (not including all the time spent preparing my gear and shooting), but I managed to put together a full composition of last night's supermoon lunar eclipse (photo below). This composition is comprised of twelve images... eleven shots of the moon as it rose into the starry sky (chosen out of approximately 300 images I shot)... and one shot of the starfield which was in the background of this rare show. The final composition is 6000 x 4800 pixels which would make a beautiful high resolution 8"x10" print. If necessary and if I desired, I suppose I could even produce a high resolution 16"x20" print of this composition.  My original plan was to try to capture a few good images of the eclipse. I had never shot an eclipse before so I was prepared for problems and I tried to keep my goal simple. I kept saying to myself,  "I'll be happy with just a few good images of the blood red eclipsed moon."  Ev

For a change, the weather in my neck of the woods cooperated with an astronomical event! That alone is a rarity. Even more surprising is that my health cooperated as well! The chances of all of this coming together were slim. I had set up a couple of my cameras earlier in the day. I charged and tested batteries. I chose two lenses... one for each camera. I chose the appropriate tripod head and mounted it on my tripod. Then, I waited. Sheila's parents stopped by for a few drinks before dinner which was nice and occupied my time as we waited for nightfall. We ate dinner, cleaned up and then I noticed the full moon was brightly lighting up the sky outside our living room window. At this point, I was running low on energy so, rather than hauling all this gear outdoors to a good viewing spot, I just set up the tripod at the living room window and shot out the open window.  The problem with shooting from this particular window is that I knew that the moon would eventually skirt b

I hate cars.  I hate driving cars... it is boring beyond belief. I have always (even in my early 20s) found myself constantly fighting to keep myself awake because it is so unbelievably boring. As a result, I've always preferred having a driver. Driving a car is just a boring, mundane, menial task that I prefer to avoid. I even hate today's car models! They all look the same... either a boring box or a boring wedge or they look like a giant funky sneaker. Even the limited edition runs of classic car models have been morphed toward today's styles of boxes, wedges or sneakers. I hate maintaining cars. When I was younger... as a teenager and in my twenties... I worked on cars, repaired cars, rebuilt cars, even occasionally lent a hand in a racing pit crew. I had aspirations of someday building a replica of an antique car or truck. I don't have the energy nor desire to do any of this today. It is just a drain on my energy and my finances. And besides, I don't even

I've been trying to hone my skills with my digital pen and graphics tablet over the past couple of days. I have to say, this is not helping me get any rest though! Last night I started on what I thought would be a little test project. It is something I've always wanted to draw and paint... an old rural gas station... some dramatic lighting. By 3am, I knew I bit off more than I could chew for a "little test project". My intention was to just sketch out some ideas. The sketches developed quickly and then I was adding background and foreground (although, for me, the foreground could use something more)... and filling with color. Before long, I was having difficulty keeping my eyes open! The problem with a project like this is that I've learned that once I get my creativity flowing, I really need to allow that flow to continue for as long as possible. Coming back to an art project later rarely works well for me.  The next time I sit down and try to start that

'Slit Drum Sculptures' by Jerry Geier Back just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about our trip to Shelburne Farms with the grandkids. While we were at the farm, we came across these wooden sculptures out in the middle of nowhere on the farm. We had no idea what they were and subsequent internet searches provided no clues... until now. I finally found that these particular sculptures were handcrafted by Jerry Geier. These sculptures are called "Slit Drum" sculptures. They are drumming percussion instruments of the Pacific islands and (I think) of certain African tribes. I'm still not completely certain of their history but at least I have figured out what these sculptures at Shelburne Farms represent. This particular piece of art is named "Convergence". Here is a link to the artist...  Jerry Geier . Below is also a video I found on YouTube of a larger slit drum called a slit gong. Had I know that these sculptures were drumming instruments,

I wrote earlier this morning that I was thinking I would need to keep from wandering from the house. I just wasn't feeling "right" at the time. I was exhausted from lack of sleep. I was in pain from the effects of Systemic Mastocytosis and extensive spinal injuries. Common sense was telling me I needed to stick close to home. Well, when Sheila arrived home from work she reminded me that I needed to drop my car off at the mechanic's garage this evening. Unfortunately, my health had already begun to crash. Rather than getting a much needed nap this afternoon, I spent much of the afternoon in and out of the bathroom. Ooooo... fun time, let me tell you! Now I definitely needed to wander from the house to drop off the car. Regardless of my health, I really needed to drop my car off for this appointment. I haven't driven my car at all in about two months because it needs some work and even before that I had only driven less than 3000 miles in the past year. The car

I've managed to get out of the house for a few short periods in the past few days... and that was really nice... today, however, I'm back indoors and I'm not so sure I'll be wandering outside today. I'm really worn out today... exhausted... and my spinal injuries are really bothering me. The pain started yesterday after overdoing my physical therapy the previous day. I knew I had overdone it while I was still doing my physical therapy! By nightfall, I was in considerable pain throughout my spine as well as having bone pain in my legs. Yesterday was a bit brutal so the only thing I accomplished was preparing and cooking baked ziti with garlic bread for the kids. Needless to say, sleeping is not going all that well. Last night, my sleeping problems due to spinal and bone pain were compounded by being cold all night long. Although the room probably was slightly chillier last night than usual (I removed the air conditioner from one of two windows in the room so we h