Scattered Thoughts . . .

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 was hoping to find some wildlife outside today... even if only a squirrel or chipmunk... so I could test a new super telephoto Canon lens I picked up recently. The weather was pretty nice but I was feeling rather lousy. Nevertheless, I pushed the crappy health aside (and all the nausea and pain that goes with it) and I still headed out to the backyard with my camera and new (used) lens in hand.   So, not finding any wildlife to shoot left me with some withered old flowers and a few remaining leaves on tree branches. "Well... that is kind of a let down..." One of the problems with shooting small subjects such as flowers and leaves with a long super telephoto lens is that these subjects are rather tiny... even smaller than typical song birds. I didn't see any of them either! Not only are these subjects small but I can only get so close to these subjects because every lens has a minimum focus distance. On long super telephoto lenses such as this one, this minimum focus

After the cider mill early in the morning, then the train show late in the morning (my previous blog entry), and then lunch at The Olive Garden, we brought the kids to one of their favorite places... The Christmas Loft! There isn't much to explain when it comes to why the kids enjoy visiting The Christmas Loft... it is a place where it is Christmas all year long and they are kids... it really is a no-brainer! Of course, I don't mind visiting this store either since the Christmas season is my favorite time of year as well. We seem to visit this store a few times each year and we purchase a few things each time we visit.  The kids excitedly walk through every room of this sprawling store but, worth mentioning, is the mini Dickens-like village at the core of this large store. The kids are always fascinated with this kid-sized village and they always seem to find something new in this village with each subsequent visit.  It is safe to say that everyone enjoyed this visit

It was a busy three day weekend with the grandkids, overall, but Saturday was the day we squeezed a lot of activities into one day. When we awoke on Saturday morning, we piled into the car and headed to the cider mill up the road to purchase a dozen apple cider donuts right as they were pulled from the big kettle of oil. We headed home with a big bag of warm donuts and made some breakfast.  By 10:00 am or so, we were back in the car and heading to a local train show with the grandkids. We got to look at what a few vendors were selling as well as some operating model railroads. It was a nice show. Most of these model railroads were set up for kids to play... buttons to push to control trains, lights, railroad crossings... Thomas the Train tables... more buttons to push to control trains on other layouts... and even steps in the form of bleachers to boost up the little ones so they could view the taller model railroads.  The basement of the building was dedicated to "oper

I had some relatively minor health issues over the weekend while we were with the grandkids but didn't think much of it. I threw some extra medications at my health and pushed on forward.  The past few days, however, have been rather lousy.  In hindsight, I know that the relatively minor health issues I experienced in the preceding days were clues that my health required immediate attention. I should have stopped all activity... I should have taken some emergency medications rather than just some extra medications... and I should have tried to rest and recover. Instead, my health progressively worsened as I tried to ignore the warnings and push on through our activities with the grandkids. I haven't been able to wander far from a bathroom. Sheila and I ran into town last night to pick up some groceries and even that very short trip was a problem. My current gastro-intestinal problems are fairly bad (it has been worse though)... I've been having some difficulty brea

As I've written previously on this blog, as much as I truly love my Sony camera, I've been quite frustrated by Sony's slow lens development. A few years ago, Sony released a few new cameras in a new mount... the Sony e-mount. At that time, I didn't give Sony much of a thought... that is... until I held one of these cameras in my hands at a local Best Buy store. The moment I held this new Sony camera body in my hands, I said, "WOW!" It was small... it was relatively lightweight... it had a HUGE sensor... and it really felt like a solid, high quality product. I went home and started researching (I never buy anything costing more than a few bucks until I research... and research more... and then research again).  I was liking what I was reading about this camera system but it was completely new with a new lens mount so lenses were few and far between at that point. I thought, "So... how long could it take to fill out a fairly complete lens lineup?... Two

Batman and Elsa visited us last night... Last night was a night of trick-or-treating for the grandchildren... out into the bone-chilling dampness of a Halloween night in the 30s... as Gee and I stayed warm and comfortable at home in front of a fire in the fireplace. When the kids returned to the house after trick-or-treating they had stories of seeing friends, visiting the firehouse, dinner at Zachary's Pizza with mommy, and having illuminated plastic pumpkins full of candy! I managed to capture a few photos of them, as always... A very happy Elsa... "I'm Batmannnn!" Phantom of the Opera?  Or, Caped Crusader of Gotham?  It looks like Batman has some hidden talents... or he is giving away his true identity?