oops.
i forgot what day it was until i got to work and got online. for some reason, the dates have been very confusing since i returned from texas. everything is running together. so february is already half over and that is damned good! it’s well known that i don’t like hallmarkHolidays anyway. so i’m not in *that* much trouble.
after wandering around with my new camera again on Sunday, this time accompanied by traci in the sub-20 degree weather, stuffed full of mexican food, i was still in love with her (the camera, who does not yet have a name!) the 28mm lens and the 16:9 aspect are very inspiring, especially as i have been contemplating more complex compositions. i love all the information that will go into the image. wow! a shot of traci and her newest toy camera also contained an old boyfriend, restaurant details and a girl in the background stuffing her face. it was grand! i mean i am sure i will use it for normal things, too, but right now i am just enamored of this possibility. we had fun wandering around. it has been WAY too long…
and then back to the grindstone. this week has been *very* blah. it is so so so cold that i can’t work in the artRoom when i come home. and it is too cold to sit at the computer and list the things i want to sell on eBay (cameras! boots! vintage textileThings!). so i have been plopping in the big chair with a blanket, a book and a bowl of carbohydrates until it is time to take all those accessories to the bed. very dreary and non-productive. ugh.
today it might be warmer. i hope this is true.
i have been contemplating downsizing my photoStuff for a year or so. i have never cared about having a lot of fancy equipment and am happiest with something small and light with a clean capture. a Big Zoom is almost a necessity. i don’t care about perfection, because photoshop is my friend. my very good friend. i’ve wished for something as casual as a toycamera, but digital and capable of holding many images, with the option of nice clean shots if i want. this past year even my Panasonic Lumix FZ7 has felt “too big”. so … i decided to give the TZ3 a try, as a possible replacement. here are the specifications, if you are interested. at first, i shuddered - “no manual controls?” - then realized i seldom, if ever, use them. the most frightening aspect was no viewfinder. and whether it would feel comfortable in my sturdy peasant-sized hand.
so i took her out today. (all images may be enlarged upon clicking)
she has a 10x zoom. and it WORKS - nicely. i noticed in this shot, and in some others, where white glare was smoothed and not nearly as offensive as in my FZ7.
i *really* like the way she handles whites so far. today was very bright and sunny, and i was in an alley with dappled light, but still - the white is SWEET, not glaring. ISO set on 100 for all these shots. i do wish there was an ISO 80 setting, though.
this is as close as i came to a successful macro for today (user error). but i am pleased. i am noting that the colors seem very subdued (i am set on “natural”, i think, and there is a more saturated setting, but as i said - photoshop is my friend)
here one can see where the light spots are pretty blown out, but in about 50 images, this was the only one. i am finding that capturing in 16:9 aspect was easier as i was out, practicing. hell. it’s FUN to have this different viewpoint!
and here is where i fell in love with this little creature and her 28mm lens. i have NEVER been able to capture all 3 of these little windows at once before, just wandering down the alley. oh oh OH! i think i’ll keep her!!!
all of these images are straight from the camera, other than resizing in photoshop (because i forgot to change the settings and they are HUGE. normally i crop and skew and glamorize to my heart’s content, but today i did not. composing in the LCD screen was easier than i imagined. blown up to actual pixels, the images are not bad at all. i did have a few where i accidentally had “Intelligent ISO” turned on and it was not a pretty sight. i have not tried printing these images yet, but i think they will be just fine. i think i am delighted. and the LCD screen was Just Fine, even on a very sunny day. it will take some getting used to, of course, no viewfinder. and although sometimes i felt shaky with handling her, i was surprised how clean the images came out. i used Mode 2 OIS setting.
tomorrow i will take her out again before deciding for sure, but i think she might be a keeper!
yesterday turned out to be a great artDay, although i was sluggish about getting started. i actually have a “body of work” happening, i think. wow. finally. i have been working on pale pieces with found poetry and stitched photos, new ones, and finishing started pieces that have been waiting for inspiration. also making some very tiny ones that i can put on etsy when they are finished. this all feels good. now the party is over though and today i must trudge out into 14 degrees and many inches of snow to hike up the hill to the office. bluh. but i will come home and continue … i will … i will …
it’s so beautiful! but i don’t want to go OUT in it … at least not this early …
and i don’t *have* to!!!!!!!! SNOW DAY!!!
finally! we have an official snow day. “only emergency staff should report to work”. YAY!!!!!!!!!!! and i think it is *still* coming down. this is probably the biggest snow i have seen since moving here. i’m pretty sure. global warming? ahem? global *change* perhaps. that i might believe.
the snow news seems to have even overtaken superTuesday news here. i had to search hard to find that O had wiped C’s butt right out of Kansas last night. we don’t have a primary, but a caucus instead. i was excited to go to my first one, but after my man Edwards dropped out, i didn’t feel inclined to go stand about in the fairgrounds with thousands of others to decide on one of the leftovers. as far as i am concerned they are both Rep’s in Dem’s clothing, each with a personal agenda of being “The First…” sure, i’ll vote for one of them instead of any republican, but i have no excitement now. besides i fear that either of them could be toppled easily in conservative american sheeplike eyes and may not be able to ultimately “win” over a traditional whiteman republican. sheep like to be safe.
anyway, heats on! it’s an artDay! where’s the coffee??
what i did yesterday. no. not wandering around with a camera. i just didn’t want to go OUT.
instead i finished a gob of prepared books, that have been sitting around in assorted half-prepared states for months. now they are ready for someone else to finish and make into art objects. or me? i can’t do them all, i’m sure. besides, i am realizing that the preparing is the part i like best. (mostly) so i am thinking that if i can make myself sit here, at the scanner and computer, for the next few HOURS, then i might list them on etsy to see if there is any interest. they won’t be cheap, because even the preparing is quite a bit of work, but they could be lots of fun for the right person, especially those terrified of the blank white page. there are no blank white pages here. anyway, we’ll see … it is cold and rainy today, so it is definitely a staying-in day, maybe the scanning would be a good task for part of it. you can be sure i am not watching a football extravaganza today. the end.