Lens and Pens

Mindful musings and images from travels around the world and around the block

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

New camera and the Blue



The digital camera I've been using for the last three years has been great for most of the photos I take. Close ups and distant shots are beyond its capabilities, but its small size and ease of use has more than outweighed its limits. The camera goes almost everywhere I go. Especially during my sabbatical sojourn in Seattle, I grew accustomed to always having the camera in one pocket and cell phone in the other.
Of course, being out and about in Seattle meant more exposure to elements. I began noticing that some photos had dark spots in just the wrong places, and finally figured that dust or moisture had gotten inside. When I investigated having the camera cleaned, the cost was half that of a new one of the same model. Most of the time I can find a way to work around the spots with cropping, but over the months the spots have gotten darker and more numerous, and my frustration grew.
A new camera has been on my wish list for months. I've read reviews and gazed at the models on display without coming to a decision. Now that I've moved and settled in and paid some bills, I figured the time had come.
But which model? Is it time for a digital SLR or should I go for the compromise of a digital with some manual settings? A review for a new model of the Sony cybershot convinced me to take the intermediate step before heading to the high end. I can't quite carry it in my pocket or purse, but it's still relatively small and unexpectedly light-weight. Now to learn how to use all the settings and options.
Last Saturday was the first chance to really try it out during a trip to a local farmer's market. On the way home we stopped to look for the Great Blue Heron we'd seen on the bank of a canal the week before. What a surprise to realize he was standing just feet away. Discretely lowering the window, I inched the camera through the opening and began snapping. I even caught him in midflight as he headed to the opposite bank. What a thrill to watch this beautiful creature and then be able to view later what the camera had captured!

Labels: ,

Sunday, July 01, 2007

I can do it myself!


One of the posters from the World War II era which is popular again features a Rosie the Riverter type woman in her work clothes, flexing her muscular arm. The caption is "We can do it!"
As a person who is not naturally gifted in things mechanical or muscular, nor one who really wants to even think about how things work - as long as they do when I turn a key or flip a switch, I've usually managed to avoid having anything to do with power tools. Even for lawn mowing, I preferred a push mower until moving to a place with a yard too big to manage that way with the time I had available for such an unrelenting chore. I am even less enthusiastic about equipment requiring gasoline so I bought an electric lawnmower.
I had little need for tools of my own, especially as long as I lived in a manse with its obligatory Building and Grounds Committee from the church. These guys - and they are almost always men - tend to be the handyman types who have lots of tools and gadgets and a need to use them. So as long as I was willing to ask for help, I could usually find someone to help with whatever repair or assembly or decorating project I had in mind.
On the other hand, I've always been one of those who dislikes being helped and will insist that I can manage on my own thank you very much. Even when I was married to a guy who prided himself on being Mr. Fixit, I decided it was ridiculous to wait and wait for him to do something that I could probably figure out how to do myself. I bought a Reader's Digest illustrated book of how to repair anything and gave it a try. And so I learned how to take apart the plumbing under the sink when the disposal was stopped up and deal with other household emergencies - if I had to.

Over the last few weeks of moving and getting settled into a new house, I've asked for help for a number of those assembly-repair-installing chores. Then I finally decided that there are a number of things I should - and could do myself - if I had a drill. So I took advantage of the Father's Day sales and found a cordless drill with an assortment of bits for a bargain price. Last Friday I put it to use, drilling holes in the wall to install two plant hangers and a curtain rod. Still have 3 curtain rods to go, but now think I have the hang of it. Besides that, now I can say, "I can do it myself!"

Labels: , ,