I must decrease

Facebook can be dangerous in that we are continually promoting ME. I grow weary of the self-promotion, of throwing out for the world to see, the continual updating of the inane activities of daily life. I am just as guilty, continually shouting ME via the photography, wanting a larger share of onlookers,admirers,followers,likers,comments....
And when that does not occur with the breadth expected, it garners frustration. The ME has a unsatisfied appetite.
In the decrease, something must increase. And as John the Baptist said so well, (the first tattoo scripture verse Landon placed on his arm) He must increase, but I must decrease. Satisfaction can only come in a dying to the ME, the self-promotion. To slay the flesh and its desire. The desire for the world, the shunning of things spiritual, Christ-like.
A most difficult task especially for the artist-types, who dwell much in the flesh, the world, the things of this world.

Art Dart

Arrived after seven downtown to the first annual Dart for the Arts 5K. Kim, the organizer immediately showed me a map of North Lake City with the route drawn out. She said she needed someone to lead the runners over it. I asked her, if it was marked, she said no, that she had been busy with blood bank. Uh Oh. I made a quick decision, four laps around the lake would be much safer and simpler, even if it would be 3.2 miles, not 3.1.
I did not tell her I used to direct races in the old days. I did well. I recall back when, when I turned over the reigns of the Blue-Grey 10k, that I showed up to see how things were going. They had forgotten the pins for the numbers. I went ballistic. Today, I remained calm and collected. Even though there was absolutely little planning, thankfully, the twenty who walked and ran got through it with a good work-out, a tee and a water bottle for $20.
I re-connected with Ron my photographer friend and all went well. Sometimes, it just isn't worth sweating over details. But....a little planning next year would go a long ways toward tripling the turnout and money raised for the gallery.
From there I went up to Lake Shore where we discharged my mom from the hospital and took her home.
It was a blessing to see her marked improvement and no need for any surgery or rehab nursing home.
She then came to our house for the afternoon where we watched the Preakness horse race, had supper.
We took her back to my sisters around 8PM after Jeopardy.
In the meanwhile, Melanie said that I need to get over the anger and all at everything, that I need to continue on at the gallery. So I suppose I will tell Rex Tuesday, I will go in the new gallery downtown.
Lord knows I am doing nothing else at this time.
Three prints came today I had ordered, odd sizes unfortunately, that I will have to get matted custom! But, I hate to crop my prints. I shoot too close to the corners I suppose and loathe taking anything out. I need, I suppose to learn somehow what aspect ratio to set the camera at so it crops to 8x10 and 11x14 without cutting off the edges.
Two I need for the upcoming June show, ten at least for the gallery. More expense....

Watertown Lake

Made a sun setting stop at Watertown Lake yesterday evening before proceeding over to the hospital to check on mamma. There was a family with several boys fishing, one around three, who reminded me painfully of Nathaniel. It was good, but sad, to watch him trying to cast his little rig, the plug hitting him on the head, hooking him in his sleeve. He asked me, what ya doing? I said, I am out here trying to shoot eagles. He then hollered, Shoot them! Shoot them!
I was switching off between the 18-55 and the 180mm, depending on when the light would hit the eagle in the distance, or something would happen on the dock. It would have been better had I used the little point and shoot Canon S95, of which this photograph was taken, to capture the dock shots, leaving the long lens on. In the best case, I would have two bodies. On leaving, an old gentleman approached me, said he was Cherokee Hill, for New Hampshire, would I send him a picture of the eagles, as he wanted to do a story on where the eagles gather, from the New Testament scripture. He seemed more of a homeless type to me, but you never know about people. He had no computer or email, so I got the address of his son.
I was probably looking at my future in him. Lone man, far from home, dog for companion, living out of van, scraggly, making up stories of a past life.
Went on over to the hospital where my brother was just arriving. We visited our mom until ten, my sister staying the night. She is in for observation and tests, trying to determine if she has stroke, heart, or any other condition that is causing her weakness and all. My sister sent a text message this morning that she passed all the neurologist tests with colors. She always seems to thrive in the hospital. Its when she gets home that things seem to change. My fathers case was similar. We knew he needed basically baker acted because of his crazy, obsessive infatuation with the younger lady who took him for all his money, but when the evaluator came around, he answered all the questions normally and the evaluator basically said, he is normal, there is nothing I can do. Well, we lost everything in the process too. Thank-you.

the memory of calla

Selective focus. post processing. tools of the photographer. One is post processed, the focus is on the left Calla. Two, the focus is on the right Calla, no post processing.
An ongoing process. Calla's I find have been difficult to get a pleasing composition. They are nearing the blooming cycle, I must work quickly if I am to find that pleasing composition.
Perhaps by evening light, perhaps under driving rain, perhaps under full moon.

RAW

light upon light

Sunset yesterday i was in the front yard by the pond with the 180mm 2.8 manual lens, lamenting just having missed a lady bug flying from the top of the pickerel weed. The 180mm with the manual focus and manual setting of exposure is a difficult lens to try and capture quick moving scenes. A dragonfly sat upon the end of the pickerel weed stem and I shot away, perhaps two dozen various poses, trying to get the background right in relation to the dragonfly. This was the third of the only three I shot in RAW, versus JPEG. I mostly shoot JPEG for the smaller files and usually I am satisfied with the compression. RAW is when one opens the shot in a program like Adobe or Lightroom and all the exposure data and such are preserved in a larger file, allowing for greater manipulation of the image. Here, I simply converted it to JPEG so what is the use of shooting RAW for me at this point, seeing that I do not use fancy post processing techniques?
Just an evening form of exercise, Lord knows I need some form of exercise, seeing that I have all but ceased the running, the biking, the hiking. Like the D7100, the 10-24, the 70-200, the 80-400 I am going to purchase. Some day. Another day.
For now it is simply the D3100 consumer end camera, the 35mm 1.8 prime, or the old manual Nikon lenses, left from the F3 and film era.

Censored

Strexting

White man's burden

surrender

What do these photographs have in common? All were taken from a moving vehicle with the camera sticking out the window, not stopping or composing. What other thing do they have in common, beside the last photo? There is no interest in them. Again, in the defining of me, of who I am, people are hesitant to like or comment on the drive by shootings. I find them interesting. No one else, save Brent did. Actually, I only posted the first, of the man standing in the middle of Baya with his phone behind him, titled Strexting, a combination of street and texting. White man burden was a good comment on our present political correct atmosphere. Surrender was Tom Grubb riding his bike along Baya, me only capturing his flag, but in a way that seems the surrender flag is being waved over the wall. The cattle were on SR 121 out from Williston. It was about an hour after sunrise and I was speeding back to Williston for gasoline. I had been along the Wacahoota road taking photographing. I stuck the camera blindly out the passenger window going about sixty and shot. It proves that even a blind man can be a photographer.

As I told Tricia, a friend on Facebook, there are things I would rather post and do, but the friend base that I have would ignore it or not understand it or condemn it, a certain imposed censorship via ignoring it. I slowly try to add friends I feel will have sympathy, but so far, they too have ignored my efforts. I continue to like the work they do. Do unto others is not one of  Facebook motto's I am finding out.
And I am loathe to post such thoughts. I do not want to air my dirty laundry. If what I do is worthy of a look, a like or a comment, then it will happen. I cannot force it to happen.  David Carol, one of those recent new friends, in his post today, said all that he has ever done, he has had to make happen, no one has ever come to him and offered him a break. And that is true. David Carol is doing the street type photography I admire. A certain humor, black and white, captured moments, brilliant and thought provoking.
My audience responds for the most part to the safety of beautiful, pretty and nice.I appreciate that. Let is be known though, it is not all that I am about.

Induced Vertigo

i do not think there is a reading. it comes too quickly. liking just to be liking. i am spinning. in control. a controlled spin. is there such a thing? at what time do i pull out? i have not flown this way before.
what is going on here? waiting for that volunteer hour to arrive to drive down to the gallery and hope today will be the day i decide whether i am staying or not. working on the blocks of wood i ordered, placing photographs on them, painting the sides, making the time go productively, sister hounding me, bring the play pen, check in, got the kids, mamma all alone, you going to come, on and on, messaging me.....
a photo set with the Basso bike and me, thinking of Basso bike gathering dust and missing air and pavement beneath his gatorskins, wondering what came of the miles we rode, so much circling in, missing,
and the print for Diane came, and i still say, it just is not impressive in the 9x12, it needed 30x60, but even money does not leave millionaires easily, and so we dream...and spin.
Since posting, this post has gotten two views. Two. I am in vertigo as to the quietness of it all. 

Lack of....

Due to a general lack of interest, possibly due to a desire to quit embarrassing myself, too much time on my hands, wasting time, i am not continuing the John O'Seen daily series. Much of it has to do with being basically bought to reality by a certain companion who seems to find little humor in my diversions, when she is working and just surviving to make it out at the prison....
and she is correct...
what am i doing with this time given?
laying on the floor thinking i am an infant and Joel O'Osteen? Like me to the grass eating old testament king Nebbucco....
Today maybe i will draw the words out and tell Rex that i am not continuing on at the Gallery. I went down yesterday, but Mary was there too, so in order to avoid double coverage and the ire of Jeannie, I left and had lunch with mom....
Actually....i am scheduled for the 22nd come to think of it...so maybe til then....
Learned from Jeanne my cousin in Mississippi that her husbands dental practice burned up last night. He saved the computers, but that was all. So today, I am not near as bad off as most.

Tuesday Selection

 Lesson Four from the John O'Seen Series....

 The Partisan Rangers

The Partisan Rangers Strike

How do I go about determining what to post daily? There is an almost unlimited, or at least, many selections to choose from. First I will go the latest shoot, yesterday or the day before. Sometimes I will choose one or move further back. On any given outing, even though I may only publish one from that trip, I have taken well over a hundred, so one or two worthy always remain.
If that fails, I then go way back, to the archives, again, many I have never published, or if it was published, few saw it back then as now. I think I could honestly post the same photograph daily, kind of like the lamp post or the sunset from the same oak tree and folks would not notice.
This is more an exercise in my own futility than it is an exercise to enlighten or inspire someone. Though that would be nice. I do not do it for the comments, I get few. I do not do it for the likes, I get few. I do not do it for the money, I rarely get orders or requests. I do it simply for the joy of being able to post the joy of being able to get out and capture something in a rough, unpolished way. If I connects fine. If not, fine.

The Professionals

It came to my attention that the professional photographers have a similar style, as seen in the two photographs. Same place in the stream, same slow exposure, same rock types, same lighting, same wide angle. The sameness is striking. This is repeated over and over in other type photographs. The 21mm to 24mm wide angle, the low angle, the slow exposure, etc. The first was no doubt taken with a full frame Nikon D800 with probably a 24mm 2.8 zoom, the second probably a Canon Mark 3 with the same lens from Canon.
Thus there is often the temptation to say, if I just go out and purchase the same equipment, my photographs will start looking the same. Perhaps. But more than likely not, as these guys are pro's, not only in the capture, but in the post process as well. I admire both shots, with a lean toward the bottom shot for the longer exposure and higher placement of the top of the stream. But the first is a close like as much with the quality of light and higher contrast on the rocks.

mOOdy mONday

I woke up to a don't give a durn day. Why is that? Made the coffee, fed the cats and dogs and chickens. Still it persists. Is it the lack of a good sunrise? Is it the hangover of all that baby shower activity from Sunday?
Either way, it manifests itself in not wanting to post anything to Facebook, knowing other folks will have the Monday mood and it will only make mine worse, when they ignore me, which usually is greater on Monday.
It is a terrible thing to be Facebook driven, kind of like those driven by crack or alcohol or cigarettes. We get our fix in whatever way we can.

Showers of blessing

Finally...after what seemed would never come or end, Jessica and Eric's baby shower and announcing of the gender. We missed out on church today to go over to my sisters to get my mom ready, load her in the car and make our way out to Allison's. They had scheduled family shots at 1:30 and we were there by noon. Melanie helped with the preparation, I milled about, taking some shots.
All family that were family arrived and the photographer, Holly with her Nikon D700 took the group shot along with breaking the family down. We then went in and did shower stuff, then opened presents and such. They let the pink or blue balloons loose determining whether a boy or girl which they kept. And so the blue flew.
We loaded meme up in the car and took her back to Paula's. Melanie got her ready for bed. We are tuckered out. Too much work these showers.
That was my contribution, the sign along with one welcome yall...creative huh?