Lens binge

It could be the result of the same old result, of reading too many reviews, that I bit for the Adorama sirens and ordered a Tokina 11-24 2.8 lens. In addition a polarizer, tripod and lens hood. Do not know if things will improve, being that the 18-300 has improved things marginally. 0ne thing is certain, the Cabela's VISA is near max.

Lantern Park

Today I attended the 50th anniversary of the Lantern Park Baptist Church founded by the late LE Peterson. I attended by myself, Melanie keeping Mama. I went down to the 2nd row on the left,the place we sat in the late 80's and 90's when Melanie taught Awana and our sons were little. I was baptized by Rev Peterson. They were great people. We parted ways sadly when I came to oppose the dispensational teaching. It was a strong no no, to which I was called the poison man by attempting to send contrary tracts to the deacons. The Sunday Rev Peterson said he would reveal the poison man if he didn't stop, we quietly bowed out. This was the first time back since. I have to assume nothing has changed and being independent fundamentalist it still adheres to Scofield and his system. It wasn't a hill to die upon but I did.

Driving Me Crazy

We took a long ride yesterday to Cross City for the buffet dinner at the Carriage Inn. From there across the highway to Dairy Queen for sundaes and such. It was raining with lightening. Our day of photography seemed a wash. We proceeded up 19 toward Jena, turning into the scrub to make our way to Steinhatchee falls. I took the perfunctory few photos despite the lack of proper light. We loaded and drove in to town, Steinhatchee that is, pausing at Roy's to survey the recent storm damage. from Hermene. We went back into the scrub to a pond, perfunctory photos. Over to a landing. PP.
To Shared Island. Dixie Mainline. Suwannee. And on. Perfunctory. Photos.
Point being. You cannot drive a photographer. I gave up trying to say stop, slow, wait.
I just thought of returning alone.

Honesty

Honesty hasn't always been my strong suit lately. In the realm of photography, the raw image as from the camera or iPhone has been manipulated, often without the knowledge of the viewer. I've added full moons to scenes, I've manipulated color, sharpness, etc. Some images to the point you would not recognize it from the original. It emanates from an unhealthy desire toward a wow factor, to garner likes. What is the solution? Don't do it unless there is full confession of the image being manipulated or created. It is a great and fun way to save images but the viewer should be made aware for my own integrity sake.

Reach One

It was my senior year at Florida Southern 1979. I had declared an Art Education major mainly out of exasperation, the only thing I could do at the time. I really did not aspire to teach. But it was practical and seemed a way to get a job in art. In the course of the year, early on I was assigned to Mrs Plemons kindergarten art class in nearby Winter Haven. I was to observe and learn. It was a wonderful week with the then innocent and excited kindergarteners. I so hoped my internship would be with the kindly Mrs Plemons. The last semester arrived and schools were assigned. To my great disappointment I was given 7th grade at the then new Lake Gibson Junior High. The teacher was Mr Weinstein, a Jewish gentleman who had a strong disdain for my Christianity. The art classes were basically detention halls for the students. Most of the time was spent breaking up fights, quieting the class, getting control. Mr Weinstein was the constant recepient of pranks. When it came time to turn the classes over to me, Weinstein was more than ready for a break. And so I proceeded with my projects, one such creating a stained glass paper mosaic, of which Weinstein opposed as being too religious. And so the end came. I passed. I vowed never to teach again.
It seemed a total loss. Years later, well into a career in retail, one day I received a letter from Lakeland. It was Greg, one of the shy students who was picked on and did not fit in. He wrote that of all the teachers he had in school, I was his favorite. He wanted to write and thank me. It made my eyes well up. So it wasn't a loss after all. I had reached one.

March Madness

Kentucky got beat by Indiana this past Saturday, ending a so-so season. Much of my blogging has gone since I got a certain visit in December, that showed me this blog was being followed, searching for reasons to continue hurting me. So I've quit. Sad that only twelve or so people ever followed this blog, yet the one ruins it.
These days I've been working again going on nearly a year now after a long unemployment since 2012 when I had a one year meter reading job. I am now a driver for a Medical company setting up o2 and such. I travel. It's good. Low pay. So-so bosses who try my patience. No job is as we would like. I manage. Pays some bills.
I drive the old PT cruiser and my only son Jordon drives the pathfinder we bought from my sisters ex husband. We still miss the 4wd pathfinder we gave to our other son.
Melanie the wife after a year working away in Williston Hospital as Dir of Nurses, got a job at Hospice as dir of nurses. Much better. She likes it.
Still have work at Gallery in town. Sell here and there. The Odom Moses Accounting Company recently honored me by enlarging and framing many of my prints for their new offices. Very well done.
I will try and blog as I think about it.

Faux Pass

Saturday afternoon I decided to venture down or uptown to take photos of Lake Cities buildings, in the hope of aligning them later with old photos from Florida Memory, overlaying them. Past and present. My first stop was Railroad Street and the crossing and old depot. I ventured up and down, near Alachua Street where the free soup kitchen is for the down and outs. Sure enough, around the corner came a burley white man, late twenties, asking for a cigarette. Then asking what was I taking a picture of? I really needed to answer as he started babbling words unconnected and trying to walk too close to me as I made my way back to the car. He knew he was razzing me for he said hey, where you going? To take more photos! I went on down closer to the lake where less of these types hang out. But, here came a lady asking what was I doing? When I told her she asked if I was in the gallery and when I said who I was, knew me. She even said what was I thinking putting the hat picture in? I said, you never know. She said on Tuesday she was going to bring her drawings to be juried. You never know. That cocky, street bravado street confidence. I wished her well. Who knows, I may of been talking to the homeless descendant of Monet.

I learned that if I was to frequent downtown, to carry some cigarettes or tokens, to keep near the car and to watch my back. Or wear a meter reading outfit!

Land of Scape

There I was on social media again as too often has been my habit lately since 2009 and the discovery of Facebook. Prints I had taken thirty years ago and never seen by any could be viewed by all. Well, by those on your wall and even not most of them, but still. And so I scanned and shared. It was grand. 

And then I found Smug Mug and Fine Art America and any number of other sites where they( for a fee) would print and frame and send the photos for you, leaving me to shoot. And so I did. And in came rolling...not exactly. One-two annually? 

And then I joined the local gallery and for again a nominal fee, they would hang your work for all to see. And so again I was on my way. Not exactly again.

And so I saw where a particular person made several million from one print down in a canyon and another just purchase himself another Pentax 645Z for over 8 grand, and i again realized, I am doing something wrong.

I am chasing dreams with iPhones and little point and shoots, the DSLR I seldom even use. And when I go to enlarge that small sensor shot, well, 8x10 is about the limit. 

So what good is all this running about? Capturing everything happening within a twenty mile radius? 

The need to capture, where does that drive come from? To just shoot and not market? It sure makes for a poor man who cannot afford an 8k Pentax.

January midst

The 5th we thought of Nathaniel, who turned four, whom we haven't seen or heard from in nearly two years. On the 8th Melanie and I had our 27th wedding anniversary. Landon our son, Nathaniel born 7 months later. On the 13th Melanie had her 52nd birthday. Last evening Jordon and I drove down to Williston to take her out for dinner at the Outback. This 25th we celebrate Jordons 22nd. Then the 39th, my 60th.

I am not accepting the speed of life!

The Preoccupied God

Going onward two years of silence from my grand son and son and wife. I recall the nights sitting out under the moon and stars praying. The last moon night I sat maybe ten minutes, not hours as before. I really didn't even pray. All the things I have been asking, no doubt, asking amiss. And we gather on Sunday and I try and show thanks, wonder how others can praise such a wonderful one, when all I've seen is fire and smoke.

I even wonder if He has not moved on with me, with us. We are not doing something pleasing. 

Bird Count

I never cared much for the Audubon Christmas bird counts we used to go on. It was more an exercise in others superior knowledge of Orinthology of which I was quite elementary. Invariably I would be paired with the Society expert's team and I would groan. Me with my weak Bushnell's, he with the Leica spotting scope, he with the Stokes and Peterson field guides, me with the Golden's. He with the complete life list sans the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, me with the Cardinal and Mockingbird checked off.

It was a tedious stop, look and listen. The call alone of birds counted so off we would go checking the list of unseen birds. I just watched him work amazed.

How could there be so many birds about?  

After a morning of identifying, me mostly tagging along and agreeing to the seeing, we would head back to compile our results. I never figured what good these counts really accomplished. I think it was more an ego or humility walk, depending on your knowledge of birds.

But being the competitive sort, it always did my ego good when as a team it was humbly announced we spotted forty variety of bird, even several no one else saw, far distancing ourselves from the other groups. 

For awhile there I'd be stoked. I'd determine to purchase that Swarovski scope and replace the Golden with a real manual, don the bird watcher uniform, down to the Columbia khaki matching hat, but by New Years, interest had waned.

Every now and then I would spot Jerry coming out of the woods beaming. How many did you see today Jerry? Just thirty-two. And you? I would mumble something unintelligible, quickly redirecting the topic. All about us the birds were apparently chirping, squawking and peeping, like from some unseen Kingdom.

I wanted in, I just didn't want in as bad as Jerry did. He said he was packing for a trip to lower Louisiana. Seems the Ivory Billed was reputedly seen and he wanted to complete his life list. 

I wished him well. I think I spotted another Cardinal on my life list.

The Year in Photography

I would liken it to the year in debt by not reading the fine print. Early in the year Ritz Camera had an ad, buy the Canon S110, get an SD card and Canon printer free after rebate. I fell. The items arrived. I used them. I went to redeem the $400 rebate by making a payment, thus owing only $185. Wrong. It was a $400 purchase card. Not able to make payment. 

Too late to send the stuff back.

Still in debt.

It was a slow sales year at the gallery, selling two- three with several small print and notecard sales. I threatened several times to pull out.

I won two ribbons, an honorable mention and a third place. Meehaw, the photo of Zoe the cat was also the FB most likes.

It was the year I signed onto fine art America. Thinking this would make selling easier, I only sold a phone case and an 8x10, not even coming close to making up the $20 annual fee to show more than 20 prints.

It was the year of estrangement. My photo friend Ron, who I figured was off key, proved it by lambasting me over my words, him unable to understand play on words or humor, taking me seriously, calling me a hypocrite and all sorts of things. I had to block him.

It was a year the laptops crashed and have sat in the shop forever, hoping they will eventually recover photos to the external Hard drive I bought with my 409 rebate money from ritz.

It was the year of the iPhone6, again, purchased with the rebate. Without the laptop, I have learned to edit on the phone by downloading from smug mug and Google plus photos I had saved, processing thru apps and posting. I also can print if needed via wifi and the Epsom printer. So, in reality, do not really need laptop, though do not really know what a print looks like in a larger format.

So, if ever I get out of debt and our financial crisis eases, 2015 I would hope to replace the sensor dust laden Nikon d3100, move up in quality to a d7100 or full frame, move up in quality from the Canon s110 to a Sony rx100-3 possibly.

I would like to be able to print larger and display nicer the gallery work, canvas or metallic.

My lens wish list would be a 10-24 and 80-400.