Nov 18
I went to the market this morning to buy a bakery pie. I had just found out that my bathroom wall was quite possibly rotten and unstable under the seemingly solid tile, and that we’d have to go for a couple of weeks showering in our downstairs neighbor’s spare bathroom in the basement, so I was in definite need of pie. I pulled into the parking lot and found myself behind a man who had stopped in front of an open spot. He had enough room to back up and take the spot, but instead he decided to give me the finger, and then pull forward and around the corner to park elsewhere. I parked and went inside, but I watched the man through the window to make sure he didn’t key my car. This was a man that clearly does not have enough pie in his life. Maybe a nice slice of sweet potato pie would have kept him from giving the finger to a complete stranger waiting patiently for him to park his car. Or maybe he needed some chocolate cream pie. In any case, I now have both pumpkin and cherry pie on my kitchen counter to soothe whatever the day has to offer. Go ahead life, bring it on!
Nov 17
I drove out to the Barnes and Noble at The Galleria with the intention of buying the book Light: Science and Magic, which provides instruction in lighting for photography. I’d checked online and I knew they had it in stock. I found my book, but stayed to browse some of the other photography books on the shelves, and my mood started to change. I became very contemplative and present in the book browsing, lost in the pictures and the book synopses. This has happened to me before - it’s why I like going to bookstores, actually - and so felt as if I was digging into a big bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese; comforting and fulfilling at the same time. After some time I found the book A Year of Mornings. This book of photography came out of a blog project where the two women author-photographers, both living in cities named Portland but on opposite sides of the country, each took one picture every weekday morning for a year. When viewed together the pictures often seemed to complement each other, as if there was some connection between them even though the women did not discuss the pictures before shooting them. Sometimes the colors seemed to go together, and on some mornings they each took a picture of the same items. I was also struck by the beauty of such simple items, a cup of coffee or half-eaten grapefruit, a flower in a vase or an unmade bed. Looking at the pictures reminded me that to find beauty in the everyday I must be present in the moment and open to the possibilities.
Somehow this time of year I always come upon this realization. Sometimes it’s through the beauty of the first snow, or a something that happens in my yoga practice. Sometimes it just comes out of the rush that is the holiday season; the visiting of family and friends, the bustling of shopping, decorating and baking, and this strange need to feel jolly in what is ultimately the darkest time of the year. This time of year always makes me feel like I need to slow down, and being present is my way of slowing things down. This year the feeling has taken me a bit by surprise as I haven’t been working, and thus in theory I shouldn’t feel so rushed. But still, I’ve needed the reminder, to remember to get on my yoga mat, to enjoy my breakfast and my brisk walk each morning with Cooper. To notice the little things, like the way Storm joins me in the bathroom each morning with a purr, and the way the sun fills the living room on clear winter days. As the year comes to an end I need to make the most of my time off from work as I’m sure the new year will bring with it a new job that will take up most of my time, and I will have to work harder to find the good stuff.
So I left the bookstore without the book I planned to purchase, but with my own copy of A Year of Mornings and a nice dose of inspiration. I’ve been trying to take at least one “keeper” picture each day in preparation for a 365 project on flickr that I was planning to start formally in 2009. I’ve had a block with my photography as I feel like I have nothing interesting to say or shoot, that I need a theme outside of myself to make things interesting for others. But I’ve been reminded of a purpose - find something each day that interests or inspires me, or that tells a story. Simple, right? Well, it probably won’t be, as I know from others who’ve gone down the path. But I know it will be worth the effort.
Addendum: A Year of Evenings is currently in progress at the 3191 blog. The pics are beautiful!
Nov 14
I wanted to take this opportunity to mention some of the other things I’ve been up to lately. Since I got my new DSLR I’ve been posting new pictures on flickr almost every day. I’ve finished my first photography class and am looking forward to getting the negatives scanned and posted, and to starting my second class this winter. The bikes are in for the winter but I’ll be trying out some spin classes in my area, so I might have a bit to report on that. Jim’s been painting, and you can see his stuff in his flickrstream.
November is the cloudiest month here in Minneapolis, and with the short days it feels as if we go from night to gloomy gray skies and back to night over and over without any real daylight at all. December has the shortest days but at least it’s a bit sunnier. So I’ll be looking for indoor activities to blog about, at least between now and Thanksgiving. Thanks for visiting and stay tuned!
Nov 10
Puppy-cam. It’s cute, and addicting. They’re shiba inu puppies and they are really adorable. As I write this they are sleeping in their crate, in a big puppy pile. Too cute for words. I can’t look away.
Nov 09
One of the many things that I hope our new president has on his to-do list, after re-energizing the economy, is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil in a manner that does not destroy our ecosystems here in the U.S. I am a big advocate for sustainable energy and believe that wind and solar energy are highly underutilized here. So when I picked up this month’s copy of Outside Magazine and read about the Pickens Plan, I was intrigued, and then let down.
The Pickens Plan, developed by T. Boone Pickens, is a new energy plan for the United States that is designed to limit our dependency on foreign oil. The plan advocates the use of wind farms over oil, and natural gas over gasoline to power automotive vehicles. The plan also advocates drilling and using the remaining local reserves of oil. While I support the use of wind power, I can’t get behind the rest of the plan. Why would we want to switch to natural gas, another fossil fuel, over fuel cells, plug-in hybrids (powered by wind and the sun) or other sustainable resources? To me that sounds redundant. It’s just going from one scarce and non-renewable resource to another. It just doesn’t make sense when there are sustainable options in the works now.
I’m also not a fan of using up the remaining oil as fast as possible. Some of that oil is in pristine wilderness that would likely never recover from drilling. And even if that wasn’t a consideration, it’s never a good idea to use up any resource. As an oil tycoon and former corporate raider, T. Boone Pickens ought to know this. We need to move towards energy independence in a sustainable manner, not a destructive one. So while this is an interesting plan, I’m not going to be backing it. I think know we can do better. We deserve better.
Nov 05
I’ve been avoiding talking about politics here as I don’t want this blog to be a soapbox, but now I can finally say TGIF, as in “Thank God It’s Finished!” I can go back to watching major network television and listening to the radio, and answering the phone when I don’t know who it is. We can all get back to having normal conversations rather than heated debates, and everyone can stop calling everyone else names. What a relief!
If you’re wondering who I voted for, I’m not going to tell you. But I will tell you that I’m neither a Republican nor a Democrat; I’m a Libertarian. I believe in small government. I believe I should decide how I spend my money and what I can do in my personal life. I believe that this country really should be the land of opportunity, not the land of “the more you make, the more they take.” And I believe in equality of opportunity, a level playing field to start on, so that each person has the chance to be all they can be, as opposed to equality of outcome, which is much more of a socialist concept. I’m not alone. The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in current existence. While the modern Libertarian Party started in the 70s, it’s roots go back to the founding fathers, and the party’s goals are more in line with what the founding fathers had in mind than either of the two more prominent parties. If you’re not finding you can agree with ALL the planks in your current party’s platform, the Libertarian Party might be for you.
So Barack Obama will be our new president. As with any other new president, there are many things still unknown. Will he stick to his campaign promises? Does he really have the solution to the economic crisis? Will he allow the Bush tax cuts to expire without putting other cuts in place, or will he come up with a revised plan that more matches his vision of how taxation should work? Only time will tell. I suppose we’ll know soon enough. One thing’s for sure - people all over the world are celebrating. Let’s hope the majority really does know best this time.
Nov 02
I don’t have much of a review for the 50D at this point, other than to say it dances circles around my SD1000 point and shoot. I’m still learning how to use it, and there’s a lot to learn. If you’d like to read a good technical review, Popular Photography has done a great write up in the November issue. If you’re more interested in my personal experience with it, post a question or check back here once I’ve gotten a few more shots under my belt.
So far I’ve played a bit with higher ISO and have gotten decent shots with relatively low noise up to ISO 1600. I’m gaining familiarity with the manual shooting settings and while the aperture adjustment seems a bit counter intuitive at first I’m adjusting to it. I’m really happy with the LCD screen - it’s amazingly crisp and clear. Tomorrow I’m going to shoot a bit more in bright light and take a look at some low ISO shots, and play a bit more with the settings. Maybe I’ll try out shooting in RAW. You can see the shots I’m taking in my flickrstream. I’m going to try to post a little something every day.
Oct 26
It’s been a slow-news weekend for me, and I’m desperately trying to avoid writing about the upcoming presidential election, so I thought I share with you some information about my favorite charity, the National Resources Defense Council. The NRDC is possibly the most powerful environmental action group currently in existence. Rather than picketing and giving money to politicians to sway political environmental action, the NRDC inspires grassroots actions, asking the general public to contact their representatives to influence change. And for regulations that have been passed that hurt the environment, the NRDC has a team of highly skilled lawyers, including Robert Kennedy Jr., to fight the battle in court.
So what if you don’t have money to donate and don’t want to spend your time stalking politicians to get them to listen to you? The NRDC makes it easy. They let you know when they have an action going on via email, and they write the letter for you. All you have to do is sign in and send the email. They determine the right politicians or company heads for you to make it easier. You can also choose which initiatives you want to action or which ones you want to be notified about by signing up for certain sister sites such as Bio Gems.
The NRDC also has a blog and a number of sister sites that provide information about environmental issues and causes. At their site you can get information about protecting your pets from environmental hazards or about making your business sustainable. They are a wealth of information and action, and I encourage you to join me in supporting them.
