Import

I am impressed. They built the building around the architectural finds that they purchased and shipped onto site from around the world. Stealing, loot, plunder? No, it was mostly ordinary money and negotiation in an era when big $$$ talked and meant something in the world. I daresay you would not get away in this day and age. Woke!!

Neat trick! They disassembled and brought over this church chapel, roof, windows, dome, and all… to these United States. They put it all together keeping in mind that the weather and elements would wreak havoc on the stone exterior… and so on and on and so forth… amazing! Elsewhere they brought in stone arches from ruins for the doorways and entrances. It’s neat and extraordinary in the planning. Me? I’m happy the car has gas and I can go for a while even though there is no destination in mind.

And so…how about ISO 22500. Huh? You know ISO and ASA? It is a system to:

ISO – in search of…

sensitivity to light – as it pertained to film – once upon a time…

ISO is your camera’s sensitivity to light as it pertains to either film or a digital sensor. A lower ISO value means less sensitivity to light, while a higher ISO means more sensitivity.

It basically amounts to the idea that the sensor can almost see in the dark. A shot like this would have been virtually impossible in the film era. Or, there would have been a lot more than point, click, shoot involved. Even so my spiffy Nikon Z5 paused and balked at the low light. But… as with most things, I won. We got a shot.

Imagine taking apart a heavy stone chapel bit by bit by bit… To be sure the town’s folks objected. Negotiations ensued and money changed hands….

Choice

It started with a fiery dawn… And then I shot a big transport plane making a training landing – from the car as I drove down the highway. Don’t do this at home kids. Dead thing? The vulture had a go. There, choose your picture of the day.

Point and shoot. I mostly just let the camera do the settings. Yes, it ain’t professional. No control. Do I need it? I let fly. And even thru the car window. The others were thru the windows of my home. Ha ha. Every year Colleen has the window washer come. It pays to have clean windows.

My cat

We all … shhhhhh… got a favorite… Feather is in my lap as I type… She chose me, long ago, and I remain hers! No one argues. There’s no jealousy. It’s a fact. I guess. Colleen giggles all the time about it. Before we met, I had never “had” a cat. …Kids grow up, they move away… A faithful cat is so “calming” in your lap in the early morning hours as I await my darling wife to awake to greet the new day. A hug from Feather is perfect until then.

Focus, composition, timing, lessons? Really? Either you get a shot, or not. When you do… so, to focus, get the eyes. After that, all follows. Ha ha, Feather? I recognize her by the white fur on her paw(s). Otherwise she is identical to Spice. But, I “belong” to Feather.

Nervous

I make people nervous because I am so intensely demanding. And, I don’t/I’m not. I am (can be) encouraging and patient. Colleen knows both sides of me and is therefore… nervous, but cooperative. Yes, you can go both ways. I pick up the camera (while driving). What choice does she have? Let me shoot or shoot for me. She does. Ha ha. And she does a very credible job now. A lighthouse on a hill in West Virginia followed soon after by an incomplete steel girder structure called an arc. Yup! Odd! She got it! I just smile. Lessons. They worked!

What will you save?

Yes, you will save a picture of your dear wife. It’s sentimental. The kids will surely appreciate it. A loom? Without context or explanation, it is a picture non sequitur. What? Why? Where?

The first picture is an instant keepsake. Me? I got a lotta pics in the catalog. Who’s gonna mine for the keepers?

Wander

Wandering thru my catalog I found these. Where are we? Ha ha. Of course! (Shhh, I had to consult the database.) It’s Scotland. An abbey, I knew it all along. Colleen likes to wander. She loves old places, history and that sort. I indulge her. Life would be so boring otherwise. Harps and swords and gargoyles, oh my! Do I look happier for this dose of culture? I adore Colleen. I shall always adore her. I adore…

The sky is overexposed. It’s easy to do. It can be fixed somewhat in Lightroom. It is the people who count. Exposure in a dark castle can be a challenge. Today’s digital cameras are prepared to compensate in low light. But it cannot compensate if the dynamic range is from too bright to too dark. It is good to know that the brain (photographer) is still necessary in the equation.

Secrets

One of the first things you do as a new couple is to learn all you can about your partner. … that is if you are willing to tell. Colleen and I did not hold back. She told me of her love for fiber and her penchant for haunting fiber stores. She and I wandered the backroads of Maine where I showed her my private spots to just be alone in thought.

Pictures tell a story. Anchors, reminders, I see them again and it evokes a smile. I am so glad I have this recollection from these images. Heretofore, I had not really paid much attention to selfies much less tried it photographically. iPhone and my kids taught me the concept. I was new to it. Colleen quickly got me up to speed. I’m better now. This one is an early attempt to master the technique. You’d never know it.

Three shots

… not one good. Disney. The location is clear from background. This is another memento, a family record documenting a fun time. The kids were cooperative. My camera failed me. The light was muted. I needed a slower shutter speed. Film! My f-stop was probably as large as the lens allowed. I was doomed to failure. Digital probably would have saved me. Film came in a single ISO. It was inflexible. I suppose I was lucky to get what I got. It is sadly dissatisfying now. But you can tell it is film and it denotes an era long past. iPhone would do so much better now. Film is dead. Long live film.

Guilt

Got some? When lisa and I separated it was no surprise. Her mom wondered aloud to Colleen the first time she met her, “I don’t know how they were together. They were never a matched pair.” Umm, you can’t make this shit up. And Jules had and has issues….

Happy. I do not speak of my personal life or relationships. Much. It is pretty obvious that I am taken by Colleen. After all she chose me back in the third grade. Slow! I am just a slow learner to have discovered her depth of affection from so long ago only just so recently.

But I’m holding on and never letting go. She hugs me tight and says, “Mine! All mine!!”

Guilt? Sure, on so many levels there is plenty of guilt to go all around. The good and bad are spread out all over here. But I’m with Colleen now and forever.

Note: Categories and Tags – “Family.” Yes, we are.

nuts

Lazy today. I don’t feel like working hard. No need. Just go with it. California, 2015. It’s about a year before Jules gets married. We were on a father daughter trip visiting places. As I recall she took me diving. California water is cold! And the boat ride made me seasick! Big time! Great memory!

It’s all poignant. This was to be our last alone time together. Jules married and has a family and … It’s all so much more complicated. I was married and divorced and married once more. … I do not recall which of my kids taught me to jump. Or, did I teach them?