Thursday, May 8, 2008

Nikon vs Canon




Appalachian Porch Look?

I picked up the Canon around 11 this morning after taking our Baxter for a walk at Cypress Grove Park. Because he is so little the damp ground gets him pretty dirty. We roamed an area that was pretty mucky, exacerbating the problem. I had on my Out & About Photography t-shirt which came in very handy. The first printing was wrong; the company that makes them doesn't have a return policy so they just sent new ones. I had on the old one and wiped his paws on the front of the shirt so it wouldn't end up on the back seat of the baby car. Dirty girl. Returning to the car, I discovered Kelly had called and had the gear all ready. When I say gear, I mean gear--a whole roll about full! Fortunately she included the manual which I'm just getting familiar with. I made sure no one was in the car before I stopped in. I'm getting less vain as the years go by, but really, a filthy shirt looks unseemly on a 50 something.

A long chat with Matt last night cheered me immensely. Last year around now he came home for Mother's Day and accompanied us to the market. I had not one sale that day. Matt was kind and said it was because there were no customers, and maybe that was a factor, but honestly, what a difference a year has made.

He, of course, is taking advantage of living in one of the world's largest cities. He attended a super outdoor installation of graffiti art--really, some amazing art, a few days ago on the bank holiday. As well, he's traveling to Kent this Saturday to a music festival which includes Madonna in the line-up. We discussed her overt sexuality and agreed it might be time to tone it down a bit. Nonetheless, it will make for a super good time. Matt has seen many celebrities over the years including none other than Hillary Rodham Clinton. She came to Tallahassee when he was attending FSU. After writing that I realize she doesn't seem to emphasize the Rodham name quite so much these days....maybe she should.

Bruce is finally HOME! Four days of travel make for a very hard week. You'd be hard pressed to keep up with his itinerary so I won't even share it. Suffice it to say, I'm thrilled. For his homecoming dinner I made Parmesan chicken, orzo with lemon zest and parsley, and chopped salad (his favorite). It may sound weird, but a good way to make the chicken is to pound the boneless breast pretty thin, spread with mayonnaise (something for the cheese to adhere to) along with a good grind of fresh pepper, and coat with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Heat olive oil till very hot, sear the chicken, turning once after browning. Tent with foil, voila--delicious juicy chicken. Actually, I'm not a huge chicken fan because usually it's overcooked, and dry, but if you try this you will not be disappointed.

Judy called with the exciting news that 100% of her students passed the FCAT. Now for those of you reading this not from Florida, this may not sound like that big a deal. Let me assure you, it is. In fact, she is probably one of the VERY few teachers who can boast about this. Dedication is her middle name and it shows. Her students remember her for a lifetime.

The picture of Baxter is with the Canon, the sunflower with the Nikon. Obviously, I hardly know what I'm doing with either of them.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Gail!
This is Jeanie. I recently purchased the Canon Rebel, and so far I love it! I recently started taking a DSLR class, so I can learn how to fully take advantage of all it's great features!
From all your gorgeous photos so far, it is hard to believe you've taken all of them with a point & shoot!

Gail Peck said...

Hi Jeanie, and thank you for your kind words. The other night while eating dinner I was admiring the beautiful kitchens in Bon Apetit. Later I thought about how little use that kitchen is if someone doesn't put it to use. The best appliances will only fractionally make one a better cook; I believe the same principle applies to photography. That said, there are things I can't do with my camera that a DSLR will do, thus my dilemma. I use a Panasonic Lumix FZ8 which in most situations gives me great results with very little weight to carry around. Wow--this is long isn't it?

Amaya said...

Is it just me or does Baxter get cuter with every picture?

So This is Springtime