Thursday, December 4, 2008

Bits & Pieces

The other day the post on Digital Photography School reminded me that there are close up lenses at the camera store just waiting to be purchased. As such, I zoomed (notice I no longer motored as that is a term reserved for MINI drivers) over to Colonial Photo and Hobby and purchased some. They come in a set of three for around thirty dollars which you screw on in front of your lens like a filter. As you know, I'm not a huge fan of changing lenses; instead of buying an expensive dedicated macro lens I figured I'd give them a try. The camera struggles to autofocus, giving me an opportunity to once again practice my manual focus. Here is a tiny, tiny little butterfly, somewhat out of focus, but cute nonetheless.

Yesterday I went to the mall for some pre-Christmas shopping. I always take the baby camera with me in case something presents itself which is the case more often than not. I got a big kick out of seeing these dis-interested men sitting. Need I say more?

One of my favorite aspects of Christmas is listening to music. While visiting Matt was kind enough to purchase a new Mary Chapin Carpenter album for me which has already given me a great deal of pleasure. Of course there is always my perennial favorite, Fred Waring & the Pennsylvanians. As well, last year Jonathan gave me a terrific James Taylor Christmas cd.

I received the strangest e-mail last night from a stranger. He said while buying orchids from Tom Ritter (THE orchid man in town) he came across my photos. Now how this could be possible, I've no idea, but somehow he got my email address and had all sorts of complimentary things to say. Who knew?

As is always the case, there are things going on behind the scenes with Out & About Photography that would bore you if I documented everything. I will tell you that Mr. Bruce asked me to make some desk calendars for his workmates with separate ones for ladies and men. He chose from a batch and Vista Print made it happen, with a little help from me. Arriving in yesterday's post, we couldn't be happier with the product.

When Jonathan vacuumed on Thanksgiving day we all agreed that the vacuum smelled dreadful while running. Talk about recycling, have I got one for you! Finally I was getting around to vacuuming this morning; immediately removing the bag, I rushed it to the outdoor trash can. Unfortunately it turned out to be my ONLY bag. Orek bags are to be found only at their store about 14 miles away leaving me with two options: retrieve the used bag or not vacuum. You know me well enough by now to know what I did next. Talk about an unpleasant task! I grabbed hold of the ICK and started pulling. Before you get too grossed out, stick with me a minute, this is a tale of being green--not throwing away a perfectly good vacuum bag. With the bulk of it emptied, I replaced it on the machine, but not before liberally dousing the inside with the strongest perfume I have, a John-Paul Gaultier. I'm assuming this perfume has not been previously used in this manner, however, there's always a first time for everything. I sprayed the cavity and the outside of the bag as well. It worked pretty well for a makeshift idea. This way I can go get the bags at a more leisurely pace, or not.

With all the talk of David, Matthew, and Jonathan, you might think I'd forgotten that I have another son to write about. Shame on me for neglecting to mention that on Thanksgiving Day we all watched a DVD featuring Bill (among others) giving a guitar lesson on finger tapping. It is part of a project produced by Mark Tremonti, the guitarist for Creed. He and Bill have been friends for years which is mutually beneficial. Bill has taught him a lot about guitar playing while Mark has introduced him to influential people. It doesn't hurt that they just plain like each other either! That said, Bill does a remarkable job--we are all so proud and a bit awed at how poised he is. He went to Chicago to do the filming and there is the cutest segment of him at the door watching the snow fall--that's a Florida boy for you. Lest I forget to discuss the lesson--he is simply amazing. We realized he'd been playing now for over half his life. I still remember the first guitar I bought from the newspaper which seems a bit quaint now. I'm thinking it was a Christmas gift. From there it was the pawn shop to today when Dean Guitars builds him his own model. How about that?


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Listening to: Vince Gill - Do You Hear What I Hear
via FoxyTunes

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