One More...

Micro Macro - First Stab at It

Mister Landscape / Seascape goes close-up. Result was a bit better than I expected. These almond blossoms are tiny, maybe an inch across.

"Ndiginiz" of New Zealand Added to Blogroll

Ndiginiz Really nice blog from New Zealand with subject matter that will seem a bit exotic to us Yanks.

Micro Macro

This past weekend I spent a good deal of time looking at some really fine macro phtography. As it happens, I have a dandy 24mm macro for my good old Maxxum 700 si. I've gotten close with it in the past, but not THAT close. So, I shot a few today, handheld. With the extremely narrow depth of field, that may or may not have worked. We'll just have to wait and see what they look like when they come back from the lab tomorrow.

Welcome "Once Daily" to Ye Olde Blogroll

Once Daily is another nice blog with the shooter starting to work with a Canon digital. She looks to have a gift and it will be fun to see how she does. I only hope I don't get sold on a Canon digital, because all my digitally compatible glass is Minolta Maxxuum... sigh. I'm planning to go to a Minolta 7D when the time comes.

Speaking of Macro, Here Are a couple of My Efforts

Macro is a world of its own. Some people specialize in this type of work. The "depth of field" is very limited in order that only a specific subject in in focus, and of course the idea is to get really close up. It is challenging and sometimes startling work, particularly if the subject is someting like a bug.

Macro Art in Nature - What a Fabulous Photoblog

This guy's stuff is just fabulous! His photos are copywritten, so I can't post one, though I will ask his permission (which he has given!). All I can say is that you have to see his stuff to believe it.

I envy his talent and that macro-lens!

Check out Macro Art in Nature.

One More Addition to the Blogroll - San Francisco Daily Photo

Darn, been cruising around the blogs a lot today. I've found all sorts of good ones, including San Francisco Daily Photo. It's exactly what it says its, each day a different scene from the most glorious city in the country.

Here is Lombard Street at night with Coit Tower and the Bay Bridge in the distance.

Check the blog out, he has a lot of neat pictures.

Speaking of a Son

This is Will, and I just could not be anymore proud of the guy.

The "Old Fool" Will Be Here Friday...

My brother is flying out from Florida to spend a week here in our home state. I'm really looking forward to his arrival. Our time together means a lot to me.

Our childhood was pretty tough. Our relationship while growing up was equally tough. But that has changed. We have become brothers in every sense of the word.

We both love photography and travel. So, it will be off to San Francisco, Pt. Reyes, Sacramento for Super Bowl with my sons, granddaughter and other family. Then, weather permitting, up into the Sierra, either Tahoe or Yosemite and then back to the Central Coast. All this to Irish tunes flowing from the CD player in the car.

Does it get any better than that?

Just Showing Off

But Then Again...

And Sometimes I Like Digital

Another Reason I Like to Shoot in Film

Ouch! LOL!

And Here is That Dandy Lens I Bought Last Night

Interesting Accidents - When the Lens Doesn't Couple to the Meter

Well... not everything goes right. My trusty old Sigma 70-210mm zoom appears to have shot craps. That sent me scrambling to e-Bay last night, and fate would have it, I found a CANON, yes Canon, 70-210mm in new condition (or so the seller says) for a good price.

Anyway, had a bunch of under-exposed pix from Pacific Grove. Never being one to say die, I fired up Photoshop to see what would happen if I played with them a bit. The results are, well, interesting. not something I would do again, but interesting nonetheless.

Welcome "The Thing of the Moment" to the Blogroll

The Thing of the Moment is a really neat photoblog with some just great work. Be sure to drop by and take a look at his stuff. Here's an example:

OK Then, Here is My Some of First Stuff on the A1

A New Old Toy

For camera freaks, and I qualify, this lovely old Canon A1 is one of the finest cameras ever made. I was able to acquire one that has been fully restored, and it is just a gem. I have wanted one of these for twenty years.

I have some really good glass to go with it, a Sigma 70-200mm and a Canon 35-70mm macro.

Using this camera is like the difference between a stick shift and an automatic transmission on a car. There is nothing wrong with an automatic transmission, but sometimes you just want the added control, and this baby has it.

It is the perfect companion to my Minolta 700si which is the cream of the crop in autofocus.

Here They Come Again!

I am still trying to get used to Spring coming in January. The is my second season back in California. The first thing to pop is the almond blossom. Last year they were beautiful, and by golly, they are beautiful again.

Today was a cloudy day, so this picture does not capture the stunning beauty of these flowers. I will try to catch some more later in the week. But for now... enjoy.

One More Addition to the Old Blogroll - Bee-mused in the Country

Welcome "Hick" to ye old blogroll.

She lives somewhere up in the hills not far from my son. She extolls the virtues of "Country livin" and family. She delights in photography and can gork-out on software, like Photoshop, as do I.

I'm going to try to find more blogs that fit this theme that is developing here, life and pictures with an emphasis on California.

Pay her a visit when the mood moves ya!

Adding Someone New to the Blogroll

Beside Dry Creek is a really nice blog with some very good photography and prose which I like. (Why are all the good writers women these days, like my favorite over at Fetal Positions?) Anyway, she is worth more than a passing look. Very nice stuff.

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

Deuteronomy 32:4

I'm Tired of Being Cold and Wet

When life took its turn a year and a half ago and I chose to move out of the Midwest, I had the choice of going to either California (Central Coast) or Florida. I chose California mostly to be near family. Well, it's rainy season here now. I have been bone chilled since Christmas. So... I'm yearning for something warm and sunny.

Arlington at Christmas

Received this from my friend Carol H. this morning. It moved me.

Rest easy, sleep well.

Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.

Peace, peace, and farewell..Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.

Know the line has held, your job is done.

It is a New Year and Time for Some New Behaviors

I looked in the mirror a little while ago and I was not happy with what I saw.

I'm going to regret putting up this post for the whole world to see, but here goes...

I am a smoker. Smoking is aging me, and frankly, I do not need any help with getting older. It also makes me fell like hell physically. I hate how it makes me feel like a slave to nicotene and not free to make other decisions. I avoid places where I can not smoke. I smell like an ashtray. The world is sending loud messages about the ugly habit, i.e. smokers are not welcome (and that is with good reason).

I have tried to do this innumerable times in the past. I can only hope that this time I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Perhaps I have hit bottom on this. I can only hope so.

So, here is the plan, kind of a modified American Cancer Society plan.

This week I swear off smoking indoors or in my car. If I want to smoke, I will go outdoors to do it. This should be doable.

Next week I will start writing down every cigarette that I smoke making me conciously aware of what I am doing each time I light a cigarette and what I was doing at the time I desired a cigarette. I will identify something different to do when the desire hits me, chewing gum, deep breaths, whatever.

The next week I will buy the patch and that will be that.

This indeed is the first day of the rest of my life.

Support, prayers and communication are welcome.