Category: Photography

Crankypantsing, Pets, Photography

Patina

Shelly

IMG_0247

I’ve taken photos of the front door handle before, but in the rain, when the blue-green patina doesn’t show up very well.

It’s a beautiful day for wandering around and taking photos. I had to work, though. I ended up leaving a couple of hours early, because I had a headache, which means that even though I’m home, I don’t really feel like tromping around outdoors. Hopefully it’ll be gone soon, because I’d really like to stop at the little graveyard on the edge of town, on my way to my cat sitting job. I planned to stop yesterday, but there were a bunch of AT&T trucks in the parking area, so I didn’t have a place to pull in. Besides, I don’t exactly relish the idea of visiting the dead folks with a bunch of guys from the phone company watching me.

Speaking of cats, I can hear Pandora making her usual muffled wailing noises. Whenever she finds a stray sock or wash cloth, she wanders around the house with it stuffed in her mouth, crying. Over and over and over and over and over and over again. She started doing that about 10 years ago. I haven’t any idea why, except that she’s a mutant freak. It’s kind of funny, when it’s not annoying. Today, it’s not exactly helping my headache.

Photography

Condensation

Shelly

IMG_0244

I’ve been meaning to try photographing this window for months. Sometime last fall, water got between the panes of glass in the front door to my building, and now it’s a wonderful pattern of foggy blotches and drizzly drips. It looks like something growing in a petri dish.

The door is in pretty bad shape, and really ought to be replaced. There are rotten spots in the wood. It has character, though, so I’m going to enjoy it while I can.

The red background is the reflection of the brick building opposite the door.

Photography

Bones

Shelly

IMG_0242

I think these are thoracic vertebrae, but I’m not entirely certain. There is a surprising dearth of good chicken anatomy resources available online. I found a few annotated photos and drawings, but none of them were good enough for me to make a positive ID.

Anyway! I got my car back. I always feel kind of silly taking it all the way back to Owen County to have it worked on, but it’s worth it. I called ahead and got rough estimates for everything I needed to have done: new front brakes, turn rotors, four new tires, alignment, new battery, and oil change. When I took it in, I told them that if they went over $600, they’d have to take the difference in a post-dated check, because that was my limit. It came in slightly over that, but they knocked it down to $600 (tax included). It wasn’t a huge deal, because I had a little bit of wiggle room, but I appreciate that they were willing to work with me.

Oh, and new tires? Wheee! I can feel their nubbiness. It’s a reassuring feeling, but it’s going to take some getting used to.

Photography

Candy Hearts

Shelly

IMG_0223

I took my car in this afternoon to get new tires, brakes, and an oil change. On my way, I stopped at the bank, where the teller gave me a little box of candy hearts. It was a nice gesture, but ugh. I’ve always hated them. They were sort of amusing, though. What kind of person would give someone a candy heart that says, “IN A FOG”?

Happy Valentine’s Day, foggy folks!

Crankypantsing, Photography

Je ne adorent pas

Shelly

I mentioned (or maybe not) that I bought a couple of fun toy lenses. Toys, in this case, costing about $100. So they’re expensive for toys, but not for lenses, which can run in the thousands. Anyway, I received them a week or so ago, and one was for the wrong friggin’ camera mount. Grrr. I’ve been trying to email and call the company I ordered from (alas, not the manufacturer, and I’m kicking myself for not ordering directly from them). Bupkis.

They aren’t exactly a fly-by-night company, but I’ve heard complaints that their customer service sucks ass, Mr. Garrison. I’ve ordered from them in the past (a lots42!) with no problem, so apparently it was time that my good luck ran out.

I guess I’ll just return the lens with a copy of the receipt and a polite but irritated letter, and hope for the best, as the lens as it is is of absolutely no use to me.

Alsotoo, this means standing in line at the PO, which is so not my favorite thing to do.

Adorama, you are on my shit list!

Photography

Mirror, Flamingo, and Clock

Shelly

IMG_0219

The mirror fragment and the chunk of earthenware it’s sitting on were things I picked up while out walking. The tacky flamingo came from my great grandma. The clock came from God only knows where. It’s loud, though. I can hear it in the next room, through two closed doors. Some nights, it’s like the telltale-freaking-heart, keeping me awake. It’s one of those noises that, once you notice it, you can’t ignore.

Photography

Paints

Shelly

IMG_0200

They’re cheap paints, but they’re what I’m used to using. I like Daler-Rowney’s paints a lot better than Winton (Winsor & Newton’s student grade paints). The texture is creamier, and I think the colors might be a bit cleaner. I still have a few tubes of Winton left over from when I was in school. One of them is a gawdawful earthy burnt orange sort of color that I don’t think I’ll ever use up.

This shot was hand-held with flash. I took another with just available light and am kind of amazed at how sharp the in-focus section is. I cropped the second image, and I did some color correction, but I didn’t do any sharpening whatsoever.

IMG_0205