The weather has been dismal these past few weeks, and between the gloomy days, the extra hours of darkness before and after work, and the hectic holiday preparations, I've had very little opportunity to shoot any photos. On Sunday afternoon, though, while I was in the Portland area doing some Christmas shopping, I managed to get in an hour of shooting. The day started out sunny, but gradually deteriorated to a dull gray. Late in the afternoon, though, as the lowering sun was making a valiant effort to break through the clouds, I was able to get some really nice shots, including this one, taken from the McDonald's parking lot on Route 1 in Falmouth. I love the sight of bare branches against the sky, especially when there's exquisite backlighting like this.
This second shot was taken from Portland's Eastern Promenade, looking west toward the Casco Bay Bridge and South Portland. I love the bands of color in the sky; you can see that the sun is really trying to make an appearance before it goes down. Another example of bare branches against the sky, a theme I keep returning to. But this one isn't complicated by power lines; it's just a simple tree against a cold winter sky.
I sent out my Canon PowerShot SX10 for repair a couple of weeks ago. Although I love my DSLR, the PowerShot is still my baby. It's a great walkaround camera; the photos are crisp, the zoom is awesome, and you don't have to change lenses. The poor thing has issues since I dropped it a while back. There's a hole in the body where a piece actually broke out of it, and when I push the shutter button to focus, the camera ticks like a time bomb. It's very disconcerting to hear that "tick...tick...tick" every time I try to take a shot. Even worse, the autofocus is malfunctioning. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get shots that are nothing but a watery blur, especially when using the zoom. Best Buy says it's covered for accidental damage, and they will either repair or replace it. Hope that happens soon. The DSLR is awesome, but sometimes I just want the convenience of the PowerShot. And there are some things it does better than the more expensive DSLR. If they can't repair it, I hope they'll offer me a replacement that does all the same things and gives the same quality shots. My fingers are crossed!
Anybody here remember Lenny, from the old TV series, Laverne and Shirley? Lenny wore a jacket that was supposed to say "lone wolf" on the back, but the first L was missing, so instead it said "one wolf." I've always identified with that. That's me, that One Wolf, walking through this world alone, feet happily in sync with the different drummer that nobody else seems capable of hearing. Like the lone pigeon sitting by himself on that bottom wire, separated from a crowd of his peers, I'm a solitary sort. As a teenager, it bothered me. No teenager wants to feel any more alienated than the rites of passage into adulthood render absolutely necessary. As a young adult, I reveled in it. The world was cracked wide open before me, and I wanted it all: so much I wanted to do, so many places I wanted to go, so many things I wanted to create, and I did it. I did it all by myself.
But now, as an adult in my fifties, I've come pretty much full circle. I no longer revel in constant solitude. Don't get me wrong; I'll never be a party animal. I'd rather have my fingertips gnawed off by rats than have to pretend to be sociable in a group of people I barely know when all I want to do is go home, slide into a tub full of hot water and bubbles, and spend the next two hours reading a good book. But there are times when I wouldn't mind a little more human companionship, a chance to explore shared interests, the opportunity to toss out ideas and opinions and then chew on them like dogs with a bone. That's one of the things I like about the Internet: the ability to connect with other people without having to undergo the social phobia brought about by face-to-face interaction.
I love photography, and I love sharing my photos and seeing those of other obsessed enthusiastic photographers. This is why I joined Flickr and quickly became addicted. This blog is my attempt reach out to my fellow humans and say, "Hey. Come on over. Sit a spell. Talk to me."
