Part-time prevaricator
After this afternoon’s storm had mostly moved on, I set up my camera upstairs. In about 1500 photos, I got one good shot of lightning.
2 second exposure, ISO 100, 24mm, f/22 (as high as my camera would let me go), with a polarizer and a neutral-density filter on the lens.
Here’s a video, too, of about 40 minutes’ worth of storm clouds rolling through, condensed into 44 seconds or so.
I went to my dark spot last night from about 10:45 pm to 11:45 pm or so, and set up my camera. I was hoping to catch a few of the Perseid meteors, though I knew I was too early for the peak.
I let the camera run for about an hour (the battery actually died at about the 0:55 mark, but close enough), and the result is the star-trails photo above. I found two bright(ish) meteor trails in it, highlighted below. (The star trail image is bright because the sky was still faintly glowing with sunset light, even at 10:45, when I started; the meteors below are from later on in the process.)
Another day, another bunch of garage demolition.
Above: the foreman checks the dumpster’s contents.
Below: some more comparison photos
And beginning to end.
There’s still some work to do—mostly cleanup—but we got a lot done in a few days. Huge thanks to Kevin, who lent his expertise, his muscles, and his chainsaw to the removal of the roof.
After, I sat in the yard and took a few more artsy photos.
My goals for this past week’s writing retreat were:
Let’s see how I did.
So, on balance, that was a good week.
Continue reading “Writing Retreat 2020: The Numbers”
Saturday:
Here’s a quick snippet of some of the writing recently:
February 30
Church bake sale (Make pie!)Even though it was written in red ink, exclamation-pointed, circled thrice, and marked with an orange highlighter, she forgot and had to take store-bought cookies that she unpacked onto paper plates and covered in plastic wrap while she sat in the parking lot, furthest from the door, hoping no one would look in her car’s windows and catch her at it.
Mach 4
Stephen (Birthday)She gave him a card dripping with sappy sentiment, because she was, after all, his mother. Also a mug she’d found online with a bird on it, cussing about meetings, that she thought matched his sardonic, offbeat humour.
Avril 18
George + Judith (Anniversary)Judith got a card, too. She was still family, even if she and June hadn’t spoken since the funeral. June knew she had stuff to work through – they both did – and also that everyone grieves in their own way.
From the first draft of “Dried Flowers”
This is my last full day here at the cabin. I’ll be cleaning up and packing tomorrow, and heading home.
Friday:
All in all, a good Friday, even if it was a bit too hot to even think straight. (No sweeter sin than air conditioning, I tell you.)
Thursday:
Wednesday:
Tuesday’s action:
I wish I’d noticed that there was some flickering northern lights just as I was packing up for the night; I’d have stayed longer, even though I was tired.
It’s supposed to be clear again tonight, and hopefully the solar wind will strike twice.
As always: if you’re interested in prints of any of these photos, let me know. We’ll see what we can work out.
Monday, I:
This reinforces my previous experience with the Lensbaby lens: it’s great for macro shots, like the one with the single stalk of flowers against the grass, but in most other uses it reduces most if not all of the frame to an impressionistic blur. If that’s your aesthetic, great, but more often than not I’m disappointed in the photos I take with it.
It’s still fun to play with, though.
The bluer photo of the comet, the close-up, was taken with my 50mm f/1.8 lens. Look closely, and you’ll find I caught both tails. You might have to view the photo at full size.
As always: if you’re interested in prints of any of these photos, let me know. We’ll see what we can work out.