New challenges--new ventures-new me

Today I undertook the oft-necessary exercise of breaking out of my comfort zone. I went over to the recreational trail in Windsor Heights by the Wal-Mart store and took photos of wilted thistles and daisies with my 100mm macro lens. To make matters more interesting, the lens was not designed for stabilization and my tripod did not extend high enough for it to capture the images which I wanted in full.

Nonetheless, I got lots of experience in hand-holding a macro lens--although that is something that I should not do all the time, according to the books, magazines and other manuals which I have consulted on photography. They recommend that I use a tripod, along with manual focus. Not surprisingly I had lots of duds, particularly when I tried to take some photos of a butterfly and a bumblebee, but I think I got at least a few gems in.

I also practiced making depth-of-field work for me. After I took the photos of the thistles and the daisies, I went to nearby Colby Park and took some photos of the flowers in the garden. I learned how to focus on a flower close to me and ensure that would be in focus while the others were out of focus. The results weren't perfect, but I am learning and that's what counts.

Finally, I got word about a construction incident near Valley High School. On my way home, I decided to head over to the construction site and see if there were any photos worth taking for publication in the West Des Moines edition of Patch magazine.

I worried about being told to leave the site, but I presented a business card and so far everything is all right. However, it appears that the Patch editors beat me to it, although I did get some photos while I was there and a few details for any follow-up stories which might be of interest to them.

All in all, I believe I learned how to improvise, how to change my plans at the last minute and go out on a limb. I would like to learn to stay up late for such events as dances and parties and how to get along with people who do not see things the way I do. I am about turn fifty years of age; but I feel that I am still young enough to try new things, learn new skills and develop new attitudes which will benefit my life.

I love to read. It's great therapy for me--keeps me from losing my mind and temper (so often). I also get to learn new techniques for my photography/computer through the window of reading. More importantly, I get to read about various historical events, topics in science, biographical subjects and more. Reading is not just a window to the world and to life; without it, I would not be able to function.

My favorite magazines include PhotoPlus (for Canon digital single-lens users), Digital Camera, Shutterbug, Popular Photography, Practical Photography, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Aviation Week, Outdoor Photographer and the Atlantic Monthly. I favor the British photography magazines such as Practical Photography for their tutorials on how to use my camera software and hardware, along with their reviews; both fields in which they are superior to such American publications as Popular Photography. For non-photographic reading, I favor The Atlantic monthly, which has lengthy in-depth articles about a variety of topics, Consumer Reports which guides me whenever I need to make decisions on what products I should purchase and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

I read a variety of newspapers. Of course, there is the Des Moines Register, the daily publication where I live. But I prefer the alternative publication, Des Moines Cityview, which covers many topics ignored by the Des Moines Register and also does some muck-racking on the Des Moines Register as a bonus. For nationwide newspapers, I prefer the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. I recall when supermarkets in the Des Moines area had the Omaha World-Herald, the Chicago Tribune and even the New York Post (!) for sale--those days are no longer with us, I am sorry to say.

My favorite works of non-fiction--outside of my photography and computer reference manuals--include books about military and American history. I've read many of the volumes of the Oxford History of the United States (Battle Cry of Freedom, What Hath God Wrought, Freedom From Fear, etc.), along with the works of such authors as David McCullough, David Halberstam, Max Hastings, Jean Edward Smith, Carlo D'Este and Robert Caro. As of right now, I'd have to say my favorite works include Caro's The Years of Lyndon Johnson (all four volumes--still incomplete), McCullough's Truman and The Great Bridge, Hasting's The Korean War, Halberstam's The Reckoning, and Carlo D'este's Patton: A Genius For War.

There are so many other titles and topics which I cannot think of at this time--that is one of the side effects of being an avid reader!

Ideal vacation for my 50th birthday—but it probably won’t happen

If I could, I’d like to go skiing in Steamboat Springs next Valentine’s Day weekend.

I doubt if it will happen though.

My experience with skiing this past winter in Breckenridge has soured me on skiing at least for a while. It was a disaster from day one. First of all, my townhouse did not come with a phone and I did not think of bringing along a plug for my cellphone. So I had to buy a plug for my cellphone—which cost me $25. L

Then I discovered the management had not put a map of Breckenridge in my room with a listing of all the places to go for dining, entertainment, activities and the like. Also, I didn’t know where I could pick up the free bus (it was across a busy street, via a treacherous walk down an icy flight of steps) or the gondola up to the top of the mountain on the west side of town. For that matter, I felt disoriented—not knowing which way was east or west come sunset during my first day.

That disorientation may have been connected with the splitting headache which I had the next day. I awoke with a sharp pain which seemed to cut my skull in two—guillotine sharp. I was slated to participate in the local winter carnival’s “Dating Game” that evening, but I had to balk out due to my feeling unwell.

There were a few highlights; the most notable joining in the winter carnival parade. I got to ride on one float in a kayak (!) and took this self portrait of myself. Later we watched a bonfire in the town square and even fireworks. If only the rest of my adventures had been that successful. 

Oh, I made a few mistakes of my own. I forgot to pack a ski bag and a boot bag. Ski bags are long--about to three to four feet in length. Boot bags look like bowling bags, only they’re bigger and less rigid. You needn’t carry ski boots in them; I’ve carried camera gear, books, magazines and maps among other things. But when I took ski lessons, I had to lug my ski boots—and my skis on my shoulders—which was very painful.

That pain was compounded by the tailbone fracture which I suffered during my ski lessons.  I was “promoted” from the beginner classes to the intermediate classes without having taken a single beginner class—and failed from the beginning. I fell every time, I had trouble keeping my balance when making turns and almost nearly hit a tree on one occasion. Moreover I had to pay extra money for being promoted from beginner to intermediate. I wonder if I’m exaggerating when I say that I survived that nightmare.

So I don’t think I’ll be back on the ski slopes for a while. I might try mountain biking, horseback riding or kayaking next time I go on vacation—they sound safer. 

My heads in the clouds

Yesterday and this morning, I took my cameras out to photograph the skies over my neighborhood. I photographed stratocumulus this morning at sunrise and sheets of cirrus--including cirrus spisattus yesterday afternoon. 

Recognizing and photographing clouds has been a life-long hobby of mine--practically since the first grade when our teacher gave us a coloring page with a drawing of a "nimbus" cloud; she told us that this cloud would bring rain. Since then, I have learned about cumulus clouds--which can be either low-level cotton balls or low-level towers, building up into thunderstorms; cirrus clouds--the wispy clouds leaving their streaks which resemble curlicues and blown-about hair across the skies and stratus clouds--which are low-level clouds without much form or shapes built within. I have also learned about the mid-level clouds such as the extremely tiny cirrocumulus clouds--which don't leave shadows but mackeral patterns (according to one classic book on weather for children), stratocumulus--which have been compared to entertainer Cher--they can look like anything--according to another classic book dealing with the clouds--and cumulonimbus--which are always distinguished by thunder, lightning and hail. 

Alas, the first few years of my cloud-watching were pretty bland--it appeared that most of the books and manuals which I consulted used the same photos or paintings for their inspiration. Many of these photographs came from the National Weather Service of the United States (or as it was known, the United States Weather Bureau). Most of these, moreover, were in black-and-white and seem to have dated from the 1940s or earlier. Finally I decided I had had enough. So during my last weeks in high school, I got a single-lens reflex camera and decided to start my own collection of cloud photographs--in color.

My first efforts were not very effective. I had trouble with effective focusing. Moreover, the clouds did not stand out that much from the sky. Needless to say, I went through lots of Kodacolor film--this was in the 1980s--when digital cameras had yet to be invented, and even started some albums with photos. 

Back then it seems that I did best with stratus clouds, fog and cumulus clouds taken on dry days. I had better luck a few years later when I got a polarizing filter from the old Black's photo store at the local shopping mall and discovered what difference the polarizing filters could make. Subsequently, I have introduced a wide-angle lens and a zoom lens into my techniques and also learned how to make the horizon serve the clouds and the skies.

There's much I'd like to do with my interest in cloud photography. I'd like to photograph a tornado in action. I'd like to photograph lightning bolts. I'd like to use graduated neutral density filters, a tripod and timed exposures in order put some motion into the clouds. I've come a long way when it comes to photographing clouds but I'll never stop learning. 

I am proud of the way that photographing clouds has helped my interest in weather and my interest in photography grow. They will always be part of my life. 

My very first blog

I've never done much in terms of blogging (that is, if Facebook or Patch.com don't count). Indeed, I've very little talent with website and webpage design. But since this is my first attempt at blogging, here goes.

I'm interested in photography big time. I have a Canon XSi Rebel/450D camera with the appropriate lens for the camera. One of them is wide-angle, one is general purpose and the last one is for macros (closeups). I also have an electronic flash and a variety of accessories such as lens extension tubes and filters.

Photography has been a passion and an interest of mine since I was eight or nine years old. Father would take photos of me with his Ikoflex camera (a twin-lens German-built reflex camera in which the viewfinder was on the top and the main

lens was on the bottom. Father had to look down through the top 

of the camera body in order to compose and take his photos.

Mother was also interested in photography--but her camera gear was much, much simpler.

All she had was a Kodak Instamatic camera with no controls for shutter speed, film speed or aperture width. She even had trouble focusing any camera correctly, as I found out when she tried to take my photograph prior to my graduation from high school in 1981. Never would have happened had my father or sister been alive to take the photo--they were great photographers.

My sister had a Canon AE-1 camera. It was a single-lens reflex camera with a hot-shoe attachment for a flash and controls for aperture, shutter speed and film speed. Alas, I was too lazy to worry about making photos with much thought about those factors and related concepts such as depth-of-field as it pertains to exposure and handling action. I wish I had been more diligent as a photographer back then; it would have made a difference.