Another iPad Cover for the Art Show

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Tomorrow is the first day of our Art Show. I have sorely missed the web conversation going on without me and apologize for not even finding time to respond to some posts here. Naturally, I have been buzzing around finishing all the last minute jobs, so I will be ready for tomorrow morning—rested, and prepared for two long days of fun.

Today's photo is another from Highway 58, taken along the road to Bakersfield and featuring one of those oak trees that are such a dominating theme in my photography.

The December Art Show prompted the purchase of additional gear. When I bought the iPad I ordered a Smart Cover and have been quite satisfied with it. Then, I began doing these small art shows and using my tablet outside the house as a portable portfolio. The Smart Cover just seems a bit flimsy for that use.

I decided to try something a little heftier for those occasions. I chose a Bear Motion leather cover and, so far, I am quite happy with my decision. It feels good in the hand. The texture of the leather makes me feel a little more secure about handling the iPad with a number of people moving about in my vicinity.

Furthermore, this stand appears to be more stable. Since I place the tablet on a table during the show and run a slide show, I will breathe more easily now. People who are drawn to my display often linger to watch the slide show and frequently someone requests to see one of the pictures again. A couple of people have come close to bumping the screen when gesturing and this cover will, I think, minimize the potential for the tablet taking a fall. I have read that the iPad is amazingly resilient, but would rather not test its ability to survive a tumble off a table onto a tile floor.

At this early stage and with no test "in battle", I would recommend Bear Motion's cover. Good price, prompt shipping, fits perfectly, pleasant to handle. I bought mine through Amazon.

Final Step with the Camera Connection Kit

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After a Wednesday late-afternoon drive around Bear Valley Springs with the trusty old 40D, I decided it was time to trot out that camera cable and connect to the iPad. It was simple as pie. Of course, the RAW files from the 40D aren't 21 megapixels, but the operation went smoothly. I can see that it chews up quite bit of battery juice. I decided what the heck. I had come this far without using the desktop I may as well complete the exercise and process the small set of photos with Snapseed and FilterStorm.

In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't download more than half a dozen files on this trial run. That means I have no idea how this would work if I had attempted to transfer 50 or 60 files. I have read that this sometimes causes the computer to freeze up. I have also read that your RAW files are converted to jpg's as they are transferred and they are downsized. Both of those things make sense to me. Earl, have I got all this right? I think I read all this on Terry White's Adobe Photoshop tech blog.

I now pronounce myself ready to move to the next phase. Time to refine the basic skills I have acquired and begin planning a weekend trip. The fundamentals are in place. Soon I will be travel-ready and that means ready for traveling light. Should I tell The Husband? Yeah, I think he is already on to me.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Road to LA

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We left home at 4:30 Am Tuesday for my appointment at the hospital in Los Angeles. Since I didn't want to add a camera to the list of things for The Husband to lug around, this one is from the archives.

We may not be overjoyed about the fact, but the two-hour trips to LA are a big part of our routine now. This is my romanticized impression of the back way—the route we take unless there is snow and ice in our area. First, we have to drive into Tehachapi, then Highline Road takes us to Tehachapi Willow Springs Road through the windmill farms. By the time we the turn onto 90th St. West (where this photo was taken), we are past the town of Mojave, nearing Rosamond, and well down into the desert. Say farewell to our mountains.

By taking this route, we avoid the ten or fifteen minutes it would take to get from Tehachapi to the freeway. It saves some of the monotony of freeway driving and usually saves the travel time. That is, is unless you get stuck behind one of the big trucks that use this road. In that case, you have to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Eventually, we cut over to the 14 freeway and then it's over an hour of being sandwiched in one of those lanes among all the other cars, buses, and trucks headed to Los Angeles and outlying suburbs.

Don't get me wrong. Freeways are marvelous time-saving developments, and I am big time in favor of them. Still, sitting on one for hours at a time causes me to lose touch with where I am. For me, it is an odd and disorienting sensation. Narrow, back roads aren't as safe, in general; but, they seem to be human scale.

Scenes along Tehachapi Willow Springs Road and 90th Street West, such as this one, have now become part of who I am and where I live.

Free at Last

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Lately, I haven't published posts about places I have been and I am combing through archives for photos. That is because I haven't been anywhere! Things have been very quiet in my life for a several months now.

But, things are finally changing. My endurance level has increased and, in the last few weeks, the pain level in my back has decreased dramatically. My left leg is still a bit strange. But, at least it actually feels like it belongs to my body.

Besides, my being mostly housebound was about more than physical issues. I haven't had a valid driver's license for months. It came due for renewal late last year and the last thing on my mind, at that time, was driving.

Tuesday, The Husband and cruised down to Arvin for my appointment to take the written test. (Yes, the photo, above, is another of those drive-by's and taken with the G7. I would love to say that I spotted the hawk first, then waited for the right moment. But, that would be a lie. We were moving way too fast. I am grateful for all gifts, great and small.)

All went well at the DMV, and I now have one of those temporary paper licenses that fills in, until I get the official one in the mail. By the way, I have read that, in California, the delay on those plastic cards can be two months—or more. Interesting, since the temporary license expires in two months. Hmmm. Wonder how that works?

Nevertheless, for now, I am a legal driver. I feel like a kid who just got out of school. At last, I am free to see how much driving I can do without stirring up my back. Being more independent will open up considerably more photo opportunities.  Hot dog! Time to fill up those hard drives.

Happy 2011

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May your New Year be filled with undreamed of happiness.

Here's to your health, wealth, and tons of smiles. And, may you be fortunate enough to recognize every blessing, large and small.

Time Management

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The harder I work the behinder I get. What’s with this? I know that many of our faculties begin to fail as we age, but I seem to be less and less efficient at keeping up with my self-assigned chores.

My to-do list never shrinks. It just keeps growing longer and longer. Believe me, this isn’t happening because I spend my time doing admirable things such as keeping a pristine house and cooking three meals a day for The Husband. By the way, I love him enough to cook for him, but we both have rather strange eating habits. Because of my pesky digestive problems, I am forced to graze throughout the day eating tiny, strange meals that are the mostly the antithesis of what average folks would consume. The Husband is all about quick, easy and he, too, eats light. One advantage is that we don’t have weight problems; but our refrigerator and pantry certainly don’t look anything like those of the typical family, or even couple.

Furthermore, I don’t spend much time on the cliché girlie stuff. I hate shopping, don’t like spending time in that female haven, the beauty salon, and can’t think of anything more boring than spending a day at a day spa.

While I have been adding new projects, I think I just am less efficient. Part of the problem is that I have made an effort lately to stop working at around 8:30 or 9:00 PM. The Husband and I typically take about forty-five minutes to sit together and watch one of the recorded episodes of the few television shows that we can get through. The distraction is welcome and it allows me to decompress so I stand a chance of being asleep by about 10:30 or 11:00. In this environment, I find I rarely sleep past 6:30 AM (all too frequently, my eyes pop open at 6:00). These days, being in bed until 7:00 qualifies serious sleeping in.

Of course, I am spending more time currently on printing, framing, and publicity plans than I have in the recent past. (Here I have never posted my business cards, and now I’m spilling the beans that I prepared a postcard for the owner of the shop in Tehachapi. Shame on me.)

Whatever all the causes for the behinder syndrome, I post here about half to one-third as often as I would like. Moreover, I never have as much time as I would like to read other wonderful blogs. It goes without saying that I haven’t done my practice book for SoFoBoMo, and I still haven’t a clue what my project will be for 2009.

Enough. I’ll wrap up this whine and get on with today’s share of my to-do list. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just send brain waves to our blogs and skip the sit down at the keyboard part?

SoFoBoMo Considerations

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It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about SoFoBoMo, but since I can’t get out with the camera, I am still thinking only in broad terms and don’t have any specifics to talk about. Some people are excellent at determining in advance precisely what they will shoot and how their project will look. I can't fit myself into that mold. I will have to start shooting and discover the theme as I go.

All I had committed to was that I would shoot outdoors in Bear Valley Springs possibly as far away as Tehachapi and mostly landscapes with a few macros. Furthermore, I had thought that I would include some of our local critters. Beyond that I had planned to let my discoveries in March and April lead me. I am living in a place that still has many surprises for me, and I look forward to a great deal more exploring.

It turns out that I may have to rethink even my vague plans depending upon my healing time; but, since I had not made a firm choice, that means no major disappointment. Besides, I firmly believe that limitations promote creativity. Whatever physical restrictions I have to deal with may prohibit some things that I want to do; still, those restrictions are likely to force me to try things that I might not have thought about without the boundaries.

I had hoped to start May 1, but it depends now on how mobile I am when I get out sometime next month for a test run. If I have to wait for a June start, that can work, of course. But, I confess that I will be frustrated. On the other hand, I have never lived here in either May or June and maybe June will be a better month for shooting. I will know soon enough.

What it all comes down to, is I know only that I will shoot a project one way or the other. But, I probably won't have even the beginnings of answers to any more of my questions for at least another week.

SoFoBoMo—in the Air Already

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Our brief distraction turned into four days of clean-up work in Los Angeles. Now that I'm back in Bear Valley, it's catch-up time here, again.

When I got back to my computer I found that the talk of SoFoBoMo 2009 is already heating up; and, coincidentally (?), I had an e-mail from Blurb informing me that they now offer an upgrade in paper. The e-mail was quite interesting to me, since I was greatly disappointed in the paper when I ordered a Blurb book, last year. Perhaps, I will give them another try now.

The heating up of the SoFoBoMo subject caught me a bit off guard—and it shouldn't have. After all, April is less than six months away. (Time flies when you're having fun, right? Well, frankly I have found that at this stage of my life, it always flies—with each month shorter than the last one, forget about years.) I have great ambitions to be much more prepared this round than I was last year.

I see that a number of people I met through SoFoBoMo 2008 plan to participate again, and I am pleased, because they taught me a great deal and inspired me with their work. Once again, I haven't a clue what I will do. However, I do know that, once again, I will feel lost and will revisit all those old familiar doubts and fears. I also know that I will plough through. I am not about to miss the party. When Paul Butzi gives us the start dates, I will take a deep breath and jump into the experience.

An Evening Treat

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Tonight was a treat. We took off for an hour and a half and wandered around down by Cub Lake, enjoying the swallows, ducks, dragonflies, horseback riders, dogs, and kids along with a wonderful sunset. Not bad for one evening. Since this is one of those areas that also warrants an early morning outing, I am delighted that it is so close to our house. In fact, we can see our house from the lake—which is actually more of a pond, but don't tell anyone here I said that.

I certainly hope you are clicking on the link for the larger images. These thumbnails on Blogspot are pretty sad.

The Verdict Is In For Me

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Today, I received from Shutterfly the book I ordered last Thursday and, while there are some advantages to working with Blurb and overall I like the book I got from them, I prefer the paper stock used by Shutterfly. For now, this leaves me with no solution for publishing a book with a layout as complex as the one I used for my SoFoBoMo book. Furthermore, the better grade of paper comes at a cost. Still, I like the Shutterfly paper that much. When I loaded my pictures for this book, I made a point of turning off VividPics and, at least for this book, that made the big difference. This time around, I had no devastating color shifts or any other disturbing changes in my prints. That's not to say I didn't make a few goofy mistakes in my frantic rush to throw the thing together, but it was a terrific learning experience and none of the mistakes resulted in a book I could never show anyone. I consider the money well spent.