Mark’s Notes On The Go

Had third installment of photo class today. Our assignment was to bring in photographs illustrating depth of field and motion (not together!). My motion pictures weren’t, to me, the best, but considering the heat and all last Satuday, walking up to the dam onVickery Creek was more than enough.

The instructor didn’t have anything bad to say about them at least.

But my photos for DOF he gave a rave for! The firt was a series of raisin boxes arranged to trail away from the foreground. I focused on a box a few from the front. Depending on DOF, various boxes in the foreground were more or less detailed. He actually got up and started showing how this perfectly illustrated the assignment. Then sat down and looked to see what else I’d turned in. The second was the one he said he was going to steal for future classes. I took a picture of the ruler on the side of my carpenter’s level. With a low DOF, you could barely read more than an inch of the ruler, but as you went up, more and more of the ruler was in view. He actually joked, “that’s it, you’re done here, go home now!”

Yaayyyy mee!!!!

When I moved into my townhouse, darn near 5 years ago, there was a stain in the dining room carpet that would not come out. Not being a huge fan of wall to wall in the dining room, I decided that one day, I’d replace it with hardwood and I put a big area rug over it. Lately, I’d come close to replacing it with laminate, but there were a couple of reasons I did not: 1) I can tell the difference with wood having grown up on oak floors; 2) I started questioning how chopped up my downstairs might look. Already I have tile floors in the kitchen and foyer. It still looks spacious, but how would it look if you could see three different flooring materials all from the same spot. Solidifying that concern, I recently saw a neighbor’s home that had done just that, and the room looked smaller than mine. I decided in the course of time, I would either replace all the carpet downstairs (most likely) or put in hardwood in the living and dining.

But the cheap area rug I brought years ago has seen its day. So, this morning, I moved all the furniture out of the room and removed said rug. The room looked bigger (dark color and all). But not only was the old stain there, the constant contact with the area rug left some dingy spots. Sigh… so out to Lowe’s I went. Rented a carpet cleaner (figuring this was all beyond my home model that every pet owner should have). And I’ve spent all afternoon and evening going in these little straight lines cleaning the carpet. I stopped using actual cleaning solution hours ago, just spraying on clean water and sucking it out, hoping to get more dirt out and any stray soap. It’s looking decent. Not new by any stretch but even the old stain is fading out. So success! At the price of some sanity, of course.

Yesterday, I pressure washed the outside and the stoop and side-walk out front. It was hight time for the concrete surfaces. The rest was washed last summer when the trim was painted so not so bad. I did notice one thing that I need to call about. I think I may have lost a shingle on the ridge of my roof. Being two stories, I can’t quite see the thing, but the end looks like one may be missing. I rented a 28 foot ladder last fall to clean out the gutters. I would need like another 10 feet to get up to see the ridge on the front gable… no thanks… I hate to pay out the $$, but I draw the line at 28 feet! Hopefully can find someone who will check out that possible problem and the rest of the roof while there up there. No leaks and I’d like to keep it that way!

In the midst of all this cleanin mayhem, a new thouht has hatched. I’ve tossed the idea around and I think I may see about getting a room-mate. The people who have known me a long time are dying laughing about now. Anyon who has heard my room-mate experiences from Auburn (only six mos before I moved off by myself) is laughing. And certainly I’m not getting any younger and less set in my ways. But as I think about it, there are some good things from a POSITIVE roommate situation (as opposed to one you’re just sort of thrown into). First, less excuse to sit around doing nothing if at least ocasionally someone else is around. And then there’s the matter of some extra cash coming in. Lately, I’ve been at war with myself financially. There’s the side that is trying to pay off that student loand and car note so that I can have more freedom to do what I will with my money and my life. And then there’s the side that wants to enjoy life. Be it traveling (although I’ve paid cash for all my trips) or be it fixing up the house; i.e. the aforementioned floors, the new counters I want, etc.

I have plenty of time to convince myself this is a bad idea. One, I don’t know anyone looking. And two, my house is too crowded right now. It’s just insane to me, but I have FILLED a two bedroom house by myself. I have been purging off and on for the past year. It’s time to go deeper. I need to clear out the front bedroom closet and much of my shed outside. If I do that, all that will be in here that would have to move for a room-mate is the computer and treadmill. The former could go to my room or the living room. The latter… hmm… some thought involved there.

So, the question for any reading, do you think anyone would actually WANT to be my room-mate? Cons, I have two indoor cats, so they better like cats! Pros, a bed and bath (not shared) and a townhouse in Alpharetta with a community pool that I’m told is barely used (I for one haven’t used it in four years but it looks nice)…

Hmmm… much thought… Either way, I need to get back on the whole purge thing.

Just a short one tonight.

Second class and increasing camera envy - probably for no good reason. But this is two weeks in a row I’ve come home contemplating that next camera purchase down the road I hope.

I definitely feel like my understanding is growing. I have a MUCH more solid feeling for metering, aperture, and shutter speed now. The comprehension of these before was to varying degrees very high level and without a clear understanding of what the consequences and expectations were for what I was choosing.

Hopefully armed with this understanding, I’ll take some good shots for next week’s exercise!

I have never been a celebrity stalker, but there are still ones I hold in awe. James Doohan was one. Some of my earliest memories of TV are watching re-runs of the original Star Trek.

A few years ago, “Scotty” (as I will always remember him) attended DragonCon. It was his last appearance in Atlanta, and probably among his last appearances in general. He was scheduled to come back to Atlanta a year later for what was advertised as the last appearance here, but it never happened. Illness called off that showing as I recall.

Mr. Doohan, being one of the bigger celebs at the Con that year commanded one of the larger ballrooms. I was waiting in one of the foyers for the previous panel to end when one of the Con volunteers nudged me and said, “Scotty.” I thought it was a question about my waiting about in the foyer instead of going in and said, “Yeh, I’m here for the next panel to see Scotty.” Then he nudged me again and pointed and said, “No, Scotty!” I looked down, literally in front of me, and there sat Mr. Doohan on one of those little scooters that the old and infirm use to get about… I was mortified. A living legend was a mere foot from me and I had not even noticed. My mouth stood agape from a combination of shock at his condition and just the fact that he was there. He shortly shoved off and drove to the stage. He did stand during the actual panel, but the image of him on his “little rascal” just stuck with me the whole time. It was as if I could see the grim reaper standing over his shoulder.

During his talk, his aging memory was apparent. If my own memory holds up, the alzheimers diagnosis was either not known or not public at this time. But the way one story faded incongruously into another, I knew Mr. Doohan was not altogether in the here and now. But the glee with which he shared his stories at least conveyed some satisfaction with his life that made it all seem re-affirming in the end.

I was glad to see Mr. Doohan. Even if his body and memory was no longer at 100%, his exuberance of a life fully lived was not diminished. I actually ran into a couple of Brandy’s friends, Karilyn & Jan, who had saved good seats closer to the front and were kind enough to let me squeeze in. They echoed my sentiments of sadness but being happy to have seen the man.

Mr. Doohan, I’ll save you the corny Star Trek farewells. I wish you well wherever you are now. And I thank you for the memories that I hope to cherish until my own end. Thanks much!

Had my first photo class this evening. A definite learning experience - I can already tell that it’s going to be well worth the cost. The time leading up to the actual start of the class was a little intimidating. With only a couple of exceptions, the people in the class had cameras far beyond my Olympus C-5050 - i.e. full tilt Digital SLR’s that cost in the direction of $1k if not a good deal beyond that. I was beginning to wonder if I had totally found myself in the wrong class. But there were a couple more in my boat. I’m just not yet prepared to shell out that kind of cash on a camera without some idea that I need that kind of horsepower. If I see I have:

1. serious interest in photography beyond what my current camera can produce
2. possibly some idea that my life’s work may revolve around photography rather than pre-approved offers of credit

That last one was slightly tongue-in-cheek. I don’t foresee changing occupations anytime soon. I’m locked in for awhile no question. I even talked to my boss today about where I want to see myself in the company if/when the next opportunity comes around. I wouldn’t do that if I didn’t have some idea that I’m settled in for awhile.

But the future beyond that is on my mind a lot lately. I don’t see my life in one job or company or one place. I’ve thought a bit about Peace Corps - but reading through what type of people they need, nothing really stuck me. I have enough background in tech to o that route with Peace Corps, but not enough interest in that arena to want to drag that into the future with me. I also read through some other volunteer work experiences out there. Even looked at Americorps a bit. I don’t know. The future is definitely written in pencil.