Translate

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

I'm taking even more photographs than ever. After two years with my new camera, I finally read the manual and I am finding that I can zoom in closer than I thought possible.That's particularly useful for shy subjects like the man in the moon and humming birds. However, there is definitely a learning curve. I can get better results if I set everything manually but it's been trial and error with plenty of missed shots.
I am thrilled that the dogwoods are beginning to change colors. They are one of the earliest trees which change where I live. Then the maple trees and lastly the oaks with lots of others in between. So far the dogwoods are the only ones that are showing very much fall color.I love this time of year, before the first hard frost, when the flowers are still abundant but changing leaves and cooler air give me a new lease on life. The birds are starting to change too. They puff out to that full look they get when the weather is cooling off. They also seem to be braver, taking longer to fly off when the sense my presence.
I used to write in a paper journal every morning but for some reason I stopped doing that. I almost never write in a journal anymore. When I've looked back on my journals the part I've found interesting were notes I made about the birds and garden. I would notice when the birds were getting up earlier and when they slept in. These patterns were apparent at different times of the year.
The emotional or personal issues of my life which I wrote in my journals didn't seem important if I glanced back on what I wrote. Those were the sections I wanted to discard, ripping them out of the journal and discarding as rubbish.
The old journal entries I was interested in years later were my notes on the birds behavior different times of year, what kept blooming past the first hard frost, what sprung up as a volunteer in a different part of my garden from where it was originally planted.
I think photography has replaced my journal in a way. I spend at least as much time taking pictures every day as I used to spend writing in spiral notebooks. If I want to look back on my life I can turn to my photo files.

12 comments:

Dragonstar said...

Yes, I'm finding much the same. My photos are now my notebooks and diaries.

juliana said...

i think photos are a great way to preserve some memories and happenings in our lives and i love the ones you are sharing with us.

Carletta said...

Hi Carver,
This is a wonderful photo essay!
Love the moon shot.

Anonymous said...

You are a great photographer. you give justice to all wonderful creation

Dr.John said...

I loved all of today's pictures . I really like the humming bird.
I hope your pictures are better organized than mine and dated.

Dee said...

Nice post, Carver. I never kept a journal or a diary because I couldn't imagine ever going back to read it and also it seemed like it might take a long time.

A blog is different because I feel like I'm conversing with people and also because I type fairly quickly and I can get my thoughts out a lot quicker.

Anyway, I just found your musings about keeping a journal, the blog, and the photos interesting!

My favorite photos were of the hummingbird and the blue and red flowers! Great job!

jmb said...

I need to read the manual too Carver. It seems so overwhelming. I can only digest bits at a time. I think you do just fine with your results but I am sure there are others that never see light here.

I never kept a journal for more than a few days, but your blog is like a journal, sort of.

Anonymous said...

o wow that spider web is awesome! very dramatic!

Anonymous said...

Your change in journaling to birds and things sounds a lot like the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady. Have you ever seen that book. Beautiful illustrations for each month of the year with notes about what is blooming and what birds are around etc. I've taken to a more photo journal myself. Because I'm so visual it really is a fun way to document my life...

Photo Cache said...

LOL! and congratulations to you for finding time to read your manual. I have not read my camera's manual yet, despite hubs constant nagging to do so. He said so I could optimize my camera's use. Am too lazy for that.

Carver said...

Thanks so much to everyone for visiting. Ellen I hadn't seen that diary but I googled and found a blog online that posted photographs of pages from most months. What a beautiful little book. I'm glad you mentioned it.

AscenderRisesAbove said...

wow - check out that blue flower - that is amazing. I have not seen anything like that before.