BRIEF LUCKIE UPDATE

It is like and infirmary here. Between my medicine routine and Luckie's medicine and water intake measure, we need a chart system.

Luckie has to take Pepcid an hour before antibiotics. Seems she also has a sensitive stomach which may have contributed to her early rejection of food. She is eating like a horse now.

Her water intake has returned to normal for her size/weight. She played pitch and retrieve her surgically modified soft porcupine.

But I see this is going to be a long recovery from reading and talking with persons who have had dogs with chronic Ehrlichiosis. Some have treated their dogs with antibiotics for over two years until they get two straight negative blood tests.

In between all this vet medical routine, I have my own. I surely keep the two sets of medicine entirely separate both in storage and dispensing. I don't need any mix ups. Further we both are on Doxycycline right now for different reasons--i have a sinus infection.

I hope Husband stays well for a season, but he manages his medications himself. It is called "don't take it if I don't want to theory." Sometimes I cannot argue with it.

My new Christmas present has hardly been touched--a new Nikon D5100 which can almost function without human hands. It has a GPS feature for geotaging, but at this time I am unwilling to forfeit my flash shoe for this feature with limited importance to me. I check all GPS accessories, both NIKON and other brands which work with same camera. None had very positive review, so I'm saving my money. This is relatively new in lower tiers of cameras for advanced amateurs like me. SO I PASS.


If I just had to have GPS, I could carry a handheld one and actually but the data on the picture---too much trouble. I bet nobody wants to know exact coordinates of where I took that closeup of a butterfly on a posy!!!

By the way, I finished reading a TALE OF TWO CITIES. There is a lot allegory in Dickens's writing but I really am scared our populace is descending into an abyss of desiring anarchy instead of rule of law. Excesses at either end of the spectrum is dangerous and incites unrest.

 When I was a city alderman, I had a phrase, of which I am not the author, when used when faced with decisions concerning enforcement issues: "justice tempered with mercy." Many judges use this phrase, but there is often circumstances and hardships which arise and were not considered when regulations and laws were written.

Last two paragraphs are my personal opinion only.

IT'S THE QUACKER PATROL SQUAD!

Today provided one of life's little pleasures, an unanticipated moment, at least for this old lady (old beating heart, but often metaphorically young at heart.)

Thursday was one of those days. I had a flu shot on Wednesday, even though I had chronic bronchitis. My physician OK'd the shot. Its effect plus other meds did not make for a "feeling well" day Thursday (nor Friday).

After stopping at City Hall to pick up city related mail and small stipend for the previous month's work, I made a pass by the bank drive-thru to cash the check. Then I drove to an overlook to make the "landmark on Bull Shoals Dam" shots for FOTO FRIDAY before returning home.

I did not lock my SUV for the short photo session.

Once home I decided to count my cash--OOPS-- $5 short. I called the bank, but the drive-thru teller, a friend, left for the day. The friendly teller who answered my call said the teller balanced for the day. Short of breath, I left the house to the SUV twice to see if it slipped out of the envelope. NOPE!

However, I reasoned if some one was going to steal $5, why not take the whole $45 envelope? It was all there for the taking.

Friday I vegetated with laptop and TV. However, my friendly teller called to tell me she had realized the shortage after I drove away; my $5 was safely in an envelope awaiting another drive-thru by me. NOT FRIDAY!

Saturday, I trekked to the SUV for a trip to WalMart and a few needed groceries for Life Group Potluck.

Bad news! the Start Battery was DEAD (this is a Hybrid). I had not shut the driver's door after Thursday's searches . Husband charged it up and I completed my shopping. However, I noted the backup camera and sensors were non- functioning.

Saturday and Sunday are not days to search for an automotive electronics expert, so it was the main task for today, Monday. With two phone calls I found an expert in Mountain Home, about a 30 minute round trip from home.

Access to his location was difficult, requiring a left turn across a 2-lane US highway with an intersection. The proprietor gave me directions to his business which avoided the potential traffic hazards with which I was familiar.

I knew the directions but seldom used the route; today I did. There were several photo ops along this route. I had my recently purchased "car camera" with me (Canon PowerShot A1000IS).

However, I continued to my destination. The expert fixed the problem in less than 30 minutes. I hardly understood a word he or his lovely wife said, but he only charged me a minimum fee. I profusely thanked them.

Knowing I would return the same route, I turned on the Canon. One spot was a beautiful large pond with many geese and ducks. I thought I saw two swans but they were so far away, I'm not sure. I doubt swans could winter here.

Safely parking the car, I stepped through a multitude of down feathers--must be shedding time--toward the pond. Geez! these ducks were not timid. I was besieged withraucous quackery, no doubt thinking I brought afternoon treats. The geese stayed on the opposite side of the pond, not accessible with vehicle or camera.

Two sets duck scouts waddled out of the water in a hurry to check me out, followed by two small patrols marching in duck squad formation.

This photo op stop made my otherwise mundane day! I paused to enjoy the moment with the quackers. I'm sure the ducks expected treats, but I had none.

I proceeded further up the street, turned around and came back by the quacker squadron lined up along the road with puzzled looks. Glad they weren't armed, or I might have been in trouble.

Then I stopped to make a scenic rustic post and hay bales I spotted as I turned on to the busy US highway toward home.

[The pond is worth a second trip with NIKON and the longer telephoto!]

PHOTOS [I gotta learn how to place captions one of these days]

Top to Bottom: (1) Rustic Post + Round Hay Bales; (2) Quacker Scouts #1; (3) Quacker Scouts #2; (4) Quacker Patrol Squad #1; (5) Quacker Patrol Squad #2.

I hope these photos will enlarge with click or double click. I tried a new technique in placing them.

Some Tips from the Tipster PRO

I attended a small photography seminar at Lawrence Photo and Video, a fixture in Springfield, MO since 1888. Now home, my head is reeling creative thinking.

The lecturer was Ken Hubbard who is a landscape photographer employed by Tamron, naturally to promote and sell their lenses.

A number of general tips were shared with the group, which I will share; some of these are second nature to those with the artistic eye, others, like me have to work at it.

There was also a lot of technical jargon that most of you would not be interested in, nor are we all using the same kinds of cameras.

These tips are ways to make stronger pictures.

The number one point he made several times: When you have made the picture you wanted, stand and look 360 degrees around you. Ninety per cent of the time there will be at least one other picture you missed, had you not taken these few seconds. He had a series of three beautiful mountain pictures with fog, two of which were found with this same advice.

Let lines direct the viewers attention to the main subject. Lines may be roads, railroad tracks, ridge of rock, fences, or even tire tracks, or a path mowed in a field. [Note the wood fence in the photos I made of Bull Shoals Dam.]

Color directs the eye to the central point of a picture. Imagine a bushel of Granny Smith apples, and one Red Delicious: which one draws the attention?

When taking macros, and WOW! there some good macros out there among you, be sure to focus on the exact part you wish to be sharp because the depth of field (part of picture in focus) is as little as 1/4th inch.

Actually depth of field or lack thereof, can lead the eye to the principal subject. If most of picture is out of focus, the eye naturally looks for what it sees easily.

There is a artist rule called the rule of thirds like 1/3 sky, 1/3 mid range, 1/3 foreground. It isn't quite that simple, but artists and photographers use it. And if 1/3 is a sky with NO clouds, adjust your thirds, so to speak. But if the picture is divided in thirds vertically and horizontally, then the principal interest of the picture should be at any intersection of these grid lines.

In general, the best picture, photo or painting, leads the eye from some edge into the picture's point of interest and then out again.

Anyway, rules can sometimes be broken and a still have a very exciting picture!!

Don't try to do all this in one picture. Practice one tip at a time.

I bet a bunch of you have already heard some of these tips.

Throughout this ditty I posted four uncropped photos of a very young child's grave, who died tragically at less than two years. It is in a picturesque country cemetery on the way to my seminar. The entire grave cries out " unspeakable sorrow and grief" from the statuaries, toys, flowers and lights to the tree bench in the background.

See if I was successful in any of these principles. The light was high noon which means intense blacks and burn out (not the best time of day). This was a Canon SureShot A1000 digital camera, not my trusty Nikon D50. But photos are photos. In the past some very great photographers started out with a Kodak Brownie, if any of you remember that.

None satisfy me 100%. One with some slight cropping will be very close. Which one is it? One is total dud. Which one is it. Of course, this is only MY opinion!

Slider Wednesday,Thursday, Friday

I will be out-0f-town in Springfield, Missouri, Wed.-Fri. for a fun seminar on digital cameras.

I am hoping to learn how to transfer some skills and tricks I had with film cameras that I have not been able to transfer to digital cameras. I have a very nice but older digital Nikon D50 and a less technical Canon SureShot.

The workshop is sponsored by Tamron Lenses which is the one lens I bought for the Nikon, an all purpose zoom.

I'll have my laptop computer and Nikon Camera on this trip.

Next week we are expecting my husband's brother, wife and one son from So. Carolina.

If there is anything to share with you of a general nature from the workshop I will. However, I want to recommend two bloggers on many blog lists and who have been photographers for years. Both are also writers/journalists:

Abe Lincoln Abraham Lincoln, [not reincarnated, well maybe, he is kin] who is giving some occasional tips from his perspective. I am still fascinated with taking a photo with your camera between your feet while standing straight up.....read his blog and try it.

authorblog David McMahon, who is a international photographer of some note. He blogs of driving into the Australian Outback to get "the shot" even if it is only one. I first came across his blog under Post of The Day when I was an "honorable mention." If you are looking for new blogs to read, go to his blog daily and visit his selection as well as the honorable mentions.

I have an e-mail of other photographers of note which I have not had time to check out.

Meanwhile here are two photos I took during the 2008 floods in the Ozark White River Basin. Bull Shoals Dam with all (17) spillway gates open and all eight generators running.

These photos are not edited very much. However, I missed what is called the Hors d'oeuvres or creative shot. If you look closely, the reflection of the dam and spillway is in the water puddles on the road. @#$%^&*! [While I do not claim copyright to any pictures, I would appreciate requests to use them for non-promotional purposes.]

Luckie and I Are Conducting Our Own Opinion Poll!!

Luckie probably is an unwilling participant as she hates it when I stick the camera in her face.

But I'm entitled. Everywhere I go somebody is conducting a poll: who will win the SUPERBOWL-wasn't the Dallas Cowboys, hmmm. Win the Kentucky Derby? Win NBA title? Opinions on Obama's campaign promises vs. reality? Do you have a LCD TV? Even the local print newspaper's on-line site has daily opinion polls on local, area, state and national issues.

I am contemplating a new camera and lens and may sell present Nikon D50 [6.1 megapixel] with a Tamron zoom lens, or I may just buy another lens.

Being a techie and having owned advanced amateur cameras most of my life, I do like the Nikon brand (2), but have owned at least one Canon. I love full digital cameras with both automatic and manual, or semi-manual controls. Lots of gizmos!

A number of you fellow bloggers do a lot of close-up work which I would love to do better, but the closeup of the Tamron zoom is about 12-17" from subject which is somewhat limiting if it is an ant or bee or other small creature.

So give me some ideas of what you use, not necessarily brands.

As a footnote, cat scan went smoothly today, thanks to my "advanced" planning.