EVOLUTION OF A PHOTO

Ready to Read?
[Definitely not what I saw mind!]

Artists, photographers, writers, poets and other creative persons often complain the MUSE or inspiration betray them.


I, being an amateur in several of the abovementioned persons, can sometimes commiserate with these people.


In general, when I am feeling as normal as is possible for a 75ish female soul, and time and weather are cooperating with my health deficiencies, set out with my camera in my home, yard or somewhere I have mentally noted a photo opportunity. Sometimes I am the joyful snapshooter, and other times, I am serious about composition, light and other facets of my meager training in photography.


Months ago, and I do mean MONTHS, the above setting in the vestibule of our church caught my eye. Months ago the chairs had a lovely upholstery and character, but the lamp had no bulb in it, and a candle and Bible sat on the table.

I work in the church office every Thursday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


I kept thinking of the setting in my mind. I remembered to bring an energy saving bulb, but it did not fit the lamp so the lamp shade would stay on. Strike 1! I carried the bulb home.

Several weeks I forgot to include bulb or camera among items I carry with me. [This is not a hard job; primarily I am there to answer the phone.] There is a library, but I usually carry my Kindle along with fruit to munch and emergency heart meds, should I need them. Usually I am there alone with doors locked.


Finally a week ago, I remembered both light bulb and camera. I had not paid any attention to the setting in a few weeks.


After I settled in, I installed the light bulb and set about arranging the chairs. Yikes! Someone had put some awful colored covers over the beautiful antique !upholstery! I can find no words to express my dismay. Those are the ugliest covers I have ever seen, not to mention they appear to be haphazardly installed. Strike 2!


I took one shot and realized the light bulb was too bright; I was using available light (no flash). Between my errant choice of wattage and the seat covers, I was disheartened I had let a beautiful (in my mind) setting slip away.


However, I was determined to come away with something so I did, what I love to do: zero in on a small portion of the photo in my mind, which was the table where I had placed several books from the church library with my new Kindle Touch. It is sort of a "macro mode" in my mind. No Strike 3, I hoped.


Even though the two photos do not reach the imagery of my mind, it sure beats those ugly chairs which were, to me, beautiful with the antique, albeit yellowed, upholstery! I slightly favor the second shot. I had a polarizer on but could not eliminate all the glares but did eliminate quite a few.

I would have lit the candle for the cozy atmosphere in my mind, but I did not wish to responsible for burning down the church building for a photo!

PHOTOS: by NitWit1 unless otherwise attributed.

Ready to Read - 1

Ready to Read -2

PAINFUL, BUT NO POST MORTEM CRASH

No post-mortem crash with my computer clean-up. I did not do what is called 'returning a computer to factory settings,' the hardest, but sometimes, the only way to solve a problem.

I had what is called a (mirror) image of my hard drive, which can made in a shorter time than a full backup. I also had a full  backup but decided to go for the image, for several reasons. The IMAGE was not quite a year old, but I knew the date it was made, everything seemed to be working fine, especially the items about which I had concerns.

Backups were made of user files like Quicken financial backups, photos, text files. All went well except I have been unable to get my address book back exactly to my liking but, enough to at least get back on line.

My last TASK is to figure how I plan to keep my photos. Since I have two external hard drives of 1 Terabyte each, both of which easily connect USB to my laptops, I am going to store them in some manner, probably by age on one of these drives. I also have several thumb drives and digital cards for  two cameras, plus my husband has a camera.

So I will be back in the saddle again soon. I have needed to do this job for several months, and finally bit the bullet when my favorite game FREE CELL, started acting up.....don't mess with me and FREE CELL.

Now, I have my annual non-computer, spring and summer dose of  'no see 'ums' a nearly invisibly insect, which seems to love me. I am scratching from head to toe, very bad thing since I am taking a blood thinner and bruise easily--I should say very easily, as I bruised easily before I ever took a blood thinner.

I wandered out to prune some old climbing roses, not the Blazer I have posted many photos. Husband built a hog wire trellis and I wanted to start some good climbers. I cut all the thick extensions which had no blooms, and am not yet finished. I have no idea what kind of climber this is, either, because it was also on the lot when we moved here 33 years ago this month. I will take some photos which will not be gorgeous this year, but I can imagine it in a year. The flower is a miniature pinkish rose.

Now I will go scratch-&-bruise awhile.

CRASH!!!

NOT  EXACTLY.  But I am having multiple computer problems with Windows 7. System Restore does not complete and gives me a strange error.

When I surf the net for solutions it is always some program to install and solve your problem instantly. Previously these programs, including PitStop, RegCure and several other created more problems than ssolved becuase they mainly scan your registry for perceived unused DLL files left behind from uninstalling programs. That's fine but often these DLLs are shared by other programs. Since most of us including myself, do not know which are shared and which are not, it is a crapshoot whether to allow deletion of not. Everytime I have allowed deletion then I get messes like I now have.

I just happen to have a mirror image of my computer from March. I have backed up everything I can think of on external drives several times. except I still lack photos but will get to that, too.

So I am taking a week off to get this idiot machine and its idiot operator back to a clean smooth running machine.

When I used to build desktops with a friend for sale, we studied a lot of tech manuals. One such manual advised you restore your machine tro factory fresh once a year. We thought that extremely drastic. But a good mirror image is not a bad choice if you keep them up to date.

If I did it right I would do it every month. but March 2012 is better than March 2011!!! I have had this laptop over 3 years and is first recovery I have had to do.

If you never hear from me again, it exploded, or the Beast of a Bush engulfed and buried it on green pollen.