I took the new camera out into the woods for the first time today. There was some amazing ice that groaned and cracked, looking and sounding like plate glass. The water was still high, so a couple of crossing spots were inaccessible.

( I love how the water leaps onto the branches and freezes there )

I'll process and upload the rest of them tomorrow, because I'm just not in the mood for fighting with the computer today. Just to do these three took me almost half an hour, because I had to reboot when iPhoto protested. Sheesh.

I found out that the Nikon doesn't like to take closeups of things on the ground, which is curious. I imagine that most people don't take that sort of picture, so it's not quite sure what I'm trying to do. *g*

I had two different dogs run up to me like I was an old friend, furiously wagging their tails. It's a good thing that I like dogs (even though I'm thoroughly a cat person). :)

I don't really do the resolutions thing, and I think the New Year is largely arbitrary, and I know that the decade doesn't really end for another year, but 2010 sounds like as good a time as any for a fresh start. This decade has mostly sucked for me, so I'm firing it. I give it just over 24 hours to pack up and git out.

Goals are OK; goals I can deal with. They're not as harsh as resolutions, which stare you in the face and shake their finger at you. They gently encourage instead of nag.

My goals for 2010 are relatively simple: I want more. More reading, more writing, more magick. Every day, if I can, for all three.

Since it's (almost) a new year, and I have a new camera, I want to do a 365 photo project. I will do my best to take at least one picture every day. I may not post them all, especially on days when I am away, but I will try to. corachaos has said that she'll do this with me. C'mon girlfriend, we can do this!

Since all of my local friends were either sick or otherwise engaged, I went to the movies by myself. No biggie; I do that all the time if I really want to see something, and nobody is available to go with me. I had a pair of free passes given to me by a coworker, so now I can go see a second movie for free. There was a preview for an upcoming George Clooney movie that caught my eye...

The theatre complex was pretty busy, which surprised me. I had to park pretty far out in the lot. It's a nice Saturday afternoon, and who knows how many more of those we'll get this year? The theatre itself was about half full.

The movie was fun, quite enjoyable. I had a good time, and laughed a lot. It's funny but not stupid, and George, Ewan, and Jeff Bridges were all up to their usual level. I'm not really a fan of Kevin Spacey, but he played an unlikeable character, so that worked for me. There were some fun in-jokes (Ewan MacGregor's character didn't know what a Jedi was), and the flashbacks full of New Age hokeyness made me giggle quite a bit. I know people who believe all this stuff. I may be a Witch, but I have a healthy sense of skepticism. ;)

Plus, the goats were cute. Thumbs up for The Men Who Stare at Goats.

I saw another preview for a flick that I think is called Pirate Radio, and that looks to be fun as well. Also, Jack Davenport (Norrington from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) is in it, and I think I have a crush on him. I don't know if it's his voice, the accent, or what, but my antennae go up whenever I see him in something. (Don't worry, George is still #1)

Lest you think I didn't get out and enjoy the nice weather today, let me assure you that I took a nice walk down to the library, where I got out ellen_datlow's Poe (which I plan to buy when I have actual spending money, someday), and Douglas Clegg's Isis, a supernatural novella set in Cornwall. Sounds spine-tingly. I took the long way home, enjoying the sunshine and nifty cloud formations. Ooh, and I was treated to a lovely sunset on the ride home from the theatre. Great, swirly cirrus clouds lit in pink and purple.

I'm hoping that we get a nice sunset tomorrow, too; this month's contest on boston.com's RAW is silhouettes, and the photo must be taken this month. I have a tree in mind that would make a nice silhouette against a sunset.

The October contest over at boston.com RAW is pink. The first photo of mine that came to my mind was this one from last November:



I like it because it shows something vibrant and alive surrounded by death, which suits the theme nicely (pink being the symbol of breast cancer awareness month). I hope the judge agrees. :)

I didn't enter last month, because I couldn't think of any of my photos that would fit, and I didn't get around to taking one (the theme was "labor"). Ah, well. My photo from August didn't make the final cut, which peeved me a bit because some of the ones that did seemed pretty pedestrian to me, but taste is subjective. None of the pix I voted for made the final three, either, which just goes to show that my taste differs from the majority of the people who are active on that site. Not sour grapes, just reality. ;)

Wish me luck!

There's been a bit of discussion over at my photo blog and some others that I read about cameras; specifically, that you don't have to have an expensive camera to take good photos. As much as I would love to have a better camera with more features, I do OK with the one I have.

Digital Photography School had a post about just that today. That was nice to see. :)

(Oh, and you can sign up for the feed for my photo blog here)

I'm heading out to Carver today to go to King Richard's Faire with coyotegrrrl18 and a few of the gang. Mike, our editor, gave me the tickets they sent in their press package. Yay for free tickets! I haven't been to the Faire in years, and while it's not the best one, it still manages to be fun. It's an excuse to get dressed up and be silly. :)

I'm staying overnight with B tonight, and tomorrow she has a gig taking headshots for someone, and for which I will be the stylist. I get to flex my makeup artist muscles again. Oh, and it's a paid gig! We'll also be discussing a Super Secret Project that may prove to be fun, and possibly lucrative!

Oh, and hey, I'm officially a Pro now! That guy who wanted to use my photo on his book cover sent me a check. I ended up asking for $35 (and a copy of the book), to which he agreed. Yesterday, I got a check and a note that said, "Let's make it $50. Good job!" Wheee! He works at Carnegie Mellon. I'll post a pic of the book when I get it!

I'm quite looking forward to this fun, creative weekend. I need it! I even have Monday off to recover. :)

Sometimes, when I am out wandering in the woods taking pictures, I think, "I've taken this picture before." Sometimes, I take it anyway. Maybe this one will be better, or from a slightly different angle, or the lighting will be nicer.

Then there are the times when I take the same picture on purpose. "Ooh," I think, "I have a picture of this in winter. Now I can have one of the same thing in summer!"

Yes, I often have conversations with myself. You got a problem with that? *g*

Anyhoo, there are times when I put these things together, and come up with a blog post on the seasonal differences on a bridge in the woods. I rather like it.

Yes, I am easily amused. :)

There's an illuminating article about Flickr in the NY Times this weekend. It seems that post-processing is the key to popularity there. Huh. And I thought it was good photography. *g*

It's about more than that (the article, I mean); it's about the democratization of photography due to the internet, and how the acceptance of what is fine art has been monopolized by an elite few in the past. Interesting stuff.

I don't pretend or aspire to make fine art; I just want to make good pictures that I like, and share them with friends who like them too.

*****

This afternoon is Beltane at the Barn, and I'll see a few of you there! Woo hoo, Beltane!