Nature Photography

Starting next Saturday, I'm going to be taking a beginner course in Digital Nature Photography at Gumbo Limbo. I'm quite excited about it although I'm becoming very aware of how profound my level of ignorance on this topic is. First, the instructor sent us all an e-mail with our first assignment - finding out how to take RAW pictures on our particular camera. After some research, I believe I have determined that my camera, a Nikon Coolpix 775, will not take pictures in the RAW format or even in the TIFF format. Already, right out of the chute, my photos aren't going to be as good. They're going to be "lossy". I'm so ashamed.

Anyway, undaunted by this, I set out this afternoon to Spanish River Park to take some "nature" photos. I soon discovered that I don't know for sure what "nature" is. Will any plant do or does it have to be wild? Animals are completely out. By the time I get my inferior camera pointed at it, the animal has gone away. I did manage to get a picture of a lizard but it is very difficult to spot in the photo.

At one point, I actually saw a larger animal but after pursuing it, discovered that it was only a cat - probably not considered nature. Still, I did want to get a picture of it but it ran away. Dave thinks I spend my days looking for pictures of cats on the internet so I would have liked to put one there but, oh well. Here are some more of my efforts.

I think this one is my favorite:

So, stay tuned for further information about adventures in nature photography. For example, what is white balance? Is it okay to use the image sharpening feature or is that cheating? Is the spider that lives in my bathroom considered nature? One way or another, I'm going to be learning something.

Regular posting is regular posting

Well, it's been about a year. Time for another post. Since last year, I stirred up the dust a bit. (I know. I know, the metaphor is getting old but since I'm the only one who ever reads this stuff, I can indulge myself). I got a new job that I love. I also had a great boss for a while and even though he left, I still love the job. As Dave puts it, I'm a professional bitch. Finally, a job that calls upon my most powerful personal talent. I was a bit worried at first when one of my new co-workers decided to have a nap while working ... thought maybe this was just some kind of Florida thing but apparently, this is indeed unusual and since then, he's gone off to get more rest elsewhere. Everyone has been very nice which is sometimes tough to do with me.
We have a pretty good time and everyone is only mildly disturbed when I curse at my computer and talk spiritedly to myself and jobs like that are tough to find so I hope this takes. In fact, I'm feeling quite optimistic for the new year. After several months of craziness (about which we will not speak further - she says darkly), one of my co-workers even played a practical joke on me on Monday. That hasn't happened since Darrell left. Things are looking up. Anyway, my list of resolutions is quite long this year:

• Lose weight.
• Get fit.
• Beautify the blog with CSS - that I will learn in more detail.
• Love myself more.
• Post more often.

Check back to see how that goes.