Six Months In

Six months in a picture a day for a year and still going.

I like to look at people's tech stuff, so I thought I'd show you the cameras I'm using.

Left to right -- DJI Osmo Pocket (I love that thing.) Olympus Pen 8, small and sharp. DJI Osmo Action (I really love that one.) Nikon D7200, heavy but a workhorse. GoPro 8, haven't used it enough to tell if it is as freeze glitchy as the last one. And of course, the fu*kin phone.


It amazes me that such a powerful camera and computer fit in this small a package. Which is probably why the Nikon seems to get heavier and HEAVIER.


This project does seem to be inspiring me. When all  A N Y O N E  has to do is rip off a click on their smart phone and make a picture, I got out a tripod and sat for an hour watching Western Tanagers.

Onward.

Mother's Day

My mother -- way back in the day -- look on the far side of the pony for Grandma squating down to hold little Annie on the pony.

And me and mine. No pony though. More's the pity.

May Day 2020

I was raking the yard and something across the creek caught my eye.

Ooo, I thought. I should take a picture of that. But I stayed true. This yard is not going to rake itself. If only.

Stayed with me though. That picture waiting to be made. 

So, next morning, Oly and I took a walk across the creek to the deer bones.

This is not the first time I’ve photographed deer bones in the forest.

This is from a grant sponsored exhibition entitled “The Devil’s Backyard.”

But this is something that feels new -- that picture waiting to be made. 

And that’s what I’ve learned five months into the Picture a Day for a Year project.

A Message From Guinness

And now I'm thirsty.

Four Months Gone

So, I've managed to keep the picture a day project going for four months. I can't believe it myself. 

Here's what I've learned so far.

I am seeing now when I look. A nice slow-down advantage in life. After I missed a picture of a Golden Eagle sitting on a telephone pole near my yard, I moved the camera to the table next to the couch.

A difference I noticed today is that now that I'm noting what I'm seeing, and the camera is handy, I am also more likely to make a picture.

I was building a fire since Montana decided to grace us with a spring snow storm and I noticed this pattern on the underside of some bark.

I picked up the Oly and took a picture, but the light was no good. So I moved the bark over to the window.

I had a helper too.

What the heck is this?

Why aren't you making a lap?

What in the world could it be?

Missive from a lost and ancient race?

Hieroglyphics from a misplaced Egyptian?

Ogfam?

I didn't look it up, but I suspect it's the path some bug took sometime during the life of the tree.

Fun to wonder though. More fun to stop and make a picture.

All for this.