Chapter 56 - Life Through a Camera

Now I tend to think more critically about my photography. I've always had a captious relationship with my pictures but, lately, as I have finally had the opportunity to choose the cameras that work with me, I find the technical taking care of itself and my work, my pictures, are improving (technically). 

What's left for me is the eye. The ability to look about and to 'see' pictures in the world around me. Now that is what I work on. 

I love auto focus even with its glaring shortcomings. It allows me, with my fading eyesight, to easily capture sharp pictures (and I know how to make them just a touch sharper - if I wasn't so lazy). What a gift this auto focus is. I love it. 

I also love the ease with which I can switch from color to B&W to 'Vivid' color to...ad infinitum. And I can bracket whenever I want with no worries about all the film I am using.

What I'm saying is that I rarely concern myself with the technical aspects of photography. I can, literally, play with all those wonderful features as much as I care to. And that brings me to my point.

It's my 'eye' now. It's how I see now that matters most. It's now become very personal, intimate and oh, so more difficult. I guess I've traded one set of difficulties for another, more subjective set.

Hahaha, challenge accepted. And with this challenge I must also accept who I am in competition with (and this is scary): I am only in competition with myself.

If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you.

Fred DeVito

And so I move on. Having resolved one problem I now turn to the other. Hooah!!

And let's get started. It's become a habit now that when we drive south down The 101 and cross Schooner Creek we always look for The Kingfisher. Carol constantly reminds me that birds are creatures of habit. They tend to return to where they have been before. We've seen this fellow 7-9 times now perched on the power line stretched across the creek. We look for him. And this time, when we saw him I pulled over and walked back up the bridge to get a picture of him.

(Small admission...technical still kicks my dumb ass. I had shot under the fluorescent lights for the B&G Banquet the night before and had forgotten to change the color source. There was a slight but definite blue cast to everything I shot that day. Dammit!! Lesson learned, again. Check the light source every day before you start shooting.)

And Siletz Bay. (Just a wee bit too blue...Dummy!) But I was looking...and seeing. I know, it's a mediocre shot but there was some thought that went into it (nothing technical...I leave that up to the camera per our mutual user agreement. I use it and it uses me. Hooah!!)

There's the Four Brothers to the left, local landmark, and the Taft Beach to the right. And, smack dab (almost) in the middle is that rise of cumulus clouds to provide a counterpoint, a symmetry to the whole picture.

And while I went one way to get the Kingfisher, Carol headed up the other way to see what she could see. We've spotted a number of different birds from here.

Honestly, you never know what you'll see here.

A swing and a miss for my 'eye'. But, hey, I'm thinking. Using the branches to help frame the subject shows I'm thinking. Just gotta fine-tune it and make it come together better.

Pictured is the Four Brothers. A string of four eroded and worn-down rocks. You can't tell from this picture as they're all lined up one behind the other. I didn't see this while I was shooting. Ah, working on the 'eye' thingie. And that 'blue' cast from the...you remember.

Carol spotted this pair in the Bay and urged me to get their picture. She had initially thought it was a Bufflehead. I couldn't tell and I couldn't see it well enough to even guess. Plus, shooting in sunlight using the screen while zooming waaaay out there is difficult. I was having trouble finding the pair let alone shooting them. 

I tried, several times, but wasn't sure what I had caught. It wasn't until I downloaded the pictures that I was pleasantly surprised to find I had gotten a couple of reasonably (for me) good shots. 

It was a pair of Common Goldeneyes. Still a nice looking couple.

We had been on our way to Hannah's down in Gleneden Beach. Her house backs, very closely, to a thick stand of trees from the house behind. 

Hannah has a hummingbird feeder just outside her kitchen window plus some other feeders hanging from the overhanging branches of the trees in the yard behind.

And, after our little bit of business was done, I stepped out to their deck and waited, impatiently, for the hummingbirds to return.

And they did!!

I let the camera do its thing and I did mine but, doggone it, I see where I might have to step in to get the picture I want...which is a hummingbird in flight where you can actually see the wings instead of a blur.

This means I need a sunny day and then I'll have to go to the shutter speed control and jack that baby up so I can capture the wings.

Ah, the humanity!!

This one is my favorite. I just like the idea that I caught just the head of the hummingbird in the picture with the feeder.

It's like he's peeking around the corner before committing. Hahaha, I just like it.

If I were wittier I would have a jocular caption to tie into this picture. Ah, if. If wishes were horses then beggars would ride.

And, by some chance of luck, I captured the sun hitting the throat feathers just so that I was able to get some of the brilliant color of this bird.

Next time I'll have the tripod. And some patience. Plus a beer, or two. Or three.

As Cuthbert J. Twillie would say, "Ah, My Little Chickadee."

Some fun facts here: "My little Chickadee" is the catchphrase most associated with W.C. Fields, who first used it in a scene in 1932's If I Had a Million (to address co-star Alison Skipworth), whereas "Come up and see me sometime" is a line Mae West is famous for.

In the movie, My Little Chickadee when West's character, Flower Belle says good-night to Fields' character, Twillie, West and Fields spoof each other's signature lines. Fields says, "Come up and see me sometime", to which West replies: "Mmm, I will, my little chickadee."

Still one of my favorite birds. The flighty, feisty Chickadee.

Carol and I had already planned on visiting Fishing Rock after Hannah's and so, as we were leaving, I invited her boys to come along. A whim, a caprice to which I was surprised when Hannah agreed!!

A pleasant surprise. And another adventure. And I couldn't help remembering when I got to bring my three Granddaughters here not too long ago.

But, honestly, it was not a good time for me...or for Carol.

Not that the boys weren't good, they were. But it was a combination of young, rambunctious boys and drop-offs, cliffs and rocks that gave me the heebie-jeebies.

I kept picturing me trying to explain to Hannah how I had let her son fall of a cliff into the ocean. Not fun.

And neither of us wanted to be the Grouchy Bears that were always yelling, "Don't do that!!" or "Get off that!! Get down from there!!"

In a quiet moment I got this picture of Carol. It was a windy day with rough seas. It was high tide and there was a storm out there roiling the ocean waves.

And I still hadn't figured out why my pictures had a decidedly blue cast to them. Hahaha, remember, I don't bother myself too much with the technical. I trust my camera and so...I kept snapping away, blissfully ignorant.

The beautiful Oregon Coast.

And two wild and wooly boys. And they were 100% boys...here, there and everywhere.

But they were well behaved. We agreed that if I or Carol were to say "Stop!" they would halt and wait for us. And they did.

They had a good time running around the small park and climbed on this rock and that one. But they listened and that helped ease my uneasiness.

It was fun.

Hahaha, it would have been more fun for me if I hadn't been so on edge. But I think these two cowboys had fun.

Climbing rocks for boys is timeless.

And they even had a quiet moment.

Me: Gritting my teeth with visions of me apologizing to Hannah and Mike for losing your son.

But it all worked out. The boys had a good time and Carol and I both breathed a large sigh of relief when we headed back to the car. 

Hahaha, I had them remove their shoes before they got in the car.

And, while we were dropping off the boys, I went back out on the deck and got these two fine fellows. You can tell the sun has moved by the shadows.

Oh, I had thought we were at the Park for maybe 20-30 minutes but Carol told me we had been there nearly an hour!! Hahaha, I wasn't a bit nervous!! Not a bit!!

And, just because, a picture of my new ride.

I still have mixed emotions about selling the mini. But I'm selling it to Amy and so it is staying in the family. And I told Amy that in two years, when my lease on the KIA was up, I would be buying my mini back from her.

And I finally figured out I had the wrong light source set on the camera. Duh!!

And, for the first time this year, 2018, I got out and took a couple shots of the sunset. I have been so remiss in getting myself out...too cold, too windy...too something or other. I could find an excuse anywhere to not get out. Winters here, the gray, the damp, the chill, all of it has combined to benumb my spirits. 

I dreaded the coming of Winter and it was everything I feared it would be. And I went into my shell and only came out when I had to. Only. When. I. Had. To.

But I did get out and snapped this shot of a visitor getting a picture of the sunset over the Pacific.

And then I went up bluff and got my own picture of the sunset.

It wasn't as spectacular as some I have seen but it is adequate. Hahaha, I am sooooo spoiled.

The Kiwanis Club has a program called The Parade of Flags. They put out flags along The 101 for the 8 patriotic holidays of the year. Businesses pay $30 a year to have a flag posted along the highway on these holidays. 

Plus, there is a section where you can purchase a flag for a loved one. This year I bought one for my Dad and, as I reflect, for my Mom, too. For their service during World War II.

But the 250+ flags have to be put out and taken down and that requires some manpower. I've volunteered to drive and pick up flags plenty of times in the past but this time, sans mini, I just volunteered to pick up. And Mike Raines volunteered to be the driver on our part of the route.

After Mike saw me try to climb the 4-5 feet up into his truck cab he suggested that he pick up the flags and I drive. I had to, reluctantly, agree. I would have worn myself out just climbing into and out of that truck. Worse, I probably would have injured myself in some way, too.

So I drove his truck and he did the grunt work. And I brought my camera. And I got this shot of Mike picking up the flag at the crest where the Inn at Spanish Head is.

And it looked pretty good framed as it is by the door frame of the truck.

Hahaha, while he was getting the flag, Mike thought this would be a good picture with the setting sun and he had just turned around to ask me to get a picture of him when I snapped this shot. 

Great minds, yada, yada, yada.

Cub Scout business. We were finishing up the final details for the Blue & Gold Banquet (BGB). One of those details was making and giving out a small thank-you to everyone who has participated in Cub Scouting.

So we decided to give everyone a small beaded bracelet. The colors were chosen because the blue and yellow (gold) beads represent the Cubs while the one orange bead represents Pack 47 (it's our Pack and Troop's color).

OK, long story. This is April. April is Hannah's close friend and business associate. April has a 9-year old girl. April comes to some Cub Scout events.

The first time I met April, at a Cub Bar-B-Q, I inadvertently caught a picture of her eating a cupcake (or something, I forget). That started the good-natured jibing about me posting embarrassing pictures of her on FB and...given my peculiar personality and anomalous sense of humor...the game was on. 

Now it is my challenge to, whenever possible, snap a picture of April in a compromising, and humorous, position.

And I do. To her great chagrin. 

But her sense of humor is equal to the challenge and we both have a good time.

Here we're all working on making the bracelets and, of course, I have my camera handy and April was there and, well, you can see that I am as well-known for my pettiness, annoying and childish behavior as I am for my world-class goutiness.

But I consider it my mission to record the events surrounding each Scout event (and Jackie-event) for the demanding public and I do.

Here's Hannah working on her part of the process. We broke it down to an assembly line process ... Hahaha, we are sooooo clever. Plus we were all helped along in our fun with a few glasses of wine and several cans of beer. 

Hooah!

And Mike, threading the beads.

April had a simple job. Put a dab of glue on the ends of each stretchy piece of string used to thread the beads on. We needed someone with a keen eye and a steady hand. Obviously, she was the best choice.

Carol had bought all the beads, the stretchy string and the glue. 

Hahaha, I have two of the Cubbie Bracelets and enjoy wearing mine to Cub events. Solidarity, man!!

Hahaha, this comes with several beers, a camera and a serious lack of restraint.

Laying out the finished bracelets to dry.

And a little dab here...

Hahaha, OK, enough.

Ka-Pow!!

Stay up with me. It's the BGB and I had my camera and, well, you understand. There's April...unaware.

But, remember I mentioned that April gave as good as she got. Seems, like most kids these days, her phone has a camera and, evidently, she's not afraid to use it as well.

Hahaha, April's revenge. Me, looking erudite and cerebral.

Nicely done, April.

It was a good evening full of fun and food. The Committee really put together a great event for the Cubs and their families.

And they recognized the adults who made the Scouting program possible.

That's Marie, the Assistant Cubmaster, Hannah, the Cubmaster and Christian Geddes, our District Executive, presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to the folks who help make Cub Pack 47 go.

We all had a great time.

And since I rarely get a picture taken of me, I put them all up here. 

BTW, this is April, with my camera, taking the pictures.

And Carol, among others, was called up and recognized for her contributions to the Pack.

Well deserved recognition. Folks don't realize how much she puts into making this Pack work.

There was a cake contest and I was one of the three judges. 

Hey!! It's not easy discerning the differences in taste, texture and sweetness. It was tough!!

Of course there were skits!! Lots and lots of skits!! Like this one from the Wolf Den.

Or this one by the WEBELOS.

Don Thomas, our Charter Representative and the Oldest Scouter in the Council, talked for a bit about what Scouting has meant to him.

His first experience with Scouting was going to a Cub Scout Meeting in 1936.

And then we called all the Cubs to the stage for the Penguin Dance.

Hahahaha, it's great fun. Google it on You-Tube to see what it is.

Getting ready to start the dance.

During the Bobcat Ceremony, a friend recorded it for this Mom and her Cub. Modern times, eh!?!

A skit and recognizing the Lion's.

Then the Wolves got their belt loops.

The Wolves had set up a campsite for the event with the symbolic campfire. Part of the table decorations had included marshmallows.

These two future Cubs decided they would roast their marshmallows. Hahaha, they'll be waiting a long time. 

I had been at my table when Tom got my attention and excitedly called me over. "Look at this!! You've got to get a picture of this!!" he said.

And I did. You'll see this picture again, later.

Barb did a great job with the decorations.

And The News Guard ran an article in their E-Edition. Hahaha, they used the article I submitted with the pictures and edited it slightly. I think I am the "Jack Grove" quoted in the article.

Hahaha, Yeah, I 'grabbed' everything off the 'Net.

I had submitted around 8 or so pictures to The News Guard. I have trouble self-editing. These are the ones the Guard used.

On a walk, I saw this gull resting on a chimney. It wasn't the first time I've seen gulls on this chimney and not the first time, either, that I've taken a picture of it.

I am predictable. Very, very predictable.

We were walking up to the Safeway and as we rounded the curve near the Sea Food Grill at Chinook Winds, we saw this little drama unfolding.

The local Keystone Kops and City Tax Collectors, have been exceedingly busy lately. The City must need some extra revenue. Just last night, coming back from the Troop Committee Meeting, I saw three different instances where the Revenuers had pulled over some recalcitrant rolling wallets, uh, er, I mean drivers for some offense or the other.

Book'em, Dano.

This year I've given myself permission to shoot as many flowers as I want to. I had, last year, shied away from taking so many flower pictures but, well, I missed them. And, what the heck!! It's my party and I'll shoot what I want to! Shoot what I want to!! Shoot what I want to!! (Sorry, Leslie. But it's just working on so many different levels)

And I have.

The daffodil. First flower of the new year. And looking good. Hahaha, I still haven't changed my point of view when taking these pictures (by this I mean I still haven't bent down to change the angle of the picture I'm taking. They are all taken standing even though by bending my knee I might get a better perspective. Might. But then I'd have to straighten that knee and therein lies the rub.)

I'd taken Carol to Aces for her Birthday Dinner and as we were leaving she saw this huge bird up at the top of a tall Sitka Fir Tree. 

We both thought it was an eagle and I rushed to the car to get my camera. Then the bird turned it's head in profile and we could easily, even at that distance, see that it wasn't an eagle. It was a Blue Heron.

Wow! We've never seen a heron roosting that high up in a tree before. Hahaha, he looks like he's wearing a wooly, shaggy cape over his shoulders.

Kudos to Carol for spotting this fellow. I'd have missed him for sure.

But I didn't miss this Northern Flicker. Out for a walk one day I was heading towards the Connie Hansen Garden and I passed the Bird House. 

Usually there are song birds and junkos but today there was this Red-Shafted Flicker. He had been hanging on the feeder with the suet in it and then, conveniently, he went to the ground to pick up the pieces of suet that had been knocked loose.

Thank you Mr. Flicker. Nicely done.

One of the many small, a dime could cover this flower, roadside daisies that color the Oregon streets and yards.

Some of them even showed a bit of color. Nicely done, Mother nature.

Even what some people consider to be weeds can have a beauty to them. They're so small I think folks overlook them. 

Kinda cool.

And at the garden I found these fellows. I bracketed my shots...you know, where you take the first shot with normal exposure and the the second is one over and the third is one under.

Trying to see what works. And, while I was gravitating towards the one under, the deeper, darker tones, I chose the first one shot with the recommended exposure. The one the technical part of the camera gave me.

I thought it was softer and suited the subject more. However, that darker one was running a very close second.

Just that one stop, up or down, really changed the picture and how it is received by the viewer. The one under for this picture makes the daffodil stand out with very faint traces of the leaves and stem to define it.

But I went with the regular exposure. Safe.

And a lot depends on what part of the shot you 'read' for your exposure. I've played around with reading the exposure from different parts of the scene and seeing how that changes the whole image. And it does. Here I think I exposed for the bright leaves of the flower and threw everything else into the dark.

Extreme cropping. This was just one of around six flowers in a grouping. But this one was the sharpest, the clearest and so I cropped the picture to isolate it. And, given the huge size of the original picture, I was able to still, even with extreme cropping, have a sharp, clear picture.

Hooah!!

Now here I used the over-exposed shot. The color of the flower changes dramatically with each stop up or down. I had so many with deep, rich colors and then saw this one and decided I'd use it. It's a different mood, a different message with the lighter tones rendered with that one stop over.

And still, to me, a reasonably good picture.

It doesn't hurt to try thinking while shooting. Well, generally it doesn't hurt. If I do it too long, the thinking thing, I start to get a headache most times.

And, my love!!

Ah, B&W. You tease me and abuse me but I still keep coming back to you. Someday, you surly wench!! Someday!!

I was attracted by the stormy weather out over the ocean and so out I went with my camera. Hahaha, it's so wonderful...if I get the B&W urge I just rotate the dial a couple clicks and, BOOM!! there it is.

It's wonderful. And it is the technical part that works with my 'eye'. I can, at times, see the picture in B&W and now it's so easy to make it so. In the not-too-distant past, if I had wanted to suddenly shoot in B&W while I was out (and the camera was loaded with color film) I would have had to either shoot up the roll of color in the film or, and this was the part that was exceedingly tricky, note the number I was at on the color roll and carefully rewind it so as not to roll the film leader back into the spool while not leaving too much of the film out. Then I'd take out the color roll and put in the B&W film and shoot away. If I finished the roll of B&W then I'd just rewind it and go on my merry way. If not, then I had to repeat that tricky thing for the B&W roll. Then I put in the previous color roll and, keeping the lens cap on, shoot up to where I was last at and hope I wasn't overlapping the shots and then shoot the rest of the roll. Tricky, tough, time-consuming and expensive.

And now!?! I flick a couple switches and I'm in B&W. Hahahaha, I love IT!!

I was resenting this fellow for being in my way when this woman walked up and waited for her dog to catch up to her. 

I was struck by the fact the three of us were there all for the same reason and yet we would neither speak to each other or even acknowledge the other's existence.

Three strangers, one purpose and...no human interaction. Ah, modern times. And I was as guilty as they. 

There it is. Another chapter, more adventures and a minimum of pouting. Hooah!! Success.

And so it goes in the life of a Gentleman of Leisure. A man, a plan, a camera.

And the road is calling to me.