Chapter 79 - Five Days in August

The first five days of August were, well, not memorable, but they were, they were...busy. I can't say exciting...too hyperbolic. I won't say eventful because they obviously weren't. They were something but I can't quite find an adequate way of describing them other than to say, maybe, and this isn't the best description but it does work; busy.

OK? OK! We'll go with that.

Now that awkwardness is over with, let's get started on this mundane and uneventful, but busy, week.

And it starts on the very first day of August with this. I was lounging, as is my wont, in my recliner. I  noticed, on one of those rare occasions when I stood up, some unusual activity on the beach.

Intrigued and without any other pressing concerns at the moment I grabbed my camera and headed out to the bluff to see what was what. And, while out there to, possibly, get a picture or two.

And I did. Plus I got a picture or two as well. That comes as a big surprise, right!?!

Seems the North Lincoln Fire & Rescue was conducting water rescue training. No emergency just an interesting and out-of-the-ordinary occurrence.

And, naturally, I gathered a few pictures of the goings on.

I realize they're practicing for a real-life emergency but I couldn't help but think they were also having just a little bit of fun, too. More than a little bit as I watched. 

Which is cool with me. Anytime you can work some fun into work you're ahead of the game.

And, yeah, I realize they must get from the shore to the victim as quickly as possible and that means plowing through the surf but I also think his guy was just enjoying his day. And, maybe, showing off just a little bit.

Coolio.

There were two fellas out there riding their jet-skis. Ripping up one way and then down the other.

And making sure they were in control...and could get from Point A to Point B in the shortest amount of time.

And making a couple of waves in the in-between.

If this had been a couple civilians you would have heard, "Hey! Hold my beer and watch this!" right before some of these maneuvers.

And, speaking of beer...well, alcoholic beverages in general...seems there had been some folks that had more than they should have had to drink and had been making quite a commotion on the beach. I didn't see what they were doing but it was enough that the Fire & Rescue called the LCPD and the Happy Couple got themselves arrested.

Yay for us!! A free trip downtown!!

I got all this scuttlebutt from Mary, from across the street. She is usually in the know.

I figured they couldn't be too smart to get reported by known members of the Fire Department who were out on the beach with them. Then they get arrested for their stupidity. 

No, these folks are not smart. Not one bit.

Let's leave these poor folks to their woes. Hahaha, they're gonna wake up tomorrow with a hangover AND a whole bunch of new and expensive legal problems.

OK, let's jump to the 3rd of August now. It was a beautiful day here on the Oregon Coast. I realize it looks beachy in this picture and that means warm and comfortable but...this is the Oregon Coast and the winds were blowing and they were chilly. In these days the temp is always in the 60s and only very rarely does it approach 70.

But it was a nice day with blue skies and not unreasonably chilly and so I called Carol and asked her if she was up for a walk.

She was. 

So we drove through The Villages and parked in the cul-de-sac there and started on our little walk down to the Roads End State Park. 

And the very first thing Carol spotted, not 10 feet into the walk, was this.

A wasp's nest.

It looked like a baseball was stuck in the bushes. Hahahaha, it was nothing as benign as a baseball

The path has been overgrown since the last time Carol and I hiked down it. It's been a while. One new addition I noticed were these thistles reaching into the pathway.

And, of course, all the old growth trees. They looked especially nice today with the sun and the blue skies. Amazing beauty.

The narrow path opened up into this large one not too far into our hike.

And we still had the company of these regal old trees to entertain and delight us.

Eventually even they gave out and we came to the dirt road that would lead us to Logan's Road and the Road's End State Park.

To the left and right here are marshy, swampy lowlands. Lots of brush for the Red-Winged Blackbirds, ducks and Cedar Waxwings.

And, right away, Carol spotted two of them resting on one of the grills that protect the drainage for the marsh.

I had thought I'd get the two of them together but the one was a little too fast for me...but not quite fast enough. 

The thing about Cedar Waxwings is that when you see one, because they're a very social bird, you'll usually see another close by. And that was true today.

In fact, we may have seen possibly 5-6 pairs of these beautiful birds today.

Then Carol spotted a deer running up a rise from the swamp into someone's back yard. By the time I got my camera up and focused, her two babies were following her up that same rise.

Mom turned right while the fawns had gone left.

But, like all good children they realized their grave and dangerous error in going 'Left' and retraced their steps and chose to follow the 'Right' path...after their mother.

Continuing on, we then made it to the cliffs edging along the beach at the State Park. It was a great day for vacationers spending some time on the beach.

And we were able to turn around and see the Knoll where Pack 47 hiked to last week. Don't be fooled by its gentle slope seen here. There is one heckuva steep ascent to get up there. Very steep.

Looking north towards Cascade Head. This is the northernmost beaches of "The Seven Miles of Smiles" that make up the Lincoln City beaches.

And this fella struck a heroic pose for me...staring resolutely off into the future.

And it was so nice I rushed to get another shot just a little closer. The slight lack of focus is due to my rushing to get the shot. When you push that lens way out there you definitely need some help stabilizing it.

Hiking back we hit the Old Growth again. And it was as impressive going as it was coming.

Hike over, rump planted firmly back into the recliner, I happened to glance, again, outside and I saw what had potential to be a nice sunset. I used my brain and this time I brought out the tripod and got a couple shots. 

For this one, I selected the 'Poster' effect. It punches up the colors as you can see.

Then I ran up the exposure compensation to +3EV, selected B&W, and got this shot of the Hardy Boys Mystery House. It was a lot darker before I manipulated the exposure compensation.

Since I was out there and I had the tripod set up I decided to play a bit with the 'Bulb' exposure. That's where you go to 'Manual' for shutter speed and f/stop. I put the ASA on to something like 1600 and then held the shutter open for maybe 30 seconds. Long enough for a car to drive by and leave the streaks and still pick up the table lamp in the house across the street.

I was having fun and since I had my little $1 flashlight from Walmart with me, I turned the camera towards my KIA and tried to 'paint' a circle around it. I turned the main beam of the flashlight in a circle around the KIA. Unfortunately, the beam wasn't focused enough. There was a lot of spillage and it lit most of the scene.

Still, I learned what a little flashlight can do and had some fun doing it.

I moved to the end of my driveway and shot up the hill going north to the Casino. I like this effect. It's like a small island in the middle of the deep darkness. I used the iPhoto effects to erase just a trace of light from a window on the right so I could further that isolated island effect.

That done it was another day. The 5th of August to be accurate.

And I was ready to take a walk. I had found a painted rock several days earlier at the Dorchester House. I decided it was time to take it to the Connie Hansen Garden (CHG) for the next leg in its journey.

And I was brought the monopod along. Which led me to take this selfie using the monopod. Hahaha, I have to take selfies if I want any pictures of me. I seldom get into the shot.

I know, 'Wah, wah, wah."

Here's the rock. I'm thinking it says "Wild" rather than what I first thought it said. I mean, it makes more sense than "Wilu".

Regardless, we'd spent enough time together since I found it in front of the Dorchester House and it was now time for it to move on.

I always love the walk down to the CHG. 

I get to go by the Bird House and now, at a different house along the route, the sunflowers are back and I always enjoy seeing them. And, maybe, getting a couple of reasonable pictures of them.

Last year the owner didn't plant any sunflowers and so I was especially happy when I learned (I asked her one day while walking by) that she had planted seeds for sunflowers this year.

And I caught a busy bee doing his thing on the sunflower.

It was a target-rich environment for him. Plenty to do.

And he kept himself busy.

I enjoy seeing these flowers, and others, from different angles and so I explore, as it were, by shooting around them.

Like this. Oh, this sunflower is at least as tall as I if not a bit more. I am not keen on bending over so I just held the camera at waist level and flipped the screen so I could see it to compose. 

It works well enough.

And then I like to stand back a ways and shoot with a long lens. It compresses the subject and really throws the background out of focus. It allows you to give all your attention to the subject and not be distracted.

And I use the long lens to reach into smaller subjects. I bet you there's a better picture in there. Someday, maybe, I'll find it.

OK, it was a beautiful day. Pleasant light. The sky was overcast so the light was diffused and soft and I had plenty of flowers to shoot...and I did.

I like the pastel effect here. Shot with a gray stucco wall behind it.

And then to the CHG...future temporary home of the rock, Wild.

But, first, a short detour.

Hahaha, I had to. It was begging for it. And I got the shot. 

But summer is moving along and some of the flowers are moving through their cycle.

They must have watered that morning because I didn't see any collected moisture on any other flowers I shot. But it is kinda cool, ain't it!?!

While I was wandering around I was looking for a good place to put the rock. And I found it.

Here.

I didn't want to leave it in the middle of the path, too easy. But I also didn't want to place it where it might not be seen, either.

I picked this spot...it's off the beaten path but, if you're looking you see it down there in that little cul-de-sac...waiting for its next adventure.

And so I put it down. Hidden, just a wee bit, by the overhanging leaves but still visible if you're looking.

Adios, Wild Thing.

And, having done my deed, I moved on.

The CHG was in fine form that day.

I usually discard all my pictures of red flowers. They don't look natural. The color red blows out for some reason. Except with this one. I've shot one or two what I think are excellent pictures of this flower.

Long lens, muted background and the colors stand out nicely.

OK, so I did it again. Sue me.

I rotated the head of the monopod and got a selfie of me resting my large rump on a bench. Whenever I sit down on these kinds of benches I am always relieved it doesn't immediately buckle under my not inconsiderable weight and collapse.

But, success!! And a picture of...well, an old man walking through the park by himself.

Wait!!! Did I say by myself!?!

Hah!! I had this guy to keep me company for a while.

And good company he was. He took off but always came back to relatively the same spot again. So I practiced my patience and got a number of pictures of him. Good ones, too.

You'll see. Oh, yes. You'll see.

On one of his short tours, I got this shot of the sole lily pad flower in the small pond. Along with several overweight goldfish.

The CHG recently added this stone pathway. 

Nicely done, volunteer folks.

What's this!?! 

Why, it's the Dragonfly again.

I figured what the heck, I'll get just a couple more shots of him.

And I did. 

But I won't put them all here. You're welcome. Y'know, I treat you too well. But, then, I might lose half of my readership if I get too boorish.

Just odd.

Trying to be Artsy-Fartsy. 

Didn't work. But I need to post them here to tell me what I was thinking and let me see how close I came to my vision...and how far I must go to get to it.

Just nice.

I like these colors. I was having some luck with reds and pinks. Not too blown out.

There were plenty of opportunities. Next time I think I'll bring the tripod.

On my walk back, I passed the sunflower house again. There is her garden, and the sunflowers in the far left front of her yard.

It is important in life to have little anchors. Things you can count on to be there. Doesn't have to be an animate object just something that, however despicable you might be, is always there for you and causes you some small amount of pleasure, or relief. People, I think, need anchors to keep them from drifting away completely.

I took this from across the street.

Hahaha, I do love shooting with the long lens. It does  wonderful things for the photograph. It makes the photograph unique.

And before I got back to the shack I crossed paths with this brassy little white-crowned sparrow. He wasn't the least bit intimidated by me.

I was out on another walk, this one up towards another flower house going up NW 28th St. As I was wandering on, I saw this weathered fence and felt it made an interesting backdrop for the climbing ivy. 

I have a desire to do still-life photography. The problem is that I am too lazy to go about setting up the scene, lighting it and then shooting it. So I tell myself I am somewhat of a purist. I shoot the tableau as I see it...I do not artificially set up a scene. That's my excuse for being lazy.

I had even once thought of creating a tableau vivant using the Old Masters and portraying them in a modern setting. I had thought I might be able to do it with the students at my Middle School. But, like most things I dream about, it required more effort than I was willing to put into it.

Hahaha, my life.

I saw some more bumblebees and tried exercising my patience to get a shot.

And I got lucky. I stumbled onto this picture. Literally stumbled as I was getting frustrated and trying to chase the bee around. Then, pow, it all came together. I just need to learn how to bring everything in line a little quicker and with less stress than I am experiencing now. 

I am learning.

I did enjoy the contrast of the colors on the leaves against the weathered board.

I took a number of shots. You'll see them again at the end of the screed. 

Be patient...said the pot to the kettle.

I've driven by this house often and always mentally said to myself, "I've got to come by some day and get some pictures of these flowers someday."

Today...was...someday.

I did it. I brought the monopod and came on over. And it is a beautiful garden.

I do like this one. It works for me capturing parts of two flowers and presenting them as one.

And the 'hot' colors were working. I was getting something pleasant out of them. Seems like I usually throw all the 'hot' pictures out as they're so bad. But these, well, these are passable.

One of my favorites. I like the juxtaposition of the flowers with the dead leaves in front of it having sagged so much it is resting on the ornamental bricks around the garden. It's like it is holding onto its fading beauty as it time draws near. 

Regardless, I like it. It reminds me of the still-life I mentioned earlier. This scene is gone now but if I were to reshoot it, I would move the frame further to the right to get all of the fallen petals. I fell victim to that old trap of trying to put the subject of interest in the center of the picture.

Not bad but the color is too muted. I shot it with something that pushed the color down and I wasn't able to make it anymore pleasant in iPhoto. Still, it's the composition that intrigues me. The angle and the petals...

So I tried it again. Same flowers but I think here I used the exposure compensation and opened it maybe three stops, to -3EV. Again, it's the same composition but now, with brighter colors, the picture works a bit better.

The fading glory from a different angle. Just came to rest there on the brick. And there it will end. Not as interesting frontally as it is from the side. 

Kinda like people. We all have our good side, the one that is most pleasing, photogenic. And the other side is somehow flawed and discordant enough to not attract attention. Find your best side and present that to the world, right!?!

I wonder why I'm drawn to pictures of buds. No real striking beauty to pull your attention to them. Maybe it's the promise. There's something there that, if you wait long enough, will show itself to you. I think of pictures like this as one of my lazy still-lifes. 

I didn't arrange it but I did choose the way it is presented and that's important, right? It makes a difference. Plus I am getting better at throwing out the distracting background. Love the long lens.

And so I like this picture. It won't win awards and probably won't even get a second look from whomever might chance upon it. But it is, in a small way, a carefully crafted and presented tableau.

Hooah!!

The colors and the confusion of this picture are key to me.

I like the contrast between the purple (?) against the yellow with the dark, mottled green background. My continuing quest to try and see flowers from a different perspective. 

I think this one worked.

I ask you, how can you doubt the existence of God when you see something as complex, beautiful and delicate as this flower. And it is there for you if you choose to stop and look at it.

And I like getting in close...again using the long lens.

Look at the subtlety of these colors as they merge, they melt, from the green into the yellow and then the red.

WOW!!

And because it is so nice, I shot it twice.

Just a little further back. I honestly couldn't decide between which one to present. They both have their qualities.

So, I decided not to decide. Hahaha, the path of least resistance is still a viable route. My decision is, as they say, final.

I saw this and had to stop and appreciate it.

Someone has a flair for whimsy mixed with some artful arranging.

Well done, Sir or Ma'am!! Well done!!

Moving on down the road I came to this. The trellis and the clinging flowers have been there every time I've walked by and I've always failed to get a reasonable picture (reasonable in my world is one that I don't immediately throw in the shitcan) of it. 

But, still, I try.

And today I got something that is semi-reasonable. It's an interesting pattern. I had opened up the camera by moving it to -3EV (three clicks up on the exposure compensation making the picture lighter). It kinda blew out the white trellis but I darkened it just a tad with iPhoto. 

I like the composition...I think the technical presentation is weak. Maybe I should have shot tighter and eliminated the broad white backing just to the right of center. Just caught the criss-cross pattern with the climbing flowers winding through it.

Hmmmmm, maybe.

Here's the entire trellis which is quite interesting by itself. Left vs. right. Blue vs Red. There's a lot of conflict going on there and more room for it to spread to.

Again, I can see where, compositionally, I am improving. My technical side is sorely lacking. But, you know, it's always been, for me, the artistic over the technical. I'll never have enough money to afford the kind of camera body nor the glass to make these things happen like a pro and so, yeah, I'll settle. I'll take what I have and run with that.

You can't have everything and so you learn to accept what you do have...and accept your limitations.

I can't help it. I know it looks artificial and trumped up but, doggone it, I like that 'Vivid' color setting. It has too much 'zing' to it but, seriously, when it works it is "WOW!!"

I shot all these flowers in 'Vivid'. I knew what I was doing and I knew that, for most of these this would be the only opportunity I would have to shoot them but I threw caution to the wind and shot them in 'Vivid'.

And while I think they're a wee bit too brassy and loud, I still like'em.

I do.

And here I am looking at composition...the placing of the subject, etc., and just enjoying the intense color.

Each one was a conscious decision. I shot fast and I framed quickly but I had a good subject and I felt comfortable. 

And they aren't too bad.

And I was able to see 'around' the subject, too.

A lot of times I'll shoot and only notice the distraction afterwards. What am I saying, most of the time I'll shoot and curse myself later for the little things I didn't notice.

But this time I looked. I saw what I could crop out; what I could accept; what I could erase with iPhoto. And it was fun.

I had more 'reasonable' pictures here in this shoot than I had the rejects.

It was glorious.

Hahaha, I think I'll bring a tripod sometime again.

These were all handheld. And I was shooting against the wind. 

Stacking them up and controlling the focus. I'm a loving this new camera.

I feel like I 'built' this picture with the 3/4 flower in the lower left leading up to the primary subject which is supported by the flower immediately behind it and then the rest of the cast surrounding the main subject and kind of framing it.

Vertical?

Or horizontal?

I'm gonna say, even though I don't like the background on the left side that the horizontal is the one that works best for me.

But, hey!! I was lookin' now, wasn't I!?!

Oh, here's the reason I went to the CHG in the first place. I wanted to check on the painted rock.

No, I wasn't surprised to see it was gone. In truth, I'd have been surprised if it lasted more than an hour there. Yeah, it was obvious but I didn't want to make it a challenge. I wanted it to be discovered, like I discovered it, and moved along on its journey.

I just wish I had a place I could check in and give my small account of its journey with me.

Yeah, this is weak. I know.

I kept it for the chaos, the disorder. Things going every which way. I didn't put any thought or effort into this...just a point and pull the trigger kinda shot. 

But it appeals to me. A building block, eh?

Headed back to the shack, I grabbed one final shot of the sunflowers. Hahaha, I couldn't just pass them by now, could I?

This was one of the smaller ones growing a bit lower on the stalk. I held the camera at waist-level and tilted the screen so I could frame it and then shot. I think it'd be better if I had actually kneeled down to get the shot but I'm still not a big fan of kneeling nowadays.

Not at all.

OK, we're at the end of the particular chapter. Here's where I played a bit. I've started putting similar pictures together on the Pages app on my iMac. It helps line them up and it is only a matter of getting them all the same size and then squeezing them together.

I did it the first time (recently) with several pictures my Granddaughter, Addison, had sent me. When they had visited recently, I gave the girls (Addie, Frances and Delaney) my PowerShot SX170 camera. 

Addie used the camera to get these pictures, on her own with no prompting from her Mother, of these flowers and had them sent to me.

Nicely done, Addie!! Nicely done.

I stitched them together to present them on my most recent 'Flowers' album. I believe it was the first time I have ever posted someone else's flower pictures in one of my albums.

Here's her pictures. Pretty good, eh!!

It's fun and it is interesting. 

I tried it with the fence I shot earlier. This is my first try and, yeah, I agree, the symmetry is off.

Now here I was playing around some more and noticed that when I highlighted the pictures the shots were edged with a blue border. Don't ask, I don't know.

But I thought it was kinda interesting. I can see where this might come into play and add to the total effect with the right series of pictures someday.

And here I made a duplicate and turned it horizontally so I could get a more symmetrical effect left and right.

I can see where this might be good with, again, the right series of pictures.

It's fun playing around. I like'em and, bottom line, that's enough to make this blog.

The Blue Funk has lifted...for a while. I am seriously working on adopting a "Don't give a shit" kind of attitude. I care too much about what others might think and, to be brutally honest, I know they aren't even giving me a second thought...and, more likely, not even a first thought, either.

And so I am learning to be who I am.


Hooah!!