my relationship with photography

What does this mean? I am cleaning out my pantry and find a very old (several years past 'sell by' date) container of dried mushrooms "Gourmet Mushroom Blend" Being cautious, I decide that I would not eat them, but what should I do with them? I dismiss the idea of feeding them to my compost worms then consider throwing them outside into the thick ground cover of vinca.

Finally, I start looking at all of the different kinds

**porcini*morels*Brazilian*ivory portabellas*shiitake*oyster**

Feeling a sense of loss that these mushrooms have come to nothing, my thoughts move towards photography...to be continued:)

horoscopes

First of all, let me state for the record that I am not a 'believer' in horoscopes or astrology. But I do get a kick out of reading my horoscope every now and then. The only one I read is Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology. It's quirky and fun.

Cancer Horoscope for week of May 19, 2011

Devilish laughter revels in chaos, says Loyola University philosophy professor John Clark. "It's an assault on excessive order, authority, and seriousness." Angelic laughter, on the other hand, "expresses delight in the wondrousness of life and in the mystery of the order and fitness of things." I'd like to suggest, Cancerian, that the time is ripe for you to revel equally in the devilish and the angelic varieties of laughter. So get out there and seek funny experiences that dissolve your fixations and celebrate your life's crazy beauty. The healing that results could be spectacular.

Who could say no to seeking out laughter and celebrating life's crazy beauty?

back in the saddle

I love my 50mm lens. With it, I can take dynamite macros. The other wondrous thing is to work on bokeh and framing. What I like, in layman's terms, is managing an interesting photo while creating out-of-focus points of light. I often just take a few photos quickly and then go off to work or something else. It is virtually impossible to know if you have a great shot until you upload it to the computer and look at it full size on the monitor. Another way is to take some images, actually take the time to carefully select the composition, play with exposure and lighting. Then go inside to the computer and check them out. I leave the tripod in place so that I can easily tweak the shot to correct for obvious errors or just make improvements or reframe. And finally, I use cropping to make further artistic statements. I often go back and forth many times before I am pleased with the results or just give up:) It is not that different from life. Sometimes it is good to trim away and discard something that is beautiful on its own if doing so will expose a new jewel.