Friday, June 30, 2006

...But It Was Such A Beautiful Day!

Sorry, no pics.
I know my assignment was to read the Camera Manual, get familiar with the new digital camera, and then post some shots.

But...

...did you see that sky? It was clear and I think the humidity was way down around 75 % or something delicious like that...and there were two kids here who are growing up way too fast...and the canoe, well it was just sitting there...so lonely...and we were all trapped inside with thunderstorms yesterday...to stay inside even with a new toy on such a day...I couldn't do it, I just couldn't.

So...

...we went canoeing on the Waccasassa River with real film cameras...there were gators, gar, mullet, bluegills, bass, night herons, ibis, cardinal flowers, swamp lillies, fiddler crabs, blue herons, pileated woodpeckers, a shallow rushing gravel bar with clear cool water from the Wekiva spring, a brother/sister splashy wrestling match, eating peanutbutter sandwiches while standing kneedeep in rushing water, giant cypress, and the feel of your son taking the stern and steering the canoe well and true.

There was all that...so I took a page from the Father Manual and followed the instructions to the letter...

...tonight, I 'll read that camera manual.

15 comments:

MinorcanMeteorolgist said...

ahhh, you have your priorities straight...technology will always be there...wild, natural Florida will not.

Deb said...

Perfect digital opportunities missed there! But at the same time, I'm mapping a few lakes the kids and I should hit with the canoe while The Hermit works on the house...yes I won't be there, we just don't have the same "working styles"...

Anonymous said...

Personally, I think the Father Manual sounds MUCH more interesting.

Oh, and by the way... could you pass on a copy of that? I'm sure my husband would appreciate it ;)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you made the correct choice given the options. Sounds like a day well spent.

I hope all of this rain you are getting means your pond is recovering. And I hope your new camera gets points thataway soon so your adoring fans can have a peek again.

Anonymous said...

Hey, I can wait.

I for one will be very interested to hear what you think after you've gotten comfortable with the digital. Could be there's tradeoffs (although the freedom from developing is a powerful motivation) - that's one of those things I'd like to hear about from someone who's been used to film up to this point.

R.Powers said...

HurricaneTeen,
Very true. Less each day.

the roger formerly known as dpr,
those pics are real film, but i am getting them to Wallyworld today, so the canoe trip will be post soon.


Deb,
Yeah, we sometimes argue when we build together too. Go canoeing :)

Mrs. S,
There's a lot of editions out there, mine's a second hand copy from my Dad. :)

Pablo,
It was spectacular. The thunderstorms I mentioned have been waltzing around my place, so we (the fish and I) are still in a tight spot.

Wayne,
I think, just from reading the manual with it's dire warnings about moisture, sand, hard knocks, etc, that really risky, rugged, possibly wet adventures will be the real film Nikon and the more camera safe expeditions will be digital. That's one impression I have already. I did read the manual and get it up and running last night while watching "WaterWorld" til 2:00 am.
Today, I am going to put it through it's paces.

Anonymous said...

Waterworld, the brutalized movie with Kevin Costner. I liked that movie ok. I also like equally brutalized The Postman, also with KC. Can't figure it out (except of course that I'm a crass philistine).

I admit that in my dry 220-meter altitude location, safe from the depredations of rising ocean levels, I haven't paid attention to moisture warnings. That could be an important consideration.

On the other hand, 25 years ago, I did have to overhaul my old Canon AE-1 film camera after taking it on a spelunking expedition 200' down into a north Georgia cave. I entered that adventure having absolutely no idea that I was going to have to rappel that far. And climb back. So film cameras may not be so immune.

robin andrea said...

You definitely made the right choice. Forget the camera, when an opportunity to spend quality time with the kids presents itself.

Arguing about building? Different "working styles"-- I've never heard of such a thing. LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

LOL..I did the same thing when I first got my DSLR
The camera options are too numerous for words, and it's time consuming, trying to juggle it all.

you know what? If you don't mind my suggesting this, go ahead and put the setting to automatic and let it do the work FOR you during these first few days. Take any old picture, at any old setting, and just have fun messing around with it. If you're canoeing down the river, let the camera loose! Don't go for THE picture, just shoot what you see. You might be surprised how well the pictures turn out, because those cameras are amazing at capturing detail. And that's a lot more fun than trying to take "THE" picture.
you can always delete the ones you don't like, which is the beauty behind the whole digital movement.

R.Powers said...

Wayne,
Wow, you are about 216 meters above me! I never spelunked except in the most tame sort of touristy way.

Robin,
I think Deb opened up a can of worms...

Laura,
That sounds like great advice, I've done a little bit of that this morning...so far so good. Now I just have to transfer them to the 'puter.
...oh, and polyurethane the new stair treads. Everybody is gone, this is my chance to finally finish those stairs.

threecollie said...

Hope you have a fabulous time and saw wonderful sights.
I have to laugh about the deer photo. After reading Pablo's comment I took a closer look (having barely glanced at it at first).
It did look wrong.
So I called the kids and we sat around the screen here from the end of milking until bedtime trying to figure out (if not a deer), what it was. We looked at everything from manatee skulls to bears to cows and pigs...and came to no useful conclusion.
We are all glad to have the mystery cleared up!

R.Powers said...

Threecollie,
I think it might have been my dogs that chewed on it as I do remember some really bad dog breath around here about the time I discovered that skeleton.
I checked it this morning (that photo was a month ago) and it looks pretty much the same.

OldHorsetailSnake said...

Oh my goodness. Camera manuals can wait till it's fall, for that matter.

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Very good...Some things are just far more important than learning how to use a digital camera.

Anonymous said...

Geeeeez! It's Sunday already. How about some fresh wisdom from Florida. Those of us without real lives live vicariously through people like you, FC.