Close Meditations of a Visual Kind

Once, oh really even more than twice or thrice I considered seriously the business of being a writer. The key word here is likely business because I said to myself I could be a writer 'when I grew up' with either the implicit thought or the explicit statement that writing should provide my income. My Dad to be fair never said no; on the other hand, he would then point out about writing for a newspaper or a magazine and working on my Magnum Opus after hours, on my own. Oddly enough while I often considered photography seriously as another potential, I didn't talk as much about it.

I asked one of my high school teachers (an English Literature teacher) to read and critique a manuscript for a short(ish) story I'd written. When I met with this teacher after a few days I brought some of my prints with me. My teacher asked to see the photographs before critiquing the manuscript. After looking them over, smiled and said, "I don't see the Spark in this writing. Sorry, but I don't. On the other hand, I see the Spark in these," and touched several of the prints.

Not sure I would say I wanted the Spark of Genius to be there in my writing and I won't say I didn't. That comment didn't discourage me from writing, believe it or not. Instead, it encouraged me to study writing and writers, in depth. Over time, I'd say my writing improved. Still not sure I see a Spark in it either, mind you; that's all right. I've gotten better.

What this all grows out of is that things around here in the Blog-o-Sphere places changed over the rather quite a few years I've been tapping electrons into order to represent words. It feels like fewer people are reading in the places I post. I know I'm posting less often. One of the key factors in the 'business' of anything is consistency, sticking at it, and I'm feeling the absence.

Now, mind, in the past few years I've also been fairly focused at Hospital, first on finishing up the Magic 30, and due to some changes just before hitting that Magic 30 paying pretty strong attention to what I did there. Also, there is a proverb from the Japanese I like, not going to try to quote the original here only the translation: Chase two rabbits, catch neither one.

And I did make a firm decision some time back, yes, my photography is the rabbit I want to catch. Want. My Dad once taught me pay attention to Want versus Like. If one should Like to receive something, do something, and yet it doesn't quite come to pass or not in the exact manner, this is OK, this is good. Want, on the other hand, involves something deeper. There are things, many things, one is willing to sacrifice when one Wants something.

I am willing to sacrifice writing. Oh, studying writing is and has been good. Dad also taught me (my first Art Teacher) to study other art medium, stretch and grow as an Artist. Just -- I am willing to sacrifice making a living of any sort with writing.

Sound sad? Not really.

I am also very clearly in the twilight of my Nursing career. That Magic 30 represents a milestone, and now there are three more years tacked onto that, during which I've cared for others as they needed it. Time runs its course, though, and Time is coming when I will no longer provide professional Nursing care. All along, I've worked on my photography, my art fill the time when I would no longer go to Hospital. So of course, as that time approaches (Perversity being what it is, thank you Oh My Friend Jed) the economy is in the outhouse and not many people are willing to spend what little Fun Money they may have on art.

But Wait.

Herself points out to me that it is, apparently, somewhat easy to begin teaching classes in what I often think of as Community Education; those after hours classes organised (often) by Community Colleges or other educational institutions for adults who are nominally done with school. And one of the things about Nursing, as any of my colleagues will tell you, is that education is an important part of the practice. Teaching patients about their health conditions, their medications, how to cope, how to stretch, grow, heal. Something I've been doing for 33 plus years now and so, not a big leap over to Community Ed.

Recently another acquaintance asked me about studio backdrops. And, um, well, yeah I can pass along a thing or three about studio backdrops. Probably about lighting too, though I'm still studying that on my own. Then again, I think it may of been Hokusai (Japanese woodblock print artist from the Tokugawa era) that said (roughly), "I have been studying diligently the representation of shape and light for some time now, and I believe if I continue to do so another 20 years I shall begin to show improvement." And basics of composition, exposure, and such.

Some of these I've been thinking to do as blog posts, since I do see this blog as a bit of a photoblog with images and discussion strewn about. Even doing that, not much of a leap still to developing classes on this.

Maybe I should stick around a bit longer. Maybe you should too.

Today is, in my part of the world, Memorial Day (Observed). I recall when this day was observed on the 31st of May; now it is always on the last Monday of May regardless, for a three-day weekend.

It started after the War Between the States, by any other name, as a means to remember the fallen in that war. It is now, by extension, to remember the fallen in any war.

And so I do.

Today we are getting wet in these parts of North Central Baja Jorja. What remains of Tropical Storm Beryl is now a tropical depression. Right at the moment we are between bands, though likely to get more rain today. This is a good thing, as we've been extraordinarily dry recently, as in draught dry.

Pretty fitting, I think.

Ow, Ow Again, And Other Choice Words

Yesterday I gave myself a bit of an evulsion injury to my right thumb while re-seating t-bar posts for Ms. Truffles Piggie. Actually debated at the time if I should simply go over to Williston. No stitching this down, though, too ragged on the edge. Cleaned out more or less immediately, finished setting posts, then to house and cleaned out more thoroughly. Dressed wound, dealt with birds and Bros, then re-dressed and off to pick up Herself from Market. Re-dressed again after unloading truck.

She's thinking this morning we need to get our tetanus boosters done. I am thinking so too.

Meanwhile, Picasa

I've been working with Picasa as mentioned before to learn can this serve my cataloging needs. Some interesting features, and some cataloging started. Thought I'd mentioned here how many copies of faces the facial recognition feature found (not individual people, individually recognisable faces which includes many pictures of some individuals). Probably did that on-line but I'm recalling upwards of 50,000 faces recognised. Sorting through them, either to put them into an album by name or to 'Ignore' the person I'm down to 23 – 24,000 plus/minus. Some interesting things:

1. Once names are added, Picasa will begin to suggest names for faces. Sometimes they are even the correct names. The more names in, the more suggestions made.
2. Some of the incorrect suggestions are often personally amusing.
3. It is possible to tell Picasa to ignore a face. Unfortunately, Picasa doesn't seem to put together that if there is a duplicate file in another folder, ignoring that face is still pertinent. I've got a large collection of images, going back to Usenet days.
4. Along with that, Picasa is able to recognise faces in thumb-nail size images in 'index file' composites ne. proof sheet type images. Even more faces, as perhaps not all those indexed images were collected...
5. For the few models with whom I've worked that requested anonymity and no face display, this is actually an interesting tool to reveal where there are images with too much recognition.

Also, downloaded GIMP. I know there is at least one person on my lists here that's used GIMP. Refresh my memory so I can tag you for info, eh?

Friday headed out shortly after making the previous entry, including the stand in the car. The trip is approximately (plus/minus less than a mile) 70 miles round trip. Setup took very little time for me, as the pavilion is easy. Up and staked down before D showed up. Helped him set up their brand new pavilion. Then home.

Saturday morning up at 05:00, out and packing up by 05:20, on the road by 06:10 which isn't bad considering Herself hadn't yet done her jewelry packing. She was busy baking. Loaded up her two entries for the Cook a Zucch contest as well, and made it to site in good time to off-load and set up before opening. Bit of help for a couple things on D & B's pavilion, with two banners up for Caprihaven Goats and Kuma's Playpen Ranch. Both the ladies came later because they took care of the respective family farm/ranch establishments. Gotta feed those goats, eh.

Summary of the rest of the day: this event does pull a big local crowd. We'd heard around 4000 attendees as their estimate, and I'll go with that. Saw a lot of familiar faces in the crowd. KP Ranch and Caprihaven Goats did a really good business, with the first round of assorted savory zucchini breads Herself sent along being quite nearly sold out before she arrived near noon. And, sold out of the remainder before the end of the day, plus a big portion of the two styles of cookies she made (oatmeal zucchini chocolate chip, and zucchini chocolate chip) as well as the Zucchini Brownie Bites. Less of those sold, though.

Also, Herself and B entered items into the Cook a Zucch contest, as mentioned. B entered into candies with a dish made with zucchini and goats milk. Herself entered larger loaves of two of her savory zucchini breads, Zucchini Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Bacon Bits and Goats Cheese and Zucchini Bread with Red Crushed Bell Peppers and Goats Cheese. Both ladies received Third Place ribbons in their categories. Herself received ribbons for each bread, because the folks running the contest decided the Bacon Bits loaf is an Appetizer while the Bell Peppers a bread.

Studio 318 made booth fee with the sale of one print of Dryad Dreams, and a matched set beaded necklace and earrings. That's our exciting news.

Enjoyed the event for all that, and there are plans already for next year. Along with the two sales, did get to visit with a lot of people, helped one not really a photographer with a problem with the camera he was using. I say not really because he told me he works with a local radio station that covers the event and they'd sent him around with this camera to take some publicity photos. Camera stopped taking pictures, built-in flash wouldn't pop up. Not that familiar with a Canon Rebel, but I told him to turn it off (He says, I already tried that) and pop the battery out and back in.

He did, and it worked.

Houdini is now telling me that after a week of Stays Home Days he is quite upset that I went away All Day yesterday, and is staying right next to me, no matter where I go. Today I need to send myself, or otherwise update the inventory file, and catch up with some other book keeping. In between doing laundry, probably.

Interesting
Tried connecting to the WildBlue (my sky internet provider) to pay the bill. Sit can not load, a re-direct loop. After a round of calls to WildBlue support, the result is they say it's all on my side and probably my antivirus software. They also said, don't pay the bill within three days before or after the cycle date though not why I shouldn't. I suspect more bugs in their software. Now I receive an e-mail that my bill is ready to be viewed. However, I've not tried viewing it yet this morning. While service is fairly good, this whole business about billing and payments started going a bit sour last year when an upgrade to their billing software wouldn't allow my payment to be made.

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 07:53
Did try to access the Manage Wild Blue site, still can't get there due to redirect error. Cleared off cookies again (though not All Cookies).

Photography
Today's session with S is most probably rescheduled due to family needs. May or not come by to look at photos from previous session and discuss those, this we talked about briefly in an IM session but isn't totally clear to me. If yes, great. If not, great. I will work on things for the Ranch and photograph the monitor another round, though I'm not sure which camera I'll use yet. I am currently charging the second battery for the D70s. Been almost a week since I got it back from the shop and I've still not made photographs with it. So I may change that today, though it will be a good thing also to do the second round of this monitor with the D3000 for continuity of equipment. Then change up cameras for the second monitor.

Thursday, April 26, 2012, 16:36
Windsor Zucchini Festival
We are confirmed for the May 12 Windsor Zucchini Festival in booth # 44. The Caprihaven & KP Ranch folks (us) will be in booth # 45. Go team! This event benefits the Windsor Volunteer Fire Department. Doesn't mean they get a portion of my proceeds. Means my booth fee benefits the Volunteer Fire Department.

Daily Progress
Feed delivered, check written. Hog feed unloaded into barrel; we needed to go purchase a bag of alfalfa pellets as they were left off the order. About to go out to store the cow feed. Then we should contemplate pouring at least one barrel of goat I suppose. Gate at the west end of Kid Paddock is now mounted on post; panel is tied off to post and I should most likely set a t-bar there and tie off to that as more secure. We will see; an alternative is to re-set the entire line of panels and start at the gate post end.

No photography work other than this morning sorting through some files and then clearing the card in the point & shoot. Still, all in all a good day.

I've spent this morning finding the websites of the handful or so of artists whose cards I snagged yesterday. It's networking. What? It is. I'm doing this on the 'net so it's networking. No, SRSLY! I mean, now I've got an idea how to bundle and price a set of greeting or note cards, eh?

Of course, I need to make such cards first. So much to do. Time, time, time, that's always the end of the line on questions. I've known this for years, because for those same years I've said I sell my time to Hospital, and that's how I make a living, and while knowledge and skills are valuable, they are so in part because that is what makes our time valuable to sell.

It's no surprise to me (continuing in this vein of selling time as it were) that the income, whatever amount, from Herself taking our Ranch produce of various and sundry to Farmers Markets is more consistently bringing in income than either of our artworks do. And she is an artist, not only photography also beadwork and semi-precious stone jewelry. She packs that along betimes to Farmers Markets as well, though less than once she did. With the Ranch Produce, we compete for the Grocery Money. That always comes before spending the Fun Money, because first we need to eat to even have fun.

Meanwhile, back at The Ranch...

It's a bit of a sideline thought here. I've pretty much kept things like employers, geographical references, and even our names under a layer of 'privacy' in public. This is fine in one sense, counterproductive in another when one is starting to promote ones artwork. At least, promoting the viewing and (hopefully) sale of such in Physical Space rather than Ethernet Space.

Employer, Hospital, will remain such. There are a lot of reasons why and only one is the whole fracas, if you're not familiar with it, of people posting things about their employers or fellow employees on social networking sites that results in their being dismissed from employment. I find it marvelously ironically humourous that Hospital on the one hand tells employees to remove Hospital's name from their 'Works At' field on Facebook, yet maintains several Facebook accounts of its own to communicate with employees.

The Ranch, now, and Baja Jorja, and all, that's a different thing. The Ranch is Kuma's Playpen Ranch. Seems a silly name, sometimes, and so sometimes I call it KP Ranch. Kuma the Rottweiler is the namesake; I mean, doesn't everyone buy some land in the country so their dog finds room to run? So we made the place his Playpen for running and playing and yes, even some working because Rottweilers are Herd Dogs, if you didn't know. Cattle herders, they are, descendants of cattle herding dogs the Roman Legions brought with them to bring the fresh meat the Legionaires would need.

Kuma's Playpen is located in rural North Central Baja Jorja, and thank you to my friend Bet Noir for that one; she knows how accurate a description 'Southern Georgia' is for this part of North Central Florida. Distintive traits, yes, and yet a strong blending with a lot of the characteristics of the next state due north of us. After all, hop into a car and drive north from Kuma's Playpen and in about an hour, hour and a half you'll be crossing the Florida-Georgia border.

The Internet, which by definition is net-working and the source of the whole concept of people working together to accomplish goals, can make it possible for someone located geographically in Rural North Central Baja Jorja (OK, Fine, I Just Like Saying Baja Jorja) able to provide certain products or services even internationally. So yes, looking up web sites that other artists established is networking.

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, the morning coffee is pretty much consumed and the Horses, Goats, Hogs and Dirty Yard Birds (Chickens) are waiting for breakfast noms. Time to get dressed and go network with the livestock.

Today's meanderings:

Jump Drives
I own five. One I take to Hospital and use for work-related files. It's home today being cleaned up slightly. The others I keep home for various uses, usually though not exclusively taking files to Herself's PC for printing, since there isn't a printer connected to my PC. Running through all of those drives today refreshing my memory as to what's on them, and clearing things off of some of them. I'm debating about switching out the one I take to Hospital because the current one the lanyard holder is broken. May not though.

One of the home drives is work-related data, with backups elsewhere, and I think I should burn it to a disk anyway and then clear that drive for other use. It is a 1 Gb drive with a retractable port card.

One of the home drives is a small one, 66 Mb or so. This one is very handy for moving things for printing, as since space is limited that's about all it's good for. This one is also a 'give-away' from a convention (probably HIMMS in Orlando some time ago) and thus is Logo Labeled for the company that gave it away. There may be another one of this type around here, different company, still in the gift box.

One is a 4 Gb drive with a broken case. The chip card still works. I keep saying I need to make a new case for it, something Steampunk. Hasn't happened yet.

The last is another 1 Gb with retractable port card. I use this one a fair amount as well, assorted data on it primarily photographic work related. There is some (or, by the time I'm done, was some) work-related data which I'm archiving.

Photograph Organisation
I very much need to work on this, in terms of disk storage space, cataloging, knowing what is print-ready and what isn't, and in general getting a better handle on what I've got available for different projects without working on searching a great deal. To this end, I've worked with several applications, possibly five and will address this as I go: ACDSee, Adobe (2 apps), Nikon and Picasa.

ACDSee®, the version I've used, is frankly pirated. It's an older version, requires a serial number to install (available on the CD), and provides for a fair amount of my needs. The application provides a designated number of 'Catalogs', and allows for adding a fairly unlimited number within those hard-coded names. Category and KeyWord assignment is unlimited, and Search-able. Within this structure it is possible then to build a Catalog “Print-Ready” and list those files that are print-ready without duplicating files. It comes with an image editor, which I experimented with yet used very little.

Adobe provides two applications one of which very much so provides cataloging capabilities, the other which provides for some cataloging. The former is Elements®. The version of Elements that I used ran into a limitation on the Catalog of a maximum number of records. Reaching that number resulted in the specific Catalog freezing and becoming inaccessible. Most annoying, and resulted in my ceasing to use that version. There are newer versions since then which I've not tried. Other than that major flaw, the program provided for unlimited Catalogs (in fact, that is one work-around for the flaw, requiring a limitation to the size of a Catalog and to load that Catalog file when needed), Category and KeyWord assignment and Search. Elements provides nearly all the same editing capabilities as Photoshop® though often under different menu structure.

Photoshop® version 7 does provide a File Browser which, within the application, opens a window to browse files. Select one and get a thumbnail view with some of the file information as well. However, there is no Catalog, no Category, no KeyWord or Search. I do use Photoshop for nearly all my file editing and manipulation. Newer versions, bundled in Creative Suite, I think combine in the Elements cataloging features and I've contemplated upgrading for this reason amongst others.

Nikon ViewNX® is rather crucial to my work because of the abilities it does provide, yet it does not provide much in the way of a Catalog. Categories and KeyWord assignment are a feature, and these labels go into the basic file information within the file itself. Most of the previously mentioned applications will see that data, and might even use it. The data definitely goes with the files when uploaded to on-line viewer sites.

Picasa® is essentially from Google and may provide for my cataloging needs. I am still early on the learning curve for this software, and am concerned that it may not be quite what I either want or need. As an application it is designed to easily interface with on-line Picasa (Google's on line image storage viewing system); it may also interface with Flickr, but I am not sure. I do recall seeing in the Help files (the only manual available) that it is possible to make 'Collections' which are data-base entries, not file duplications. So, I could make a Collection 'Print-Ready' and start putting the print-ready photographs into that Collection for future search and use.

Monday Chores
Pretty much went out to work shortly after the previous note, and following feeding and watering ate lunch (right on about noon anyway). After noon, went and worked laundry and during first load, cut eight mat board blanks to 16x20 inches. These are to be backing boards for pieces going into the 16x20 pre-cut mats we've got, meaning 11x14 prints if I have any on hand.

Herself needed the front left side tire either re-inflated or the tube placed; I opted to put in one of the tubes purchased over last summer for this reason. Proved to be more of a chore than I think it should have been. No tire irons to be found even the little ones from my bicycle tool kit. Enough of an aggravation on both parts that Herself packed up rather angry and didn't pack several things she'd want. Argh. Then again, that is partially related to our getting rained on during break-down of Haile Farmers Market on Saturday, and setting the kit out to dry yesterday, then not re-assembling the kit.

I got the tube in, inflated and tire re-mounted before she left, she helped get the tractor off the blocks. Checked the right rear tire for pressure, needed air. Put that in, re-parked car, then tried starting tractor. Nada. Nothing. No juice. Took battery out and put it on charger. I'm thinking, none the less, it's time to replace that battery. Nigh on three years old, two hard and one mild winter with the two hard ones it not being kept charged and going flat.

Thus is my day more or less complete. Feel free to comment or not, though I definitely will appreciate any feedback on the photo organisation software issue.

Tonight is the night to 'Spring Ahead' into Daylight Stupid Time. The one big non-advantage to me specifically is tonight I work a Midnight shift at Hospital, and this means it will be a mere seven hours there, instead of eight. On the other hand, I'll get paid for seven hours, not eight. Hence non-advantage. Less time awake and trying to be functional at a time of day my body rebels, but less pay.

Ah well.

I won't continue to rant on about Daylight Stupid Time. I expect y'all can figure out my position on it by the personal name for it.

Slowly working through the new prints and the Mount/Mat/Label/Sleeve routine. This is the boring, yet necessary side of Photographic Art as a business. Onward.

Just now, though, it's time for dinner before Hospital.

Herself and I are 25 today.

At this time, on that day, our combined families and some select guests gathered in her parents suite at the hotel where we held our reception for a Gift Opening party. Tonight's dinner will be served on the stonewear plates we received that day.

Some time later, when those festivities wound down, my side of the immediate family loaded into three autos and set off to Skeeters. Long time residents of Hoggetown will remember Skeeters as a great place to get breakfast. 24/7. Home of the Big Biscuit.

I remember my brother John playing Fire Drill at three different stoplights on the way. And the surprise on two siblings faces when they ordered the Big Biscuit. Even though we told the it truly was The Big Biscuit.

Little over a year later, we purchased KP Ranch  Still here. Nine dogs (not counting the few we sold), nine cats (not counting the few we sold) and a couple 2-3 hundred goats later (counting the 160-200 or so we sold) still here. About paid off. Still complicated, still fun, still real.

I may not of done exactly what was on the To Do list today when I went to bed yesterday. I'd thought to do a recycle run, hauling our plastic recycling to the drop-off. I also had Studio Time on the list for today. The latter I put off to tomorrow. The former didn't happen.

Morning rounds got done, no worries, and then the Bros enjoyed some water sports after feeding everyone. Touch up on some laundry, lunch, then out to the work shed. Built it about 12 years ago to be my workshop, it turned into a storage shed some time after that. Now I'm hauling storage out and cleaning up. Getting the place ready to once again be a work shop. Rather a bit of work to get there in one sense. I never did bring power to the place earlier. This is fine. I've different plans for that now.

And even clearing the bit of space I've done meant space to work on one tool. We purchased a new weed trimmer, a 'weed wacker' a couple months back to replace old dead one. Old dead one is a cheap and 2-cycle engine model. New one is a 4-cycle engine, a bit quieter, and with exchangeable work heads. Came with the string attachment for weeds and edging. Purchased a brush cutter blade as well in the past couple weeks, mounted that today to clear the last stretches of Herself's garden needing clearing from the summer overgrowth.

Now she can run the mower on the yard tractor through the same zones, and then we can fire up the tiller. Winter Garden time, eh.

Another reason for getting the work shop up and running again is related to the art. Custom framing is bloody expensive. Looks good, and bloody expensive. It is possible to shop around, both in retail and at yard sales or flea markets, for frames to handle pieces with mat sizes up to 16x20 inches / 40.5x51 cm, and for those frames to look good. Or at lest, not horrible. However, working with prints that start at that 40x50 cm size and the matting around them is that much bigger, and the frames start looking... not so great. Except, of course, for custom frames. Which are bloody expensive. In case you didn't hear me the first time.

In my tool collection there are a number of right-angle clamp sets, including three specifically for making frames. Herself's Mother Mary gave me a radial arm saw about six months before her death; she knew she wouldn't be using it and knew I could. Also in the inventory is an item called a ShopSmith; it's a multi-purpose power tool which I inherited from my father. So, table saw, disk sander, lathe, drill press. Perhaps none of them as potent as a design-dedicated tool, yet the one tool brings all four to my space limited shop. Two other recent acquisitions add a great deal of versatility to my inventory, a wide belt sander (floor mount) and a big compressor. Air powered tools, hooyah!

So. I've a roof and walls providing 192 square feet / 17.8 square metres. This I built with an eye to expansion in one direction for enclosure, and another direction to shelter items, even if not directly accessible from the shop. First, clear the floor, clean it up, and resume working with the hand tools. Second, lean-to roof off the south side, shelter for equipment. There I will build a 'closet' for the compressor, outside the shop proper for sound control. There also, I shall put one of our portable generators and provide power, initially, from this. First item to be wired is, of course, that air compressor. That facilitates the rest of the construction/additions.

Today may not of involved a recycling run. It is still an accomplished day, with trash cleared from the shop (even with more to go), and tools up and running. There's more to go - it is a never ending story. Still and all, we are also coming into the Winter months, and while Winter here in North Central Baja Jorja is no where near the experience of the Northern States or Canada it is the time I get the most accomplished outside.

So. Feel free to ask me, come April or May, if I've not mentioned it sooner, if I indeed completed the refurbishment of the workshop, and am I indeed making frames, or even, yanno, posing benches for the Studio.