All posts by Tom Dills

Photo Project: Out & About

Phase 1: Day 7 – Out and About

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Out and About: Fence and Shadow

I finished a long-time workflow project yesterday.  All of my “picks” in Lightroom have been processed!  That consists of just over 60,000 photos dating back to my first digital camera in 2004.  While 60,000 photos is a tiny collection compared to a lot of photographers, I have been very selective about what I keep.  I’ve probably taken twice that many photos over the years, but I have been systematically deleting the “non-picks” in order to keep the number down.

I know that digital storage is cheap, but just like I’m stingy with my closet space, I tend to be stingy with my “digital closet” as well.  As it is, I’ve just about filled my 2-terabyte hard drive.  Fortunately, later today the FedEx truck will be bringing me 4 new 4-terabyte drives.  That will get me thru a few more years of photos and give me breathing room for an impending camera upgrade.

All this activity is paving the way for a long-overdue update to my website.  I love the layout but the photos need refreshing.  As I work on that project I’ll probably post some highlights from the archives on this blog.  It’s been a fun project, and I have a few thoughts about working on old photos with new software.  Spoiler alert: one of the most interesting but frustrating changes is that the new software allows us to see sensor dust spots better, and the old digital cameras didn’t have dust removal functions built in!  Ugh! 🙂

Photo Project: Out & About

Phase 1: Day 6 – Out and About

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Out and About: Fire Hydrant

Mark commented on yesterday’s post about the forecast for a more active hurricane season this year.  I don’t remember seeing that, but they seem to say it every year.  And it does seem like storms in general are getting more severe than they used to be.

Does it also seem like the world in general – not just the weather – is getting more severe?  It was already headed that way with all of the confrontational politics, factional internet & news sources and anti-social activities in social media.  Then the virus thing came along and has sparked a round of paranoia, fear and uncertainty that I’ve not seen or felt before.  We don’t know who to trust or who to believe.  Heads turn in shock if someone sneezes.  People with masks stare accusingly at those without masks.  Business owners are opening in defiance of the law – sometimes backed by armed “militia” – under the guise of exercising their “constitutional rights.”  We’ve all become a little stir crazy, I think.

On the positive side, it’s been a great time for those who just want to be left alone!  Other than not making the occasional trip to the mall or the department store, life goes on.  We’re just not traveling our eating out like we’ve done, but we’re also seeing the positives of that.  Once we do start to move around the country and the world again, we may see some changes that are less than ideal, but the things we want to see – the scenery, parks and natural beauty – will still be there and unaffected by all the mayhem and hoopla.

Hopefully there won’t be too many hurricanes, otherwise I may have to visit Wyoming again. 😉

Photo Project: Out & About

Phase 1: Day 5: Out and About

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Out and About: Mailboxes

One of our OHMYGAWDTHEWORLDISENDING local “news” websites just published an article with the headline: “Subtropical Storm ‘Arthur’ Could Hit Carolinas Next Week If Bermuda Triangle Disturbance Grows.”  But of course a quick look at the National Hurricane Center website indicates that “A broad area of low pressure is expected to develop late this week or early this weekend a couple of hundred miles north of the Bahamas. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a subtropical depression or storm is likely to form this weekend while it moves northeastward over the western Atlantic.”  So in other words – unless things change dramatically it isn’t coming anywhere near “the Carolinas.”  Besides, how are we going to buy bread, milk and toilet paper when there isn’t any?  Yikes! 🙂

Anything to get our minds off that pesky virus, right? 😉

Photo Project: Out & About

Phase 1: Day 4 – Out and About

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Lounge Chair at the (closed) pool

It’s hard to not write about myself when I’m not doing much and am trying not to get cranked up about all the junk in the media.  I figure there isn’t a lot of value in my sharing of links to interesting news articles, etc. because everyone already has their own established routine and sources.

One thing that I don’t talk about much is how much I love to read.  It is one of the many advantages of not having my head stuck in a television or video game.  I read mostly fiction but toss in a few non-fiction books that interest me, with a variety certain to throw off any algorithm trying to make meaningful recommendations.  Mostly the non-fiction stuff puts me to sleep. 🙂

For whatever it’s worth, I thought I would share a list of the books that I have read so far this year.  I’m kind of proud of the number of books I read, but my purpose is not to brag.  Perhaps someone is looking for a way to read more and doesn’t know where to start.  Thank goodness for the Kindle and a reasonably stocked library of e-books, since our libraries have been physically closed for nearly 2 months.

Blue Moon – Child

Back Spin – Coben

A Time to Kill – Grisham

The Hunt for Red October – Clancy

Bad Monkey – Hiaasen

One False Move – Coben

Razor Girl – Hiaasen

How Not To Diet – Greger

The Final Detail – Coben

A Very Stable Genius – Rucker

Crooked River – Preston & Child

Skinny Dip – Hiaasen

Patriot Games – Clancy

The Last Odyssey – Rollins

The Boy From The Woods – Coben

The Warsaw Protocol – Berry

The Demon-Haunted World – Sagan

You’ll note a lot of books by the same author.  That’s because I’m trying to go back to the beginning of a series and read the books in order.  If they are stand-alone books, I want to see the development of the author’s style over time.

Also, know that I read strictly for entertainment, not for content or analysis.  Ask me to discuss a book a week or two later and I probably can’t.  Sometimes I feel like I could read the same books over and over and remember something new each time.

Random Thoughts

A Mother’s Day Visit

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Edison at the End of the (Brio Train) Tunnel on Mother’s Day 2020

One of the highlights of Sunday was a visit by our son Scott and grandson Edison.  We have an old Brio train set that Edison likes to play with when he comes, so we spent quite a lot of time with that.  He also likes walking  outside – especially on the brick retaining walls – and and running down the sidewalks and driveways.  At 4 years old he’s a bundle of energy, and while we’re always happy to see him come we often take a nap after he leaves!

Edison on Mother’s Day 2020
Edison on Mother’s Day 2020
Edison on Mother’s Day 2020
Edison on Mother’s Day 2020
Photo Project: Out & About, Photo Projects

Phase 1: Day 1 – Out and About

Out & About: Grass Shadows

Today starts Phase I of our governor’s plan to start reopening businesses in North Carolina.  I decided to continue the post-a-day project but am going to try something a little different.  I took my camera out on our walk this morning and took some shots.  Nothing fantastic but it is outside instead of inside.  Still around or close to home, but as we branch out more I’ll have some other subjects.  Black & white for now, but color where it warrants it.

Photo Project: Ordinary Household Objects

Ordinary Household Objects: Day 44

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Ordinary Household Objects: Rocking Chair

Falstaff: To die is to be a counterfeit, for he is but the counterfeit of a man who hath not the life of a man; but to counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have sav’d my life.

Shakespeare: Henry IV, Part 1 Act 5, Scene 4

We got word this week that our favorite motel in the mountains is re-opening today.  We’re resisting the urge to rush over there – the restaurants aren’t open for dining in yet, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open and I fear it will be overrun.  Blue Ridge Parkway, last I heard, is still closed.

It appears that there are many people volunteering to be guinea pigs, and I’m happy to let them.  It’s not a matter of fear for me, but rather a sense that I don’t have to be first in line for anything.  There’s a message in that bell curve, and I’ll stay comfortably ensconced on my side of the curve for a little while longer.  Kathy & I are informally using our next haircut as our benchmark.  Salons open in Phase II, which should be another 2-3 weeks.  That will give plenty of time to see how the impatient ones make out.  In the meantime, our weight keeps sliding down the scale, so the longer we avoid restaurants the better off we are.  We’re getting plenty of exercise and fresh air and getting lots of long-overlooked projects out of the way.  Making the best of looking at the bright side, so to speak.

This is the last photo I’ve taken for this project, but as much as I said the other day that I was tired of it, I think I might continue, just perhaps with a different theme.  I figure we aren’t going anywhere so I might as well make new photos.  Maybe I’ll work on photos from outside the house instead of inside.  At the very least I’ll try to continue posting some kind of daily photo, even if it is one from the archives.  I’m working diligently on trying to finish up with my unprocessed photos and hope to have that project wrapped up soon.  There are plenty of treasures in that pile to share, too!