UNDER 50

Sunday, August 15, 2010

UNDER 50

(AUGUST 14, 15, 2010) WHAT IS UNDER 50?

SOME ANSWERS:

* The number of Republican U.S. Senators presently , in Washington
* The number of people Sadie and I see on the Riverwalk every morning
* The number of miles I walk every week
* The number of pictures I took on our walk each day on Saturday and Sunday

All of these are true. The main reason for this entry, however, relates to the last answer.

A few months ago, I mentioned to a friend that I took from 300-600 pictures everyday on the Riverwalk. I then said that out of those 300-600 pictures, "I would get, maybe, 8-10 that were pretty good, and, maybe, a couple that would be extraordinary."

My friend replied. "Out of that many pictures taken, you're bound to get some that are good. Even a blind person could take that many pictures and get some good ones."

I told him that he was probably right.

Back in the days of negative film photography, each shot was made as perfect as possible since the cost of film was, well, costly. Also, with a camera that would hold, at the most, 36 shots, it was important to conserve the film for that really great shot. It was frustrating to see a great shot and be out of film. I have a memory card that holds nearly 6000 pictures, so I just have to make sure the battery in my camera remains charged.

Now, with digital photography, I have enjoyed the luxury of taking a half dozen shots of one subject, thinking that, perhaps, one may be a good shot. I have become spoiled, so I decided that this weekend I would limit myself to no more than 50 shots each day on the Riverwalk. That is what I did, and I posted the best shots above.

On Saturday morning I took 46 pictures; on Sunday morning I took 49. It was difficult to NOT click away as I saw a beautiful great blue heron standing near the shore, but I refrained from shooting 3 shots a second to shooting . . . pausing . . . shooting . . . pausing and then shooting one last shot.

The pictures I got each of the last two mornings were not the best shots I've taken, but some were fairly good. Of course, I still have the advantage of seeing my pictures the morning that they were taken. I didn't have to send them off to be processed and printed and wait for a week or so for them to come back. Even then, I may not have any pictures I liked.

I recall back in the summer of 1980, we were traveling through the mid-west. I ended up taking over 10 rolls of film (36 shots per roll), and out of those rolls were only two really good shots - one was a seal swimming underwater at the Cincinnati Zoo and the second one was a mountain goat that had fallen asleep on a faux mountain at the same zoo; the second shot won a blue ribbon in a local photo contest that year, and I still have the print hanging on my wall.

I think that I will go back to taking many shots tomorrow on the Riverwalk. It was a good experiment, but it surely encumbered my style. Had I been using film, the pictures would have equaled at least 3 rolls, and the cost would have been around $20 just to see what I had; with digital, the cost was nothing.

It was another two good mornings on the Riverwalk.

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"DON'T TRADE YOUR DOG FOR AN ELEPHANT"

(JUNE 19, 2010) This morning we saw some lovely sights as we ventured to the Riverwalk at 6:15. The mother mallard and the six babies were out at Dan Daniel Park and the flora and fauna were plentiful. But, one comment made by a regular Riverwalk biker/walker stayed on my mind as we ventured forth. He said, "One bit of advice: Don't trade your dog for an elephant." What was the meaning of that? I pondered that question throughout my walk until I saw a water moccasin swimming close to the shore.

EXPRESSIONS

(JUNE 1, 2010) Often we see expressions in animals that are similar to humans. Sadie sometimes swallows a moth she has been stalking, and the look on her face says, "Sheesh. That didn't taste very good." The picture above shows some interesting expressions on the faces of a goose family. There is the gosling looking up at the adult with respect,, the other goslings looking over the adult goose with an inquiring look, and the adult in the background showing stress. Within this one photograph is captured many emotions.

SHALL WE GATHER

(MAY 25, 2010) People gather each morning to walk or ride bikes together on the Riverwalk. In addition, there are many "gatherings" on the river each morning among the wildlife there. The waterfowl gather to communially dip in the river or fly off together to graze in the rich meadows or just sit on a log in the middle of the river - watching. There is another type of "gathering" that goes on as well. Look closely and watch the swallow and the bluebird and the robin and other songbirds gather nesting for their homes or food for themselves and their off-spring. Look closely and see the insects gathering whatever they need for sustenance - the small bug drinking from the rain water "gathering" on the leaf or the bee gathering nectar from the budding flower. All of this is the age old activity of gathering by the river.

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT

(APRIL 14, 15, 2010) There have been many changes on the Riverwalk over the past two days. The search for the young 5 year old who fell out of the boat near Dan Daniel Dam, the small flowers that were once there are now gone because of the cooler weather, and the river has gone down because of the drier weather. However, amongst these changes there are some constants: the same people we see every morning on our walk are there, the river continues to provide a home for wildlife, and robins can be spotted along the trail.