But not on a rolling stone, as they say. I’m running a sort of hands-on workshop for creating an author blog or website over at the Mad Genius Club today, if you’d rather talk about writerly things than art. Because this is an art blog, today.
I have gotten away from my schedule, but it’s time to return to it. For one thing, you can expect Dragon Noir snippets to begin appearing on Thursday this week. I’m a bit excited about that. I’m still writing it, I’m not going to finish on deadline, and I’m ok with that. My school schedule got a shake-up this weekend, and what fell out looks better for writing while learning. So I have some wiggle-room.
But about the art. You all know I’m starting to really dig into the photography, right? Not just because I love being a shutter-bug, I do. I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about the beginnings of my passion before. No, I also decided that if I am going to pursue a career in forensic science and investigation, even if I’m not focused on law enforcement, being comfortable with a DSLR and macro work is important. I haven’t got the time to take a class, and let’s face it, I learn pretty well on my own. So… yesterday I had a chance to take a photo walk for the first time this year. It’s been cold, wet, and/or snowy, and I’ve been writing. Yesterday was sunny and almost 50F.
I took the Canon (I’m shooting with a Rebel EOS T5 for those who are just seeing this) and lenses with me, in the very comfortable camera bag I’ve chosen. It doesn’t look like a camera bag, it looks like a messenger bag, which is why I picked it. When I walked out of the door, I had the 50mm lens on, and started out with that, but then when I saw all the mosses so bright and green among the dead leaves and patches of icy slush, I decided I would try out the lens extenders in the wild. I’d only used them in the house, and the backyard, both of those resulted in really stunning shots. But I was using the 28-55mm lens for those. This was an experiment…
I didn’t get the crispness I wanted. I was thrilled to be able to focus on a 2mm tall mushroom, and an individual sporocarp (moss fruiting body), but I want more. Asking friends, I learned that likely my shutter was too slow, and my hands not steady enough – I need to try it again with a tripod. I was shooting with all natural light, which made for lovely color. Maybe today if I get enough written…