Looking Back

 This year wasn't the most productive for me. 

I reached a few of my personal goals. I don't know if it's age or what. Perhaps I don't have the stamina and motivation. I don't know if that's attributable to growing older or simply limited interest in doing things. Only time will tell.

On the writing front, I didn't have many posts here, probably the fewest ever. As mentioned before, I don't want to post something for the sake of posting something. It's a waste of my time and of readers as well. I do plan to write more about music and travel. There's such a glut of posts out there about writing that it's very repetitive. 

I'm still working on book six in the John Ross Boomer Lit series. I wrote more than 40k words but stopped last spring. I admit it was partly due to the declining health of my beloved dog, Bailey, who eventually passed on June 16. Seven months later, I still think about him. Yes, dogs are certainly family. I'm thankful I have Belle.

Another obstacle I faced is seeking to have the entire series on Ingram Lightning Source so that they'll all be available to bookstores and various online stores in addition to Amazon. It would help so much with my marketing. I hope the problem is resolved soon.

On the positive side, my wife resumed our travels in 2022, spending a week in Portugal and 12 days in Banff, Canada, and Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. We also traveled to Asheville, N.C. We're still deciding on where to journey in the coming year. Maybe Spain.

I'm doing marketing for Wings ePress, hoping to bring more exposure and sales to its talented authors. It's an appreciable change of pace for me at this point in my life. I've always needed to have a purpose in my daily life.

Photography is still a keen interest that I will continue to do. I'll add a point-and-shoot travel camera to my equipment. Some of my DSLRs are getting too heavy to lug around and too much to pack for long trips involving flights. I'm too old to move to the lightweight mirrorless cameras. 

Wishing you all the best in the coming new year!

Until the next time . . .

Veni, Vidi, Sticki

I don't understand why folks get so worked up about selfie sticks. 

For the most part, people use them to include the photographer so no one is left out of a photo. What's wrong with that? Some places have banned selfie sticks out of safety concerns and requests from visitors. I'd be more concerned about concealed weapons. Maybe there will be a movement to require people to have a license to carry a selfie stick?

Yes, I know they can be dangerous (I suppose one could poke out another person's eye), but for the most part, I find them rather harmless and useful. No, I don't want to be in a mass of selfie-stick users, but I avoid large crowds for the most part so that's not much of a problem for me. Here's a USA Today story about deaths resulting from using selfie-sticks. Seems like more folks die from selfie-stick accidents than from shark attacks!

I've seen a lot of photos of people using selfie sticks at family gatherings during the holidays. Shouldn't the holidays include everyone?

While in Europe earlier this year, I didn't see a single selfie stick in London and a few in Paris. To be honest, I had never heard of them and really didn't know what they were other than some device to take photos. But in Roma, they were all over the place, especially with street vendors hawking them at the various tourist sites.  

I think people like to use selfie sticks to show they were at famous landmarks, something they can use as proof that they were indeed at those places. A selfie stick comes in handy when you're by yourself for that once-in-a-lifetime image or when you want to be that image with another person.

I've heard arguments that it's part of our narcissistic society, with people wanting to focus on themselves rather than on the spectacle. I argue that folks simply want to be part of the scene, something they can view in future to bring back pleasant memories.

I love photography and own several cameras as well as a smart phone with a camera. I can tell you it's easier using a selfie stick for a good photo rather than trying to align your arm at the right angle and get what you want in focus. I also own two tripods and a remote for my cameras, which also have self-timers, but most of the time it's difficult to use them for spontaneous or unplanned photos.

I've read that some folks recommend just handing your camera to someone and let them take the photo of you. But isn't that kind of an intrusion? Maybe being a nuisance to others? I admit that I've done that, usually with me also taking a picture of them with their camera. A nice trade off.

But what if you don't know anyone at the landmark? Do you take the chance of handing your camera to a stranger, and then watch them off to the races? Or what if you ask someone and they promptly tell you where to stick your camera -- and it's not on a stick.

Yes, I own a selfie stick. I purchased it after I returned from Europe. I've only used it once, just to see how it works. I plan to take it with me on trips for those occasional shots of me and my wife. I'll try not to poke anyone's eye out or crack them on top the head. Just keep your distance and you should be safe.

Any opinion on selfie sticks?

Until the next time....

As Good as Your Last Shot

   One of the best lessons I ever learned from some of my photographer friends is: “You’re only as good as your last shot.”

    I try to keep that in mind when I go out and take photographs, be it of nature, family, travel, or random shots when I’m out and about. What that means to me is to try to make every click of the shutter count because that could be the last photograph.

   Now that doesn't mean every photograph I take is going to be good. I’m not a professional by any means, but I try to frame potential images in the viewfinder to get the best possible result. In other words, the initial cropping comes before I even snap a photo. 

   One of the great things about digital cameras is that you can delete those embarrassingly bad photographs before you download them on a computer. Or, if they do make it to the computer, they can be zapped into cyberspace.

   I've been fortunate to have friends who are professional photographers, mostly from news organizations. I've enjoyed listening to them talk about craft and figuring out what makes a good photograph.

  And I’m sure most, if not all, would agree that the last shot counts. And when you give it some more thought, perhaps the saying can apply to other things in our lives as well.

  Until the next time…