Three

These last few weeks I have had to put my D300 away.

The Doc said 'tennis elbow and golfers elbow plus tendinitis in my forearm” for good measure... "but, but, I don't play either of those"! said I...

No matter what it really means is the D300 is just too damn heavy to lift !

So I have been relying on my trusty Nikon P7100.

Not that it is a problem I love that little camera but yesterday I bumped into it's limitations.

Blurry images from way too low a shutter speed and unresponsive auto-focus due to the low contrast scenery in fog and mist and pushing the ISO way too high meant a morning of frustration.

As the light improved and we moved out of the deep dark woodland along the river things came back to normal quite quickly and I ended up with a few 'keepers'

Such is the lot of the photographer. We have to rely on technology (to varying degrees) in pursuit of our 'art'. If the technology fails what are we to do?

The pens and pencils I have never fail from a dead battery ;-D

So when technology prevents me from pursuing my photographic 'Art' the pen and pencil take over because ..

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” ~Elbert Hubbard

A Quiet Corner

Yesterday our regular Saturday morning outing was delayed by the heavy rains.

Still, “delayed” is not “canceled” ..

We arranged to meet at 9:30 at the usual spot and headed for the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory.

One of us (me) was expecting a half empty space where we could photograph, draw and or paint in relative peace and quiet, after all school was back in, right?

Wrong!

By 10:30 the place was packed with Mom's and Dads chasing gaggles of kids, chasing the butterflies..

Finding a little place of refuge for a little piece of peace was a challenge but it was possible and there we sat, sweating.

You see the building is for tropical flora and fauna so it is very warm and very humid, much like the weather that we had been trying to avoid all summer!

Oh the irony, we paid for hot and humid while outside it was cool and not so humid!

But the “three amigos” rode again so it was all worth it.

By 11:30 we were all getting a little overwhelmed so we retreated to the cafeteria for tea and munchies and a overdue get together.

The conversation, banter and laughter flowed as easily as ever. Sketchbooks were shared (which is a relatively new addition to our get-togethers) and plans were hatched for next weekends outing. (watch this space)

We probably overstayed our welcome but no-one told us to leave and we were in no hurry because we were in the company of friends.

A good day despite the slow, wet start and of course the artificial weather 'inside'.

“A friend accepts us as we are yet helps us to be what we should”. ~Author Unknown