In the morning, Sha had sent me some photos and asked if I would print some for the kids. So I made a quick 8x10 collage.
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Goodbye Sid
The kids came to our house in tears yesterday. Their mother dropped them off on her way to take Sid to the vets. The old cat was unhealthy, and it was time to let him go. What made it a little harder was that it was a snow day, so the kids were home. They had known that it was coming, but it is still very hard.
In the morning, Sha had sent me some photos and asked if I would print some for the kids. So I made a quick 8x10 collage.
In the morning, Sha had sent me some photos and asked if I would print some for the kids. So I made a quick 8x10 collage.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
At Last Another Hockey Game
It has been awhile since I shot one of Jonathan's hockey games. We hadn't realized that the last home game was even scheduled, and then there were two week-night away games, which we don't usually attend. But this weekend, Jonathan's team had a tournament at Almonte, just a little more than 10 minutes up the road.
However, I learned, to my chagrin, how difficult it is to photograph in that arena, so much so that I refused to take my camera for the final game. No arena is terribly optimal for shooting because there's that plexiglass between the camera and the ice, but almost every photo seemed to come out hazy in this arena. Beyond that, the lighting was poor: a little dim and uneven too. But, I did our best to get a few photos as the various parents seem to like seeing their kids online.
...
However, I learned, to my chagrin, how difficult it is to photograph in that arena, so much so that I refused to take my camera for the final game. No arena is terribly optimal for shooting because there's that plexiglass between the camera and the ice, but almost every photo seemed to come out hazy in this arena. Beyond that, the lighting was poor: a little dim and uneven too. But, I did our best to get a few photos as the various parents seem to like seeing their kids online.
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| Getting ready to shoot: #18 is one of their best scorers. |
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| Those eyes: looking for space. |
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| A clear path to the net for #2 |
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| The goalie lunges to stop a possible shot while 17 tries to clear the puck |
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| Jonathan fighting to fighting to get to the puck first |
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| One of the 2 goals against in a tie game |
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| #12 is an intense player |
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| #5 again. this time playing strong defence |
...
Saturday, February 09, 2019
Well I Never
A silly FB meme, but it gives bloggers something to play with when we dry up. I have 4 Nevers, but I did the best that I could on one impossibility (see #7), so I think it's really three by any sane measure.
No Tattoo. I came close a few years ago when I was fiddling and thought seriously of getting a fiddle tat. Then I wondered just how long I would keep it up. As it turned out, arthritic problems caused me to give it up after about 5 years. I had fun for those 5 years, but I'm glad that I didn't get a permanent tat.
No Children Birthed. I guess this goes without saying, but I was very present for the birth of my second child (wasn't allowed in for the first) — both for the conception and the delivery.
No Broken Bone. I have done damage to myself but haven't broken a bone. This is too bad in a way because broken bones heal, but some injuries don't so well. So, I limp around a bit with damage to my foot.
Not Been Divorced. Almost at the 50th and holding fast.
Feel free to grab onto this meme.
For another post, maybe I will pick some from the list that I have done.
No Tattoo. I came close a few years ago when I was fiddling and thought seriously of getting a fiddle tat. Then I wondered just how long I would keep it up. As it turned out, arthritic problems caused me to give it up after about 5 years. I had fun for those 5 years, but I'm glad that I didn't get a permanent tat.
No Children Birthed. I guess this goes without saying, but I was very present for the birth of my second child (wasn't allowed in for the first) — both for the conception and the delivery.
No Broken Bone. I have done damage to myself but haven't broken a bone. This is too bad in a way because broken bones heal, but some injuries don't so well. So, I limp around a bit with damage to my foot.
Not Been Divorced. Almost at the 50th and holding fast.
Feel free to grab onto this meme.
For another post, maybe I will pick some from the list that I have done.
Friday, February 08, 2019
Another Photo Restoration
Shauna, my daughter, had no idea that I had recently done some scanning of old photos, but synchronicity is what it is, and she asked me to scan an old battered photo of her maternal grandfather when he was a soldier in WW2.
As you can plainly see, there were a number of problem areas, namely the two big blemishes on both the left and right. That's in addition to many splotches and scratches.
I thought the best thing to do would be to crop away the big offending areas since they weren't crucial to the photo. Then I cleaned up much of the rest of the photo and converted it to plain b&w which I think it was before it yellowed. I judge this partly from the yellowed back of the photo which was also very discoloured.
So I am going to leave it as a b&w. It's certainly not a modern, well-taken photo, but it has been salvaged to some degree, and we now have a digital record that won't deteriorate further.
It was also a very small photo, so I have enlarged it and printed it as a 4x6.
But look at the back.
Obviously, he was written to his sweetheart, the woman who would become Sue's mother, when he was away soldiering. But we don't know where he was at the time.
As you can plainly see, there were a number of problem areas, namely the two big blemishes on both the left and right. That's in addition to many splotches and scratches.
I thought the best thing to do would be to crop away the big offending areas since they weren't crucial to the photo. Then I cleaned up much of the rest of the photo and converted it to plain b&w which I think it was before it yellowed. I judge this partly from the yellowed back of the photo which was also very discoloured.
So I am going to leave it as a b&w. It's certainly not a modern, well-taken photo, but it has been salvaged to some degree, and we now have a digital record that won't deteriorate further.
It was also a very small photo, so I have enlarged it and printed it as a 4x6.
But look at the back.
Obviously, he was written to his sweetheart, the woman who would become Sue's mother, when he was away soldiering. But we don't know where he was at the time.
Thursday, February 07, 2019
Intense Dislike
School buses have been parked for five of the past seven days, and we were expecting another off day today. Yes, my dears, another ice storm was predicted, and that is almost a sure shut down, more so than a snow storm. It happened farther west in Ontario, but, somehow or other, we were spared — at least this once. Good thing too as conditions were bad enough already.
The previous day, Tuesday, we had chipped and scraped the ice from the upper part of our driveway, but with aching backs, we didn't finish the job. The ice was too thick down nearer the street for us to contend with it. There is more freezing rain predicted overnight, but then temperatures should rise above freezing, so maybe we can scrape some more tomorrow.
Sorry to show our street on garbage day, but this shows the driving conditions. Thankfully, major roads were tended much better, and we were able to run around and do our listy chores, such as laying in provender for yet another predicted weather event.
There is a prodigious pile of snow on our front lawn by the street. It actually looked white and pretty up until Tuesday before the rain came. I took this photo from the edge of our driveway yesterday. There has been a inordinate amount of snow since the New Year. Our region actually set a forever record with more than 97cm/38in.
This freezing rain and alternate thawing and freezing happens every winter, and I hate it. It's simply the worst part of winter. Freshly fallen snow looks pretty at the very least and can then be cleared, but these icy conditions are ugly, both visually and practically.
However, yesterday I realized that March Break is just a little more than a month away. The sap will begin to run and spirits will lift. Until then, I reserve the right to whinge and whine.
In general, I don't mind winter although the last three weeks have been trying, but I intensely dislike the days when freezing rain rules us.
The previous day, Tuesday, we had chipped and scraped the ice from the upper part of our driveway, but with aching backs, we didn't finish the job. The ice was too thick down nearer the street for us to contend with it. There is more freezing rain predicted overnight, but then temperatures should rise above freezing, so maybe we can scrape some more tomorrow.
Sorry to show our street on garbage day, but this shows the driving conditions. Thankfully, major roads were tended much better, and we were able to run around and do our listy chores, such as laying in provender for yet another predicted weather event.
There is a prodigious pile of snow on our front lawn by the street. It actually looked white and pretty up until Tuesday before the rain came. I took this photo from the edge of our driveway yesterday. There has been a inordinate amount of snow since the New Year. Our region actually set a forever record with more than 97cm/38in.
This freezing rain and alternate thawing and freezing happens every winter, and I hate it. It's simply the worst part of winter. Freshly fallen snow looks pretty at the very least and can then be cleared, but these icy conditions are ugly, both visually and practically.
However, yesterday I realized that March Break is just a little more than a month away. The sap will begin to run and spirits will lift. Until then, I reserve the right to whinge and whine.
In general, I don't mind winter although the last three weeks have been trying, but I intensely dislike the days when freezing rain rules us.
Wednesday, February 06, 2019
Snow Day, Birthday, and Violets
It was back to macros on yet another snow day on Monday. It was the seventh snow day of the season, with today (Tuesday, as I write this) being the eighth. It is also the sixth snow day in two weeks, or actually seven days to be precise. Of course, these snow days were really ice days from that stupid freezing rain. I hate that stuff.
Snow is tolerable, but icy conditions are not. The conditins also caused me to miss an out-of-town medical appointment, but we did have a bit more time to celebrate JJ's birthday as in-town traffic was moving well.
We had been hard-pressed to find an opening for a birthday party. I had that appointment booked, and he had an out-of-town game shortly after school. As it turned out, we were able to take him to DQ for a birthday dessert. There would also have been a lunch out too, but wires got a bit crossed between his two families.
Of course, I forgot my camera in the car, but his mom took this one with her phone, and it's a good one.
On to the macros . . .
I wanted to experiment with in-camera double exposures. I tried a number of shots, but only one worked out fairly well. There are really only three blooms in this subject, but the double exposure makes it seem like a larger cluster.
Once, I saw the result above, I realized that the more interesting bloom was the one to the left, half looking away from the camera. So, I tried a shot from a similar angle: just a single exposure, hand-held with flash and hoping for the best.
Snow is tolerable, but icy conditions are not. The conditins also caused me to miss an out-of-town medical appointment, but we did have a bit more time to celebrate JJ's birthday as in-town traffic was moving well.
We had been hard-pressed to find an opening for a birthday party. I had that appointment booked, and he had an out-of-town game shortly after school. As it turned out, we were able to take him to DQ for a birthday dessert. There would also have been a lunch out too, but wires got a bit crossed between his two families.
Of course, I forgot my camera in the car, but his mom took this one with her phone, and it's a good one.
On to the macros . . .
I wanted to experiment with in-camera double exposures. I tried a number of shots, but only one worked out fairly well. There are really only three blooms in this subject, but the double exposure makes it seem like a larger cluster.
Once, I saw the result above, I realized that the more interesting bloom was the one to the left, half looking away from the camera. So, I tried a shot from a similar angle: just a single exposure, hand-held with flash and hoping for the best.
Tuesday, February 05, 2019
Cecil
In addition to turning my to macros during winter, there remain heritage photos waiting to be scanned. Sometimes, I am surprised by what I find in the old albums — photos that I had forgotten about or never paid much attention to in the first place.
I happened to choose the album of my father's sides of the family for this first foray, but the album was all mother's doing, and for that I am grateful.
This is an early portrait of my dad. It would have been taken in 1913. It was sepia toned, but with old photos it is difficult to know what the exact original toning might have been. We know they were sepia but just how sepia were they? Usually, I convert them to black and white and then re-tone back to sepia if I so choose, which I usually do. So I have done a sepia version of the photo, but I like it a little better in straight black and white.
Cecil was 4 in this next and final studio (that I know of) photo. According to the note, he was 4 years old, so it was taken either in late 1916 or sometime in 1917. I like this one slightly better restored back to a sepia tone than in black and white. Note that he's on the same chair as in the baby photo.
Perhaps he was 5 or 6 when this snapshot was taken of him looking shy with a family friend. This one was quite faded, but I was able to bring it back to some degree.
My dad's final photo for today is a school class shot. I will peg it circa 1920. Cecil is third from the left in the third row. I know this because my mother drew this in pen with an arrow on the original. I did keep a digital version of her scribble too, and of course, her notated version is back in its spot in the album.
Finally, I have a photo of his father, my grandfather, George Stanley Rayner. I was christened with the same middle name as he, which I was not always pleased about in my younger days. I still don't like it really, but my grandfather was called Stan, and not George, by his wife and friends, so it was a good name for him. This photo was extremely faded, so this was as far as my skills would take me. (I saw from this that I had a little trimming of the edges to do, and I have now done that, but I'll leave it this way for this post.)
I like doing my bit to keep up what my mother started back in the day, not that I think it will mean anything to anyone else once I am gone. But I'm not gone yet, so it means something to me now.
I happened to choose the album of my father's sides of the family for this first foray, but the album was all mother's doing, and for that I am grateful.
This is an early portrait of my dad. It would have been taken in 1913. It was sepia toned, but with old photos it is difficult to know what the exact original toning might have been. We know they were sepia but just how sepia were they? Usually, I convert them to black and white and then re-tone back to sepia if I so choose, which I usually do. So I have done a sepia version of the photo, but I like it a little better in straight black and white.
Cecil was 4 in this next and final studio (that I know of) photo. According to the note, he was 4 years old, so it was taken either in late 1916 or sometime in 1917. I like this one slightly better restored back to a sepia tone than in black and white. Note that he's on the same chair as in the baby photo.
Perhaps he was 5 or 6 when this snapshot was taken of him looking shy with a family friend. This one was quite faded, but I was able to bring it back to some degree.
My dad's final photo for today is a school class shot. I will peg it circa 1920. Cecil is third from the left in the third row. I know this because my mother drew this in pen with an arrow on the original. I did keep a digital version of her scribble too, and of course, her notated version is back in its spot in the album.
Finally, I have a photo of his father, my grandfather, George Stanley Rayner. I was christened with the same middle name as he, which I was not always pleased about in my younger days. I still don't like it really, but my grandfather was called Stan, and not George, by his wife and friends, so it was a good name for him. This photo was extremely faded, so this was as far as my skills would take me. (I saw from this that I had a little trimming of the edges to do, and I have now done that, but I'll leave it this way for this post.)
I like doing my bit to keep up what my mother started back in the day, not that I think it will mean anything to anyone else once I am gone. But I'm not gone yet, so it means something to me now.
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