Re-surface

After being immersed in a new job for about 8 months I am finally able to come up for air. It is a challenge to learn not only a new job but a new corporate culture. I am now working for county government and it is interesting to find the two arenas of work. One that aims to provide the best service possible and the other that works on the good enough for government plan. Life - Many things never dull!
I have been able to focus outside of work here and there and am starting a new project.
There are places in the desert where the land is fairly flat for large stretches and the vegetation is tall desert grass with the occasional large mesquite tree. Because we have not had any rain to speak of and all of Cochise County is in a state of extreme drought these grasses have not been beaten down by winter rain or snow. When the grass moves in the breeze it looks like a golden sea and I am trying to capture that fluid look in an image This is effort number one. More to come.

Work - the curse of the working class. I least I have been able to sort of ease into it. I have an interview on Monday for a full time position which I suspect that I will be offered as I have been told I am the only applicant. The money won't be great but given that I have burned through all my savings during my sabbatical I just have to take what is offered.
I hope that I can get in a side trip or two before I am back full time but that is hard to manage in Arizona summer. It is either too hot to play or raining - not that I would ever complain about rain. So of late my photography has been confined to my neighborhood or even in my house. This shot is of some tomatoes from my garden using a bit of formcore to reflect light from the window onto the tomatoes. Taken with my newest P&S camera, a Panasonic Lumix FZ35. For a P&S I am impressed with the quality.

The end of Sabbatical

Like all good things my time of being unemployed is coming to a close. For a nurse unemployment is a rare and wonderful thing. I have never not had a job in my adult life and this time was wonderful. I haven't been out taking as many photographs as I might have liked - other projects, and health concerns burned up some chunks of time and energy. I have looked around me with a critical eye regularly and studied things like off camera lighting, exposure and technique have slowly built my kit and now I have some studio lights as well as the tricks for off camera lighting.
And now when I have new tools up my sleeve I will have less time and with the perverseness of life will likely take more time for photography. As I always say - More will be revealed.

So it has been six months since I became an unemployed person. I expected to have lots of time and energy to work both my photography and this blog. The best laid plan of mice and men would most accurately describe that plan. I have been suffering from an inability to focus on this project or on my photography. I have gotten some big projects off the ground- my bathroom is in the process of being renovated but I have not made the progress I had hoped.
Turns out that I have developed new onset diabetes. A bit of a surprise for me as no one in our family has had a history of diabetes. I am looking at it as the reward for 25 years of self indulgence!
Anyway I am hoping to feel better soon and have actually taken a few shots in recent weeks.
I have acquired a new toy into the bargain. I gave my Olympus P&S to my sister and bought a Lumix FZ35. It takes movies with sound and has a 12 Megapixel capture, and has the ability to accept filters which was a challenge with the Olympus.
Spring has arrived although it is snowing today - even as I type this I am saying good-bye my pear and persimmon crop.
As a self confessed flower photo lover I am trying to move beyond the single bloom centered macro. Let me know what you think.

I am unemployed! I have been for 4 days. After working like a dog for 5 months I am more than ready for this change. I knew it was coming and so have been preparing to be more able to manage with limited resource. I have paid off all my credit card debt and put as much as I could into savings. I have changed all of my phone, TV, and communication accounts so that they are the smallest drain possible on my limited resources and am looking around to see what I might be able to do to add to my resources without taking too big a bite out of my expected sabbatical.
I am planning several photographic journeys and actually took photographs yesterday to please just myself - something I had been unable to do for many months.
I am unsure how to fill my time on a day to day basis. I have worked almost all of my adult life. I have plans to get things done such as a deep cleaning of my house and repair work around the house. Gardening that needs to be done and the dog could use regular walks - well so could the owner, but the reality of a daily existence without work is tough to wrap my head around.
I guess I will fall back on my standby comment - More will be revealed - just like that magic 8 ball always tells one.
Let the days unfold!

Life has been busy but.....

I just spent 90 minutes being educated about some hard facts. It is monsoon season in Arizona but it is not really raining. We are behind annual rainfal by inches - inches that are critical in a desert. I have been wrapped up in my small little life and needed to get a new perspective. I will be unemployed very soon - to some degree as a choice and as a nurse one I can make knowing I can get work when I need it. Perpahs after watching this I will rethink the work.
So spend some time watching this incredible movie - the photography alone is worth the watch and spend your own thoughts on what it means.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

The Dragoons

I have not hung out in the Dragoons since the days of my misspent youth. I forgot just how incredible an area it is. I am planning to spend more time in those parts. There is so much to see and the rock formation are some of the most amazing in the area. I think it is much better for photography than the Texas canyon area.
Some friends and I went camping there last weekend. We had wind gusts in excess of 50MPH. I tried to think of it as free dermabrasion. We had a great time and everyone got some good shots. I had the opportunity to play with the IR camera. That process is getting better for me. I am starting to get the results I was looking for. Now if I can just figure out the false color swap thing!






The weather this weekend is predicted to be rainy and it is Easter. I am hoping to get back out there next week end. The Easter campers will be gone and perhaps the windy conditions that have been plaguing us for the last few weeks as well. As always more will be revealed