Whatever Happened to Mr. Wolfram?

Do you write your name on your belongings? We used to do this all the time back in the day.  We’d write our names on our books, on our record albums, on our baseball gloves, and on just about anything we valued and wanted to keep. Our Moms even sewed our names into our clothing. I guess the idea behind the practice was that if you lost something whoever found it could and would return it to you. I think we’re more cynical today. Sadly we don’t expect the best from people anymore. Nor do we keep and value things for years on end. We buy new stuff. Out with the old and in with the newest and the best, right. 

But what about your cameras? Do you put your name on them? Well, Mr. Wolfram did. He printed his name and address in ink on the inside of the brown leather camera case:

Edmond T. Wolfram

249 Sydney Ave.

Malverne New York

TR. 5 SEC. 8

He also wrote TR. 5 SEC. 8 on the inside of the Instruction Book and neatly etched his name and a number on the aluminum plate at the bottom of the camera. How do I know and why do I care? Well, I am now it possession of his 1950’s era Pony 135 Model C.  I didn’t exactly find it. I bought it on eBay, but still I wonder about Mr. Wolfram and how he and this camera parted ways. It obviously was important to him. Did he lose it? Was it stolen? Did he sell it and buy a new and better camera? Did he pass away only to have his children sell it after finding it  on a back shelf in his closet? I may never know but I did do a search for him on ancestry.com.

I do a lot of work on ancestry and have my family tree here. Typically, the information available on a public tree is only shown for people who have passed away. Any living individuals included in your family tree show up as private and can’t be accessed by anyone who hasn’t been invited to view it. The same is not true for the records you can search on the site. The 1940 census is available and completely searchable. Obviously, there are people living who were enumerated then and if you know their names and where they lived, you can find them along with their address and other family members in the same residence. You can also search selected high school and college yearbooks for a person’s name and if you’re lucky you may get a photo or at least a listing and a class year. There are other databases where you can find living people such as U.S. City Directories, which are mostly scanned phone books, and U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Vol.1. Even I show up in that one. Privacy concerns? Nah, these are public records. You may think where you lived and when should be private, but that’s just not the case. 

So what about Mr. Wolfram of Sydney Avenue in Malverne, New York? I found an Edmond Wolfram in the 1959 Malverne High School Yearbook. He was in Homeroom 316. In the homeroom photo he’s wearing glasses. His hair is parted on the right. He looks neat and he’s smiling. It’s not a broad smile. It’s quite subtle but it’s a smile nevertheless. Does he look like the kind of kid who would write his name on his camera. Youbetcha. I’m pretty sure he’s my guy. 

What else did I find? Not much He may have moved to Texas. That’s it. I have to idea if he is still alive but I certainly hope he is. Wherever he is I’d like him to know I’m taking good care of his camera. If he wants it back, I’ll get it to him so spread the word. 

(Originally published on Weebly 1/1/2018 -

http://www.nearlylostphotography.com/blog)

Dig A Pony?

Everyone needs a project, right? After two 365 Day challenges and a less than successful monthly challenge this year, I’m trying a different sort of project for 2018. I’m going to shoot some film and I intend to use a different vintage film camera each month. I plan to blog about each camera and share my photos on our Nearly Lost Photography Group Facebook page -

https://www.facebook.com/groups/163578837716595/

For far too long now I‘ve been buying vintage film cameras with the intention of learning about them and trying them out. Most of these have been inexpensive eBay finds. There’s not a Leica among them so I’m not out thousands of dollars. Sadly, however, I haven’t followed through. These beautiful old gems have been sitting on shelves, forlorn if not completely forgotten. 2018 is their year. 

The Kodak Pony 135 Model C is my January film camera project selection. It may not be the best choice since it focuses using a distance scale. Yes, that’s it. A distance scale with 11 markings from 2.5 feet to infinity. Whether or not my pictures are in focus depends entirely upon how well I can judge distance. Let’s just say that will be challenging.

The Pony also lacks an exposure meter. It’s a completely mechanical camera. The good news is you don’t need batteries; the bad news is you get no help. You can set the aperture and the shutter speed manually but to what? There’s no EVF, no histogram display and no little linear display with a midpoint indicating the “correct” exposure. The only help you get is a choice of Bright, Hazy or Cloudy which might give you half a chance at being correct. However those weather cues are calibrated for two specific types of Kodak film, Kodachrome and Extachrome, neither of which are manufactured today. So I either buy and learn to use a handheld light meter or just give the old Sunny 16 rule a try. 

The Eastman Kodak Company manufactured this model from 1955 -1958. It originally sold for about $34.00 which would be in the neighborhood of $280.00 today. The Pony line was designed to be an inexpensive camera, but a step up from a box camera. Yes, it’s an oldie but, hey, so am I. I have it cleaned up and it’s ready to go. I hope you’ll wish me well and follow along to keep me accountable.

Happy New Year!

(Originally published on Weebly 12/30/17 -http://www.nearlylostphotography.com/blog/archives/12-2017

Blame Ozzie and Harriet

Too many cameras has been a familiar refrain for me these past few years. YouTube reviews and eBay bargains come together to form a perfect storm of accessibility and desire. I buy, I try, I sell. I really love to buy and sell cameras of all varieties, shapes and sizes. But lately I have been drawn to (okay obsessed with) Kodak cameras from the 1950’s. Now the camera snobs and serious collectors will happily tell you that with the exception of the Retina II (and I have one of those on a shelf somewhere) these are not particularly good cameras. Still I love the look and feel of them. I love their nifty brown leather cases.  I love what they represent to me - feeling of the 50’s. 

Remember Ozzie and Harriet? If you’re under 55, you probably don’t unless you watched the oldies channels growing up. The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was a TV sitcom that ran from 1952 to 1966. That was way before the term sitcom even came into common usage.  The show featured the Nelson family, Ozzie, Harriet and their sons, David and Ricky. 

See how cute they were? The show was a fictionalized version of their day to day family life.  Like all television families they had their little problems but somehow managed to resolve them before the end of each episode. I really liked Ozzie not so much because he was the star but because he usually wore a cardigan sweater with a tie. So cool. He had a soft voice and a nice smile. I wanted to grow up to be just like Ozzie, wise in a bumbling, self-effacing way. 

I also wanted his cameras. Yes, wouldn’t you know, the show was sponsored by Kodak. Ozzie did the advertisements at the end of the show. The audience, studio I presume, was still clapping when the ever calm, cardigan clad Ozzie came out to tell us about the latest and greatest innovations from the world of Kodak. The Signet Series. The Automatic 35. He showed us how easy they were to use and what they cost at our local Kodak dealer. I always figured he got to keep those cameras for free. Every week I watched those ads with great longing. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take 2 inch slides of their vacation and project them large as life to share with family and friends? I think I liked the Kodak promos as much as I did the show itself. 

If you’re interested you can find a number of Ozzie’s Kodak ads on YouTube. Here’s a link to one of my personal favorites - 

http://youtu.be/J8LIl9kEcHM

In 1960 when I was 9 the Kodak Automatic 35 cost $89.50! That was way out of reach for our family budget. It was not the kind of thing I could run out and buy for Dad on his birthday. Sigh.

Today on eBay I found one listed for $15.00 or best offer. You see where this is going, don’t you? I can now have the cameras I pined for way back then for pennies on the dollar. At any rate I blame The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for the large collection of Kodaks on my shelf.   Now what do I do with them other than dust them off periodically and admire them?

I’m going to learn to use them and take some photos. First up is the Pony 135 Model C. Stay tuned. 

Originally published on Weebly on 12/29/2017 - http://www.nearlylostphotography.com/blog/archives/12-2017

Wearing Purple

It's been a very cold spring here in Maine, but today I am finally retiring my winter shirts and bringing out the polos and tees. As I went through the pile, I saw my Walk to End Alzheimer's t-shirt from 2015. It says "The End of Alzheimer's Starts With Me" and it is strikingly purple. The very purpleness of it made me think of a poem entitled "Warning" by Jenny Joseph. I'll include a link to Jenny reading her poem at the end here, but I'm sure you've heard the first line - "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple." It's a poem about aging but also about choices and values. Notwithstanding it's overuse by greeting card companies, it's a darned good poem.

Of course, the connection between the poem and that purple shirt of mine takes me in many directions. I think of all the victims of Alzheimer's who cannot choose to wear purple or even know whether or not they are.  They are too often robbed of the opportunity to purposefully make new choices, to break away from the routines and "have-to's" and transition gracefully into old age.  Now I don't mean what may come first to your mind with that scary phrase "old age".  I'm thinking of that wonderful, joyful, and possibly wiser time of life where you calm down, slow down,  reflect and pass on what you've learned.

I can't help but think about my mother and the conversations we never had because of her illness.  I will always treasure the fact that she knew me, was happy to see me, smiled, and held my hand. But what stories might she have told me if she had had the opportunity? What memories might she have shared? What lessons might she have taught me at a time when I was finally ready to listen? We will never know.

We are getting ready for the 2016 Walk to End Alzheimer's - Lakes and Mountains Area on Saturday, September 17th. We are again walking for my mother, Trudy, and for all the other who are suffering with or have been lost to this insidious disease. Our Trudy's Team page can be found at  http://act.alz.org/goto/trudy

There's lots to be done yet - a thank you to all who supported us last year and have donated already,  a Trudy's Team Facebook page, a call for donations and team members, more blog posts. But for today I'm going to reread a poem and hope that with a cure all of us will have the chance to experience "old age" on our own terms.

Click here to see Jenny Joseph read her poem -  Warning

Easy To Be Hard

"How can people be so heartless? " I woke up this morning with that song lyric stuck in my head. Funny since I haven't thought of the rock musical "Hair" for decades. Yes, it's funny but rather apt in light of the current political scene. If you can gauge anything from a Facebook newsfeed, it seems a lot of folks are perplexed and dismayed by what is going on with the current presidential campaign. Such nastiness and so little civility makes you wonder "[h]ow can people be so cruel".

What I wonder is where are all the Baby Boomers. What has happened to us, the peace, love, dove generation? Shouldn't we be calling the shots? Aren't there more of us demographically? Well, not anymore actually. According to the Pew Research Center, the Millenials were projected to surpass us sometime in 2015. I think they did since an recent article in CNN Money claimed the most common age in America last year was 22. As a group we Boomers are losing our grip and perhaps our perspective. 

C'mon, there are still well more than 60 million of us and we know kindness. We know love. We know how to make our voices heard. So let's say something. Let's try to do something. 

Find your inner Woodstock. Dig out your Army Surplus clothing. Put on your Birkenstocks and wear some flowers in you hair.  Well, in all seriousness, at least speak up! 

With thanks to Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni, I will leave you with some  additional lyrics -

How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold

How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

Especially people who care about strangers
Who care about evil and social injustice
Do you only care about the bleeding crowd
How about a needing friend ...

My First Guitar

My first guitar was a Silvertone H604 from Sears and Roebuck, probably the cheapest and most ubiquitous student guitar of the 1960's.  It was made by the Harmony Company of Chicago which sold approximately 350,000 instruments between 1964 and 1965. So much for craftsmanship and quality control.

Mine had a huge bow in the neck and, of course, there was no truss rod. The action was so high my guitar teacher had to file down the nut after telling my parents that might ruin the thing completely and that he couldn't be held responsible. It's a wonder my young fingers survived the stress. The case was canvas and after a few weeks the ends of the strings worked a hole right through it at the top. My mother repaired it with an iron-on patch. 

Despite all that, I wish I still had it. Sentimentality? Nostalgia? Yes, of course.  It was my very first real musical instrument and I loved it. You can see it here in this YouTube video where Daniel Guareschi plays one just like it.  I wish I had sounded this good back then when I played for hours in my room, but, sadly, I didn't.

Apparently, I was not the only person longing for the guitar of my youth. There were enough to convince the Silvertone Company to reissue the 604 in a new and improved form. 

You can read all about it here - http://www.silvertoneclassic.com/guitars/model-604604e/

Oh, yes, nostalgia and everything old is new again. Did you have a favorite something from your childhood that you wish you had kept?  If so, tell us about it in the comments.

I really miss that old guitar. It was even good enough for Audrey Hepburn in the film Moon River. 

Jammin' with my Ukulele

Ah, retirement! Once you get over feeling guilty, you have time to do a lot of things you just didn't get to while you were working. My plan was to focus on photography and I have (check out the new website  http://www.nearlylostphotography.com/ and the 365 Photo Challenge Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/365photochallenge2016/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel ). But a strange thing happened while I was scanning the local adult ed winter/spring course catalogue for photography related courses. There weren't any but just before I tossed it into the recycling bin, I saw "The Joy of Uke". Hmm. Of course, I registered and three days before the class started UPS delivered my new ukulele. As I held that little Chinese-made, stringed instrument tenderly in my hands, I saw my whole tortured music lesson history flash before my eyes. 

The saga began many decades ago when my aunt offered my mother my cousin Sandra's old clarinet. When asked if I would like to play, I saw a marching band uniform and fancy parades ahead and jumped at the chance. My dreams were shattered when the only available music teacher, our milkman, refused to take me on as a pupil because I was too young. No clarinet for me. But all was not lost since the possibility of becoming a piano virtuoso loomed the year we lived with my grandparents before our new house was available. My Aunt Mary's old piano was in the parlor and I was hooked once my grandfather taught me to play Chopsticks. Lessons were provided and I practiced diligently until, alas, we had to move into our new three bedroom 1960's ranch house in the suburbs. It had no parlor, so no piano for me. 

The next chapter in my musical memoir starts with the Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Yes, it was February 9th, 1964, and pop music was my new best friend. Who wouldn't want to play guitar like John, Paul, and George? I must have pestered my parents relentlessly because they bought me a little Silvertone from Sears and arranged for me to take lessons. Sadly, I can't remember my first guitar teacher's name but he had a 1950's wave in his hair and wore a fringed Grand Ole Opry style shirt. No mop top. No mod suit. No singing "All My Lovin'"or "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" for me. 

Still I was no quitter and for about three years I took my weekly lesson in a sad little room above a storefront downtown. My new music teacher introduced me to Mel Bay and his graded guitar method. Now I don't know if Mel Bay was ever in a band but my instructor played in a country western group. He must not have been a singer, though, because we never sang. Instead we worked our way through several grades of old Mel's system. I went from playing "The Merry Men" on the B string to cowboy songs, classical etudes and rousing ragtime tunes. I was a fancy little fingerpicker, but my dreams of rock stardom had faded away and died. Eventually, I just stopped going. 

Over the years since I have dabbled with guitars. I've taken a few more lessons and done a couple of workshops. There have been many starts and stops along the way. Nothing has ever really come together. Friends have occasionally invited me to jam with them, but that's always sounded so incredibly intimidating. I may have been able pick out "Valse Lente, op.33" but there's been no jamming for me. 

Fast forward to "The Joy of Uke" every Tuesday night in the brightly lit music room of the middle school. I sit with about 17 other eager students in front of our teacher who wears a silly Hawaiian shirt.  He calls us all musicians because we are tuning up, sight reading, and playing and singing together. The other night we worked through "I've Just Seen a Face" followed by "Hey, Good Lookin". Ironically, that's the Beatles meeting up with Hank Williams. Things are coming together nicely and I'm jammin'. 

A New Year Brings New Challenges

Part 1
Happy New Year, Everyone. It's time for a fresh start and taking on new challenges. It's that time when people make their dreaded (and sometimes dreadful) resolutions. But it may be the perfect time to just try something new. I read the other day about planning fun and exciting activities for yourself in the coming year rather than "resolving" to do things you don't like so well. Yes, of course, many of us could do with a little less eating and a little more exercise, but how about promising to do something nice for yourself this year?
You could plan a special outing, read that book you've been meaning to get to, reconnect with an old friend, learn a new language or skill. What would you really like to do for yourself or for others this year? How about taking ukulele lessons? (Yes, more about that in a subsequent post). Or perhaps you should join in the photo challenge.
Stop reading here if you hate taking pictures.
Part 2
As you know the 365 Day Photo Challenge for 2016 is on. So far we've had a great response. People really like these things for a lot of different reasons. One is obviously the challenge itself. Can you follow through and really take a picture every single day for a year? I'm betting you can.

In the last post I talked about documenting your life and the importance of that. This may be a big year for you. Perhaps you're getting married, having a baby, starting a new job, or going on an exotic vacation. You'll want to be able to look back on it all and a photo a day journal fits that bill nicely.

On the other hand, maybe this will be a hard year because you've suffered a loss or simply find yourself in a bad space. A photo challenge forces you to really look around and to see things you might have missed. Hopefully, you'll see some good things.

Photography is all about seeing and capturing so perhaps it can make everyone's year just a little bit more enjoyable. 

It's Time for Another 365 Challenge

I know I said in the last post that I needed to stop telling you what I'm doing with my time now that I'm not working. Well, let's make today an exception. Why? Because it's time for another 365 Day Photo Challenge! As some of you may know, we did one of these in 2014. You can see the results on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/  You can also look back at previous posts about it if you're so inclined. I'll include those links below.

Why take and share a picture a day every day for an entire year? My quick response would be "Hey, why not?" But some of you may need a bit more convincing so I'll start with this. We all have a camera with us most of the time. We all are living our lives in moments that flash by and are too quickly forgotten. Some of those moments are captured and shared on social media but most are not. Those moments are often lost, but they are special and deserve to be documented. I really believe that the folks who participated last time would agree but I'd love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment below and subscribe to the blog to follow along as we go.

I'm hosting the event for 2016 on Facebook this year. Check out the page at - www.facebook.com/365photochallenge2016

We should be good to go. Hope you'll join us.

Archive -
http://sobarbsays.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-photo-challenge-goes-on.html
http://sobarbsays.blogspot.com/2014/09/about-that-photo-challenge.html
http://sobarbsays.blogspot.com/2014/12/good-bye-to-2014-photo-challenge.html

First World Retirement Problems

Silly title, huh? It just struck me that retirement itself is a first world phenomenon. It's a gift. However, life without the daily 9 to 5 grind does present some challenges.  I'm not complaining and I'm not referring to those things that present as problems for all of us whether we're working or not. This is not about how to get the house "Thanksgiving clean" or how best to organize the food pantry so your crackers don't fall out while your looking for the tuna fish. There's just something different about not working in the conventional way that's hard to explain, but may be worth exploring.

Society defines us and judges us by our work. One of the first questions we ask when we meet someone new is "What do you do?" Or course, by that we simply mean "Where do you work?". But, hey, if you think about that question more broadly, it's really a tough one to answer. I mean, what do any of us do? What are the actions that make up our lives? Should you have to answer that? Could you? How would you?

In the first months of my retirement I've been trying to do just that. I find myself outlining my accomplishments in the silliest of ways. I list my completed tasks at the end of the day and make sure Mo knows I rearranged the bathroom closet and washed the bedroom curtains.  Ta da! I dusted. I bought a new vacuum cleaner. I descaled the Keurig. (Actually, I haven't done that yet, but you get my point).

Have I told you I'm organizing my photos? I'm building a website on Weebly. I made my first YouTube video. I bought a domain name. Okay, okay. Enough already. I need to stop. My first first world retirement problem is  understanding that I don't have to explain myself. It's 9:00 a.m. Friday morning. I just wrote a blog post. What else am I going to do today? Mums the word. 

Retirement Is A Good Thing

In 17 days I will retire. I'm excited. I'm pumped. I've been giddily sharing the news but I'm surprised by the number of negative reactions I've been getting. People seem surprised, puzzled and concerned. I'm hearing: "Really?"; "Are you sure?"; "Do you have a plan?'; and "What are you going to do?".  Well, all you skeptics out there, let me tell you what I have in mind.

•  I will blog more. Sadly, my last post was back in June after a short visit to New Orleans. It was entitled "Three Cab Rides Part 1: The Man from Dubai." Parts 2 and 3 are yet to be written. Sigh.  Part 2 would tell the tale of Cowboy Joe. While we were riding with him, he almost pulled a gun on a guy in a black Mercedes with tinted windows for trying to turn the wrong way on a one way street. Good stuff. Part 3 was to feature Ninth Ward Harold. On the way to the airport he told us about the government blowing up the levees during both hurricanes Betsy and Katrina. Conspiracy theory or fact? He was very convincing. 

• I will walk my dogs more. The three terrible terriers really need the exercise and so do I. We have started a pre-retirement routine where I walk each one separately along a prearranged route. Each pup gets some one on one time and I meet my Fitbit step goal. So far, so good.

•  I will make more photographs or as one of my YouTube mentors would suggest "get out there and take some damned photos."  My CAS, Camera Acquisition Syndrome, needs an outlet. For years the sad refrain has been so many cameras, so little time. 

• I will have a cleaner and better organized house. My mother always told me I should have taken Home Economics. As I assume the role of Home Administrator, I face a steep learning curve.

•  I will mow lawns and shovel snow, two most satisfying activities that yield measurable results and provide time for reflection. 

• I will think of more things to do and I will blog more. Perhaps we should title this post  "Retirement is a Good Thing Part 1. 

Three Cab Rides Part 1 - The Man from Dubai

Visiting New Orleans is an experience not to be missed. There is so much to see, to do, to taste, and to photograph that you find yourself constantly in motion. I nearly wore out the FitBit by logging unprecedented numbers of daily steps. Of course, in 90 degree heat and on legs still sore from a Segway tour, walking quickly got old. The solution? Call a cab. There are over 1500 licensed taxi drivers in the Big Easy and three of them I will not soon forget. 

Let's start with the Man from Dubai.

I had a three hour morning photo tour booked and was scheduled to meet my guide at Jackson Square. I decided to take a taxi because I knew that once I arrived at my destination I'd be walking for hours. Best to start out on fresh legs, right? So a cabbie pulled up and after we exchanged the usual pleasantries I told him I wanted to go to 750 Chartres Street. I was very proud that I knew enough to pronounce that "Charters" rather than "Shartrayze" and fully expected to get a knowing smile. Imagine my surprise when the driver asked if I could give him a better address than that. I said "It's 750 Chartres Street, the Jackson Square gate directly across from St. Louis Cathedral." That elicited a blank look. He held up his smart phone and told me there were several different 750 Chartres Streets and asked if I wanted to go north or south. That's when I knew I was in trouble. Not only did he not know the street but he also seemed to have never heard of two of the biggest tourists draws in the entire city.  I told him I had no idea what direction it was and that's why I had called a cab in the first place.

He apologized profusely and told me he had been a New Orleans taxi driver for only a week and that his GPS kept giving him the wrong directions and getting him in trouble with his customers. He then asked the hotel bellman for directions and we were on our way.

 During our ten block journey my determined taxi driver asked four more people for directions and apologized to me a dozen or more times. He also told me about his home, Dubai, and why he came to the United States. I learned that Dubai is the richest of countries but only for the few. You can't get justice there and no matter how hard you work you will never be anyone. I listened as he told me he came to America because here there is justice and here you can be somebody. Here things are fair. 

He was about to ask for additional directions but I could see the cathedral about a block away. We were heading away from it and about to turn the wrong way onto a one way street when I told him he could let me out, that I was close enough. 

He apologized again and I smiled while I gave him a tip. As I walked away I hoped America would be good to him. America. Yes, America where you can get justice, and be somebody, and even get someone else to take your written taxi driver's permit exam for you. I'm sure he will be just fine. 

You Never a Know a When You May Need It

Well, gifting and shopping is over for a little while anyway and I've been putting the Christmas presents away. (At least the ones we're keeping and not regifting or schlepping off to Goodwill). Did we get too much? Did we give too much? Is there too much excess? I'm not sure, but I do know there are two gifts from last Christmas (yep 2013) that I haven't used yet. I'm talking about a lovely pair of Ugg slippers and a cool little Holga camera. I fear I may be saving them for good.

Having been raised by folks my cousin Mary Beth affectionately calls "depression era babies", I understand well the concept of not wasting. You never know when you may need something. Right? You never want to be a spendthrift and you should always be saving for that ever looming rainy day. Bud Ricker's refrigerator has a cracked shelf and occasionally sounds like it's warming up to be launched into space. Still he says it works fine so it would be silly to replace it. My family always kept a few old clothes in the back of the closet for painting or other dirty chores. I confess to having my own little "for painting" pile on a shelf. After my mother died this summer, we found brand new sweaters in her dresser presumably saved for good. Whatever that good was, it didn't come in time. 

Family legend tells of my grandmother buying my Grampa a pair of new slippers. As the story goes she insisted he throw his old ones out because they were so worn. He resisted until one day she put them in the rubbish herself. He snuck out to the trash barrel, brought them in, and hid them in the cellar. So we're back to slippers. I have one still perfectly good pair of slippers. I also have an even older not so good pair that should be in the rubbish or, at the very least, hidden in the basement. Hence, the new Ugg slippers still in the box.

Now what about that Holga? It's a beautiful, plastic lomography camera that takes 120 film and is notorious for light leaks. It's a cult classic, a thing of beauty. I really love it. I have Ilford film for it in the freezer. I have masking tape ready in my camera bag. Yes, I have too many cameras but that's a subject for another day. I will use it, Mo. I promise. I feel that rainy day coming on soon. 

Have any of you kept things for good? Are there things you're saving for a rainy day? I'd love to hear your thoughts and your stories in the comments. 

Good-bye to the 2014 Photo Challenge

Well, it is the final day of the great 365 Day Photo Challenge and so time for the obligatory refective post. I'm glad I did it yet I'm very glad it's over. It was a worthy endeavor and I learned an awful lot, but I won't be doing another one in 2015.

Here are a few quick observations.

There's no place like home. 

Most of the shots I took were from right here at the 127. I love what I see every day looking out our back door. The view is to the southeast and the morning sky is often quite spectacular. The trees are tall and full and there are no houses or power lines to muddy up the landscape. I also found many favorite places to shoot in and around Windham and Lewiston. There was great satisfaction in seeing the familiar in new and different ways.

A dog is a woman's best friend and model.

My trio of terrible terriers made frequent appearances. Of course, my pups are all extremely good looking, but more importantly they were always here and willing to help when the weather was lousy and I hadn't gotten a daily shot. 

Your sister is your first and best friend.

Although Pam gets honorable mention for the third place finisher, the one who stuck with this right beside me the entire year was my sister, Deb. Even though we lost our mother in August and missed a few days, we kept taking pictures and finished up strong. I loved seeing her photos, especially those of that mysterious catalpa tree. We both had a lot fun commenting back and forth on the Pinterest board. And, hey, I just love my sister.

 Photo by Deb Cleveland

Most of my photos are crappy. But some of them are pretty good. 

I have a lot to learn about photography. Lighting is an ongoing mystery and flash photography is downright baffling. As soon as I get the exposure correct, the damned light changes. Timing takes great practice. That "decisive moment" eludes me more often than not. Planning shots is a lot of work and sometimes feels too contrived to me.  Once in awhile a quick snapshot can do the job. Most of the time what you see is not at all what you get. Still I have a few photographs that I am proud of and may even print and frame.

Post processing is a blessing and a curse.

I learned to use Lightroom this year. It's amazing software. I'm blown away by how much you can do to a raw image to bring out details you never even saw. I love being able to correct the dreaded white balance and add clarity and sharpness where needed. Being able to fix mistakes and improve your images is appealing but also addictive. I made a lot of those rookie over processing errors as I went along. I also wasted a lot of time that I could have used out shooting. This year I want to get it right in camera. I also want to shoot some film. 

It's not the gear that makes the difference. 

I used several different cameras for this challenge - two different DSLRs, several point and shoots, my iPhone, and my pride and joy Fuji X-T1.  Yes, some cameras are better than others but what matters most is what you see and where you stand. 

Thanks to all of you who participated. May you keep making photographs. 

Happy New Year, Folks.

Photo by Pam Hodenberg

365 Day Photo Challenge Board

Don't Over Customize

 So, yeah, I got a new iPad. We're quite rough on electronics here at the 127 and my old one had a cracked screen. (No, I did not drop it purposely when I heard he Air 2 was being released). For me getting a new device is not only exciting but a perfect opportunity to reorganize and to revisit app selections, blog subscriptions, and news feeds. I'm starting  fresh and only installing the things I really use. But while I'm purging and editing,  I'm also being reminded of what I perceive as a dangerous trend, over customizing. 

I can tell Facebook what I want to see and don't want to see. I can pick my news sources and blogs in Feedly. I can follow only the boards that interest me in Pinterest, make Twitter lists, and select specific Communities in Google+. That's great, right? Sure. In many respects these kinds of choices save us time and make our lives easier. I'm not inclined to read things that don't interest me so why should I bother to weed through them? Well, maybe, just maybe, I'm missing something important.

Remember magazines, anyone? Life, Look, Time, Newsweek? Did you ever read a daily newspaper? These were publications that gave us a little bit of everything. We were exposed to unfamiliar stories and issues and to opinions that differed from our own. Of course, we didn't read every article and editorial anymore than we open every single link today. But they were there for us if we wanted them often complete with pictures. Yes, pictures that we might not otherwise have seen. We were able to broaden our world view and prepare ourselves to be better Jeopardy players just by thumbing through the pages. 

The Internet gives us access to just about everything. It's amazing to me what I can see and discover here on the web. How expansive and mind-bogglingly broad it all is! I think we should embrace it and open ourselves up a little more. When we over customize we close ourselves in. We become too fixed and polarized. Have you been watching any of those horribly misleading and divisive political ads? Are you exclusively Fox News or MS NBC? Is it "my way or the highway" ? Perhaps your perspective has shrunk. Maybe you're over customizing. 

Where's the 2, Apple?

My big, belated birthday present arrived last night. (Yes, people still do get presents after 60) It was a couple of weeks late because my gifted gifter thought an iPad Air 2 would be better than the soon to be obsolete, plain old iPad Air. I, of course, agreed. Who doesn't want the latest and the greatest gizmo available?  

So, last evening was the long-anticipated unboxing. Who could have imagined the chaos and confusion that ensued? You see, there is no 2 anywhere on the box or on the actual device.

Given our shared and somewhat jaded perspective of a world where people don't care, don't check, or simply don't know, we assumed a mistake had been made. We were not happy. We were ready to head back to to the store to tell that careless clerk a thing or two before we figured it out by googling the parts number on the box and came to our senses. 

How do you identify which iPad is which? By measuring the width? By weighing it? Nope. You have to check the model numbers. Why Apple? Why? How hard would it be to just stick a damned 2 on there? Just wonderin'.

About That Photo Challenge

So, yes, the 365 day photo challenge continues or should I say is still creeping along? Today is Day 256 which means there are only (do the math) 109 days remaining.  When we started out there were about 10 of us regularly pinning our daily shots to our shared Pinterest board -   http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/ It was fun while it lasted. Then we slowly began losing folks. Now there are only three of us still at it and two of us are related. Perhaps there is some stick-to-it-iveness in the DNA, Deb Cleveland. 

Photo by Deb Cleveland

People drifted away because they got busy, got injured, got distracted, got bored. One person told me that it didn't feel right just taking a picture every day for no reason other than to post it. (You know who you are, Maureen Hopkins)  Another simply said, "Photography is hard." Some, I suspect, quit because they missed a day or two and thought the photography gods had been offended enough to kick them out. Yes, those were the purists who felt they had somehow failed the challenge. Silly people, I thought the same thing until I missed my first day. I lost three days around the time my mother passed away but I'm back at it.

I love taking at least one photo a day to share. Pardon the pun but it keeps me focused. Focused on things beyond my day to day routine. It keeps me framing and seeing little slices of my world in a different way every day. It also makes me try harder to be a better photographer. It just works for me but I understand why it isn't for everyone. 

I know I should just leave the rest of you alone, but I can't. Maintaining the board this year has made me eager to see what other folks have focused on, framed and chosen to share. I miss your photos, People. I really do. Yeah, even some of the blurry ones taken in low light. So I challenge you to come back if you were in and then were out. I challenge you to join in if you missed all the fun so far. There are still over 100 days left for great picture taking and I want to see yours. 

Photo by Pamela Hodenberg

Here's that link again - http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/ Email me if you need an invitation to join in.

You May Not Be As Helpful As You Think

This is my first week on FMLA leave and some of you may be wondering how it's going. Well, I already have some advice for anyone who may be thinking about or already caring for an elderly friend or relative in his or her home. Check your ego at the door and remember that you are a guest. With a  heart full of love and a head full of great ideas, you certainly have the very best of intentions.  But, hey, you may not be a helpful as you think.

Unless someone is legally incompetent (oh, yeah the lawyer weighs in), you have no business rearranging the furniture, revamping the schedule or otherwise taking charge. There are many different approaches to running a household. Be respectful and understand that your way is not the only way and may not be right for others. Ask what you can do to help. Listen. Stay humble. It's not about you. 

Here's the bottom line. Think about how you would feel if someone came into your home and told you what you should and should not do.

That's it for now. I'll keep you posted.

The Photo Challenge Goes On

Well, here we are 143 days into our 365 Day Photo Challenge and I haven't missed a day yet . However, there's a reason those people in the know use the word "challenge" rather than project or undertaking. This is difficult. To take and upload a photo every single day requires time and effort. It has to (and I hate "have to's") be done regardless of available time, motivation, or the weather. No wonder we've lost some folks. Some folks? Hell, we have lost most folks, but a faithful few still carry on and others come and go. 

I started this post back in March when I realized that most of the eager photographers who originally signed on were no longer pinning. My intent then was to encourage everyone to keep on keeping on or to come back to the board with no questions asked. I never followed through with that. I mean, what was there to say? We all have busy lives and differing levels of enthusiasm. We all also have many interests, passions, and ways to spend our all too scarce slices of time. 

I love to read, but I would probably start and no be able to complete a "Read a Book a Week" challenge. I want to blog about all kinds of things but I haven't blogged since January. Yeah, I can't even blog once a month. I faithfully follow the Red Sox, but I don't watch every single game. You see how it goes? 

So I'm not complaining one bit that our numbers are down. I'm just having fun and really enjoying seeing what other people do.  Keep giving us the cat shots, the tree studies, the beach scenes, the selfies, and the other odds and ends that make up your days. I like seeing what you see and thank you for sharing with us.

Here's the link to our shared  365 Day Photo Challenge board on Pinterest  -

http://www.pinterest.com/barbararicker/365-day-photo-challenge/

Photo by Maureen Hopkins

Don't Have Too Many Accounts

One of my "resolutions" for 2014 is to clean up and simplify my digital life. You see, I have two blogs and two Twitter accounts. That may sound crazy, but I googled how to merge accounts this morning and quickly discovered that I'm not alone. I want to combine the blogs yet not lose my content. Thankfully, many similarly situated but more tech savvy folks have researched and posted about how to do this. I'm taking notes and getting ready to make my social media experience less complicated.

How did I get myself into this mess? Well, I created a blog entitled "You Need a Helmet" because I wanted to write anonymously about things that really annoy me like politics and work. (What? Me complain about work?)  I also thought a bit of anonymity might come in handy when blogging about personal family issues. It's hard to be honest without running the risk of hurting someone's feelings, something to be avoided at all costs in our clan. I created a separate Twitter account, @YouNeedaHelmet, to compliment and promote the blog.

A secret blog? Yes, you're right. That's crazy. There is no such thing. Certain people know that's your blog and soon the jig is up. So In the interest of honesty, ownership, and shameless self-promotion, I started this blog. But I missed the crankier You Need a Helmet persona and I wasn't sure if I could let it go. So I remained a two blog hog for a time. But now I think I'm ready. I barely have time to post on one blog as it is. Blogger is much easier to use than Wordpress so this blog will survive the merger. 

Now the instructions I found provide for 13 different steps and use words like export, convert and XML markup, so this could take awhile. As for the second twitter account I fear I'll just have to kill one of them. Should the helmet be beheaded? It may be a casualty in this crusade to keep things simple. Sigh. But this is the time for starting anew and breaking those bad habits like retweeting oneself. I am going to stick with it and I hope you all follow through with whatever resolutions you've made for yourselves.

Happy New Year!