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

Mom Should Wear Her Sweater

Last week was cold. Here in Southern Maine we experienced our lowest recorded temperatures in six years. When I met my parents at a local diner for lunch last Thursday it was windy and bone chillingly cold. Dad had his sweater on but under her coat my Mom was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt.  As I took her arm to help out of the car and into the restaurant, I asked where her gloves were. She told me they were in her coat pocket but she didn’t need them. She said she was fine.
Fine is, of course, a relative term. It was chillier then usual inside as we sat in the booth. The rest of us removed our coats and hung them up on hooks. Mom slipped her arms out of hers but pulled it loosely around her shoulders.

“Are you cold, Mom?”

 “No, I’m fine.”

And, you know, she was.  She was fine. We had a nice lunch and no harm whatsoever resulted from the lapse.  It just made me incredibly sad to realize that she is no longer aware enough to take note of and plan for the weather.   I spoke to my father about how Mom should wear her sweater when it’s so cold. Of course, he knows and he tries. He does remind her to dress more appropriately, to wear her sweater, to wear a warmer coat, but she just won’t. She says she’s fine.

 My mother’s memory began to fail several years ago now. Damn, but even as I type those words I feel like a liar. A user of euphemisms. An avoider of harsh truths.  What has been happening to my mother goes far beyond a little forgetfulness.  It’s insidious. It’s relentless. And it’s getting worse. Yet, through it all she’s been fine. She’s fairly happy and she constantly reminds us all how lucky we are.

It’s funny but the more my Mom slips away from me, the more I remember the things she always told me, those little life lessons she taught me. One thing she held strongly to and tried to instill in me was what I like to call suburban stoicism. No matter what life throws at you, keep your head held high and don’t complain. It was her own  version of “Never let them see you sweat” and it was imperative. It was the right thing to do. I guess, it still is.
 So, please understand I’m not complaining. We’re all fine here. I just wish it would warm up or that Mom would wear her sweater.