Thursday, October 13, 2011

A Blustery Day and a Question


Yours truly lives in an area where wildlife is free to wander through yards (unless stopped by a fence), and where we have easy access to the ocean. We like the ocean more than the wildlife.

Mid-afternoon on Monday, after a quiet day at home, the rain had slowed and we decided to go for a walk. There was a bit of wind, so we put on light fleeces. 

Just around the corner a wary deer stood in the road. As we approached he skittered into the edge of the forest, but stood obligingly still while I took his picture.


We meandered down to the water, about 20 minutes from home. The closer we got, the more the wind blew and the colder I felt.

On the breakwater the waves dashed in fine spray against the rocks. I stood on Tim's leaside to protect myself from the wind. It didn't help much. But it was a fine sea - turbulent and invigorating - just the thing after a quiet day.


These gulls seemed to be enjoying themselves. They didn't have to flap their wings at all to stay aloft - they turned into the wind and held themselves just so. A joy ride, I think.


Our tradition for most dinners is to enjoy a meal at the table, then clean up, go for a walk or play a game (or both) and then enjoy dessert later. 

On Sunday, while I played on the couch with grandbaby, Travis brought out the camera, "to record Nana with Adria." 

Then, I was startled to hear "Pomp and Circumstance" begin playing. Out marched Katie and Cristal with roses and a beautifully decorated plate with "Congratulations Graduate" written in chocolate around the rim. It was beautiful! Katie had made a pumpkin roll with a cream cheese filling, and topped it with whipped cream and a chocolate leaf. Yum! And Travis took photos - which I'll share later.

Tim gave me a card with a gift certificate for a new camera. I use a very simple point and shoot and am ready to upgrade a little. I have to do my own research, says he. So, I'm asking you, my readers - what kind of camera do YOU have for blogging photos? And what would you like? Which features are most important to you?


19 comments:

  1. How very sweet of your family, I know they must be so proud of you!

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  2. Hear, Hear, Congratulations !! I just use my iPhone for my blog pictures and have apps that can do all kinds of things to improve them and/or alter them.

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  3. That was wonderful. Let me add my congratulations too...en Francais, non?? Felicitations, Lorrie!

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  4. Cameras are tough. It really depends on what you want to shoot. I can't seem to get a un-blurry shot of my 3 year old, but If it's for your blog and mostly stills/wildlife and I say splurge!

    I desperately want a dSLR - really want the Nikon, but it's $$$.

    Cannon's "Powershot" and Sony's Cyber-shot are good at the cheaper point and click end.

    What ever you go with if you don't have a tripod I'd recommend one.

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  5. Lovely photos already, even without a new camera.

    Lucky you, your family loves and appreciates you.

    Personally, I like a decent zoom, I can never get close enough to wildlife and birds without it.

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  6. How wonderful! Congratulations!! What a lovely surprise for you after all that hard work!

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  7. Congratulations on your latest academic accomplishment, Lorrie. It's wonderful that your family is appreciative of the effort you put into your studies. Sorry, no camera advice from me; I'm still at the Canon Powershot point and shoot phase! You might want to pop over to the library to check out Consumer Reports magazine for the list of the criteria they evaluated and final ratings.
    -Karen

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  8. Beautiful pics! Congratulations...so you are finished with school? When did you graduate? Here in the states it's more of a May and December event. I got a Sony Cybershot for Christmas. I love it. It has a couple of options for "no shake" pictures that work great. I highly recommend it. You can't change the lens, but has a zoom and macro and panoramic option....all I need or want to carry around!

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  9. Forget what I have...I want what my neighbor has. Ha! She has a Nikon D40. She says it didn't cost her an arm and a leg, just an arm. I think they're under a thousand dollars.

    How sweet that your family remembered you and your achievement. That makes me love them, too.

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  10. Congratulations Lorrie! What a nice surprise the family arranged for you. I have a Canon Power Shot A570 and enjoy it because it's light and compact. I also like the bump along the right hand side because it gives me something to hold onto easily. Looking forward to seeing the next batch of photos.

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  11. I'm not surprised that you like the ocean better than the wildlife.

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  12. How very sweet of your family!

    I shoot a Nikon D50 and have started playing with my Farmboy's D300, The D50 and the D90 are both great starter "big girl" cameras. You can begin by shooting on auto and gradually work up to full manual by seperately learning how to adjusting white balance, aperture, shutter and your ISO. I would suggest investing in a good lens. A good lens can make all the difference.

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  13. Anonymous8:06 PM

    Your photos are already lovely, but since you asked...

    I use a Nikon D3100, which is supposed to be an "entry-level" DSLR. It takes photos and videos, though I tend to use the video setting on my Canon.

    For carrying a smaller camera that you can fit in your pocket, I use my Canon PowerShot SD880 IS, which takes great pictures, has an awesome macro setting, video, and a middle setting that allows you to take pictures with different light settings... like Winter, Kids, Beach, Nighttime, Fireworks, and ISO 3200.

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  14. Congrats Lorrie!! Darrell surprised me with a Canon Rebel XSi camera for Christmas 2 yrs ago. Then for my birthday last year he gave me a SIGMA DC 18-200mm lens. I would love to take a photography class and learn more about the manual side of my camera. I love taking pics with it though and have fun editing in Picnik. It is not compact by any means, but I like it :) Have fun shopping!

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  15. What a fabulous surprise, how proud of you this must all be!
    Love the roses.
    I've been using a Panasonic Lumix 10x for about 18 months now and love it.
    As a point and shoot kinda gal I find it does everything I need without being too complicated.

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  16. Congratulations on completing your degree!

    I'm no help with the camera. I use my cell phone when I remember to take pictures.

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  17. Congratulations! I love your family's way of celebrating your achievement. And a new camera? A wonderful memento.

    I use a Canon Powershot SX20IS...which I love. It's a glorified point and shoot...and has tons of features I've never tried. I also have a wee Canon Powershot that fits in my pocket...for those times I don't want to lug the big camers. Have fun picking and choosing.

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  18. What a sweet celebration!
    I am the last one to give camera advice as I still use a point and shoot although TGD has Nikon D80 that I could use if I were more ambitious. The truth is, that I just can't be bothered to learn to use it properly.

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  19. Fugi Finepix. 14 megapixels and 10 zoom. Small and light. HD video and much more.

    Very happy with it.

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