On Being 61 Years Old

I woke up this morning and realized it was my birthday. Last year it was a major production. I turned 60. It was the opening of a new decade of life. This year it means basically nothing to me.

I realize there are far fewer days ahead of me than there are behind me. Time is compressing and going by with alarming speed. If I am going to make a mark in this life, I had best get moving.

But what have I been doing all these years if not trying to make life mean something?

I have always been something of an existentialist, that is I subscribe to the notion that life is meaningless other than the meaning we bring to each day. Sometimes I wander from that belief and dwell on mistakes of the past and try to correct them. Other times I focus on "accomplishing something." But then I reflect on what I am and I am back in this day.

There is much to regret in life. There is also much to strive for. But dealing with those things comes today and not yesterday or tomorrow. Today I will do what I can to make the lives of myself and others better with the resources I have and not those I wish I had.

So, yes, it's another birthday, just another day to rejoice in, no better and no worse than any other. It is what I bring to it.

This is the day the Lord has given me, let me rejoice in it.

This rose bloomed yesterday. I took the time to stop and smell it. Perhaps I have learned something after all in these 61 years.

My Little Buddy

With the terrible news this morning coming from Pakistan, I felt the need to look at something tranquil and happy. My buddy "Moby The Hummingbird" makes me smile, so here he is.

In the morning I go out on the patio for coffee and to enjoy a California sunrise. Moby and I have become buddies. He seems to be waiting for me when I come out in the morning. When he sees me, he flies down to the feeder and has a drink while I sip my coffee. We are no more than three feet apart. He dips his beak and then looks over at me as though to say, "How ya' doin?" I tell him he is a pretty birdie and we spend a lovely few minutes together.

This picture is no work of art, but hey, I shot this tiny guy freehand from about 30'. He was up in the tree where he waits for me in the morning. He's just the cutest little guy. He make me feel a bit like St. Francis.

The Kiss

A fortuitous fall of rock.

This image along with 25 or so others will be going on sale at McShanes, the upscale nursery in Salinas, California this week. These pictures will all be garden oriented. This is my first venture into retail.

MJ Goes Artsy Craftsy

I was duncing around in the backyard with the 70-300mm. We have a small pond Anita installed. The light was looking kind of interesting, so I shot a couple frames. I rather liked the result.

Morning in the Garden

Fire and Water

This is another shot of a water feature in the garden. I shot this with the 100mm macro as the sun was setting behind the hills and I turned the lights on in the fountain. I was pleased with the effect.

Water Feature

For larger image click on picture.

If at First You Don't Succeed

Jeeze, these little guys are hard to shoot! I was all over the place with ISO, shutter speed and f stops trying to catch this little guy. Really not all that successfull... yet.

I shot these images with a Canon 70-300mm IS USM on a tripod. Focus is clearly an issue. Perhaps it is just a DOF problem, but I was fiddling with various f stops and see none that please me. I have mounted the 100mm f2.8 macro and await the return of the birds this afternoon. Maybe I can do better with that lens.

Around the Garden

I am still discovering our own garden. Living 90 miles south of San Francisco, 20 miles from Big Sur, 10 miles from Carmel and Monterey Bay, I am constantly tempted to look at big scenes. But here in the backyard there is a Tao or Zen in the little things. Just crank down the shutter speed a bit, and the routine becomes abstract.

Water Feature

Simplicity

Image of the Day - Holy Begonia Batman!

Focus is not what I had hoped for here. I would prefer the center was sharper but I got the top of the flower instead. This macro stuff can be pretty challenging. Nonetheless, I rather like the picture.

Image of the Day - California Oak Acorns

Today we took some limbs off a California oak in the backyard, and much to my surprise, there were acorns there. (Call for Mr. Macro!) The California oak, a form of live oak, looks nothing like the oaks I was used to back East. But, sure enough, the Californians are related to my old familiar trees.

Speaking of Mr. Macro, my confidence is growing the more I use this lens. At the risk of being repititious, it is very good color and clarity-wise. I am finding that at 100mm it is very versatile and would probably make a fine portrait lens, though I have yet to use it for that. I look forward to my expertise growing with this lens over time.

Image of the Day - Foggy Morning

This morning it is cool and foggy. The light is soft. Not a bad day for macros.

Image of the Day - Morning in the Garden

Morning Dew

After a day of getting around San Francisco with friends and son, it's back to the "Little World" of the backyard and my good friend, Mr. Macro.

Life

Still fiddling around with the macro. It consistantly delivers good results. I am even getting used to lugging around a tripod which is a must with wide open aperture at 100mm.

Japanese Maple Leaf

I was outside playing with the Canon 100mm f2.8 and experimenting a bit with depth of field. I like this lens a lot. The sharpness, color and contrast are all good. A fine tool.

Strawberries on the Hoof

These little guys are ripening in the side yard, "Mmmmmmmm, strawberries" in a Homer Simpson voice.

More Playing with Light and Lense

Yesterday I was duncing around in the garden. Anita has a bunch of "garden art," among them this ceramic cat (as if our four real ones weren't enough :). I had the Canon 70-300mm USM IS mounted, and I wanted to see what I could do with it with some closeups. The light was interesting too. So I shot a few frames. I was rather pleased with the result.

I also played a bit with DOF and composition with this solar light and bench. The white arm on the bench is a bit blown out (I suspect I can fix that in Lightroom) but otherwise the image works pretty well.

This sort of shooting works with some of the commercial work I am doing for a place called McShanes Nursery here in Salinas. It is a large high end nursery catering to folks who are serious about their gardening. There are lots of folks like that around coastal Monterey County. I'll be shooting for them and their landscape architects here over the next several weeks.

Little Guy Takes Time Out on a Rose