Happy New Year!

I know, I’ve been a bit of a slacker…

Things have gotten pretty busy at work now that the season is in full swing, so It may be a while until I get to make another post here or take any decent photos for that matter.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you when the ground thaws! 😉

Back in action!


coneflower

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

Well, sort of. At least my car has been repaired. My job has switched over to winter hours extremely early this year, so I’m back to the 10 hour days. That kinda cuts into my time for photography a bit, since I don’t get home before 9pm most days. Hopefully it will only be a temporary thing, and once the “Summer Sale” is over I can go back to normal hours for another month or so. I wasn’t expecting for my summer to be cut short already!

Here’s one shot from that roll of film that was waiting to be developed when my car decided it was done working for a bit…. I mistakenly shot this roll at ISO 400, but it was actually 800 speed film, so its a bit washed out.  It also was crazy sunny that day, which probably didn’t help either. I did try to tweak it a little in PS. I kinda like it in this pic. One of those happy accidents I guess.

There’s another couple of new shots over in Traveling Gnome as well.

I promise no more lilies, after this one!

There’s something about this photo that I like. I think its the nifty pattern the fence bokeh makes in the background. And maybe the pop of color from the flowers against the gray of the fence. I wasn’t originally a bit fan of this one, but it has grown on me a bit.

I was all excited about having the day off, and was hoping to get out and do some shooting today, but alas it’s raining. So I’ll have to wait a bit to finish up that roll of film. But at least I got my oil changed, and I’ve been needing to do that for a while now. Guess I’ll spend the rest of the afternoon watching some TV with the katzen.

I’m also a bit torn on my upcoming dslr purchase. I’ve been saving for a Nikon D80, but I’ve been doing some research, and I’ve found the the D200 I can get used for a decent price. (for the body only, vs the D80 package). Its probably way more camera than I’ll ever need, BUT it will meter with my old manual Nikkor lenses. The D80 will work with those lenses as well, but it won’t meter. I’m not sure how much of a pain that will be for me, or if buying the D200 used is even a good idea. Although the site I saw it on, I have purchased from in the past, and they’ve been nothing short of fantastic, so I’m not terribly worried. Any comments or ideas are welcome. I need some major help with this decision.

A tigerlily, and Target strikes again!


tigerlily

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

😀 I love the bright orange! This is a shot from the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Taken with my Nikon FM, and Nikkor 135mm f2.8, w/ circular polarizer.

side note… Target did it again!! Why do they scan my film upside down and backwards? Is it too much to ask to turn it over the right way? Maybe I’m just being picky… I don’t know. But they seem to process my film the best. Maybe its a sign I should consider a digital SLR. But, I love my little FM, and I’m not giving it up just yet.

I think its time I bought myself a film scanner. Anyone have any suggestions? (something not crazy expensive preferably….)

I’m trying out Twitter…


in the trees

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

I’ve decided to give Twitter a try. I keep hearing about it, and its sounds cute! So I figure, why not. I added an rss feed of my tweets over on the right. Just in case anyone cares to check it out. lol

Oh, and here’s my picture for the day. Taken during a trip to the Stony Brook Gristmill with my Nikon FM, and a Nikkor 50mm f1.8. This one is my favorite from the trip.

Hopefully sometime soon I’m going to try and head out to the Arboretum for some photos. Just as soon as The Boy and I are off again…

Summer is here


bokehberries

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

I’m not sure where the spring went though. It went from 60 degrees to evil overnight. Really hot. The Giant thermometer up on the middle school sign read 106 degrees today. Thats hot. Not Paris Hilton style either.

Haven’t attempted to go outside much in the past few days, for fear of my camera melting, or me, so I’ve been shooting random things around my house.

I went over to Target today, to develop a roll of film, and I’m actually pretty happy about the processing. I don’t have any of those bizarre lines in my film that I got from Wal-mart, or the globby spots that I got from CVS, so even though its a bit of a trip to get there, I think I’m going to go there from now on.

However, all was not perfect…. The girl at Target who scanned my film onto the CD for me, scanned the film upside down and backwards. So now I have to flip everything around. I’m thinking that it may be why the scans are extra grainy this time around. But all-in-all, its the best I’ve found so far.

summer lights


summer lights

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

Decided to decorate my balcony, with some of those big cafe lights.

Been a pretty busy weekend for me, had a friend’s baby shower in Connecticut, my cat got some wonky foot infection, and my mother was over for most of the weekend.

It was nice to sit out on the balcony Monday night have some coffee, and finally relax. One day, I’ll actually be able to relax on a day off work.

Crazy, I know.

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Cupcakes!


Cupcakes!

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

More rain today… so I made some cupcakes! Here’s three tasty cupcakes, made for Ashley’s birthday. I made more than three of course, but these three didn’t fit the cupcake boxes I found at Target, so they’re staying behind for pictures (and for me to eat!) Chocolate cake with whipped vanilla icing, and purple sprinkles, Ashley’s favorite color.

I’m very happy with these, as the swirls on top actually came out right. Turns out I needed a bigger icing tip.

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Taraxacum Officinale

Its been super cold and rainy here today…. and pretty likely to continue for the rest of the day. I like rain, but today all I want to do is sit on the couch and nap. Perfect weather for a blog post, and maybe a hot cup of coffee.

I have a secret love of dandelions. I like the fluffy yellowness of them. And the puff ball of seeds. Its a sign that summer is coming, and that, for me, is always a good thing. Caught these fluffs on the way to work the other day, with my trusty Nikon.

dandelions

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

“Many cats simply pounce to their own drummers.” – Karen Duprey


Evie 2

Originally uploaded by F.Scala

This is Evie. She is a spunky little ball of energy.

She was rescued recently by a friend of mine. The story I was told, (as well as her husband) was that she was driving down Sunrise Highway, and 3 kittens hopped out of a box over on the side of the road. This little one was the only one she could catch.

Her husband doesn’t believe the tale. It does seem a little far fetched that someone could see -much less stop for- a box of kittens while doing 70 on Montauk Hwy… But little Evie seems to have won their heart anyway, and so she has a new home, wherever she came from. Much to the disappointment of their first cat Chloe, who was feeling a bit camera-shy this weekend.

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