NOTEBOOK
archive - Copyright © 2005, 2006 William
J. Gibson
April
1, 2006
Took dog number 2, Shakespeare, a 7 year old golden retriever, to the
vets to have some stitches removed. He had day surgery to remove a growth
on his butt. No worries with that. Today it was slightly hilarious to
watch the vet try to get into position and with enough light to cut
the stitches. One person to hold the tail, me holding Shake around the
waist to try and keep him from lowering his butt, the vet on the floor.
The bay is opening up fast with our warm temperatures. Today no sun,
some rain but temperatures remain in positive double digits. It won't
be long before all the snow and ice is gone.
March 31, 2006
Tomorrow is April Fools' Day and I am a celebrant. If I was to list
the foolish things I have done in my life, we would be here awhile.
Last year I managed to have my right knee collapse under me as I climbed
some stairs out of a basement. I was carrying packed up camera gear
and had both hands full at the time. I fell back five steps to a cement
floor. Lucky for me I did not hit my head, but landed on my back and
cracked some ribs. This year I am going to avoid stairs all day on April
1st.
March 2, 2006
My dog Diamond died today. Suddenly, within an hour she was gone. The
vet suspects it was a tumour on her spleen that grew to the point where
she hemorrhaged. By the time my sister and got her to the vets, she
had no heartbeat. She did not suffer long, which helps me in my grief.
She was older but not old. Nine years and two months. I had expected
that she would remain a huge part of my life for another two or maybe
three years. She was my first dog and with her younger brother, Shakespeare,
was a major part of my daily rhythm. I will always remember her grin
and wagging tail, her sit down strikes when she did not want to come
home from a walk or from the park. I was very lucky to have her come
and live with me.
January 7, 2006
Reading American Scoundrel by Thomas Keneally. The Life of the
Notorious Civil War General Dan Sickles. Then Congressman Sickles murdered
his wife's lover in sight of the White House but was acquitted; went
on to a brave record in the Union Army. At Gettysburg he was wounded
by a cannon ball and had a leg amputated. In 1864, he was the leading
Democrat for Lincoln. He had begun his career as a South appeasing Democrat
of Tammany Hall in New York City. A fascinating read.
Sometimes the news
juxtaposes stories that then make a strange synergy such as the two
men in coma this week, Ariel Sharon and the lone survivor coal miner
in West Virginia. I wonder do those in coma know who are in the room
with them; do they have a special connection with others in the same
situation?
Yesterday would
have been my Mother's 90th birthday. She died ten years and three days
ago, having fallen into a coma as the lung cancerous tumour took her
life.
December 12,
20005
They call it bird feed and a bird feeder, however, the mainly sunflower
seed mix is feeding chickadees, mourning doves, a blue jay, squirrels
(black, grey, and red) and at night, cottontail rabbits. The bunnies
come looking for the seed that the acrobatic squirrels have dumped out
of the feeder. The only reason I spot the bunnies is the middle of the
night or very early morning moments when I let the two golden retrievers
out to water the garden (a four season job).
Arnold must be wondering
today why he ever ran for office.
September 18,
2005
Sunny Fall day. Perfection. Corrections of information to a web site
pose no small amount of philosophical inquiry as to the value and merit
of bothering to post anything at all. What is the point of slapping
the keys and posting the file? I have some theories and will investigate
further.
September 14,
2005
Summer doesn't seem to want to leave. several days in the 80s Fahrenheit-wise.
Attended an attempted annual general meeting of the not-so-long in action
arts council. Sadly the smell was that of a dead horse. Flogging continued.
As always great ideas, but only three members and two board members
showed up, and one government consultant. I brought the Timbits. You
can't have synergy without participation.
Saw a news item
on the tennis front that made me laugh and agree. The grunting tennis
players should have their voice boxes surgically removed. Self-indulgent
nonsense. I don't remember Rocket Rod Laver having to grunt his way
to victory.
September 10,
2005
I've cut back on the amount of coverage that I have been watching of
the Katrina Disaster. Too much was making me too upset. I have always
had New Orleans on my list of places to visit and photograph. I will
see if I can get there in the next couple of years. I hope they can
rebuild and that many of the old buildings can be saved.
June 15, 2005
A week of rain, several flavours of it: long slow two hour soaks to
15 minutes thunderstorm downpours, one with hailstones. Humidity on
top of that. Watching the bay blow waves from the west, then an hour
later from the east. I happened to notice on the side door screen, the
world's largest dragonfly looking to come in. Or maybe he was just trying
to dry off his wings.
If you want to shake
up your perception of twentieth century history, read John Cornwell's
Hitler's Pope. More on that when I finish the book.
June 12, 2005
We are experiencing a heat wave, humidex bidding, and today a smog alert
from Lake Ontario to Sudbury. the dogs keep looking at me and their
fur coats. We watched a special about penguins to keep cool. I have
been reading some short stories by John Buchan. I had hoped to find
The 39 Steps at my local public library, but no luck.
June 5, 2005
Having spotted a notice in the paper about a veterans'parade in the
village, I took three cameras along with me. One digital and two old
Pentax Spotmatics, one with a Super Takumar 50mm f1.4 lens, the other
with a 105mm f2.8 lens. The bright sunlight made the digital cam LCD
unusable. Its EVF (electronic viewfinder) was barely usable. In fact,
the way I had auto focus function set, I couldn't tell that autofocus
had set on background not the people in the foreground. About 90 veterans
paraded. For a moment while they were forming up in the street beside
the Legion Branch, a terrier upon hearing the pipes and drums, decided
to join in. He raced in large circles through the formation and barked
awaya. He stayed for a few minutes but then went over the hill before
the parade made its way to the village cenotaph.
April 14 2005
Listened to and watched a woodpecker tapping at some tree limbs in the
back yard yesterday. For the past two weeks taking out the dogs early
in the morning has been an aural treat, noisy birds. Lots of ducks,
geese, and several trumpeter swans. It hasn't been warm enough to sleep
with an open window. Wehn it is, there will be no need for an alarm
clock. I am still recovering from a fall down some stairs, cracked ribs.
I no longer trust my right knee. More time on the exercise bike may
restore my leg and my trust in it. More fun with BW film processing.
Watching the Pope's funeral moved me to tears. One more surprise added
to the pile of surprises this spring.
December 15 2004
The weather has turned from a mild November into a definite winter.
The humour of the building construction next door, been going since
mid-may (when it was promised to be completed in three months), is the
sound of the poor son of a bitch using a stone saw to cut stone blocks
for the front garden step way complex, in the pouring rain of +3 degrees
Celsius or in driving snow at -3 Celsius. Brings to mind all the happy
weeks of summer when the genius contractor had his crew working about
two days a week. It must be little fun to be captive to a contractor.
It has been little fun listening to a circular saw and hammering at
nearly 3 a.m. on a Saturday night ( a week or two ago as they presumably
worked on trim for doors, etc.)
NHL hockey seems
gone for the full season. I have noticed, but I don't really care. Can't
stand watching clutch and grab hockey, so I have watched few games in
the past few years.
November 2004
I was surprised that President Bush won re-election. There is something
a little odd about the talk about the American people not turning out
of office a war-time President. I don't see much in common between Abraham
Lincoln, FDR in 1940 (America was not at war then, did not enter the
war until the attack on Pearl Harbour on Dec. 7, 1941), and President
Bush now during the Iraq War. Somehow President Johnson's decision not
to run in 1968 during the Viet Nam War doesn't come up in this analysis.
My favourite comment about the election came from Bill Maher speaking
about the difficulties in accurate counting and recounting of votes,
"How come we can't count the votes? We don't seem to have any trouble
counting money. We can count that down to the penny." I think he
suggested Las Vegas should count the votes. They are the pre-eminent
counters of cash. Maybe a good idea. Maybe not.
September 11,
2004
Starting this sunny, beautiful day begins with the memory of three
years ago. How much has the world changed since then. Over a thousand
US forces dead in Iraq. In the back of everyone's mnd, the potential
of another major attack.
Earlier this week
I couldn't sleep and so took two cameras along for a mini-expedition
to Wasaga Beach - arrived just before first light. There is nothing
more deserted than a major playground beach on the morning after Labour
Day weekend. Then onto the Tiny Marshes, nw of Elmvale, a revisit to
photograph fungus and berries and a surprise. I noticed a bat sleeping
on the top of a light green coloured bush. I positioned my camera on
tripod close to him. Took a few shots and did not disturb his sleep.
August 20, 2004
preparing for a yard sale is a little like chopping off your baby toe,
repeatedly - on the other foot, I am kicking myself in the butt wondering
why I bought all this STUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
August 3, 2004
A blue
heron has been stopping by just before daybreak the past week or so.
Bad posture while standing. Incredible grace when the bird begins to
fly.
June 16, 2004
Took some photos with some old, but not vintage, camera gear on the
weekend. It was the right gear for the job. AF SLR 35mm with two zoom
lenses, 28-80mm and 100-300mm, a charity sports event on water at the
town harbour. Got the prints back. Maybe my pursuit of other equipment
has been the false search for the silver bullet photographic gear solution
after all.
Had to find the
strength of ten to flip over the kayak, so full of rain water from a
series of heavy rains this week. I know two families who have appreciated
the weather. We have robins in one nest on the NW side of the cottage,
and another family of robins on the SE side of the cottage. One group
who did not appreciate the rains, the builders working next door. They
completed their machine excavation the day before the storms. Today
they are working with shovels in rubber boots trying to scrape mud and
find final grade before bringing in foundation forms. They gouged a
strip off a very old, very thick cedar that sits half on the property
line. Although it is not an aesthetically pleasing perfect cedar, I
hope it survives the trunk scalping. They are tough trees.
HBO movie, Something
the Lord Made, about two men who began cardiac surgery, highly recommended.
In my humble opinion,
Ian McShane will win an Emmy for his role in the series, DEADWOOD,
another HBO production. His performance is exceptional, his character
a Shakespearean-rich villain of facets bad, good, and ugly, and compassionate.
June 10, 2004
Documentary about
Robert Capa, photojournalist and co-founder of Magnum Photo agency,
included this detail, he left behind 70,000 negatives.
June 2, 2004
Mosquitoes are in full flight and hungry. Beautiful grey wall of fog
this morning supported by the bay's water. Watching the cottage next
door being taking down and much of the materials being sorted for reuse
or other recycling. A completely new foundation and home will take its
place. A summer long next door construction site.
May 14, 2004
The summer has come with a thunderstorm bang. Temperature in the 80s.
A few days before, I found a small lick of frost on the back deck first
thing in the morning. It is like we jumped 8 weeks overnight and woke
up in August.
April 26, 2004
Chaco
Canyon Portfolio by Mike Connealy
April 14, 2004
Two quotations that surfaced from my papers. I had gathered them
some time ago.
"In the
depth of winter, I fnally learned that within me there lay an invincible
summer."
Albert Camus
"I was
brought up to believe that how I saw myself was more important than
how others saw me."
Anwar El-Sadat
April 12, 2004
"The only thing new in the world is the history you don't
know." Harry Truman
April 2, 2004
Another morning sighting of the strolling wild turkeys. Four pair
strolling along the shoreline, tall and stately. I am blessed with a
great "front yard".
March 29, 2004
Another spotting of the otter this afternoon. Plenty of open water
holes and still lots of ice in the bay. I took the dogs down to the
front for the first time in awhile. The otter was forty yards off to
the right. Male or female, not sure. Seems large so I will say male.
His colour stood out against the snow and ice. When the bay is water
in its liquid form, that colour makes otters very difficult to spot.
I have seen them usually at twilight with some bright setting sun sidelighting
them. And then just seeing the roundish shape of their heads and the
small wake as they swim. This afternoon he kept his eye on us for a
time. The dogs never saw him. He was probably out of their line of sight
with the rock piles (small to be called groins but serving that purpose).
He took one more fishing dive and came up with a small fish in his mouth.
Chewed that down and then went back under water. Surfaced within 10
yards near one of the dogs but once again not spotted. Then he went
under. I had my watch's stopwatch mode ready and timed his swim underwater.
Just under one minute and forty seconds. Seventy yards further along
to our left. The dogs ran around and played chasing each other in circles
on what snow remains on the beach. Then I brought them in to let the
otter do some more fishing without having to worry about us.
March 20, 2004
"I was following up this past week about some comments I encountered
about CD-R and CD-RW real life life spans. Some people were saying that
CD-Rs that were 2 years old were unreadable. I checked with a IT expert
old co-worker who said the problem is sporadic and due to oxidation.
He has even had some file failures with DVDs he has burned. The CD-RW
are a little more prone, but even the CD-Rs are failing. He remarked
that some people are going back to tape drive backups. Also, some are
doing multiple CD-R copies of files they really, really want to preserve.
I am considerning what I will do. I may have to get more organized.
May come up with a twice year replacement burn...sit down with a beer
and make new fresh copies of backup CDs of must protect images. Just
thought I would mention this to you in light of your 5000 coming to
you soon. You may be surprised at how many images pile up so very quickly.
I have over 10,000 by the Canon G2 and over 10,000 by the 5700. The
often but not always use of autobracketing is part of that. If I were
you, I would get a second battery straight away, and of course a larged
CF card. If I have told you stuff you already know, my apologies, no
foul intended." - From a note to a Californian photography enthusiast
I know online, who is about to purchase a Nikon 5000 digicam.
March 9, 2004
Heading
out the door yesterday morning, a new world's record was set. 6 squirrels
took off in all directions from their breakfast seating. taking in the
spilled wild bird seed. We are all ready for Spring to arrive.
March 2, 2004
Found a slide of an old friend which reminded me of a portrait I
took once. A very long time ago, I happened to be visiting a friend
who was staying with a little old lady in Kingston, Ontario. (circa
1978 as the haze of my brain clears). Her nephews and nieces had asked
a photographer graduate to take a portrait of her, so that they might
make copies and distribute them throughout the widely spaced geographically
members of the clan. The young grad ( I should say I was a young English
Lit grad ) took this little old lady out into her back garden in the
blazing sunshine, got her to take off her thick lensed glasses, turned
her to the sun and blazed away with black and white film. The result
made the little old lady look like the rock formations from an old episode
of The Lone Ranger. Bright sun and lack of glasses made her squint
and her lovely eyes were gone. High art I suppose but her family was
severely disappointed.
So while visiting
I happened to be toting a Twin Lens Reflex camera, a Yashica
D with a flash grip bracket and a flash unit costing about $89 bucks
for the Yashica, $12 for the bracket, and $20 for the flash. (all prices
circa 1978 as best I can recall them). I asked her what was her favourite
room in her house. The living room. I asked her what was her favourite
chair. A high backed cushioned chair over by a window with indirect
sun and sheer curtains. Which is of course where all her relatives saw
her when they visited her. She was 88 years old I think. I got her to
turn sideways and point her chin down and a bit away. Figured out the
distance from camera to ceiling to her. Checked the simple flash scale
and set the aperture accordingly. Bounced the flash off the ceiling
which was white. I was using 120 Ektachrome. Being dead broke in
those days.....I took just two exposures. Handheld as I recall.
Sent them back
to my friend after they came back from the lab and her family it turned
out were thrilled. Many copies were made. Mind you I love the Lone Ranger
but I guess it all depends. [this text is from a photo community thread
I posted back in November of 2002 that elicited a number of responses
about the forgotten viability of Twin Lens Reflex cameras: thread
on photo.net ]
February 26,
2004
Peter, thanks for stopping by. It has been an unusually cold winter.
Normally we get snow and it sticks and the temperature stays roughly
five to ten degrees below freezing (Celsius 0 degrees). But this year
we have spent many days if not whole weeks at -20 to -30 degrees and
with added wind, wind chills of -37 to -40. Everyone just kind of hunkers
down at home and goes out as little as possible. Ironically for much
of the cold time, we got much less snow than usual and humourously when
it did get up to minus single digits, it often has snowed like hell
(now there is an oxymoron). I was supposed to go on a little early morning
shoot with Len M. and another guy. But when the forecast said -27, I
passed. Len told me his Bronica froze up after about three shots and
he turned to his backup camera, a Rolleiflex. My Cool Hand Luke (nickname
for my Nikon Coolpix 5700) isn't supposed to operate in temperatures
below freezing according to the manual, what a wimpy camera. As for
the northern climes, I enjoy the four seasons and their differences.
One thing I would miss if I lived near the equator are the long Canadian,
summer evenings. That sudden lights out tropical sunset I have found
jarring. Although Jamaica would be nice for a week. Hope you are feeding
light to your camera. Regards, Bill
- photonet
thread on one of my indoor winter photographs
February
25, 2004
Just a few moments ago I was looking out the front window and saw an
otter crossing about twenty yards in front of the cottage over
the flat drifted snow. He travelled from right to left using a combination
of hops and torpedo slides, a delightful and efficient mode of transit.
I laughed out loud. I will try and look out for him at the same time
tomorrow. Wouldn't anyone want to be an otter for the summer of swimming
and the winter of torpedo/tobogganing.