Gone to the Dogs at SeaStrands Studio

Side trip

VickyTH — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 19:52:04 +0000

We spun down into Flatrock today to watch waves. I’ll have more photos later, but this was my favourite of the day.

Spectators

Filed under: D7000, Newfoundland & Labrador, photo, photography, photos

Sea Fever

VickyTH — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:45:56 +0000

Masefield had it right. We took a walk on Middle Cove Beach yesterday evening and found a bit of sea and spring fever..

The light was beautiful…

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Filed under: D7000, photography, Photography, photos, poem, Poems & Quotations

Testing

VickyTH — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:32:14 +0000

For our upcoming trip to Florida, I thought it prudent to have on-hand a waterproof and durable point-and-shoot camera, to take places that my DSLR should never go. So today I picked up the Olympus TG-820 and I’m fairly pleased thus far. Of course, in March in Newfoundland, finding a source of water in which to test such a camera is tricky. Pools typically don’t allow camera hereabouts and fingers freeze faster than a camera can shoot in the ponds and oceans just now.

To circumvent this, I’ve been fooling around with the settings and then plunking it into the fish tank to test it.

So far I rather like it. I’m not used to the Olympus interface, but this camera has a couple of nice perks. I’ll write up a review of it after I play with it a bit more.

Filed under: camera, fish, photo, photography

Long and Winding, with apologies

VickyTH — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 11:31:48 +0000

I remember hearing bats once as a child. I must have been five or six and I could hear their high-pitched squeaks in the night while on vacation. That was around the time when I must have stopped hearing birds, too. And leaves. Words that people spoke half-fell on my ears and there are people who have passed in and out of my life without the sound of their voice ever having been more than a jumble in my mind.

I learned to read lips, to discern what must have been said from the context used and gradually as my hearing failed, my coping mechanisms evolved. My dogs always erupt at the sounds of people outside, the toaster popping, doorbells, phones, and even the cat scratching at the sofa. This is their contribution to my alert system and an invaluable one at that.

When our daughter was born, she slept in the same room as we did so that I would be able to hear her strongest cries and get up. I don’t remember her ever snuffling or snorting or squeaking, but John says she did. The dogs alerted me to her as well; wonderful Wikket, border collie par excellence.

And time went on. I heard less and less. I could not hear someone speaking to me from the back seat of the car. A tap running in the house escaped my notice and the sink overflowed, again and again. John would have to repeat himself over and over and acted as my translator, magnifying what other people had said so that I knew what was going on. And Katherine started not talking to me after school because I couldn’t hear her.

In October, I decided to see what could be done. I got my hearing tested and the audiologist came out looking at my chart in disbelief. “Do you realize that you are almost deaf? How long have you been living like this?”

Of course I realized it. I had known it for years and it terrified me and embarrassed me to the depths of my soul. It was my dark secret and one that I could do nothing about because, frankly, I couldn’t afford to and because I’d watched other people with hearing loss suffer stigmatization and frustration with technology and communication. I come from a long line of deaf people and the solutions provided always seemed measures of desperation rather than viable solutions. Hearing aids were uncomfortable, expensive and looked horrible. Plus they didn’t always help. At least, that was what I had seen.

The audiologist was adamant. They were the only solution, but (and this was the wonderful “but”) technology had improved. Hearing aids were now digital and could talk to each other. They synchronized their efforts and the solution was almost as good as natural hearing. They were more comfortable, too and discrete. They have bluetooth connections to allow me to use my cellphone handsfree, pipe the tv audio directly into my ears and (oh joy!) to listen to my ipod wirelessly.

But they came with a hefty price tag. My Oticon Acto Pro hearing aids were $2200 each. $4400 is a lot of money and hearing aids are not typically covered in any meaningful manner via health care plans. They are tax-free and an income tax deduction, but $4400 is the hell of a lot of money.

Which I bit the bullet and did. And have not regretted for one second. Well, maybe for one, just before I put them on. I went for a walk in the woods right away, curious to hear what would be audible.

Did you know that leaves make sounds? That when they fall and hit the ground they whisper? It’s not just a figure of poetry.

Brooks and streams ARE musical, I thought it was another poetic construction, but it’s true. There isn’t just one sound to them, but a running stream tinkles and gurgles and babbles and sings all in the one set of sounds.

My feet are very noisy on the running trail and that sounded different from on the road and different again from on concrete.

At Christmas I discovered that a band playing isn’t just a jumble of noises, but you can hear the individual instruments and the air and intonations of each one. Even a junior band of first-year students.

Machines hum, wind whistles, and Katherine talks to me incessantly, now.

And voices….. words have beginnings and middles and ends sound-wise as well as in terms of lettering. I can hear whispers. I can hear tones in words that did not exist before. People don’t sound at all like I thought they did and they are really, really noisy. They sniff and murmur and shift positions and click their tongues infuriatingly. They also pee really loudly. In fact, the world is a constant onslaught of sounds. It has been five months now and I still occasionally have to turn off the hearing aid or take an Advil when it gets to be too much.

$4400 well-spent.

Filed under: apropos of nothing

Patience

VickyTH — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 12:50:11 +0000

Since taking over this office (that sounds a little hostile, doesn’t it?) we’ve done a number of things to make the place more ours and more functional. One of my favourite projects, setting up the fishtank, serves both purposes.

(end of December 2012)

Firstly, it gives of us a built-in de-stressing zone. Law can be stressful even on relaxed days and having the ability to momentarily lose yourself in an aquatic ecosystem is a marvellous antidote. It seems to appeal to clients as well, but mostly it’s for the staff.

The tank is 55 gallons and about four feet long. While I would have loved to have done a saltwater setup, the energy and attention needed were beyond my scope and I wasn’t keen on shelling out the extra initial funds at that time, either. So we settled on a soft-water tank and my intention was to go with South American fish, for the most part. We ran the tank for a week or so, fishless, and then added five White Cloud Mountain minnows. After that, we added one or two fish every five days or so.

Early January, 2013

The large logs are real wood and they gradually leach tannic acid into the water, which helps keep our already naturally soft local tapwater at an even acidity. Plus they look nice and some of the fish really appreciate the caves and crannies in which to hide.

The tank still isn’t up to capacity, even allowing for fish to grow. Adding small numbers of fish to a planted tank with intervals in which the biological filtration could adapt seems to have done the trick and we’ve only lost one guppy (but she had just given birth, so other factors may have been at play).

We’ve had a couple of power outages and the large size of the tank has meant that the water conditions were relatively stable throughout.

End of January, 2013

The practical consideration that this tank satisfies is the stabilization of the humidity levels in the office. With a combination of electrical radiators and forced air heat, the place gets plenty dry in winter and anyone with skin ailments suffers. The fish tank has added a constant source of humidity and the positive effects are noticeable.

But mostly, it’s pretty and makes us all happy.

Filed under: fish, photography, photos

Winter perks.

VickyTH — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:17:37 +0000

Somewhere on every photographer’s blog you will likely find an entry about winter sunrises. The cliché is not without merit, since sunrises are far, far easier to be awake for at this time of year. Harder on the fingers, when the windchill dips to the -20C range, but you’re more likely to be up anyway.

This one was taken this morning during a snow squall with the D7000 DSLR and processed in Photoshop. With mittens on.

Filed under: blogging, D7000, Newfoundland & Labrador, photo, photography, winter

Reboot

VickyTH — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:39:45 +0000

Life has been frantic to the point of chaos this fall, but it’s looking like I may be able to simplify a little and get some semi-regular blog posts and photography accomplished. I picked up an iPhone 5 and am finding that the camera is adequate, but the interface is lovely.

Have to figure out a workaround for posting photos from Flickr, though. The Flickr app doesn’t have a share to WordPress option nor doe it allow me to export the HTML coding as a cut and paste into the WordPress app….

Filed under: apropos of nothing, blogging

A lot like Christmas…

VickyTH — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:01:10 +0000

One of the many birds that adorn our tree.

Trimming the tree

Filed under: Christmas, D7000, Newfoundland & Labrador, photography, photos

Happy Hallowe’en!

VickyTH — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:06:22 +0000

And a very festive Samhain to you all. Today is the day many things happen. First off, and I guess most importantly, today is the day that we take over John F. Dawson Law Office (we’re purchasing it) and it becomes John Taylor-Hood Law Office, PLC Inc.

I don’t have a picture of that for you yet, but it’s a law office. They don’t photograph particularly well, you know.

We’re extremely excited about this in that energetic and frenzied way that only moderately covers up the sheer terror at stepping off a cliff under your own wing power.

The past months have been full of the millions of little details that go into setting up a business, compounded by the zillions of minutiae that go into owning and running a law office. Mix the two together and it’s rather a nightmare of paperwork, logistics all fed by an emotional rollercoaster. It feels rather like planning a wedding; you know that the big event will be the culmination of the heck of a lot of work, but there’s the growing realisation as you go that it also only marks the beginning of the heck of a lot more work for years to come.

Secondly, it is All Hallow’s Eve, Hallowe’en, or Samhain, whichever you choose. For that I *do* have a picture. I give your Katherine, the owl:

Katherine’s Owl Costume – photo taken before the sun was up this morning.

I made this one. The cloak is effectively a poncho, covered in layers of polar fleece feathers. The mask is several layers of fabric and stiffener, with a foam beak. I sewed the mask to an old running cap that had been debrimmed, so it stays on without elastic and can be flipped up for visibility. It was a tonne of work, but I think it’s not half-bad. She’s thrilled, which is what counts.

Filed under: craft, creativity, dress, family, kids, law, Life, photo, photography, Sewing

A glimpse

VickyTH — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:23:58 +0000

Extinguished

This has been a rather busy fall. So busy, in fact, that autumn has almost passed by without my noticing it. Since it’s my favourite season, this was a bit of an eye-opener for me. We took some time and went for a family ramble through the MUN Botanical Gardens on Sunday.

Uplifted

Blue

Lanterns

Pining

Twins

Grizzled

Filed under: Botanical Gardens, D7000, Garden, Photography, photos

Sifting

VickyTH — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:43:41 +0000

1-second exposure in the dusk of evening. f25, ISO 200.

I’m still sifting my way through a summer’s worth of photos and reckon I’ve gotten through maybe half of them. I’m not usually one for hanging on and posting shots long after they were taken by me, but in this instance, it’s working well. I haven’t as much time to photograph things this month as I’d like, so having a stockpile of material is helpful. It was also frankly a relief not to feel obliged to edit thousands of images as soon as we returned from each trip.

I haven’t made many fire studies, but I think I may do so in the future. Fire, much like water, can do interesting things with timed exposures, often in unpredictable and exciting ways. A project for next summer, I suppose.

Filed under: apropos of nothing, D7000, fire, photo, Photography

The slow spiral

VickyTH — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:01:06 +0000

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

September is gone and October is suddenly here. The days have gotten manifestly shorter and slightly cooler and I’ve been eyeing my winter running gear with a little suspicion and loathing, not looking forward to the day when donning and shucking the gear needed to run 5k takes longer than the run itself. Waking up in the dark has started to take its toll on my cheerfulness and resilience, too, reminding me of the imminence of seasonal attitude and energy downs-wings.

I am not a creature of the dark. and it takes a tremendous amount of energy to not only survive the winter, but to venture out into it.

But that’s what makes the difference, you see, venturing out. It can’t be the effect of sunlight on skin, since I’m normally swathed in layers of wool, silk, spandex and Gortex. I can only guess that it must be the effect of sun in the eyes, coupled with endorphins and the same sense of purpose that the Jesuit missionaries got when heading into hostile territories. Running in winter in the snowy parts of Canada (and Vancouver, I’m NOT talking about YOU) requires zeal and determination, along with the right gear and some good friends. If you do manage it, though, it counteracts the effects of darkness. Even running in the dark (and we do a lot of that) makes the world brighter.

Heading Home

When you run outside in winter, you become attuned to exactly how long a day is. Running certain familiar routes demonstrates concretely that the days not only get shorter, as you hit those mile markers in progressive darkness, but also shorter, as the days lengthen in the depths of winter. When the first tiny glimpses of spring show up, you see them and feel them. Runners are among the first to divest themselves of layers of clothing when the thermometer girds its loins for the great leap over zero (Celsius). You notice the sudden appearance of random patches of grass long before everyone else and dash off-trail to succumb to the hydraulic pressures induced by spring stream songs before anyone else notices the snowbanks diminishing.

And suddenly, just as suddenly as it was winter, it’s spring. And time for hillwork……

Filed under: apropos of nothing, exercise, Exploits Islands, Life, Newfoundland & Labrador, Photography, photos, running, winter

‘Tis Monday…

VickyTH — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:51:37 +0000

A small shed and endless sky in New Bonaventure, Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland.

…and a fine specimen it is to be sure.

Child is home sick (cold and fever) and I seem to be acquiring the cold symptoms as well, symptoms that I am studiously denying and will try to blast out of my head with a nice, long run later on. It’s amazing how much more appealing running with a head cold becomes, when the alternative is hanging out with a miserable child.

It also looks like a perfect day to edit a few photos and get on top of the housework, insofar as that’s ever possible.

I took the picture above in New Bonaventure, during our Labour Day camping trip. The shed is actually white with teal trim and the distant house is red, but in black and white, the perspective is accentuated and the lines and contrasts are more interesting. I like the juxtaposition of hard buildings and soft grasses.

Filed under: D7000, Newfoundland & Labrador, photo, Photography, Travel

Drift away

VickyTH — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:52:36 +0000

Heading home on the row boat in Exploits Harbour. It’s remarkably difficult to row and take pictures simultaneously.

I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream, in which I was trying to find a boat to take me to Exploits Islands. I could read all sorts of wonderful symbolism, about stress and escaping from it, into this mental meandering. It probably has something to do with Exploits being a place without the complications of daily life in a city. Perhaps it’s also to do with the fact that I’ve been thinking about the roofing job we’re getting done there and delighting in having found a competent contractor who likes working on this remote island devoid of electricity. Or maybe I’m just really tired and want to go to that place that sometimes feels more like home than the home of my every day.

Whatever the case, I woke up as the phone was ringing to advise me that the boat was on its way and I’d be on the island in a matter of an hour or so.

Only the phone ringing in my dream was the alarm clock sounding off on my reality to tell me that it was 6:30.

Thank goodness it’s Friday.

Filed under: apropos of nothing, Boats, Exploits Islands, Life, Newfoundland & Labrador, photo, Photography, rodney, row boat

A wee distraction

VickyTH — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 14:46:02 +0000

Yesterday, we brought this home:

Resident birdwatcher

He doesn’t quite have a name yet. We’ve tossed around everything from Tolkien to Pangur-ban and have almost settled on Dewey (after the decimal system). It seems the underlying theme of all of our name possibilities were books or characters therein. And he rather is a bookish cat (in that he likes to sleep on them).

He has startling eyes.

He’s about nine or ten weeks old, is extremely sociable, quite clever and very self-confident.

He walked straight up to our existing cat, Tasha, without a fear in the world and said, “Hi! I’m not a cat. I’m a very small and strangely furry dog.” At which Tasha blinked, hissed once, shook himself out and then decided that dogs of this size were beneath his notice anyway and that he’d rather go drink out of the bathtub tap. So they’ve been peacefully coexisting, without any real friction at all. I even caught them playing this morning.

Filed under: animals, cat, cats, pets, Photography, photos