Friday, October 21, 2005

2002 Trip to France



I am beginning to sort and tweak the photos from our trip to France in 2002. We stayed in an apartment at Pont Royal. It had very nice grounds, with a pond, and golf course. This is a view through one of the out door windows. The architecture took advantage of the gorgeous views over the countryside.

Tomorrow we leave for the River Cruise. Amsterdam to Bucharest. We are packed and ready to go. I am taking warm clothes as I think we may have some cooler days. Taking my 35mm Canon this time. I really need a good telephoto, I think. I must learn how to shoot architecture too. And night shooting. I won't have my tripod or any special film. Kodak Max 200 or 400. I have a Tri-X roll to bring. Not bringing velvia. Only have the polarizer for filters. Have to travel as light as possible. So, shall be thinking of packing necessary items in my new small camera bag for day trips.

Fall Flowers



I have the spray of Nerines on the dining table. Not a great photo, but different. I must move the Nerines out of the box they are in presently, to somewhere that they get more sun. Other flowers in bloom are the Michaelmas daisies, cyclamens everywhere, fall crocuses, heathers, a bought chrysanthemum, an achillia, river lily or whatever those red things by the step are called, and the roses. The Virginia Creeper is dressed in its best right now, as are the sumacs. There are berries on the fire thorn bush and on the holly. They really look good from the kitchen window. The pin oak that I had cut down is growing new sprouts. I shall have to train one by tying it away from the garage. I really like its color in the fall and want to keep it. I wonder if I should let all the sprouts grow. Maybe try and get one to sprout its own roots and plant it out in the park. Hmmmmm.. we could really be Royal Oak area, then. The area next to the chip trail where they levelled the last house just begs for some good Fall color.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

More florescent lights

My African Violet that is in bloom, shot under florescent lights. The colors have come out almost true to the real color. They should be a bit more blue to give a darker purplish color.

I have the album Chastity loaded to my web page. Its mostly 35 mm photos. Had a lot of fun with that one. I still have to learn how to make the PS put the photos in the order I want them to be and not numerically or alphebetically.

Pat made apple butter. We have most of the apples picked off. The fig still has lots of green figs, but we have a few half purple ones in the house. Eating them, but they are not quite ripe enough.

There are 3 goldfish in the tub on the deck, all surviving. I guess the racoons and otters don't know about them.

Air Plant 3


This is how the air plant looked yesterday. I was shooting it under florescent lights on macro. I think the parent plant will die after it finishes blooming. I put pollin on the stigma and hope I will get seed. This took years and years to bloom though, and has not produced any offsets.

The estimated death toll for the earthquake has gone up to 54,000 and they expect it to rise even further.
I added a hit counter to my web page. It is not the same as the one here. Guess I will give it a bit of time, to see how it works.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Balustrade Perspectives in Black and White

After receiving a most marvelous critique on photosig from Scott Ellington
I have played a bit with the original photo upload. I am posting it here for Scott, if he has time, as we cannot upload photo attachments to our comments/critiques on photosig.
Thanks again, Scott, if you get time to view this.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Air Plant Progress


Three days later the blossom has extented to show its inner parts. Its a lovely thing. I wish I knew how to get a better macro shot. This background was black cardboard. I must get some other material to do black backgrounds. This is not working.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Air Plant

While watering and feeding my cacti, african violets and orchids I discovered this little air plant that had been sitting on the shelf for years. It is BLOOMING! Its a beautiful little thing in bloom.

Maybe I should make a spot for it in the chastity series.

Celibacy


I have 10 of the 16 symbols/photos ready to load to this series on my web page: Under photography/chastity. 14 of the photos are using my 35mm Canon Elan 7e. This is one of my favourites. I hope to finish them tonite and load them to my page.

Chastity

Ever since I read this item in the Local Newspaper, I have been working on a series in my photography with items symbolizing some of the themes mentioned. I have not read her book. I am finding more and more articles, blogs, books from young people who hold the same beliefs as does Winner.
From the Times Colonist
April 16, 2005


The Case for chastity
(Young female author promotes an unfashionable virtue)
By Richard N. Ostling

It’s unfashionable and risks ridicule, and it’s tough to maintain in the face of powerful cultural pressures.

But chastity remains a vital biblical virtue, argues Lauren Winner in her candid, common-sensical 21st-century manifesto, ‘Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity’.

Winner admits that she, like many young women today, indulged in premarital relations but gradually comprehended their sinfulness after the Christian conversion depicted in her winsome memoir, ‘Girl Meets God’ (2002).

She salutes new husband Griff, “who had the foolhardy temerity” to date and then marry a woman who was writing a book about chastity.

Chastity involves everything from faithfulness in marriage to avoidance of pornography, but Winner’s focus is premarital sex. (Chastity isn’t the same as celibacy – abstention from sex as part of religious vocations and vows.)

Despite liberal Christian’s attempts to define it away, Winner says limiting sex to marriage is an essential aspect of biblical teaching (but doesn’t explore the same-sex marriage dispute). “You shall not commit adultery” is more explicit, but Winner believes the premarital ban is also assumed throughout Scripture, beginning with Genesis and with Adam and Eve as sexual partners.

In 55 passages, the New Testament denounces ‘porneia’, the Greek word for sexual immorality, whose meaning varies in context. It’s applied specifically to premarital sex in the Apostle Paul’s admonition to unmarried Christians: “If they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:9).

“If the only two options are marriage or smouildering with desire, it follows that sex outside of marriage is not an option,” Winner reasons. “According to Paul, this sin is no minor peccadillo.”

Christianity was united on this until the “new morality” of the 1960s. Dating do’s and don’ts to maintain chastity are difficult to define. Winner and her husband followed a rule suggested by a university chaplain in their town, Charlottesville, Va: Do in private only what you’re comfortable doing in public settings.

Winner says the culture spreads “four powerful lies” that accompanied the past half-century’s moral individualism and promiscuity:
. “Sex can be wholly separated from procreation.”
Yes, reliable birth control means we can usually disconnect sex from child-making, but this is only narrowly, “technologically” true, she says. Morally and religiously, sex has three purposes: to unite the couple in love, to produce children and to mirror “ the radical fidelity and intimacy” between God and the church.

(Disagreeing with papal teaching, she believes “the whole of a married couple’s sex life needs to be open to procreation,” but not each sexual act.)
. “ How you dress doesn’t matter.”
Winner insists she’s no prude but the commercial marketplace promotes “a culture of immodesty” that Christians must conteract. She says modest attire remains an option in stores that cater to the rich, while lower-price stores that most shopers rely upon promote sexually enticing garb, even for young girls. “Our clothes tell stories” about ourselves, she advises. There’s power in deciding “I am more than a sex object designed for your passing entertainment.”

. “Good sex can’t happen in the humdrum routine of marriage.”
American consumer culture emphasizes novel experiences and makes sex little more than diversion or adventure. That undercuts the attractiveness of stable marital relationships free of the thrill of danger. But don’t be misled by romantic fiction, Winner counsels. “Ordinary” sex is meaningful – and fun.

. “You shouldn’t marry for sex.”
Promotion of sex before marriage merges with pressures to delay marrying to fulfill career goals or make supposedly mature decisions about a mate. Winner thinks that’s usually a mistake and favours early marriage over artificial postponement. Christian churches sometimes convey their own “lies”, she complains. Among them: Sinful sex always makes you feel bad. Women lack libidos. Bodily needs are unimportant.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Greece travel trip loaded



This is one of the murals at knossos on Crete (the labyrinth). Its a huge dig that was once the palace of King Minos who had the minotar (A monster who was half man and half bull, to whom young Athenian men and women were sacrificed in the Cretan labyrinth until Theseus killed him.) We spent most of a day looking around these ruins, and after that went to the very good museum that holds many articles from this dig.

Our trip to Greece was an excellent trip. Crete was just a part of the whole trip. While reading my travel journal when loading my album to my web page, it seems we had some scrumptious meals as well as ouzo and good wines. There is so much to see in Greece. I could repeat the trip and still learn more.

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Last Saturday there was a 7.6 earthquake in Pakistan. The death toll is said to be about 30,000 and climbing. Its cold in the area and it is the beginning of winter. World disasters seem to be becoming common place. There is something awfull happening every month, it seems. Those poor people! I am so fortunate to live where I live, and to live how I live.

Monday, October 10, 2005

Thanksgiving Day


We cel- ebrated thanks- giving day with Andy and Tara yesterday. We are so fortunate.

Today Jim brought over Volume one of his Mascot books. It is just excellent. It will be a collectors item in no time. He has done his own photography, research, editing and has a production cost for the printing to try to recover. He has 2000 copies in the first editon. Soft cover and some very elegant paper. It is very well thought out and put together, all on 'word'. Volume 2 is finished and ready to go, but he wants to recover some of his costs before going incurring more publishing costs.
Sheila picked up her black bamboo a couple of days ago. Hope it grows for her.
I got 40 more crocuses planted, 2 lilies (in pots, outside) double snowdrops (by the roses), 2 giant alliums (front), Daffodils, tulips, hyaciths (beside driveway) and a small heather with Autumn color, all planted a couple of days ago. I have more cleaning up to do yet. There was an animal in the pond again, knocking down edging rocks. Tara says she has seen a squirrel back there, and Andy says there is a family of racoons he has seen a few times. Oh well, its nice to have the wildlife active in our garden. I must get out and pick the apples and store them in the garage before we leave on our trip.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Baby steps



I got my prints back from the lab today and am happy with a couple of them. Although these are just baby steps in learning all I have yet to learn about photo- graphy, my scanner, and using my PS CS. Slowly progressing though.

I sent off my letter to SC today. :)) Hope it arrives intact.

We have a few figs in the house, but they are not yet ripe enough. I hope they ripen inside, as the ones Pat picked are purplish but not yet dark purple. All the Fall colors are looking very very nice. I hope we have such colors in October on our trip. It will make the pictures so much nicer. After these photos, I really expect to take my 35mm along. The detail and control is so much better than with my digital. I am scanning at 800 dpi, a higher number would give photos that could be used in books, etc. for when I get that next shot that someone will offer me a request for photo. :)) And there will be a next one!!

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Cleaning up the Urban waterways

From the Times Colonist, October 5, 2005
Friends of the Gorge aim to raise environmental awareness

The still waters of the Gorge Waterway reflect autumn’sgolden colors. Beneath the surface, there is beauty, too. No more discarded shopping carts and garbage – community cleanups have returned the Gorge to a healthy waterway with river otters, seals, coho salmon and herring.
But members of the Gorge Waterway Action Society want to do more to protect and enhance the urban waterway, which winds its way through four municipalities from the Johnson Street Bridge to Portage Inlet. On Tuesday, outside South Bay Pub, they launched a new project called Friends of the Gorge to raise environmental awareness among water front property owners.
“The fish are back. The wildlife is back in abundance,” said society director Henry Kamphof. “for our next initiative, we thought let’s take a look at the shoreline and all of the waterfront owners and help them to be better stewards of the waterway.”
Friends’ biologist Killy Lloyd said the Gorge is home to a migratory bird sanctuary and a huge bed of native oysters.
“There’s a run of coho salmon that spawn in Colquitz Creek. There’s also a run of herring that spawn in the eel grass in Portage Inlet. We’re trying to preserve habitat for all these creatures.”
As part of the outreach project Lloyd has talked to 50 waterfront landowners about restoration plans. She has also given them low cost but effective tips to improve environmental stewardship along the waterfront.
“Waterfront owners are frontline caretakers of the Gorge,” said Lloyd.
The biologist is advising people not to mow their lawn down to the water but to establish a buffer of native vegetation such as Indian Plum, ocean spray, Nootka rose, salal and red-flowering currant along the foreshore. A buffer will hold soil in place and attract wildlife.
“Arbutus, Douglas Fir, all kinds of native shrubs do well on shoreline. They help preserve habitat and filter out pollutants that may be coming off the land,” said Lloyd. She also encourages people to remove invasive species like blackberry, ivy and scotch broom. These plants choke out native plants and spread rapidly.
Lloyd hopes Gorge gardeners will put away their chemical fertilizers and pesticides and use organic fertilizers and environmentally friendly pest control products.
“We hope to get some public demonstration sites up where the public can come and see the kinds of things we’re working on and things they can do on their own property to promote good environmental stewardship,” she said.
Propery owners could consider removing concrete seawalls, if one borders on their property.
Four of the 50 homeowners have been offered a conservation plan tailored to the needs of the property. Kathy Grymaloski, who moved from Minnesota to a waterfront home on Portage Inlet in August, met Lloyd when she came knocking on her door. Grymaloski’s property has 25 metres of waterfront. Her lot is covered in grass with very few trees.
“My husband and I had visualized that some day we would get rid of the grass. We knew it wasn’t eco-friendly,” she said. “Kitty came along to house one evening and mapped out what our backyard could look like with eco-friendly trees. She gave us a beautiful drawing and she did a lot of work on the property. We’re doing away with the grass and we’re going to go ahead in spring with her plan.”
Friends of the Gorge project has received $10.000 from Vancity, $10,000 from the Vancouver Foundation, $5,000 from the Real Estate Foundation of BC and City of Victoria has donated $4,375. Councillor Denise Savoie said the city is very proud of a project at 508 Selkirk it shares with the society and The Land Conservancy.
“Community-driven initiatives are better than any amount of regulation,” said Savoie. “This project will show that each person can make a difference.” For information call 250 361 5447.

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The Colquitz River is across the road from my house and is surrounded by blackberries now. This does keep people from dumping their garbage right in the River, but we have had to report neighbours for dumping garbage in the blackberries. We tried talking to them, but to no avail. The fact that our Colquitz is the only water way left in our metropolis that is now a salmon breeding place means nothing to them. I wish Saanich would post big signs so they get the idea. We would like to keep this a nice place, unlike their homelands which they have moved away from because they have fouled their nests there.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Fall Colors



I was out for a few minutes shooting October flowers for my web page "October". Here are a few of them. After the inch or so of rain that we have had, the Fall flowers are coming out pretty good. I have some nice leaf coloring happening also. The little boskoop heather is especially nice. I must get over to Cannor and look for a few more crocus, tulips, daffs and rhubarb root. I still have to phone Sheila and let her know that I have some black bamboo for her. Hope it grows.
There was an animal in the pond again, knocking down rocks and broke the lily blosom off its plant. Was probably the otter again.
I finished my roll of Kodak Max 400 with the deer on it and hope to get to the lab on Thursday and get a US M.O. for Stirred not Shaken for Steve.