Category: Blitherings

Life by Kindle Light

I was an English major in college, specializing in nothing particular, but rather enjoying it as the profs were fascinating.  Have you ever taken a course on Shakespeare taught from a Freudian viewpoint?  Enacted Chaucer in the dialect of the time?  Well, you get the idea.  But if the truth is told, I am truly a reader of modern trash more than classics, and I often wonder about my tastes.  It is only in the past few years that I have returned to more classical literature, admittedly in small doses, and of the early 1800s British variety.  This means Wuthering Heights and Jane Austen and Frankenstein.  The cruelty in Bronte’s book was stunning – I remember the hanging of the puppies, done out of boredom, with horror.  Shelley’s monster is heartbreaking.  And Austen?  She is fluff by comparison, with a lightness that is like a summer breeze that can roll into capricious bursts.

It is quite funny to read Pride and Prejudice on my Kindle.  A novel written with a quill and iron gall ink being read on an electronic device is quite a shift in time.

And then the electricity fails mid-afternoon.  Sewing is out of the question (though I could use the treadle or hand-crank sewing machines), as is baking (I wanted a coffee cake).  I went out to the side patio to listen to an audio book and comb out one of the dogs.

No electricity!

What do you do when it gets dark?  All the USB devices were down to their last jolts of current.  As light faded, I found my little section of town was dark, but two doors down the lamps were bright.  I had a flashlight or two, and I had candles.  Out came the candles, out came the Kindle, and on with Jane Austen, Darcy, and Miss Bennet!   Wandering around the house, I found my way with the light of my Kindle, not wanting to drip wax on the floor or carpet, much less myself.

When the esposo came home, it was pitch black.  We went out to dinner – who wants to scramble eggs using a flashlight to see by (or a candle) over a gas flame? Off to the other world to dine, and then return, once more, to our black hole.

And then to bed with the Kindles, to read Jane Austen and Terry Pratchett, to remember where the flashlights were, and hope there is electricity by dawn after a projection by the electric company that civilization would be restored by noon the next day.

And so it passed . . . the electricity returned in the middle of the night, the lights went on, the devices squawked, and the candles were, once more, obsolete.

 

Soup Night

I like cream soups more than I like brothy ones.  I also like to use items that are kind of not at their peak – not spoiled – but not really the best they could be.  However, I don’t think true cream soups – made with half and half, full-fat cream, etc., are the best for overall health.  So, I use my own methods.  Follows is a spinach soup, but you can use any vegetable you want in its place.  I even use lettuce that is not really perky, and it all comes out fine.  So, here you go!

Cream of Spinach (or Whatever) Soup

  • olive oil – 2-3 T.
  • 1/4-1/2 chopped onion
  • 6 oz. spinach
  • 3 c. chicken stock
  • Pepper, salt, garlic powder, nutmeg – or other flavors for seasoning
  • 1 c. unsweetened, plain almond milk
  • 1 c. Greek yogurt
  • Parmesan cheese, sour cream, full cream, or whatever you want for garnish

Saute onion in heated oil.  Add spinach and saute some more.  Pour in chicken broth and cover.  Cook until spinach is soft and wilted.  If you use other vegetables, you may need to simmer longer.  If you do, watch your pot and add more liquid if necessary!  Season with your choice of seasoning.  Remove to blender – or use immersion blender – and puree until very smooth.  Return to pot and stir in almond milk and yogurt.  Blend well.  Heat through.  Strain if you have bits of stuff you want to get rid of or just to be fancy and serve in bowl.  Garnish with garnish of your choice.

Serves 2-3.

Gonna Keep It! (or, The Beast Can Stay)

Awhile ago I decided to move more into the medium format world of film photography. I have a Yashica D TLR (6×6) and a number of 6×6 folders from varying years, a 1930s 6×9 Voigtlander folding rangefinder, and now have a Mamiya 645 (6×4.5) and, the latest, a Pentax 6×7 beast with a 135mm f4 macro lens. This last one is the subject of today’s commentary. You can google it, as well as read about it here on Wikipedia.  It’s not something to take lightly – it’s quite the weapon!

Okay!  First, as the name implies, it takes a 6×7 size negative, which is big, big, big.  Not as big as a 6×9, but still bigger than a 35mm by a lot.  Here is a good article on the size comparisons, complete with images.

I would imagine that, as with digital, the larger the negative, the more important the quality of the image – focus, sharpness, and so on. Of course, film is not digital and has its own personality, but it still needs to meet certain criteria, I am sure.

The first roll of film I ran through the camera was basically a disaster. 3 out of 10 images were there, and all were under-exposed. For Portra 400 film, they were trash. This made me wonder about the camera – does it work, are there problems? Having read about the camera and the trickiness of loading the roll of film, I gave it another try with two more rolls.  The first three photos below are the first roll.

The one above was worked on in post, just to see if anything could be done with it. Not much could be to save it from its ugly self. The ones below are SOOS (scanner), and they are really awful, too.

To make the decision to keep or return the camera meant I needed to do some photography in a very controlled environment. I needed to check the aperture and exposure factors. Out came the tripod and the light meter. Bracketing and moving things around. I took about 20 pictures in about that much time – maybe longer – and documented what I did. In doing so, I learned a bit more about the camera and the lens, as well as had a rather scientific bit of testing.

The effort was worth it, and I think that this beastie is going to be fun, and a challenge to my normal scatter gun approach to things. Below are the results, taken using Lomography 100 Color Negative film (120), with some cropping and touching up in post. I didn’t check for spots, come to think of it, so I may need to do that, too. I did clean the negatives before scanning, and used Digital Ice in the scanner . . .

Pentax 6×7 – Lomo 100
Pentax 6×7 – Lomo 100
Pentax 6×7 – Lomo 100
Pentax 6×7 – Lomo 100

Altogether, very pleased with this camera and the lens. Lomo 100 did a fine job.  It’s doing quite well for a camera that dates from ca. 1969 (older than my husband!). I think I want to get a waist-level view finder for it and probably some shorter lenses. The Yashica TLR is a waist-level viewfinder camera, and I really enjoy that; hence, a waist-level viewfinder for the Pentax, and perhaps the Mamiya.  Unlike all my other medium format cameras, the Mamiya and the Pentax allow for lens changes and other bits that the Yashica and the folding cameras do not have.  That is for the future, though, as I think this camera has a lot to teach me in the meantime.

So, Wuzzup?

Wuzzup? 

I have been following my New Year’s resolution pretty steadily.  Painting, photography, study, socializing, reading, and doing things I enjoy.  Somewhat scheduled, somewhat not.  I kept a record for about a week of what I did in the morning and afternoon – in between which was lunch and a nap usually – and thought about how I felt about my day.  In general, I found I enjoyed each day a great deal more.  I didn’t do the same things every day (other than the usual boring daily routines), but found I did enough to find satisfaction.

Doing some watercolors was satisfying.  I hope to do some later this morning before heading out to meet up with a friend.  I haven’t done any gouache this year, but that is also on the agenda.  Here are some of the paintings.

I also read some fiction – a favorite novel from the 1940s – and started some nonfiction, a book about photography I received as a Christmas present, Behind the Camera.  It’s nice to sit outdoors with a book and a cup of coffee or tea, put my feet up, and read.  The weather has varied from chilly to warmish, and so have I!

Add to that, I have been learning about a camera which I recently bought: a used Pentax (Honeywell Asahi) non-MLU (mirror lock-up) 6×7 camera.  It has been frustrating and fascinating.  First, the thing weighs in about 5 lbs.  Lugging it around is amusing.  I pulled out a tripod.  It takes 120 film, and you get ten 6×7 images out of it – supposedly.  Out of the 10 exposures I made, only 3 came out, and all came out under-exposed.  No idea why. 

As a result of these mishaps, I loaded up more film, and logged every picture I took.  And did it with a second roll, too.  I bracketed my images as well as varied exposure factors to get the same picture exposures (i.e. 8 @ 1/30 then 5.6 @ 1/60) using Lomo Color Negative 100 film.  I took the two rolls yesterday morning, and dropped them off around noon. 

Here are the three images from the first roll, which is Portra 400 – what a waste!

Pentax 6×7 Kodak Portra 400
Pentax 6×7 Kodak Portra 400
Yashica D – Fuji Pro 400 H

I am really curious as to what comes back from the photo lab – hopefully fairly soon. If these are also dismal failures, back the camera goes to the vendor!

So, nothing exciting in my life, like flying to Paris for lunch on a whim. But, some satisfaction, and some frustration, just like real life!