March 16, 2015
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Call Backs, Vultures and Continuing Education
Well, Sunday, I heard back. Sam, Grace, Rebekah, Isa and I all were cast in the ensemble. Grace, Rebekah and Isa also have bit parts as some of the Snow children, and I got my own bit part as the school principal with just a few lines at the end. The singing and acting are right up my alley and will be a lot of fun, but the dancing required of members of the ensemble will prove, I fear, to be a lot of work. I have never learned to dance, but I think I can do it with enough practice. I'll certainly keep you all updated as practices begin in a few weeks. I can only imagine there will be lots of laughter at my expense, since the kids will be there to witness my education.
I am constantly reminding people to look at the world with the eyes of a child, as if they had never seen it before, so recently I have tried my hand at taking some pictures of vultures. We have several groups of them living nearby, and they have proven to be beautiful, if difficult to photograph. They are lowly birds that seldom get noticed, though they provide a much needed service, cleaning up the corpses of animals who have somehow met their demise, and so I seek to find their beauty. I'm sure I'll get there, but for now, here are a few shots I got this morning after dropping the kids off to school.
I like the pictures I got, I'm just not satisfied they are the best I can do, so there will be more, I'm sure, when I have time to try again and tax my creativity a bit.
In other news, I signed up today and began doing coursework for an online business class offered by the University of Maryland. I know I've put a lot on my plate, but I have to start learning somewhere, and this seems to be a decent place to start. I will take four courses in a block, and when I'm done, if I pass all the work, they'll give me a certificate of completion. It's not actually considered college work, but employers are starting to look favorably on completion of these types of classes. I'm just happy to be starting to once again be required to use my brain a bit.
As for now, it's off to bed, so I can head off to work early tomorrow.
Comments (13)
Vultures! They are beautiful (but ugly) birds! I don't think I'd want to find them on my roof -- and I think I'd be shoring up the top of that chimney so they didn't fall in! A long zoom, the right light, and a little practice will be great (and maybe a little post-processing, too -- cropping and light adjustment). And it's great that you're going back to school. You can't go wrong with business certificates.
I'm finding that vultures are a taxing subject. Because they are so dark, not only are they very difficult to shoot against a bright, or even gray, sky, because of the sensor's limitations, they also work the lens to its limits, and I'm learning about lens flare and chromatic aberration. The right light and practice, are certainly factors in increasing my skill, but I don't think I'm in for much more of a zoom. I'm shooting these with a good quality Minolta 65-300 that I found for a steal, soon after I got the camera, but anything better quality than this is going to be more than $500. I'm just going to have to work on the parts I can control. I do need to just break down and get Photoshop and Lightroom, since they're so inexpensive now if you buy the monthly subscriptions. I have allowed myself to continue with just the slightest bit of processing knowledge and that can certainly help cure a lot of ills.
Bravo for integrating so easily the goupe of youngs in their show.
I never saw personally Vultures in the nature and less yet on the roof of house ! It is incredible .
In friendship
Michel
Thanks, as always for taking the time to stop by and comment. It took a visit to Peru as a teenager for me to learn that in our own backyards, we have a wonderful variety of wildlife and plants that are worthy of our admiration and study. While I was asking them about monkeys and parrots, they were just as fascinated by our raccoons and geese. I never would have guessed that you wouldn't have vultures over there. I'll do my best to get some better pictures and post them for you.
I like that you are keeping your mind active with new things.
I'm finding that as a middle aged man, if I hope to continue to support my family, I need to up the ante and learn more and be more productive, just to be able to compete with the generation coming along behind.
Dan -- I'm sorry -- I got so engrossed in the vultures that I forgot to congratulate you and the kids on your parts in Carousel! Have fun with that -- the dancing is just a combination of all the moves you wanted to make and couldn't while you were driving
!
Talking about driving -- there are still 30 ships off the Ports of LA and Long Beach waiting to be offloaded -- lots of work here for a while!
Those are remarkable photos. Nature needs vultures. I did not like seeing some in a few offices where I worked.
Sitting on the house!! That would make me feel creepy. lol Am I next?
Hope you have a nice Hump Day.
frank
Oh, I do wish we could post video on this new incarnation of Xanga. I think we would all love to see you dance.
Thanks for your comment on Yoo-Hoo. Loving wildlife as I do, I appreciate your view on vultures. The business course interests me, as I recently joined the unemployment line and am in need of education. But fees are a problem, because I'm too old to get much value out of a large investment in education. However, I can handle SMALL fees, if you get my drift. Any info would be appreciated.
great pics ! .... wish I could figure out how to follow you
@judyrutrider: we can ! that's one of the things I've figured out. You can post it on youtube, and then it will be postable here. one might even be able to add it as media.
Just to tell you that now I blog here :
https://fauquetmichel.wordpress.com/
I found a truck driver and his wife there !:)
In friendship
Michel