Useful Information

I'm starting a new subject of posts, which I will be calling "Did You Know?"  It may or may not have to do with photography.  I hope you will find it useful, but as Jasmine Star says, if it helps even one person....  So, for today's Did You Know I have two items of information.

Did you know that if you buy bananas in a bunch, and keep them in a bunch, they will ripen faster than if you separate them (I keep mine 2-3 inches apart from each other)?  Now they last 2 - 4 days longer than before, before they get too ripe.

Did you know that if you were an old Nikon film camera user, and you have lots of Nikkor lenses, but switched to Canon EOS cameras, you can use many, if not most of your nikkor lenses with your Canon EOS body?  You will lose some functionality, but you can buy adapters that allow you to mount your Nikkor lens to your Canon.  I just ordered one of the adapters, so will have to report on my experience with it on a later post.  How did I find out about this?  I was looking for a used Canon 7D on the internet, and found someone selling a bunch of old Nikkor lenses, and was curious how much they were, so checked that.  Then I saw he mentioned using them on Canon.  So did a Google search for Nikkor to Canon, found several adapters for sale, read positive reviews about a few of them, and now ordered one a few minutes ago ($73) on Amazon.  There was a less expensive one ($14.75) on Amazon, but mixed reviews (some had trouble with not being a tight fit, and a loose fit would affect over-all focus).  Also read to get best, most accurate results on exposure, may have to experiment with metering mode, shoot in Aperture Piority or Manual mode.  I'm still wondering if it will work with a Vivitar zoom lens with Nikon mount.

This is all for today - when I get the adapter and test it, will post images and thoughts here.

It Happened One Night

Because this is a photography blog, thought it would be a good idea to start posting pictures to my posts.  Also, perhaps the photos would give me some thoughts on what to write about that I hope you might find interesting, or funny, or cute, or something.  This is a picture of the Aero Theater marquee in Santa Monica CA, taken many years ago.

Chaplin with Hoffa - It Happened One Night - Hmmm.  I wonder what happened.  Sometimes, when you put two things next to each other, they take on a whole different meaning.  Or if you put two people, or a person and an object, next to each other that perhaps shouldn't be, you'll get unintended results, like a tree coming out of someones head.  If you watch "Headlines" on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you'll see some good examples of this.

I wish I had taken photos of two products that had interesting labels - one was on odorless garlic, and it said, "specially processed to reduce order."  So if you want chaos, take that supplement!  The second product had two ingredients listed:  Oil of Coconut, and Coconut Oil.  Is there a difference???

I guess the point I'm making is that it is always a good idea to check things to avoid unintended consequences. 

Useful hint for the day:  if you want your bananas to last longer before getting too ripe, break apart the bunches and separate the bananas from each other by at least 3 inches.  Have a great day.

New Year Health & Photography

I was just reading a photography blog about a photographer who spent the welcoming of the New Year sick, along with her family.  Also on her site, she showed all the cupcakes and candy they were having for the holidays.  Hmmm.  I used to eat things like that when I was growing up, and I got sick 4 or more times a year, every year.  I'm sure everyone has heard the saying, "You are what you eat."  Well, I got sick of being sick, and started researching health and talking with healthy people.  And changed my diet.  And kept taking it to the next step.  And now, many years later, get sick once every 3-5 years.  During this time, I owned my own health food/vitamin store and stopped doing photography.  I have now returned to photography and will be specializing in weddings starting in 2012.  And to make sure I do the best job possible, I want to make sure I stay healthy - by eating well (no refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners, colors, or anything else artificial.  Also take the proper supplements, exercise, etc.  I hope anyone who reads this will follow this lead.

One of my favorite quotes:  "He who has health, has hope; and who has hope, has everything."

A photography professor told us in class, eliminate as many variables as you can to get the best results.  This applies to health as well as photography.  He also said that whatever you do, take it one step farther.  And again, this applies to, well, life in general.

If anyone who stops by here has any questions about photography or health, diet, supplements, please feel free to ask - I will do my best to answer.

I know this is a photography blog, primarily, so will start posting more photos in future posts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

I've made my New Year's resolutions and am ready for 2012.  One resolution is to post a bit more often here.  Another is to return to doing wedding photography (which is why this blog came into existance) - this one is due in large part to Jasmine Star (if you are not familiar with her, visit her blog here:  Jasmine Star Blog, or if you're thinking of becoming a wedding photographer, or starting a business, I recommend her magazine (book?) Exposed).

My song for the day is, "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell.  For other days it may be anything by Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Beatles, Judy Collins, Stones, Led Zeppelin, and by various other artists, including the song "American Pie."
My participatory sport for the day (and pretty much any day of the year) is paddle tennis.
My hobby for the day continues to be photography, and has been for a long time.

It's New Year's Day so this will be a short one.  Want to wish everyone who visits here (or even if they don't visit here) a great year, with much happiness, success, great health, lots of love, and more.

One last thing - I've been looking for a recurring theme that I can post every few weeks or so, and because of the movie, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," I think I will use that for this group of posts.  Well, since I have "The Ugly" in there, I ought to have "The Beautiful."  Because it's my blog, I can do that  ;).