Blurs

(click on the individual photos to see the softened background attempts) The new camera has arrived! I make no claims to have any idea as to how to use it yet. In fact, the chronology of the camera's manifestation goes like this: through the week, I've done research, contacted Roger who recently purchased a fancy one himself, took mental notes, and by Thursday, I stopped into Best Buy, announced to the guy what I wanted, he unlocked one from its secured cabinet, handed it to the cashier, and I marched right home and left it sitting in the Best Buy bag on the floor while Craig and I celebrated with dinner at Don Pedro (yum). Then we came home and I began to rip open the box only to realize the battery would have to be charged for 90 whole minutes before I could even push buttons! Downer! But, I did so, and Friday morning I felt really itchy to stay home from work and play, but alas, going to work is what afforded me the thing, not staying home! So off to work I went. Then, after what felt like an eternity, 5 o'clock arrived, but Craig hadn't received an Important Document that he needed to provide to Important People to permit those people to proceed with working Saturday, and he was frustrated, so I waited for him, and waited...finally, we left the office only to be pounded with rain...the location where he needed to deposit said Important Document was locked up, so he had to walk all the way around to another location, at which point he encouraged me to head to the train - he'd try to catch up. I made it to the platform, jeans half soaked from ankle to knee (that's always a fun commute) and tennis shoes fairly wet, too, and I looked across the way for him but I did not see him coming, so I jumped on the first 7 to arrive. He called me minutes later and told me he, too, had caught a train already. We tried to meet up at Queensboro but he must have been two trains behind me, which means that the 7 trains were running at highly efficient speeds which isn't the norm, especially for a rainy ugly Friday evening commute! Alas, I made it home. Craig was precisely crossing the threshold right behind me. He ordered a pizza from Nina's (which he later decided firmly is the best pizza he has ever, ever had...which he followed up with, And that says a lot, because I've had a lot of pizza!) and I delved into the world of digital single reflex photography! As shown above, I didn't really have a lot of options to experiment with in the apartment. Wine, jade and candles?? Nevertheless, I spent a majority of my time turning the camera over in my hands while watching a tutorial on the computer. I will confess I could not get my f-stop below 4.2, which either means: a. the lens does not have an aperture larger than that, or b. lighting/shutter speeds/basic little know-how barred me from figuring out a lower f-stop number. Either way, recalling photography knowledge from far, far back when I was an amateur black and white 35mm shooter in high school and a little in college is proving itself to be a slow operation. But time will lend a lot. I plan to pick up a book that better guides me than the owner's manual. Hopefully, before too awfully long, I will be clicking away with this new device and the result will be loads of happy New York City memories!*Today, if the weather is nice we are going to accompany the new camera to the Park. There have been flowering trees for weeks now and we haven't made it there to indulge in it ourselves yet this spring. Tonight we're meeting up with our friend Jeff for southwestern eats and margaritas at Cilantro. Tomorrow I need to get us back on healthy eating track by planning a menu for the week. This week past has been spotty at best. Additionally, I am making it my mission to spend at least an hour or two each weekend prior to the move pawing through stuff that potentially is pitchable. I shredded a stack of paper last weekend - old billing statements, etc., which was good, but only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. We've got 7 very short weekends before we are moving down the street to find our "new perspective". I didn't say so but last weekend I think we found the couch of our dreams, only, it's potentially too large. Since I invested as much money as I did into this camera, the couch is on hold either until we move or maybe the week prior. We certainly don't have anywhere to put it here!*I love the opening of a new weekend. The possibilities.