civilized ku # 5349 / triptych redux ~ meaningful grouping

coma girl mini ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

coma girl real~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

In my last entry I wrote, re: my groupings, that some objects have special meaning and others do not. One grouping which has special meaning is the so-called coma girl grouping.

During her first week at college, our daughter Maggie was found unconscious on her dorm room floor. She was transported to a hospital where she became very agitated and somewhat combative. Consequently, she was placed in a medically-induced coma where she remained for 4 days while a team of medical specialists tested her for the cause of her condition (alchohol and drugs were immediately ruled out).

Long story short, no definitive cause was ever determined. She was eased out of the coma and placed under the immediate and long term care of a neurologist who eventually proscribed a med (she was on the med for 3 years) and she was released from the hospital. So, for her, it was back to college and life returned to normal.

Just before her release from the hospital, I dubbed Maggie as the coma girl. The name stuck for a while. The following Xmas, Maggie gifted me with a the above pictured minature hospital set.

civilized ku # 5128-32 / triptych # /the newsnapshot 180-81 ~ thanksgiving + weekend ramblings

raindrops ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

hotel room / Hugo ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

window ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

rink exit ~ Navan, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

breakfast scraps~ in the Adirondack PARK. (embiggenable) • iPhone

refuse bins ~ Petawawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

hotel comforter landscape~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

raindrops # 2 ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

Spent Thanksgiving at home with family > Friday-Saturday, 600 miles / 2 hockey games > Sunday, 260 miles / 1 hocky game > today, 300 miles / 1 hockey game.

Just to add to all this fun, late Friday evening Hugo accidentally dropped my car key fob down the Ottawa elevator shaft. Since the was no hope of recovery until Monday, the wife + son (aka: the Cinemascapist) teamed upto form a relay team to get the spare key fob to the Ottawa hotel, arriving at 3:30 Am Saturday.

civilized ku # 4089 ~ stupid is as stupid does

warm sunlight on a cold day ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (click to embiggen)

Just in case any of the gullible dolts who voted for Trump are paying attention to actual facts, it must be noted that, in one of its first acts since the Trump victory, the Republications have stripped "Buy American" provisions from an American water infrastructure bill which would have required any project for water infrastructure rebuilding and repair funded by the federal government to use American-made steel.

Ah, yes. I can't think of a better way to create and protect American jobs.

People, it's time to start paying attention to actions from the GOP rather than their worthless words. And, when you find them lacking, be sure to tell your friends and neighbors all about how "wonderfully" the GOP is keeping their promise to create and protect American workers' interests.

kitchen sink # 36 ~ back where I belong

kitchen sink / morning light ~ Rist Camp / Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack PARK

So begins 5 weeks a Rist Camp. A very welcome relief from the oppressive heat / humid and the overarching tasteless display of the wretched excesses of the nouveau riche. Who, with their McMansions, seem to be hellbent on destroying what was once a quaint barrier island culture.

Makes me appreciate the fact that I live in forest preserve / park in which approximately half of the land - 3 million acres - is protected by the NYS Constitution as forever wild.

civilized triptych # 5 ~ the last hurrah

pool Hugo ~ Stone Harbor, NJ

Last day at Stone Harbor. It has been too damn hot and humid to venture out and pursue any civilized triptych picture making. Except of course, out in the pool making pictures. Today's temp is currently 91F. At Rist Camp - where I am headed tomorrow - it is 81F. Over the next 5 weeks at Rist Camp I will be out and about refining my civilized triptych picture technique.

I do have one concern as I pursue the triptych thing. That is that I will miss single picture civilized ku / ku opportunities if I am constantly looking for triptych opportunities. The reason for that is quite simple - my regular picture making routine is to simply make pictures of whatever it is that pricks my eye and sensibilities. In other words, no particular picture making objective in mind.

Being on the lookout for triptych opportunities is a very focused picture making objective which requires actively pursuing such an objective. In a very real sense, it is the difference between being a passive picture maker - waiting for the picture to come to you - as opposed to being an pro-active picture maker - attentively looking for a very specific picture making opportunity.

Perhaps, when all is said and done, I will be able to strike a balance by letting pictures come to me, making a square single picture and then creating a triptych instigated by that sighting.

CIVILIZED KU # 4019-20 ~ A SORRY TALE BUT TRUE

Overpass ~ Albany, NY

30 MPH ~ Albany NY

As some long time followers know, I am a devotee of POD photo books and, over the years (12?), Shutterfly has been my sole source for POD books. They have consistently produced excellent quality - very accurate reproduction of my pictures together with very good quality of materials. However ....

..... my most recent set of 3 books - Ireland, Scotland, Outtakes - has turned into a nightmare for both me and Shutterfly. 

After having a first test book printed - the Ireland book - which I received with perfect reproduction, et al, I ordered the 3 book set. When they arrived, it was obvious to my eye that they had been printed with the Shutterfly VividPic "filter". A filter which boosts saturation and contrast and is turned on by default. The results thereof, for my pictures, is not good. That is why the first thing I do after uploading pictures into a folder for book making is to turn VividPic off on all pictures.

Somehow, after the printing of the test book, VIvidPic was turned on. To their credit, Shutterfly admitted the mistake and reprinted the books. Unfortunately, when the reprints arrived they too had been printed using VividPic. Hence, reprinting # 2.

When those reprints arrived (today / reprints # 3), the printing was spot-on but on the last page of the books - the page Shutterfly inserts with their logo - there were printer markups visible in the gutter. So, you guessed it, I am now waiting for reprints # 4. 

While this  has been something of a pain in the ass (no pictures makers were injured in the making of these books), I must give Shutterfly customer service a AAA rating. They have been very helpful, courteous, patient and kind in helping rectify the problems. Reprinting at no charge was immediately offered - they have a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

So, Shutterfly will continue to be my # 1 POD source of choice.