Shaking fists at the skies
I am tired of technology. With Magda and Adam away (I miss you!) I have been spending too much time at the computer and my right arm has contorted into a grotesque wizened claw which no number of gel-pads can soothe or solve. Also? Switching over from the feverkilled cable modem to ADSL internet, phone, and TV has turned out to involve monumental friggery. Last night, my third evening of shamanistic dancing whose objective each day has been to get the Mac to talk to the wireless router to talk to the modem to talk to the Windows machine to talk to the Slovenia On Line television box to talk to the DVR to talk to the television to talk to the amplifier etmotherfuckingsnakesonamotherfuckingplanecetera. I was reduced to weeping like a sad clown by the time every one of these demonic boxes, as they had done every evening before, suddenly and entirely inexplicably decided for some obviously voodoo-related reason to play nicely together with no apparent help from me, unless my bitter tears of frustration and bafflement count as help.
And finally, as I wait for the graphics people to release Photoshop or Paintshop to run on the new Mac, I am once again trying to learn the free open-source image app known as the goddamn bloody bastard GIMP. I have spent many sweary hours trying to do the most basic things with this program, which is as non-intuitive as it is powerful. This makes me feel ineffably dumb and gives me almost irresistibly strong urges to smash things to tiny tiny bits. Anyway, here are a few pointless pictures which it has taken me four hours to crop:
Dawn this morning, looking east from our balcony
Last night’s lightning
Ljubljana’s clear blue sky and Urseline Church
Looking northwest from our balcony over Mount Sabotin (Italy)
A view to the east during one of August’s rare clear days
A storm forms to the west. The isogloss runs between the houses and hills: the houses are Nova Gorica, hills in Italy’s (Stara) Gorizia.
There’s got to be my house somewhere in there :)) Think to the left part of the image, but even if it is on the image, you can probably see the roof only :)
You’ve got great shots, it’s obvious you live far up (top floor?)…
Comment by MiamiDreams — Friday 25 August 06 @ 14.20 MDT+2.00
If it is any consolation, the photos are gorgeous.
Comment by Jane — Friday 25 August 06 @ 15.08 MDT+2.00
Gorgeous photos. How did you catch (i.e. “ride”) the lightning? Tripod? I tried it the other day (it’s been a very stormy summer here, ne pas?) and managed to catch one bolt in about 40 photos. (Thank God for digital cameras)
Comment by Michael M. — Friday 25 August 06 @ 15.55 MDT+2.00
Wonder Woman: I had no idea you lived so close as to be visible from my bedroom window. That’s downright bizarre. This world gets smaller all the time.
Michael: I wish I could tell you what sophisticated techniques I routinely employ. I once did some googling about how best to photograph lightning, and even wrote down some f-stop and exposure crap, but of course when the opportunity arose I just took 100,000,000 pictures at different settings, and most of them were of the sky with no lightning and one was of lightning and I thought, ‘damn, this really sucks compared to how it really looked’ but I was tired of dicking around and I cut my losses. That’s my technique (and no, no tripod was involved).
Comment by sgazzetti — Sunday 27 August 06 @ 17.10 MDT+2.00
@ sgazzetti: surprise surprise :) I guess you live on XXX. divizije, or am I wrong?
Comment by MiamiDreams — Monday 28 August 06 @ 10.49 MDT+2.00
You’re not sketching out any stalking plans, are you?
Comment by sgazzetti — Tuesday 29 August 06 @ 10.18 MDT+2.00
No, but maybe the voices in her head are?
/Chh Chh Chh, Ka Ka Ka
Comment by Michael M. — Tuesday 29 August 06 @ 10.26 MDT+2.00
I am not said to be a mean girl :) Besides, I have already exposed myself too much to dare doing any stalking activities. I’m pretty sure you’d know where to find me immediately.
@ Michael: hehe, no I’m not a psychopath, or at least I am not aware of it.
Comment by MiamiDreams — Tuesday 29 August 06 @ 12.28 MDT+2.00
Your comments in regards to Michael M.’s inquiry regarding photographing lightning are just the type of bandying-about-of-words that I’ve been looking for in a book on digital photography. Are you (hopefully) thinking of writing just such a book? I’ll be first in line.
Any other book that I’ve perused leave me sweaty, tear-y, and exhausted. To get photographic results like you and to be able to imitate a steam engine simultaneously is just my goal in life.
A book, by you, on digital photography would go a long way toward that goal’s attainment.
I’ll be crossing my reading fingers.
Comment by DarkoV — Wednesday 30 August 06 @ 15.58 MDT+2.00