Maquinna's Poop du Jour

Summer's End

I'm one of those people that hangs on to the end of summer as long as possible. Sometime around November, I usually give in. Even though I know that the warmest days are behind us for the year, I'm loathe to admit it. I do love the cool evening breezes right now, though, and I don't miss the humidity of August.

September is also the ideal time to be down on Cape Cod. The weather is gorgeous, the water is hanging onto the warmth from the summer, and everyone else has bugged out. There's no traffic, no nasty bugs. OK, it's a little harder to find an open clam shack, but that's definitely a small trade-0ff.

We took a break from house renovations, perennial clutter, and the spazziest kitten on the planet and spent the weekend snuggled up on the beach. We rode bicycles and walked the dog in the morning. I watched Craig get bowled over by waves on his boogie board. I read a really bad novel.

I also spent a little time getting to know my new toy - a 'Lens Baby'. It's a kind of selective focus lens that you can manipulate to put a sweet spot of focus where you want, and blur out the remainder of the frame to a greater or lesser extent. It was created by a guy who was trying to mimic the old Russian Holga cameras that were notoriously poor in focus. Essentially it's like the lens of a pinhole camera with a little wiggle room, attached to a far better camera. I can see this making for some very interesting portraiture.

Up above are some examples of what happens when you use this thing. The biggest trick is that SOMETHING has to remain in focus for it to make an effective shot, and that's easier said than done.

One other thing - about my theory of stride last Friday? Nah. I'm just damn slow.

posted by Maquinna @ 10:27 a.m.