Monday 15 July 2019

Capturing the moment

Quilting to me is not just pleasurable but also therapeutic as it takes one's mind of any worries that might be lurking in the background. One of the other pleasures that I get is taking photos and when my late Mum died over 10 years ago years I bought myself a digital SLR camera with some money she left me. We have always been a Nikon family and this camera has rewarded me with many memorable images but it is so jolly heavy with the macro lens that I use.....
Inevitably when we go away Larry is often left carrying the jolly thing so I've been thinking of our journey to the UK next year and wondering if I dare consider a new smaller point and shoot camera that weighs way less than mine. But would it give me images like these that I took in Iceland in 2016?....









Iceland was such a great location for photos and even the Reykjavik hotel we were staying in gave me this reward......
But cameras have come so far since purchasing mine 10 years ago with some far superior and for half the price!  Even my mobile phone rewards me with images like these that I took this morning......


 And these same shots were done on my Nikon DSLR......


And again an image from my phone on the left and the camera on the right.....
So there lies my dilemma......I'm not a professional so surely a much lighter point and shoot camera would work just as well??! The photos that I see from the family are all taken on their mobile phones......this was last week when Beau and Maisie met their newest cousin (on their Dad's side of the family).......




 Hard to believe that Beau is now seven and a half and Maisie will be five in two days!.......
 So I might start doing some online research and reviews about cameras and see where that leads me. Meanwhile the phone captured a very special 90th birthday last Sunday. Dear Barbara is the widow of one of my late Dad's WW2 Bomber Command mates and it was very special to be able to share in this memorable occasion........
 There have been a few late nights on the TV in the Hill household as Larry flicks between the Tour de France, the tennis and the cricket with a bit of reading in between. Larry's passion for cricket came from his late father who sadly died when Larry was only 27 and just a few weeks after our first daughter Emily was born in 1982. But Larry has all of his father's cricket books and I noticed he dragged one of them out yesterday. And I'm currently reading "The Land Before Avocado" that is all about growing up in the 1960's and 70's and written by an Australian journalist Richard Glover. It was sure different back then and it is a great read with lots of humour (thanks for lending it to me Raelene x)....unbelievable back then that a wife would need her husband's permission to get a passport and that you couldn't work and be married at the same time in some professions...it was certainly like that when I started nursing!
 I've always been proud of Larry's cricket achievements and I am sure he could have been a test player any day with his skills as a fast bowler. I tried to capture my pride many years ago in this frame with photos but forgot his best score of 6 for 16!!....


 And below with his team back row second from the right and he gave up playing when he was just 36 after team mates starting calling him veteran! Larry recalls back in February 1982 (after being up all night while I was in labour), he went off to play and had an innings of 24 runs after no sleep...the next week he tells me he bowled 5 for 20 from 21 overs. They needed a run to draw and Larry bowled the batsman out so they won!......
 What amazing scores but the best is last........

 Well that's it for another week...take care wherever you are.........

5 comments:

  1. I always find it odd that in certain professions you were not allowed to be married - so strange. I just use a point and shoot camera and/or my phone and find they give me the freedom of not carrying anything heavy with me when traveling and taking walks through the woods and mountains - it seems enough to have to carry several water bottles and a small first aide kit and snacks and on those walks! Good luck in your search for the perfect camera

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  2. I am impressed with your photos, certainly Iceland shots are just epic, such an amazing landscape. I think a smaller and lighter camera is worthwhile to capture those lasting memories of your holiday. Besides it will be easier to photograph quilts with at the next show ; )

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  3. Oh cameras...! I can only imagine how heavy your current 'weapon of choice' is to carry around. I do hope you shout poor Larry a decent back massage after a day of sight-seeing. Mind you, judging by those pics from Iceland it certainly is worth it.
    I have been putting getting a really good camera for macro photography in the too-hard-basket since.. well, forever but whenever I have looked in to it a bit, have come to conclusion there is no camera (in my price range) that will do both super, super close-up and large scenes well. If I was you, I would keep the Nikon for Quilt Work, and just look for a good point and shoot for travelling. Anyway, I am sure you will find what you need.
    Anna X

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  4. Beau still has the curls and Maisie the gold...... on point and shoot you get a photo but loose the clarity in dots and bits when the photo is blown up etc. Too, I use to shoot SLR but then I quit taking those photos and lost the ability to just know how to set the buttons for good photos, to say nothing of moving to a digital SLR. I have drawers and drawers of lousy photos of my point and shoot kids as they are growing up... I regret it. I can see that the "big lens" is too big to haul around on an international trip but maybe a smaller lens ...... and not loose the ability to how to take SLR photos.

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  5. You take some amazing photos Michele no matter what camera you use. The children obviously love their new cousin, holding the baby so carefully. I love the Dalai Lama quotes, so inspiring.
    Love, Jean 😍😍

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