Skipping right over my acknowledgement of my blogging consistency problem, here’s a bit of an update about what’s been going on since my last post.
So last Saturday I was set to go to Acadia National Park for a day of hiking and photo taking. I have to be honest here, I enjoyed the hiking but several things landed the whole trip in the “Failed” files for me.
First, the day started out tainted with the news that my father’s cat, Aurora, had to be put to sleep the night before. The poor thing’s kidneys were rapidly failing and she was in pain. Needless to say, my father was extremely upset by all this. We all were affected. But she’s in a better place now. Free of pain, fear, and negativity. The Goddess will watch over and care for her in the Summerland until she’s ready to be reborn. (I know, I know, I’m getting all pagan-y and new age-y on you guys but hey, It’s my blog!)
Second, it was hot. No, not the sexy type of hot, get your mind out of the gutter you fools! It was hot temperature wise. Granted it wasn’t a high humidity but even with the breeze at the top of Cadillac Mountain, it was hot. It’s not all that fun to hike when it’s hot.
Third, my stupid circular polarizer filter ended up causing a vignette on most of my pictures which in turn made me not like any of them enough to post for you good folks. I know you’re sad about that, I can feel your sorrow. I’ll try to do better next time. I’m not sure why my filter caused the vignette (for those of you that have no idea what I‘m talking about a vignette in photography terms is when a lens and/or filter is too small for the camera‘s film plane or digital sensor and creates a circular shadow in the corners of the frame). I’ll try to fix the problem when I figure it out. Maybe get a bigger filter or just rely on post production to do the job. I suppose I could hide the problem with frames in Photoshop but I’ve been feeling lazy.
Fourth, we visited what’s called Thunder Hole (Stop laughing. No, seriously. Stop laughing). This place was interesting and pretty enough but the tide was wrong to create the effect that gives the spot its name. Apparently, when the tide is right, the water rushing into the little canyon of rock creates a sound like thunder. Sound of thunder in a hole like canyon in the rock, Thunder Hole, get it now? Enough with the dirty thinking already!
Fifth, the place was overrun, I mean, overrun by people. Tourists mostly. I did manage to get a funny picture (even though it came out a bit blurry and with the vignette problem I told you about) of the people in one of the trolleys staring at me as I took the picture. I’m not sure if they felt like an animal at the zoo or if they thought I did. I guess we’ll never know.
Sixth, we only stayed a few hours. As a result, we didn’t get to see all that much of the huge park and I didn’t take that many pictures. My usual rate on outings like this is 200+ photos. I think I took maybe 110 to 150. A decent enough haul, but most of the photos were marred by my C-PL filter’s vignetting problem. Granted I can go through them and touch them up in Photoshop but that’s going to be a pain in the, well, you know.
The day wasn’t a total bust in my opinion though. I got to spend time with my family (mom, dad, brother and his girlfriend), get some exercise, see some pretty views (even though it was hazy), and visit somewhere new.
Now if all that weren’t enough, my mother and I went hiking again the very next day! Back to Quoddy. I took some photos there with my other C-PL filter and had the same vignette problem. Maybe my filter and lens don’t like each other all that much. So, needless to say, those photos didn’t come out all that great either. At least, not to me. Maybe I’ll tweak a few and toss them up sometime, but not today.
And, finally, to bring everyone completely up to speed, yesterday my parents and I went to Auburn. I found a nice red and black frame for my NYIP Graduation Certificate (FINALLY!) which was, luckily, on sale. So now, the certificate is all framed and proudly adorning my office wall. It makes the room look just a bit more professional I must say.
While we were in the craft store in Auburn, my father started coming up with ideas for his cat’s headstone. I offered my help, so the next time he comes to visit, we’ll sit down and design it. He’s going to do the actual construction of course which is good because I think it will be therapeutic for him. You know, help him come to terms with the whole situation. He needs the closure.
Well folks, again I’m sorry there’s no photos to gander at. I’m my own worst critic and I tend to not share photos I deem as “sub par.” If you ask nicely, then maybe I can be persuaded to fix up a few to show. But you’ll have to ask me real nice.
Until next time…
Keep on rockin’ on.
[~_~]
~ A.M.
Audrey May Photography 