I'm Tired

I'm tired of negativity. Life is short and time's a wastin'.

Here is the post I meant to write a few days ago; the one that was interrupted because my other "son" Val's dad died. By the way, the funeral is today, so please keep the family in your thoughts.

Black Is Beautiful!

As you may or may not have noticed, I like to take photographs. It is probably my only vice, unless you count coffee, which you can’t, because coffee is like air, or water, or food, it is necessary for survival. At least it is to my survival and this is MY story. It goes like this, I wake up, I get coffee. It’s as simple as that.

Anyway, I digress…I like to take pictures. Everything I see has a frame around it…even the toilet. I’m serious. I know there's probably a 12-step program for photoaholics, but for now I’m going to pretend like it’s a normal thing. Please play along with me on this.

Since getting my first digital camera I have been obsessed with capturing the images I see.

Last year, in July, my brother decided my camera needed to be upgraded. Let me tell you something about Mike; when he gets an idea in his head—you might as well go with it. Some might say he’s stubborn. He prefers the word determined. I am just like him.

Anyway, he decided I needed a better camera and began researching different models. He came up with three options that he felt would suit my needs. I tested all three and chose the Canon Rebel XT. The 8.2 megapixel camera and all of the appropriate accessories were purchased and I was on my way to photographic bliss. As you can see from my previous blog posts, I have made good use of it. I’m CERTAINLY no Annie Liebovitz and don’t pretend that I’m a competent photographer, I just love taking pictures.

Last weekend, well over 10,000 photos later, one of the male pins on the CF card insert slot bent.

*Gasp* I was dead in the water.

I can’t explain the feeling that came over me. Aside from bad things happening to my family or friends, or catastrophic natural or unnatural events, I don’t think I’ve ever been more saddened. I know that sounds dramatic, but I literally went into a decline.

Who knew…I mean, really…WHO KNEW that something I didn’t even do two years ago would become one of the most important components of my life?

What does that say about me? Am I a shallow person who only lives on the periphery of life, choosing only to take pictures of events as they transpire, rather than actually participate? I don’t think so. I believe that I take photos because life is precious and life is short. I take pictures because everything and everyone in my life should be honored and remembered. I take photos because the images I capture are my memories.

Once again, I digress…to put it lightly, I was down. Okay, I cried, piteously. My brother’s dog put her head on my lap and I bawled my eyes out. After my pity-fest, I surfed online to see if it was a commonly occurring problem. It was not, and it may or may not be covered by warranty. The Canon website mentioned that it could take up to 6 weeks to correct the problem.

Depression deepened. More tears were shed.

How pathetic, you might be thinking. People are sleeping in doorways and you are whining about your camera going to the repair shop. And you are probably right. If it offends you that I care so deeply about an object, I’m sorry. But you see it’s not the camera I mourn—I mourn the loss of the memories, the moments in time that will never reoccur.

My brother gets this. He UNDERSTANDS. To be honest, I think the photos I take are at least as important to him as they are to me. He gets an immense amount of satisfaction seeing the photos on my blog or my Flickr site and the latest prints of my son, his dog or my cats.

So that night, I went to bed and tried to sleep. It’s weird, but I dreamt about my camera. No kidding. The first thought that came to my mind when I woke up from a fitful nights sleep was, you guessed it, my camera.

Apparently it had been on my brother’s mind as well. As soon as he woke up he announced that we were buying a new camera. A Canon Rebel XTi, a step up from my original camera. I argued with him, telling him I could wait, it was too expensive, I could buy it myself…but it was an argument I couldn’t win. His mind was made up. The camera shop was called, the new XTi was reserved and plans were made to return the XT for repair.

So thanks, once again, to the Best Brother in the Universe (BBITU), here’s my new “memory”.

Black really is beautiful.

Because my camera was in need of repair, I was unable to download and view the majority of the photos I took at my dad’s last weekend. I had planned to insert the card into my photo printer and transfer them all to my computer. But thanks to BBITU, I don’t have to.

So now, without further adieu, I give you:

Bill, Mike, Laurie and Shasta’s Excellent Adventure

I was standing next to the Stillwater River when I took this shot. I love the contrast of colors.

This photo and several of the ones that follow, were taken at Cliff Swallow Campground, on the Stillwater River. It is about a 15 minute drive from my dad and brother's house. If you look closely, between the bits of ice, you can see a fish. My brother thinks it's a Rainbow Trout.

I have no idea what kind of bird this is. There were two of them and they spent most of their time flittering along the top of the water.

Shasta, walking too close to the edge of the river.

Shasta, falling through the ice. As you can imagine, I put the camera down and headed out to help with the rescue attempt. Mike, of course, was already on his way...

As you can tell (by Mike's dry jeans), she did not fall in the river. She would have been fine if she had, it wasn't very deep, but she did give us a scare.

We saw this group (would that be flock or gaggle?) of wild turkeys in the yard of a cabin along the Stillwater River.

This is Castle Rock. There is a fishing access at the base of it. It is about 15 miles from Nye, Montana.

Here we are, still at Castle Rock, as the sun started to set. Would someone please tell this dog that it's winter?