Point Made

Ever since I moved into my new house, my time has been taken up with that. As anyone who owns a house knows, there is always something that needs doing. In this case, it's the yard. And I'd rather walk through fire than do yardwork. So it goes without saying that although it needs to be done, it's slow going, and I'm rather reluctant to do it. It also cuts into my motivation to be creative with my photography.

I got a comment the other day on my fireworks pictures, which is posted (more or less) verbatim here:

"Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as 

though you relied on the video to make your point.

You obviously know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just 

posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?"

The comment, regardless of the source, has merit. So from here on out, I will write more, be more descriptive about the process and results.

But since I don't have any pics to show right now, I will upload two stories I have written. Each story was written as a page a day, with a cliffhanger at the end of each page. It was fun to write that way, being constrained not only by page length, but ending.

Do please let me know what you think of them:

Day One

The Last Day

You will find I'm hard on my main characters, I generally have a solid idea about the beginning and ending, it's the middle I'm fuzzy about, but by writing a page a day, I find I have time in between to think about how the story will shape up. 

I'm not a great writer by any stretch, I have issues with subject verb tense, but I'd like to think I get the point across and entertain you for a little bit. The second story is more violent than the 1st, but I'm pretty certain they are all ages friendly.

Cheers!

e

Day 3: No Pics

So on the third day of my vacation in Belize, I wanted to go zip lining and swim/explore an underground cave. I debated taking my camera along (it's pretty sturdy) but in the end, I opted against it. And of course, it's the one thing I really should have brought. Oh well, I'll do my level best to describe the day.

The day starts, as usual, at 6am. I love Belize because they get almost 12 solid hours of daylight and nighttime. At 6am, the weather is warm and sunny, and will stay that way until nightfall, when it will be slightly less warm, and dark. So when I step out of my hotel room, I know just how the day will be. 

The hotel has a tour van waiting for me, with a few other tourists from Taiwan, who turned out to be very nice. The ride was about 90 minutes, or 1 hour in Belize time (every long ride in Belize is said to take 1 hour), way out to the countryside. Plenty of typical Belize-esque houses, and quite a few abandoned in mid-build. 

The roads typically have "sleeping policemen" every mile or so, which is a Belize term for a speed bump. And a serious speed bump at that. Something that would tear off the suspension of a car if you hit it doing more than, say, 10mph. It's cheaper than running speed traps, and allows the police to do more important things. Beside every sleeping poliemen are people and small stalls selling things, typically fresh fruits. But once we got out well past any towns, the sleeping policemen went away. 

Belize, as you have seen from my other pics, is very flat, and the mountains jut up rather suddenly, and then go flat again, unlike places like the Blue Ridge mountains, which gradually creep up on you. It was a set of the pop-up mountains that our tour group was going to. 

The zip lining area was really nicely set up, tons of tourists there so they had an efficient assembly line process down pretty well. I was pleased to see the equipment was both reasonably new and in good condition. Our group was led by two nice guides, up some very steep stairs. Higher and higher we climbed, all the while the guides were running a detailed conversation on the local flora and fauna, history of the area, and what to expect on the zip line event itself.

Somehow I found myself in the front of the tour group, which meant that I was going to be the first on the zip line.

Did I mention I'm afraid of both heights? Well, no turning back now. I get a solid instruction on how to brake, and twist should I get turned around, and how to land (hint, it wasn't into a tree) and pointed off the edge of a cliff, towards the great beyond on the other side.

So, taking a deep breath and trying not to look down, I step off the edge.

Did I survive? Tune in later to find out!

Day 191, PZA

The sound is definitely coming from down this hallway. The shadows aren't natural, they're shifting slightly, or maybe I'm just tired. 

There's something up ahead, just past the bend, calling out to me, calling my name...

Day 190, PZA

I must have dozed off for a day or so, maybe more. I don't have a watch so I don't know what time it is. Something startled me awake, my muscles are sore from sleeping on the floor, but I'm instantly alert.

This is the other wing, in the same condition as everything else. Some empty fire extinguishers litter the rooms, and insulation is everywhere.

The sound isn't a shambler, and it's not looters, but it's not natural either. I go further, baseball bat in hand, to investigate,

Day 189, PZA

I knew I was being an optimist here, the place is trashed out and anything of value has long since been taken. The kitchen has a number of fridges, including a huge walk-in, all of which are totally empty. Not even a twinkie wrapper. Water was from a well, but the motor isn't working. A few of the doors are locked from within, but there's no human smell, just the years of decay permeating the building.

Plenty of places to barricade though, so a good night's rest might be within the cards. Camera battery is holding strong, but of course there's no power here so I can't recharge. 

Day 188, PZA

I've checked out the surrounding area as best as I can. There are a number of exits, which is good, but that also means there are a number of entrances, which isn't so good. The outbuildings are too small and only have one way in (or out) so I've discounted those. There's a basement as well, but I'm not going anywhere near that.

I'll start back here and see what might be of use. The weather has been holding, which is good, makes walking a little easier. 

I don't hear anything from inside, and there's no signs anyone's been around for a long time, which is also good. The shamblers don't stick around where there's no food, so maybe, just maybe I can't catch some sleep.

Day 187, PZA

I've been walking for a long time. Car ran out of gas, 2 weeks ago, and there's not much out this way, which is why I chose the back route. I don't really know where I'm going, I just know I had to get away from the city. They cluster there, picking off the living who made a last stand in the confines of the high rises, the warehouses, the apartment blocks.

I'm tired, thirsty, and strung out. I can't sleep for more than a few minutes at a time, even one shambler is too much, can't let my guard down. God only knows what would happen if I ran into a pack of them.

Up ahead is a boarded up nursing home, looks solid from the front, but the back is another story, windows smashed out and doors open wide. It'll have to do, I can't keep going like this. Maybe I'll get lucky and find something good inside. The battery on my Nikon D2x lasts a long time, and I want to keep the journal alive, maybe someone out there can make use of what I've photographed. 

No Work Today

I am working on a short story, entitled "The Last Bullet" set in 1934, written on my 1934 Underwood Model 6 Typewriter. 

Unfortunately, my typewriter is experiencing problems today, it's jammed up or something so I won't be working on it today.

Chapter 9

Too rapidly to see, Radu thrust Mjolnir deep into Ninja.

"Aieeeee!" yelled Ninja

"When will your kind learn," asked Radu, "you cannot defeat me. No mortal on this planet can."

Ninja lay silent on the ground, still forever more.

"Now, "said Radu, dusting off his hands, "where is that pesky Werewolf you travel with?"

Ninja said nothing, the wind whispering through the trees was the only reply.

Chapter 8

"Here I am Ninja," whispered Radu.

Ninja paled beneath his armour, the fiend was so fast, he'd never seen any creature move like that. In one split second, Ninja knew he'd made a final, and fatal mistake.

"No!" shouted Ninja.

"Yes." spat Radu.

Chapter 7

Ninja landed on the wall, ready to send another blow to the vampire (as Ninjas are often wont to do) but suddenly, Radu was gone!

Ninja looked around, where could Radu have gone?

Chapter 6

Ninja unleashed a mightly flying kick that sent Radu sprawling.

"Arrrrgh!" said Radu.

Ninja just smiled.

Chapter 5

"Foolish Ninja," said Radu, squaring off with his opponent, "I have lived for thousands of years, do you really think you could stand against me? Your mighty master thought the same, and now his bones lay bleaching in the cursed Sun. His students thought to sneak upon me and attack en masse, and their doom was their only fate!"

"You talk too much," said Ninja.

Chapter 4

"Then prepare to taste my blade!" hissed Radu, as he thrust Mjolnir at Ninja.

Ninja blocked Radu's strike easily, "You are too slow fiend! The Sun makes you weak! You will never survive out here!"

Chapter 3

Suddenly, the Ninja sprang up to face Radu.

"Here I am!" Ninja shouted, "Face me you terrible spirit!"

Radu, hand still shielding his eyes from the glare, turned and looked at Ninja, eyes narrowing and wings folding forward.

"You have taken my most valued possession Ninja," hissed Radu, "hand it over and walk away, while you still can."

"Never!" shouted Ninja.

Chapter 2

Radu looked, but could not find the Ninja.

"Curses! They are too stealthy, I shall never find my possession!" lamented Radu.

He looked and looked, but could see nothing in the bright Sun. But Radu had a feeling the Ninja was near.

Chapter 1

Radu was awoken by a disturbance in his chambers. He sat up, and looked around. Something was missing. The Ninja had stolen his prized possession! He lept out and frantically began to search for the Ninja.

"Ah! Curse this bright Sun! I am weak!"

Class

The evening photography class I take on studio lighting has a truly terrible book. Everything in that book is out of focus. To be more precise, the Depth of Field is far too shallow for the subject matter. It's like the author of the book got ahold of an f/2 lens and shot wide open for everything.

This shot is wide open, at 1.8, and is in better focus than the book ones, so I have to revise my original theory and suppose the author got himself an f/1.2 instead.

In any case, I like the soft effect and gradual blurring here of the Angel.

Wildlife

Well not really, when was the last time you saw a flock of wild chickens?

I can picture it now, geared up for battle, camera in hand, stalking in the underbrush for the elusive grey squirrel. Around the tree is heard a noise, slowly coming past the tree you creep, only to find...nothing.

A pause when realization hits that something is behind you. A sound, a simple and quiet "cluck", and you know, it's all over.

Later, when the police arrive, they will take their hats off and shake their heads. "Somebody should do something about those wild chickens, " they'll say, and others will agree, but no one will, they don't want to end up like you.

Yeah, I can't see that happening either....

Nikon, Kodak 400CN film