Day: August 27, 2015

Floral Photography, Goodnight Flower

Goodnight Flower

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on Goodnight Flower

This is a goodnight flower but it is also in memory of a dear conductor, Maestro George Cleve, who passed away today. One might think I should post a pale flower of some sort, but George wasn’t, to me, the pale sort. When I first worked with him in the San Jose Symphony he was one fiery man, full of energy, sometimes great anger, and always great passion. His conducting was, and continued to be, “magic” in some way: with Midsummer Mozart, back when I played there, he could, at times, simply not his head and I’d know just what he wanted, as did most of the rest of the orchestra. When he conducted San Jose Symphony there were moments when, following a performance, we were all just stunned at what had occurred, the music making was so special. But pale? Something in pastels? No. That won’t work for me with George. So here, George, is a rose just for you, because yes, you did sometimes explode and you had the power of a volcano sometimes, and you had such passion and love for music! I will miss you forever, and I will be forever grateful for you.

Vesuvius Rose, 8.24.15Vesuvius_Rose,_8.24.15

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Equipment

by patricia emerson mitchellLeave a Comment on Equipment

I’ve not written about equipment here. I’m not an equipment sort of person, really. Still, I just purchased a new backpack for my camera and it really is wonderful. I’m not at all surprised, because what I bought is the Flipside Sport 10L AW by Lowepro, and I already own the 20L AW version. I just needed something smaller for my neighborhood walks, when I usually carry only my Canon 5D Mark II and 100mm macro lens .

For a number of years I’ve been using an Osprey Flapjack Courier bag (not the one you see if you click the link since mine is an older version) and it is quite nice, but not actually a camera bag. I like it for travel, because a backpack camera bag doesn’t work since I travel with the the Osprey Porter in the carry on size. (No bag checking for me if at all possible; we’ve gone on three week trips and still managed to do only carry on luggage.) In addition, I could fit my MacBook Air in the Flapjack. The courier bag was an okay option for taking my long walks, but I was noticing I was shifting it around a lot, and one shoulder did get rather tired as it bore the brunt of the weight, and I didn’t need something that held my computer.

So yesterday I caved. I purchased the Flipside Sport 10L AW (in bright orange — the same color as my 20L) and it arrived on the same day. I took it out for a walk today.

Yep, I made the right purchase.

I walked faster on my 6.2 mile walk (I track my walk with MapMyWalk) and my shoulder and back didn’t hurt a bit! The backpack carries just what I need for my walks, and if I wanted to I could even add a tripod and some water (I tend to bring neither: I can find water while I’m out and about and I shoot hand-held on these walks).

So … many thanks to both Lowepro AND Osprey: you make great products, built to last and built to do what they are made to do. I can recommend both companies.

Side note: A clasp on one of my Osprey courier bags (Yes, I have more than one! When I find something I really like I tend to get a couple in case they drop a style. I actually have two of the Flapjack Couriers and one of the Flapjill, which is great for the Fujifilm X-E1 camera and lenses). Osprey delivered a replacement immediately when I contacted them. Lowepro also replaced the Passport Sling bag I bought, back when I was just starting out and wanted something simpler.

Side Note #2: Dan warned me when I bought my first bag: we all keep searching for that perfect bag! Now I understand what he meant, and I also see that one needs different bags for different occasions.

Here are a few shots of my newest addition:Lowepro_Flipside_Sport_10L_AW Lowepro_Flipside_Sport_10L_AW-2