Serendipity #1. Wish you had been with me.

Naturally I noticed this hat--it was cold outside, and I thought, "What a great hat for that lady to have on a cold day." Then, as we waited at a traffic signal, the bus idling rhythmically, movement caught my eye. Her hat vibrated, the brown stripes dancing before my eyes, still, blurry, still, blurry. I clicked this shot. And, lo and behold, when I uploaded it to Flickr, I discovered that you can see the blur! Those strips that appear to be double the thickness and come down like spokes from the top center of the hat--that's what I saw vibrating! Serendipity and the Nikon D50 rule!

I got off the bus to take this photo before they all blew off, they lit up the vista.

Wednesday, November 3, I decided to get off the bus and walk back east onto the Hawthorne Bridge. Too many beautiful trees had gone un-photographed by my trusty Nikon D50. Not wanting to be too late getting home, I decided to try this shot from the north side of the bridge approach, rather than walking down the stairs, beneath the bridge, and then back up the other side. I sort of like the railing at the top of the wall which shows up at the bottom of the shot. I especially like the golden tree in the center of the shot, as well as the green leaves mixed with the reds. While some of these leaves remain on the trees, in the last 12 days, rain has fallen and winds have blown. All over the city, leaves line the curbs, cover the cars that haven't been driven, and either cover or speckle the sidewalks. Slippery when wet applies.

Here’s a link to the Mayor Sam Adams' leaf pick-up fee fiasco, for which he’s taking the blame.


Later that evening after I got off the bus and walked east on our street, I took this photo. You can see that while leaves cover the parking spaces and most of the sidewalk, lots of leaves are still on the trees. Today they're all blown down, waiting to be removed. Click here to see lots and lots of autumn leaf photos from November, 2008, and to read all about the NW Portland Clean Sweep.

Reds

See the various reds I saw, across from the bus stop at NW 21st and Everett. The rhododendrons caught my eye first, then almost instantly I saw the rest of the reds, picked up the camera that hung around my neck and snapped the photo last Tuesday. This was with the new lens I had to buy on Saturday, a Quantaray 18-200. You see, on Friday night after I left 3 Doors Down Cafe, I got off the 20 on Sandy and went to Voodoo Doughnuts to get one for dessert. Naturally, I wanted to take photos--that's when I discovered that the lens that came with my camera, my everyday lens that I've used and used and used was all used up. Surprisingly, I did not panic. I live in a big city, I thought. Surely I can find another lens that fits the Nikon D50, one that will focus for me. Lo and behold, I only had to go to two stores and I found the new one which, thankfully, I could actually afford.

Do you notice any difference in the quality of the photo?

Seen from the Buick on May 9, 2009 ... click!

I'm driving the Buick--I think I was on East Burnside near SE 22nd. Out of the corner of my eye as I slow down for a traffic signal, I notice something. Is that a stuffed giraffe riding in the passenger seat, I wonder. I grab the camera, point it over my shoulder, and click. The lady still grinned as I took the camera down and gave her the thumbs up.

Do you see another critter in the car?