I wanted to play with my new zoom lens so here are some photos of my day. I am so not used to the extra weight of the lens - I felt like I was lifting weights after awhile.

I took most of these photos from a long distance to the subject and loved how the zoom worked. I need to remember to bring a tripod next time though as the camera shake was annoying. The statue of the Civil War looking soldier, I took that from 3 streets away. I could see right up its nose... not that I wanted a photo of that.

There were an abundance of birds and hawks out and I got quite a few but these were the best. Note, the bird sitting on Jesus's head and also on the really white statue's head. Also weird? A skywriter - which I haven't seen in a long time. It spelled out Crunch Fitness and a flag symbol over Forest Lawn... not really their prime market? Or maybe to get the visitors to think about their own mortality?

That last photo is a symbol I haven't seen yet on a grave marker so I wanted to get a close-up so I could look it up. And happy to see some Bees on the flowers. All in all a good trip!

Excuse the arty clutter behind the fabulousness that is my new zoom lens.  I was making due pretty well with the starter lens but this one really makes me happy. Here is a tree that is very very very far away from me. Also, I took this through my bedroom window and you can barely see the screen. Nice.

I will be geeking out with my new toy shortly.

Things I am working on:
Finishing up The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - this is my 4th reading and it is really clicking more than ever.  So much wisdom and mindfulness and it is all becoming clearer the more I study.

I have several Tarot posts almost ready to go dealing with questions I have been asked regarding how to choose the deck and also basic reading info especially when it comes to the Minor Arcana.

Running my latest batch of photos through Lightroom. 

And I just got a bullet journal kit and I think I am going to use this one for daily mindfulness. Yay for journals and brush pens and stickers and rulers and paper-y things.

​Have a great evening!

I love visiting Forest Lawn - mostly because it is lovely and quiet. It was also very very windy and I took a ton of photos of pinwheels to practice with shutter and aperture settings. I will post those later this week along with the markers I found that stood out.

Another visitor was telling me he saw several hawks, coyotes and prairie dogs so I need to come back early and or later.  No snakes thank goodness. Although in the field with the bird and concrete vaults there probably were several. I chose to not go there.

I have never actually gone down to this area so I need to go back and look at the markers more closely, I did find a few though that were just gorgeous. This is also the older section, where a lot of the dates start with 1860. I am glad I ventured over today.

The first 2 photos got me good. I mean, tears people!  

I also got a zoom lens today, I should have it tomorrow! Right now I have 18 to 55 and the zoom is 75 to 300. So, I will be able to see up that birds beak next time and not have to go into snake grass!

Dream Diary:
Must have been deeeeply asleep - dreaming about something I needed that was in my comforter?  I kept feeling around the edges, frantic - trying to find something? At some point I went from dreaming to awake, still feeling around my comforter for whatever it was I dream needed. I even got my phone to light up under my pillows and the floor, stressing to find whatever I needed.  Slowly came to realize I had been dreaming and I had everything I needed.  4 AM OMG - I was actually very panicked - I tend to dream like that when I am tired and with the daylight savings time recently inflicted on me, I am really tired!

​* Everly Brothers - My earworm today - you are welcome

I decided to get some photography assignments done today and after a few random stress blips, I decided to go to Forest Lawn for some quiet time to reset my brain. Being creative in a mellow environment is one of the best ways for me to unwind. The mortuary has many spots tucked away for a person to sit and reflect on all matter of things and I was thankful for the quiet respite.

I think I got quite a few good photos and I need to sort them out and see how I did playing with aperture and shutter speeds etc. But here are some fun ones in the meantime. (The more serious, assignment-y ones to follow)

Also, I never realized how many creepy statues live at Forest Lawn ~ especially those Weeping Angel looking cherubs LOL

 1977. Christmas. My parents gifted me my very first camera and as Sally Mann said, "It was an instant love affair.*)

I still remember that Instamatic and how the flash bulb smelled after I took a picture. I loved that camera to bits and I am thankful that my parents thought to gift me this treasure.

Then, on my 21st birthday, my parents gifted me another Kodak, this one the Disc.  Another easy to use, but incredibly fun camera to play with.

I took pictures of EVERYTHING. I seriously still have a large box of negatives from all the photos I took. Developing film became very expensive! But there was just something about capturing a moment in time that I loved.

 Since then, I have used disposable cameras and lovely point and shoot cameras and most often, my Android phone.  And I enjoy using them all. BUT!

For the very first time, thanks to many Amazon gift cards, I was able to afford a brand new Canon EOS Rebel T6 kit.
And I am IN HEAVEN!  It arrived today and I am still playing with it. So much to learn as I usually just use the auto features. But now I have the opportunity to really dig in and see how it all works! So very exciting. I am thinking of  taking a class as well to cover more topics.

One day, I will have my very own dark room and the old time 5 x 7 inch large format cameras, thinking about that makes me grin. In the meantime, I have my new toy to keep me busy!

I may never be the next Sally Mann or Ansel Adams or Alfred Stiglitz, but then again, I may just surprise myself!