Might as well as

I broke down and bought a new camera this past week. I don't know if it's the BEST camera for the money. So far I am impressed. I bought the Olympus E-300. I bought it because I had a C-5060 for a year and half and really liked it but wanted to move up to a digital SLR. There is something to be said for knowing the menus and how a manufacturer makes their cameras so I stuck with what I knew. I suppose that's not always the best way of making a choice - and manufacturers make use of that, but so far I am happy with the choice I made.

It takes awhile to get used to the idea of being able to make all of the choices in settings. I know nothing about SLR cameras, aperture and shutter speed settings so this is quite a challenge. Although there are "canned" settings on the camera, I am trying to teach myself how to make some adjustments in the way I take pictures so I can do things a little better than I have in the past. I guess that's the name of the game, eh? Progress, not perfection. In the end, however, there is an element to picture taking that cannot be taught in a book... just like anything else. If you aren't Tiger Woods, you are not going to play gold like Tiger Woods no matter how many lessons you take. And that's what makes anything so intriguing. There isn't anyone who is going to take pictures like I do because they won't see exactly what I see or focus on. The best description of good picture taking was in a book I read that said that if you get the equipment to take the picture that you saw, then you have succeeded - no matter how the picture turns out.

The might was as well as comes in when all of the add-ons are considered. Now my laptop is slow because I am shooting in TIFF's. Now my old memory cards are too small because I am shooting in TIFFs and the list goes on and on. My old camera bag is too small, I need a tripod to eliminate the shakes and I may as well get a new hard drive for storage, etc. So, it's not JUST the new camera that's involved here, see? It's all the "may as well as" things that go along with it. I'm trying to hold it to a low roar but when I do these things, I find that when I am in for a penny, I am in for a pound - otherwise it's not worth doing. So, it's going to be a $2,500 proposition by the time I get done. So it goes. Grateful that I have the resources to do it.

I have been watching movies again. I just finished watching "The Sea Inside" about the Spanish man who was a quadriplegic who was an advocate of euthanasia. He eventually was able to get someone to help in his endeavor to die. I was moved by the fact that he said something to the effect that he doesn't judge the people who, in the same situation, choose to live, while he asked for the same consideration for himself because he wanted to die and the die with dignity. It makes one wonder if we have the right to determine the fate of anyone. Does everyone have the right to self-determination or not? I think that is a question that faces each and every person along the way because sooner or later, we all face death - our own and others. I admire him for his steadfastness in reaching his goal. 5-stars

I also saw another movie called "Autumn and Spring." A Czech movie, I think. I think any couple could benefit from seeing this movie because people seem to fall into this pattern for some reason. Sometimes the roles are reversed, but in the end, it feels like everyone could relate in some way to this film. 5-stars.

Going to Canada this week. Ainsworth maybe but there's a chance that we might go to the coast. We have a friend who has been sick and it feels like a good time to see her. And besides, it's summer and the motorhome is such a marvelous way to travel. We just love this little machine!