A September sunrise

Here we are, almost mid November and still nice weather. From the way the teenagers are dressed, you'd think it was the height of summer. They aren't wrong, not really. Our planet is on fire, and almost nobody notices. But that's a blog for another day.

It's been a busy week, getting back from Churchill, editing photos, then putting together a book to catch a sale, and meeting the deadline to get a discount. Several people are getting books, thank you so much! They will be the first people outside of a very select group to see one of my books. 

I've been busy setting up a dark room in the basement. Those that have been following along know I'm taking a dark room printing class at SAIT, and I'm loving it! I picked up an enlarger that had been consigned to a local camera store, and have been picking up the odds and ends needed to print the 6x9 negatives. That's sort of an odd size for reasons I won't get into now. Once I've done a print at home I'll probably do a more detailed post on my other blog.

A few of you have seen prints that I've done at SAIT, and are pleased with them, which is enormously satisfying. "Framed and on the family wall" was one quote. Comparing the print to what I saw in Lightroom is night and day, if you'll pardon the allusion. The print is infinitely better. More work, in a hands on sort of way. But more satisfying

You may have heard our Calgary library weathered a cyber attack of some kind and had to shut down their servers. They were closed a few days, and are now open with restricted services as they figure out how to safely reopen. One of my holds is stranded in transit, and is related to a book I have now. I was hoping to do a book post with both of them at once, but I'm not so sure that will work out.

Some might think this next bit is from a senile old geezer grumbling about the good old days. Back in the day, library books had a little pocket in the back for a card. The librarians had a system of tracking who took which books out and when they were due back. You could even look at the little card to see who else had taken that book out. There were no computers involved. No digital technology whatsoever. The system could have run without electricity, even, if you were careful not to get a candle too close too the books. 

Granted, libraries now are very different, offering far more services. Our local library, the Fish Creek branch, is busy all the time, which I love to see. The downtown branch is practically a photographic tourist destination now, along with the Peace Bridge and the Calgary Tower. 

Now it seems we need a computer for everything. What in your daily life does not have a computer of some kind in it? As I look at my desk right now, there's a few things, the most prominent of which at the moment is a coffee cup that needs refilling. Pens and paper and such. Some books. A ruler.

For lots of people, if the computer stops, so do they. Some are trying to wean themselves off their phones, compulsively scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. There's even a word for it, doom scrolling. It's a really hard thing to do, because some clever people have figured out how our brains are wired, and take advantage. More here. 

I try to look at the sky during sunrise and sunset, if I'm up for it. Often it's nothing special. Some days I run for the camera. This is a late September sun rise, looking west. Yes, that's correct. Standing at the bottom of the driveway, looking mostly west.

Of the Day

Driftwood (NZ)

Film and Linda, in Canmore

Newfoundland

An abandoned wharf near Twillingate.

Polar bears

The bleak setting for polar bears, from inside the buggy, in motion. I don't think there are any polar bears in this scene, but I liked the tree and radio tower beside the space station.

Why ever didn't I publish this, and maybe I did

From a late night ramble 8 years ago.