Well, I've clawed my way partially out of the black hole of technological regression that I fell into a week ago. I'm still not fully functional with the things I could do perfectly well before I spent time and money "improving" the system, but at least I can do some things with my photos and I have the computer back. Not sure for how long, as I still have a few problems that need sorting out and it may need to leave home again for a bit.
It all started with me trying to view the RAW/NEF files that I had taken with my Nikon. Couldn't do it with my existing version of Photoshop. Couldn't find a compatible download for that problem that would work with my computer's operating system, so I upgraded Photoshop.
I could now open the RAW files, but my printers wouldn't work with the new Photoshop. Took the computer to the local tech wizards for diagnosis, and in the end they decided it was an operating system problem, so we upgraded the OS to the latest. Now I could use the printers but the main print dialogue I needed wouldn't work. Talked to Adobe and got a work-around for that (seems to be a problem within CS5).
The most recent development is that most things I want/need to do with the computer make the system freeze totally--such as downloading photos from the memory card, moving images from one folder to another, etc. The only "good" thing with all this is it has got me back doing a lot more with my encaustic art, since it doesn't involve computers, and is basically a technology that was developed 2500 years ago. It's always good to have options.
All that said, at least I do have some photos to post this week. Shot one is the interesting "cloaked figure" made of ice on the side of a local school. Luckily I got this shot a week ago, as we witnessed it being hacked off the side of the building by the caretaker when we were walking the dogs a few nights ago, and now it is no more. It was about twelve feet/3.6 metres tall.
Shot two shows another aspect of ice. We've had alternating very cold and really-too-warm-for- the-time-of-year (as in a bit above freezing) temperatures for the last few weeks. There was a fair amount of freezing rain one day, which coated the city streets and the fields on the way to the barn. You can see the glare produced by the dull sun reflected off the ice-encrusted snow.
We have a large cedar tree in the back yard that overhangs the deck, but also blocks my view of the bird feeders when I look out the studio window into the back yard. Grandson Mark was with us one day when it was reasonably mild out, and he and Jim did some trimming of branches so I can keep better track of the yard activity while in the studio. We've owned the long "remote control" branch trimmer forever, and rarely have a need to use it, so getting to play with it was an added bonus of the operation. Mickey the Boxer acted in a supervisory capacity, and I got the photos from the little studio balcony one floor up.
The best part of the past week was getting to spend some time with Marley, the young English bulldog. I first photographed her last October when she was quite a tender young thing. She's still a puppy, but a much larger and more solid one than when we first met. My daughter and her family have been puppy-sitting while Marley's owners were away, and we were lucky enough to have her visit here. After the initial excitement (on the part of my dogs) and mild consternation and confusion (on Marley's part), everyone settled in and got along very well. Despite superficial similarities in body shape and type between Marley and the resident Boxers, I found her to be quite different in style and personality--much calmer, quieter and less reactive than the boys. Also after having her around for a few hours, my dogs suddenly seemed very lean and long of leg and nose. Shot four shows Marley at attention in the back yard.
Shot five features Marley and "uncle" Mickey. Mickey has had a few "other dog" issues over the years, so I was especially happy that he was a good boy with Marley. Generally speaking, adult dogs will recognize puppies as being in a special "be nice" category, so although we were mildly cautious when putting them together at first, we were fairly confident that all would be well, as it was.
