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Full Conversion -- 08.08.07
 
My old Sony Vaio died on me the other day. It�s a pretty old computer actually, easily five years old now. Five years is about the average life span of the computers I�ve owned. The sucky thing about not having my old Vaio is that I have Photoshop on that computer, but not on the Mac. That program is my photographic brush. Without it I can�t realize my photographic vision. Without that program I would rather not even own a camera, because the pictures I would take would just not be my vision.

Thankfully I was able to get Photoshop on the Mac last night and with that the full conversion from Windows to Mac is complete. I�m going to see if I can get the Vaio working, but now that I have Photoshop on the Mac I won�t be in such a hurry. The only thing that I will find hard is printing. I�ve tried to print from my mac with the printer I have, but that printer isn�t compatible. So no printing for me, for now at least.

This morning I went to visit my Grandmother, on my Father�s side. On the drive to her place I noticed that there was a moth hitching a ride on my car (pictured below).

This moth rode on the hood of the car all the way from Burbank and White Oak to Sherman Way and White Oak. I hope it enjoyed the ride.

So I went to the Getty today to check out the Manet masterpiece �A Bar at the Folies-Berg�re.� (pictured below)

There is something about being in the presence of a great work of art that can�t be duplicated by seeing it in a book or a poster. Being there to see the brush strokes, the light hit it and reflect the artist�s vision is very much like a religious experience to me. I heard a woman walking out of the gallery saying that it shouldn�t be that sort of thing. I�m not exactly sure why she was saying that, or if she really said that. All I know is that for me it is a moving experience.

I think so many of us like the impressionists because of what they represent, a personal view of the world. We can only know how the world looks to us, because we can�t look through another�s eyes. But with the impressionists we do get that other person�s view, and when we see it we tend to think about how wonderful the world really is. It is that connection that I love, that expression that is filtered through a person that makes the world a beautiful place.

Following that I went to check out the Edward Weston exhibit.

I loved most of the pictures, though some of them had a limited tonal range. They look to be almost the same shade of sepia. But the one�s with the deep contrast were so incredible. The subtlety of those photographs is something I strive for in my own photographic work. It�s not something that�s easy to duplicate in digital, but it�s worth trying because of the results.

Speaking of photography, I recently took what I think is the first great picture taken with my new Leica camera (pictured below).

I so like this picture for the cool shadows and selective focus. The aspect ratio of the photo is 16:9, one of the three settings on the camera. It�s the �high def� TV ratio. I�m still trying to get used to it, but I must admit that I am taking a shine to it. I basically set my camera to the old fashion 4:3 ratio, but it�s cool to try the other sizes. What do you think of the picture?

And now, a quote from the movie �The Shawshank Redemption� that I was thinking about the other day. I�m not sure why I was thinking of this quote, but here it is.

I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone.

End Communication.

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