Another day of celebration...

 

The Post Anniversary Sale Event?  No, but thanks for asking.  When we first got Murphy, close to Christmas last year, we were told he was one year old.  Joan decided that his birthday would be December 3rd, the day after our Anniversary.  Easy to remember, I guess.

So, on his birthday, Murphy will get extra hugs (he is not a big fan of that), treats, some outdoor time, praise on how smart and handsome he is, and quiet time for naps.  So, yeah, like every other day of the year.

 Happy Birthday, Murph!

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Joan has been working on another project: Steph and Dan gave us a gift certificate last year, with the idea of making a personalized 365 day calendar, with images.  Since the gift certificate could be used for any of this company's products, we decided to go for a couple "art images" of the furry boys; matted and framed.  Hanging on our bedroom wall...

Nice contrast against the blue accent wall in there.  And, of course, the boys look good.

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I missed posting some photos of the paver project yesterday - hauling pavers to the driveway before the workers got there...

 Yes, we are getting too old for that manual labor stuff, but we had some pavers left over from the original landscaping project.

Murphy looking under the gate at what we were doing...

Some plants removed...

4 plants went out, 7 new ones came in.  Rerouting some sprinkler lines to fit the new plant positioning.  And the pavers, to trim out along the driveway and add more walking room...

This was Joan's pet project, but we all agreed it would be a nice addition.  It matches all our other pavers.

Happy Anniversary, Baby...

 

Got you on my mi-ind.

If you said, "Little River Band, 1977," you get 12 bonus points.  52 years ago today, Joan and I got married.  It was a chilly, blustery day in Iowa.  It's a chilly start to the day here in Arizona, 46º, but it is supposed to get up to 82º for a high today.  I'll take that.

We'll be spending the day around the house - not the original plan, but we have landscapers coming this morning to do some pavers to trim out alongside the driveway, move some plants in the front yard, and add several more plants.  So, we are a somewhat captive audience.

While I'd rather be out in the Roadtrek, as long as we are together, it's all good.

Testing...

 

I didn't study.  Apparently, that is a common dream.  That is not the way my dreams usually go, but I digress.

I have been giving some consideration to a new camera.  Some might think I am overly critical when it comes to camera gear.  That was certainly the case when we were in the studio.  When we first left, I bought Nikon's best digital camera at the time.  It was such a beast to carry around, I didn't use it much... on a shot per cost, it was probably the most expensive camera I had owned.

My focus (pun intended) shifted after that, and I went through a series of small pocket cameras for a few years.  When we were working at the whale watch company, I bought some nicer cameras... things were generally busy at the helm of those boats, so I didn't get to shoot as much as I would have liked.

After that (around 2016), I bought another Nikon DSLR, but certainly not the top of the line.  It was a good buy at Costco with a couple lenses.  This is the camera that we used to take photos of dolphins from our boat in Texas, nice portraits of Rufus in the grass, and some of our travel photos.

By that point, I had begun to shoot videos from the scooters and the occasional music video.  The Nikon didn't get a lot of use after that.

Reading up on the specs of current cameras, this 8 year old Nikon is still relevant.  I did update it with a tele-zoom lens after a couple years with it.  This Nikon focused fast enough that we were able to capture some really fun dolphin photos.

Technology changes a lot in 8 years.  While there are fewer models of cameras being offered currently, the manufacturers have concentrated their efforts on more expensive cameras.  There are very few "point and shoot" small cameras thanks to iPhones (and some of the other phones) upgrading their onboard cameras with each new model.  One article I read said camera sales (by units sold) are down 93% since 2010.

"Yeah, yeah, what does this have to do with testing?"  Thanks for asking.  I got out the Nikon today while Murphy played in the yard.  Apparently, this boy moves faster than dolphins.  ;-)  The auto-focus is slow by today's standards (but it was certainly faster than anything we had used previously).  I shot some close ups, full length, back-lit, in the sun and in the shade.  This Nikon still does an adequate job.

See for yourself...

It has a 20mg sensor, so again, adequate...

It handles the back-lighting OK...

Sun-lit...

Deep shade...

I think he is a handsome lad... but, he is a "mover and a shaker."  If this had been a paid session, I would have earned my money.  ;-)

For full disclosure, every one of these images has had some work done to it: cropping, exposure, color, and contrast.  When people call an imaged "Photoshopped," I can attest that most images have had some level of "enhancement" that has nothing to do with retouching.  This handsome boy doesn't need any retouching.

Advent Calendars...

 

I've never had an Advent Calendar before.  Well, there was one "24 Days of Chocolate" we got several years ago that had apparently been shipped in the heat and was just a blob of stale chocolate in each opening.  Now, one for each of us...

Dan had given Joan a Keureg Advent Calendar for her birthday, with 24 days of coffee - that was a hit!  Joan got one for Murphy, with a new cat toy for each day.  Today was a red sparkle ball - Murph chased it all over the house, then scored a goal by batting it under the stove.  Joan got it out for him... and now, 2 minutes later, I see no sign of it.

My first gift didn't fit in the little box, but Joan made it took like a "slight of hand" by opening the box and... poof: a white shipping bag.  Inside that bag, is a big clip that holds a phone...

While the clip could be put on many things, the premise of this is to clip it to the headstock of a guitar, to get photos or video while playing.  Interesting!