There are sign language interpretors for the class I'm taking this week. I'm entranced by their hands movements and facial expressions. I find myself zoning out watching them instead of paying attention to the instructors. Good thing I'm not being graded!

Assignment 2: Depth of Focus.

We were supposed to take pictures of an object (with text on it) in front of a recognisable background at different apertures. Changing the aperture changes the distance at which the lens focuses. Got that part down. Completely ignored the fact that you need to change your shutter speed in compensate for the change in light that the aperture allows. Duh. So all of my small f-stops were way under exposed. Learn from experience, I say.

I had fun playing with DoF, as you can see from the blurry backgrounds. After the required shots, I played around a bit and tried to take a series of pics focusing on the foreground, middle ground, and background using wine stuffs as my subject. The background-focused shots didn't turn out but you get the idea.

Up next: "Interesting" shots of a structure using the composition rules we discussed in class (Rule of Thirds, fill the frame, angles, leading lines, framing, etc.). We're developing our own film next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

And because I'm an addict and had extra film, an obligatory fiber shot.

random brainstorm - fluffer nutter ice cream. maybe peanut butter ice cream with banana chunks and swirls of marshmellow (or vanilla with pb and 'mellow swirls). ben and jerry's needs to get on that.

yoohoo, ms. derivi - i hope you're at knitting tonight!

pet peeve of the day:

fax spam

email spam is annoying but can be deleted. telemarketers are more annoying but avoidable. but fax spam automatically prints on paper. one tree dead for every asian investment update or holiday vacation package that goes unread. and seriously, how stone age are you to still use fax machines for your dirty work?

i indignently shake my fist at you, fax spammers!

i'm a critter lover. always have been, always will be. as a kid, i loved my honies (i.e. stuffed animals) way more than any doll (well, maybe with the exception of samantha from the american girls collection but honestly, what little girl can't resist that kind of marketing pressure?). i still do prefer animals to people sometimes but i digress.

over the past month at the zoo, my veteran keeper aide status has taken a step up. a few weeks ago i keeper aided for the pandas. this is a big deal because 1) they haven't allowed volunteers to do that since butterstick was born over a year ago and 2) um, hello, DC's most famous (and well-liked) family!

other than the exclusivity of panda central, it's not all that glamorous. scooping poop is pretty humbling, no matter what species. panda scooping involves an added layer of tedium because you have to separate the uneaten bamboo from the, um, digested stuff to weigh out how much they consumed over night. and since the pandas are on camera 24/7 you have to whisper when you say mean things about people and you may want to avoid picking your nose or scratching your ass while you're at it. kinda like being a personal assistant for the stars. they don't know who you are, nor do they care, but you better have that fruitcicle ready on command, dog darnit!

this past saturday i fed the sea lion pups. they've been off limits, too, because they're feisty and you wouldn't want to be nipped. lately i've been going out on the beach with the trainers, holding a security bucket to ward off any blows. but this time i dropped fish down their gullets. little calli was all dry and sleepy from baking herself on the haul-out rock all day. her wee muzzle was so warm and soft. i wanted to pick her up and squeeze her tight (not that i would cuz they do have sharp teeth and could easily maim you with one swipe). those nuggets are too cute for their own good!

as i played with grey seals that afternoon someone asked how i got my job. i smiled. i do it for free, my friends. for free. that's how much i love it. so next time i'm groaning about getting up at 6 am on a saturday, i'll remind myself that it truly is worth it.

yawn! stretch! waking up from my blogging nap. it's been a crazy couple of weeks in my real world. how i haven't missed blog land.

i was in southern texas last week on a work trip. good times but if i never set foot in texas again it'll be too soon. not my cup of tea. it was rough coming back to snow and ice after a week of shorts and flip flops, however. jogging the beach one day and bundling up for snowy slush the next is a shock to the system. but i love my northernly roots so i'm not complaining.

my god the busy-ness at work this week but i'll be back to normal soon. i hope.