Guinea Pigs

 The instructor's letter for my class specifies that you should please read as much of the camera and flash manual as possible. He doesn't say you should screw around trying the equipment out but I felt it was implied. I've read enough of the manual to know what all the buttons are called and to be able to attach the sucker to my camera. Oh, and turn it on. According to the manual you should hold the on/off button for .3 seconds to turn it on. Whew! Glad they specified. The cats (Elvis above and Anna below) have acted as unwilling guinea pigs. The powers of logic lead me to understand that the different directions I point the flash are the differences between direct light and bounced light. Also that what I bounce that light off of will switch things up visually. So I've been playing. In point of fact I have been hard put to pry the camera out of my hands. Of course logic and memory aren't always besties. As I was processing this first batch (there are a few more on Flickr) I realized that I hadn't changed the ISO and had been shooting at 1600 (Translation: 1600 is a way to get photos in low light with no flash and it can cause your photos to look kind of grainy.). So, now I've got it cranked down to 100 and I'll be playing around some more. LOOK OUT CATS! Seriously, don't come to my house unless you're comfortable having your picture took. I do love me a new gadget.

In other news I made a donation to Oxfam via The Women's Colony today in support of aiding Haiti. I donated either half or a quarter of what I'd like to donate depending on what total I wind up with. I'm thinking on where the other money should go. A Canadian friend mentioned a group that specializes in reconstruction after disaster and reminded me that often when funds for that sort of thing are required we've all moved on to the next crisis. So, that's a thought, too.

Anna says, "Quit fucking with my nap, bitch. If you're bored go get me some treats."