jesshibb

It already seems like the far distant past ... But just a week ago, I was in the midst of a lovely staycation. During our fun five-day weekend, we went hiking at Catoctin Mountain, saw some cute critters at the zoo, and enjoyed a day at the National Arboretum.

Christopher went back to work on Monday, so I was on my own. I spent part of the morning downtown, having a leisurely breakfast at La Dolce Vita. This was my view while sitting out on Carroll Creek.

There's so much to do right here in the Frederick area, and we had a great time. I'm looking forward to visiting Philadelphia in July and New York in August. Let me know if there's anything we absolutely shouldn't miss while we're there!

My grandmother gives me a gift subscription to my hometown newspaper ... It's a nice way to keep up-to-date on the news in Northeastern PA, and a wonderful reminder of the place where I grew up.

From the "Dimock News" column on June 10, 2009:

Ida and Walter Rhodes watched a black bear walk through their yard last week. The Farnellis were charmed by a tiny newborn faun [sic] that stayed in their yard for hours. Many folks have heard the coyotes "singing" their spring chorus down in the forest. What wild life have you seen lately?

Well, let's see ... Here in Frederick, there are the kids who play basketball in the street, motorcycles drag racing the next block over, dogs barking everywhere, and neighbors using a noisy leaf blower to clean off their deck every morning. Does that count as wildlife?

I can't complain too much. We have access to fabulous restaurants, picturesque parks, and a charming historic downtown. I can walk or bike to almost everything except my office, which is only a 10-minute drive. The birds, squirrels, and bats love our garden. But I still miss the Endless Mountains sometimes.

I'm considering selling my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. I'm a huge fan of this camera, but I'm at the point where I really want to shoot with a DSLR and can't justify keeping this one and buying a new (equally or more expensive) camera.

Anyone interested? Here's a summary of what's pictured above:

• Camera with strap & lens cap
• Lensmate adapter (46 mm)
• Polarizer (46 mm filter) that works with Lensmate adapter
• Opteka adapter (52 mm)
• Set of 52 mm filters (Polarizer, UV, Fluorescent) that work with Opteka adapter
• Opteka telephoto lens
• Opteka wide angle + macro lens
• Camera bag that came with Opteka accessory kit

I also have all of the cables, chargers, software, etc. and the original packaging. Apparently there's a huge demand for this camera -- I'd really prefer to sell it to someone local or someone I know, rather than on eBay or something.

Vital statistics:

• 10.1 megapixels
• Shoots JPG and/or RAW images
• Also shoots Quicktime video clips up to 1280 x 720 size
• Shooting modes include Intelligent Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, Scene, Motion Picture, and 2 custom modes
• 50 MB internal storage, and accepts SD/MMC/SDHC cards
• Built-in (pop-up) flash
• Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery (included) shoots hundreds of images on a single charge

Outstanding image quality. I purchased this camera in February, and it's in excellent condition.

• My sample images
• My sample video
• Review on dpreview.com

If you're interested, please leave a comment or send me an email: jesshibb [at] gmail [dot] com.

"I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast and incalculable importance. I could be prejudiced. I am a visual art."

-- Kermit the Frog

(via @delaplaine)

Seriously. I could not make this crap up.

105 // 365: Strawberries in a container on our back deck. I can’t wait until these little flowers turn into yummy fruit!

I used my digital camera today, for the first time in over a week. It was kind of weird, and after a week of shooting instant film, strangely unsatisfying.

Today’s weather was gorgeous, so I loaded my XV-1 with Kodak Ektar (ISO 100). I used about half the roll as we walked around the park. Can’t wait to see how those turn out … It’s my first time using that particular film.

There’s a 3-photos-per-day posting limit for the ‘Roid Week group. These photos didn’t make the cut, but I wanted to post them anyway:

In the past 5 days: 1,240 people posted 3,636 polaroids. At an average of $1.50 per shot, the collective group spent over $5,000 just on the photos that were posted — That figure doesn’t include the cost of “mistakes” and outtakes, or the cost of the cameras themselves. It warms my heart to know that film, even instant film, isn’t dead after all.

Interested in joining us next time? I’m still working on a couple of posts about the cameras and film I used during ‘Roid Week — Hopefully they’ll be useful for anyone who wants to get started. Stay tuned.