Not Rushing It. In fact, I'm behind already.

The last of the super full moons for this year

           

         <Saw one of these on a car top yesterday.    

 

 

decorations are popping up all over the place and I just finished the last of the turkey up.`

Plano has their tree up in Haggard Park Already. This is one of several spots in Dallas that have full size trees.

Christmas Around the Metroplex in Christmas Past.

I first noticed how I was falling behind on posting with the tides when I was at the Zoo on the 19th of October. Christmas was already happening there and the workers were like busy little bees getting things set for the light shows and the rest of the holiday happenings there.

Last week I was at Addison Circle Park and it was just a nice Autumn Day. Then, last night on one of the TV stations, they ran a story showing the massive decorations of lights that is billed as the largest 'free' light show in the Metroplex, I didn't even see any signs of the decorations going up, but it's a massive light show walking in the test run and it is absolutely awesome. How and when all that got done had to be holiday magic 'cause I sure didn't seen anything happening there when I was last there.

Then, there is the ICE SHOW Carvings at the Gaylord Texan in a chilly 9-degrees where the carving are displayed. No worry, I have big jackets. Not to mention the outdoor lights at Fair Park, or Frisco. Talk about feeling unplugged, looking back over the past month and what has taken shape, from what I have seen, being unplugged is an understatement. I can't even find the extension cord to plug into where ever all this stuff got the 'show time' signal from some fictional text or something. 

However, not all is lost. I have started my annual review of the archives and uncovered a lot of missed images. This review isn't all about top shelf techniques in every image. It's based on subject matter and some of the not so clear shots can be explained away in full honor, but it is the ones that I missed that are top shelf that got overlooked because of the ones that didn't turn out so well initially. And---bow your heads and put your palms together for a photography confession about to be unmask. I even checked the last date that I got new glasses and I am still within the time frame of regular check-ups but I have noticed that I have to take off my glasses sometimes to see the computer screen. I get frustrated when I have to fight with my trifocals lens and take my line of site up or down two floors on my shoulder of lens view adjustment to read at times. (After 40 years of successfully wearing hard contacts, I don't hate glasses but I do hate trifocals.) But, like most things worthy of eating a bit of pride, came the discovery that I couldn't see something I was trying to focus on in the view finder of the camera. So I pulled the glasses off and looked into the camera's view finder to a perfectly clear image. Then, it hit me like a brick. I was trying to focus through my natural lens through my trifocals and the camera's lens. Something had to give and I continued to try this technique again with just my normal lens looking through the  camera's lens with 100% clarity. What a Bozo I was to not even think about that in the first place. In short, I have better lenses in my cameras than I have on my face. Imagine that!

I used to listen to my car when it was trying to tell me something. I listen to my body to help manage my health, so I guess my camera just got tired to trying to tell me to take off my glasses when I wanted to really get a super sharp focus. I've always had good technique. I was taught by my mom and one of the best wire service photographers in the industry and have had a life time of practice. I just could not see the problem and the camera must have gotten tired of hearing me say, "OH, GEES!" So, I have seen the technical light---don't try to focus through two sets of powerful lens. You just need one!

So, I will continue to practice taking off my grasses when I shoot. It's a hard pill to swallow but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. You know what I mean Vern? You know what I mean,Vern.-------Vern, knows what I mean! Good Night!