Photostreaming

Tisen has adopted a human style of sleeping.

Tisen has adopted a human style of sleeping.

Tisen isn't fussy when it comes to what he's willing to use as a pillow.

Tisen isn’t fussy when it comes to what he’s willing to use as a pillow.

Tisen can't decide whether to give in to his desire for a belly rub or his need to protect me from this stranger.  He splits the difference by rolling over while growling.

Tisen can’t decide whether to give in to his desire for a belly rub or his need to protect me from this stranger. He splits the difference by rolling over while growling.

Tisen seems to have gotten things reversed with his rear end high on a pillow.

Tisen seems to have gotten things reversed with his rear end high on a pillow.

Twiggy manages to curl up with the computer.

Twiggy manages to curl up with the computer.

Twiggy, Tisen, and Pat all curl up for an afternoon siesta.

Twiggy, Tisen, and Pat all curl up for an afternoon siesta.

Well, here we are, getting settled in our new home.  Today, we spent a couple of hours this morning cleaning our old apartment and gathering up the last remnants of our life there.  Pat hauled 3 cart loads out to the van while I cleaned.  We still have stuff in the storage rooms down the hall.  That will have to wait until tomorrow.  Or maybe even until after Christmas.

When we returned home, we worked on getting rid of the last of the packed boxes.  We still don’t have a place for everything yet and the photos are scattered around on chairs waiting to be hung, but the unopened boxes are all gone and it’s starting to look like we really do live here.

The new place came with one big surprise we discovered our first night.  When I got into bed, I had the sudden realization that a section of the building can see into our bed through a glass balcony door.  While it’s probably only about 6 units that have a view, that’s 6 more units than I want peering into our bedroom.

As a temporary measure, we brought the shower curtain rod and curtain we’d been using in the bedroom as a closet door (it’s a long story) and hung that over the glass in the door.  It looks great.  The glass in the door is about 6 feet tall and the shower curtain is only 4.  It’s also a black curtain and the building has a rule that all curtains have to be white on the outside.  I’m hoping the blind comes in before anyone complains.  In the meantime, at least we have a little privacy.

All of this “adjusting” has led to me not shooting for quite a while.  In fact, it’s now been nearly two weeks since I last had my camera out on a shoot.  This means I needed to come up with some photos to share today.

Thankfully, I have this wonderful feature called Photostream.  By subscribing to Apple’s iCloud service, whenever I take/upload a photo on one device, it automatically appears on all my devices.  That means all the silly photos I snap with my iPhone show up in Aperture on my macbook pro.

As it turns out, I have a whole collection of poor quality, but cute-as-a-button photos of my crazy dog and his girlfriend, Twiggy.  Tisen has been on steroids again for a couple of weeks now.  It makes him a little crazy.  That and having the woman he loves staying with us day in and day out.  He’s started showing off.

He doesn’t need to carry a toy with him when Twiggy is around.  If he takes one with him, he drops it as soon as we get outside and won’t carry it after that.  It’s as if he doesn’t think it’s manly.

While my iPhone photos don’t do the dogs justice, they still make me smile.

Oh, Christmas Tree

This very real looking artificial tree is easily 20 feet tall.

This very real looking artificial tree is easily 20 feet tall.

The tree is set and ready for the lines to start.

The tree is set and ready for the lines to start.

I love the lighted gifts hanging from the ceiling.

I love the lighted gifts hanging from the ceiling.

Twiggy's rear end is just in the lower left.  Tisen seems to want more lap time when Twiggy is around.

Twiggy’s rear end is just in the lower left. Tisen seems to want more lap time when Twiggy is around.

The bench is ready for Santa to come and visit with the children.

The bench is ready for Santa to come and visit with the children.

The bridge to the Asia exhibit makes for lovely lighting.

The bridge to the Asia exhibit makes for lovely lighting.

 

I’m glad I have the photos of the Chattanooga Zoo Christmas tree–it’s the closest I will come to a tree this year.  Having given up long ago on decorating for Christmas because we were always gone for the holidays, we, of course, have decided to stay at home this year.

This is because we have just moved.  We moved about 500 yards from one building to another.  The new building is nicer with a little more space and a lot more quiet.  But I’m not sure deciding to move on the Monday a week before Christmas was such a smart idea.

Even having downsized 3x, we still have boxes of stuff we don’t know what to do with.  I don’t know how this happens.  Furniture, papers, boxes multiple in the dark much like wire hangers and dust bunnies.  Like goldfish, we grow to the maximum size the walls of our container will allow.

I suppose from that standpoint, right before Christmas is the perfect time to move–it’s a great reminder that we really don’t need these things that take over our space.  Plus, having to buy a new washer and dryer, blinds, and closet organizers can serve as our Christmas gifts.  The new washer and dryer just got installed this morning.  Just in time–we were running out of clean unmentionables.

On the down side, the move motivated me to go shopping yesterday evening after work.  I think it has been so long since I went shopping on the last Friday evening before Christmas that I had forgotten what that would be like.

I made it to the grocery store, the dog store, Target, and Lowes.  I needed to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but I couldn’t take it.  My shopping tolerance was exceeded at Target and I still didn’t have any Christmas lights for our balcony, so I skipped getting towels and went to Lowes for a lighted garland instead.  My homage to Christmas.

I nearly walked out of Target leaving my cart full of bulk toilet paper and miscellaneous supplies behind when I saw the lines.  Fortunately, not everyone had figured out there were two rows of registers, so I was able to find a short line just in the nick of time.  I really had had it by the time I got to that line.

The dogs were also starting to get impatient.  As much as they love going along for a ride, they prefer not having to hang out in the car for too long.  When I came out of Target, Tisen had taken up sentinel position in the driver’s seat.  He looked very alert.  This is usually a good indicator it’s getting close to dinner time.

Tonight, I look at the date and realize it’s almost the 23rd.  I haven’t bought a single gift or even thought about doing cards yet.  I guess my nephews won’t be getting their Christmas presents on time this year!

 

6 Years

As I write, it’s December 21st.  The end of the Mayan calendar.  The winter solstice.  And, our 6th wedding anniversary–aka, “17 ½ years since our first date.”

Pat and I are apart today.  He is in Columbus for the unveiling of a guitar he’s been building.  I am left alone to ponder our six years together as a married couple.

The most repeated question my husband has asked me for the past 17 ½ years is, “Why do you love me.”  In honor of our sixth anniversary, here are six reasons I love my husband.

  1. We have things in common.  Having something we both love to share makes staying connected a little easier.  This was taken last year at one of the knobs in the Cherokee National Forest when we went to Snowbird Lodge for Thanksgiving weekend.

    Standing on a Knob in Cherokee National Forest just outside of Great Smokey National Park

    Standing on a Knob in Cherokee National Forest just outside of Great Smokey National Park

  2. He’s willing to try things because I like them.  Sometimes, we have divergent interests.  But Pat can rally around part of one of my interests and share some of it.  For example, he can’t get into birds in general, but he really loves raptors.  This allowed him to enjoy a Raptor Experience, which was a dream for me and of only slight interest to him.  I love when he doesn’t just “suffer through,” but genuinely enjoys something he would have never done if he didn’t love me.

    Pat holding Artie, a physically challenged Barred Owl that cannot survive in the wild.

    Pat holding Artie, a physically challenged Barred Owl that cannot survive in the wild.

  3. He loves dogs.  It’s not about the dog as much as it’s about the man.  A man who cannot empathize with creatures dependent on humans are usually men who are insecure, brutal, or psychopathic.  While there may be other reasons not to like dogs, it’s not something I can really understand.

    Pat cuddling Tisen shortly after he came to live with us.

    Pat cuddling Tisen shortly after he came to live with us.

  4. He enjoys learning new things.  My husband is a rare combination of inventor and explorer.  He loves to tinker, experiment, figure out.  Occasionally, he takes on a new adventurer.  When we moved to Chattanooga, he repeatedly mentioned hang gliding–he really wanted to learn.  In this case, I tried something new just because he wanted to.  We both had a great experience learning.  He swears he will fly again when he gets things more stable at his business.  I don’t really care.  I just enjoyed learning with him.

    Pat gets set for his first mountain launch.

    Pat gets set for his first mountain launch.

  5. He has a sense of humor.  This should probably be number one for me.  I am incapable of loving a man who has no sense of humor.  Fortunately for me, my husband is not only hilarious, but he thinks I’m funny at least half of the time I think I’m funny.  I can’t imagine spending my life with someone who never gets my jokes.

    How many husbands would understand why this shot was funny when originally posted with a bunch of photos of the moon?

    How many husbands would understand why this shot was funny when originally posted with a bunch of photos of the moon?

  6. He’s so smart, he can solve anything.  He’s brilliant with any kind of mechanical issue.  This goes back to #4.  I often call him MacGyver.  He could escape captivity with a pack of matches, a stick of gum, and a string.  His brilliance is what I most admire about him.

    I don't have a photo of Pat problem solving, but can't you just see in his face that he's coming up with some new amazing invention?

    I don’t have a photo of Pat problem solving, but can’t you just see in his face that he’s coming up with some new amazing invention?

There you have it.  Six reasons I love my husband.

I love you, honey.  Thanks for sticking it out with me.

OP Christmas

AU0A7791 AU0A7795 AU0A7798 AU0A7808 AU0A7811 AU0A7815 Zoo Tree Tent

There are some things in life I really enjoy vicariously.  As in, I don’t own them, I just appreciate someone else having made the investment I’m not willing to make.  Two things that fall into this category for me are boats and Christmas decorations.

I really love Christmas decorations, but I hate getting them all out, putting them up, fixing what doesn’t work, and then taking them all down again and storing them–all when it’s really cold out.  The amount of time you get to enjoy them seems disproportional to the amount of effort and space they require both during and after the holidays.

Hence, I decided to pursue OP Christmas lights this year.  OP as in  Other People’s.  Fortunately for me, there were lots of opportunities to see Christmas lights.  There was the Mainx24 event and parade.  The Starlight parade.  The Lighted Boat Parade.  Rock City.  And, now, the Chattanooga Zoo.

Rock City was a trip.  We drove up to Lookout Mountain to see this popular Christmas destination.  We got there before there was a line to drive into the parking lot, but there was already a 30 minute wait to buy tickets to get in the door.

When at long last we got through the gate, there was another 30 minute wait to get from the entrance gate to the main path.  We found a way around to the upper trails, but Pat and Tisen hung out in the courtyard and waited for me so they didn’t have to fight the crowds.  I took my camera and tripod and managed to politely force my way through the line to the alternate path.

After getting a few decent shots, but nothing really exciting, I was more than happy to call it quits and head back to Chattanooga.  On the way back down, we passed bumper to bumper cars for at least 5 miles straight, all stopped as they waited to get into the parking lot for Rock City.

By comparison, I got a preview of the Chattanooga Zoo after hours.  The reason why is too long a story to tell, but let’s just say it pays to know the right people.  They stayed late after the zoo closed to let me in after dark so I could shoot their lights.  It was the absolute opposite experience of shooting at Rock City.

Instead of long lines and jam-packed crowds, I got a personal guided tour, shuttled around on a maintenance truck, and was given plenty of space and time to shoot.  I felt like a famous person or something.

While the Chattanooga Zoo would probably need to add at least 3 zeros to their bulb count to get to the number of lights at Rock City, I preferred the Chattanooga Zoo experience.  I have a few more shots to share from the zoo tomorrow, but today’s shots were from the entry area.  I had a particularly good time trying to capture the hippo’s head moving.

Stream of Unconsciousness

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It’s 11:08PM EST. I’m falling asleep as I type. I’ve been up since 5:00AM. At the end of the day, I pulled up the photos I’d processed for tomorrow morning’s post. They are from Rock City when I went up to shoot the Christmas lights.

Several things occur to me as I start typing. First, approximately 3 people will read what I write tonight. Odds are in favor of me being able to get away with saying anything.

In the interest of saying anything, here is an experiment in free writing when one ignores constraints such as basic grammar rules, logic, and even consciousness–who says you have to be awake when you’re writing? Instead, I’ve decided to see what happens when I write while I’m falling asleep.

A black and white dog approaches. The girl squats to get get down to his level.

The dog approaches and feels a pretty special in the most obvious of spots. He doesn’t growl at her–a first in his shot history of co-existing amongst higher-class humans than he was used to.

Instead, the dog takes his place in line, making a formidable barrier between those who would take what they need and those who are happy to earn it. Tisen is all about earnings. He has no comprehension of what we decided years ago for on prem licenses. But we are trying to accommodate.

I have to stop here for a moment, shaking my head trying to clear it of cobwebs to determine if I can possibly finish this point–or, more accurately, to determine if I had a point or if this is just random talk popping up as I nod off while typing. It’s mostly just random.

As I sit with finger tips hovering over key board, I start typing in a stream of consciousness fashion that won’t impact the embarrassment in honor of Christmas.

I imagine telling a partner that we’re releasing a small number of parts and contract agreements .

I re-read and realize I’ve just typed a series of sentences that make me think of collecting automated data details from the set top box of the cable solution. Oops–I’ve done it again–written in a way that sounds like one of those spam comments on wordpress. All this time, I’ve been wondering how they come up with the wording for those. Apparently, all you have to do is type while you’re nodding off.

My back is aching. My hips have had enough. I learn that only FedEx and UPS are handling these expert deliveries. I decide that Santa must have had enough too. After all is there enough “common caring” oil that a grower might be able to offset right before Christmas. Oops, I must have started to nod off while typing again.

Well, this post makes no sense. But, I’d love to know if you noticed. Leave me a comment or a like if you read this.

 

 

When I Grow Up . . .

Santa closes the parade.

Santa closes the parade.

Have you ever seen a more perfect elf?

Have you ever seen a more perfect elf?

The young boy sitting next to me had it own miniature santa.

The young boy sitting next to me had it own miniature santa.

I believe this guy was part of the Chattanooga Zoo entourage.

I believe this guy was part of the Chattanooga Zoo entourage.

The Chatt Zoo mascott.

The Chatt Zoo mascott.

A serious color guard does the flag proud.

A serious color guard does the flag proud.

The Chatt Roller Girls pose briefly

The Chatt Roller Girls pose briefly

Some girls grow up to be roller derby stars.   This is a sport I think I can relate to–I’ve never actually seen a roller derby, so I’m only guessing.  It just seems like if you’ve had a really bad day at the office and you like to roller skate, this would be the perfect sport.

With helmets, knee, and elbow pads, it’s enough protection to eliminate the whole fear of skin sticking to wood floors.  I’ve heard there are often broken bones, but heck, broken bones grow back stronger.

This gets me thinking about the classic question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

I’m guessing not too many parents says things to their kids like, “Stay in school, get good grades, roller skate every evening, and you can get into the roller derby.”  Yet, why not?

I think there should be a few ground rules for deciding what you want to be when:

  1. Know your instinct.  Before you knew people expected things from you, before you knew you had to make enough money to support a family, before you knew you would be judged for what job you had, what was the thing you said you wanted to be?  Keep some of that with you.
  2. Ignore what other people think.  Many people don’t know what they want to be when they grow up.  Even long after they’ve grown up.  This usually happens when a person allows their sense of responsibility to overcome their desire to be happy.  Don’t do this to yourself.  A job you love is far easier to go do well every day, whether it meets other people’s expectations or not.  A job you do well is a job that creates opportunities for you.
  3. Think short term.  Setting a course is just a direction; it doesn’t obligate you to decide permanently.  Just because you wanted to be a firefighter when you were 7 doesn’t mean that at 18 you’re obligated to go off to firefighter school.  There’s a lot to be said for experimentation.
  4. Bring your best “you” to work.  No matter what you do or how long you do it, it’s a job.  It’s not a “come hang out and talk to me while I work” or a “come get a bunch of free samples”.  And there are always people looking for the up and comers.  Don’t forget to bring your character to work with you–don’t expect to receive what you don’t give.
  5. Remember what’s important.  Every once in a while, remind yourself you’re doing your job for 8+ hours a day, 5+ days a week and ask your internal child (the one that looks something like the Santa’s elf image) if this is how you really want to spend most of your waking hours.

BTW, my brother used to want to be a UPS driver–he thought delivering packages all year was far better than only doing it on Christmas.

 

Fear and Fear Itself

The hula hoop never seemed so exciting before.

The hula hoop never seemed so exciting before.

Tonight’s images are from some of the most dynamic participants in the Starlight Parade.  I think the gymnasts were the most thrilling.  Although the fire twirlers are evocative, perhaps it just comes down to the degree of difficulty between twirling brands with burning ends and flipping and hand springing across asphalt–and, the probability of disaster.

While fire, of course, creates its own sense of danger and requires respect, the probability of lighting oneself on fire seems to be rather low, although I was concerned about one young woman’s choice to wear a gathered skirt.  The probability of falling on one’s face mid-flip onto also-known-as-cheese-grater black top seems quite high.

It could be that this is just my personal experience.  I feel relatively safe handling burning things and have actually never (knock wood) caused an uncontrolled fire.  I’ve also never burnt myself playing with sparklers, candles, burning marshmallows (which strikingly resemble the firebrands twirled in the parade), campfires, camp stoves, or grills.  I believe the only non-cooking-related fire injury I’ve ever suffered from was when I tried to light a bunch of birthday candles with a lighter and the metal part of the lighter overheated and burned my thumb.  It was only a minor burn.

While I’ve had my share of bad burns in my lifetime, none of them have involved flames.  What woman my age didn’t at some point accidentally brand her neck with a curling iron?  Or get in a hurry and grab a pan out of the oven without getting a hot pad first?  Or how about wipe out on a moped and get a third degree burn from the muffler?  We’ve all done that, haven’t we?

And speaking about wiping out on a moped, this brings me back to the fear of asphalt.  The most painful accident I ever had (including many broken bones) was when I took a ride hand turn on my bicycle way too fast for the space I had.  I was turning onto a narrow side street coated with what’s fondly known as “chip and tar.”  Instead of the smooth goo they put down for asphalt, they spread a layer of fine gravel and then spray it with a tar coating to stick the gravel in place and keep the dust down.

My rear wheel slipped across loose pieces of gravel.  I went down hard enough to slide about a foot or so.

When I got up and looked at my knee, I pretty good chunk of it was missing.  I looked more carefully and realized there were fine curly-queues of a substance resembling wide dental floss coming out of my knee.  I later learned they were “shavings” off the tendon below my skin.  Still gives me the creeps to think about it.

In the end, I have come to the conclusion that the human brain works very simply when it comes to fear:  We fear what we most know to be terrifying.

This woman is marching, looking straight up, and twirling firebrands.  I'm impressed.

This woman is marching, looking straight up, and twirling firebrands. I’m impressed.

Father and daughter watch the parade next to me.

Father and daughter watch the parade next to me.

Graceful and dangerous--very entertaining.

Graceful and dangerous–very entertaining.

I was really worried she was going to catch her skirt on fire.

I was really worried she was going to catch her skirt on fire.

Gymnast and shadow about to be re-introduced.

Gymnast and shadow about to be re-introduced.

This guy was fearless on the asphalt street.

This guy was fearless on the asphalt street.

Bring on the Parade

Not sure if there's still room to sleep in this camper, but the tree sure looks nice.

Not sure if there’s still room to sleep in this camper, but the tree sure looks nice.

It’s hard for me to look at my parade pictures today.  I remind myself that every child shouldn’t suffer because of the 20 lost on Friday.  Perhaps the loss makes Christmas (or whichever holiday each family celebrates), hope, and cheer that much more important.

I realize the feeling I have is the same one I always get following a tragedy.  It’s best described as “heightened visceralness” (even if it’s not a real word).

Most of the time, I go through life thinking about what I need to do in the next hour, the next day, the next week.  I push aside any bubbling sensations in my stomach, throat, or guts and stay focused on what I need to get done.

In the process of disconnecting from my visceral reactions, I also seem to disconnect from my own life.  I often walk into rooms and wonder why I’m there, fail to realize my husband has come home or left, or drive somewhere without being able to recall any part of the drive.

When I am reminded how tentative life can be, first I choke.  My throat closes, I have trouble breathing.  Then I cry.  Then I am left with rumblings in the pit of my stomach that I suspect are the disquiet of knowing I am doing nothing to change anything.

I have a sneaking suspicion that these visceral reactions happen every day, but until I am literally choked with tears (which doesn’t happen often), I refuse to pay attention to them.

Now that I am paying attention, I am reminded once again that I must pay attention to now.  To the moments I have.  Like the moment I am in right now sitting on the sofa, typing, dog curled next to me with a warm foot pressed against my leg.

To fail to notice each moment because I’m so distracted by the news is to give a piece of my life to a dead gunman in Connecticut when it’s far too late to make a difference.

And so, I close my browser full of news feeds and videos about Sandy Hook elementary.  I pull up the photos I’d prepared for yesterday’s post.  I think of all the smiling children at the Chattanooga Starlight Parade with a warm feeling akin to a mental hug.  I say to myself, “Bring on the parade.”

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down.  Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”

~Gilbert K. Chesterton

That said, here are the next set of photos from the Starlight Parade in downtown Chattanooga.  I’m normally not that excited by cars in a parade.  But, I did enjoy the creative decorations folks came up with.  I especially enjoyed the children around me calling out the names of familiar characters they saw go by.

 

This VW bus makes for a more creative way to enter a float.

This VW bus makes for a more creative way to enter a float.

The lawn mower racing team made a striking night time appearance.

The lawn mower racing team made a striking night time appearance.

Smiles adorned this float.

Smiles adorned this float.

This ancient fire truck hitched a ride so it too could make an appearance in the parade.

This ancient fire truck hitched a ride so it too could make an appearance in the parade.

The Chattanooga Zoo opted for simulated animals instead of live ones.

The Chattanooga Zoo opted for simulated animals instead of live ones.

Not a great shot, but I love thinking about how much more fun the Grinch would have had taking this down the mountain!

Not a great shot, but I love thinking about how much more fun the Grinch would have had taking this down the mountain!

A brightly lit Rudolf adorns this collectible car.

A brightly lit Rudolf adorns this collectible car.

Electric Eclectic

Carefully arranged dancers make an artistic float.

Carefully arranged dancers make an artistic float.

Let’s talk about the word “eclectic.”  According to dictionary.com, it means “deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and divers range of sources.”

I think the Starlight Parade qualified as eclectic.

Is this a giant Elmo or am I just out of date on kids characters?

Is this a giant Elmo or am I just out of date on kids characters?

Let’s see:

  • Semi Trucks
  • Santas on Harleys
  • Vintage VWs
  • Marching Band
  • Cheerleaders
  • Lawnmower racing team
  • Ballerinas
  • Flame twirlers
  • Lighted twirlers
  • Roller derby-ers
  • Military Color Guard
  • Antique Fire Engine
  • Rescued Dogs
  • WWII Duck
  • Gymnasts
  • Corvette collection
  • Bread mascot
  • Double-decker London tour bus
  • Soccer players
  • Chinese dragon
  • Baseball mascots
  • Soccer mascots
  • Girl scouts
  • Hula hoopers
This little ballerina reminded me of an impressionist painting I have a vague memory of.

This little ballerina reminded me of an impressionist painting I have a vague memory of.

 

Oh, and, how could I forget:

  • The cast of all 6 Star Wars episodes.

 

If rebels and empire-ists can ride together peacefully, can't we all get along?

If rebels and empire-ists can ride together peacefully, can’t we all get along?

Now that I think about it, just the Star Wars characters decked out in Christmas decorations alone was probably enough to qualify for “eclectic” status.

Of course the best shot of a storm trooper I got was of the only one with no Christmas lights.

Of course the best shot of a storm trooper I got was of the only one with no Christmas lights.

“Eclectic” has sometimes been used as a polite way of saying “messy,” “cluttered,” or even, “no taste.”  But sometimes being eclectic works quite well.

In the case of the Starlight Parade, all divergent themes were tied together by the overarching theme of Christmas.  As such, it kept the interest going for the full hour the parade lasted.  You just never knew what was coming next.

This mascot stopped long enough for a family to get a picture.

This mascot stopped long enough for a family to get a picture.

And, yes, we saw the lawnmowers and VWs and cheerleaders in the Mainx24 parade, but that was during the day.  See the difference?  This time it was dark.  And they were wearing lights.  Completely different effect.

I was slightly disappointed with the Star Wars group, I must admit.  I kept waiting for Yoda to pop up with a lightsaber and start flipping around while fighting Count Dooku.  If Yoda was there, he was quietly meditating behind so many Christmas decorations I couldn’t see him.

No acrobatic lightsaber fights erupted during the parade.

No acrobatic lightsaber fights erupted during the parade.

 

The Star Wars characters were courtesy of two local chapters of a national organization of Star Wars costumers.  One is called Rebel Legion.  These folks are serious about dressing like the heroes of the Star Wars episodes.  If you want to dress like a villain, however, you have to join the Fighting 501st Legion instead.

This is a hobby I’ve never considered.  Tutorials on their website teach how to create authentic costumes.  They include advise on Wookiee hair punching (which confused me until I saw a photo of a mask with hair being punched through it to create a hairy face), making your own blood stripes (which turn out to be red bars sewn on a sleeve), and creating a realistic lip curl (a mechanism to get a Wookie mask to snarl when roaring).

I don’t see myself turning into a costumer in the near (or distant) future, but the diversity of interests in this world is pretty amazing.  What really amazes me is these folks spend a lot of time and money creating these costumes all for the purpose of appearing at charitable and community events in exchange for smiles.

Much like the car decorating hobby, I don’t quite get it, but I appreciate the effort at creating joy.

The lighted sign appeared like a thought bubble above this curious baby's head.

The lighted sign appeared like a thought bubble above this curious baby’s head.

Rebel without a Cause

This little guy led the high school band like he was ready to graduate.

This little guy led the high school band like he was ready to graduate.

Since the Starlight parade was held after dark, I was hesitant to take my old 40D as my second camera.  The 40D doesn’t do well at higher ISO settings.  Fortunately, my husband was willing to share his new Rebel T4i, which has better ISO performance and higher resolution than my out-dated 40D.

I don't think anything could distract this cheerleader.

I don’t think anything could distract this cheerleader.

I had to think long and hard as to whether I wanted to put my wide angle lens on my 5D Mark III or on the Rebel.  The last parade I shot, I put my wide angle on my 5D and my telephoto on my 40D.  This seemed logical since the 5D is full frame and the 40D is a cropped sensor.  If you want to go wide, go wide.  If you want to go tight, go tight, right?

This little girl watched intently throughout the parade.

This little girl watched intently throughout the parade.

But, when I was shooting the parade, I found my 24-70mm lens on my 5D was often too wide and my 70-200mm lens on my 40D was too tight.  Plus, when I shot the subject loosely so I could crop to the framing I wanted, I was cropping a lower-resolution image from the 40D.  As a result, I concluded I should have reversed the use of the cameras so that I would have had the higher resolution for the photos I was doing the most cropping on and a wider field of view on both.

This young woman gave quite a show twirling her baton and tossing it well into the dark.

This young woman gave quite a show twirling her baton and tossing it well into the dark.

But introducing the Rebel T4i into the mix was a new problem.  It’s lighter to hand hold than the 5D, but not well balanced with the 70-200mm lens, which out-weighs the Rebel by 2 pounds.  This makes holding it somewhat precarious.  However, by holding it by the foot on the lens, I felt a little more confident I wasn’t going to drop it.

This was the youngest twirler performing big tricks--I guess that's how she got the sash.

This was the youngest twirler performing big tricks–I guess that’s how she got the sash.

In the end, I decided to go with the same plan as for the previous parade:  cropped sensor with telephoto and full frame with the wide angle.  The decision was made easier when I realized I didn’t have a bracket for the T4i to attach it to my tripod.

It does look really stupid to walk around with a T4i with a 70-200mm lens on it.  I instinctively held my hand over the T4i when I spotted another photography coming my direction.

Grainy close up of some of the girls on the tiny tots twirlers float I mentioned yesterday.

Grainy close up of some of the girls on the tiny tots twirlers float I mentioned yesterday.

That said, other than the flip out touch screen on the T4i, which I found annoying, and the imbalance with the lens, I really liked the tiny Rebel.  The shutter was quiet and handled rapid fire shots faster than the 5D (probably because of the slightly lower resolution).

The flip out touchscreen will be handy for shooting video and does make viewing images in bright light easier.  I just don’t like to put the camera up to my face with the flip screen open and then get annoyed when I have to open it again immediately following a shot to check an image.  In the end, I was pleased with the images, although they were a bit noisier than I was expecting.

This little guy was very energetic throughout the parade.

This little guy was very energetic throughout the parade.