Now I've Gone and Done It!

Glaze varnish added as a finishing touch to a painting.


Hubby and I are back. To the cooler weather. Florida was warm and what a great winter we had.
First week back I was mired in photographing artwork. Then I had to post them to my virtual gallery at www.jomorise.com . Result, some photos are kind of hard to see, so a redo is on the agenda today.

Wouldn't you know. I have four batteries for my super Nikon Coolpix camera. With four batteries, I used batteries 1 and 2. I numbered them with a magic marker. Magic? Why do we still call it that? Part of someone's brilliant marketing plan I suppose. Let's just chill out. An indelible marker—a permanent marker. Yeah. "Permanent" is good.

So I numbered them with a permanent marker. 1, 2, 3, and 4. I used 1 and 2 for a while. One day I  used 4. It faded after very few shots. I charged it, put it aside and went back to 1. My plan. Don't ignore any batteries. Use them. So I cycled 1-4. When I reached 4, it was dead. Just like that. No groans, whimpers, cries of agony. Just a big zero.

I felt bad. What had I done to poor 4. So I continued to cycle 1, 2, and 3. However,  like everything else, they soon flickered out and died. But why on the same day? The day I need them most. Today! Hey, I need to photograph my artwork now, Whimper, AAAaaargh!

Best of plans don't always turn out okay.

But I have another terrific camera. My Canon! Bring out the big guns. I have two batteries for that one.

Haven't used it as much as I wanted since Hubby got me the Nikon. It takes great photos with every shot. So I set up the tripod and a white sheet on the wall mount and shot a few pictures. Actually three shots. Then battery 1 animated a hollow, pulsing battery on the screen. Smart camera. So I charged the battery. Battery 2 did the same thing. So I charge that battery. Hmmm.

I even painted my studio palette. This is a watercolor.

A few hours later, I used the battery 1 and it didn't last long. NOOOO! This was too, too much.

I spent hours searching for a great deal on rechargeable, lithium-ion batteries and other things I needed to organize and prepare my artwork for my representative galleries in Maine and New Hampshire—and to update my virtual gallery.

Two days later, while waiting for the batteries to arrive, I managed to photograph my artwork. Twice. Thrice. So, I'm not an expert photographer. I manage.

In college I took Photography One. Second semester, I bought my first SLR, a Konica TC. It was great. Took great shots. Love the black and white photos. Gave one of my son to Mom and Dad and in-laws. "There's no color, it doesn't match the others ones on our wall."

"I took the shot and developed it myself and got an A+ for the work, the great pose and subject. And—it's your grandson."

They stared back and barely smiled. The photos were slipped into a drawer for eternity.

When my son was to graduate from high school. Seniors were asked for a childhood photo. He chose that black and white. The school presented Senior night for family and friends of the graduating class. Each child's photo was projected onto a giant screen. All in color. Polaroids were faded, turning green where red used to be. Some were very colorful, some not so. Each child smiling. The crowd giggled and laughed. Then—my son's black and white came up. It was a large close-up portrait of a child deep in thought as he sat at the table and held a pencil in his right hand that also supported his head. He had a pensive look that focused to the right, not the camera.

The room got silent for a split second then, "Aaaah." Some clapped! My son and I were overjoyed. The parents and students appreciated the photo.

I felt the black and white was finally taken out of the dark drawer to be appreciated. So, things do not always work out as planned. But some good things do come full circle and it is a great feeling when it happens.

After 37 years, it is still my favorite. It is framed and sits in a prominent space in my home.

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