Today’s drive went west…ish. We crossed into New Hampshire then went west across to Keene, which is almost Vermont, then north a little then East. Later we just drove around our little local region because we were listening to an audiobook in the car and didn’t want to stop. Later still, after dinner we went out and drove around again because the book is fascinating.
I only took a couple of photos. I don’t remember the name of the town. I could look it up but I’m really lazy.
Jen never goes with me when I go out to chase the sunrise. Well… I can’t say she never comes with me because she came with me today!
We went to Salisbury Beach for the sunrise this morning. On the way home we took a detour… sort of. We just pointed the car North and didn’t stop until we were up in the White Mountains. We left the house at 5:30am and got home after 4:00pm. What a day!
Here are some sunrise at the beach pics.
I should clarify, these are digital photos from the ocean. There were film shots too but you have to wait for those to get developed. I hope to ship them out to a lab tomorrow, along with the three rolls from our Florida trip back in May that have been waiting patiently.
There were also some pictures from a quick stop on Lake Winnipesaukee in Alton, NH as well. You’ll see some of those later tonight, I think,
I played some guitar this morning. Judging by the above screen shot from my Apple Watch, I may have changed up the recording workflow a smidge.
Oh yes, yes I did.
I played through a speaker. Instead of using my Fender Bassbreaker 15 and my Vox MV50 Clean amps with their direct line outputs and speaker cabinet emulation functionality, I plugged into my Fender Deluxe Reverb. In the next photo you can see that the power light is on and it is glorious.
I then did the craziest thing ever. I took the volume knob and turned it up. Way up. It wasn’t full blast, but it was close enough for a Thursday morning. In the next photo you will see proof.
The volume was a smidge under nine. Again, glorious. Spectacular. I had an overdrive pedal boosting the input signal as well and it was distorting nicely. Tube amps are just the best things ever. I should have actually brought the volume down a little as the signal was over compressing to the point of being a squashed, squirely mess, but that’s okay. I’m just making demoes, right?
I played my SG because it was out of the case and sitting on the stand next to my desk. I probably should have played my Les Paul Custom, but this was fine with me. I ended up adding rhythm guitars to one song and leads to another. Oh, and I also added vocals to two songs. Fun. I probably could have snuck in a little more 50/90 challenge work, but I had to get ready for work and didn’t want to risk being late.
The one question that remains to be asked: Are my ears still ringing (about an hour after I stopped playing)?
Obligatory I’m-in-the-office-today-so-I’d-best-snap-some-photos-before-I-leave-the-house pics, which are by definition either cat pictures or guitar rig pictures. This time around it’s guitar rig pictures. Variety is the spice of life and shit.
Still very pleased with my cheap-o third party lens, but I really need to go outside and do a photo-takin’ walk around somewhere to really put it through its paces to know if I got a really good deal or just a regular good deal. Next week we are on vacation but are just staying home (a staycation, as it were) so I hope to have a few opportunities for photo walks. I’ll let you know.
I am back to work today. My bereavement leave is done. Wouldn’t you know it I went ahead and screwed up my whole morning routine today. Right on queue. Ugh.
I did sneak in some guitar playing though. That was nice.
For the first time ever, I have purchased a third party lens for one of my cameras. It is a Meike 85mm F/1.8. I’ve never had an aperture wider than F/2.0 before so get ready for lots of blurry background fun. The reviews I have read said the autofocus is a bit of a gamble, and in the few minutes I’ve been playing with it I believe it. The same reviews suggest that keeping the aperture wide open might not be the best move, but it’s going to take some time before I get over the 1.8 giddiness so we’ll have to see about that.
Here are a few pointless shots where I just prove to myself that the lens actually works. It does.
Note, everything in my living room has a yellowish tinge because all of the lights in my living room have a yellowish tinge. Just in case you were wondering. When we move to the dining room the colors look less yellow.
That last one is at F1.8 and the plant is in front of a window which is why the background is totally obliterated. That’s not a lens issue, that’s a composition issue. Also a photographer sucks at photography issue. Clearly.
So a new lens to play with! WOOHOO! Does this mean we try for a sunrise at the ocean trip tomorrow? Maybe.
Yup, I played some guitar this morning. Bellana went home and we are sad to see her leave so I played guitar to feel better. It didn’t really help, but it was still good to play. Hell, it’s always good to play.
Inside the Red Head's Head 