I took my new camera with me when I drove to town this past Saturday. With no traffic on the road, I took some pictures. I set it on auto, because it will take some time for me to learn the rest.
I basically wanted to get a feel for the camera, see how it was to hold it, and just use it in general. In this picture, I'm driving next to the railroad tracks with the Tehachapi Mountains in the background. I didn't know it was smoky still, but it looks like it in several pictures.
Tehachapi is a railroad and trucking town. Trucks come through on the main highway by the tens of thousands every day. When we first moved here, truckers had nowhere to stop, eat, take a shower, and so on. They would just pull off the highway and settle in at the side of a road. Then we got a Love's truck stop and more recently this one, a Flying J with amenities, food, Wendy's and so on.
So far, I've learned it would have been better for me to drive to a Best Buy, or some place like that, to buy a camera. It's too important that you fit with your camera. You need to to lift it, hold it, play with the buttons, and find out how comfortable is is for you. I didn't, and I'm a little sorry now, but I have to work with it. And it's still so very pretty!
It's heavy for me to hold with my one numb hand, the other plagued by arthritis. Fortunately, it has a strap, so when I'm not sitting in the car, trying to take pictures, I should be OK.
However, with three fingers holding it, one finger pressing the button to take the picture, that leaves the thumb. So far, my thumb keeps hitting those buttons you see there on the back of the camera. There are five buttons and I keep hitting them. Bad words come out of my mouth!
There must be people out there with a larger thumbs than mine. How do they manage? Has anyone complained? I have no idea, but I know this is my camera now and I better figure it out.
Another gas station, a Denny's, a new and really nice Subway (I got three gift cards from my niece and nephew for my birthday, so I tried it out), and a hotel. I'm on my way to the post office here.
On my way, I pass our new hospital, which is taking forever to be completed. Once it was all finished, or so we thought, it turned out the codes had changed and things had to be redone. It's been going on, and on, and on. We all thought it was finished a year and a half ago.
Leaving the post office mailboxes, I take a picture of our flag, lowered for Senator McCain. I recorded and later watched his funeral, which I found very touching, as if we said goodbye to another world. And, of course, Renee Fleming brought tears to my eyes with her gorgeous rendition of Danny Boy. I thought about Errol too and felt sad, really sad.
Here, I drive by the green trees of our town. I'm on my way to a park where the annual Go Native event is taking place. Local Native Americans gather to sell their crafts, to teach us how to make things out of reeds and grasses, and so on. I may write more about that later.
Looking at this picture though, I think my camera will take very good pictures and the rest is up to me. I like the leaves on the trees, the light between the trees, the clear shadows in front of my car. I will not give up on my pretty camera, just use it more, figure it out and, most of all, enjoy it.
