New Camera, Old Problems

After months of relying on wishes, fortune cookies, and Magic 8 Ball predictions, I determined that my camera wasn't going to fix itself.

Sure, it still worked SOMETIMES. But "sometimes" seldom coincided with those proverbial Kodak moments. So a couple weeks ago I broke down and purchased a camera that — I hoped — would suddenly transform my photos into artwork, like magic.

Turns out moderately hi-tech cameras don't take good pictures unless you know how to use them. Bummer.

Back to the drawing board. Or in this case: the owner's manual.

Everyone's talking about these little guys — the 17-year cicada. This particular species emerges out of the ground every 17 years, sings a rather notable ditty to woo other cicadas, hooks up, makes little cicada babies... and then dies. All within 2-4 weeks. Those who don't have the pleasure of mating — losers that they are — are generally hit by cars. When I bent down to take this particular picture at a gas station, a cicadian Army (literally) jumped on my back. Creepy.

I may or may not have taken this photo. Probably not, since I actually like it. This camera, though it's not a Digital SLR, has the ability to blur out backgrounds while focusing in on objects — that's one of the reasons I purchased it, though so far I've seldom used it successfully.

Tiny little toad. I used to love catching these things as a kid. And, no, those aren't my phalanges — so please don't think I have man hands.

See what I mean? I successfully blurred out the background, but even with the macro on, I can't get the foreground to be as sharp as I would like.

I lost clarity on this one by using the digital zoom to capture this bullfrog in all its glory.

Back in the city — believe it or not. With an A/C support system that redneck, you'd think I took this photo in my hometown. Not that there's anything wrong with that.