Phil's Place: Watching Clouds

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Watching Clouds

Coming And Going

I need to improve my timing for the cloudy days of the season. Today when the sun would come streaming in the balcony window I would prepare to get outside to take pictures.

Do I need a jacket? Yes, I should probably wear a jacket. First must put on shoes.

Now what about a hat? Okay, which one? Where is the iPhone case? Need that to put the phone in the camera bag.

Which pair of sunglasses will be best? What about the new bifocals?

Okay put on your jacket and stuff keys in the left pocket. What about your wallet? Maybe you will want to drive somewhere while you are outside.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road", I say to myself as I open the door and head for the stairwell.

I walk around behind building A to take pictures of the bright white flowers in the sunlight. As I get closer to the flowerbed the light begins to fade. Turning on the camera takes a few seconds. I put the camera up to my face and look through the viewfinder.

Zoom in a bit to frame the picture and look at the shutter speed, 250th of a second, good. Breathe out. Gently squeeze the shutter release halfway to focus, and wait! What's this?

The flowers are no longer lit by sunlight and the shutter speed has fallen to a 60th of a second.

I look behind me and see a wall of clouds has positioned itself between the Treehouse and the sun. So, this calls for a different style of shooting that sometimes requires flash. Alright. The flowers still look colorful and interesting, so I will make the rounds and take pictures of all that piques my interest.

Not a bad deal, just a bit muted. I come back inside and get a cup of coffee, change into my slippers, put the keys and wallet in the basket on the kitchen counter, hang up the jacket, tidy up the kitchen, read email and follow links to various stories of interest until i notice the sunlight streaming in the balcony window.