My New Camera Part 2

I've been shooting like a crazy woman, and so far, I continue to be pretty impressed with my new Panasonic Lumix FZ28.

I'm really pleased with the deep blacks
and lack of noise in photos such as this.
Other than resizing,
this is SOOC (straight out of the camera).

As always, remember to click for a larger image.

I really liked the way the camera
highlighted the peeling bark on this tree

I thought the reflection of the trees
against this artwork
made a wonderful image

Taken about 5:30am after a night of snow

This was taken just a few minutes later

The snow makes such beautiful patterns
out of everyday items

I'm trying some black and white shooting
with the new camera.
One thing I love about digital photography
is the ability to actually see a shot
in black and white before I take the picture.

I really think the new camera
captures detail beautifully.
I'm impressed with the detail in this clump of snow . . .

I just liked the way this photo turned out

The 18xzoom is pretty impressive.
This bird was about 20 feet away, up in a tree.

I couldn't believe how many birds come out in the snow.
I thought they had all gone south this time of year!

A few nights ago,
we went down to the Plaza for dinner.
Everything was all lit up for Christmas,
so I thought I'd try a few hand held shots.
This is another SOOC shot,
much steadier, sharper and less noisy
than I've ever gotten
with any other camera I've ever used.

Another night shot of the Plaza

One more dark shot, again, hand held and SOOC

And I had to include a shot of a Christmas tree

This is the final shot for today.
This was taken after a night of snow
when the sun came out
and the ice crystals just began to melt.
While it's pretty heavily Photoshopped,
the "bubbles" to the left
and the bright reflection in the bottom
were there from the start.
If I sent out Christmas cards,
I would use this photo.

As you can tell, I'm having a wonderful time with the new camera. While I'm not crazy about the snow, I have to admit it makes for some interesting photo opportunities.

I hope all of you are having as good a Holiday Season as we are!

A new Camera

As regular readers know, I love to take pictures.

For the last several years, I've been shooting with a Panasonic Lumix FZ30, a truly fine camera, In fact many photo folks say it's as close to a DSLR as you can get. I really do love the FZ30.

But . . .

Now Panasonic has come out with a different model. While not as complex as the FZ30, the Lumix FZ28 has gotten rave reviews. For starters, it has an excellent Leica lens (like the FZ30), but it has a few bells and whistles that the FZ30 lacks.

For one thing, it has a whopping 18 times optical zoom, WOW! It also possesses a wide angle lens as well as an HD movie mode. Also it has updated image stabilization software and is quite a bit smaller than the FZ30.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not giving up my FZ30, but I think I'll try carrying the FZ28 in my bag instead of the FZ30 for a while and see what kind of results I can get.

Did I mention that the FZ28 has an impressive burst mode, allowing something close to 8 frames per second? I can hardly wait to use this camera at Bosque del Apache!

I'll close with one of my first shots. Wasn't it lucky that there was an almost full moon the day my camera arrived? (Please remember to click on this one for a larger image).

Life is Good

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, not really. Actually, we WERE busy with the Santa Fe Film Festival but for the last couple of days we've been in hibernation mode.

This started when we woke up to SNOW a few days ago.

California wimps that we are, this, of course means we have to stay inside. I don't even have clothes for the snow! So, like bears, we've been staying in, snug and warm, cooking, watching movies, reading, avoiding the great outdoors . . .

So consider this a just quick update, with some pictures thrown in for fun.

A shot of Santa Fe from our friends deck.
This was (obviously) before the snow.

Snow!

A lonely bird feeder,
we're trying to keep it full
for the birds still in town

This is a shot of Tipper,
she's the reason we're here in Santa Fe

Lately, I've spent a good amount of time playing with Photoshop.

One thing I'm learning is that it's really hard to take a good picture of a black dog in bright light.

This is straight out of the camera
(click to enlarge for detail,
or lack of detail . . .)

Here's after I played with it for a while.
I'm still not 100% pleased . . .

Terry and Tipper.
Who's having more fun here?

I love these doors

I like the way the snow sits on the ends of these flowers.

More snow

Doesn't this plant look like it's rising from the snow?

A Santa Fe courtyard, blanketed in snow

So that's it for now.

I do have more to write about in future blogs, eyeglasses from the internet (who knew?), films from the Festival, the Shidoni Foundry, a NEW camera and Christmas in Santa Fe . . .

Stay Tuned and Remember

Black Books

Have you ever heard of a series called Black Books?

I hadn't but since I love most British comedies, I picked this up at the library, and what a find!

Written and created by the amazing Dylan Moran, it's absolutely some of the funniest comedy I've ever seen.

Basically, it's a three man (or two men and one woman) show. It stars creator and stand up comedian Dylan Moran, stand up comedian Bill Bailey and actress Tamsin Greig. I have to say, their chemistry is undeniable. The series centers around a small bookstore, owned by Bernard (pronounced in the British tradition as BURN-erd rather than the Americanized Bernard (Burr-NARD), Dylan Moran plays Bernard and he is a treasure, surly with a unique outlook on life that he's willing to spout at a moments notice. Bill Bailey plays his assistant Manny, one of the funniest, most endearing characters I've seen. Tamsin Greig plays Fran Katzenjammer (don't you love that name?). She's Bernard's best friend and quickly becomes close to Manny.

This is character comedy at its finest. In many ways this show reminds me of the old Carol Burnett Show. Do you remember how sharp and funny the interactions were between Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicky Lawrence? It was such a great thing to watch their comedy because, not only were they extremely funny, but you could tell how they were cracking each other up all the time. I loved it then, and I found the same kind of joy in this series.

We've been watching lots of movies lately so I'll have some more reviews coming soon. Then there is the Santa Fe Film Festival, which starts tomorrow, Busy Busy Busy!

Oh well, it seems we either have too much to do or not enough . . .

Still, we're lucky people and we both realize that.

Some of the things I'm thankful for

Generally, I'm a pretty happy person. Around this time of year, I see everyone making thankfulness lists and I feel like I should also.

Number one is my wonderful husband Terry. Regular readers know how special he is, so I won't go on again. Just know he is the best thing in my life.

I am also thankful for our lifestyle. Who could ask for more? As an example, I'll post a few pictures I've taken in the last couple of weeks.

Sunset at Storrie Lake
How can you not be thankful for this kind of majesty?

There was a time when I didn't realize
that this color actually existed in nature.
Who knew?

I took this last night.
For any readers who might remember my Disney days,
Do you see a hint of Chernabog?

After the shot above,
the sky transformed into this.
I LOVE New Mexico skies
(remember to click for a larger version)

So that's just a few of the many things I'm thankful for. That said, I've had a pretty wonderful Thanksgiving day!

I woke about 8am and looked out the window to discover a rainy day, and decided to make this a relaxed Thanksgiving. I'm currently reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, and I'm liking it a lot. Even though it is written for young ladies (I believe the target group is about fourteen years of age) I like the way Ms. Meyer writes and find myself engaged with the characters. I think I'll have to read the whole series!

So I spent this Thanksgiving morning all snug in my bed with a good book. Is there any thing better to be thankful for?

Then I remembered the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was a bit late and Terry was still sleeping, so I decided to surprise him with orange frosted cinnamon buns, yum. By the time we we settled in for the Parade, it was almost over. Somehow I wish I could watch it without all those commercials, still it's a fun event. Watching the crowds on the streets is my favorite part, it really seems to start the season.

Finally, about 11:30 we decided it was time to start thinking about dinner. We spent yesterday afternoon making candied pecans and fixing our turkey for today. This year, as last, we got a turkey breast, which we butterflied, then stuffed with dressing and fresh sage. Then we roll it up like a big Tootsie Roll. Then we wrap it with bacon, roll it in parchment paper, then wrap the whole thing in tin foil. See why we do this the day before?

So we put the turkey in the oven, started the stuffing (done in a casserole, the stuffing in the turkey just isn't enough). Then I started on a cranberry salsa (fresh cranberries, some orange zest, a bit of sugar, an apple, a fresh Serrano chili, a bit of lime juice a pinch of salt and a healthy dose of fresh cilantro). This was the perfect thing to snack on while we were doing the actual cooking!

Our good friend Debbie joined us and brought a whole new set of dishes to our table, including carrots cooked with ginger and chili (a new favorite) and Paula Deen's green bean casserole. She also made fresh cranberry sauce and a tasty pumpkin cobbler.

Oh and we also had sourdough rolls and mashed potatoes and gravy

I have to admit, it was a totally decadent meal, but we have leftovers that will last us for days and days. Here's a picture!



My turkey roll didn't quite hold together this year, so while it looks kind of funky in the picture, believe me, it was delicious.

After this lovely meal, we sat around and digested for a while, another of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving.

When we finally decided it was time to go out to the rig, this is what greeted our eyes!

Being a California girl, I have to admit I am still awed by the beauty of the first snow.

I do love my life, and every day of the year, I try to remember that

Happy Thanksgiving!

So I've started getting ready for tomorrow, what fun!

I have to admit I love cooking for Thanksgiving. But then I seem to love cooking for any event, or no event at all . . .

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a new recipe I tried today. These are a bit spicy, but that's the way we like em, so don't say you weren't warned. As usual, I picked this up somewhere on the internet, but didn't bookmark the spot. I just wanted to tell you that so you didn't think it was some fabulous recipe I made up.

Sweet and Spicy Pecans

nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1½ tablespoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon finely ground fresh black pepper (generous)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1½ cups pecan pieces

Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Now spray a large cookie sheet with the nonstick coating. Combine the corn syrup, the sugar, the salt, the pepper and the cayenne. Stir till it's fairly smooth, then add the pecans and mix to coat them as evenly as possible. (I think almonds or walnuts would also work well, but I've only used pecans). Once the nuts are coated, put them on to the cookie sheet, doing your best to make a single layer.

Set your timer for five minutes and during that time, spread out a large piece of tin foil on a counter. After five minutes, pull the sheet out and stir the nuts to assure an even coating. There should be a nice syrup-y layer on the pan by now. Put the cookie sheet back in the oven for another seven to ten minutes. The nuts should be golden and the syrup should be bubbling around the nuts.

Now you have to act quickly. Move the nuts off the cookie sheet on to the foil and start carefully separating the nuts with two forks. The candy mixture will quickly harden, so if you don't work fast, you'll have one big lump. After the nuts are separated and cooled, move them into an air tight container where they'll be good for about three days.

These are interesting, kind of sweet/salty with just a bit of an after bite. We like them a lot, and they were quick to make!

Okay, that's the Thanksgiving recipe for this year! We'll also be having a stuffed and rolled up turkey breast, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gingered carrots, Paula Deen's green bean casserole and a pumpkin cobbler, YUM!

Lots of leftovers so I won't be cooking for a few day at least.

Here's hoping all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for, because, as always,

Montezuma Castle

BEWARE, there are a LOT of pictures in this entry. Now that I've warned you of that, prepare yourself, these photos are our tour of Montezuma's Castle, a beautiful old hotel nestled in the Sangre de Christo Mountains outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico.

We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the last time we were here in Las Vegas. That was when I took the shots posted here, but I never got around to posting them.

While sitting around looking for local events, Terry saw a notice in a small local paper that the Castle would be open this afternoon for tours. I got all excited, thinking this was my chance to get some great shots. Unfortunately, when we arrived, we found that the tour was cancelled, because they were filming at the location. Have I mentioned that they're filming a biography of Georgia O'Keeffe in this area? It will star two of my favorites, Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons. We're hoping they might be filming up at Ghost Ranch when we're there, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Anyhow, before I get into the particulars, I want to apologize. Some of the interior shots are pretty bad, but they're the best we got on the one day we were able to visit the Castle. As always, click to enlarge them, most (not all) look much better in a larger version.

Now for just a bit of history.

The original Montezuma's Castle was built in 1882 by the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railroad. With numerous hot springs located in the area, it was a perfect spot for cross country travelers to visit for a respite on their journey. It was also the first building in New Mexico to have those new fangled electric lights! The Hotel was a huge success till it burnt down in 1884. Since it had been such a success, it was immediately rebuilt, but burnt down again in 1885 but rebuilt AGAIN in 1886. When it reopened, it was renamed the Phoenix as it continued to rise from the ashes.

In its final incarnation it boasted 90,000 square feet, a bowling alley and a casino. Famous guests over the years included Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt and Jesse James. It was a going concern till the Hotel closed in 1903.

Since then, it's been used for many things including a stint with the YMCA, a Catholic Seminary and a Baptist college. It was then left empty for many years and suffered serious vandalism and generally fell into disrepair.

Then in the early 1980s, it came to the attention of Armand Hammer, who purchased the property to be used as a campus for the United World College. In 1997 it was placed on the list of America’s Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Finally, in 2001 the school spent $12 million to restore the Castle to its former glory, with stunning results.

So now on to my photo tour of Montezuma's Castle.

As you drive up the private lane that leads to the entrance you get this view

This plaque is located at the guards shack.
You must sign in here to enter the campus.

The entrance to the Castle

One of many shots I'm including,
just because I like the way this old beauty
looks in photos.

The Lobby.
Can't you imagine walking into this in the 1880s?

I'd like to apologize again
for most of these interior shots.
I didn't have my tripod
and the flash shots looked really bad.
Even though it's not very clear,
this beautiful old fireplace is a wonder

The top of the fireplace.
This fireplace is actually made from clay, not stone.
It's a beauty.

A full shot of the fireplace and the lobby

This is the reception desk.
Amazing woodwork,
warm with the patina that only old wood can show

Terry took these next two shots
Somehow he found this lovely spiral staircase.

I missed this completely
so I'm really glad he saw it and took these shots.

There are numerous tile fireplaces in the Castle

Another fireplace

This one was my favorite.
Enlarge it and you'll see that
even the tile in the firebox is unique.

An engraving of the hotel from the 1800s

Famed Glass Master Dale Chihuly
donated these chandeliers to the College.

While I greatly admire his work
I have to admit I don't really think
they fit in this venue.

Some of the windows in the dining room

One of the enclosed sun porches.

There are wide porches circling most of the Castle

Not only do the porches afford a spectacular view,
I love these photographs.

The shapes and angles
of this beautiful old building fascinate me.

I also like the mixture of textures,
wood and brick
and the organic trees

Also the way the light shines on the polished wood
It really is this beautiful

Another shot that shows the shapes and angles
of the Hotel

Then when you just think the angles are a bit much
they throw in a round turret.

I also like the way they've incorporated the ramps
Don't they look like they are part of the original design?

Another turret

The Castle seems to fit so well into her surroundings

A shot from the back of the Castle

As you explore the grounds,
you discover paved pathways
wandering in the forest

A parting shot

We took this shot of the Castle
from higher up in the Sangre de Christos.
It's the white building in the center,
I felt it would give you
a better perspective on the location.

If you're ever in the area and learn that the Castle is open for tours I recommend you go and see it for yourself.

It's quite remarkable, a tribute to a time past and now being used to help improve our future,