It's Moments Like These

I went to the Craft and Quilt Show yesterday afternoon. It was a good show, but one event threatened to overshadow the entire experience. After four or five hours of exploring, browsing, admiring and shopping all over the pavilion, I sat down for a moment to rest my feet. All of a sudden I realised I was no longer carrying my camera. You can imagine how I felt. It's not only that it's a good and expensive camera, but it's my daily companion. I am very fond of my camera. L and I did a quick review of where we'd been. Apart from a couple of stalls where I'd spent more time looking at particular items, it really could have been left anywhere. A quick check of those stalls brought only suggestions to "try the office". I didn't hold out much hope, but at the office was this: A young man who asked me a few intelligent questions about my camera and smiled at my breathless, but accurate answers. Behind the counter was my camera, and on the counter was a jar of lollies, including the very relevant mintie. After I'd taken the photo, I gobbled a mintie. It's moments like these, indeed!

By the way, he really was wearing that hat--all day--it was part of some competition or other. And, no, he didn't get paid any extra to wear it. I asked. It wasn't quite right with the apricot stripes on his uniform shirt, but what the heck.

Feeling Foolish

Yesterday I complained that my Powershot camera was suffering from a disturbance and making whirring noises--great technical terms those. I got myself out of trouble with another camera and immediately went into problem-solving mode. Strange phenomenon: I can live with all sorts of undone tasks, but a problem with my camera prompts instant action! I rang Canon's support line and spoke to a technician. I figured I'd make sure there wasn't some obvious error on my part before going down the warranty-repair path. I described what the camera was and wasn't doing. The technician sounded serious, and said I should send it in for repair. By that time there wasn't much left of my morning. I had to get to my regular Monday afternoon appointment by public transport and there was no way I was going to get to the camera store as well. That turned out to be a good thing. I'm guessing that my subconscious was worrying away at the problem while I was otherwise occupied, because when I got home, I suddenly thought of this:
Yep, batteries! Usually when my camera runs out of juice it gives a simple command on the screen, "please change the batteries". Admittedly there was no such signal and the camera apparently did have power because there were lights and movement. I wasn't long since I'd changed the batteries either, but I usually use rechargables and these were everday disposable batteries. It couldn't hurt to try. So out with the old batteries and in with a fresh pair. Now the camera works fine! That's a good thing and I'm glad I got to feel foolish in the privacy of my own home.

I Must Carry My Camera

I went to a concert at the new Melbourne Recital Centre yesterday afternoon. A friend of mine was singing in "The Cho!r". I wasn't in a particularly good mood when I headed off, and it took more than the usual effort to get myself out the door.

I'd heard a lot about the new Recital Centre--all of it good, but I wasn't sure exactly where it was, nor what it looked like. Well here it is: It was worth the effort of going out for the building itself, let alone the concert! This is the front of the building. The inside is pretty much 100% wood. Beautiful carved natural timber! In fact one of the surprising things about all the talk I've heard about this hall is that it is universally praised, by musicians. The acoustic is brilliant--and that's a rare thing.

Anyway, today I should be made to write out 100 lines, "I must carry my camera. I must carry my camera. I must carry my camera. . . ." There I was with this magnificent, intricate, beautiful building on a clear Melbourne evening and no camera. Not good. At least I had the phone, but when the light is as good as it was and the details as wonderful, the phone isn't quite the thing.

As for textiles, there's a large tapestry in the upstairs foyer from the Melbourne Tapestry Workshop. I'm not too sure of the protocol around that, so I didn't photograph it, but I'd love to find out more.

Back to Rathdowne St

It's more than a month since I posted a weekend Cafe shot. Could it be a month since I've been in a cafe on the weekend? What's wrong with me!

I caught up with my friend M at Rathdowne St this afternoon. My favourite coffee and flourless pear cake with icecream was on the menu. I think I'll call that dinner. What's more, I had my new phone to play with--my first ever phone with a camera. M and I share a love for random photos of little treasures, so it felt good to catch this pic in her company. It's a detail of the mosaic on one of the shop fronts.

The camera was the main reason for getting a more advanced phone. Up until now I've been more than happy with a "grandma" phone that does the basics like making calls and sending the occasional text. On the other hand my commitment to digital photography has gone from the great luxury of my dSLR a couple of years ago, to the compact digital camera I bought earlier this year because I couldn't carry the SLR with me everywhere. Now of course I'm so used to having the camera in my handbag that I feel deprived if I'm carrying a tiny bag and no camera. Solution? A phone with a 5 mega pixel camera!

Now I'm going to establish my credentials for a "grandma" phone . . . I can remember my first mobile phone as a major purchase--and it was maybe ten times the size of the one I just bought . . . I can remember when a 5 megapixel camera was pretty good going as a camera. . . we won't talk about the little film cameras and polaroid cameras I remember from when I was young! So, I'm going to give myself a little time to find my way around my new phone. But I'm pretty happy with the shots I've taken on it so far. . . and by the way, I have even managed to make a couple of phone calls.