While I don’t know if I am a firm believer in the existence of a devil per se, I do find that some form of evil will indeed find work for idle hands. So in the interest of avoiding the calorie evil that is weeknight consumption of adult beverages, I front loaded my day with work type activities so as to get out for a late afternoon ride on the Farley and do some dirt road photo rambling. It was great plan, until it wasn’t.
Actually, the plan was great, it was the execution of said plan that was flawed. I’ll get to that in a moment though.
After my Cat 5 lunch was made, photographed, eaten and long digested, I gathered all my ride and photo gear to take off south of town for 25 or 30 miles of ramble taking pics with my DSLR. Everything was going according to plan; I would have plenty of time to get a fat ride in, take some pics, enjoy the cooler temps and still get back in time to have dinner done by 6:30 or so.
I felt great rolling down that one mile stretch of pavement, paying no mind to the whirling of 4″ wide knobby tires being worn down. Then I hit the dirt and felt even better! I started to think I should have just left the camera at home and focused on getting a quality ride in. But hey, I dragged the camera and my new zoom lens out here for a reason: to take crap photo of Michiganderburgh and post them here for no reason at all.
So after about 5 miles or so, I decide to take my first pic. I pulled to the side of the road, removed my camera from the Slinger and focused in on the gnarled up tree seen in the first photo above. Adjust the aperture, focus… focus… press the shutter… *beep* *beep* *beep*. “What the heck?… SHITTTTTT!!!” I forgot to grab my SD card from the reader after I downloaded that stupid freaking photo of my lunch. I am such a moron!
The cart before the non-existent horse.
This is the third time this has happened to me in the last couple weeks. Oddly enough I don’t recall ever having done so before I watched a short video about everything a photographer should be certain is in their bag before a shoot. I guess this just solidifies that I am picture taker and not a photographer… a moron picture taker.
Another dirt road hump shack was bagged today.
I also found it amusing (not really) that I had just been thinking the other day how I really don’t like using my phone to take photos. Most of the time they turn out even worse than usual, so I don’t bother. I also had recently gone on a mild rant to Wifey the other day about how these days people will use their phones in lieu of real cameras to capture life moments like births, vacations, weddings, etc.,
I know phone cameras have come a LONG way, but still, there are good, small point and shoot digital cameras out there that can give you way better results. Oh fuck it, don’t listen to me, look at the crap I post on this digital fish wrap! Not to mention I was forced to take all of the pics for today’s post with my iPhone while I gave my DSLR a 25 mile trip around rural central Michigan like a freaking idiot.
Skull fornicated deer approved by Gny. Sargent Hartman (see Full Metal Jacket link below).
No use complaining, the pics turned out OK, I got a ride in, saw some things I want to revisit with a camera that doesn’t double as a phone, and I avoided the high calorie, hop-tastic, temptation that the devil (or the guy that works at the grocery store) would surely have laid before me early this evening.
I am hoping that the third time is a charm and I’ve finally learned my lesson about making sure my camera has an SD card in it before I leave the house. OR I could just learn to use my phone like everyone else? No, I’m OK.
Later.
*Note: Gny. Sargent Hartman quote from Full Metal Jacket can be heard at this link (not work friendly).