Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It’s what sunflowers do.
― Helen Keller
You’ve got to love these happy flowers. They’re blooming all over now.
Blog Archives
“Fixing” What Ain’t Broke
I am often confounded by the software industry tweaking something out of usefulness, and the upgrades that Adobe is making to its Lightroom software may be just that. I’m willing to see where it goes, of course. But since mine apparently upgrades itself, this morning, when I wanted to get something done and move on, I had to deal with some unfortunate issues with the latest and greatest version of Adobe Lightroom CC (2015).
If you’re using Lightroom CC and you’ve deliberately or accidentally upgraded to the latest version, here is a link to instructions to go back to the last version of the software (CC 6, I believe). Lightroom is a great piece of photo-editing software, but it appears that rather than keeping this a high-end, usable program for photographers, Adobe is trying to cater to the mobile photographer set. To that end, they’ve dumbed it down, ostensibly so the learning curve is less steep. Unfortunately, in doing that, they’re eliminating useful things I, and many other users, have come to depend on. That said, I imagine we’ll eventually get used to that. The problem now is that several things in the upgrade just don’t work, although they’re supposed to. They’re things that are not being eliminated, just changed, I think.
So, if you use this great software and want to continue to use it until the engineers get the kinks worked out, downgrade. It’s so cool that you actually can, and it’s even more amazing how simple it is! I used the instructions in this article—Install a previous version of any Creative Cloud application—to do just that. It’s very easy, and I’m back up and running with what works.
One of my issues was importing. I imported all my pictures, but somehow Lightroom didn’t show all the pictures I thought I had imported. I could see that some I had shot were missing, and Lightroom said I had 20 more to import, but when I went to find the 20 missing ones, I couldn’t import them because Lightroom said they were already imported. In CC 6 (I think was the latest before this upgrade), I could tell it to ignore suspected duplicates or I could uncheck that box. Nowhere in the new import window could I find such an option. I also checked out all the Preferences panel (may be called something else on a Windows machine).
I then found I was now unable to copy from one picture to another, settings that worked for the type of picture I was working on. You know, if you make adjustments to the exposure, temperature, highlight, shadow, white, and black sliders, for instance, you can then copy those setting and apply them to the next similar photo by clicking on the “paste” button. That wasn’t working today.
Anyway, if you’re using Lightroom CC, and have any of these issues (or others), the answer for you may be to downgrade. It worked for me.
Here are a few of the pictures I was trying to work on. I took a walk in Downtown Grand Junction yesterday with my camera. Colors are great, but in Grand Junction, we’re getting almost to the end of color season. Leaves are falling off trees, and there’s less to shoot. I got a few that I liked and here they are.
BOO!
Fall 2015, Downtown Grand Junction, Colorado
Fall 2015, Downtown Grand Junction, Colorado
Fall 2015, Downtown Grand Junction, Colorado
Fall 2015, Downtown Grand Junction, Colorado
Fall 2015, Downtown Grand Junction, Colorado
Happy Flowers
Eight-Hour Drive
Patrón and I took an eight-hour drive that took me through Glenwood, Carbondale, Redstone, over McClure Pass, Paonia, Hotchkiss, and Cedaredge.
Crystal River
We drove over the Grand Mesa first on 65, then the Old Grand Mesa Road, and stopped at the small parking spot below the Crag Crest Trail so Patrón could stretch her legs. She and I enjoyed some time sitting at the lake and walking along the road.
I took a few pictures of sunflowers that were obviously past their prime, but they were so pretty anyway. There’s some serious standing water in the low spots, too — presumably from all the recent rains.
We then got back on 65 at the Visitor Center and soon took off onto the Land’s End Road. That first mile or so going down is kind of spooky. (I have no idea how they do that Lands End Road Rally [?] every year without someone seriously falling off the mountain.)
Looking South.
Looking West.
It was a really nice day, but Patrón wasn’t too thrilled with being tied down in the vehicle. I gave her enough lead to hang her head out the window (I’m not a completely horrible mother), but I need to find a better way to tie her down. She got herself completely tangled in her leash and the harness I bought just to keep her in place in the vehicle. I’d hate to buy a cage for her to travel in when part of the purpose is for her to have some “head-hanging” time. But she cannot wander the vehicle. I stopped several times for her to water and pee. She did neither, and she wouldn’t get back in of her own accord—I had to lift her into the seat. I also wanted to do a little exploring (like Redstone Castle), but couldn’t with her in tow. (Why can’t I lock the doors with the keys in the ignition?!! I have another set of keys!)
I won’t take her every time, but this was interesting and fun trying to figure out what to do with her. When she tried to wallow in a dead fish, I was not completely sold on this arrangement.
Outside of Paonia, I finally saw the coal mine(s) where my son used to work. While in Paonia, I visited the Orchard Valley Farms & Market and Black Bridge Winery and discovered a new, interesting addition to their vinegars—Ripe Peach White Balsamic Vinegar. Yummy! Not sure it’s new, but it is to me.
It was a pleasant day, for sure!
Day Trip to Rifle, Colorado
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.
—Confucius
I try to remember to see it. Last weekend, my daughter, her daughters, my friend, and I went to Rifle Gap, Rifle Falls, and Harvey Gap. From there, we drove through a beautiful sheep and cattle (and spring-and-wet-green) valley behind the Hogbacks, then we went through Newcastle and went back home to Rifle. We had a lot of fun, and I found it was beautiful there. I’ve lived in Western Colorado for 38 years, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen those places. Below are pictures I took of our trip. I told the grand kids that when I went up there again, I’d take them with me. I expect that will be a blast.
Funny Flower
It’s been awhile since I posted anything. Between work (busy season), work (finishing up what I started), bowling, school and the accompanying homework, and everyday stuff, I’ve been pressed for time and energy. Bowling and school are out for the summer and all work seems to have calmed down for a little bit.
I came home for lunch today and found this flower in my driveway. It’s a weed, really, but it sure was pretty, open and full. I took a lot of pictures with a real camera before I headed into the house to eat lunch. About 40 minutes later I went back outside to head back to work. I was going to shoot a quick picture with the iPhone to show a co-worker. By that time, the flower had closed up completely.
When I got downtown, I noticed these flowers as I walked through the breezeway from the parking garage.
It’s that time of year! Finally!
Springtime in Colorado
Last week it was in the 70s. This weekend, it will be rainy. Yesterday it snowed. This morning, it’s like I’m in Seattle. I love it all.
TGIF!
Saturday Ramblings
I haven’t posted for a bit. Between a very busy day job, trying to keep up with the other job, school, bowling, and then being sick last Saturday, I’ve had a whirlwind existence lately. Tomorrow I’ll go in to work for awhile to get a head start on next week (for my comfort), take Patrón for another walk, then I’ll head to a friend’s for dinner.
I was able to go for a walk last Sunday and was saddened to see that someone had moved the weathered board so there were no more tufts of grass growing through its holes. Maybe that grass just blew away, but I doubt it. I was hoping for the grass to grow longer for a bit and be able to take another photo. I was sorry to see it no longer looked as it did. And I wondered that someone could come along and not see the artistry in that mess of old wood and clumps of grass.
Today I got homework done and that’s a relief. It was due Friday and we had a reprieve, thankfully. I was at wits end trying to figure out how I was going to get that done. What a relief. Just four more weeks, I think.
After bowling is over (two more weeks), school is over (fourish more weeks), and I’m not allowed overtime at the day job, I can take weekends and go sometimes. I’m tired of being trapped at home either having to do something — or thinking I should.
Today I downloaded a new camera app for my iPhone and I think I like it. I am disappointed with the native camera’s abilities and this app will at least make the photos look more vibrant. I’ve seen so many others’ photos from their phones and they look so good — and my phone photos kind of just suck. Anyway, the photos’ editability still isn’t great, but colors are vibrant and I am able to capture light and dark in a composition that is wildly different in tonal values. The name of the app is Pro HDR-X. It’s a toy, but a fun one.
I drove a little way up Unaweep Canyon this evening and took this picture.
This I took a little earlier on my walk on the desert. The clouds, where there’s nothing to block them, are so pretty.
After driving up Unaweep Canyon for bit, I backtracked to the Gunnison River Bluffs/Old Spanish Trail parking corral. As the sun set, I captured this. I didn’t get light adjusted properly, but even so, I thought this turned out cool. I had to wait until a hiker’s silhouette fell below the horizon. For the longest time, while the sun set lower, there was a solitary figure walking from the left to the right along the top of those hills in the background. Had I been able to zoom in on him, that might have made a nice photo, too, but with the phone, he would have just been too small for any artistic impact.
It’s been a nice quiet day and I’m ready to call it.
Happy Saturday!
Beautiful Western Colorado Weekend
Surely it will be winter again soon. But while it’s warm, I’ve taken advantage by getting Miss Patrón out for her walks. I think she’s slimming down, too. She and I went on a long one today and she never tired, so she’s doing better. I took these pictures yesterday, but I left the camera in the vehicle today. She got impatient with all the stopping we did yesterday. I owed her a real walk.
We walk on the desert behind the landfill. It doesn’t take a long time to get far enough out that it seems pretty remote. Yesterday, while we were walking, I saw something move in the distance. Since the landfill is not very far away, there are some pretty large ravens out there—but from a distance, I can’t really tell what I’m seeing. I’ve heard rumors of big cats, and I’ve seen wolves (or coyotes—I don’t know). So, I’m observant and cautious when I’m not sure. Since I walk alone (except for that silly dog who I believe would roll over and not help protect us), I’m not cavalier about the possibility of meeting wildlife. So, when I saw movement but couldn’t tell it was only a big bird, Patrón and I turned around. Once I got on top of a hill to look back, I saw it was actually a very large raven, dining on his catch. The pictures I took are below. While they didn’t turn out well, I’m posting them anyway. It was pretty fascinating to watch, but I about got an eye cramp waiting for that bird to move. He was pretty busy with his meal. Based on the number of times he took flight, I suspect he was trying to figure out how to transport his leftovers.
Patrón, irritated at having to sit, rolled on the ground next to me, bumped my arm, and generally made a pest of herself.
I’ve stopped, yet again, to snap a picture, and you can see she just can’t seem to believe I’ve stopped again.
And again.
I can safely say I drove her bonkers yesterday. It’s my job.
The weekend’s over. Back to work and school for me!
Have a good week!
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