davidd's A Doll A Day 2019

[davidd]

Yeah, I don't have a corer so it looks like a lot of scraping. I only leave my pumpkin a day or two anyway or else keep it in the fridge, because I bake and use almost every part of it.

Triv and Janie used a paring knife (as pictured) to slice up the core in layers a bit at a time, and a spoon to scoop out the inside. There was not as much scraping as there is with a pumpkin. But it was wet work; the pineapple needed to be drained over the sink multiple times.

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27 October – Triv seems inordinately excited about lighting the first fire in the wood stove of this winter season

Whereas I am feeling sad. We all know what "heavily edited" photos means – the initial image had serious quality issues. A few days ago I dropped my very favorite camera, a Panasonic Lumix DCM-TS5 pocket point-n-shoot that I carry with me almost everywhere. It is one of those rugged, durable cameras designed for underwater snapshots and for surviving drops, dust, and dampness. But the drop a few days ago was face-down on concrete from about five feet high, and ever since, the camera has been making odd noises, a combination of mechanical and electronic hissing and buzzing, and it no longer seems to focus consistently or accurately.

I am feeling very sad about this. The camera is more than six years old and long out of production, and while I have found a few new-in-box examples for sale online, the price is quite high (in excess of $325 USD). I really like this camera. I have used it for so long and so often that I can operate most of the functions with one hand, and I have a pretty good "intuitive" relationship with it, so I can easily and quickly pull it out of my pocket and get a photo reasonably close to what I want with a minimum of fuss. The macro (close-up) capability is very sharp, important with toy, doll, and miniature photography.

I have other cameras, that's not the issue. The issue is that the other cameras aren't quite as good as this one for every day, everywhere carry.

There is a newer version, the Panasonic DMC-TS30, that has mixed reviews, and it can be had right now for only $99 USD. I may give the new model a try. Online images indicate the layout of the controls is similar, and the camera is actually rated slightly better for water resistance and drop resistance.

To the credit of my little TS5, it has survived countless drops over the past six years, often on to rocks or pavement, so it has served admirably under trying conditions. I shall try re-setting all the settings and see what else I can find in the electronic menu to tinker with, in a desperate hope to coax a little more life out of it.

Anyway, the over-filtered, slightly out-of-focus pic today (and those of yesterday) are at least partly the result of my having dropped and damaged my camera.