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[zesty_pinto]

The Rat on a tour of Montreal

Incredibly tired. Got back into the Peloton and burnt 700 calories the other day, but it made my butt distorted enough to give me a bad sleep. Of course. Should do more arm exercises since I haven't done any for weeks now. Trying to get some chest work back in the routine again too. I don't know if it'll lead to anything though.

My stock submissions have now bumped up to 250. My rank went up. Sales? lolol no. They say you usually need to upload around 1k images before that happens and nowadays I'd be shocked if it wasn't even more now to get consistent sales.

Going to Vermont this weekend. I'll finally get some syrup restocked in the house and the in-laws need honey. No idea what else we'll do there, but I'm hoping to find some scenic locations for Michelle to get more practice with.

Working on photos, currently working through some Philly Museum of Art shots that were taken back after the Superbowl which meant walking up against a crowd of Eagles fans among all the football paraphernalia and the Rocky fans that wanted to appreciate the stairs.

If you've never been btw, it's very comparable to the Met but if it was under a Mandela effect. Did you ever wish the armor exhibit was more about weaponry? Did you ever want the Asian gardens to appear more like the set of a period piece drama? Do you like windows? Well! Have I got a museum for you. It's a popular location for photographers from Unique Photo to visit and I can see why. Also lots of influencers there. Saw one use an artifact to prop their phone to record them doing a walk and that left me holding my tongue.

Flickr's been discouraging. Fewer people checking my work but that means competition which means I need to work on myself better. I think a lot of it has to do with postproduction and I need to work on it better.

This weekend was a trip to the Bronx Zoo. this time with me understanding my camera a little better and the images I think are a little better. Images to come.

Before that, we went to Letchworth again during one of the iciest times. More photos of that as well, just... in time. Met some of the locals along the way, including one that gave us some history of the location. While I knew a fair amount of it, he also got into some topics I didn't know about (spoiler: there were a fair share of illegitimate babies and there's a good chance some hidden graves exist). Anyway, despite the ice, both of us safely got around, no tripping, no scratches to the equipment, just lots of photos while Michelle tried out the macro.

She sent me a whole bunch of The Rat photos as well

I can't believe you clicked here. Okay, here's some The Rat photos that Michelle took.



Did you want to see Behind the Scenes footage of The Rat on a skyscraper?


Yes, this is how it looks when I take photos. I have no idea how people should react to this but I imagine "with disdain" is a common one.


But that's all worth it for these kind of funky photos. Besides, The Rat still makes me laugh.

But I'm going to assume that isn't that big of a deal, so yeah. Anyway, work's been progressing so that's good. I feel like I'm cleaning up my own messes more than anything and I think that's just my anxieties but also I do know I need to do better, so I do strive.

Not a total loss besides: received a healthy boost to my merit increase and a bonus to boot that will hopefully go to the house fund or at least cover this year's payment for the eclipse trip. Either way.

I think I found out that every type of lens I was looking for was due for an update because the other lenses I was looking at apparently have new versions coming soon. I think I was bound to be disappointed with whatever purchase was made regardless. I still am trying to figure out if I want to get a cheaper Chinese lens that's been known for picking up a lot of fame recently for being well-made versus an OEM brand that just released that is very comparable. Annoying myself over something that really doesn't matter as much but at the same time my perfectionist complex is kicking in.

Oh! Still though! Still! That macro I got? Perfectly acceptable. The quality is nice and I like it. Now I need an excuse to use it. Already got some flashes set up and did a photo sesh strobing one of my model builds. It's already fitting into my bag without a problem too, replacing the fisheye that's too situational for my liking (though tbf it found a few uses in the Philly museum). It gave me a debt, but I'm already paying off a healthy share of it and should probably have it finished by the end of April.

Cooking more as well. We realized as well that ShopRite basically discounts their burger patties which means endless burgers for cheap after hours so Weds has become the new routine as I make loco moco, burger burritos, sandwiches, etc. Michelle's eating more fruit in general too. The mac and cheese was a hit btw but it's also still dense as hell. At least it isn't being mean to me biologically outside of being a brick of calories.

That's all I got, so going to call this a post. I'll be reading through your posts. If I'm not following you, feel free to let me know as well and I'll add you as well, I could use the excuse to look away from work for a bit.


Back to it.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Going to Vermont this weekend. I'll finally get some syrup restocked in the house and the in-laws need honey. No idea what else we'll do there, but I'm hoping to find some scenic locations for Michelle to get more practice with.<<

<3 maple syrup, and this is the right time of year for such activities! :D

My Rutledge thread is set in Vermont. I accept image prompts, if you want to throw me some pictures for the Poetry Fishbowl coming up on Tuesday, March 4 with a theme of "Yes, Actually, It IS That Bad."

>>I can't believe you clicked here. Okay, here's some The Rat photos that Michelle took.<<

So cute! It's fun to have a focal character in travel photos.

Re: Thoughts

[zesty_pinto]

Oh yeah, we timed it better than expected; I was worried we would get there too early (though tbf last year's batch won't be a problem) but apparently the sugar houses are starting to open up this weekend, so I guess we threaded the needle and I get a fresh jug of dark!

I don't know if I'll find anything appropriate for you to work off of, but I'll def keep it in mind.

The Rat has been that one little character that has helped me with two things:

1. It gives me a subject to add some weird magic realism to my photos

2. It gives me a character to project off of/vent by doing improv ventriloquism with a rat in a tin can that thinks with a three year old logic. It's had its share of fans but nowadays I'm just happy to have something I can be goofy with.

Glad you're enjoying the photos, there's always more The Rat stuff to go up between the images of other things and the idle angst.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Oh yeah, we timed it better than expected; I was worried we would get there too early (though tbf last year's batch won't be a problem) but apparently the sugar houses are starting to open up this weekend, so I guess we threaded the needle and I get a fresh jug of dark!<<

I figured it was right, late winter or very early spring tends to be sugar-season. <3 maple syrup. You're too early for maple vinegar, it's the last product of the run, but they may have some leftover because it's not as popular. Put the two together and you can adjust the sweet/sour profile of a dish.

>>I don't know if I'll find anything appropriate for you to work off of, but I'll def keep it in mind.<<

If you post a selection of Vermont pictures and just link to that post, I can probably find something to work with.

>> The Rat has been that one little character that has helped me with two things: <<

It's such a fun idea, that little bit of whimsy.

[gleeok]

Your rat brings me such joy :)

[zesty_pinto]

The Rat always welcomes fans!