Thanks for your kind words David. I appreciate them.

I largely feel the same as you in regard to technical gimmicks with photography — either digital or film, in the camera or post processing. That said, there are times that I’ve found a “gimmick” to be the perfect tool for the job at hand, whatever that may be. Indiscriminate use of filters and processing tools lead to some bad work. For me, the toy camera feature on the camera has enough merit that I need to explore it a bit. Who knows where it will lead.

Going slow and riding alone really allows a person to stop and look around in a manner that’s just not possible when someone else is along, no matter how much they’re into it. For me, I just feel bad stopping so often. I can start a ride thinking 150 trip and end up going 20 because of all the things I stop to see.

Keep living in the moment!

I generally shoot the original images straight and process after the fact. But the toy camera feature is sweet. And it forces you to deal with the way it sees up front. I’ll keep playing with it for awhile.

Kim definitely is smarter than me. Had health issues not struck her so hard I’m certain she would have done more. Her fiction writing career began while she was still working as a researcher in molecular and cell biology — looking at algae and spending time in swamps in Lyme, Connecticut collecting the stuff. You can imagine what happened there.

During that time Kim wrote a short story and submitted it to Mademoiselle magazine’s fiction writing competition. From the thousands of entries she won the competition and a big cash prize. That work was titled “The Other Side of Innocence”. Not long after she was offered a fellowship and spot in Cornell’s MFA Fiction Writing program that she couldn’t pass up.

Anyways, health and medical issues grew and by the time she completed the program and was teaching at Cornell she had to stop. Worked as a science writer for awhile and some other things. She’s kept her writing to herself aside from two published pieces and some grant awards. I’ll let her decide to share things.

The new digital cameras are magical. You can shoot in the dark. A far different experience from shooting color film.

I’ve moved my mountain bike from the basement to the garage — one small step toward riding it again. Since completing cardiac rehab last week and now on my own to exercise I’ve been walking and using a NordicTrack elliptical trainer along with lifting weights. But the bicycle will soon become an option to the elliptical. At least that’s the plan.

And I want to stick around a while longer myself! Lots of rides I want to take, trips I would like to do with Kim, and watch my granddaughter grow up a bit before I ride off the mortal coil…

Thanks for you advice and well wishes. I appreciate them David.

The issue I have with the Scene settings is that they tend to make the picture too… tricked out. Like adding peanuts, caramel and hot fudge to a handcrafted vanilla bean ice cream. The subtlety of the composition, the nuances, which keep you coming back to a satisfying photo, tend to be drowned out.

They certainly have their place. But I think your approach, a cleaner approach, in the end, yields the better result.

Just my two cents.

You definitely married a smart girl. The effects settings on my camera have sometimes resulted in “the shot” of the day for me. Go wild, experiment, it’s not like you’re wasting celluloid frames! ; D

Having said the above, I tend to rely more on the SCN settings for particularly difficult lighting shots. I especially liked the results of the “hand held twilight” setting which allows for shooting in low light without a tripod. Comes in handy indoors in places such as Italy’s churches.

What are some of Kim’s fiction works titles?