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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

"OK, Google... Can My Readers Stand Another Photo Dump?" (A Mother's Day Photo Album)

"OK, Google."  

Have you heard of this voice search thing ?  Just this past weekend it came into my life via the phones of my sister and brother-in-law, and now I have it in my head that I cannot go on until I have this feature on my phone.  You speak to your phone, "Ok, Google."  Then you ask it whatever you want and the lovely Google lady will speak back to you providing you with the answer.  Pretty awesome, right?  

My ideas for using this phone feature are (1) homeschool (no new curricula needed.  ever.)  and (2) unlimited fabulous dinner table conversation (the lovely Google lady is a fine dinner guest - she's extremely intelligent in a wide range of subject matter, but she doesn't consume any food or contribute to the dirty dishes)  We were having all kinds of fun this past weekend translating Latin, mapping out routes to Timbuktu, learning about the tallest tree in the world (it's name is Hyperion; it's a California Redwood), getting the specs on the tallest player in the NFL, the heaviest player in the NFL, and the statistical probability of the Buffalo Bills getting into the Super Bowl in 2015 (bet I don't have to tell you that it doesn't look good for our boys...).  The boys also asked the Google lady to show them college ball highlights of the Bills draft pick, Sammy Watkins (not "Whopkins" as my kids have latched onto...)   

My own mother was gone for the weekend (missed you, Mom!) visiting her mother in Florida.  Google could tell you exactly how far away.  The only thing Google can't tell me is what my next camera should be.  I'm still in turmoil. I spent this Mother's Day taking pictures with my current camera and a loaner from my sister.  I looked like a crazed tourist on our delightful family walk at the Lake Erie marina with two cameras hanging from my neck and camera phone in hand.  I really like my current camera except that a while back it started get glitchy - the highly irritating glitch being that I can't zoom out once I've zoomed in.  I have to powder down my camera if I want to "negate' the zoom.  It's too annoying for words.  I'm still not closer to finding a new one, though I've tested a few out at a camera shop (where they looked down their noses at my because I wanted a point and shoot) and have been reading tons of reviews on-line.  Having a fully-functioning camera with all the features I want is becoming increasingly important to me - these days are fleeting and my husband's memory is bad...  I want to capture the picture-worthy moments of this life.  Just need to find the right camera.  Ok, Google?


(I haven't *doctored* any of these pictures, except where noted.  It really was that gorgeous of a day!)









investigating stuff with Papa :)





I "brightened" this photo a little to get some blue in there.  It was quite a hazy day. 
My gorgeous sister!!
...and here's her handsome son, Miles.  Remember when James wrote a letter to Miles??
I added some color saturation to this one.  It was the only pic here from my sister's camera, which seems a little less vibrant on color than mine.

And the one picture of me from Mother's Day...

thanks for taking it, sis!
I'm never in any cause I'm always the one holding the camera :)

6 comments:

  1. Well, I still think you're taking great pictures but yes, that must be maddening! I'm curious what other people say. I really have no desire to go the DSLR route and learn all that. For me right now the slightly less quality pictures are worth the time not spent learning the ins and outs of manual photography. Is that horrible to say?

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  2. Thanks, Mary. I decided very quickly that dslr is NOT for me right now. (maybe the future??) But for now, it's too expensive, and there's too much to learn, and I really want to be able to take pictures quickly when I want them, not to have to "fiddle" with which lens I need and getting it all set up. You know by the time I got the equipment ready to go my kids would be off to something else... or in another state :) I'm not willing to spend the time on that. So point and shoot it is!

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  3. LOVE these shots, OK Google could never take pics like this;)

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  4. It looks like a beautiful mother's day for a beautiful mother - and oh my goodness are your kids precious!!!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kathy! They get it from my husband!

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