Saturday’s miscellaneous moments

For the past few months I have been hard at work organizing the 50,000+ photos I have accumulated on my computer’s hard drives. I have categorized, keyworded, labeled, and even deleted photos in my effort to gain control over what had become a massive mess. For some photographers, 50 thousand photos wouldn’t make a dent in their collection, but for someone like me, someone who had no logical method for organizing my files as they continued to accumulate, 50 thousand is a lot!

I primarily use Adobe Lightroom to import and optimize my pictures, but although Lightroom has a great system for organizing photos, even 50 thousand or many more, I had no conception of how to use it to my advantage. Then one day, a few months ago, I signed up for several online workshops by Ben Willmore. Since the day I began taking Ben’s workshops, I have had multiple “eureka moments”and now, finally, I am on the way to being in control of my massive mess of picture files. Bit by bit, I am getting them categorized, labeled, keyworded, and (dare I say) ORGANIZED. I don’t have total control yet, but I’ve taken control (thanks to Ben) and I’m gradually getting there.

Then today I went out with my camera and took a bunch of pictures, in a bunch of different places, for a bunch of different reasons. I came home, downloaded them to my computer, and began to wonder about the best way to organize them. I needed to keep track of them and know exactly where they resided on my hard drive, so I can find them when I’m ready to share them on my Blipfoto journal, this Trailwalking blog, or even just to email them to family and friends. And hallelujah, I figured it out! So tonight I am celebrating, and I just had to tell someone, so I chose to tell you. If you’re not interested, if you could care less, that’s okay. You can just ignore the last three paragraphs. But before you check out, please take a look at these miscellaneous moments I captured with my camera today.

The day started with our usual Saturday visit to the Willoughby Outdoor Market. To my delight, I heard music and discovered two young musicians had taken a space at the market and brought their instruments (and their mothers) because they wanted to raise money for their friend Marik, who is undergoing cancer treatment. I was impressed by these ninth graders, both by their talent and their initiative to step up, organize, and implement such a special fund raiser for their friend. They are generous spirits, and I believe Marik must be also.

Next I ran into our old neighbors Harold and his daughter Sandy, who used to babysit with our daughters many years ago. One of my favorite things about the Outdoor Market is running into people I haven’t seen for a while, and stopping for a conversation, which is what Sandy and I did. As we were talking, Harold kept on walking past other vendors, so I said, “How old is your father, Sandy?” It turns out he is 97, and Sandy had to keep moving to catch up with him! I took the opportunity to snap their picture.

I also ran into our friends Ruth and Mike Lovett. Ruth was eating a scone that she said was delicious, so I made sure Bob and I bought a few before we left the market.

After the market, Bob and I drove out to Patterson Fruit Farm. It was getting near noon, and I hatched the idea that a warm apple dumpling would make a great lunch. Patterson’s makes great apple dumplings, and just thinking about them was making me hungry. However, when we arrived at Patterson’s, we discovered a fall festival in full swing. The fruit farm had been overrun by families of all sizes and they appeared to be having a great time. The lines were long, the kind that wind out the door and down the path. Bob took one look and said, “We can come back Monday,” and I agreed. So we came home without our apple dumplings, but fortunately, we had those scones, and they were delicious too!

After taking a few pictures of the festivities, as well as several landscapes, we headed for home.

 

So that’s it for the visit to Patterson’s, but I’m looking forward to a return visit for those apple dumplings. It’s time for lunch, so we should head for home, but if you have a few extra minutes before we sign off, why don’t you go back and look at my last several blog posts. I’ve labeled them “Color Me Autumn,” because they are all about the beauty of Autumn as I’ve photographed it in my walks along trails in Chagrin River Park, Holden Arboretum, and on the beach at Headlands Nature Preserve. They start here at Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve.

Thanks for joining me for today’s “Miscellaneous Moments.”
See you soon for more Color Me Autumn trail walks.
Trail Walker