Back to the Dark Side.

I did it. I purchased a point and shoot camera. And I think I like it.

My DSLR will still be my camera, but this little thing will be with me always. And it's shockproof, waterproof to 16 feet, and just to reiterate - SHOCKPROOF. And no, I am not the klutziest person in the world, but I do have a four year old (Just turned four today!) and he likes to shoot pictures too. So now, when daddy is shooting pictures and he asks to use my camera, we can shoot pictures together.

What kind of camera is it? How are the images? Here is an image from day 1:

Quinn at Taco Mac

Not so bad for low light and a moving subject. I was actually hoping for some blur (so I killed the flash) and it captures Quinn's Taco Mac craziness. The noise would show up in any low-light situation.

I'm pretty happy with the camera so far. The camera is a 16 megapixel Panasonic Lumix TS20. The lens isn't great, but some sacrifices had to be made to keep the body watertight. In fact, there is a very similar Lumix with a Leica lens that has a much better zoom (and was selling for less - only $140.00) but the real reason I bought the THIS camera was for it's (presumed) durability. But another advantage was the 25mm wide angle lens. Most point and shoots seem to stop at about 28mm if your lucky. This gives the user some great depth and a pretty awesomely wide angle of view.

This camera is definitely coming with us to Europe this summer.

Trike Strike Irish Red Ale

Here is my latest beer label:

Tragically, I have the ingredients but no time as of yet to actually make the beer. My need for creative Christmas presents got the label underway ( It makes a good T-shirt ). So hopefully, the beer will be good enough to deserve the label. It will be a mix of Maris Otter Malt, some caramel malt, flaked oats, golden naked oats, and well, I haven't quite decided on the hops. I have some home grown Willamette, so they will probably be tossed in there.

I originally was excited to call this Fixed Gear Version 1 Irish Ale as I thought the tricycle - well, it truly is the original fixed gear cycle. But then I saw that there already is a fixed gear red ale. Really? And a pretty uninspired design concept. Theirs had a chainring. wow. Mine says ride. POW!

Of course, putting a trike on a beer probably wouldn't fly in the commercial world. It would be like putting a cartoon camel on cigarettes or something (oh wait, that's been done).

Trike Strike Irish Red Juice anyone?

Fire Chief.

Fire Chief, what does it need?

It somehow feels unfinished. Perhaps it needs to be broken down a bit more? Maybe some sort of charcoal overlay? After all, charcoal is just burnt wood, right? Or did I just get to carried away with the ladders. Maybe a stronger foreground  object? Arrgaaahhh.

Barley Pillow

Once again, Barley-Rox serves as the object of Quinn's attention. For most of the dozen or so pictures I snapped, Barley tries, as she often does, to just ignore it all. But, when Quinn decided he wanted to be Thor and pulled out his hammer, someone got worried.

Thor's Hammer © Jeff Murphy, 2012

Quinn enjoyed these photographs so much that he decided to take his own. So, here is Quinn's very first DSLR picture:

Quinn's First DSLR Picture © Quinn Freeman Murphy, 2012

Not so bad for the low tungsten lighting. Just a few months ago the camera was jsut to heavy and awkward for him.

Awkward. That spells funny.

Don't Eat My Rainbow

A recent word gem from my two and a half year old son - "Dad, don't eat my rainbow."

Quinn clearly has a love for words as the complexity of this phrase - well, it strikes me that this is his first metaphor. And a powerful one as well. It reminds me of the classics - "Don't take my sunshine away" and "Don't rain on my parade" but with a greater degree of depth and nuance. Now I can guess what your thinking. He's two. You are his dad and reading more into this than you should. He can't even get his colors right half the time. Yes, you would be right on all accounts.

But still. Consider this. When he blurted out this gem we were in Florida for his grandmothers memorial service - she had just passed away after struggling with a wicked cancer for two years. A general sense of melancholy and loss hung about. Quinn is a very observant little boy and picks up on these things. So, when he adamantly suggested that I should not "eat his rainbow," I really think he was saying that he'd found a moment of reprieve, that after the storm of events the skies were clearing, his rainbow had appeared in some form. So you see. He's brilliant.