Fog, Fish and Old-Time Photos

This has been a pretty interesting weekend. On Leap Friday I almost went skiing. A couple of friends and I had planned it in advance, but the weather turned out to be too warm. It was raining in the city, and even on top of Seymour it wasn’t much more than heavy, wet snow. But that was nothing compared to the killer fog. Seriously, the drive up (and back down) was harrowing; without those little reflector thingies in the middle of the road, I’m sure we would have either crashed or plunged to our deaths a dozen times.

This has been a pretty interesting weekend. On Leap Friday I almost went skiing. A couple of friends and I had planned it in advance, but the weather turned out to be too warm. It was raining in the city, and even on top of Seymour it wasn’t much more than heavy, wet snow. But that was nothing compared to the killer fog. Seriously, the drive up (and back down) was harrowing; without those little reflector thingies in the middle of the road, I’m sure we would have either crashed or plunged to our deaths a dozen times. And yes, it was very pretty, but there ain’t no way you can ski in that.

So we just went back to hang out at their place and watch anime.

Saturday was my first Taiji class in over a month. What with one thing and another, either the class was canceled or I couldn’t make it. It felt good to practice again and (bonus!) work on the staff form.

Sunday? Five hours of volleyball. And a special challenge as I got to play Setter for the first time in… well, ever. I wasn’t very good at it, sad to say, as I kept drifting back to the Middle position. But after a few games I got a little better; and I also got newfound respect for that position. I knew it was the hardest to play, but damn.

Monday, I had off. And I had a choice to make: should I sleep in, then veg around all day? It was tempting, especially since I’d recently bought the Little Britain DVD set. But no, I was going to enrich my mind. So I took the train as usual, and spent the rest of the morning at the Aquarium. I hadn’t been in ages, and it was great to get reacquainted with the froggies and the fishies and the anemones and the alligator and the sea otters (OMG SO CUTE!!!) and the belugas and the dolphins.

First you were like, whoa! And then we were like, WHOA!

Anemones

Clothed Crab

Panamanian Golden Frog

Sea Otters

Finale

The bad weather put the kibosh to my plan to walk along the seawall, so I came back downtown and visited the Art Gallery. Did you know, the place isn’t just for political rallies? That they use it to actually display art? It’s true! Seriously, though, this first ever visit to the gallery was wonderful. I especially enjoyed TruthBeauty, an exhibition on the Pictorialist movement. I think what captivated me was the Pictorialists’ exploration of this brand-new medium, experimenting with mood and composition—just as I am myself doing, though part of me feels like a rank amateur compared to these past masters.

No, don’t mind me. This is just something that’s been percolating for a while; I’m looking for… inspiration, I guess, different directions, in my photography, but I don’t know where to look. Maybe the Pictorialists will give me a clue. In the meantime, I’ll just keep my eyes open and my camera ready.