Perspective

 In the last few years, I've found it difficult to travel with my cameras. The weight of them along with the lenses and gear have gotten cumbersome for me to handle, and airline restrictions for carryon luggage don't help. Carrying and lifting are a struggle these days with the fear of pain and injury sending me back into physical therapy. 

My Canon telephoto lens weighs about three and a half to four pounds; when attached to a camera that weighs as much or more, that weight is unbearable for me to carry supported with a strap around my neck and in my hands. So I've had to balance which cameras to use and when. Car travel is easy by tossing the gear into the car, but I still need to gauge distance and be limited by how far I can walk to get the shot I want. 

The last two international trips I took, my Leica Q2 accompanied me. It's a much lighter camera, easier to carry and less of a hassle. It does a great job and I'm happy with it, however, it can't compare to my Canon DSLR cameras, and it certainly doesn't have the zoom capability of my telephoto lenses. But we settle.

This summer, car travel allowed for the Canons. Below is an example of reality and what I see through my camera using a telephoto lens. It was during a visit to Algoma, Wisconsin on the Crescent Beach boardwalk along Lake Michigan (Door County Peninsula). The subject is the Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse. The first photograph shows me sitting on a bench using my camera to take a photo of the lighthouse in the distance. The other two are a couple of shots that I got using a telephoto lens. And after a long walk along the boardwalk and beach, I was grateful for the bench which allowed me to stabilize the camera a bit. I thought it interesting to share this.

The other photos are autumn shots of the beautiful time of year, with one image framed and hanging on a wall. All are screenshots of images on my Fine Art America and Pixels account.  As always, thanks for reading my blog.

MollyBoy TV

 In my April blog post (Thrifting's Revival), I briefly mentioned how I'd gone down the rabbit hole of watching reaction videos/reels of a younger generation listening to music (from my generation) for the first time. I don't have a Youtube account (if I did, I'd subscribe to his channel) but there is one I do watch there regularly. 

MollyBoy TV is a young man from the United Kingdom. That's all I really know about him, other than the fact that he brings a breath of fresh air and genuineness to what he does. And that's reacting to music he's hearing for the first time. His facial reactions are glorious to watch, and he's also very knowledgeable. But what is so nice to see is a younger generation of individuals discovering for the first time music that was so important and relevant to me (often when I was his age or even younger). Great music and a greater appreciation for it. It appears he has many subscribers of my age bracket; perhaps it allows for a connection somehow that has gone missing. Music is a lifeline. It heals, soothes, supports, offers an understanding, and is open to interpretation. 

If I could offer song ideas to him, some would probably be: 

Journey: Any but particularly "Lights", or "When You Love a Woman", or "Wheel in the Sky", or "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin"

Anything from my blogpost of October 19, 2021 (The Playlist of My Youth). This can be viewed by clicking the highlighted link, or searching for the word 'playlist' in the search bar on the front page. I've even shared a few Youtube songs/clips throughout this blog (some have been removed, however, which I don't really understand since sharing is allowed here and no money is made).

And just for fun, I'd like to see his first listen to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" because his facial reactions would be off the charts and quite entertaining alone. 😊

Check out MollyBoy TV and subscribe to his channel if you're on Youtube. I'm so happy to have discovered it. Sharing one of his clips below; it can link you to his full channel. 

Firefall

 I saw Firefall in concert several years ago in Snowmass, Colorado. It was during a visit to Aspen that fortunately coincided with seeing these guys perform. I remember it being a beautiful evening outdoors, everyone sat on lawn chairs or blankets; it was cool enough to need a jacket while watching a gorgeous sunset behind views that were forever. The icing was seeing a band from my younger days. 

Sharing. 'Just Remember I Love You' and 'Cinderella'.

Victoria Holt

 

Victoria Holt wasn’t her actual name. Neither was Jean Plaidy, Philippa Carr, or any of the other monikers she was known to use. She was not someone who created aliases for disguise, but a woman, utilizing various pseudonyms, who happened to be one of the most prolific British authors of the twentieth century. 

Born Eleanor Alice Burford in 1906 (and later Eleanor Hibbert), she wrote over 200 novels, publishing several books per year in different genres employing eight different pen names. Her final novel as Victoria Holt was published in 1993, the year of her death.

It was the Victoria Holt series of books that I read and loved, with the first being Eleanor Hibbert’s first one written in this genre, Mistress of Mellyn. I discovered it in a school library and was hooked. Classified as Gothic Romance Suspense, the Holt books took place in the 19th century with the setting of many being Cornwall. In fact, there was much speculation at the time that Victoria Holt was actually Daphne du Maurier because Mistress of Mellyn was similar to du Maurier’s Rebecca. Obviously that wasn’t true, but the Holt series of books are similar in tone.  

I’ve long had a fascination with Cornwall in the UK which probably started with these books. I finally visited last year and the entire area is as beautiful as I imagined it to be. Ironically, it was in Cornwall that Burford (married to George Hibbert) came up with the name Jean Plaidy. The Hibberts lived in the town of Looe in Cornwall, overlooking Plaidy Beach during World War II. Eleanor Hibbert would later continue to spend her summers there. Again, I was so close. During my visit last fall, I enjoyed a day in Polperro, a ten minute drive (less than five miles) from Looe. I wish I’d known this information at the time; however, it is clear how the area influenced Hibbert’s books.

I’ve read all of the Victoria Holt novels, purchasing the newer ones when they were released, and finding the older ones in used bookstores. Some of the older books that I own are probably library copies, and I bought many of them at John K. King bookstore in Detroit, Michigan (which is worthy of its own blog post — I highly recommend a visit, for the experience if nothing else). But I love them all; I’ve read a few Plaidy and Carr books, too, but I have a lot of catching up to do in those genres. And I still collect the special hard copy and paperback books to own, even though I now read most books on my Kindle for convenience, especially when traveling. 

There is limited information on Eleanor Hibbert’s personal life, but by the time of her death in 1993 Hibbert had sold 75 million books translated in 20 languages under the name Victoria Holt alone. I highly recommend this fabulous author. 

ABBA and the Bee Gees

 I came of age with ABBA. When I was in high school, their songs were getting played on the radio and I became aware of them even though they had been around a little longer. When I was in college, some of my girlfriends and I drove to Florida for spring break and ABBA's music was everywhere. It is what I think of first when I recall that trip. 

Their music brings such wonderful memories for me; one can say nostalgia is in overdrive when I hear one of their songs and I probably know the words to most, if not all, of them. Last year, I saw 'ABBA Voyage' at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, and a couple of years ago those same girlfriends from college and I got together for an ABBA tribute band concert. Add the stage productions and movies of 'Mamma Mia', and well, I continue to attend anything ABBA related. I probably always will. Their music gets me dancing and singing. Most importantly, it's music that makes me happy. 

The Bee Gees had hits before I discovered them, too. The movie, 'Saturday Night Fever', revealed their music to me and I've loved them ever since. Feeling nostalgic today.

Sharing a couple. 

It was 1982...

 

From the 1982 archives...I was in college and working at a radio station. The first photo is marked April of 1982 and was taken by a fellow photography student. I was sitting in the University Center between classes. On the table in front of me are a cup (probably Coca Cola, as it would be a few years before I turned strictly to Diet Coke), a salt (or pepper) shaker, a couple of text books, and something dark which could've been my tripod. Without a doubt, my camera was just out of the frame and nearby. Of course early 80s hair, along with triple pierced earlobes (most of which have grown closed), and overalls of the era. Of course it's a black and white photo, but I remember those overalls very clearly. They were pink! I was probably wearing my pink Chuck Taylor Converse high tops to match.  I'm certain I had a sketch book with me, as well. This image pretty much defined me at the time. 

The second photograph is of the same timeframe although it isn't dated; however, the years coincide.  I'm in the production room of the radio station where I worked, and I've no idea what I was doing...maybe a VoiceOver for a commercial. Oh, to say...rising with a bullet on the Billboard Charts again. I suppose only radio people would understand that statement.

Finally, the songs below came out around 1982 and were definitely playing on that radio station. To remember the young girl in these photos listening to them at the time...nostalgia.

Songs You Remember

Once again, I'm sharing a couple of songs that bring nostalgia for my early days. Good ones. I was a new mom in the early 1990s. Both of these were released at that time around 1992 and 1993 (I think). Check out the lyrics. 

Neil Young's 'Harvest Moon'; 'Ordinary World' by Duran Duran.