I signed up for a photography seminar at a video and photo show, held yesterday down in Quincy. This is the description:

Location Lighting for Digital Professionals and Enthusiasts
Led by Rick Friedman
If you want to light with more than just strobe on camera and capture subjects in their environment, Rick, a 25-year veteran magazine, newspaper and corporate photographer will introduce you to the basic concepts and principles of lighting for location photography. With theory kept to a minimum, he will show how to tackle difficult lighting conditions and manipulate light for mood and atmosphere using basic and advanced lighting equipment.

It was an interesting course, and I got to test out a bunch of gadgets and toys I've never used before. A number of the techniques of strobe (aka flash) demonstrated I was aware of, and indeed had been using back 30 years ago when I was into film photography, but the skill of the instructor, and the tools and gadgets I hadn't had the pleasure of using (or even knowing about), made the process a lot more accessible.  It was fun! Now I have to pick up some of those neat toys I saw - eBay here I come!


We ordered a couple of more poster prints (20x30) from Shutterfly of photos from our Ireland trip.  These prints are of windows in Irish cottages, so they'll make a nice set.

I'm also gearing up for my annual Irish Bread bake. On St. Patrick's Day (or the nearest workday to it), if I'm not on the road on a business trip, I get up early and make 2-3 loaves of Irish Soda Bread for the folks at the office. I bring in real butter, and a bread basket, and a bread knife and cutting board. It's always a big hit.