On Friday, my dad went to Windsor and had a great day out. I spent an hour around lunchtime strolling around St. James's Park, drinking the sun like others drink coffee. This beautiful spring day betrayed the first hints of summer, and it's only April.
Yesterday was not nearly as nice. We went to Kew Gardens, the famous botanical garden. After ambling for hours through it vast swaths of grassland studded with trees from the world over, speckled with ponds, rhododendron groves, pavilions and pagodas, we finally came to what Kew is most popular for, its gigantic Victorian greenhouses. This was good timing because the day tipped from lousy and grey to miserable and wet exactly when we opened the door to the Temperate House. The weather couldn't keep this from being a good day. It ended in style with a splendid dinner at the Nepalese restaurant next to where I live.
Yesterday, I borrowed my dad's 85mm lens to play around with. On a small-sensor digital camera, it becomes an effective 130mm lens, almost long enough to shoot birds in the park but much too long for anything useful in the city. This I knew, but I wanted to find out how I'd get along with the manual focus just in case I ever want to buy additional glass. Unfortunately, the Nikon D40 only auto-focuses with modern lenses with integrated motor. Second hand lenses are off-limits if you don't get your subject sharp yourself. I was happy with the challenge and got some nice pictures but mostly I was reminded what a truly fantastic lens my 30/1.4 is. Exactly what I need for the city, life and low light.
Today, my dad is flying back to Dresden. Looking out of the window, the first challenge of the day was daring to go outside. Earlier that morning, it had started snowing hard. While it wasn't cold enough for the snow to stick around, it made for a frightening sight. Especially considering it's April.
Dad just called that his flight has been canceled. What a fuck-up.
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