A little over a week ago the lens on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8 that I bought in December of 2008. I suspected a grain of sand from the beach the day before may have gotten into the works. Since it was dead it in the water I saw no reason not to try the "drop fix" suggested on the web by numerous sources to jar loose any foreign bodies. Instead of 6 feet though I dropped it on its corner from 3 feet onto a padded carpet. It unstuck. I was able to take 36 pictures the next day before it froze again. I let it sit for a couple days while I began looking on line for a replacement, then took the back off to see if I could get to the moving parts of the lens. But there were too many circuit boards in between so I just blew on it poked it here and there, turned it on and off over and over then, for the hell of it, poked a tiny screwdriver into the hole on top above the lens which happens to be the microphone opening. Lo and behold the lens retracted and things were back to normal.
Not wanting to waste any time I decided to find my manual and start using my camera the way I originally intended. I discovered menus I'd never seen before and techniques I'd never tried. Sepia, black and white, playing with exposure controls and white balance, etc. As I had chosen this camera for it's manual capabilities it only made sense to explore. However, I had used the macro before and because many lovely things were in bloom I started snapping photos. Here are a few of my favorites so far.
 |
| 1/30 sec ISO 100 f5.6 focal length 36mm shutter priority |
This is a hybridized Black Eyed Susan. I planted them from seeds almost 10 years ago and they have spread like weeds. Good thing I like them.
 |
| 1/200 sec ISO 100 f3.3 fl 32mm aperture priority |
Commonly known as tiger lilies, this is actually a common day lily, hemerocallis fulva that grows wild all over the country. I received these plants from a friend and planted them along my pond and the swamp under the power lines in my yard. This was a rather unusual curly speciman that caught my eye.
A different view of a different pair from another day.
 |
| 1/500 sec ISO 100 f3.3 fl 32mm aperture priority |
And below are water droplets on cattail leaves the morning after a rain storm. I really like this one a lot. Those drops are hard to get into focus without a tripod.
 |
| 1/250 sec ISO 100 f3.3 fl 32mm aperture priority |
(edited for redundant phrasing)
