4:00 a.m. I was stirred out of a sound sleep by something ... a noise. A low rumble? My sleep-fogged brain struggled to make a connection. Thunder? I reluctantly peeled one eye open to a slit and was rewarded with a brilliant flash of light. Uh oh. I counted: one-one thousand, two-two thousand, three-three thousand before a huge crash of thunder shook the house. Rick jolted awake and the dogs started barking all at once. The dogs hate thunderstorms. They decided that on the bed with us was the right place to be. Thankfully we only had to endure a few more claps of thunder before the little storm went on its way to rudely awaken other households.

Just another reminder that Spring is here. Yesterday we still had a patch of icy, snowy sludge on the pool’s cover; this morning it’s gone. We still have a few patches of snow hanging in there after last night’s rain. I haven’t seen any spring bulbs bursting through the ground, but frankly I’m not sure we have any in our yard. No, the outward signs of Spring are still not quite here but you can feel it in the air. It’s palpable. Yesterday it was 78 degrees! I took my new camera for a walk down to Green Turtle Pond. It’s still frozen but you can see the thaw coming by the color of the ice.

Ah, Spring!

But wait—what did my wondering eyes see this morning when I checked the weather forecast—a winter storm watch? Chance of snow and sleet tonight (90%),  and tomorrow a near to 100% chance of snow with 2-4 inches of the white stuff? Huh? Reading further reveals that Friday night there will be “additional heavy accumulation with 15 mph winds and gusts up to 25 mph?” Check the calendar, quick; is it April 1st? Surely they jest.

March is very capricious this year!

An eerie start to the day this morning as the sun rises behind clouds.
Note: This photo was taken with my new little camera (Canon PowerShot SD800 SI), but more about that later!

I still have some photos to share from our New Orleans trip, so I thought I’d better get them out there before you all forget that we even went!

While in New Orleans, I learned that people painted their shutters green to ward off evil spirits.

I probably should let Rick write this entry since it’s his job, but I’ll take a stab at it and see how I do. Rick is the Director of Marketing for a family-run company called Vision Research. While most people aren’t familiar with the company name, the product they make is becoming extremely well-known, the Phantom Camera: a line of high-speed digital cameras. What’s this, you might ask? What’s so new about digital cameras? No ordinary cameras here, just cutting edge technology. Their market is not for your average consumer [unless you want to plunk down $15,000-$125,000 or so]. High-speeds allow the action to slow way, way down to allow the viewer to see what is really taking place in that brief few seconds or so. Think use in crash safety testing for automobiles, military use such as seeing how missiles engage, any kind of slow motion that you see on TV commercials and in movies. Did you all watch the SuperBowl this year? Some of the slow motion playbacks were shot with a Phantom camera. Now I think you’re getting the picture [no pun intended].

Here is an example of a Hyundai commercial where their cameras were used in the Fluid Metal Ad. Once there you will need to click to download the ad. There is also a “making of” clip which is very interesting.

Rick brought home a camera this summer to learn how to use it. He made a few clips around our house. One of a kernel of popcorn popping; the other of our dog Sailor drinking. Of course, here we are with this $80,000 camera on a tripod around seven bouncing dogs and I had visions of bankruptcy flashing through my head, but all went well.

These movies are in Quicktime format and you’ll need to allow a little time for them to download.

First popcorn movie
This one ends up a little out of focus, but pops very fast and I love the droplets of hot oil flying through the air.

Second popcorn movie
This one has better focus and the kernel of popcorn stays in the frame! Which is pretty amazing. Notice the swirl of steam toward the end of the shot.

Dog Day Afternoon
Did you know dogs turned their tongues backwards while drinking?

———NOTE: For those of you techies out there here is the info on the popcorn movies: Both shots were made with a Vision Research Phantom v7.1 color high-speed digital camera. I used a Nikon 105mm AF Micro Nikkon lens. Both were shot at 3000 pictures-per-second with a per-picture exposure time of 50 microseconds. The popcorn was lit with two Northstar 250W lights. The first picture was shot an at aperature setting of 5.6 the second at 8 for a slightly greater depth-of-field. Both images are 512 X 512 pixels.———

If you haven’t seen enough slow motion, you can go to Vision Research’s website and go into their gallery. Some of these are absolutely amazing, and you will get a better feel for the different applications for this cool camera.

So, Rick has great job that he loves. What’s not to love? It’s a great place to work and the Jantzens are wonderful people. When I went to New Orleans last month it was because once a year during their annual Sales Meeting wives are invited to come along; all expenses paid.

This year when Rick heads out to Las Vegas, Nevada in April for the big NAB [National Association of Broadcasters] trade show, I’ll be joining him. It should be fun as I’ve never been to Vegas before. We are staying at the Excalibur. What do you think, should Rick and I take our medieval garb and join in?

Be sure to check out Spring Fever under my Bear Diary! The bears visited today and were so silly my camera had trouble keeping up with them. If ever I needed a video cam with my camera, today was the day. Something was in the air, and it must have been Spring. Look for a slide show of their antics coming this weekend. Until then, enjoy the pics! Note: look under Lynne’s Favorite Links in the right hand column and click on Lynne’s Bear Diary.