|
|
|
|
Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
|
| |||||||||||
|
The Write Way 1 August 2003 Say "Cheese!" Greetings, Wow! That sums up my reactions to the new member of our family ... No, it's not the patter of tiny feet attached to grandchildren (although we're ever hopeful) ... We're now the proud parents of a dear little baby digital camera! Awww ... Talk about cute - it's not much bigger than a matchbox but it does just about everything except bring us a cup of tea in bed in the morning. Aren't these the most amazing little gizmos you've ever seen? For those of you out there who are accustomed to taking arty snaps of family outings, raindrops glistening on spiders' webs and the like, a digital camera is probably a bit ho-hum, but for someone like me it's a miracle on a stick. You see, I have this reputation in our family for the large chunks of sky and/or grass that seem to predominate in every photo I take. I always look forward to getting our snaps back from the chemist, but then have to endure the guffaws and the cheeky comments, "Great shot of the sky! ... Nice grass! ... Love the footpath! ... Ummm .... Mum? Did you take this one? (More loud guffaws)." So being able to check how much sky/grass/concrete has worked its way into my shots before exposing them to the world is just wonderful in my book. We've come a long way from the Brownie Box days, haven't we? Brownie Box ... it's a camera ... one of the first for the masses. Really? You've never heard of it? Then this is probably more than you ever need to know about the little classic: http://www.cameraofthemonth.com/articles/KodakBrownie.asp
The best part about a digital camera is that you don't have to worry about Exposing the Film. I have a terror of doing this that dates back to my early teens. I can vividly remember stifling summer days on family picnics when I'd run out of film for my camera and have to hide under a thick, woolly blanket and try to change the film in the dark. The more I tried to hug the blanket around me to shut out the killer light, the hotter and more stressed I got. The worst part was sitting on prickly grass, knowing that there was surely a bull ants' nest close by and trying to find those little notches in the camera's innards that fit through the holes in the end of the reel of film ... That film had a mind of its own ... No way was it going to sit nicely over the notches once I'd fitted them together ... Just as I was about to close the cover, the ruddy thing would slip off and I'd have to hunch over to protect it from the death rays emanating from the sun and start all over again. So let's all hear it for the memory card! Now I'll be able to take as many photos as I want and doctor them before anyone else has a chance to make facetious comments. I'm looking forward to impressing the family with snaps of friends of mine's happy, smiling faces. Yes, I know that sounds distinctly odd; whenever you come across awkward expressions such as the one above, I always think that discretion is the better part of valour, so change it to something like this: "I'm looking forward to impressing the family with snaps of the happy, smiling faces of friends of mine." "The possessive of a hyphenated compound is created by attaching an apostrophe -s to the end of the compound itself: my daughter-in-law's car, a friend of mine's car. To create the possessive of pluralized and compounded forms, a writer is wise to avoid the apostrophe -s form and use an "of" phrase (the "post genitive") instead: the meeting of the daughters-in-law, the schedule of half-moons. Otherwise, the possessive form becomes downright weird: the daughters-in-law's meeting, friends of mine's cars." http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/compounds.htm This week's quiz: Since we've been snapping away with gay abandon this week, here are some terms you can drop into the conversation to impress your mates: synchronisation, resolution, aperture, panning, microphotography, exposure, photomicrography, selenium, halation, emulsion 1. micro-thin layers of gelatin on film in which light-sensitive ingredients are suspended; triggered by light to create a chemical reaction resulting in a photographic image 2. production of "halos" round bright spots in an image, by light reflecting from the back of the film-base 3. concerted action of shutter opening and closing of electrical contacts to fire a flashbulb or electronic flash at the correct moment to make most efficient use of the light output 4. light-sensitive substance which, when used in a barrier-layer construction, generates electrical current when exposed to light. Used in exposure meters. 5. hole or opening formed by the metal leaf diaphragm inside the lens or the opening in a camera lens through which light passes to expose the film - 6. the ability of a lens to discern small detail 7. moving the camera so that the image of a moving object remains in the same relative position in the viewfinder as you take a picture 8. the quantity of light allowed to act on a photographic material; a product of the intensity (controlled by the lens opening) and the duration (controlled by the shutter speed or enlarging time) of light striking the film or paper 9. the process of making minute photographs of large objects 10.the process of taking photographs of minute objects using a camera and a microscope Haven't had a go at our mates in the legal profession for a bit ... time to redress that. Sandy found this and couldn't resist: "The New York
Times, among other papers, recently published a new Hubble Space Telescope
photograph of distant galaxies colliding. Last week's quiz: Some language terms: philology, colloquial, pidgin, idiom, allegory, litote, synecdoche, dialect, hyperbole, stanza 1. a variety of a language that is spoken by a group in a particular area or of a social group or class. It can have a different pronunciation , vocabulary and use different grammatical systems - DIALECT 2. overstatement or exaggerated language that distorts facts by making them much bigger than they are if looked at objectively - HYPERBOLE 3. a word that refers to a part of something to mean the whole - LITOTE 4. informal language that is not rude, but would not be used in formal situations - COLLOQUIAL 5. a phrase which has a meaning that is commonly understood by speakers of the language, but whose meaning is often different from the normal meaning - IDIOM 6. a narrative where similarities between the narrative are used symbolically to suggest something else - ALLEGORY 7. groups of lines, often with a regular pattern - STANZA 8. an understatement that expresses an affirmative thought negatively - SYNECDOCHE 9. a language that develops when groups speaking different languages have regular contact and need to communicate with one another. It usually has a restricted vocabulary and a simplified grammar - PIDGIN 10. scientific study of language that traces developments over time or compares languages or varieties of a language - PHILOLOGY Add your pin to the map of the world: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to have your very own copy delivered to you on Friday, just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and why not spread the word? Send your friends a copy and invite them to join our merry band - we number over 7,000 now. A Little Something Extra Did you know you'll often stand a better chance of selling your freelance articles if you also supply appropriate photos? Here's a way to do something you enjoy and get paid for it! Read tips and articles about freelance photography here: http://www.ephotozine.com/freelance/ Word of the week: Salmagundi (n) This is a little ripper that you'll be able to use every day of the year! It means "A salad plate usually consisting of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs, and onions, served with oil and vinegar." But it's the second meaning you'll get lots of mileage from: "Any mixture or assortment; a medley; a potpourri; a miscellany; a dog's breakfast." It traces its origin to the Old French word salemine (salted food) ... Pizza eaters should recognise another favourite lurking in there ... salami! Oxymoron of the week: gourmet pizza (and yes, I know I've used this before) Got a question about grammar, punctuation or any other language matter? Here's the place to go: http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3170114826 And if, like me, you're not much of a photographer ... here's a Latin phrase we can make our own: Non omnes possumus omnia. (We cannot all do everything.) [NOHN OM-nays poss-OO-mooss OM-nee-ah] Regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal:
2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque (made payable to Jennifer Stewart): http://www.write101.com/fund.htm To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to the web site, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritingTips This menu will also let you change your subscription between digest and normal mode. |
|
Home
| Contact
| Order
| Site
Map |Subscribe
Copyright 200 |
