On our walk last night, we took the camera and the new lens — the EF 24-105mm f4 L. I couldn’t quite get the best angle, but we saw this sweet pickup with an even sweeter sofa in back:

And a few minutes later, we saw this great blue heron up in a tree. We just got the 105mm zoom lens yesterday, but it has already come in handy.

I took this picture from the deck a few nights ago.

Full disclosure : it’s not an entirely un-doctored photo. It’s taken using a trick called HDR, which, in short, is combining three separate photos of the same thing, all taken at different exposures. The different exposures each pick up different things that a single exposure couldn’t capture, particularly in high-contrast shots. The standard exposure looked like this:

Pretty dramatic difference. It’s a fun technique.

And since Newman questioned my procrastination, I’ll say that I am, in fact, working on the Saxophone Concerto. I’ve determined the scoring for each of the four movements and the approximate length of each. I know pretty specifically what the 2nd and 3rd movements do, including the “tunes” of both. I just need a good sax fingering book in order to write one of the movements. The last movement will have to come last, as it’s based solely on material from the first three movements. The first movement has a primary idea, but no music yet. Still, I think I’m making some good progress. This second movement, if it turns out like I hope it will, should be pretty cool.

The big idea with the piece is a good one — and one that AEJ thought of, as usual — but I don’t want to share it quite yet. It’s like telling somebody what you’re thinking of naming your baby, only to get comments like, “nah, that’s dumb.” It’s better to just keep it to yourself until it’s too late for anybody to influence you. Besides, everybody knows that Clarinet Sparkle Schlachtmeyer Newman is the prettiest name any girl (or boy) could have.