Our road-trip cut short by downpours, we stopped at Albion Public Beach to buy rotis. After eating, we drove to another beach, hoping that the clouds would clear. I got lucky and snapped this picture of the lighthouse just before it rained again.
We then went to Pointe-aux-Sables where the weather was nicer and people were actually celebrating Easter on the beach—not the usual large crowd, but the mood was there. I walked onto the jetty and took some more pictures of ships and of the port.
I tried a long exposure of the Container Terminal and realised that 30 seconds with a 10-stop filter was overkill for rendering smooth waters.
Managing a house renovation project is hard work. We keep rushing from place to place, making phone calls to and meeting tradesmen for cost estimates, and pleading–if not begging–for our work to be started in priority. This back-and-forth has been our bane for the last three months. Yet, I’m told that we have made good progress, compared to others’ experiences.
Perhaps, having the masonry done, and doors and windows installed within a month give that impression. But out of fourteen big items on our project plan, we’ve marked only four as green. A couple of them (CWA water supply and CEB electricity suppl)are marked amber, given the dependence on other tasks to be completed first. And, we have yet to choose light fixtures and sanitary ware to be able to advance work on electrics and plumbing (the reds).
My brother is convinced that we can complete the renovation within our three-week stay in Mauritius. I am not, given how much remains to be done and the slow pace at which things move.
***
Since “I am not working” on this trip, I thought I would spend my afternoons doing more photography. But the activities related to our renovation project are more tiring than I expected, especially combined with the heat, and my motivation remains low. With some encouragement from P, I looked for and found a picture without having to drive anywhere.
Today, someone from an online tool store with which I had placed a rather large order called to verify that I was not a fraudster. They thought my email address, which has the same domain name as this blog, was odd and wanted to check if it was genuine. I said that it had been my personal domain since around 2003 and that it pointed to my personal blog.
“So what do you write about?”
“I write about photography and programming.”
“Oh, you are one of the Mauritian bloggers…”
Obviously, they had searched for the domain and had been redirected to mauritiusblogtracker.com but still wanted to be certain that I was the rightful owner.
They were reassured by our conversation and promised that my order would be processed.
***
After work, I rigged a 35mm film holder and an LED panel so that I could try DSLR film-scanning. It took a few attempts to get an adequate set-up that fits within the tiny space on my desk.
Until now I have avoided this method of converting negative images to digital, for no reason other than wanting to remain a scanner purist and to justify my purchase of VueScan.
Well, I must admit that I am impressed by the results. Even when “scanned” with an ancient Nikon D200, the photos from this process are much better than those from my flatbed film scanner.
