So, I hope this finds you all safe and sound as you “shelter in place,” work from home, or otherwise ride out this virus epidemic. As I stated in my last post, Linda and I are securely ensconced here at the lightkeeper’s cottage and working remotely as usual. “Social distancing” is actually saving us an hour commute each way three days a week so we are not complaining. And we continue to enjoy the relative solitude of our secluded location.

In addition to taking care of business and running the periodic errand to the post office, transfer station, and grocery store, I am using this time also to explore passions like photography that I have written about lately. About a month ago, a professional photographer friend of ours passed away (not from the virus) so I approached his widow about purchasing his equipment and she was happy for me to become its new owner.

With that said, I am now in possession of a circa 2012 Nikon D3200 DSLR camera kit, including an extra lens, backup battery, lens hood, carry bag, and assorted other goodies (pictured above). And it brings me great joy to think that in some small way I can contribute to my friend’s legacy of capturing and sharing beauty with others. He was a good friend and he took great care of his equipment, for which I am very grateful.

As a respected photography expert’s review stated upon its release, “The Nikon D3200 is a wonderful camera for anything…[It] is the first DSLR to have so much resolution that it actually has more resolution than the lens with which it ships…[Its] 24 megapixels are more than anyone needs for anything…The Nikon D3200 is the camera I recommend to everyone who asks what camera to buy for great photos.”

Another diversionary tactic I am employing during this time is indulging my reading habit and I recently read a thought-provoking book titled Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman by Peter Korn. He is the founder of the locally based Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, which he started in order to teach others the value of craftsmanship, and through his writing of related materials he reaches many others.

And this particular passage resonated with me: “Working in the realm of words comes with risks and rewards…At the keyboard, the immateriality of words confers a mixed blessing…The strongest suit of thinking with words is its transmissibility, its viral infectiousness [emphasis mine]. Words disseminate ideas more easily than objects. They have the potential to reach far larger audiences, and reach them in a form that is more readily absorbed.”

Not unlike photography, words create images in people’s minds, and especially during trying times like the ones we are experiencing, it becomes imperative for each of us to guard our thoughts and words in order to maintain a sense of calm amidst the chaos surrounding us. As I have heard others state, fear associated with the virus may be as dangerous as the virus itself. So, stay safe and sound while creating images and using words of faith rather than fear.