Schubert dip

One thing I do a lot of especially if I haven't been good is play a lot of music as it is routed in childhood and has a very soothing regressive quality with me   and I have been playing these two sets a lot over this period I haven't been too good in myself.

Originally I had  a set of cds on Naxos bought bought several years back this classic set of performances.

Karl Bohm bring so much more out from the score it's unbelievable.

The Melos's performances are much better than the original cds I had and this set is more complete for good measure.
When I look at recordings what I look at is something that will hold up for several years rather than some new revolutionary account whose approach loses favour and the Melos I find is timeless.
I hadn't mentioned them here before and I thought this is a good opportunity to bring my entries up to date.

Post 600

Teddy Bears were always a big big part of me, associating them very much with comfort and emotional stability not just as huggable items although god knows I could use a hug or two at times but also as playthings, in imaginative play.
I'd have them set out as a family unit, interacting with each other doing things like looking after the younger members or even taking afternoon tea together, exchanging small talk,  taking turns.
My childhood was messed up for situations in my family as much as my disabilities and how people at times treated me because of it, casting me out.
That's why I feel this younger side of me needs to be let out.

Nancy at Saint Brides

This month I am going to write a bit about a book which taps into part of me but was even when I was growing up was seen as part of a series that were more in the past more what we'd be handed down or bought second hand. This copy is the 2002 Girls Gone By paperback reprint.

 Nancy at St. Brides was written eight years on and after the second in this series (That boarding school girl) but in a lot of ways the first proper book in that this is where the main character Nancy makes here appearance as a relatively unschooled 14 year old dispatched to St.Brides  with instructions to be kept an eye on being very ahem spirited which soon shows in the dares she was only too willing to perform and caught out by the Sixth form prefects.
You could say she was impressionable which I was too at this age and this is the the story of her first unhappy term as she gets to grips with school structures, rules and consequences.
Nancy's problems were less the stuff of theft, insubordination, refusal to apply ones self or bullying  but more about what can be seen as maturity or rather the  lack of age appropriate maturity at least in part because she was never really 'schooled' so failed to see how her impulsive reckless side so resulted in one child almost drowning and another catching a serious cold.
For Nancy this lead to the matter of her being 'asked' not because  to return not formally expelled by Head Mistress Miss Cawdwell because she feels Nancy lacks the maturity a girl at boarding school needs. It also leaves the door open for her to return with a clean slate made easier for Nancy making a attempt in her last three weeks to do some good such as doing well in the swimming competition.
It's an enjoyable read not just for her spirit but also how working at channelling her interests starts to pay off.

Christmas edition

Compared with last year never mind the year before where I just at my wits end not being able get going, this year I'm well ahead of the curve having got my Christmas Cards all written out and nearly all the presents in ready to be wrapped then placed into bags for delivery.
While I do know about a few of mine, I still have that love for the mystery present you open, being in awe that to me a childhood Christmas had rather than just being given stuff you know all about and the only thing special is "can't be played with until December 25th".
It's that child-like side of me that loves this time of year and the surprise gifts from those that care the most about you.
Happy Christmas folks.

Think Pink

The Pink Panther was a childhood favourite of mine both in the Cartoons made during the sixties that I saw as a child and also the Peter  Blake directed movies staring Peter Sellers as the hapless inspector on the case.
I collected a lot of merchandise as a child such as plushies, notepads, toys and calendars and bought Pink Panther themed bubble bath so you could say it was an obsession of mine.

Bags

I just adore cure airline type bags such as these

Zoom lenses for the Olympus cameras

This is actually really good a seven element, seven group Tamron type 17A 35-70mm co-called "standard" constant F3.5 zoom with a 1:2:8 reproduction ratio at the 70mm end complete with Olympus OM mount and even a Hoya 1A filter fitted.

Serial # 556389

It only weighs in at 330 grams which isn't bad while the viewfinder image is fairly bright making it handy for quick picture taking where changing lens isn't so easy.

Making quick changes to how you frame the image is something that's easy to achieve with a zoom lens without having to move around a lot.

It came in their original packaging with the OM40 having instructions and foam too.

For more years than I really care for  arguments have raged over the qualities of lenses that cover several focal lengths  over fixed focal length ones.

Olympus themselves had manufactured a good number during what might in hindsight  be called the "Golden Era" of the OM system  in the late 1970's and 1980's that met their exacting standards.

Just what is the argument against them?

I think the first is for serious landscape photography they are harder to use with filters, specifically those square ones like Cokin's that screw on the filter thread of a lens because most zoom lenses have front elements that rotate when you focus whereas on fixed length ones they do not.

The other is during that era many cheaper zoom lenses came on the market that weren't so well designed spoiling their image. 

It was said at the time you needed to spend two to three times as much for a zoom lens of a similar quality to two or more fixed length ones and many amateurs just were not prepared to spend that.

This said, a good one has real uses like being able to easily control the final image you take very precisely not least on transparency film and this example I own, the 75-150mm F4 is a good example as it provides a very high image quality, offers a wide range of telephoto lengths and yet weighs little more than single 200mm lens which is comfortable for hand hold usage. 

I find its coverage is a good match for what I want in the field saving me carrying the 90mm and 135 and rarely need the 200mm as it's top end of 150 is adequate while saving me from changing lenses frequently.

It also uses a 49mm filter thread just like the regular standard and wide angle lenses which makes working with polarizers and square filters more straightforward for not having to double up on attachment rings and screw in filters.


As the OM system in the early 1990's moved very much toward  advanced amateurs and professionals with the OM4Ti being the only 'new' body available, while only a  few fixed length lenses went from the lens range such as the 135mm, all the Zooms did until they introduced the 35-80 F2.8 in 1995 issued with the OM3Ti.

More Clannad

It was a good while ago since I bought and wrote a review of the Anime Clannad which has two parts, a series that really moved me.

Thinking of that I thought I'd share a couple of images of a collectors figure ofTomoyo Sakagami.

A 300mm telephoto for the Olympus cameras

I was thinking early on about getting a longish telephoto lens but it's taken now to find an affordable quality option for my OM10 and 40 bodies as most of the independent options from the late 1970's and 80's were rather so-so at best and you are normally talking of around £100 upward for Olympus's own.

Shopping around I found something that would work, the Tamron Adaptall 300mm F5.6 which was originally introduced  in 1976 and phased out in 1979 for the later Adaptall 2  close focusing version.
The early Adaptall lenses do take the later mounts and although this as bought came mounted for the old M42 screw fitting, changing to Olympus OM is quick and easy and for £36 was a bargain.

Technical notes



Lens construction: four group 4 elements
Minimum aperture: 22
Minimum focusing distance: 2.5m
Filter diameter: 58mm

Weight: 580g

Cute fashion

You might ask about fashion because it is a good while since I blogged around that which isn't entirely unconnected with the changes I have been going through recently and that I'm trying to deal with on this blog.

This is more like the kind of thing I like rather more than more obviously for older people  fashions liking pastels and pleated skirts a lot. I'm not much for anything below the knee when it comes to skirt lengths.

Typing anew

Here at That Boarding School Girl, I am slowly getting used to working with the Chromebook mentioned on the other blog which isn't what I use here normally but is very handy for quickly checking and posting on various sites.
It's also very quick for posting blogs on although it cannot by design run full blown programs only apps that run through the Chrome Browser.
Because much of my bigger side does things like copy cds to digital files, buys files from places like iTunes plus works with pictures from my digital camera I do have a bit of a need for my Windows Laptop although to be honest a good 95% of what I do can be done at least as well on that Chromebook.

Pastel recovery

After all that Brexit discourse, I honestly don't feel up to dealing with the cynicism, grandstanding and hate that seems to just invaded grown up spaces where even families are no longer talking to each other.
I'd rather people left that and focused more on what we are all in need of right now, not least those of us with learning disabilities, putting more into how we can make each other feel better, having better lives and be more caring.
I feel the need to love and be loved much more right now.

The Girls of St. Brides

Reading is a passion of mine and it is not uncommon for authors  to write a whole series of stories that are self contained and over time start again which does make it hard pick a series to work ones way through.
In the instance of Dorita Fairlie Bruce, she actually wrote five whole series so I've cherry picked this the start of the St. Brides/Maudlsey series to work my way through.

 Originally written in nineteen twenty-three and long out of print, this introduces to Island School of St. Brides on Inchmore far away from industrial west coast of Scotland and introduces us to its main characters although it obviously was not conceived as part of the "Nancy at St.Brides" seires at the outset as Nancy doesn't make an appearance!
One strong point of this book is the inclusion of a disabled girl, Winifred who was disabled in early childhood and uses a wheelchair which is very rare for the period and how it touches on the idea of intergration, talking about the sense of isolation and lack of acceptance showing how in this school and through the friendship with Morag, she emerges becoming very much a part of the school community.
Integrated education is as I know from direct personal experience as a disabled girl is still controversial and indeed for a period many did not have what would be recognized as a (appropriate) academic education.
Because it was written in nineteen twenty-three, Dorita does use the term "Cripple" to describe Winifrid which would jar many today but we need to remember that it's from the German term "Krupil" and one of the meanings of that word is "lame" which medically speaking is true as her limbs are indeed just that as are mine. It also is the case cripple don't acquire the common abusive undertones it did in the nineteen fifties and sixties as did "spastic" both of which went on unofficial blacklists of terms not to be used from the late seventies onward but Dorita in fairness uses cripple with sensitivity.
I wouldn't damn a person for a choice of word when used correctly and moreover the content clearly is progressive.

Elton John on vinyl

A good few years back, going back the last dying days of my original laptop I did post something about my collection of Elton John cds and his "To Be Continued..." box set of 1990 of which my copy is Canadian.
During a period in the late 1980's through early 90's much of my original vinyl and tape collection of his got converted into cds some of which are specialty gold re-masters of better than regular cd quality.
Feeling the need as I got back into vinyl for some of this prolific singer/songwriters output in that form, I decided to add a couple of well chosen compilations.

 My original copy of this the 1974 Greatest Hits album was the MCA edition that had a different track selection but it was an album much played growing up and to which I have the DCC gold remaster that over twenty years on still stands out.
What's on it ten essential tracks including such vignettes as Crocodile Rock, Candle in the Wind and plaintive Border Song.
I got the UK lp which sounds like he's almost in your room singing.

 That compilation was followed up three years later by another that because he had just switch labels required some cross-label licensing that has caused issues with the US cd edition since to the point I remade the selection digitally.
The strength of this compilation was it housed on lp form a number of non album 45's such as Pinball Wizard, Philadelphia Freedom and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and his Rocket Records duet Don't Go Breaking My Heart with Kiki Dee which was a British #1.
I decided to get the UK version as it sounded better and between both volumes of Greatest Hits I was only missing one song, Levon, and that didn't matter so much.

Extreme wide angle lens for the Olympus camera

For a long time I had considered  the advantages of so-called ultra wide angle lenses as I found the 24mm lens a focal length  that didn't seem to offer too many advantages over a 28mm  for the inevitable extra weight of lugging it about without offering some of the advantages  in terms of getting heaps more into the frame or its creative uses building on the perspective distortion when shooting subjects such as cars close.

Around  2000 Vivitar and Cosina had out a 19 through 35mm ultra wide-angle zoom lenses in a variety of manual focus camera fittings including Olympus OM that appealed but tracking down the OM fitting proved difficult and some other options such as the Centon/Sirius 18-35 while plentiful used had terrible reputations for image quality.

As had been a while since I'd bought a 'new' lens, I ordered the Tamron 17mm F 3.5 Adaptall 2 in the high performance SP series

This is the later 151B version that dispensed with the built in black and white photo filters to simplify construction as well as reducing costs and adding a more modern feel to this longstanding lens.

Independent lens tests put this at the same quality as the Zuiko 18mm F3.5 which is some 60% more expensive used and exceeding it's equivalent by Minolta in the MD system.

As with all Adaptall 2 lenses, armed with the appropriate attachable mount they can mounted on nearly all manual focus bodies.

Keeping your records clean

As anyone who reads this blog knows music is a big thing with me not least having a actual record collection so I thought I'd post something connected with it.
Anyone who has records know like a cd,  they can get a bit dirty but while you only normally tell if a cd is dirty if say it skips, with a record you may hear crackles or a rustling sound even if it looks clean because while surface may be, the groove the music is stored in, isn't.
So it isn't long before you start looking at how to clean it, often scratching ones head as you see anything that looks like a automobile windscreen wiper to big machines costing several hundred pounds being offered that proper to do it
I have tried many ways to do it, sometimes mixing my own cleaning mixture up but there's a simple kit that just does it and it's inexpensive cos you provide the elbow grease!
The Vinyl Revival cleaning kit available on Amazon and Ebay provides all you actually need in simple box.

You get two spray bottles available in different quantities one being the active cleaning solution that you spray on to the disc and wipe on, the other is a spray to rinse that off taking the dirt and dust away together with any trace of the cleaner, wiping it dry.
Between two to four sprays of each work out fine.
The cleaner doesn't contain any alcohol so doesn't dry or risk damaging through frequent use your records vinyl.

It comes with two cloths, although you buy spares easily, the green one is for putting your record on and the blue one has even thinner micropores for spreading the cleaner and applying after rising it off.
I find this very effective, using it to cure the rustling noise between tracks on my recently acquired Abandoned Luncheonette lp from the early nineteen-seventies leaving sounding quieter than some new records!

Moderate Telephoto lenses for the Olympus cameras

This is the classic Zuiko 135mm F3.5 moderate telephoto lens good for sports, isolating people at events and air shows.

Although this is half a F stop slower compared to the regular F2.8 version the viewfinder is such you can't notice it and you save quite a bit of weight together with the advantage of using the same size filter thread (49mm) as your wide angle lenses. It makes for an easy to use lens handheld as well as on the tripod.

200mm lens are not the sort of thing you use everyday that's for sure but they have their place in the photographic scheme of thing such as Landscapes - mountain images - where their stacked perspective is easily recognizable 0r for sports photography.This is the Zuiko F4 which as such lenses go is quite light so you can use it handheld although support in the form of Monopods or Tripods really is best as the greater magnification increases the risk of camera shake.I bought mine in May 1997 and really like it's quality

Tom Petty

The last time I mentioned TP was in 2014 with the Hypnotic Eye album although I have a lot of Tom Petty's albums on cd.

 This album originally came out in 1993 remaining a favourite of many although though their have been other compilations such as Playback box set and 2000's Anthology: Through The Years and it recently (July 2016) came out on double vinyl.
More accurately for people living  my side of the Atlantic, it's a re-issue as there was a very limited vinyl release for Europe and the UK and that edition is like much early 90's vinyl very expensive when you see a copy.
The strength of this set is its brevity containing only the 45's and two new recordings such as Mary Jane's 2nd Dance and that the running order makes for a highly enjoyable play starting with such early tracks as American Girl running through such gems as I Need To Know, Refugee, Don't Come Around Here No More and I Won't Back Down with a lack of anything resembling padding so in just over 68 minutes the case for Tom Petty is made convincingly in song and arrangements.
The four side splits are chosen well so you get the opportunity changing them to reflect on what you have heard and in non technical terms the sound and pressing quality of this European lp set is really high with the grooves cut by Chris Bell.

 Before the Heartbreakers were formed, there were a group of guys who played with Tom Petty In Gainsville, Florida and that band was reformed for an album in 2007 and this, Mudcrutch2, is their new offering also bought on vinyl issued May 20th with shared song writing between the band and Tom.

Summer playtime

Summer for me always brings back memories of vacations of the past typically in traditional seaside resorts with beaches, long shore lines to walk on and playing in the sand, making big sandcastles with moats.

It's also days out at the fair, visiting the amusement arcades, eating ice cream, going on the Dodgems and riding the Merry-Go-Round with its distinctive rhythms without a care in the world.

It's also the place adult but child me really feels at home in, doing what I understand the best having fun.  

Presentation issues

After an interesting week trying to solve one problem, there was something that came into mind that I did feel about talking about.
Gender cultural norms.

I saw this a while back and personally I just love what it is about.
In the first instance do we know the gender of the dress wearer? Personally I couldn't careless as much as I care about your ability too be the gender you are.
It may be  someone born male  or maybe  a female who doesn't see why she should have to remove every single naturally growing hair from her leg?Nor pluck her eyebrows thin.
Just why should anyone who identifies as female have to wear make up and lipstick or face being either ridiculed or be called out on their gender identity?
Can we not appreciate how they dress and what as people they are like-their inner beauty if you will?
If I want to wear a shorter skirt or a short sleeved dress especially this time of year then frankly as those who know me will know I shall without getting hung up on if there's a stray hair here or there as having a skin condition lots of shaving may remove hairs but does nothing for where patches where my eczema  is.

If as I do, I like to wear shorts then why should that be regarded by some as just 'ikky boy' when as a female you can because that's you?
It's not what you wear so much as what you bring to them as the wearer.

True or False?

This week between somethings like updating a computer program, watching much anime and a deluge of padded envelopes requiring attention, I saw a great inspirational poster I thought I'd share with you all.

I think we all know what sort we need to help us in our lives.
Hugs.

The Olympus Standard lens

As standard you got the 50mm F1.8 lens whenever you bought a new Olympus camera and many used are sold with one.
I find them very useful for nature photography and the Olympus one is really clear and can be used with Teleplus's 2x Macro converter for 1:1 close ups if you don't own a dedicated macro lens.
I wouldn't be without it.

The languages of apology

As a reader of this blog, you will have realized I'm by no means  perfect having gotten into situations that I shouldn't and a good part of what it is about is helping me change those habits of a lifetime in part by the establishment of clear rules for me to learn to live by rather than just overriding yours and by consistent  reinforcement of boundaries so I do learn to keep within them.

The other side to this is teaching me what to to put things right in real time so I assume appropriate responsibility for my own actions where in the past I've ever shrugged my shoulders or attempted to play a card - usually a disability card to exempt myself from the standards expected of others.

I need people to take me through this so I am as responsible as I am actually capable of disabilities aside so I learn to conform to your standards and expectations.

Looks of a little me

If there ever was any real doubt at all over where I was coming from I think a lot of the posts I made around fashion probably would show it more because with some of compromises I felt were necessary they still very much "Tammy Girl" or the younger side of Top Shop than anything for people outside of their 20's.

This sort of thing is so me beyond talk of 'play clothes' or uniform liking knee or especially over the knee socks shorter more rounded skirts and relatively plain  but with some edge of fabric detail tops with longish sleeves as I don't feel super comfortable showing my shoulders and arms off.

Exploring together

I wasn't too good over the last two days although I got up okay, messaging a friend and getting the last mammoth blog entry published with links at all the usual spots to make it easier to people to follow it. Shortly afterward I felt a migraine coming rather quickly so I quickly got my tablets out a jug full of water with glass, closed the curtains and went bed.

 It wouldn't be me in the midst of all that to be thinking of other things, I mean it's so funny but sometimes I'm more together when it comes to thinking ideas up when I'm  like that than any other time.
One is how many times we hear of people who do something a little outside of the mainstream such as follow a dress style and wear it, have aspects of our lives that others may not be so keen on such as your gender identity, sexuality and being a little and so on who struggle to have people they feel they can be open with as friends. And this in age of forums, emails and social media.
Sometimes it may be that the individual has difficulties forming and holding down personal relationships which may not be helped if others are way too quick to judge elementary mistakes but life if you appear not to be able to learn from them can be hard.
Sometimes groups have very much a "My way is the only highway" approach, setting very exacting positions people are at least to go along with if not openly endorse which at times is so ironical being in mind the reason for  existence of some groups is the very excludedness those people felt from others they project themselves.
To  me it seems in order to progress we need to be open to difference, able to tolerate difference and understand  the expression of differing views often leads to more informed thoughts and decisions.
If we find understanding something hard - and it genuinely can be -  we need to be prepared to  work with someone who will explain it and engage with them changing what we are doing if it isn't helping us.
We also need to learn to hold hands more with the people who can helps us explore and grow as people which may include learning more about some of things that unite us but may not be part of other peoples lives.
If you're a more child-like as I am, you need to find those spaces you can let this side of you out openly without the distractions of regular adult stuff going on.

Wide angle lenses for the Olympus cameras

I consider wide angle lenses to be a basic requirement allowing you the opportunity to take broad landscapes, photograph groups of people at social functions as well as travel pictures and have two for the Olympus OM bodies I use.

In general I am not given to using standard zoom as I find the image quality falls below that which is obtainable from so called fixed length lens and many have the apertures varying as you zoom which messes up manual and spot metering readings.

As I use a tripod making small adjustments to frame the image and keeping it all level is not a big deal to me

For general landscapes I use the Olympus Zuiko 28mm F2.8 pictured below a lot liking its colour renditions and ease of use. The construction of Olympus's own lens is extremely good being all metal.

Another good feature of them is the aperture settings are at the front making for rapid focusing and metering while you are looking through the viewfinder.

 I bought this lens in September 1996 for the OM10 when I was test driving it.

My first love though is the 35mm F2.8 which I bought around 2002 from Camtech over the phone. 

I found whenever I used a zoom most of time I was using around this focal length because it's ideal for travel photograph and has less of a problem with converging verticals when you photograph buildings. Although the edges wide open are slightly soft they come in by F8 and it looks really good. Some say they found the contrast a bit low but honestly I've never found it on the films I've used (Velvia 50/Reala 100).

I got mine boxed with the case and thin front cape used and love it.

Changesonebowie

Between studying I have been listening to some music and arriving last Friday was this, the vinyl reissue of the very first David Bowie compilation entitled changesonebowie that came out originally in 1976.

It was the first album that featured John I'm Only Dancing and in the eyes of many had a seamless unity running through the selection that made it most satisfying to play from start to finish starting with Space Oddity through Jean Genie to Golden Years from his Station to Station album issued early in 1976.
The cover photograph is very iconic.

 It was reissued May 20th  in random form with half the copies on standard black vinyl an the other clear like the one I got with no indication which you'll be getting!
Although this is sourced from high resolution digital files it does sound better than the original UK album overall and is noticeably cheaper to buy compared to a used original!
Having so many of my favourite 45's from childhood playing this was a enjoyable trip through time so I'm glad to have gotten it.

Reading for me

Reading is something I do enjoy although it has to be said my reading age is like the rest of developmentally me at a more child-like one so I generally read junior fiction finding even many 'young adults' fiction goes very much over my head so it's not something you can fix by just looking the odd word up in your dictionary.
I do enjoy stories centred on home and school life finding then easy to empathize to and relate with.

I quite like this, a cartoon based on the Enid Blyton The Naughtiest Girl series where Elizabeth Allen is sent to a unique co-ed boarding school hating the very idea as she really dislikes structure being impulsive and given for saying just what she thinks.
What is so unique about this school is in many ways it's those very school children who set the rules and in effect discipline each other with the adults in the background for guidance, the idea being they'll learn to  be self disciplined more by co-opting it rather than being made to.

Return to studying

My life is evolving not least since the last few years with bits of that being said at certain sites like Angels, sometimes referenced on here but in truth it's going to take this blog in differing direction.
One part of that has been studying across weekends to tackle some of my very real problems in core areas such as everyday Maths and English which with the odd pause for weekends away or illness has been going on since the beginning of this year.
Since I had been away last weekend the resumption of studying this weekend tackling the outstanding English work taking our time was set so I don’t over do things but equally I not allowed  to get away with not doing the things I can do.

It’s always been easier to sit around not doing things either expecting an exemption, or because those who might of expected anyone else to  seem to think I shouldn’t to the point they never really saw what I could do because they never had me try it or I was feeling like being bone lazy.

So for a very long time my default was to do nothing and in so far anything like studying went  if it wasn’t going to be easy then plenty of people would just let me do next to nothing even while it may of hard going, I could of done something more.

That’s really thing that is changing both with the studying having to do things I find hard, coping with flare ups of some of my conditions which consideration is given to and even being with people where I am expected to help out, contributing in kind that people are helping me turn around those old habits being prepared to pull me over a lap for a spanking when I didn’t do it which truthfully is what the child emerging teen should of gotten apart from having some kind of agreed chores list.

Thinking over how I have dealt with my recent paw problems plus my more recent visits staying with people underscores this so much.

Flash and the Olympus cameras

One of the great strengths of the Olympus OM system was its Flash units.

There were three: The T20, T32 and T45.All offered flash metered off the film plane from the camera itself with the OM2(n), OM2SP, OM4(Ti) and OM40 bodies.This breakthrough occurred as far back as 1976 which was something many other systems were late in introducing.All the flash units take the number from the Guide number they produce (GN).

The T20 does not do manual flash (the QF310 unit was really the cheap flash for the OM10/20/30 and OM1 models) but the other two do.

The T45 was a 'Hammerhead' unit for professionals like the Metz models and can be used horizontal or vertical while still 'bouncing' the flash.

The most popular unit was the T32 pictured.

I got mine around November 1996 used with a 6 month guarantee.
The output of GN32 is ideal for group shots or for photographic models with which is help by the fact the reflector can be tilted up for bouncing the flash or even down 15degrees to get a bit more light on small objects.

You can in fact link two or more flash units using special cables and maybe mounting the second flash on a supporting column while retaining the off the film flash metering for more even illumination of small objects.

Another rather useful feature of this flash gun is you can turn around the 'calculator scale' at the back of it to change from off the film metering to manual flash so you can use it on any camera that lacks Though The Lens flash technology such as my OM10 or even the Minolta XD7 (although on the XD7 you have to set the flash sync speed on the camera).
You are give a choice of three (yes really) apertures to use with a sensor on the flashgun controlling the output plus options of full output (with a aperture scale for the film speed you are using) and 1/4 output.

You can get a Flash Extender that helps direct the flash output for lenses with longer Focal Lengths although I found it was fine as is from 28 through 105mm that covers groups and head and shoulder portraits.

In all respects I found this flash unit ideal for all my flash needs with plenty of output to photograph winter processions like carolling, family events and models with the advantage it would work on any camera I owned.

Sometimes system manufactures Flashes seem overpriced compared with independent so-called after market equivalents but this one is well worth the modest price charged. Indeed I have seen Minolta MD camera owners sporting them atop of theirs.

Being the adult child

It's another week here and having explained something in this life of mine that is both important and something that separates it and that of most of you that we needed to as this blog moves on last week we shall continue to work our way through all of this.

There is no independent  adult sense of self about me, it's one of the things that makes my life so NOT age play although I've nothing against them or sharing spaces with them on terms I'm happy with because in the main they do have well developed adult selves, relating to other adults.
I don't relate at all to you as an adult whatever the law may say about people with my age because it isn't medically possible. I look toward you for guidance, love and protection as your girl, your responsibility because while I can be helped to be more responsible it's never going to at an adult level.
I would like you to really stop a moment and actually think about that because in the everyday world you are going to be looking after me. You need to forget what you thought you knew and from now on remember you're in charge and have some responsibility for a child in an adult body and some  of your conversations will just go totally over my head having much of the vulnerability of an actual child.
It's one reason it is better where possible for me to dress a bit younger because it does at least help to remind both of us of this important and perhaps painful truth although I've been living with this for a long time
Being dressed more like the adult posed  in this picture being in a more structured relationship that may include you disciplining me works that much better and I like it.

The Olympus OM40 camera

I recently picked an OM40 body boxed with the instructions.

This model was introduced in 1985 but only remained in production for a couple of years.

It has a funny cross between a spot meter and all around (centre weighted) metering called ESP. It works fairly well comparing the centre spot to the outer areas balancing the two although it assumes the subject is in the middle of the frame.The flash is Through the lens like the OM4 which was always a good idea It also has a Program mode for quick picture taking.

The chief minus is that like all the double digit OM models the viewfinder only covers 93% rather than 97% of the OM4/3/2/1 models and it doesn't have a spot meter option al a OM2SP

It is surprisingly good given it was only really intended for amateurs.

School uniforms and I

It's never not been really here on this blog even when I first started after the trial run on Friends Reunited just hinted it with the odd word here and deliberate omission there of why it was even if on the odd website or two it was overtly mentioned.

Following what actually happened to me around late 2005 through 2007 when due to 'adult commitments' that I just could not cope with  and also going way back into my late teens when I first felt strongly this regressive side of me, I started spending time in school type uniforms while recovering, making up a structured day because I began to realize I needed the security of a fixed structure like I had in school to cope with day to day living, having a time for activities and proper breaks.
I also found part of the age regression in me did relate to having a longing to wear such a uniform obviously not in public because I felt more 'me' in it and the ritual of putting it on to work in helped as emotionally I was a mess because it not only settled me but also helped in being more disciplined in the use of my time.
In 2016 I can publicly come out and say that here. 

Blossoming Pink

Spring has finally sprung here at chez Caro's with what might be a warm mini season this weekend which will be welcomed  after last weekends damp squid so the layers can come off and the gingham dresses go on.
This entry is very much hot of the press as I went out this morning first thing with an idea in mind for this blog entry, put my shoes on and took a few pictures. One I liked was that of our cherry blossoms as I just love the shade of pink they have being a highlight of year when they emerge.
My ginger cat has been out a bit too, rolling about in the grass and sunbathing on the mat.

The Olympus OM10 camera

The story started way back in September of 1996 when finding my trusty pocket camera had issues and an ancient Russia Zenith E was just too hard for me to use, I saw one of these at a local camera store going cheap.
I knew of Olympus as Pop had gone through a OM30 that purported to aid focusing (but wasn't that good at it) and had settled on a OM2SP afterwards.
This model was introduced in 1979 being discontinued in 1987 coming in Chrome and Black finishes.
Anyway money changed hands for it and the 50mm 'Standard' lens. I took it  on vacation to evaluate being a believe in the 'give it a real job and see how it performs' school of thought.
The OM10 is by design amateur camera - that's to say it's for the everyday Joanne or John who just wants good pictures with simple controls - rather than Tloaded with lots of features and a build to take Power Winders together with day in and out professional use in all weathers.
So as standard it is automatic exposure only with a setting for Flash units that are not for Olympus and the Flash is exposure is set by hand rather than automatically in the camera.
What stuck me was the evenness of the exposures because as basic as it is, it tells you first what shutter speed it is likely to set based on the 'F' stop settings on your lens in connection with how bright it is but makes the final decision during the actual exposure so if the sun just went in after pressing the shutter (to take the picture) it adjusts to it. It is what Olympus called "AutoDynamic Metering".
The results were better than expected and as it happened I got the MA1 Manual Adapter too.
This is a little unit you plug in on the front that when you set the exposure control to Manual Adapter enables you to set exposures by hand.
Let's say I don't believe in setting exposures by hand as a religion as if you use the settings the camera indicates you get pretty much the same result for more effort (plus the automatics on this camera are more accurate).
Where you might use it is if there is big difference between how much light the main subject requires and say a very bright background (or for using certain filters) pointing the camera toward what you wish to take the reading from and using the manual setting to lock it.
This meant I had as much control over how my pictures would come out as the main camera but in something much lighter to carry about.
The other thing was the lens was small of really fine quality and easy to adjust from the front.
After picking up a Wide Angle 28mm lens I was so impressed that I considered getting another better specified model.

Comments: I would recommended without any hesitation this camera body to anyone who wants to learn traditional film photography as it is as capable as many others with 'snob appeal' and higher prices.
Mine as pictured has the MA1 Manual Adapter fitted on the right hand side. If yours doesn't you'll find them for sale in photographic stores and on Ebay.

Being yourself

The more you start to think about how we interact with people, the more you begin to see the greater gap that creeps in between how a person feels and from that acts and the hold trying to stay within the favour of a group becomes.

This is where I feel I've gone wrong very much in the past. To try to stay in with groups that didn't just toss me aside I just ceased living, echoing more their ideas and where it was mine and theirs differed, well I just acted like I wasn't there and in effect gave them power over who and what I am.
And it all started at school. The good news in my life as it is now, we're picking up where I dropped off, I will be me, I will say things and do things as me.

I'm little and that's just that!

Being little

A lot has happened in my life since this blog was first established to the point it isn't recognizable as my life as lived anymore and it has been a struggle for me to keep a blog going that has not come out and talked about the biggest side of my life and what makes it different to yours.
I am what is called a 'little' something I have touched on on Angels because with you it got to the stage I just had to because I have the mindset of a person much younger than my years and very much child-like even though legally I'm a adult and generally adults are expected to meet such responsibilities as working or studying, paying your way in society. 
In general terms Littles and Middles notwithstanding what they need to do studying or at work, pursue hobbies and interests that  are routed very much in their own experiences in 'childhood'  coming from their 'Inner Child' often with the same intensity and passion that you'd think it was that' child' playing.
For me this thing is both routed in my severe disabilities and also in part therapeutic, making coping with life better for me. 
Sometimes you may play, draw or maybe colour by yourself or you may meet with others who share the same sense of being 'forever a child' in that sense be it around peoples own homes or by meeting up at venues which are often discrete.
For some it begins and ends with just 'the play' for others it may extend into dressing more like the age of the 'child within' while do so with say dresses that wouldn't be far removed  from that of a young girl at a party or play clothes like dungarees or for some school wear.
Getting back that 'child within' then if he or she comes out more in tune with Tweens or young Teens then personally I'd say the were an Adult (cos the law says so) Middle even if for some reason they still had a more classic little side which for I do, not least due to multiple disabilities some which do lead to learning and developmental ones around that point.
That is why I identify as a Middle rather as a Little (more younger age up to about 7 or 8) which doesn't mean I can't join in and play with littles at all it's that simplier there are other interest that aren't normally in there while we do share a need for oversight in our lives.