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Completed my first YAG laser treatment on my right (viewfinder) eye today. It had lost more acuity than the left, so why not fix it first? The sacs inserted during cataract surgery 8 years ago had thickened and it was like I was seeing through a very light fog. Dr. Davis and his staff prepped the eye with an anesthetic and dilation drops. Once those had taken effect the doctor manipulated and triggered the laser to clear a path through the sac to the retina. The procedure has the side effect of also creating a lot of small black 'floaters', but these will settle out in due course. Meanwhile, I could tell a significant difference in my visual acuity already. That eye is no longer hazy and my visual acuity is much better. Contrast between objects is noticeably sharper. I was in & out of the office in about 50 minutes; most of that time was pre-testing and waiting for the drops to take effect. I am scheduled for the left eye procedure in 2 weeks.

As with most cataract surgery, I did have to start wearing reading glasses because the procedure reduces near-distance acuity. The YAG laser treatment, while totally painless, does not change that aspect. Between the procedure and my hi-res 27" monitor my post-processing should be easier now! Maybe even more stock photo and Fine Art sales will result :)

Tropical Storm Zeta arrived here about 0800 with heavy rain. As of 0930, we've had 1.3", but little wind. Expecting gusts up to 45 mph before it passes around 1130. One more natural event to add to October's catalog. Storm is moving fast to the NE, so stay safe up that direction.

For several months now my eyesight has been getting progressively foggier, which is not good for a photographer or a driver. Loss of visual contrast and glaring sunshine during the day, and glaring headlights at night. I had cataracts removed 8 years ago and suspected this condition might be related to them. I did some research and found that sometimes some growth occurs on the replacement lens after the surgery. My eye exam also showed that visual acuity in my right eye was degraded compared to my left eye. My ophthalmologist confirmed my self-diagnosis, much to my relief. The thickness of the tissue buildup in my right eye was greater than that in the left, which explained the difference in acuity.

Fortunately, this condition is readily treatable using a YAG laser in a non-invasive procedure known as capsulotomy, or informally as 'polishing'. Each eye is treated a few weeks apart, and improvement should be evident within a day or so. My first treatment is scheduled for Veteran's Day, Nov 11th.

Breathing a bit easier now!

It was a beautiful morning yesterday, sunny and warm. The thunderstorms and cooler air rolled in later in the afternoon, with heavy rain, thunder and lightening. If that wasn't enough, there was a small earthquake (m 2.8) just after 11 pm 24 miles north of us near Sparta, NC. That's the second nearby earthquake in the last few months. We had not had any others that I am aware of since moving here in early 2017. We were living in Monterey, CA while I was going to grad school when the m 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake struck that area. Thankfully, our housing unit suffered no damage.

Added my low key cranberry shots to my Still Life collection.

Completed a set of dark, low key shots using cranberries. It's always fun to try a new style. But, will need more black ink for my printer!

I wanted to see how the order turnaround was for some items that I wanted to use for local display, so I ordered a coffee mug and two face masks on 10/11/20. The mug arrived nicely packaged on 10/16/20 and the masks arrived the next day on 10/17/20. Not bad for custom printed items.

I confirmed that these entries are showing up OK on my custom domain and on my Pixels page.

First post. Just testing to see how it shows up on my Pixels site and custom domain. Trying to get motivated for some low key tabletop shots.