“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear” — Alfred Eisenstaedt
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week. It helps keep me going. Enjoy my blog post!
Sunday 02/21/2021: Posted photo—Lemons.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/293 s, 4 mm
A lemon is an acid fruit that is botanically a many-seeded pale yellow oblong berry produced by a small thorny citrus tree and that has a rind from which an aromatic oil is extracted.
Why do we call defective cars lemons? This is what I found “While defective cars were called lemons by most people in 1960, an ad from Volkswagen cemented the term in our vocabulary. The ad featured a Volkswagen Beetle with the word lemon below the car. The ad is highlighting Volkswagen’s rigorous testing process but that image of a bad car being a lemon stuck.” — grubblawgroup.com
“Lemons contain a high amount of vitamin C, soluble fiber, and plant compounds that give them a number of health benefits. Lemons may aid weight loss and reduce your risk of heart disease, anemia, kidney stones, digestive issues, and cancer.” — Healthline.com
Today I went food shopping for my 95-year-old mother for the first time is a few months. She is back in her house after being relocated for a few months during renovations. A tree fell on her house and the house needed to be repaired. I took this photo just in case I was not able to take another on during the day since we were moving her back in and I did not know how long that was going to take.
Monday 02/22/2021: Posted photo—Falls During a Storm.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/50 s, 29 mm.
We are in a snow pattern here in north central Massachusetts. It is a Monday, and it is snowing. On my way back from work I wanted to take a photo of something snowy. Not much was catching my attention and then I say the gate house at Round Meadow Pond. I knew that there would be a great photo of the dam in the storm, so I took a little detour and took this photo. I think it captures well the four inches of new snow that we received. I like the way the snow almost washes out the dam giving the impression that I am in the middle of a storm, which I was.
Tuesday 02/23/2021: Posted photo—A Web of Birch Branches.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/2000 s, 29 mm.
Don’t the branches on these birch trees look like a tangled spider web? Let your imagination run wild and you may see the same thing I see.
A birch tree is a slender, fast-growing tree that has thin bark (often peeling) and bears catkins. There are several trees that bear catkins in winter or in spring (before the leaves). A catkin is a cluster of unisexual flowers that have no petals. On wind pollinated trees, most catkins are long and thin and hang down below the shoot. Birch trees grow chiefly in north temperate regions, some reaching the northern limit of tree growth.
Wednesday 02/24/2021: Posted photo—What is It.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/5.6, 1/15 s, 55 mm.
It has been a while since I posted a photo for people to guess what it is. This one, like most of the photo of this type I post, was easy to solve. It is a cluster of straws used to stir coffee or tea. The photo is very graining because I did not realize how high my ISO was set. This is a heavily cropped photo.
I also to this type of photo occasionally to see how many people look at and comment on my photos. I know that I have many more people looking at my photos than the numbers show.
Thursday 02/25/2021: Posted photo—Waxing Gibbous Moon.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/11.5, 1/125 s, 1350 mm.
The Snow Moon will occur on February 27 at 3:17 a.m. Before the moon is full is a gibbous moon. The moon at 97.6% tonight, not full. This photo is a stack of 31 shots. Why 31 you ask? I must have hit the counter on my intervalometer since I only wanted 30 shots. I kept the extra one. An intervalometer is a shutter release that automatically triggers the shutter, usually at timed intervals.
The eight Moon phases:
- New: We cannot see the Moon when it is a new moon.
- Waxing Crescent: In the Northern Hemisphere, we see the waxing crescent phase as a thin crescent of light on the right.
- First Quarter: We see the first quarter phase as a half moon.
- Waxing Gibbous: The waxing gibbous phase is between a half moon and full moon. Waxing means it is getting bigger.
- Full: We can see the Moon completely illuminated during full moons.
- Waning Gibbous: The waning gibbous phase is between a half moon and full moon. Waning means it is getting smaller.
- Third Quarter: We see the third quarter moon as a half moon, too. It is the opposite half as illuminated in the first quarter moon.
- Waning Crescent: In the Northern Hemisphere, we see the waning crescent phase as a thin crescent of light on the left.
Friday 02/26/2021: Post photo—Mount Rushmore.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/250 s, 135 mm
This photo was ranked in the top 20% of landscape photos by the Pixoto community in 2013. Pixoto is the world’s largest free photo contest site with hundreds of active free photo contests every day. When we visited Mount Rushmore, one of the last living carvers was there telling stories about how the figures were carved.
Gutzon Borglum carved George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore. He selected these four presidents because from his perspective, they represented the most important events in the history of the United States.
George Washington, First President of the United States. Born 1732, died 1799. Washington led the colonists in the American Revolutionary War to win independence from Great Britain.
Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States. Born 1743, died 1826. Jefferson was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, a document which inspires democracies around the world.
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. Born 1858, died 1919. Roosevelt provided leadership when America experienced rapid economic growth as it entered the 20th Century.
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. Born 1809, died 1865. Lincoln held the nation together during its greatest trial, the Civil War. Lincoln believed his most sacred duty was the preservation of the union.
These four-president looked after the country and our freedom first and did not look after themself to get votes. Their actions were good for the country first and their political future last. Only good, trustworthy, respectable presidents are carved.
Gutzon Borglum also started to carve another mountain down the road from Mount Rushmore to honor Crazy Horse. Crazy Horse is the world’s largest mountain carving located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. It is considered The Eighth Wonder of the World in progress. Crazy Horse or Tasunke Witco was born as a member of the Oglala Lakota on Rapid Creek about 40 miles northeast of Thunderhead Mt. (now Crazy Horse Mountain) in c. 1840. It was a time when cultures clashed, and land became an issue of deadly contention and traditional Native ways were threatened and oppressed. Crazy Horse responded by putting the needs of his people above his own, which would forever embed him and his legacy in American History. He was killed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, by a soldier around midnight on September 5, 1877.
Saturday 02/27/2021: Post photo—Mouse Tracks in the Snow.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/400 s, 55 mm
Mouse paw prints are usually less than half an inch long. The rodents’ front feet have four toes, while their back feet have five. Their footsteps run in parallel lines, and sometimes their tails will create drag marks.
These tracks are around from and going away from our woodshed. This is a typical place for mice to hang out. I have not captured any in our house this year. At this time last year, I was clearing out traps almost daily.
For more photo of other project I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com/ or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.
COVID is real! Be safe out there, keep your social distance, and remember to always wear your mask and wash your hands.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 