“You don’t take a photograph. You ask quietly to borrow it.” — Unknown

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week. It helps keep me going. Enjoy my blog post!

Sunday, 04/04/2021: Posted photo—Easter Mass.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V, ISO 125, f/1.7, 1/60 s, 4 mm

Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events among Christians worldwide. It commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, as written in the Christian bible. Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus’ resurrection from death.

Holy Week is most definitely a very sacred time of the year. It is the time that we will commemorate and remember the last week of Jesus’ life on this earth. Holy Week starts out with Palm Sunday. On this day, the crowds welcomed Jesus by waving palm branches and shouting praise to Him. These are the days leading up to the great Easter Feast.  Especially important for Catholics is the Easter Triduum. This is the three days just before Easter. On Holy Thursday, we reenact the Lord’s Last Supper, which He shared with His apostles on the night He was betrayed and arrested. On Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion and death of our Lord, we have the veneration of the Cross. Holy Saturday is a vigil, we keep watch for the expectant rising of Our Savior. Then comes the glory of Easter Sunday when He rose from the dead.

Easter Sunday changes every year. It is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22 and the latest possible date for Easter is April 25. Easter can never come as early as March 21 because of ecclesiastical rules in which the vernal equinox has a fixed date of March 21. This is what happened last year.

This is a photo of St. Denis Church prior to Easter Mass looking down from the choir loft. Happy and blessed Easter to all.

Monday, 04/05/2021: Posted photo—Brenizer Method.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s to 1/1600 s, 34 mm (16 photos).

The Brenizer Method, sometimes referred to as Bokeh Panorama or Bokehrama, is a photographic technique characterized by the creation of a digital image exhibiting a shallow depth of field in tandem with a wide angle of view. The Brenizer Method is named after wedding photographer, Ryan Brenizer. He invented the method (but did not name it) and made it popular by using it with his wedding clients, and teaching others how to do it as well. This is a method of stitching together a series of photos taken in a particular pattern.

This photo is a series of 16 photos that I stitch together. I used this technique today since it has been a while since I used it. As time goes on, I look at my old photos and tell myself to get pack to practice techniques. This is a great location to practice different photographic techniques.

Tuesday, 04/06/2021: Posted photo—What is it.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/160 s, 55 mm.

Occasionally I like to post a photo to see if someone can guess what it is. Today is one of those days. I saw this object and wanted to do such a photo. I thought that this one would be easier than most of them. I was not. Some people were close with their guess and second guessed themselves. These are always a fun challenge.

What is the object? It is a stack of Styrofoam cups. I took this photo since I like the way the grains in the Styrofoam looked. As done with many things, such as Coke or Duck tape or Scotch tape, we use a trademarked name as a general description of a product. Styrofoam is a trademarked brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam, or XPS. This foam is also referred to as “Blue Board” and is used for building insulation, thermal insulation, and water barriers. Styrofoam is owned and manufactured by The Dow Chemical Company.

Wednesday, 04/07/2021: Posted photo—First Daffodil.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 160, f/7.1, 1/80 s, 55 mm

This is one of the first signs that spring has arrived. The daffodils in our yard are starting to bloom. I have been watching the flower sprout over the last few days and today was the first time that I have seen it flower. We have multiple patches of daffodils in our yard. This year there seems to be many more blooming than in past years. Maybe someone that reads this can tell me why this is the case.

Daffodils are a fall-planted bulb, so plant them in autumn and they will bloom in late winter or early spring. The traditional daffodil flower may be a showy yellow or white, with six petals and a trumpet-shape central corona, but many cultivated varieties (“cultivars”) exist today.

Thursday, 04/08/2021: Posted photo—Roses.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/100 s, 64 mm

“The Presence of the Rose by Angela Morgan

From out imprisoning petals—velvet, red—
Thy soul slips forth in fragrance wondrous sweet—
A silent subtle presence—never fled,
That makes thy mastery over me complete.”

During my visit with my mother today, she wanted me to water all her flowers and plants. She has been getting flowers from many people over the past few weeks. I had already taken photos of different subjects to post today and then I saw these roses. I asked her who gave them to her, and she could not remember. Flowers are a favorite subject of mine throughout the spring, summer, and fall seasons because of their colors and textures.

No matter how old you are, your mother is your mother, so listen to her and be kind and helpful to her. My mother is 95 years old and still treats us as her young children.

Friday, 04/09/2021: Post photo—Painted Wall.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/8, 1/125 s, 39 mm

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a park I never heard about before visiting. It is a small park, but one that should be explored. We camped at the park and did some hiking around the rim of the canyon. Night skies were dark and the sound of the Gunnison River running through the canyon was very relaxing.

Some facts from the Uncover Colorado website:

1. The Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile through the canyon, SIX times more than the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.
2. Colorado’s biggest cliff is the Black Canyon’s Painted Wall. Standing 2,250 feet tall from river to rim, Black Canyon’s Painted Wall is the tallest cliff in Colorado and the third tallest in the lower 48, after El Cap and Notch Peak. For comparison, the Washington Monument stands at a measly 555 feet and the Empire State Building stands at just 1,250 feet.
3. Black Canyon gets its name because some parts of the gorge receive only 33 total minutes of sunlight per day.
4. It has some of the world’s oldest exposed rock. the rocks exposed at the bottom of the canyon are nearly 2 billion years old, dating from the Precambrian era.
5. It is the least-visited national park in Colorado, and one of the lesser visited parks overall.

Explore the National Parks. I have been to only 30 of the 59 National Parks and would like to get out and see more of them. In total, I have been to 87 other National Monuments, National Historical Parks, and other entities of the national park system.

Saturday, 04/10/2021: Post photo—Rock Climbing.

Settings: FinePix XP70, ISO 100, f/4.1, 1/420 s, 6 mm.

The Crow Hills, located in Massachusetts’ Leominster State Forest 2.5 miles northeast of Mount Wachusett, are a single monadnock with a twin summit, 1,234 feet and 1,220 feet, and a high eastern cliff. The hills are a popular rock climbing, bouldering, and hiking destination. In my younger years I did some rock climbing there myself.

To get to the Crow Hills, I hiked the Midstate Trail. Round trip from my house to the cliffs is about eight miles. It was a great day for a hike. I stayed away from Wachusett Mountain today since it is overcrowded. My son and his friend hiked earlier today, mid-morning, and told me to say away because of all the people. On a nice day, such as today, people with no experience are out hiking making it not very enjoyable. Everyone has to start out sometime, I know, but because of COVID people are taking too many risks on the mountain.

On the trail there are trail markers. Now here is a short lesson on trail markers. First of all, they mark the trail. They tell you when to go straight or when the trail turns. If there are two makers in the same direction on top of themselves, go straight. If there is a marker pointing to the right, turn right. If there is a marker pointing to the left, turn left. Simple as that. Markers are very useful if you are not familiar with the trail. Just look for the next marker. A Leave No Trace principle is to travel and camp on durable surfaces. This means if the trail is through a mud puddle, go through that mud puddle. Lesson over.

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Here are some photos of the different trail markings that I encountered during my hike today.

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.