“The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.” — Elliott Erwitt

Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.

Enjoy this week’s rambling mind of a mechanical engineer and photographer.

Sunday, 08/08/2021: Posted photo — Balancing the World.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 106 mm.

My wife’s family have a reunion the first Saturday of August every year. Relatives from all around the country, and sometimes the world, come to visit. The reunion is only schedule for one day yet it occurs over the course of the week.

My brother-in-law likes to juggle. He juggles clubs, balls, boxes, fire clubs, fire balls, scarfs, and people. He also does tricks for the younger members of the family. People young and old look forward to his juggling act. In this picture, he is spinning the parasols to balance the world.

Monday, 08/09/2021: Posted photo — Backpack.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 80, f/1.7, 1/120 s, 4 mm

Monday night is hiking night, as some of you may know by now. We purchased a new backpack for my son since his is old and losing padding. I tried out his backpack tonight to see how comfortable it is to use. This photo was taken on the summit fire watch tower on Wachusett Mountain.

For your information, the backpack was comfortable for short hikes. I may not be so for the longer hikes we have planned so we will be purchasing another backpack for him.

Tuesday, 08/10/2021: Posted photo — Can You Hear Me.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/1600 s, 135 mm.

Hearing protection is required when one is exposed to a sound level over 85 dB for 8 hrs. Some examples of how loud that is are: Garbage disposal, dishwasher, average factory, freight train (at 15 meters). Car wash at 20 ft (89 dB); propeller plane flyover at 1000 ft (88 dB); diesel truck 40 mph at 50 ft (84 dB); diesel train at 45 mph at 100 ft (83 dB). Food blender (88 dB); milling machine (85 dB); garbage disposal (80 dB). Manufacturing plants have sound levels that exceed the 85 dB threshold so hearing protection is required.

Why did I take this photo? I took it since I liked the mixture of colors in the container. This is one of the photos that I took today for my photo project. I liked this one over the other once that I took today. I will not be posting the other photos I took. That should be telling you the quality of those photos.

Wednesday, 08/11/2021: Posted photo — Feed Me.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 135 mm.

These birds were waiting for their mother to feed them. I have walked past then a few times over the last two weeks and decided to take their photo today. I took a similar photo last year. I like the way that one of the birds is looking for food and the other one is just looking like he is annoyed.

Thursday, 08/12/2021: Posted photo — Find the Meteor.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 1600, f/4, 15 s, 28 mm.

The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle. The meteors are called the Perseids because the point from which they appear to hail lies in the constellation Perseus. The meteor shower reached it peak this year at 4:01 a.m. today. The photo is dark because I had to adjust for the light pollution in the area. I look online and see these great photos of the meteor shower taken from dark sky areas. Someday I will travel to a dark sky area during a meteor shower. Last year I posted my first photo of the Milky Way from a dark sky reserve, Canyonland National Park. Dark Sky Reserves are designated by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA). They are areas that offer exceptional starry nights and are specifically protected for scientific, natural, educational, cultural, heritage and/or public enjoyment.

Did you find it? Look northwest of the “Seven Sisters”. What are the “Seven Sisters”?

From space.com: “The Pleiades are a group of more than 800 stars located about 410 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. Most skywatchers are familiar with the assembly, which looks something like a smaller, hazier version of the Big Dipper in the night sky.

Also known as the “Seven Sisters” and Messier 45, the object derives its English name from Greek legend. The Pleiades are the seven daughters of the Titan god Atlas and the ocean nymph Pleione. During an ancient war, Atlas rebelled against Zeus, the king of the gods, who sentenced his foe to forever hold up the heavens on his shoulders. The sisters were so sad that Zeus allowed them a place in the sky in order to be close to their father.”

Friday, 08/13/2021: Post photo — Sunflower.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/287 s, 4 mm

Sunflowers have symbolic meanings in love, luck, spirituality, and dreams. Why did I post a photo a sunflower today? Today is Friday the 13.

From my web research I found out more information. This is from the CNN website: “From Scandinavia, Panati explains, the superstition then spread south throughout Europe, becoming well established along the Mediterranean by the start of the Christian era. It was here that the unsettling power of the numerals was cemented through the story of the Last Supper, which was attended by Jesus Christ and his disciples on Maundy Thursday. The 13th and most infamous guest to arrive, Judas Iscariot, was the disciple who betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on Good Friday.”

For you that follow FOX news: “According to the history website, the association of 13 being unlucky likely started in Western culture the Last Supper in the Bible. In the biblical story, 13 people sat at the Last Supper table – Jesus and his 12 disciples – and the next day, Jesus was crucified.”

Here is wishing you luck today.

Saturday, 08/14/2021: Post photo — Sunrise.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 300 mm.

Saturday is my day to sleep in. I wake up around 4:30 a.m. every day so I look forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Today I woke up at 4 a.m. to climb Wachusett Mountain to take a photo of the sunrise.

When I arrived at the summit, I was the only one there. The sky was clear until just about the time the sun was to rise, 5:42 a.m. There was a fog bank that rolled in. I could see the sun over the horizon since I knew the location that it was to rise. I was giving up hope of seeing the sunrise. Then the fog burned off just enough for me to take this photo.

I went back to bed for a few hours when I came back home from my hike.

That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.

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. Get your vaccine!