Photographic Thoughts — 03/19/2023 to 03/25/2023

You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second and think of it all your life.” — Joan Miro

Random thoughts and ideas for this week.

Sunday, 03/19/2023: Posted photo — Laetare Sunday.

From the Catholic Dictionary: “The fourth Sunday of Lent, when the introductory word of the Introit is laetare, “Rejoice O Jerusalem.” As it is Mid-Lent Sunday, rose vestments are worn, flowers are permitted on the altar, and the organ is played.” Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday. It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.

This is the view of the altar from the choir loft of our church.

Monday, 03/20/2023: Posted photo — Hike.

Some photos from my weekly Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain. It is getting lighter as we start our hike. Soon no headlamp will be needed.

Tuesday, 03/21/2023: Posted photo — Sunflower.

A sunflower that I saw today while I was out shopping. Tuesday night is my shopping night.

Wednesday, 03/22/2023: Posted photo — Umpqua River Lighthouse.

From the website: https://oregonisforadventure.com/oregon-lighthouses/#:~:text=Umpqua%20River%20Lighthouse,lighthouse%20on%20the%20Oregon%20coast. “The Umpqua River Lighthouse was the first lighthouse on the Oregon coast. To this day, you are still able to climb to the top of it while also learning more about the area’s history. It is still operational and has only recently switched over from bulbs to LEDs to keep it lower maintenance. Once you reach the top, you are even able to take a look inside the working light.

The lighthouse a vibrant history, Before it was placed on the bluff on the entrance to Winchester Bay, it was commissioned along the beach of the Umpqua River in 1857. It was then moved less than 10 years later.”

This is a photo of inside the lighthouse I took a few years ago during one of our west coast trips to visit family.

Thursday, 03/23/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise.

The weather is getting warmer. Rain has been predicted for today so I was happy to see the sunrise on my way to work.

During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere.

Friday, 03/24/2023: Post photo — Crater Lake National Park.

This is me standing in front of Wizard Island, a volcanic cinder cone, which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake. Photo taken by my wife.

At 1,943 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in America. Famous for its beautiful blue color, the lake’s water comes directly from snow or rain – there are no inlets from other water sources. Crater Lake was formed by the fall of a volcano. Mount Mazama, a 12,000-foot-tall volcano, erupted and collapsed approximately 7,700 years ago.

Saturday, 03/25/2023: Post photo — Loon.

From https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/overview, “The eerie calls of Common Loons echo across clear lakes of the northern wilderness. Summer adults are regally patterned in black and white. In winter, they are plain gray above and white below, and you’ll find them close to shore on most seacoasts and a good many inland reservoirs and lakes. Common Loons are powerful, agile divers that catch small fish in fast underwater chases. They are less suited to land, and typically come ashore only to nest.”

I have an interest in loons. When my wife and I went on our honeymoon almost 32 years ago, we were on a secluded island in a lake in northern Maine and were serenaded by loons.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 03/12/2023 to 03/18/2023

I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.” — Wayne Miller

More snow this week. Most of the snow this winter has fallen in the last month.

Sunday, 03/12/2023: Posted photo — Cubes.

Cubes come in different shapes and sizes. There are 2x2x2, 3x3x3, 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, and 7x7x7 that are used in completion. I don’t compete, but my son does. I can solve from the 2x2x2 to the 5x5x5. My wife and son tell me that I could do the larger cubes, but I do not feel the urge to do so. I am currently working on speeding up my time with a picture cube. One that you need to rotate the centers if they are not in the correct orientation.

For the record, my son’s best competition time for the 3x3x3, what most people think are the Rubik’s Cube, is single of 12.24 seconds and average of 14.64 seconds. The world record single is 3.47 seconds, and the world record average is 4.86 seconds. The average is out of five solves when they don’t count the fastest and slowest of the solves.

My time for the 3x3x3 is just about 1 minute 30 seconds.

Monday, 03/13/2023: Posted photo — Potatoes.

The potatoes are a starchy food and are a root vegetable native to the Americas. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C, which is an antioxidant. Potatoes were a life-saving food source in early times because the vitamin C prevented scurvy. Another major nutrient in potatoes is potassium, an electrolyte which aids in the workings of our heart, muscles, and nervous system.

Tuesday, 03/14/2023: Posted photo — During the Storm.

Happy Pi Day!

Selfie on the trail.

Woke up this morning to a foot (0.3 m) of wet snow. Had planned to snowshoe into work this morning because of the predicted storm. I stayed on the main roads on my way into work since I know that there would be little to no cars, and that the Midstate Trail markers are difficult to see in the morning due to the blowing snow. Another foot (0.3 m) of snow fell during the day. I did snowshoe on the Midstate Trail on the way home since the trail markers are normally easier to see during the day. The markers in the section of the trail next to our house do not have reflectors on them, as they do in the more popular sections of the trail. The blazers were also difficult to see since they were faded, and snow covered so, and I went off trail. I know this section of the trail well, but with 24 inches (0.6 m) of new fallen snow, and many downed trees, it was difficult to follow. I sank about 20 inches (0.5 m) into the snow with my snowshoes on. Using my navigational skills, I was able to get safely back onto the trail.

Blazes (also known as trail markers) are usually placed at eye level – or slightly higher on trails that receive moderate snowfall – and frequently appear painted onto trees, rocks, or posts along the trail. For painted blazes, they generally are 2 inches wide by 6 inches tall.

Wednesday, 03/15/2023: Posted photo — Cleanup.

Here are a few photos of some of the paths that were created. As the cleanup continues, the snow is slowly melting making the snow heavier and heavier. Making straight edges in the pathways was easy.

Thursday, 03/16/2023: Posted photo — Roof Load.

Cleanup from the storm started yesterday and continues today. One of the things I need to do today is shovel off my roof. I have over 2 feet (0.6 m) of snow on my roof and need to get the weight off. The roof in front of my house is slightly sloped, not like the rest of the house. Here are some photos of before, during, and after I shoveled off a section of our roof.

Friday, 03/17/2023: Post photo — Sunshine.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Took a photo of the sun today. Why did I do this? I did it because I did not see much of it this week. The section of the building in this photo give it a little contrast.

Saturday, 03/18/2023: Post photo — Sundog.

Sundogs are colored spots of light that develop due to the refraction of light through ice crystals. They are located approximately 22 degrees either left, right, or both, from the sun, depending on where the ice crystals are present. For the second day in a row, the sun was out. Today’s sun appearance was much longer than yesterday’s brief one.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 03/05/2023 to 03/11/2023

Today everything exists to end in a photograph.” — Susan Sontag

Some old and new photos this week.

Sunday, 03/05/2023: Posted photo — Traction.

With the newly fallen snow, winter hiking conditions are the best they have been all season. I have not used my crampons all year and decided to use them today. No particular reasons and I really did not need to use them. I just wanted to hike with them once this season.

Monday, 03/06/2023: Posted photo — Moon Beam.

The full moon tonight was given off this beam. I thought it was a reflection off my camera, but every photo I took of the moon tonight had these beams in them. This is a photo of the moon liking towards Boston.

Tuesday, 03/07/2023: Posted photo — Full Moon.

A full moon photo for March. The moon is my preferred subject and I am still working on getting the perfect moon photo.

Wednesday, 03/08/2023: Posted photo — Traditional Collection.

Last week I posted a photo of hour our neighbor collects sap. This is the traditional way to collect sap found elsewhere in town.

Thursday, 03/09/2023: Posted photo — Baseball.

The World Baseball Classic has started. Our family loves to watch baseball and our son gives me updated every day. I took a photo of the stitches of this baseball for macro photography practice.

Friday, 03/10/2023: Post photo — Golf.

I took this photo during the summer. This is an HDR photo of a local golf course. I did not know what to post today, but I saw golf on my computer screen and went back to this photo.

Saturday, 03/11/2023: Post photo — Inspection Station.

Time to get one of our cars safety inspected. All our cars had the same month for inspection. They are now spread out, once a month for the next three months.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

Photographic Thoughts — 02/26/2023 to 03/04/2023

To the complaint, ‘There are no people in these photographs,’ I respond, There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer.” — Ansel Adams

Thank you John once again for my quote.

Sunday, 02/26/2023: Posted photo — Collecting Sap.

After our warm week in Florida, we came home to snow. I was going to take and post this photo snow or no snow. Our neighbor taps our sugar maple tree every year and gives us some of the syrup. The general rule of thumb is that it takes 40 parts maple sap to produce 1 part maple syrup. This translates into 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon or syrup (or 10 gallons of sap for one quart of syrup). This estimate is dependent on the sugar content of your sap.

Monday, 02/27/2023: Posted photo — Welcome Home.

This is the snow on the railing to our deck. The snow was heavy and icy. I did not hike tonight so that I could clean up after the storms that took place when we were on vacation. Once I had the technique of getting the is pick under the ice and snow, cleanup was relatively easy to do. It just took a few hours to complete.

Tuesday, 02/28/2023: Posted photo — Driveway.

Our neighbor’s driveway cleaned up after last week’s snow storms.

Wednesday, 03/01/2023: Posted photo — Stone.

This stone is at the end our our neighbor’s driveway. He has stones on both sides of his driveway so that its location can be found easily since his house cannot be seen from the street.

Thursday, 03/02/2023: Posted photo — Next Storm.

This photo was taken Saturday and not Thursday. We had almost a foot of wet, heavy snow fall overnight. The snow has stopped. We normally go out a few time during a storm to shovel, but since this storm happened overnight, we did not. I do not have a snow blower or a plow. I like to get my exercise by shoveling snow.

Friday, 03/03/2023: Post photo — Path.

Snowshoe path created by my snowshoes. Here is a photo of my snowshoes. The heal strap was fixed a few weeks ago, so this was the first opportunity for me to use them.

Saturday, 03/04/2023: Post photo — Finally On Snowshoes.

Today is the one year anniversary of my ankle surgery. Last week I posted a photo of my feet in the ocean. This week I am posting a photo of my feet in my snowshoes. This is the first time in my snowshoes all winter. Between the weather, travel, work, and a broken snowshoe, this was the first opportunity of me to get out. It was a short hike with no complications. Off to some longer hikes, as long as the snow stays a little longer.

For more photo of other projects I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.