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photobyjosephciras

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June 30, 2024

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hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, water

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2024

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt

Here are some mountains that I have seen during my travels.

Sunday, 06/23/2024: Posted photo — Reflection Lakes.

Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

There were many great views of the mountain in the park. Took this photo was in the morning when the water was calm. There was someone sleeping in a hammock just outside the frame of this photo.

Monday, 06/24/2024: Posted photo — Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

The Tetons are great and majestic mountains. Took this one just after sunset in the golden hour.

Tuesday, 06/25/2024: Posted photo — Lake McDonald.

Glacier National Park, Montana

This was my first view of Glacier National Park. We did some hiking with a mountain goat and her children on this trip.

Wednesday, 06/26/2024: Posted photo — Prince of Wales Hotel Waterton Lake.

Waterton – Glacier International Peace Park, Alberta

When we arrived at the park, the ranger saw that I had a camera. She told me of the spot to take this photo. It was up a private road used just by the rangers.

Thursday, 06/27/2024: Posted photo — Along the White Pass Yukon Route Railway.

Alaska

We took a ride on the White Pass Railroad on our trip to Alaska. We did go into the Yukon to turn around. This is one of the mountains along the way. This photo is in color.

Friday, 06/28/2024: Post photo — Lake Louise.

Banff National Park, Alberta

I did not know that Lake Louise was a famous lake. We just stopped in to take in the views. It was crowded when we arrived in the morning and was very crowded in the afternoon when we continued our journey.

Saturday, 06/29/2024: Post photo — Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Washington

Been to Mount St Helens many times since it erupted on May 18, 1980. I am amazed with the way nature is recovering. The first time I went there was ten years after the eruption and there were still logs floating in Spirit Lake.

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

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photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 23, 2024

Posted under

3D Photo, Friendship, hiking, Inspiration, Nature, religion, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 06/16/2024 to 06/22/2024

“One doesn’t stop seeing. One doesn’t stop framing. It doesn’t turn off and turn on. It’s on all the time.” — Annie Leibovitz

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

There was a heat wave this week in our area, so most of the photos are from the cottage.

Sunday, 06/16/2024: Posted photo — Votive Candles.

Happy Father’s Day!

The usage of votive candles is a pious practice which continues today in many churches. The symbolism reminds us that prayer is the light of Christ, allowing our souls to be filled with His light, and letting that light burn on in our souls even though we may return to our other activities. These candles are usually lite in memory of or for pray for someone we love and care for.

Theses candles are in the back of our church. As mentioned in past posts, the holder for these votive candles is dedicated to a friend who passed with ALS and his family. It is good to see people using the candles.

Monday, 06/17/2024: Posted photo — Hiking Group.

We had a good time hiking tonight. One member of the group took this photo to capture the closeness of the Monday night hiking group.

If you live in around Wachusett Mountain and would like to join the group, please let me know. The group once had 12 regular hikers and is down to 5 or 6 regulars. We hike year-round and hike at the speed of the ability of the people that hike that evening.

Tuesday, 06/18/2024: Posted photo — Pinecones.

This year there have been many more pinecones on the ground than I can remember. Maybe my memory is not that great, but this was the first year that I have seen them around in our yard.

I do not have any pine trees on my property and have seen pinecones in the yard. These pinecones were on the croquet course at the cottage. They had to be raked to the side so that the croquet ball can make it to a wicket with fewer obstacles.

Wednesday, 06/19/2024: Posted photo — High Bush Blueberries.

This is another repeat/progress photo. A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of these high bush blueberries starting to flower. Today I took a photo of them starting to ripen. It will not be long until it is time to pick them and use them for breakfast and deserts.

Thursday, 06/20/2024: Posted photo — Baby Robins.

Remember back when this nest was found so that I could not power wash a deck? The eggs have hatched, and three of the four babies survived. There is one big bird and two smaller birds (you can see the beaks of the smaller birds in this photo). The mother was feeding them and teaching them how to fly. It will not be long until they leave the nest and live on their own.

Friday, 06/21/2024: Post photo — Fish.

Sitting by the lake today, I saw these fish looking at me. When I moved the fish shifted position to look in my direction. It was strange.

Saturday, 06/22/2024: Post photo — Promise.

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary. This is one of the gifts that I gave my wife a few years ago.

Bonus Image:

Here is a 3D image of boats under a tree.

Look at the image cross-eyed and the 3D image will appair in between the photos.

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

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photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 16, 2024

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hiking, Nature, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 06/09/2024 to 06/15/2024

“In photography there are no shadows that cannot be illuminated.” — August Sander

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

Not much to say on some photos this week.

Sunday, 06/09/2024: Posted photo — Oriental False Hawksbeard.

I have this weed growing at the end of our driveway. Took a photo of it before cutting it down. The name, Oriental False Hawksbeard, was given to me by my Seek app. This app is part of iNaturalist, and I use it to identify plants and animals when I hike.

Monday, 06/10/2024: Posted photo — Crossing the Ski Trail.

For the hike this week, I took the group up a trail that starts at the Wachusett Mountain ski area. I normally do not hike starting at this trail because it is on the busy side of the mountain, and I like hiking in less crowded areas and less crowded trails. This time of year, once the lifts stop, the hiking trail crosses three of the ski trails.

Tuesday, 06/11/2024: Posted photo — Web.

Walking around at work today, I spotted this web at one of the entries. I took a couple photos of it attempting to a good photo.

These are not the greatest since the sun was shining on them. It would have been better in the morning when there was dew on them.

Wednesday, 06/12/2024: Posted photo — Petunia.

Some petunia that I saw today. Petunias symbolize emotions like comfort, passion, and hope. Potted petunias can be seen outside of many stores this time of year.

Thursday, 06/13/2024: Posted photo — Rabbit at Work.

I have seen bear, turkey, great blue heron, deer, red-tail hawks, snapping turtles, and various species of birds over the years at work. Today was the first time I saw a rabbit.

I thought I scared it away when I pulled up to my parking spot. When I got out of my car, it was just waiting to have its photo taken.

Friday, 06/14/2024: Post photo — Flag Day.

Flag day celebrates the anniversary of June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress approved the design of a flag for the United States, which at the time featured 13 stars and 13 stripes, representing the 13 colonies.

The principal acts affecting the flag of the United States are the following, based on information from the Smithsonian Institution:

Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777, stated, “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”
Act of January 13, 1794, provided for 15 stripes and 15 stars after May 1795.
Act of April 4, 1818, provided for 13 stripes and one star for each state, to be added to the flag on the 4th of July following the admission of each new state.
Executive Order of President Taft dated June 24, 1912, established proportions of the flag and provided for arrangement of the stars in six horizontal rows of eight each, a single point of each star to be upward.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated January 3, 1959, provided for the arrangement of the stars in seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.
Executive Order of President Eisenhower dated August 21, 1959, provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine rows of stars staggered horizontally and eleven rows of stars staggered vertically.

This flag in this photograph is outside my office.

Saturday, 06/15/2024: Post photo — Championship Game.

My son, father-in-law, and I went to Polar Park today to watch the MIAA Division 3 state championship. Oakmont High School, the number 1 seed, versus St. Mary’s of Lynn, the number 2 seed. My father-in-law was one for the original teachers at Oakmont and has a conference room named after him. My son is an alumnus of Oakmont and has taught there. The second game of the day was my alma mater, St. John’s High School, the number two seed, playing BC High, the number 1 seed in the Division 1 state final. Oakmont won the state title for the second year in a row. My team lost their game. Both the number 1 seeds have won.

Here are some photos from the ballpark.

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

Here is a bonus photo. I did a new edit of an old Milky Way photo. I think it looks overprocessed.

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photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 9, 2024

Posted under

Inspiration, memorial, Nature, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 06/02/2024 to 06/08/2024

“If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.” — Jim Richardson

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

Sunday, 06/02/2024: Posted photo — Mowing.

I wanted to do this technique for a little while. I have done it in the past and wanted to do it again. I have switched photo editing software from Paint Shop Pro to just using GIMP. I switched because I was having issues installing the last few releases PSP on my computer. I have been using PSP since X2 many years ago and have been using GIMP over the last 10 years off and on.

The technique is called multiplicity. I set my camera on a tripod and set it to take a photo every minute. I shoot RAW so it was easy to edit my photos to all have the same exposure. You do the technique by importing each photo into a different layer. Once they are in the correct order, you use a layer mask to either hide or expose areas of the photos.

Hope you like it.

Monday, 06/03/2024: Posted photo — Koi.

This is a Koi Pond on the summit of Wachusett Mountain. There is a fence around the pond now since the wall around the pond needs work. These Koi have been on the summit for many years.

Koi are colored varieties of carp. The ones on the summit of Wachusett can be seen year-round. In the winter you can see them swimming under the ice.

Tuesday, 06/04/2024: Posted photo — Hickory.

When I was out hiking, I spotted this tree with the bark seeming to be peeling off. I took a photo of it to identify it and my identification app called it hickory. For someone who spends many hours outdoors, hiking in the wilderness, I should be able to identify trees and plant much better than I have been doing.

Wednesday, 06/05/2024: Posted photo — Sundog in the Clouds.

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.

I was looking up at the coloring in the clouds and spotted this sundog.

Thursday, 06/06/2024: Posted photo — Multiflora Rose.

Multiflora rose is a large, dense shrub that was used for ornamental and conservation plantings and is now a serious invasive plant. Multiflora roses can become thick and dense that will stop native plants from growing. This density of the plant can be impenetrable and detrimental to nesting birds and reduce the forage areas for animals.

Friday, 06/07/2024: Post photo — Relay for Life (RFL) Day 1.

The American Cancer Society Relay for Life was a 24 hour relay for cancer research. It is now an 18 hour relay. Many want it to go back to 24 hours.

Here are photos of one of my sister-in-laws lighting the torch, the luminaria, and a few other photos from the first day into the night.

Saturday, 06/08/2024: Post photo — Relay for Life (RFL) Day 2.

Photos from the second day.

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

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photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 2, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Histoy, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, training

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/26/2024 to 06/01/2024

“Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don’t work out, just take another shot.” — Unknown

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

Sunday, 05/26/2024: Posted photo — Lupine.

Lupines attract butterflies and pollinators and are deer-resistant and low-maintenance. This is a small group of lupines. I have been to places were there are fields of lupine in the past. One of nature’s most interesting flowers due to their shape.

Monday, 05/27/2024: Posted photo — Boats.

Today is Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a holiday observed on the last Monday of May honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.

It was a beautiful weekend weatherwise, Saturday and Sunday. Today it is rainy and very foggy. Here is a photo of what the lake looked like most of the day. Here also is a photo of some canoes and kayaks that were not used today since it is dangerous to go out on the lake in the fog.

Tuesday, 05/28/2024: Posted photo — Nest.

A robin in her nest. Robins use their nest for about 5 weeks. I had to look that up since I want to power wash the deck near the nest. The deck is very slippery due to some moss on it.

This nest was discovered when the ladder was going to be used to clean branches off the roof of the garage at the cottage. Before moving the ladder, the nest was discovered, and the robin was seen building her nest.

Wednesday, 05/29/2024: Posted photo — Buttercups.

Some buttercups in the lawn prior to the lawn being mowed. Buttercup contains toxins that are very irritating to the skin and the lining of the mouth, stomach, and intestines.

Thursday, 05/30/2024: Posted photo — Snapping Turtle.

Every year I look for snapping turtles on my way to the work. This morning, I saw one in the middle of the driveway. Here is a still photo of the turtle walking across the driveway to lay her eggs. I see them almost every year digging the hole to lay eggs.

Friday, 05/31/2024: Post photo — Rhododendron.

This is one of our rhododendron bushes. Over the last week, the bush bloomed due to the rain and sun we had this week.

Saturday, 06/01/2024: Post photo — Balance Rock.

From an earth science paper I found. “Thousands of years ago a glacier (ice sheet) moved across New England pushing rocks and sediment. As the glacier traveled it carried large and small boulders with it, often for many miles. When the glacier melted, the boulders it was carrying were randomly dropped at new locations. Boulders that have been transported by a glacier are called glacial erratics. Balance Rock is an example of a glacial erratic. These two boulders were pushed on top of each other by a large sheet of moving ice and have been balancing on top of each other for thousands of years! Balance Rock is evidence of the glacial activity which helped shape Wachusett mountain.”

I took this photo today during my map and compass training on the mountain. I used it at as a location for the people in my class to take a bearing to our next trail.

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