“If you see something that moves you, and then snap it, you keep a moment.” — Linda McCartney

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

Sunday, 12/08/2024: Posted photo — Organ.

Organ music is played at church because it has a historical association with religious ceremonies, its powerful and sustained sound is well-suited to accompany congregational singing, and it is considered a dignified and solemn instrument that enhances the atmosphere of worship.

In my younger days, I played the organ at church when I was a college undergrad. I also played keyboards in a jazz band in high school. It has been a while since I have played the organ. The one in my house is an older model that needs tubes and some of the broken tubes are hard to find.

Monday, 12/09/2024: Posted photo — Candle.

Candles represent the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi to Jesus’s birthplace. The candlelight symbolizes the light of Christ coming into the world and the hope he brought.

In our church we have candles with real flames and candles with fake flames. The real flames are on the altar and represent the presence of God at the altar and at the tabernacle. The fake flames, such as the one in this photo, are placed on the windowsills near the stained glass and in areas were there might be a fire hazard. I am a traditionalist and like the real flames but understand the reason for safety for the fake flames.

Tuesday, 12/10/2024: Posted photo — Droplet.

It was slightly warmer today than normal. It was in the high 50’s F and low 60’s F. This causes the icicles to melt causing droplets.

If you have been following me for a while, you know that I try to post droplet photos at least once a year. I do this to practice my high-speed photography.

Wednesday, 12/11/2024: Post photo — Sunrise.

I know, I know — would Joe get creative and stop posting sunrise photos? Well, I was not going to post one this week.

I was at my office on the west side of the building and saw the red trees outside my window. I walked to the other side of the building, took out my cell phone, and took this photo.

Thursday, 12/12/2024: Posted photo — Wabi Sabi.

Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic, philosophy, and way of life that embraces imperfection and transience.

I found beauty in these old roses. They were dried out and I just liked the delicateness and textures in them.

Friday, 12/13/2024: Post photo — Sensor Check.

Every once and a while I check the sensor on my camera to see if it needs cleaning. You can tell if a sensor needs cleaning because there will be some smudges, sometime hard to see smudges, on the sensor.

Looking at this photo, my sensor looks clean. The only thing that I see is a little vignetting in the corners. This might have been caused by my lens hood. Vignetting is a photographic effect that occurs when the edges of an image are darker than the center. A lens hood is primarily used to block stray light from hitting the lens, preventing unwanted lens flare and improving image contrast by shading the front element. The vignetting occurs when I zoom in to closely to an object and the camera’s angle of view is wider than the opening in my lens hood.

Saturday, 12/14/2024: Post photo — North Pack Monadnock.

North Pack Monadnock or North Pack Monadnock Mountain is a 2,276-foot monadnock in south-central New Hampshire, at the northern end of the Wapack Range of mountains. It lies within Greenfield and Temple, New Hampshire; the 22-mile Wapack Trail traverses the mountain. We hike along the Wapack trail during today’s hike doing a 5.5 mile loop.

Today I co-lead a hike up North Pack Monadnock with the AMC. It was my first official upcountry winter hike lead. I need one more lead to be fully certified as an upcountry four season hiking leader. I have hikes and lead hikes upcountry. I decided to make it official this year.

The hike was a learning hike for participants. We were hoping for snow so that we could practice snowshoeing but there was just ice due to this week’s rain and warmer temperatures. We had everyone carry their snowshoes so that they could practice carrying weight. We did have a great day teaching how to use microspikes. Some have never used them properly previously.

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

“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me.”