Photographic Thoughts — 11/24/2024 to 11/30/2024

“Once you learn to care, you can record images with your mind or on film. There is no difference between the two.” — Anonymous

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

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Sunday, 11/24/2024: Posted photo — Gospel Cover.

When one of the two churches in town closed a few years ago, the Gospel cover was saved and is used in my parish. This is an ornate and heavy cover. The figure in the center is St. Nicholas. If I am incorrect, please let me know in the comments below.

Every week I put up the numbers for the hymns that will be sung for my wife. This week this cover was inspiring me to take its photo.

Monday, 11/25/2024: Posted photo — Looking Up.

It was a cold and windy day on the summit this week. I was attempting to take a photo of the stars. It looks like my headlamp washed out the photo. I have the red light on in an attempt not to interfere with the exposure.

You should use a red light on your headlight bulb when you need to preserve your night vision while navigating in the dark, like when camping, hiking at night, or reading a map, as red light has minimal impact on your eyes’ ability to adjust to darkness compared to white light; essentially, you would use it when you want to see without blinding yourself or significantly disrupting your night vision.

When I camp in dark sky areas, I always use my red light. When I stop at trail junctions, I use my red light so that I do not blind the other people in the group.

Tuesday, 11/26/2024: Posted photo — Kiwi.

The topic for my 52 week photo project this week is low key. Last week the topic was high key.

Low Key photography is creating a frame that is mostly dark unlike last week when the frame was mostly light. Last week I took the roses into GIMP and turned them into a high key photo. This week I took the kiwis into GIMP and made them low key.

Here are the before and after photos.

Wednesday, 11/27/2024: Post photo — Pomegranate.

Pomegranates are rich in polyphenols. There is some evidence that polyphenols help protect against diseases in your heart and blood vessels. Polyphenols may have many health benefits, including Antioxidant properties, Lower risk of type 2 diabetes and Reduced risk of heart disease.

When I make my fruit salad for the holidays, I like to put pomegranate seeds in them for a touch of color.

Thursday, 11/28/2024: Posted photo — Rutabaga.

Research on rutabagas below.

Rutabagas and turnips look similar, but they are not identical. Rutabagas are large, more yellowish, and only grow in cool climates. Meanwhile, turnips are small, usually have a reddish tinge, and grow in a variety of climates.

Rutabagas are high in vitamin C and fiber which makes them a great alternative to potatoes in a low-carb diet. One cup of boiled and cubed rutabaga contains 12 grams of carbohydrates, while the same amount of boiled and cubed potatoes contains 31 grams of carbohydrates.

With Thanksgiving today, I wanted to post a photo of a food that many people may not have on their table today. Thanksgiving is a celebration of gratitude and reflection on blessings. The holiday’s origins are rooted in the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, when the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims shared a meal to give thanks for the successful harvest.

Friday, 11/29/2024: Post photo — Sunrise.

I took this photo on Wednesday and wanted to share it this week.

Today is what is known as Black Friday. It was that day that shops put on special sales for the holiday season. Now Black Friday starts after Halloween, so this day is not as crazy as it was. I can remember people not sleeping or camping out in front of stores to get the item of their choice.

To counter the craziness of this day, I am posting a peaceful sunrise photo. The sunrise was not as spectacular as it was last week, but the colors in the clouds warranted a photo.

Saturday, 11/30/2024: Post photo — Dusting.

We has a dusting of snow last night. It is nice to see a little snow covering. Waiting on the first snow fall of the season so that I can go snowshoeing and winter hiking.

The winter hiking season officially starts tomorrow, December 1. I will be going for my upcountry winter hiking leader certification this year. Once completed, I will be a four season local and a four season upcountry hiking leader. Looking forward to the challenge. I will not be as young as some of the leader, but I will be having fun. I have hiked year round local and upcountry so the additional training I will received this winter will be wonderful.

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

“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me.”

Photographic Thoughts — 11/10/2024 to 11/16/2024

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” — Dorothea Lange

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

Sorry for the broken English some weeks. I type as I think and sometimes do not make all the corrections that are needed.

Sunday, 11/10/2024: Posted photo — Moon from Movie Clip.

Last week I noted that I would not post a moon shot unless I took it during the week. I took this one tonight as a movie. One of the features of the AutoStakkert program is that you can take a movie of the moon and then have the program stack all the frames of the movie.

The movie I took tonight was with my “moon” lens and my Canon 60D. This might have come out better if I were to have a tracking telescope, or if I did a better job focusing, but I like to practice with what I have. The wind was also blowing, and the long lens does not like the wind. Also, I do not plan on purchasing a tracking telescope. I have investigated a tracking feature for my camera, but I would not use it enough to justify the cost.

Monday, 11/11/2024: Posted photo — Ring around the Moon.

The temperature was dropping during tonight’s hike. We have not had much rain lately and the clouds were moving in for possible rain showers tonight.

I saw this ring around the moon earlier in the hike and wanted to take a photo of it at the summit. When I saw it earlier, we were in a wooded area. This ring may or may not be a luna halo, I need to look up the official scientific definition.

Tuesday, 11/12/2024: Posted photo — White Pass & Yukon Route Railway.

The White Pass & Yukon Route climbs from sea level in Skagway to almost 3,000 feet at the Summit in just 20 miles and features steep grades of almost 3.9%. The tight curves of the White Pass called for a narrow-gauge railroad.

I have, in the past, posted a photo of one of the mountains that can be seen from the railway. This is a photo of the train as it goes through a valley. Not happy about the washout in the background, but I did not have much time to adjust any camera settings.

Wednesday, 11/13/2024: Posted photo — Navajo Arch.

Navajo Arch sits on a short side trail off the Devils Garden Trail in Arches National Park. The arch is made of Entrada sandstone and sits at the mouth of a small sandy alcove. The tree in this photo looks like it is full of branches, but if you look at it from the other side, the branches have been blown away. The area that I think looks like water, is the sun shining.

The day we did this hike it was over 100 degrees F in the shade. We were hugging the cliff walls during rest stops to keep out of the sun. The rule in the park is one gallon of water per person per day. We had one member of our group, me, carrying most of the extra water, with the other parties in the group carrying their own. This was a spur trail that we took on our way to Double O Arch, the second largest arch in the park, behind Landscape Arch.

Thursday, 11/14/2024: Posted photo — Fire.

I was bored today. It was the coolest day of the week so far and we had a fire in the wood stove. As I was loading wood into the fire, I had and idea of adding texture to a photo. I took a photo of the fire and went into the archives to my texture photos.

This photo is what I came up with. It looks like the photo is sideways, but it is not. This was just after I placed a log in the fire and the log was beginning to burn. The fire was following the contour of the log.

Friday, 11/15/2024: Post photo — Beaver Moon.

This is a composite of 12 photos stacked together with the AutoStakkert program. It is one of my favorite moon photos. I have been taken moon photos for 14 plus years and I am almost happy with one. All I need to do next is to take a full moon photo at moon rise, when it is closer to the horizon, so that it looks big.

The full moon for November is named after beavers because, at this time, they become particularly active in building their winter dams in preparation for the cold season. The beaver is mainly nocturnal, so they work under the light of the Full Moon. This is also the last supermoon of the year. A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth at the same time the Moon is full.

Saturday, 11/16/2024: Post photo — Photo.

Needed one for today so I took a photo of the buttons on our projector.

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

“Sumens imagines consolatur et inspirat me.”

Photographic Thoughts — 11/03/2024 to 11/09/2024

“Pulchritudinem mundi video per cameram meam”

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting 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

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

Sunday, 11/03/2024: Posted photo — Ready for Winter.

All our wood has been delivered and stacked. Including the wood we have left over from last year, have about six cords of wood available to burn this winter.

Unless we have a very cold winter for an extended period, I will not be ordering as much wood next year as I have been for the last two years. The next step is to cover the wood that is outside the protect it from the elements.

Monday, 11/04/2024: Posted photo — Boston at Night.

Here is a view of Boston from the summit of Wachusett Mountain. I know this photo is dark. There was some cloud cover and what seemed to be very light snow on the summit, so everything was dark.

I had a good hike last night. There were only two of us tonight, both strong hikers, so my average speed was 2.8 miles per hour. To put that in perspective, when I hike with the normal group, my speed is slightly less than 2 miles per hour. It took us a half hour less to hike the four-mile loop than if I were with the normal group.

Tuesday, 11/05/2024: Posted photo — Bird in the Clouds.

When I pulled into my parking space at work today, I saw this hawk flying near me. By the time I was able to take my camera out, he moved away from me. This was the best shot that I took.

When I looked at this photo, I liked the way the simplicity of it. Not the perfect composition, yet simple.

Wednesday, 11/06/2024: Posted photo — Another Moon Shot.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Not only practicing moon shots but practicing with my new software. I have been taken my old moon photos and processing them again using the AutoStakkert program. This will be the last practice photo I will be posting. Any future moon photos will be ones taken that day.

Thursday, 11/07/2024: Posted photo — Abstract.

This week’s photo topic is “full frame”. The idea is to fill the entire frame of your photograph with your subject, allowing it to take center stage and draw the viewer’s eye to its details. This photo is my first attempt of a full frame photo this week. It may not be the photo I post, but at least I will have a photo to post.

This is abstract wall art that is in one of the cubicles at work. This is a very colorful painting that drew my eyes. I will look at it for a few days to see if it is good enough to post. I have not been happy with my photos lately and need to step it up a notch.

Friday, 11/08/2024: Post photo — Moon and Venus.

Walked out of the office to this wonderful site — the moon and Venus at sunset. Venus is hard to see in this photo.

Saturday, 11/09/2024: Post photo — Centerpiece.

Today was the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC’s) Annual Meeting. During the meeting we voted on the new Executive Committee for the Worcester.

I was the official photographer for the meeting. I have not looked at any of my photos yet, and hope that some are good. I am sure they are. I am my worst critic.

This is a photo of the centerpiece on our table. The logo on the water bottle is the newest logo for the AMC.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 10/27/2024 to 11/02/2024

“The picture that you took with your camera is the imagination you want to create with reality.” — Scott Lorenzo

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

This week has a hiking theme.

Sunday, 10/27/2024: Posted photo — Here they Come.

Here comes the hiking group, ascending the mountain at night.

Little tricky ascending the mountain tonight due to the low temperatures, leaves, and acorns on the trail. We all made it back to the trail head safely.

Monday, 10/28/2024: Posted photo — Trail Ahead.

Mountain House trail on Wachusett Mountain tonight. I was able to get out earlier than normal tonight since no member of the Monday Night hiking group was able to make it to the hike tonight.

Tuesday, 10/29/2024: Posted photo — Summit Sunset.

Tonight there was a wonderful view of the sunset. I will have at least one more week with this group since next week I will be back to my regular hiking schedule.

Wednesday, 10/30/2024: Posted photo — Mount Monadnock.

Many photos of this mountain at sunset. Here is another one taken with my cellphone.

Thursday, 10/31/2024: Posted photo — Super Moon.

This photo was taken back in January. I am posting it this week since I am getting more comfortable with my new software and I wanted to share the results.

Friday, 11/01/2024: Post photo — Baking.

The topic for one of my photo project this week is bake. I made some chocolate chip cookie dough tonight and make some cookies for the photo project.

Saturday, 11/02/2024: Post photo — Training Setup.

Today was the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC’s) Winter Hiking Workshop. During this workshop, new hikers were taught the ins and outs of hiking in the winter.

During this training, I set up a table to discuss winter navigation. I displayed what I do from the initial planning to out on the trail. This is a photos of my compasses. I did demonstrations on how to use a map and compass together and how to determine your UTM coordinate on a map.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 10/20/2024 to 10/26/2024

“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

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

Sunday, 10/20/2024: Posted photo — Past Foliage.

The foliage has past in my area. We do not have bright, vibrant colors. We have the browns of fall. The sky was a great color blue and the contract between the leaves was amazing, especially with the brightness of the sun.

Monday, 10/21/2024: Posted photo — Comet.

If you look closely to the middle of this photo, you can see the comet that I posted last week. The comet is very hard to see with the naked eye tonight. You can see it very clearly when using binoculars and I was lucky to capture it with my phone.

Tuesday, 10/22/2024: Posted photo — Full Moon.

Last week I experimented with new software to stack my photos of the harvest moon. This is a second attempt at it. I am much happier with tonight’s photo. I also used my “moon” lens tonight, getting better starting photos of the moon prior to stacking.

Wednesday, 10/23/2024: Posted photo — Milky Way.

Used a different software tonight to take a photo of the Milky Way. The moon is my primary photography subject. I would like the Milky Way to be my second subject, except I live in an area with many trees so it is a difficult subject.

Unlike moon photos that I have been taken for years, I have only been taking Milky Way photos for a few years.

Thursday, 10/24/2024: Posted photo — Lightning.

I took this photo a few years ago. I was looking at old photos this week, saw this one, and wanted to share it again.

Friday, 10/25/2024: Post photo —Fenway Park.

The baseball championship started today with the best team winning game one.

I that honor, I posted one of my favorite photos from the oldest ballpark in MLB, America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, Fenway Park.

Saturday, 10/26/2024: Post photo — Acorn Cleanup.

Last week I posted about all the acorns in our yard, today I started to clean the up.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 10/06/2024 to 10/12/2024

“Photograph: a picture painted by the sun without instruction in art.” — Ambrose Bierce

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

Sunday, 10/06/2024: Posted photo — Foliage.

Foliage time of year. The leaves are not at peak yet in this area.

A color palette needs pigments, and there are three types that are involved in autumn color:

  • Carotenoids: Produces yellow, orange, and brown colors in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils, as well as rutabagas, buttercups, and bananas.
  • Anthocyanin: Gives color to such familiar things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. They are water soluble and appear in the watery liquid of leaf cells.
  • Chlorophyll: Gives leaves a basic green color. It is necessary for photosynthesis, the chemical reaction that enables plants to use sunlight to manufacture sugars for food.

Monday, 10/07/2024: Posted photo — Mums.

Mums symbolize joy, life, friendship, luck, and rebirth. Part of its beauty is its resilience in the face of a sudden drop in temperatures.

Tuesday, 10/08/2024: Posted photo — Blue Sky.

I took this photo to show the contrast between the blue sky and the leaves starting to change.

Wednesday, 10/09/2024: Posted photo — More Foliage.

Some of the trees in the area are at peak colors. The light off the red caught my eyes, so I took this photo.

Thursday, 10/10/2024: Posted photo — Northern Lights Heart.

There was a surprise tonight when I went out to my car to get something – the Northern Lights. This is a composite photo of the lights. It looks like a heart to me.

This is a photo of what the Northern Lights looked like from my yard. I have many trees on my property so I did not get the full light show until I went up the road a little.

Friday, 10/11/2024: Post photo —Northern Lights Colors.

Second day of the Lights. At the beginning of this year, I have never seen them. So far I have seen them three times.

The Northern Light and a full solar eclipse in one year!

Saturday, 10/12/2024: Post photo — Sunrise near Boston.

I did a sunrise hike this morning. I wanted to do this last week, but I was too tired to do so.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 09/29/2024 to 10/05/2024

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” — Marc Riboud

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

Sunday, 09/29/2024: Posted photo — Red Sky.

This photo does not do justice to the view. I did take this photo near the end of the sunrise, but I still liked the colors. I have been using my cellphone to take photos more and more, so I am not always happy with my photos. I have been taken a photo a day since January 1, 2010 and have been attempting new tools. I think I need to go back to take more photos with my camera.

Monday, 09/30/2024: Posted photo — Gazebo.

This is the gazebo in out town common. I did a rookie mistake, taking a photo into the sun. I attempted to fix this photo, but since I took it with my cellphone, I had no luck.

Tuesday, 10/01/2024: Posted photo — View from the Trail.

Why do I hike? For views like this one. Hiking also clears my mind and energies me. This is a view from the Midstate Trail in the Crow Hill area in Leominster State Forest.

Wednesday, 10/02/2024: Posted photo — Sunset.

The group that I was hiking with made it to the summit during sunset. I took this photo as I approached the summit so that I did not loose the colors of sunset.

Thursday, 10/03/2024: Posted photo — Mushrooms.

Rain and moisture breeds mushrooms. Here area some on some logs in our yard,

Friday, 10/04/2024: Post photo —Windmill.

Another hike, another wonderful sunset. This time of year, we are starting our hikes around the time of sunset. It will not be long until we do all our hiking in the dark.

Saturday, 10/05/2024: Post photo — Wachusett.

I wanted to get out of the house on this wonderful day. I took an eight mile hike on the Midstate Trail. I did not want to hike Wachusett today because I anticipated large crowds on the summit and on the trails.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 09/08/2024 to 09/14/2024

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” — Irving Penn

This week ended with a special memorial hike.

Sunday, 09/08/2024: Posted photo — Mount Rainier.

Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Wildlife abounds in the park’s ecosystems. A lifetime of discovery awaits.

I have been to this mountain many times. We camped out in an area where we saw signs about being in a lava flow area.

Monday, 09/09/2024: Posted photo — Mount St. Helens.

At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted, shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. In a few moments this slab of rock and ice slammed into Spirit Lake, crossed a ridge 1,300 feet high, and roared 14 miles down the Toutle River.

I have been to Mount St. Helens over the years since the eruption and have seen the trees grow back, trees leave Spirit Lake, and the dome inside the crater growing. When I first saw the blast zone, I had a loss for words. You go through lush and dense forests, turn the corner, and then nothing. Trees look like pickup sticks in the direction of the blast. You need to see it.

Tuesday, 09/10/2024: Posted photo — Mesa Arch.

Perched at the edge of the mesa top, this 27-foot-long (8.3 m) arch frames views of the canyon far below and the La Sal Mountains in the distance.

I took this photo before I knew Masa Arch was famous. I took this during my first year to Canyon Lands National Park in the Island in the Sky area. Since then, I have been to the Needles section, and looking forward to going to the Maze section someday.

Wednesday, 09/11/2024: Posted photo — Double Arch.

Visible from the parking loop at The Windows, Double Arch is an impressive feature—the tallest (112 ft/34 m) and second-longest (144 ft/44 m) arch in the park.

This is a composite photo. I took the sky from a photo of Balance Rock. If you look closely at the photo, you can see some people.

Thursday, 09/12/2024: Posted photo — Wachusett Mountain.

Mount Wachusett is a mountain in Massachusetts. It straddles towns of Princeton and Westminster, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River. The mountain is named after a Native American term meaning “near the mountain” or “mountain place”.

This is an HDR photo from Round Meadow Pond.

Friday, 09/13/2024: Post photo — Sunset.

During my hike this week, I captured this sunset from the summit of Wachusett Mountain. This week was the last week that we will be returning from the summit without headlamps. We made it down just as astronomical twilight was ending and Nighttime was beginning.

Saturday, 09/14/2024: Post photo — Mount Flume.

This year, I co-lead a hike to the summit of Mt. Flume for the Flags on the 48 event. This was an Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) hike.

Flag raised on the of Mt Flume

From the official website: “We in the hiking community continue to honor the deceased with a tribute: flying the American flag atop all 48 four-thousand foot and higher mountains in New Hampshire”. This event happens on the closest Saturday to September 11. If September 11 falls on a Sunday, the hike is that Sunday.

This is my 11th time doing this hike. The hike started on the Saturday after September 11, 2001 with one peak, Mt Liberty, and it quickly took off. Just a few peaks the next year, and then all the 48 4000 footers were covered. This event is now in Maine, Massachusetts and other locations.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 09/01/2024 to 09/07/2024

“A photo is worth a thousand words.” — Frederick R. Barnard

A photo is worth a thousand words. Do not feel creative this week, so I am posting just pictures. You can make up your own story.

Sunday, 09/01/2024: Posted photo — Mushrooms.

Monday, 09/02/2024: Posted photo — Hiking Sign.

Tuesday, 09/03/2024: Posted photo — Turkeys in Yard.

Wednesday, 09/04/2024: Posted photo — Round Meadow Pond Dam.

Thursday, 09/05/2024: Posted photo — Wachusett in the Morning.

Friday, 09/06/2024: Post photo — Hidden Shelter on Trail.

Saturday, 09/07/2024: Post photo — Wachusett from Crow Hill.

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

Photographic Thoughts — 08/25/2024 to 08/31/2024

“I really believe there are things nobody would see if I didn’t photograph them.” — Diane Arbus

Some thought and event for the week.

Sunday, 08/25/2024: Posted photo — Moon.

Bright blue sky today. The moon was looking impressive against the blue sky. The moon is my main photograph subject and I feel that I still need practice taking photos of it. Some people say my moon photos are boring since that is not much in the foreground. Sometimes I believe them and attempt to take photo of the moon with a foreground. I do not want to “Photoshop” the moon into a photo, so I just keep doing what I do best—practice my moon photography.

Monday, 08/26/2024: Posted photo — New Hat.

OK, this is what I look like during a hike. I am not very good at taking selfies. I had a hat for over 25 years. It traveled the country and the world with me. It has been in all 50 states with me, and in the 10 countries I have visited. Just for your information, the 10 countries include: The United States, Canada, Mexico, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the Bahamas. I almost lost it a few years ago riding the roller coaster in Legoland in Bulland Denmark. My hat and I have put in thousands of miles hiking.

The brim of that hat stated to fray and needs repair. I attempted to get the same type of hat as a replacement, but the company is out of business. This hat is similar and a different color than my previous one. I may repair it since we have been together for so long.

Let us see if they make them like they used to. If I last 25 more years, I hope to have this hat with me.

Tuesday, 08/27/2024: Posted photo — Robert Goddard.

Robert Hutchings Goddard was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully launched on March 16, 1926. This is a photo of a scale model of that rocket.

The Goddard family lived near where I grew up in Worcester, MA and I have passed his family home many times in my youth. I was always proud to know that such an important person and his family once lived not far from the house I grew up in.

He did some of his research at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), the school that I attended for my post graduate work in Mechanical Engineering. I have been to his lab a few times when on campus.

This park is in Auburn MA not to far from the location that he fired off the fist liquid-fueled rocket.

Wednesday, 08/28/2024: Posted photo — Lonesome Rose.

I wanted to do something a little different for today’s photo. I took a photo of a bouquet of flowers and colorized the rose. Hope you like it. I have mixed feelings about how it turned out.

Thursday, 08/29/2024: Posted photo — Setaria pumila.

Setaria pumila, or Yellow Foxtail, is a summer annual grass that is quite weedy. Its natural habits include gravelly areas along rivers, vacant lots, lawns, grassy areas along roads and railroad tracks, fields, pastures. It is seldom found in natural areas, it prefers full sun with moist to slightly dry conditions.

I was out breaking in a new pair of hiking boots, and I walk by this grass. I just purchase my boots last Saturday and am going on a long hike in a few weeks. Do not want to go on a long hike in the White Mountains with boots that are not broken in. I pass by this type of grass many times during hikes. Today the sun was hitting just right for it to call to me to take its photo.

Friday, 08/30/2024: Post photo — Sunrise.

What a beautiful sunrise this morning. Captured this as I walked into work this morning.

As always, photo do not do sunrises or sunsets justice.

Saturday, 08/31/2024: Post photo — Composite.

I would like to start off by saying happy 32nd birthday to our little angel. Miss you and love you.

It has been a while since I did a composite photo. This is a photo of Round Meadow Pond looking at the dam. This is a composite of 16 photos stitched together using the Brenizer method. The Brenizer method combines multiple files to achieve a shallow depth of field effect in a wide-angle image.

I shot this with my cell phone since I was out walking so I do not know if it technically fall under this method. Always trying out new things with my phone camera. Still not as good as a DSLR, but cellphone cameras are getting better.

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