Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

August 11, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, water

Comments

Leave a comment

2024

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

Things I did this week.

Sunday, 08/04/2024: Posted photo — Birthday.

Today is my birthday. It is also my brother’s birthday. We turned 60 years old today. When I was younger 60 years old was old. Now that I am 60, and still actively hiking, it does not seem so bad.

This is a photo of my brother, our dog, and myself in the mid 1960’s.

Monday, 08/05/2024: Posted photo — Heavy Rain.

Over the last couple of days, we have had periods of very heavy rain. This is a photo of the croquet course at the cottage. People were sitting around enjoying the day when the rain came and flooded the area.

There is great drainage in this area. Within an hour of the rain stopping, the flood waters were no longer. Before it drained, I was able to play a couple of games of water croquet.

Tuesday, 08/06/2024: Posted photo — Distortion.

The topic for one of my photo projects this week was distortion. Being at the lake, thee is always distortion of the sun on the water when there are waves.

I just happen to get lucky as a drop of water from a tree causes a splash on the sun making this photo better than I planned.

Wednesday, 08/07/2024: Posted photo — Ambient Light.

For fun tonight, I wanted to make a star trail photo. I will post the star trail photo later this week. Tonight was the only clear night of the week. With the early week’s rain and the remanence of a hurricane this weekend, this was the best, and only night, to do so.

This is a composite photo of 10 of the over 600 photos I took last night. I live in an area with ambient light, as you can see around the tree line. I did take these photos during astronomical night, but the neighbor left his light on all night.

Thursday, 08/08/2024: Posted photo — Flies on Goldenrod.

During my walk this afternoon, I saw some goldenrod. Not unusual for this area. I did notice that this plant had several flies on it. I took out my cellphone and took this photo.

I was expecting the flies to fly away, but they did not seem to be bothered by my presents.

Friday, 08/09/2024: Post photo — Star Trail.

This is the start trail photo that I noted in my Wednesday post. This is a composite photo of over 600 seventeen second shots.

When I was reviewing the photos, I did notice what looked like the Milky Way. The photo on Wednesday was my attempt of developing the Milky Way in my photos. If I thought about it, my settings would have used Milky Way settings on my camera and not star trail settings. Poor planning on my part.

Saturday, 08/10/2024: Post photo — Hike.

This morning, I took a hike to check out the trail conditions on Wachusett Mountain. There are relatives here from Florida, and I wanted to check out the trail conditions as a possible hike. The trails were very muddy so I would find an alternative hike.

As of the time of this writing, we have not hiked yet. I do have a plan on a drier hike when we do hike.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

August 4, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, Travel, water

Comments

Leave a comment

Photographic Thoughts — 07/28/2024 to 08/03/2024

“Photography has nothing to do with cameras.” — Lucas Gentry

This week’s blog features some of the scenes from my vacation.

Sunday, 07/28/2024: Posted photo — Milky Way.

During my vacation, I attempted to take a Milky Way shot. The first two nights, I practiced at a couple of different locations. Both these locations had a large amount of ambient light. I was hoping that when we traveled away for civilization, the sky would be darker. No luck. When we were away from civilization, either the moon was too bright, or there was cloud cover. Here are my test shots.

Monday, 07/29/2024: Posted photo — Ganoga Falls.

We went to Ricketts Glen State Park in PA during this trip. This park features 23 waterfalls along a 5 to 7 mile trail (depending on your direction). We were able to see 18 of these waterfalls. This is the largest of the falls. Ganoga Falls has a height of 94 feet.

Tuesday, 07/30/2024: Posted photo — RB Bicketts Falls.

Another fall at the park is RB Bicketts Falls. This 36 feet waterfall is a wonderful example of the cascading falls in the park. The hike we took had about 800 feet in elevation change over some easy and difficult trails. The trail we took was marked the most difficult trail in the park. It was well worth the hike.

Wednesday, 07/31/2024: Posted photo — Ozone Falls.

Ozone Falls is the second highest falls at 60 feet tall. The water was flowing well in the park. It will be great to go back in the fall, after the snowmelt, to see how much water is in the river. We camped two nights at Ricketts Glen to be able to hike and rest up before we moved onward.

Thursday, 08/01/2024: Posted photo — Bee on Flower.

Back home after vacation, we went to the cottage. My wife’s family has their reunion the first Saturday in August every year. I am always in the lookout for bees on flowers since I need practice on talking high speed photography.

Friday, 08/02/2024: Post photo — Rainbow.

Rain today. Rain this time of year produces rainbows. The strange thing about rainbows is that no two people see the same rainbow at the same time. They are based on your perspective.

This one started out weak, and then became stronger and then a double. The photo is an attempt to capture the full rainbow using the panorama setting on my cellphone.

Saturday, 08/03/2024: Post photo — Nature.

Just a shot of a log with moss on it to close out the week. When I returned to the office, I had one day to get up to date with my work before customers and auditor paid me a visit.

This photo was taken during the family reunion. Great to see old and new faces once a year.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

July 14, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography

Comments

Leave a comment

Photographic Thoughts — 07/07/2024 to 07/13/2024

“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” — Steve McCurry

Thank you for reading and interpretation my ramblings and sometimes poor grammar. I think as I type so sometimes the words make sense to me at the time. I do not always to back and proofread.

Sunday, 07/07/2024: Posted photo — Triangle.

Was working on triangular composition this week. Took this photo today to use as a submission if I did not like the ones I took last week. There were many opportunities for triangular composition this week and decided on posting a different photo.

I am posting this one today since I like the contrast between the white and the blue sky.

Monday, 07/08/2024: Posted photo — Robin.

I was out spraying the roof of the cottage with a bio solution to remove the moss from the roof. I looked over at the barn and saw this robin in a nest waiting for food.

I climbed down from the ladder I was on, gathered my camera, and took this photo. I am not happy with the quality of photo that comes out of my 300mm lens, so I attempted to edit this photo to make it sharper.

Tuesday, 07/09/2024: Posted photo — Butterfly.

During my hike, one of the members of the group spotted this baby monarch butterfly. She had a difficult time taking a photo of it.

When we were hiking off the fire tower, the butterfly was still fluttering around the area. I keep my phone handy for emergencies, took it out and photographed the butterfly. I had to take a few photos to capture it with its wings open.

Wednesday, 07/10/2024: Posted photo — Endangered Area.

On the summit of Wachusett Mountain, there is an area fenced off. This area is normally not fenced during the winter months, just during the summer months. I noticed it last year for the first time.

There is a sign on the fence that stated that there is an endangered plant that is growing in the summit and this fence it to keep people out.

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

I posted a web from this location a few weeks ago. This morning, I saw a different web. This time the sun was shining of it. Still not the greatest since there wasn’t any dew on it, but it was better defined.

Friday, 07/12/2024: Post photo — Rabbit.

I came home from work today and saw our friendly rabbit greeting me. I slowly stopped my car, took out my cell phone, and took this photo.

At times like this, I wish that I keep my good camera out of its camera bag and next to me. I have seen so many wild animals on my way home that I am not fast enough to take their photos.

Saturday, 07/13/2024: Post photo — Spoons in Cookie Dough.

This week’s photo challenge was spoons. This is my attempt at it.

I have been busy planning for a trip and did not have much time this week to do anything better. I wanted to do a fancy edit of this photo. Maybe I will do the edit soon and then post this photo again.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

July 7, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts

Comments

Leave a comment

Photographic Thoughts — 06/30/2024 to 07/06/2024

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

Sunday, 06/30/2024: Posted photo — Negative Space.

Negative space photography is a style of photography that emphasizes the empty space around a subject.

This was my attempt at negative space. My original plan was to take a photo of an object against a bright blue sky. The sky did not cooperate this week.

Monday, 07/01/2024: Posted photo — Burl.

The cause of burls is hard to pinpoint entirely, but they most often form because your tree is under invasion or being affected by some external stressing factor.

This burl is at the junction of the West Side Trail and Old Indian Trail on Wachusett Mountain. The section of Old Indian Trail that we are hiking is considered by most, myself included, as the second most difficult part of the mountain. It is long and steep and then gets steeper towards the end of the incline.

Tuesday, 07/02/2024: Posted photo — Red-berried Elder.

The Red Elderberry is a large native deciduous shrub or small tree. It produces clusters of tiny white or cream flowers in early spring, followed by bright red berries in mid-July through early August.

These are found on Wachusett Mountain during my hike.

Wednesday, 07/03/2024: Posted photo — Newt.

Newt is generic name used to describe several partially terrestrial salamanders. An interesting fact about newts from the Encyclopaedia Britannica, some newt larvae can become terrestrial juveniles, but remain aquatic as adults. Adult newts that return to water to breed may undergo a partial “reverse metamorphosis” back into a larval state.

There are many newts on Wachusett Mountain. When you hike and the ground is wet, you need to take your steps with care so you do not step on a newt.

Thursday, 07/04/2024: Posted photo — Tiger Lilly.

Tiger Lilies symbolize wealth, prosperity, and strength, reflecting cultural significance.

Tiger lilies are one of the most interesting flowers to me. They almost look fake, like plastic, and I like their colors.

Friday, 07/05/2024: Post photo — Annual Fleabane.

Annual fleabane is an annual native to the eastern United States but introduced across much of North America.

These are in my in-law’s flower patch. They are native flowers but look like weeds to me.

Saturday, 07/06/2024: Post photo — Daylily.

Daylilies are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care. Daylilies adapt to a wide range of soil and light conditions. They establish quickly, grow vigorously, and survive winters with little or no injury.

This is another flower from my in-law’s flower garden.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 30, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, water

Comments

3 Comments

Photographic Thoughts — 06/23/2024 to 06/29/2024

“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.

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

June 2, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Histoy, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, training

Comments

1 Comment

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.

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

May 19, 2024

Posted under

Friendship, hiking, memorial, Photography, Thoughts

Comments

1 Comment

Photographic Thoughts — 05/12/2024 to 05/18/2024

“A tear contains an ocean. A photographer is aware of the tiny moments in a person’s life that reveal greater truths.” — Anonymous

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

Sunday, 05/12/2024: Posted photo — Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day! These are photos of when my youngest brother was brought home will all my brothers looking at him and one of my mother’s 95 year old hands showing her newly cleaned mother’s ring. It has been a couple of years since she left us, and I still miss her. Happy Mother’s Day mom.

Monday, 05/13/2024: Posted photo — Scenes from the Trail.

Some items seen on the trail tonight. I took the group on a different route tonight. This is from what I call the back side of the mountain. It is a trail that is not used by may since you need to take back roads and a partial dirt road to get to the trailhead.

These are photos of some of the group, some Hobblebush, and an old trail marker.

Tuesday, 05/14/2024: Posted photo — Lilac.

Lilac flowers may be single or double, the leaves solid green or variegated, and the plants dwarf or standard. Lilac flower colors may be white, violet, pink, blue, and lilac (of course) to red-purple, dark purple, and even a yellow variety known as “Primrose.”

This lilac bush is in our yard and was transplanted a few years ago from a friend’s yard. It has survived many heavy snowstorms.

Wednesday, 05/15/2024: Posted photo — Ray of Sunshine.

Rays of sunshine coming through the clouds. Almost thought it was rain, but the rays are spread out further than raindrops would be.

Thursday, 05/16/2024: Posted photo — Azalea.

Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the Rhododendron genus that bloom in the spring and can tolerate shade. This is our red azalea bush. We also have a pink azalea bush that will bloom after this one.

It is interesting that azaleas and rhododendrons of different colors bloom at different times.

Friday, 05/17/2024: Post photo — Faces in Nature.

Pansies. Can you see all the pansy faces looking at you?

Saturday, 05/18/2024: Post photo — Blueberries.

Some high bush blueberries growing at the lake. Looks like it will be a good year for them. The bush is very full.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

May 12, 2024

Posted under

Aurora Borealis, hiking, Histoy, Inspiration, memorial, Nature, Northern Lights, Photography, Thoughts

Comments

1 Comment

Photographic Thoughts — 05/05/2024 to 05/11/2024

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… It remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” — Aaron Siskind

Photo for the week. Comments welcome.

Sunday, 05/04/2024: Posted photo — USS Constitution.

Built in Boston and launched in 1797, USS CONSTITUTION is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world today. During the War of 1812 the ship gained fame and its name “Old Ironsides.” The USS Constitution remains both a training and ceremonial ship for the Navy, as well as an educational experience for visitors.

Here are some facts: The USS Constitution was launched on October 21, 1797 at Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard in Boston, Massachusetts and first sailed July 22, 1798 from Boston Harbor. As I was walking away for the ship, after taking these photos, I heard the canons go off and Reveille being played. Then the sailors came off the ship to do their exercises. What a great experience.

Monday, 05/06/2024: Posted photo — Onions.

I cancelled my hike tonight since I had some people sign up and then drop out. I was in Boston all weekend taking my wilderness first aid re-certification class, so I took the opportunity to switch my hiking day until tomorrow. I told myself that I would hike with the Tuesday night group once a month and it has been three months since I hiked with them.

While shopping, I saw these colorful onions. Onions are not high on my food intake list, but I did like the colors. These are yellow onions, white onions, red onions, and vidalia onions.

Tuesday, 05/07/2024: Posted photo — Hiking.

Today I hiked with the Tuesday night group for the first time in a while. This is an invitation only group of experienced hikers. We did a four mile loop around the mountain. I had an opportunity to verify bearing at a few trail junctions. I needed to verify these bearings for my map and compass navigation class I will be teaching in a few weeks.

It is always great to get out and hike with different people. This group knows me as the person who broke his ankle. At the summit, I met more of my friends in the hiking community. One of those people finished his trace of Wachusett Mountain in his kilts. Sorry, no photos of him.

Wednesday, 05/08/2024: Posted photo — Path of Freedom (Freedom Trail).

Boston’s iconic 2.5 mile-Freedom Trail connects 16 nationally significant historic sites, each one an authentic treasure. The sites are the Boston Common (Established in 1634, Boston Common is America’s oldest public park), Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel & King’s Chapel Burying Ground, Boston Latin School Site/Benjamin Franklin Statue, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, Boston Massacre Site, Faneuil Hall, Paul Revere House, Old North Church, Copp’s Hill Burying Ground, USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.

I have visited most of these sites in my life. One day I will take the short 2.5 mile hike to these historic sites in one journey.

Thursday, 05/09/2024: Posted photo — Sugar Maple.

Earlier this year I posted a photo of the sugar maple starting to bud. Here is some progress.

The leaves are starting to bud after some rain and warmer weather.

Friday, 05/10/2024: Post photo — Bluet.

Also called Quaker Ladies, their sweet petite blossoms attract Little Carpenter bees, Green Metallic bees, small butterflies, and the Meadow Fritillary Butterfly.

These wildflowers are in my lawn. If the weather is good tomorrow, I will cut my lawn for the first time this year.

Saturday, 05/11/2024: Post photo — Northern Lights.

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, have been on my photo bucket list. I always thought that I would have to travel to see them. If they are in this area, they are close to the horizon, not very bright, and not high in the sky.

Last night I had the opportunity to see them and photograph them. I was unprepared to photograph them since I normally do research on camera setting. I had my camera and cellphone with me and no tripod or monopod, these photos are either handheld or with my cellphone. I heard talk about the northern lights happening soon but did not realize it was last night until a friend of mine posted photos from his house.

My cell phone has a night setting, so I had to test it out. I am happy about these photos but not overwhelmed by these photos. Next time I will be more prepared. It is amazing that I saw a total solar eclipse and the northern light just about a month apart. Normally there is cloud cover when events like this happen.

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

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

April 28, 2024

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, memorial, Photography, religion, Thoughts

Comments

Leave a comment

Photographic Thoughts — 04/21/2024 to 04/27/2024

“Photography has nothing to do with cameras.” — Lucas Gentry

This week’s blog will feature photos of one of nature’s wonders, a total solar eclipse.

Sunday, 04/21/2024: Posted photo — Easter Candle.

The Paschal Candle represents the risen Christ, as a symbol of light (life) dispelling darkness (death). The Paschal candle is the large, white candle used in liturgies in the Roman Catholic Church and other religious ceremonies.