“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
Random photos this week.
Sunday, 11/20/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise at Work.
The sky was wonderful the morning I took this photo. I have a new phone and am looking all the features on the camera. The phone is in the top 10 of cell phone cameras. I did not get a higher rated phone since I did not want to pay the money for it.
Monday, 11/21/2022: Posted photo — Deer through Office Window.
There are a lot of deer and other animals at work. I work in a remote area on almost 30 acres of wooded area.
Thursday, 11/24/2022: Posted photo — Smith Glacier.
Smith Glacier is a 5.5-mile (8.9 km) long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends southeast to Harvard Arm of College Fjord, 2.8 miles (4.5 km) northwest of College Point and 51 miles (82 km) west of Valdez. It was named for Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition.
Friday, 11/25/2022: Post photo — Koldinghus.
Koldinghus is a Danish royal castle in the town of Kolding on the south central part of the Jutland peninsula. The castle was founded in the 13th century and was expanded since with many functions ranging from fortress, royal residency, ruin, museum, and the location of numerous wartime negotiations.
I took this photo with my very first digital camera. The light off this castle was amazing and was very surprised of the way this photo came out.
Saturday, 11/26/2022: Post photo — Lego Land.
Nyhavn made from Lego bricks at Legoland in Billund Denmark.
Nyhavn is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbor front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
“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.
Some thermals in Yellowstone.
Sunday, 07/03/2022: Posted photo — Old Faithful Geyser.
Monday, 07/04/2022: Posted photo — Castle.
Tuesday, 07/05/2022: Posted photo — Riverside.
Wednesday, 07/06/2022: Posted photo — Morning Glory Pool.
Thursday, 07/07/2022: Posted photo — Daisy.
Friday, 07/08/2022: Post photo — Ledge.
Saturday, 07/09/2022: Post photo — Hoof Mark Grand Prismatic Spring.
That is all for now. Until next week, be safe.
My Weebly website has not been updated since February 16, the day before I broke my ankle.
“I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.” — Bruce Gilden
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 10/31/2021: Posted photo — Bells.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 320, f/1.7, 1/10 s, 4 mm
These are the bells that are rung at Saint Denis Church. I rang the bells this week since the deacon was on vacation. Brought me back to the days when I was and altar boy.
Bells were rung to alert the people to what they could not easily see or hear, so that they could attend to the important and solemn action at the altar. In the past, due to the architecture of a church, the people were physically separated from the altar by the choir — and in some cases a significant number of faithful were impeded from seeing the altar during Mass. So, a little before the consecration a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful.
Monday, 11/01/2021: Posted photo — Pu’u’ula’ula.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/9, 1/100 s, 32 mm.
Pu’u’ula’ula (Red Summit Hill) at Haleakalā National Park Makawao, HI on the island of Maui. This is the highest peak on the island at 10,023 feet. “The road to the cinder cone is paved and holds the world record for climbing to the highest elevation in the shortest distance. Starting from Kekaulike Avenue, the ascent is 34.11km (21.2 miles) long via 28 hairpin turns. Over this distance the elevation gain is 2.011 meters. The average gradient is 5.89%.” (https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/3509-pu-u-ula-ula-red-hill.html) I did not mind the ride. I think the crazy people were the ones that rented bicycles and drove down the hill.
We attempted to get to the peak for sunrise since our initial plan was to spend the night on Maui. We had our tickets in hand to get into the park before it officially opened. Due to Hurricane Lane, we were only on Maui for one day since our cruise ship left Honolulu two days late due to the port being closed. We were able to drive up to the summit later in the day to take in the view. The view was wonderful. It was great to be above the clouds.
If you go to Maui, you should go to Haleakalā National Park for the sunrise. I hear it is spectacular.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 32 mm.
I took a photo of these set of trees a few weeks ago. I did so since I liked the brightness of the sun against the past colors of the tree. We are now past the colorful foliage season and into the fall browns.
Before long, all those leaves will “fall”, and someone will need to rake them up. Fortunately, it will not be me since these trees are not on my property.
If you cannot tell, this photo was done with an HDR, or High Dynamic Range, process. This is a single photo that I made into an HDR photo. I took the photo and processed it by stepping up and stepping down the exposure to blend into an HDR photo. The proper way of creating a HDR photo is to take three or more consecutive shot with your camera at the different exposure levels and then blending them together. HDR is a technique used to reproduce a greater range of luminosity than that which is possible with standard photographic techniques. This is done when the lighting is not that great for a single photo.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/7.1, 1/50 s, 42 mm.
We had two of the five cords of wood I ordered delivered to the house on Monday. My son did a great job stacking over a cord in the woodshed. I stacked the remaining wood in the woodshed last night. This stack of wood is what is remaining from last year’s supply. We have been burning some in the last weeks to get the chill out of the house. When we get into the burning season, we will be mixing the old with the new wood to get a more efficient heat output.
This photo is a yearly photo that I take of our wood. It serves as documentation to when wood was ordered each year. It just happened that this wood was delivered 364 days after my last wood delivery.
Three cords of wood will be delivered to the house sometime soon and I will all need to be stacked in the woodshed. My woodshed is designed to hold four cords. A cord of wood is four feet wide, 4 feet high, and eight feet long. It has a volume of 128 cubic feet. The wood that I get is cut at 18 inches long to fit in out wood stove.
Thursday, 11/04/2021: Posted photo — Orion.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/11, 15 s, 18 mm.
“Orion is the brightest and most beautiful of the winter constellations. Some of its stars, including Betelgeuse and Rigel, are among the brightest stars.
Orion is clearly visible in the night sky from November to February. Orion is in the southwestern sky if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or the northwestern sky if you are in the Southern Hemisphere. It is best seen between latitudes 85 and minus 75 degrees. Its right ascension is 5 hours, and its declination is 5 degrees.
There are several versions of the myth of Orion, but one of the more common iterations is that Orion proclaimed himself to be the greatest hunter in the world, much to the dismay of Hera, the wife of Zeus. She had a scorpion kill him, and Zeus put Orion into the sky as consolation. In another version, Orion is blinded for raping Merope, a granddaughter of the god Dionysus. He has to travel East to seek the sun’s rays to recover his sight.” (https://www.space.com/16659-constellation-orion.html)
I saw Orion yesterday morning when I was going into work. Today I decided to take a photo of the constellation. I knew at the time that I took this photo that I would not be the best one of a constellation since I was going to take it in the parking lot at work. (For your information, this is the third constellation photo that I have taken.) Today is the new moon so the conditions would be better to take this photo. I should have taken it in a darker location. Look in the bottom near the center. You can see the belt clearly.
Looking at the setting for my shot, it seems that I did not change the aperture setting that I used from my last moon photo. The f/11 setting is too small. I should have used a setting of f/3.5 to get more light in my photo. With a larger aperture setting, I could have reduced my ISO value taking noise out of the photo.
Friday, 11/05/2021: Post photo — Mouse Eye View.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/3.5, 1/13 s, 18 mm.
This is what our yard might look to a mouse. I put my camera down in our lawn and took this shot. I will be cleaning up these leaves soon. There are still more to fall, so I just wait a day or two.
Saturday, 11/06/2021: Post photo — TBD.
Settings: TBD.
I have not decided what to post today. Come back later today or tomorrow to see my updated post.
“Photography has nothing to do with cameras.” — Lucas Gentry
Sorry about the late post last week. With the hike and Memorial Day, I did not find the time to post on time. Thank you for understanding.
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week. It helps keep me going. Enjoy my blog post!
Enjoy this week’s rambling mind of a mechanical engineer and photographer.
Sunday, 05/30/2021: Posted photo — Lupine.
Settings: FUGIFILM FinePix XP70, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/100 s, 9 mm.
From the Garden Design website: “If you’re looking for a showy summer-flowering perennial that will stand out from the crowd, lupine is a sure front-runner. The tall, lush spires of vividly colored flowers are like floral traffic cones, compelling you to slow down and take notice. In addition to their irresistible beauty, lupines are also valued for their ability to flourish in challenging environments, including sandy nutrient-poor soils, high elevations, and areas with cool summers.”
Lupines grow wild in this area. They are tall in this area and make fields look very colorful. I saw lupine in Colorado, and they were not as tall as New England because of the altitude that they grow. These lupines are in the parking lot of the church. I have seen them year after year and have photographed them yearly. There does not seem to be as many as in the past for some reason. Maybe someone who reads this can educate me.
Monday, 05/31/2021: Posted photo — National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/9, 1/1600 s, 31 mm
“Few national cemeteries can compete with the dramatic natural setting of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. The “Punchbowl” was formed some 75,000 to 100,000 years ago during the Honolulu period of secondary volcanic activity. A crater resulted from the ejection of hot lava through cracks in the old coral reefs which, at the time, extended to the foot of the Koolau Mountain Range.
In August 2001, about 70 generic unknown markers for the graves of men known to have died during the attack on Pearl Harbor were replaced with markers that included “USS Arizona” after it was determined they perished on this vessel. In addition, new information that identified grave locations of 175 men whose graves were previously marked as unknown resulted in the installation of new markers in October 2002. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.” National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
When I took this photo, it was the second time that I visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. I have been to both Arlington National Cemetery and this one. Arlington has a feel that overtakes you emotionally. This one also does in a different way. It does not have all the “famous” people there since Hawaii is new to this country. There are no headstones, so everyone is equal. The National Cemetery is a must visit if you get the opportunity to visit Hawaii. When we visited, there was a memorial wreath for the late Senator John McCain in the Vietnam War section laid there by Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
People post photos of Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day. I posted this photo since most people to not have the opportunity to see the National Cemetery in person.
The quote is from the Bixby Letter. Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow believed to have lost five sons during the Civil War.
“Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam,–
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 135 mm.
Short and sweet. We have a red rhododendron that blooms after our azaleas. They are such wonderful plants that attract bumble bees and other insects.
Wednesday, 06/02/2021: Posted photo — Mothering.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 135 mm.
Birds incubate their eggs to keep them at the proper temperature to ensure normal development. Female songbirds usually begin incubation after they have finished laying all their eggs so that they will hatch at approximately the same time.
These are smart birds. The mother has made the nest under shelter in a protected area. There is little chance that the nest will be washes away, or that a predator will disturb the nest.
Thursday, 06/03/2021: Posted photo — Fire Tower.
Settings: FUGIFILM FinePix XP70, ISO 100, f/4.5, 1/110 s, 9 mm.
I took one of my work colleagues up Wachusett Mountain today. It was his first time up the mountain. When I hike, I see the same people most of the time. Today these people stopped and introduced themselves to me. I know a few more hikers now and my colleague just thinks that I talk to everyone when I hike. Not the case.
I needed a photo for today and like the way the fire tower looked against the clouds. There was a low ceiling since there was rain in the area. We were dry but the trails were very muddy due to the rain over the weekend.
Quick photo Friday. I took a photo of this piece of wood to see how well the wood is drying. You can tell how well the wood is drying, or seasoning, by the way the wood is changing color.
Saturday, 06/05/2021: Post photo — Spools of Thread.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 160, f/1.7, 1/24 s, 4 mm
One of my wife’s friend is the owner of a new consignment shop. It is a women own company. Today was the opening day for the shop. My wife’s friend was very surprised to see her at the shop since it is about an hour away from our house.
I took a photo of these spools of threads since I liked the colors of the threads and the pattern they were in. The shop is in North Andover, MA. If you would like to know the location of this shop, please message me and I will send it to you.
“A tear contains an ocean. A photographer is aware of the tiny moments in a person’s life that reveal greater truths.” — Anonymous
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week. It helps keep me going. Enjoy my blog post!
Enjoy this week’s rambling mind of a mechanical engineer and photographer.
Sunday, 05/23/2021: Posted photo — Get Out of my Tree.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/80 s, 135 mm
The photo I posted today was of two squirrels that were running around in our yard. These were two of five squirrels that were chasing after each other, knocking each other off trees, trying to hide from each other, and fighting each other. Most squirrels mate twice a year, once during the summertime and once towards the end of wintertime or early springtime. When one female is ready to mate, males will either chase after her or they will complete for the right to mate with her. What I was seeing was the competition to mate with her. There was one female squirrel on another tree watching the activity. Boys will be boys. It is very interesting to see nature at work.
A photo that I almost posted was at the other end of the spectrum. It was a photo of a statue of St. Anne reading to Mary. This statue was in front of St. Denis’ sister church that was in town. St. Anne’s church was torn down due to safety concerns a few years ago. “St. Anne is the patron saint of unmarried women, housewives, women in labor, grandmothers, childless people, equestrians, lacemakers, miners, the poor, and seamstresses. The most well-known patronage of St. Anne is that of grandmothers. Certainly, as the mother of the Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus Christ, St. Anne was a woman of great virtue and love.
St. Anne is often shown seated with a book on her lap. The child Mary stands against her, eager to listen. This depiction of St. Anne is a small explanation of what we know of this holy woman. God entrusted to St. Anne the task of raising Our Lady in a holy and virtuous home, and from a very young age Mary looked to St. Anne to learn about God and how He works in the lives of those who love and serve Him.” — Catholic Saint Metals, (https://catholicsaintmedals.com/saints/st-anne/)
Monday, 05/24/2021: Posted photo — Buttercups.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/400 s, 69 mm
Buttercup is a type of herbaceous plant that belongs to the Ranunculaceae family. There are nearly 2000 species of buttercups that mostly inhabit northern hemisphere. Buttercups are usually found in cold and temperate regions. They prefer moist habitats and live in the fields, meadows, near the roads, in the woodlands, swamps and bogs. Buttercups are widely distributed and abundant in the wild. Some species of buttercups are rare and endangered due to habitat destruction and introduction of new, invasive plant species. Reflexive properties of buttercup flowers are applied in children’s game aimed to determine fondness for the butter. If yellow reflection appears on the skin after placing buttercup under the chin – then child likes to eat butter. Signs of intoxication appear immediately after ingestion of the plant. They include bloody diarrhea, excessive salivation, colic and blistering of the intestines. They have acrid taste, so even animals cannot eat them fresh. (https://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/buttercup_facts)
These buttercups are in the lawn near were I park my car at work. I took this photo on my way home from work before tonight’s hike. I took this photo just in case I did not take any photos during my hike. On my hike, I just hiked with the group of hikers I met last week. Great to go hiking with a group of hikers that socialize and not a social group that hikes.
Tuesday, 05/25/2021: Posted photo — Rhododendron.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/200 s, 92 mm.
Short and sweet. We have a red rhododendron that blooms after our azaleas. They are such wonderful plants that attract bumble bees and other insects.
Wednesday, 05/26/2021: Posted photo — Pants.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/60 s, 35 mm.
Pants for Groot perhaps? Groot is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #13. He is a man made out of wood.
Thursday, 05/27/2021: Posted photo — Rabbit.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/5.6, 1/50 s, 135 mm.
Imagine our two-year-old grandniece’s excitement every time this rabbit came out from under our deck. “There it is!!” She was so excited that she would run toward the rabbit and then it would hide. She would then sit down next to our son and wait and get excited repeatedly.
Needed a quick photo today since I was traveling north to go hiking. Took this one in the morning before the rains came in.
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Saturday, 05/29/2021: Post photo — Hiking.
Settings: FUGIFILM FinePix XP70, ISO 100, f/6.2, 1/240 s, 5 mm.
My son and his friend hiking in NH. This is from Wildcat D looking towards Mount Washington.
Hiking down the trail. Mount Washington in the distance
Five 4000-foot mountains, two official 4000 footers, wet river crossing to start the hike, 1600 feet of vertical gain in less than one-half mile, and hiking with your son and one of his friends. It was a great day. I feel in the river to start the hike. Not a great way to start, but I recovered quickly. Lucky, I brought a second pair of socks to change into. The first pair did not get very wet since I had on a good pair of hiking boots. I have my warm cloths on since the temperature was not to get above freezing in the mountains, so the wetness did not affect my hike.
Here are some quick thoughts about this week’s photos.
Sunday 05/31/2020: Posted photo – Lake Side.
Settings: ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/1000
We went to the lake today for my niece’s 25 social distance birthday party. It was a wonderful, sunny, and warm day. Great to spend time with family again at the cottage. We had each family at a different table to keep with the social distancing theme. I took this photo because I liked the color of the water. This photo is a panoramic photo using the Brenizer Method. This is a method of photo stitching that involved taken a series of photos around your subject and then stitching them together to get more in the photo than you were able to do in a single shot.
Monday 06/01/2020: Posted photo – Duck.
Settings: ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/160
Monday during the summer means that I will be taking a photo at the duck pond at the Old Mill. I mean most Monday’s during the summer since the Old Mill is closed on Mondays. I added a selected focus post processing technique to make the duck stand out more against the background.
Tuesday 06/02/2020: Posted photo – Morning Mist.
Settings: ISO 400, f/16, 1/10
On my work yesterday and today, I noticed a great mist of the pond. Today I decided to stop and take a photo of the mist from one of my favorite locations to take photos. This time I walked a little closer to the dam to get a better photo of the mist off the pond.
Rhododendrons and azaleas are of the same family. Our azalea bushes are passing, and out rhododendrons are starting to bloom. I needed a quick photo, so I took this one.
Thursday 06/04/2020: Posted photo – Turkey.
Settings: ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/80
There are more turkeys around this area over the last few years. This one is part of a flock of turkeys that I see almost every day. A flock is a group of wild turkeys and a rafter is a group of domesticated turkeys.
Friday 06/05/2020: Post photo – Falls.
Settings: ISO 100, f/9.1, 1/25
It was an adventurous day today. It started with a ride to the hospital due to kidney stones. This is the second time that I had kidney stones and this one hit me worst than the first time. Since my morning was spent in the hospital, I did not have the opportunity to go out and get a fresh photo. These falls are a part of a double falls that are near our house. This shot was a handheld shot since I did not have my tripod with me. Some of my shots are spur of the moment shots and I am not always prepared.
Saturday 06/06/2020: Post photo – Alaska.
Settings: ISO 200, f/10, 1/800
If you have ever had the opportunity to go to Alaska, do so. This was taken during an Alaskan cruise. This was taken in College Fjord. Since I am still at home because of my kidney stones, I have posted a photo from a past trip.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 