Photographic Thoughts — 01/16/2022 to 01/22/2022

“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness.” — Yousuf Karsh

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

Sunday, 01/16/2022: Posted photo — It’s Cold Outside.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/30 s, 113 mm.

Last week I wrote about how cold it was in this area. Here is a photo of this morning’s temperature. As you can see, it is still cold in this area. The temperature will warm up tomorrow since we are expecting eight inches of snow. Looks like I will be snowshoeing to work tomorrow.

From AccuWeather:

A question meteorologist get asked all the time during the cold winter months is “can it ever be too cold to snow”? Well, the short answer is no.

The ingredients for snow are:

1. A temperature profile that allows snow to reach the surface
2. Saturated air
3. Enough lifting of that saturated air to allow snow to develop aloft and fall to reach the surface

The phrase “it’s too cold to snow” probably originated as a misapplication of the relationship between temperature and the maximum amount of water vapor that can be in the air. When temperature decreases, the maximum capacity of water vapor that can be in the air decreases. Therefore, the colder it gets the less water vapor there will be in the air.

Monday, 01/17/2022: Posted photo — My Commute.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 186, f/1.8, 1/60 s, 4 mm.

It snowed last night, and it was snowing during my morning commute. I like to say that my commute took longer that usual to get to work. What normally takes me five minutes, took me 45 minutes. It is much safer for me to walk to work in the snow than it is for me to drive in the snow. A little more than half of my hike is on the Midstate Trail. It is nice to live so close to a trail junction or trailhead.

During my three mile hike to work, I may see one or two cars and a half dozen plows. On my way home from work, there will be some more cars, depending on the road conditions. People stay home from work when it is snowing. The funny thing about that is that I live in north central Massachusetts, in a snowy part of New England, so people should be used to driving in the snow.

I did not go on my normal Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain today. If I were to hike it, I would have to leave work a little early, take the three mile, 45 minute hike home; get in my car; and then hike three to four more miles on the mountain.

Walking generally occurs on flat paths, while hiking often occurs in areas of high elevation. It can include hills and mountains. Some people think of hiking as anything that has above a 500 foot change in elevation.

Tuesday, 01/18/2022: Posted photo — Moon — Handheld Practice.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/16, 1/250 s, 300 mm.

The full moon was yesterday. It was snowing yesterday so I did not have the opportunity to do my full moon without a headlamp nighttime hike on Wachusett Mountain. As written yesterday, I walked to and from work because of the weather.

This morning I saw the moon and wanted to take a photo of it for this month.

From the Old Farmer’s Almanac: “It’s thought that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. It was traditionally believed that wolves howled due to hunger during winter, but we know today that wolves howl for different reasons. Howling and other wolf vocalizations are generally used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.”

Wednesday, 01/19/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/30 s, 50 mm.

The sky caught my eye this morning, so I took a photo of it. The photo itself will explain why. What great colors. Too bad a photo does not do it justice.

Thursday, 01/20/2022: Posted photo — Aialik Glacier.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/640 s, 75 mm.

The Aialik Glacier is a glacier in the Kenai Peninsula Borough of Alaska. It drains into Aialik Bay. Part of Kenai Fjords National Park, it drains the Harding Icefield. Aialik Glacier, a little over 15 miles from Seward, is the largest glacier in Aialik Bay.

Icefields are expanses of glacial ice flowing in multiple directions. Like ice caps, icefields usually cover less than 50,000 square kilometers (19,300 square miles), so they are much smaller than the ice sheets blanketing Greenland and Antarctica. In contrast to ice caps, icefields are interrupted by peaks of the underlying mountain ridges, and those mountains influence the flow of the icefield.

This is one of the amazing sites in Alaska.

Friday, 01/21/2022: Post photo — Morning View.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 101 mm.

What a great view this morning. As I walk around, I am seeing the sunrise more since the sun is rising earlier in the day. The colors this week on the sunrises have been spectacular.

Saturday, 01/22/2022: Post photo — Colors.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 124, f/1.8, 1/125 s, 4 mm.

I am posting to another website weekly, https://52frames.com/photographer/20931. This week’s theme is Complementary Colors. I had to go to the store today to get somethings to repair my roof and took this photo of the color samples. There are many sets of Complementary Colors in this shot.

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

For more photo of other project I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

My Weebly website is back up and running. I am looking of suggestions on how to make it look better.

Photographic Thoughts — 01/09/2022 to 01/15/2022

“When I photograph, what I’m really doing is seeking answers to things.” — Wynn Bullock

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

Sunday, 01/09/2022: Posted photo — Tricky Santa.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 193, f/1.8, 1/125 s, 4 mm.

This figurine looks like my in-laws. My father-in-law is Santa to many people during the holidays. He goes to many parties and events as Santa. Before Covid, he took calls from children on the local cable channel. He likes to eat cookies.

My mother-in-law bakes cookies around the holiday. Some of the cookies she bakes look the cookies on this tray. She is Mrs. Clause to some people since my father-in-law is Santa. Tricking Mrs. Clause to sneak cookies is something my father-in-law would do.

I took this photo today because it is a figurine that I often photograph during the holiday season. We took our tree and decorations down today, so I wanted to post it this year since I have not done so.

Monday, 01/10/2022: Posted photo — Ice.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/60 s, 42 mm.

Not one of my best shots. I took this photo to show how cold it is her today and will be for the remainder of the week. I was hoping the photo came out better than it did. After posting photo for 4393 days in a row, there are a few you do not like.

Tuesday, 01/11/2022: Posted photo — Cold.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/60 s, 106 mm.

Yesterday it was cold. Today it was frigid. The temperature did not get out of the single digits (°F) and it was windy. The wind chill was well below 0° F. Last night’s hike was very cold, but it was 10–20° F warmer than today. The cold and the wind do not bother me since I know how to dress for it. Dress in layers.

Your layering system is as follows: a base layer that wicks sweat off your skin, a middle layer that is an insulating layer to retain your body heat and protect you from the cold, and an outer layer that shields you from wind and rain.

“The wind chill temperature is how cold people and animals feel when outside. Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold. As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature. Therefore, the wind makes it FEEL much colder. If the temperature is 0°F and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill is -19°F. At this wind chill temperature, exposed skin can freeze in 30 minutes.” — From the National Weather Service.

Wednesday, 01/12/2022: Posted photo — Droplets.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/0, 1/125 s, 50 mm.

This is one of my favorite photos. I took this during the summer when the grass in our yard was tall and needed cutting. I saw the water droplets glistering in the sun and wanted to capture it.

I was very happy with the way this turned out.

Thursday, 01/13/2022: Posted photo — Playground.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 125, f/7.1, 1/100 s, 18 mm.

I had a follow up appointment today and took my camera to take a photo in the daylight. The appointment was near Dunn State Park, so I decided to take my photo there. Hiking, canoeing and kayaking, boating (non-motorized), fishing, and cross-country skiing can all be done at Dunn State Park. Sometimes there is a great shot of the water, trees, snow, and blue sky. The sky was gray, so I did not get that shot. What I did see was one of the play areas in the park. It looked to be a great photo that would tell a story about how cold it has been around this area in the last few days. I have hiked the easy one mile trail around Dunn Pond a few time, just hiking it and looking for Geocaches.

“Dunn State Park is named after its benefactor, John Ainsworth Dunn (1831- 1915) who had a lifelong career in the chair manufacturing industry, eventually founding the John A. Dunn Company with a large factory in Gardner and offices across the country. Dunn was seen by the people of Gardner as a man of strong personality who made the city known in the woodworking/chair industry. He was also very involved in the civic life of Gardner. In his will, Dunn gave this park property to the city of Gardner. At that time, a picnic area, 7-acre pond, field for baseball games, tennis courts and horseshoe pits were added. Over the years, Dunn Park grew to the current 120-acre day area that includes a 20-acre pond, playground, beach, picnic area and trails for us all to enjoy.” — From the Dunn State Park Trail Map.

Friday, 01/14/2022: Post photo — Fan.

Settings: FLIR i5, ISO N/A, N/A, 1/30 s, 7 mm.

This is a thermal photo of the fan on our wood stove. The heat of the stove makes the fan blades turn. The faster the turning, the hotter the fire.

Saturday, 01/15/2022: Post photo — Westminster Crackers.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 56 mm.

In my town is the original Westminster Cracker factory. If you ever had oyster crackers, you may have seen this building. The old locals tell me that they use to put out the defective crackers for people to scoop up.

“Not so many years after the American Revolution, at the hearth of a colonial house in Westminster, Massachusetts, our first Master Baker pulled a batch of warm crackers from the oven, and a New England tradition was born. Back then, the bakery’s power came from a horse and treadmill; dough was mixed and rolled by hand, then individually stamped into crackers and baked in a wood-fired brick oven. Neighbors and passers-by delighted in the fresh-baked, hearty goodness of our breads and crackers.” Read more at https://www.westminstercrackers.com/about-wbc.

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

For more photo of other project I have work, visit my website: https://photobyjosephciras.weebly.com or visit me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/PhotobyJosephCiras/.

My Weebly website is back up and running. I am looking of suggestions on how to make it look better.