“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong. It gives me both a point of connection and a point of separation.” — Susan Meiselas
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 11/28/2021: Posted photo — Summit of Mt Norwottuck.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/268 s, 4 mm
Mount Norwottuck or Mount Norwottock, 1,106 feet above sea level, is the highest peak of the Holyoke Range. It was the first stop today. The second one was Long Mt at 920 feet. Not tall mountains, but the hike was 9 miles in length. Mount Norwottuck received its name from Edward Hitchcock, a former professor of geology at Amherst College. Hitchcock coined the term “Scenographical Geology” in 1841 to describe the dramatic geologic landscape of the Holyoke Range. Originally called Hilliard Knob, Hitchcock applied the Native American name Norwottuck to the mountain. Norwottuck is the Indian name of the village of Hadley.
An interesting fact about the Holyoke Range is that it is a Transverse Range. The mountain range runs east to west. There are two other major mountain ranges that are transverse in the United States. They are the Transverse Ranges in California and the Uinta Mountains in Utah.
Today would have been my mother’s 96th birthday. She passed away July 17 this year, so this is the first birthday without her. She is with my father who passed in 1993 and my daughter who passed in 1992. They get to meet their granddaughter together and celebrate their birthdays together for the first time in 28 years. My father would have turned 99 a few days ago.
Hiking clears your mind. Hiking with friends is very therapeutic.
Monday, 11/29/2021: Posted photo — Poles Against a Tree.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 1000, f/1.7, 1/10 s, 4 mm
Monday nights is hiking night. I hike with a Meetup group on Mondays for a few months now. It is a good group to hike with since the pace is a little faster than other groups that I have hiked with in the past.
Tonight’s hike was in the cold and dark. The temperature was in the high 20s (F). It was the first time that I used my microspikes to hike with this year. I did not need to use them, but I did not know the trail conditions on one of the hills on the hike and I wanted to get ready for possible ice. We did get snow last week and the trails were snow covered the ground was frozen.
Why do I hike at night? I hike at night for the peacefulness of it. Even with a group, your senses are challenged, and you are more aware of your surroundings. As a leader for the hike, I keep my eyes and ears open for the less experienced people in the group.
As you can see from the photo, it was cold. I wore my gloves and not my -30 F mittens for this hike. Dressing is layers for winter hiking is also important, so you do not overheat or become too cold. You should have at least three layers. A base layer (underwear layer) that wicks sweat off your skin, a Middle layer (insulating layer) that retains body heat to protect you from the cold, and an outer layer (shell layer) that shields you from wind and rain. Here is a website that describes layering, https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/layering-basics.html.
Tuesday, 11/30/2021: Posted photo — Yes, We Have No….
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 80, f/1.7, 1/120 s, 4 mm
“Yes! We Have No Bananas” was written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohn and was published March 23, 1923. “The story goes that one day in 1922, songwriting duo Frank Silver and Irving Cohn were on their way to work in New York City when they stopped for a snack. At a greengrocer’s, the Greek immigrant owner told the tunesmiths in his broken English, “Yes! We have no bananas today.” The reason the grocer had no bananas? A blight in Central America had caused a shortage.” (https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/31253/music-history-3-yes-we-have-no-bananas)
I thought about titling this photo “Going …” after the expression that has its roots on American college campuses in the 1960s. It is believed that the term going bananas is a term that evolved from the idiom going ape, which also means to go crazy, to explode with anger or to erupt with enthusiasm.
Wednesday, 12/01/2021: Posted photo — Just a Cloud or is it?
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/22, 1/6 s, 35 mm.
This could be just a cloud. Or it could be a winged buffalo tilting down to the left.
I have posted in the past what seeing objects in clouds is called. Pareidolia is a sign of creativity. I took this photo today, not because I saw an object in it, it was because I needed a photo for today. I did not see the object until I was post processing the photos.
What do you see?
Thursday, 12/02/2021: Posted photo — American Bison.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 80, f/1.7, 1/120 s, 4 mm
This photo was taking at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. I have a feeling that I have posted this photo in a previous post. If I did, I am sorry for the repeat. I like this photo.
Wind Cave, one of the longest and most complex caves in the world. Named for barometric winds at its entrance, this maze of passages is home to boxwork, a unique formation rarely found elsewhere.
Here are a few more photos from Wind Cave National Park.
Friday, 12/03/2021: Post photo — Star Trail.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/3.5, 9 s, 18 mm
I took a star trail photo today. It was great to take a star trail photo earlier in the evening and not after 10 p.m. The photo I posted was a composite of 437 photos stacked together. The secondary photo that I am posting in this post is a composite of 637 photos.
There is a lot of airplane activity north of my house at night.
Saturday, 12/04/2021: Post photo — Sunrise at the Pier.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/22, 1/4 s, 62 mm.
I took this photo a few years ago on Jacksonville Beach. This pier was damaged by a hurricane a few years after I took this photo. This is one of my favorite photos that I took that morning. I took this because I liked the way the heron was silhouetted against the pier and the ocean.
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/.
Please note that I have not been able to post to my Weebly page for over a week, so the photos are a little behind there. Weebly technical support is still working on the issue.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 