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November 7, 2021

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hiking, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts, Uncategorized

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2021

“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.

Tuesday, 11/02/2021: Posted photo — Foliage Again.

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.

Wednesday, 11/03/2021: Posted photo — Stacked Wood.

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.

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/.

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June 6, 2021

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Photographic Thoughts — 05/30/2021 to 06/05/2021

“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.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln” (http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/bixby.htm)

Here are more photos from the cemetery.

Tuesday, 06/01/2021: Posted photo — Thistle.

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.

Friday, 06/04/2021: Post photo — Wood.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 1600, f/8, 1/200 s, 60 mm.

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.