Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

January 2, 2022

Posted under

Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts, Travel, water

Comments

1 Comment

2022

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.” — Lewis Hine

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

This week’s post will have short descriptions each day since I am getting ready for Christmas.

Sunday, 12/26/2021: Posted photo — Ice on Mountain Laurel.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/25 s, 78 mm.

Another day of freezing rain today. The good news is that it was only in the morning. We postponed our Christmas gathering until today because of the bad weather we had yesterday.

When I went out to clear off the driveway and to warm up the car, I decided to take a photo of the ice off the mountain laurel that is in our yard.

The other possible post for today was that of the nativity seen at church. Before mass today, I took photos of the crèche and the wooden hanging on the lectern. I have also taken a photo of the altar from the choir loft.

Monday, 12/27/2021: Posted photo — Y12 D361 Wachusett Mountain.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/1250 s, 91 mm.

Tonight’s challenge, hike Wachusett Mountain on ice covered trails.

Usually not a challenge for me and my experienced hiking partners, it is more challenging when you hike with a group of various abilities. Some of the people in the group have not hiked in the winter.

During the hike, I had on my “rock” microspikes because of the ice cover and not much snow. These spikes are inexpensive, so I do not mind if they get damaged during the hike. That is what happened tonight. One of the chains broke on them so I need to order a new pair. I use my “rock” spikes so that I do not damage my “good” microspikes on the trail. It is less costly for me to replace the “rock” spikes than the “good” spikes. My inexpensive spikes were purchased off Amazon and my “good” spikes are Hillsound Trail Crampon.

Tuesday, 12/28/2021: Posted photo — That Spot Again.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/22, 1/10 s, 35 mm.

Had to run out and do some errands today. I went shopping during the day since it was a day off for me. Because it was daytime, I wanted to take a photo of the dam at Round Meadow Pond. This is a usual spot for me to take during the year and it is many people’s favorite location to see in my photos.

Wednesday, 12/29/2021: Posted photo — Top of the Cascade.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/14, 1/10 s, 62 mm.

A few weeks ago, I did a hike with the AMC leaders and we went past this Cascade in Worcester, MA. Today I was in the city go do some cleaning at my mother’s house when I decided to stop by the cascade with my good camera to take a photo of the falls. This photo was a handheld photo by leaning on the bridge that overlooks the falls.

Thursday, 12/30/2021: Posted photo — Sand Dunes.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/13, 1/800 s, 95 mm.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Mosca, CO

The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Elevations within the park and preserve range from 8,200 feet to 13,604 feet and keep changing due to the weather. In summer months during mid-day, sand temperatures can reach 150 degrees F. Hike during the morning or evening to avoid heat exhaustion and/or burned feet. Wear closed-toe shoes. This is something that we experienced in the park. We were there in the summer of 2012 and could feel the heat through our shoes.

An amazing thing about the park is that you can see the dunes and the Sangre de Cristo mountains from miles away. When you turn off the main road to the access road, there they are.

Our national parks are wonderful, and everyone should have the opportunity to explore them all.

Friday, 12/31/2021: Post photo — Mom.

Settings: N/A

This year my mother passed at age 95. I did not know what photo to post for the last one of the year, saw a photo of my mother, and posted the photo of her with all her boys.

For your information, here are the final count of photos for the year 2021:

	Total
Portrait	6
Still Life	82
Landscape	105
Food	8
Sports	9
Wildlife	25
Macro	5
Event	11
Documentary	1
Weather	35
Architectural	22
Long exposure	8
Flowers	48

Saturday, 01/01/2022: Post photo — Cushion.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 556, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.

Happy New Year! The start of year 13 of my project. I started on January 1, 2010 and have been taking and posting a photo a day.

The seat cushion on my wife’s aunt’s couch. We had our annual gathering at her house. I normally post a photo of the sunrise on New Year’s morning, but the weather had something to say about that.

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 my Weebly page will be working soon.

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

August 29, 2021

Posted under

hiking, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts, Travel, water, Wedding

Comments

1 Comment

Photographic Thoughts — 08/22/2021 to 08/28/2021

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” — Karl Lagerfeld

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

Sunday, 08/22/2021: Posted photo — Stained Glass.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/80 s, 32 mm.

This stained glass shows the initial for Ava Maria. Ava Maria is a prayer to the Virgin Mary used in Catholic worship. The first line is adapted from Luke 1:28. Ave Maria is also called Hail Mary.

“Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.”

Why did I take this photo — I took this photo because last week I took a photo of some stained glass windows with my cell phone and I wanted to take a better photo. I took my DSLR with me into church this morning, saw the glimmer of light amongst the rain, and took this photo.

Monday, 08/23/2021: Posted photo — Wet Leaf.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/40 s, 135 mm.

Tropical Storm Henri just paid a visit to the area. Yesterday there were some gusts of wind and a little rain in this area. Some other areas around me received more wind damage and rain.

Today I was walking around and say the water beading off this leaf, so I took a photo of it. Always keep your eyes open to the wonders of nature.

Later in the day, I took my normal Monday night hike up Wachusett Mountain. There was only two of us this week because of the heavy rain that came in this afternoon. It was wet and rainy on the way to the summit, and it was very wet and heavy rain on the way down. When I hike, I just keep wiping the water from my eyes and just follow the tail. You need to take all your steps very carefully. Hiking is still fun in the rain.

Tuesday, 08/24/2021: Posted photo — Web.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 1600, f/5.6, 1/20 s, 135 mm.

Is it just me, or are there many more spiders this year that there have been in the past? I keep seeing webs and the light shining off the webs. Today I stopped and attempted to take a photo of a web in the sunlight.

Looking at the photo, it looks like my ISO was set too high since the web looks blown out to me.

Wednesday, 08/25/2021: Posted photo — Moon.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/16, 1/125 s, 300 mm.

Look, Joe took another moon photo!

This morning, as the moon does many times, I was just called to take a photo of the moon.

Thursday, 08/26/2021: Posted photo — Hike.

Settings: N/A.

This is not a photo. I took many photos today and did not like any of them good enough to post.

This is a photo of the trail I took tonight on Wachusett Mountain in the heat. The hike was 3.5 miles long, it started in the light, and ended in the dark. The air was very moist and heavy. When you hike in situation similar to this, you must drink plenty of water.

Friday, 08/27/2021: Post photo — Aialik Glacier.

Settings: N/A.

Aialik Glacier is the largest glacier in Aialik Bay, located in Kenai Fjords National Park. While stable, the glacier calves most actively in May and June. We say the glacier in June and saw the calves.

We went to Alaska in 2016 for our 25th wedding anniversary with my son and niece. Alaska is a great place to visit. If you have an opportunity to visit, please do so.

Poster created from my photo of the Aialik Glacier

About the photo. I took some of my travel photos and made posters of them to remember were the photo was taken. It was a fun process to learn a new photo editing technique. I made a photo script to help me do this for my photos. The script will resize the photos and add the text and boarder.

Saturday, 08/28/2021: Post photo — Mr. and Ms.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/125 s, 24 mm.

I would like to thank Doug and Vicky for allowing me to photograph there special day. This was my first official wedding that I photographed. They had faith in me do this knowing that I am primarily a landscape photographer.

I have worked with Doug’s father for many years. He asked me if I was comfortable enough to take photos as his son’s wedding, I said I would love to do so. As you can see from the photo, they are a fun couple. When I was told that there were wearing Hawaiian shirts for the wedding, I thought that just Doug was going to wear one. When I went to their house and saw that everyone in the family had one on, I went home to put my shirt from Hawaii on to fit in with the crowd. My house was on the way from the morning photoshoot to the wedding.

Thank you again for having faith and my abilities. Now I need to go through the photo and pick some out.

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/.

COVID is real! Be safe out there, keep your social distance, and remember to always wear your mask and wash your hands. Get your vaccine!

Posted by

photobyjosephciras

Posted on

May 30, 2021

Posted under

hiking, Inspiration, Nature, Photography, religion, Uncategorized, water

Comments

Photographic Thoughts — 05/23/2021 to 05/29/2021

“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.

The wonders of youth. Why do we have to lose it?

Friday, 05/28/2021: Post photo — Clouds.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 18 mm.

Needed a quick photo today since I was traveling north to go hiking. Took this one in the morning before the rains came in.

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.