Photographic Thoughts — 08/29/2021 to 09/04/2021

“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective.” — Irving Penn

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

Sunday, 08/29/2021: Posted photo — Hobblebush.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 125, f/1.7, 1/60 s, 4 mm

“The fruit of the Hobblebush reportedly may be eaten raw or cooked and is said to taste somewhat like raisins or dates. Hobblebush has a number of medicinal uses. The Algonquin Indians reportedly rubbed its mashed leaves on the head to treat migraines. Iroquois Indians are said to-have used a decoction of roots as a blood medicine. The plant was also used to treat chest and breathing problems.” — Adirondacks Forever Wild website.

Hobblebush on Wachusett Mountain

These Hobblebush berries are growing on Wachusett Mountain. I took this photo during a hike I took today. I have seen them during my weekly hikes and thought that they would look good in a photo. I was glad to see that one of the berries had turned blue.

Monday, 08/30/2021: Posted photo — Mushrooms.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/80 s, 62 mm.

According to the University of New Hampshire Agricultural department and Better Homes and Garden: “Mushrooms grow from spores (not seeds) that are so tiny you can’t see individual spores with the naked eye. Rather than soil, these spores rely on substances like sawdust, grain, straw, or wood chips for nourishment. A blend of the spores and these nutrient sources is called spawn. Mushrooms like dark, cool, and humid growing environments. Prolonged periods of wet, humid weather, such as we have had over the past few weeks, cause fungi to send up fruiting structures. Fungi disperse to new areas via windblown spores. When the spores land in a suitable location they develop into new fungi which will grow mushrooms given enough time.

Mushrooms in our yard

Mushrooms will go away on their own once the weather dries out. Keep in mind that although these fruiting bodies have disappeared, the fungal mycelia is still growing in the soil. The fungus will continue to grow and persist as long as there is plenty of organic matter to feed upon.”

These mushrooms were growing in my front yard. They are in the same spot each time they grow. We have had many days of rain, so it is a great growing condition for mushrooms.

Tuesday, 08/31/2021: Posted photo — Rose for an Angel.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/125 s, 79mm.

Our daughter had a rare disorder, Triploidy. I did have the medical definition of this disorder in this post. I removed that part of my post since it would be too sensitive to some people.

Pink rose

Almost every year I go and visit her to sing her Happy Birthday and to say a prayer with her. It is not easy losing a child. We have had this rose since she was born and it means a lot to me.

Wednesday, 09/01/2021: Posted photo — Bouquet.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 125, f/1.7, 1/60 s, 4 mm

To continue my two-day flower series, I took a photo of this bouquet. I liked the colors in the bouquet.

Flower bouquet

Once again this photo was taking during the day just in case, I did not take another photo that day.

Thursday, 09/02/2021: Posted photo — Mount Monadnock.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/15 s, 135 mm.

Mount Monadnock at sunset

I summited Wachusett Mountain twice today. The first time was with colleagues from work, the second time was with a hiking group. During the first hike of the day, I took the photo of the flowing water. During the second hike of the day, I arrived at the summit just after sunset. I looked to the north and saw the great colors of the sunset around Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire.

Flowing stream along the Bicentennial Trail on Wachusett Mountain

Friday, 09/03/2021: Post photo — Petroglyphs.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/400 s, 190 mm.

These Petroglyphs are in Capital Reef National Park.

Petroglyph in Capital Reef National Park

A pictograph is an image or designs made by painting on rocks or in cave. A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Petroglyphs tell stories of events that have happened. They are like the newspapers of today. There is one petroglyph outside the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park that the experts still have not deciphered.

Saturday, 09/04/2021: Post photo — Mount Whiteface.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 50 mm.

I decided to take a warmup hike today before the Flags on the 48 event next weekend.

I chose a mountain that I need for my repeat 48 4,000 footers and that was close to home. I decided on Mount Whiteface since I have not done it as one of my repeat 48 and it was only two and a half hours from home. People normally hike Mount Passaconway with Mount Whiteface but today I did not do both since this was a warmup hike and I have some things that I needed to do at home tonight.

Mount Whiteface

Mount Whiteface is a 4,019 ft mountain located in Grafton County, New Hampshire. The mountain is part of the Sandwich Range of the White Mountains. Whiteface is flanked to the northwest by Mount Tripyramid, and to the northeast by Mount Passaconaway. Mount Passaconaway is a 4,043 ft mountain about three miles from Mount Whiteface.

Mount Passaconaway

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!

Photographic Thoughts — 07/04/2021 to 07/10/2021

“Photography is truth.” — Jean-Luc Godard

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

Enjoy this week’s rambling mind of a mechanical engineer and photographer.

Sunday, 07/04/2021: Posted photo — Planter.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/50 s, 52 mm.

Planters are used on houses and cottages for plants. A planter is a decorative container in which plants are grown. This planter is located at my in-law’s cottage. I like the look of this, very rustic. A few of the leaves on this planter looked real to me when looking at it quickly.

Planter

Just for fun, I am posting a photo that I took today and that you should be able to see in 3D.

See if you can view this photo in three dimensions. Use the techniques below and a middle photo will appear.

Go to this page to see the instructions on how to view this photo. “How to See 3D: Magic Eye 3D and more” (vision3d.com)

Monday, 07/05/2021: Posted photo — Inversion.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/500 s, 45 mm

A cloud inversion, or temperature inversion is when the normal temperature distribution of air – warm at the bottom, colder as you go up – becomes inverted or flipped upside down. This means you have a cold layer of air trapped at ground level, overlain by warm air. I know that information may not be useful to you, but it may be useful to some.

Cloud inversion from the Glen Boulder Trail

This photo was taken on a 14-mile round trip hike to the summit of Mount Isolation in NH. I did this hike with my son and two of his friends. Mount Isolation is one of the 48 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire. The path we took was Glen Boulder Trail to Davis Path to Isolation Trail to Rocky Branch Trail. Mount Isolation is only 4,003 feet tall. To get to it we hiked over Gulf Peak (4,774 feet) and North Isolation (4,291 feet). Both mountains are not official 4,000 footers because they do not meet the official criteria to be counted. A 4,000-footer is a mountain that has an elevation of at least 4,000 feet and a minimum of 200 feet prominence. Today turned out to be the best day of the holiday weekend.

Here are some more photos of our hike.

Tuesday, 07/06/2021: Posted photo — Reflection.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/385 s, 4 mm

I was on my way home from my mother’s house and was thinking about what photo I would be posting today. As it was much if the weekend, it was rainy and overcast. I drive past the Holden Reservoirs. The Holden Reservoirs supply the city of Worcester, Mass, and the surrounding communities.

Sunset reflection from one of the Holden Reservoirs

As I passed the last of the reservoirs, I say some color in the sky, so I took to take a photo of this. I took this photo not knowing if there was anything else to photograph for the remainder of the day. Cell phone photos do not do any justice to the beauty of sunsets.

Wednesday, 07/07/2021: Posted photo — More Clouds.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/1000 s, 25 mm.

One word for today, humid. It was not raining and very humid, with a severe weather warning. One of the things I like about a day like today is watching the clouds grow as the storm develops. I like the contrast between the white clouds and the blue sky. I also like when the sun rays seem to jump from cloud to cloud.

Storm clouds building

I took this photo with treetops in the foreground to have some contrast between the sky, trees, and clouds. There were better clouds to photograph down the road, but I decided to use this photo because it seemed dramatic to me.

Thursday, 07/08/2021: Posted photo — Calculator.

Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 400, f/1.7, 1/10 s, 4 mm

These are some of the keys on my HP 35s Scientific Calculator. It is an older RPN calculator and is one that is allowed into the professional engineering examination. I am not taking the examination for a little while longer since I need to study for it. Being a mechanical engineer for over 35 years, I need to get back to study topics that I do not use every day.

Key on my HP 35s calculator

Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) is a system of representing mathematical and logical operations in which the operands precede the operator, and which does not require the use of parentheses. I find RPN much faster to use and I now find it difficult at times to use regular, or normal, notation when using a calculator.

Friday, 07/09/2021: Post photo — Mushroom.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/320 s, 113 mm.

Rained today. Heavy rain today due to Tropical Storm Elsa. The storm brought very heavy rains in flooding to some towns in the area. Once the sun came out, the sky was a great blue.

Mushroom in our yard

On my way home from work, I was just going on settling on posting a photo from the past because the rain put a damper on taking a photo outside. When I arrived home, I saw some mushrooms growing in our front lawn. Great photo opportunity for me. A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. Some people eat mushrooms, some people can tell if it is poisonous or not. I am neither of these people. I do not eat mushrooms and cannot tell if one is poisonous or not. I should work on identifying edible and non-edible mushrooms since I see many on them on my hikes.

Saturday, 07/10/2021: Post photo — Rose.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/2500 s, 113 mm.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” — William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

Yellow rose

Red roses are often considered the universal symbol of love.
Pink roses symbolize gratitude, grace, and joy.
White roses are a symbol of purity, innocence and in some cases, chastity.
Purple roses are not nearly as common, they indicate a fascination or adoration.
Yellow roses are a symbol of friendship and caring.
Orange roses indicate enthusiasm and passion, making them a creative substitute for Valentine’s Day roses and other holidays when people typically buy red roses.

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!