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April 17, 2022

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hiking, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, Travel, water

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Photographic Thoughts — 04/10/2022 to 04/15/2022

“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.” — Ralph Hattersley

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

Happy and blessed Easter Sunday to your all. Here are my thought from last week. This week’s post has somethings new and somethings old.

Sunday, 04/10/2022: Posted photo — Daffodil.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 37, f/1.8, 1/125 s, 4 mm.

Sign of spring, our daffodils are blooming. I have not gotten out of the house much these last few months. Was able to get out today to walk around our yard. Nice to see plants flowering. We do have more daffodils and tulip in front of our house that I have been watching as I walk from the car to inside the house. I have not noticed any crocus this year. I must have been inside when they were blooming.

Monday, 04/11/2022: Posted photo — Roadblock.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 62, f/1.8, 1/198 s, 4 mm.

The turkeys are back. On my way into work, we ran into this rafter of turkeys. I am still not driving so I took this photo from the passenger seat.

Tuesday, 04/12/2022: Posted photo — The Cause of My Pain.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 251, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.

I have not looked at my microspikes since my accident. There were put in the back seat of my car when one of my hiking companions drove my car back to my house. I just left them there since the car was not used that often. My car has a manual transmission, so I am not able to shift since I cannot use my left foot for the clutch. We are trading in my car for one with an automatic transmission so I can drive myself to work.

I took out my microspikes to see if they were broken. The first one I looked at had a stick embedded in one of the spikes. The was why I went down, no spike available to grip the ice! What a freak accident. I am glad that I know what happened and happy that it was not an equipment malfunction.

Wednesday, 04/13/2022: Posted photo — Hoodoos.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/160 s, 37 mm.

These are hoodoos in Goblin Valley State Park. Goblin Valley State Park is in Green River, UT. Goblin Valley was the set for the movie “Galaxy Quest”, one of our favorite movies. We were surprised that we were able to into the goblins, which we did, and we reenacted some scenes from the movie. The park features thousands of hoodoos, referred to locally as goblins, which are formations of mushroom-shaped rock pinnacles, some as tall as several yards.

Thursday, 04/14/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/16, 1/2000 s, 300 mm.

This is the sunrise from Goblin Valley. We had a wonderful dark sky night and a great sunrise.

Friday, 04/15/2022: Post photo — Delicate Arch.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200 s, 300 mm.

This is as close as we were to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. Delicate Arch is a 52-foot-tall freestanding natural arch. What you do not see is the drop off just after the arch. Delicate Arch stands at the edge of a cliff. We arrived in the park late and did not do the hike out to the arch. We did other hikes in the park the couple of days we were there. The longest hike was about a 10-mile hike in extremely hot weather. We followed the rule of at least one gallon of water per person per day. I carried the water and my wife and son carried other supplies during our hike.

Saturday, 04/16/2022: Post photo — Upper Slot Canyon.

Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 640, f/3.5, 1/25 s, 18 mm.

We found Antelope Slot Canyon by accident. We were looking for grocery stores in the area as we were traveling between the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon. We saw pickup truck that had Antelope Slot Canyon on then. My wife had a friend that went to a canyon in that area that looked like a great stop for us. We did some research and found out the canyon was Antilope Slot Canyon. We arrived in Page, AZ midday to the upper slot canyon was the only place we could get tickets. I know of others that have gone to lower slot and they also looked impressive. Need to go back to visit.

For those of you who know the area, we did not go to Horseshoe Bend since we were just camping at Goosenecks State Park a few nights before.

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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January 30, 2022

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Inspiration, Nature, Photography, religion, Thoughts

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Photographic Thoughts — 01/23/2022 to 01/29/2022

“It’s weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don’t even amount to a couple of hours.” — James Lalropui Keivom

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

Sunday, 01/23/2022: Posted photo — Music.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 252, f/1.8, 1/120 s, 4 mm.

Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd…

This is best known psalm out of the 150 psalms in the Bible. There are five books and four literary styles in the psalms. The styles are hymns, prayers of thanksgiving and petition, religious lyrics, and didactic psalms. You can go online or ask your religious leader for more information on the psalms.

Songs, or hymns, at mass are used to enhance the service. I played the organ/keyboard during Mass when I was in college. My family still plays and sings in the choir during Mass today. A good song will lift your spirits.

I did not intend to use this photo today. I used it because it was one of the only photos that I took and it was the one that I liked the best.

Monday, 01/24/2022: Posted photo — Dusting of Snow.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5, 1/15 s, 50 mm.

Last week we received heavy and wet snow. This week we received a dusting of snow.

In taking this photo, I was practicing depth of field (DOF) in my photos. I am in my 13 year of taking photos every day and I still need on practicing various techniques so my photos are of my liking. I am my own worst critic.

I did go on a great hike tonight. This is my normal Monday night hike on Wachusett Mountain. The trails were in great shape from all the people that have been hiking after the last snowstorm. Microspikes are needed. Some people say no to microspikes since there is no exposed ice on the trails. If I am leading a hike, I am requiring the use of microspikes, or other traction devices, since there is ice under the snow and the spikes give you better traction. I am cautions in a group situation.

Microspikes are great for hiking or in thick ice, nanospikes are good for walking the in areas where traction is needed, but they are not as aggressive as microspikes. I would not recommend the use of nonspikes while hiking since they do not have the grip you need on the snow or ice, or the inclines and declined on a hiking trail. A more aggressive means for traction is the use of crampons. I use my crampons in the higher elevations of the White Mountains, or on a very icy trail. When I hike in the winter, I carry two sets of microspikes: my inexpensive “rock” microspikes and my “good” microspikes and have my crampons with me. Occasionally I will also attach my snowshoes to my pack if there has been newly fallen snow and I know that trail that I will be hiking is an underutilized trail. The difference between my inexpensive “rock” microspikes and my “good” microspikes is the length of the spikes and the quality of the product.

Tuesday, 01/25/2022: Posted photo — Snow White.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/36, 1/50 s, 93 mm.

Light dusting of snow received last night. This makes for a wonderful winter scene. When I was walking around yesterday, I was thinking of the challenge for the 52 frames project https://52frames.com/photographer/20931.  The challenge is for this week is to take a minimalistic photo. This is my first minimalistic photo of the week. Look for a different photo later in the week.

Wednesday, 01/26/2022: Posted photo — Colors.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160 s, 115 mm.

Last week at this time, I posted a sunrise photo. Today I did the same.

I would like to talk about the colors in a sunrise/sunset. When the sun is low on the horizon during sunrises and sunsets, the sunlight travels through more of the atmosphere. Shorter wavelength colors (blues and violets) get scattered out. This leaves more of the longer wavelength colors like yellow, orange, and red. Therefore, sunrises often take on such colors. Some of the colors of a sunrise or sunset are #95382c, #141b24, #4f3c54, #223444, and #9c4a44 for the more technical people that read my post. Sunrises and sunsets are also in the 1000–2000 K range. Other base settings for sunrise and sunset photos are f/6–f/16 and a shutter speed of 1/500 s. I also like to take my photos one step underexposed to bring out the colors. Shoot RAW so values can be adjusted post process if required.

As always, practice sunrise and sunset photos to find out the best settings for your camera.

Thursday, 01/27/2022: Posted photo — Sky.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/640 s, 24 mm.

Here is another minimalistic photo for the week. I like this one better than the snow photo so this is the one that I may post for the 52 frames project.

Some of the elements of minimalistic photography are simplicity, negative space, powerful composition, isolation, color, and lines and shapes. Minimalist photography shows the power of a simple solo object. In this case, it is the contrail against the blue sky.

Looking at the simplicity of this photo, my watermark may be taking away some of its impact. Need to think about that next time. There is a debate whether to watermark photos. It does take away from the aesthetic quality of some photos. I watermark the photos that I post and not the ones that I display in gallery showings or the ones that I sell.

Friday, 01/28/2022: Post photo — Hook.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5, 1/15 s, 62 mm.

I see a hook, a needlenose shark, or a stitch puller. What do you see? This is another pareidolia photo.

Today I am not writing much about this photo since I need to prepare our house for the snow storm that will happen tomorrow.

Saturday, 01/29/2022: Post photo — Looking Down the Street.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/80 s, 29 mm.

We received about 10 inches of snow out of today’s storm. It is much less than originally predicted. The storm moved out to sea, and we were on the outer edge of the storm.

I did go out every two hours today to shovel the snow. The first few times out there were a few inches of show to shovel. As the day went on, the shoveling was easier and quicker. Winter storm Kenan was another let down for us. Only 10 inches of snow. We are still waiting for the first big storm of the year.

Kenan was a bomb cyclone. A bomb cyclone is a storm that undergoes bombogenesis. Bombogenesis is a rapid intensification of a low-pressure system in which we measure in millibars. The lower the pressure is, the stronger the storm.

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.

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January 23, 2022

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hiking, Nature, Photography, Thoughts, Travel

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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.

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January 9, 2022

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Photographic Thoughts — 01/02/2022 to 01/08/2022

“Only photograph what you love.” — Tim Walker

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

Happy New Year to all!

Sunday, 01/02/2022: Posted photo — Boot Scraper.

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

Have you ever walked around a historic district and noted a metal “H” shaped object on the sides of stairways? Those are boot scrapers.

Before roads were paved, people walked, or rode horsed to their destination. When they did, their boots became muddy. To keep the insides of their houses clean, boot scrapers were place on the stairway leading to the entrances of the dwellings. Modern boot scrapers use a brush. You might have seen them at golf courses or visitor centers at national park or other hiking trails since they do a better job cleaning boots. They can get into the groves of the treads much better than just scraping boot on a metal rod.

Monday, 01/03/2022: Posted photo — Academy Hill.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/80 s, 35 mm.

Westminster Village–Academy Hill Historic District encompasses the historic first town center of my town, Westminster, MA. It was the commercial core of the town in the early-19th century. Centered at the junction Main and South Streets with Academy Hill Road, it contains fine examples of Colonial, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture, including the 1839 town hall. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Shown in this photo is the gazebo that hosts events, such as band concerts, during the warmer weather and in the background is the Rev. Cyrus Mann House that was built in 1815.

Tuesday, 01/04/2022: Posted photo — Xylophone.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/13 s, 50 mm.

This toy xylophone belongs to my son. He used it just over 20 years ago. It is now being used by my almost three year old grandniece. She had a great time this afternoon playing with it, naming the colors on it, and just making up songs.

How do I know it is a xylophone and not a glockenspiel? They both have bars. They’re both melodic pieces of percussion. You hit them with a stick. There is one notable difference: A Glockenspiel is made from metal and a xylophone is made with wood. Glock in German is Bell, ergo the Glockenspiel. The Xylophone is made of Xylos, aka wood. Metal bars and Wooden bars. Glock and Xylos.

Wednesday, 01/05/2022: Posted photo — Off to Play.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/25 s, 64 mm.

This compass is pointing to the direction of the mountains in the area. It is the direction that I do most of my playing or hiking and mountain climbing.

Historians think China may have been the first civilization to develop a magnetic compass that could be used for navigation. Chinese scientists may have developed navigational compasses as early as the 11th or 12th century. Western Europeans soon followed at the end of the 12th century.

“The First compass was invented in China during the Han Dynasty between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD, (we don’t know precisely when). At first, it was used for divination, fortune-telling and geomancy, for finding precious gems and in Feng Shui but in time people discovered that it can be used for navigation and orientation. People knew about magnetite even before then, but it took centuries for it to get at least some purpose.” (http://www.historyofcompass.com/)

The compass in this photo does not work very well. It does not always point in the correct direction, so I use it only for demonstration purposes. It was defective from the first time I received it. REI was very nice to me and sent me a new working compass at no cost to replace this one.

Thursday, 01/06/2022: Posted photo — Sunrise.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7.1, 1/640 s, 85 mm.

Some day I take many photos for myself, other days I do not. Today was one of those days that I did not take many photos for myself. I took this photo at work. Not the best sunrise to photograph. I took it just incase I did not take another one for myself during the day. I was correct, I did not. This just proves that you should take a photo of anything during the day just incase you do not have the opportunity to take another.

Friday, 01/07/2022: Post photo — Tree in Snow.

Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/250 s, 50 mm.

Today it snowed. We did not get much, many five inches in this area, but it snowed all day. I walked into work and home from work. A great five mile round trip hike from my house to work and back. I am luck to live within walking distance of work with most of it being through the Midstate Trail. I did not bring my snowshoes since there was not going to be enough snow to use them so I only had my microspikes with me, just in case I needed them.

Luminance HDR 2.6.0 Tonemapping parameters: Operator: Fattal Parameters: Alpha: 1 Beta: 0.9 Color Saturation: 1 Noise Reduction: 0 —— PreGamma: 1

This photo was taken during the day while it was still snowing. There was going to be not much of an opportunity to take outside photos today and I did not want to take an indoor photo because I wanted to show the day as a snowy day for historical purposes.

Saturday, 01/08/2022: Post photo — Motor.

Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 332, f/1.8, 1/60 s, 4 mm.

This motor is off my father’s lathe. My father passed almost 29 years ago so the lathe has not been turned on for at least 25 years. Not that I have it, I plan on cleaning it up to use. The motor was made in 1952 by the name plate. It will be great to get it working and to turn some wood on my father’s old lathe.

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.