“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” — Diane Arbus
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
This week will show you some of the animals that I encountered during my travels.
Sunday, 03/16/2025: Posted photo — Prairie Dog.
One of the campsites we were camped, was a remote campground in Badlands National Park. In this campground and the surrounding area, there USGA was doing a study on Prairie Dogs. These were some that were near my tent.
Monday, 03/17/2025: Posted photo — Camping Bison.
In the same campground, there was a bison that used the site markers as scratching posts. This bison also showed up in the morning. The remote campground had only 10 sites. All eyes were on the bison. People did come out of these tents as the bison moved away.
Tuesday, 03/18/2025: Posted photo — Ducks.
These ducks were in one of the rivers at Yellowstone National Park. I did look up the type of ducks these are but did not write it down.
Wednesday, 03/19/2025: Posted photo — Elk.
This elk came to visit us at the first campground we had in Yellowstone.
Thursday, 03/20/2025: Posted photo — Bison by River.
At the second campground in Yellowstone, we took a walk in the morning and saw this bison by the river. There was a plaque at this location that stated that this was the exact location that the idea to make Yellowstone a national park was born.
Friday, 03/21/2025: Post photo — Mini Cow.
One of my sister-in-law’s animals.
Saturday, 03/22/2025: Post photo — Feasting Bald Eagle.
This Bald Eagle just caught a fish, brought it to the top of this tree, and had its dinner.
“Once you learn to care, you can record images with your mind or on film. There is no difference between the two.” — Anonymous
Random photos of the week. Not my best week of photos.
Sunday, 03/17/2024: Posted photo — Wet Road.
The subject of my weekly photo project this week was road. As with most weeks lately, I had full intention to take another photo for this project and time flew by. I am finding it more difficult to do this weekly project that it was to do the daily project.
This is a photo looking down my street from our driveway. The water on the road gives this photo my character that if the road were dry.
Monday, 03/18/2024: Posted photo — Boundary.
There are two Massachusetts State Parks withing 10 minutes of our house.
The 3,000-acre Wachusett Mountain State Reservation offers plenty of natural and recreational opportunities. And Leominster State Forest that has hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and fishing. Both locations have segments of the 95-mile Midstate Trail in them and I hike and snowshoe in them, depending on the season. Leominster State Forest is flatter and easier to snowshoe in, and I have rock climbed the Crow Hill Ledges often when I was younger.
You have seen many posts from me about my hiking Wachusett Mountain and not many about my adventures in the Leominster State Forest. I will have to post more about those hikes.
Tuesday, 03/19/2024: Posted photo — First Day of Spring.
Today is the first day of spring, the vernal equinox. This was the earliest that the vernal equinox occurred across the contiguous United States in 128 years. Why was it the earliest that the vernal equinox occurred across the contiguous United States in 128 years. According to space.com, there are two specific reasons for this: 1) The quadrennial intervention of leap year often causes a slight variation of the date, and 2) Daylight saving time (DST).
These are tulips that are starting to break through the soil at our house. I was looking to take photos of crocus, but have not seen any this year.
Wednesday, 03/20/2024: Posted photo — Are you Looking at Me.
I came home from work today and saw this squirrel just looking at me. I took out my phone to take it photo expecting it to run away, but it just stayed there.
One of my co-workers heard a story about a state running out of license plates numbers in a particular state so he wanted to know how many combinations of six digits there are. I sent this problem to my son, a mathematician, and these are his calculations.
He did the calculations with (36) six-character plates (26 letters and 10 numbers) and with five character with the last digit indicating the month of registration, as it is done here in Massachusetts. There are other special cases that he did not calculate.
Friday, 03/22/2024: Post photo — Good Morning.
Some snow and ice on family vehicles. Taken in the future (Saturday morning, not today)
Saturday, 03/23/2024: Post photo — Snow and Ice.
Woke up to snow and ice. This weather was expected. I had to run some errands in the morning and the roads were bad. I saw a few cars that have drive off the road. Some people are just invincible.
“Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” — Diane Arbus
In honor of Groundhog Day, I will be posting a previous post.
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
These next few posts will be photos only that I have taken over my vacation. This week will show you some of the animals that I encountered.
Sunday, 01/28/2024: Posted photo — Prairie Dog.
One of the campsites we were camped, was a remote campground in Badlands National Park. In this campground and the surrounding area, there USGA was doing a study on Prairie Dogs. These were some that were near my tent.
Monday, 01/29/2024: Posted photo — Camping Bison.
In the same campground, there was a bison that used the site markers as scratching posts. This bison also showed up in the morning. The remote campground had only 10 sites. All eyes were on the bison. People did come out of these tents as the bison moved away.
Tuesday, 01/30/2024: Posted photo — Ducks.
These ducks were in one of the rivers at Yellowstone National Park. I did look up the type of ducks these are but did not write it down.
Wednesday, 01/31/2024: Posted photo — Elk.
This elk came to visit us at the first campground we had in Yellowstone.
Thursday, 02/01/2024: Posted photo — Bison by River.
At the second campground in Yellowstone, we took a walk in the morning and saw this bison by the river. There was a plaque at this location that stated that this was the exact location that the idea to make Yellowstone a national park was born.
Friday, 02/02/2024: Post photo — Mini Cow.
One of my sister-in-law’s animals. It is always great to take the trip to visit them.
Saturday, 02/03/2024: Post photo — Feasting Bald Eagle.
This Bald Eagle just caught a fish, brought it to the top of this tree, and had its dinner.
“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” — Henri Cartier-Bresson
Random thoughts and ideas for this week.
I have a flower of day this week. I am attempting to change the format of this blog to have one or more educational items per day to make reading my blog more interesting.
Sunday, 05/07/2023: Posted photo — Pyx.
A pyx is vessel containing the consecrated bread used in the service of Holy Communion. Although pyxes were made in various shapes, the most common form was that of a small cylindrical box fitted with a cover, which is generally conical. The pyx in this photo is the one that I use every week to give Holy Communion to the choir.
Flower of the day: Pericallis
Pericallis senetti provides daisy-like blooms in early spring when the weather is cool. They produce vibrant blues, magentas, violets, and can be bi-colored. They can tolerate low temperatures but are sensitive to frost. These are located outside our church.
Monday, 05/08/2023: Posted photo — On the Trail.
What would Monday night be without a hike? Don’t know. Every Monday that I hike does not happen is a disappointment. The good thing about missing a Monday night hike is that I can spend more time with my family. Today was a wonderful day to hike. The temperature was in the goldilocks zone, not to hot and not to cold. The black bugs were not bothering me as much as other members of the hiking group.
Flower of the day: Hobblebush
“Viburnum lantanoides, hobblebush (also known as moosebush, witch-withy, witch-hobble, witch-tangle and tangle legs) can grow more than ten feet tall, and often at least as wide, in its sprawling, errant, fashion. Branches extend outward, arch and descend, re-rooting where they touch the ground, forming a small copse. This lissome habit is most evident in winter when the hobblebush is leafless and the shrub’s structure can be traced. What appears to be a solitary shrub is usually an aggregate of clonal offspring called ramets.” https://wildseedproject.net/2015/06/viburnum-lantanoides-hobblebush-adoxaceae/
Came home from shopping tonight and saw this rabbit in our yard. I took out my phone to take this photo. I took this photo from a distance so that I did not disturb the rabbit. It looks like my camera went into the digital zoom range causing this abstract effect. You can see the tree debris that I still need to clean up in this photo.
Flower of the day: Pansy
Pansies are the cheerful flowers with upturned “faces.” They love cool weather and are popular to grow in spring and fall. They’re also edible, adding color to salads, drinks, and cakes. Here’s how to plant pansies and keep them growing and blooming.
Wednesday, 05/10/2023: Posted photo — Start of Third Leg.
I am leading a mystery hike in a few weeks. The group is meeting at a trailhead, and I am giving them direction at trail junctions. The directions will only consist of bearings and distances. This is the location of the third leg of my trip.
Thursday, 05/11/2023: Posted photo — Dam at Round Meadow Pond.
Here is a photo of the dam at Round Meadow Pond. This is a location that I photograph often.
Flower of the day: Bluets
Common bluets produce both nectar and pollen. Their short flower tubes make their nectar accessible to our short-tongued native bees. Quite a few species of native bees including small carpenter bees and some of our sweat bees will visit common bluets. Several of our smaller species of early butterflies will also visit common bluets.
Friday, 05/12/2023: Post photo — Hitting Off the Tee.
My son purchased a hitting tee for the junior high baseball team he coached. I did some hitting practice. Have not swung a bat in a while. I swung the old way with two hands on the bat as Ted Williams did. He attempted to coach me by having me remove my top hand off the bat as the modern hitters do. I like the old way of hitting.
Flower of the day: Malus baccata (Siberian crab apple)
Siberian crab apple inhabits northerly areas of New England, although certain cultivars grow as far south as Florida. The tree produces white-pink, non-hairy (glabrous) flowers in spring along glabrous branches. With a pleasing, rounded crown, abundant flowers and small, edible fruits, this crabapple has been introduced widely as an ornamental tree.
Saturday, 05/13/2023: Post photo — Lilac.
I have a photo challenge this week that is titled detail. Chances. Details are having your eyes instinctively lock on to a small part of the image before looking at the whole picture. I attempted this by putting a mononuclear on my cell phone and taking this photo.
Flower of the day: Azaleas
Azaleas are typically deciduous while other rhododendrons are evergreen. Azalea flowers are funnel-shaped, somewhat two-lipped, and often fragrant. These azaleas in our yard have survived the last heavy snow that fell. The bush was heavily loaded with snow. There is still a large area of the bush that has not yet bloomed.
Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 62, f/1.8, 1/678 s, 7 mm.
During the ride down to our vacation destination, I noticed the contrail left by at plane as it was turning. Contrails or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth’s surface. A little later, I noticed that a plane took a turn and flew in front of another plane. I took my phone out, since I was the navigator at this time, and took a photo.
Monday, 02/20/2023: Posted photo — Shell.
Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 66, f/1.8, 1/593 s, 7 mm.
We reached our destination and took a walk on the beach. I took a photo of this shell because of its color. The beach was full of white shells. I did not see many shells that were dark. This shell is a common cockle shell. The common cockle (Cerastoderma edule) is a species of edible saltwater clam.
Tuesday, 02/21/2023: Posted photo — Under the Pier.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 22 mm.
The Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier is nearly a quarter of a mile long and offers visitors close-up views of the Atlantic Ocean. The pier was closed for years because Hurricane Matthew wiped out part of the pier in 2016, then Hurricane Irma damaged it some more in 2017. Unfortunately the pillions on the pier do not make a good of a photo as the last pier did. At least this one might hold up to hurricanes.
Wednesday, 02/22/2023: Posted photo — Sunrise.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/7, 1/8000 s, 300 mm.
Woke up early this morning to take a photo of the sunrise. Drove down to the pier to get this photo. The cloud cover was sparse, but the sunrise was wonderful. Each sunrise is different.
Tonight, while visiting family members, I saw the moon and Jupiter. Later on, I saw the moon, Jupiter, and Venus. I took out my camera and took a series of shots just after sunset. These photos are ones I took a little later at night at night time. These photos are handheld photos.
Thursday, 02/23/2023: Posted photo — Lizard.
Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 42, f/1.8, 1/234 s, 7 mm.
Don’t know if it is a brown anole or a Florida scrub lizard. Someone can tell me. All I know is that this little guy wanted to go with us to the beach today.
Friday, 02/24/2023: Post photo — Leaving the Nest.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/320 s, 300 mm.
We watched this osprey flying around and gathering sticks for its nest. They move so quickly. This was the best photo that I got of the osprey. This photo was taken in Cradle Creek Preserve. Cradle Creek Preserve consists of 36 acres, purchased on August 9, 2001 by the City of Jacksonville Beach and the city of Jacksonville. The City of Jacksonville Beach holds title to the property. It a very peaceful place in the middle of the hustle of the beaches.
Saturday, 02/25/2023: Post photo — Feet in Ocean.
Settings: Google Pixel 7, ISO 42, f/1.8, 1/4049 s, 7 mm.
As my vacation winds down, and the snow and ice falling up north, I took this opportunity to put my feet in the ocean. With temperatures in the 80s F here and in the teens up north, just relaxing for one more day.
Here is a gull and a Royal Tern that was hanging out with us on the beach.
I also took a walk in a nature preserve and saw this great blue heron. It was going to be a quick walk so I only had my cell phone. Watched it for about 15 minutes and it did not catch a fish. I do like the reflection and the shadow.
Back to the cold weather and reality.
Went back the next day and this egret fished successfully caught a fish, a small fish, but a fish none the less.
“When people ask me what equipment I use – I tell them my eyes.” — Anonymous
One of the things that I like to do is to turn some of my photos into posters. Here is a few of the photos that I have turned into posters over the years.
Sunday, 01/08/2023: Posted photo — Lake Louise.
Lake Louise is located in Banff National Park, Canada’s oldest national park, in the Canadian province of Alberta. It sits at an elevation of 5,679 ft (1,731 m) making it Canada’s highest permanent settlement. The lake extends northeast for around 1.5 mi (2.4 km) and is around 0.75 mi (1.2 km) at its widest point. The Lake Louise area is separated in two – the larger community is known as Lake Louise Village and is directly accessible via the Trans-Canada Highway, while Upper Lake Louise is directly next to the lake itself and contains the famous Lake Louise Chateau, along with a host of incredible hiking, biking, and horse-riding trails. https://adventures.com/canada/attractions/lakes/lake-louise/
Monday, 01/09/2023: Posted photo — Bubble Net Feeding.
Bubble-net feeding is a cooperative hunting strategy that occurs within a group of whales. It is a complex, highly synchronized set of behaviors that involve communication and cooperation, demonstrating signs of high social intelligence.
How it works
To bubble-net feed, whales dive deep below schools of fish and use bubbles blown from their blowholes to stun and trap fish closer to the surface. One whale generally leads the effort followed by the rest of the group. The leader will usually be responsible for blowing the bubbles and the other members will surround the fish, following them to the surface by swimming in spiral patterns to keep the fish trapped.
Humpback whales are known as “gulpers”, which means they feed by leaving their mouths open, swallowing everything in their paths before closing their mouths, pushing water out through their baleen plates and swallowing the critters (usually fish and small crustaceans) they caught. During bubble net feeding, the whales swimming toward the surface will have their mouths open and gulp fish from the school they have corralled.
Wellesley Glacier is a 4-mile long glacier in the U.S. state of Alaska. It trends east for 4 mi to a lagoon on the west bank of College Fjord, 3.7 mi southwest of College Point and 54 mi west of Valdez. It was named for Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts by members of the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition. https://alaska.guide/glacier/wellesley-glacier
For over a century, five generations of the Kunde family have farmed our 1,850-acre estate in the heart of Sonoma Valley. Our winemaking mission is to carry on that tradition by crafting elegant, estate-grown, sustainably-farmed wines with a real sense of place—beautifully balanced and expressive of our dramatic vineyard landscape. https://www.kunde.com/
I took this photo when we attended a wedding at the winery. The couple rented out the vineyard for the occasion.
Thursday, 01/12/2023: Posted photo — Glacier National Park.
Glacier National Park is a 1,583-sq.-mi. wilderness area in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, with glacier-carved peaks and valleys running to the Canadian border. It’s crossed by the mountainous Going-to-the-Sun Road. Among more than 700 miles of hiking trails, it has a route to photogenic Hidden Lake. Other activities include backpacking, cycling and camping. Diverse wildlife ranges from mountain goats to grizzly bears. https://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm
Friday, 01/13/2023: Post photo — Bear at Curry Village.
Curry Village is a resort in Mariposa County, California in Yosemite National Park within the Yosemite Valley. A rockfall in 2008 damaged a number of structures, and about one third of visitor units were closed because of risk. https://www.nps.gov/places/000/curry-village.htm
There was a fisher cat next to our tent site. It hid when this bear walked by. The ranger asked up if we were able to get a look at the number on the bear’s tag. Yosemite National Park is the only park that I know of that a bear will open the door of your car for you if they see something shinny in it or if they smell anything that might be food.
Saturday, 01/14/2023: Post photo — Royal Arches.
The Royal Arches refers to a cliff containing natural occurring granite exfoliation arches, located below North Dome and rising above Yosemite Valley, in Yosemite National Park, California. The Royal Arches are located on the north side of the valley, northeast of the Ahwahnee Hotel. http://www.supertopo.com/rock-climbing/Yosemite-Valley-Royal-Arches-Area-Royal-Arches
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Starting to take more photos. Still will be posting photos from past trips for a little while longer. Sill a long recovery ahead of me.
Enjoy some more travel photos from past trips.
Sunday, 03/13/2022: Posted photo — Low Key.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 2500, f/3.5, 1/40 s, 18 mm.
A low key image is one that contains predominantly dark tones and colors. Low key photography conveys atmosphere and mood. One of my photo projects had a low key image challenge this week. I was thinking about what photo to take to meet this challenge. I would have had many options if I had not just been operated on. With limited mobility, I thought about what there might be around the house. Since low key images contain predominantly dark tones and colors, I took a photo of the fire in our wood stove.
Monday, 03/14/2022: Posted photo — Cameron Falls.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 100, f/22, 10 s, 28 mm.
Cameron Falls, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta.
Cameron Falls is a very uniquely shaped waterfall of about 75 feet in height found in the heart of the Waterton townsite in Waterton Lakes National Park. After heavy rainfall, the waters upriver from the falls get stirred up with a red mudstone called argillite. As the water flows towards the falls, it turns to a beautiful pink hue when light reflects on the mineral water. We did not see the pink falls since the weather was dry when we visited Waterton Lakes National Park just after we visited Glacier National Park in Montana.
Tuesday, 03/15/2022: Posted photo — New Boot.
Settings: Google Pixel 2, ISO 195, f/1.8, 1/60 s, 4 mm.
I had a post op follow-up today a week and a half after surgery. My recovery is going as planned. I was fitted with this very uncomfortable boot. I still cannot put pressure on my ankle for another four weeks. Need to go back on Tuesday for another follow-up since the first one was close to my surgical date and the doctor would like to see my progress and remove some items from my ankle.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/8, 1/2000 s, 160 mm.
Harvard Glacier, College Fjord, Alaska.
The glacier has a 1.5-mile (2 km) wide face where it calves into the College Fjord. It is 300 ft thick and covers 120,000 acres of Chugach National Forest. The Harvard Glacier is the second largest glacier in the Prince William Sound, after the Columbia Glacier.
It is amazing to see how large a glacier is when you look at it from a distance. In this photo, we were about a mile from the glacier.
The names of the glaciers in College Fjord are: Amherst, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Smith, Vassar, and Yale. The glaciers of the northwest side feature the names of women’s colleges, and the glaciers of the fork and the southeast side sport the names of men’s colleges. What of Princeton? According to my research on the names, the scholars that named the glaciers took delight in ignoring it since none of them were Princeton alum.
Thursday, 03/17/2022: Posted photo — Cairn.
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/11, 1/200 s, 34 mm.
On the trail near the Athabasca Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta.
A cairn is a mound of rough stones built as a memorial or landmark, typically on a hilltop or skyline. This cairn is shaped like a person. In Canada this is called an Inuksuk.
The Athabasca Glacier is one of the six principal ‘toes’ of the Columbia Icefield, located in the Canadian Rockies. The glacier currently loses depth at a rate of about 16.4 feet (5 meters) per year and has receded more than 1 mile (1.5 km) and lost over half of its volume in the past 125 years.
From the Canadian Encyclopedia: “Inuksuk (also spelled inukshuk, plural inuksuit) is a figure made of piled stones or boulders constructed to communicate with humans throughout the Arctic. Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, inuksuit are integral to Inuit culture and are often intertwined with representations of Canada and the north.” — https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/inuksuk-inukshuk
Friday, 03/18/2022: Post photo — Pall (and Rekard).
Settings: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/160 s, 55 mm.
These are my two buddied from Denmark. Earlier on in my photo projects, I featured Pall every week with Pall telling a story about his life. When I went back to Denmark, I picked up Rekard. They ventured together for next year or two. Might be time to bring their adventures back.
Saturday, 03/19/2022: Post photo — Crater.
Settings: N/A.
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument
From the USGS:
“Prior to 1980, Mt. St. Helens had the shape of a conical volcano sometimes referred to as the Mount Fuji of America. During the 1980 eruption the upper 400 m (1,300 ft) of the summit was removed by a huge debris avalanche, leaving a 2 x 3.5 km horseshoe-shaped crater now partially filled by a lava dome and a glacier. It is primarily an explosive dacite volcano.”
Quick Facts:
Location: Washington, Skamania County Latitude: 46.2° N Longitude: 122.18° W Elevation: 2,539 (m) 8,330 (f) Volcano type: Stratovolcano Composition: Basalt to Rhyodacite Most recent eruption: 1980, 2004-2008 Nearby towns: Castle Rock, WA; Olympia, WA; Vancouver, WA; Yakima, WA; Portland, OR Threat Potential: Very High
Dacite: Volcanic rock (or lava) that characteristically is light in color and contains 62 to 69 percent silica and moderate amounts of sodium and potassium.
Stratovolcano: Steep, conical volcanoes built by the eruption of viscous lava flows, tephra, and pyroclastic flows. They are usually constructed over tens to hundreds of thousands of years and may erupt a variety of magma types (basalt to rhyolite). They typically consist of many separate vents. Synonym is composite volcano.
I have been to Mt. St. Helens a few times over the years. The first time was about ten years after the eruption, and we saw the logs floating in Sprit Lake. I just pictured Harry Truman looking up at the mountain from his lodge and wondering why he did not leave. Then again, there were may false alarms in the past. I am amazed on how nature is recovering in the area. I can still remember the first time that I drove into the blast zone. Very lush, dense forest along the road, turn the corner and nothing. Trees looking like toothpicks laying down in the direction of the blast. There were some cars left for visitors to see how powerful the eruption was.
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.
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.
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.
“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.” — Alfred Eisenstaedt
Thank you for all the new views and likes from last week, it helps keep me inspired.
Sunday, 12/12/2021: Posted photo — Stream.
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/154 s, 4 mm
“The Cascades is made up of several parcels of land: Boynton Park, Cascades West, Cascades East, Cascades Park, and Cascading Waters. Most of the area is wooded, but there is a meadow in Cascades West that has been enlarged to expand the opportunities for wildlife habitat. Several trails follow along streams and there are vernal pools that can be explored in the Spring. Views of the falls are spectacular in the Spring or after a heavy rain.”https://www.gwlt.org/lands-and-trails/four-town-greenway/cascades/
When I was growing up in the city of Worcester, this trail system did not exist. It was established in 1991 and completed in 2005 by the Greater Worcester Land Trust. What a great trail to have in the city and a great location for families to get outdoors and explore nature and the hidden wonders of the city.
This was my first time hiking in the Cascades. I passed the trailheads many times when I was driving home from my mother’s house and have wondered how long the trail system was and why was it called the Cascades. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) had a leadership meeting on the trail ending with a four mile hike on the trail system. At one of the trailheads is the AMC equipment hut. Part of the leadership trailing was to learn about the equipment hut and how to access its resources. It is place that equipment can be borrowed by families or individuals that are just starting out with outdoor activities and need to borrow equipment. It is a great way for those in the city who cannot afford the proper equipment to borrow some to be used in a guided hike or camping trip.
This photo is one of the many cascades along the trail. I only had my cell phone with me so please excuse the quality of this photo. I will be going back with my good camera to take better photos.
Monday, 12/13/2021: Posted photo — Ornament.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/7.1, 1/20 s, 98 mm.
This is the first photo I took with my new lens. My old lens was having issues focusing past 35 mm so I needed to replace it.
Thought to have originated in 16th century Germany, the first ornaments were nothing like what we know today. The ‘modern’ Christmas tree tradition is thought to have originated in 16th century Germany, where small evergreen trees were decorated with the likes of candles, apples, nuts, and berries as “Paradise trees” in church plays. Over time, devout Christians integrated these decorated trees into their homes during the holiday season. The tradition, which became a Christian ritual, began to spread across Europe. (https://theculturetrip.com/europe/germany/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-christmas-ornament-3/)
There is nothing particularly interesting about these ornaments. I just took my camera, pointed it at the tree, and took this photo.
Tuesday, 12/14/2021: Posted photo — Geminids.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 3200, f/9, 14 s, 18 mm.
“The Geminids are considered one of the best meteor showers every year because the individual meteors are bright, and they come fast and furious. The Geminid meteor shower is nearly 200 years old, according to known records — the first recorded observation was in 1833 from a riverboat on the Mississippi River — and is still going strong. In fact, it’s growing stronger. That’s because Jupiter’s gravity has tugged the stream of particles from the shower’s source, the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, closer to Earth over the centuries.”https://www.space.com/34921-geminid-meteor-shower-guide.html
I was up this morning at 2:30 ET to watch the Geminids. What a spectacular show! I was planning on being outside for an hour before going back to bed. I was watching the show until 4 a.m. before taking a short nap to get up for work at 4:30 a.m. I did see some of the meteors during last night’s hike. They were not very bright since the moon did not set until 2:41 a.m. with the peak of the Geminids at 2:40 a.m.
One of the questions was were to direct my camera. I placed it heading north, then heading south, and then to the east. I was pointing it in the direct of the greatest activity at the time. The photo that I posted, the one where the meteor underlines the Big Dipper, was with my camera pointing north. The other photo, the one with the roofline of my house, was with the camera pointing east. There were no bright meteors in the photos with my camera facing south. This is the east facing photo.
Wednesday, 12/15/2021: Posted photo — Sunrise.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/400 s, 50 mm.
Last week I posted a photo of the sunset from my office. Today I am posting a photo of the sunrise.
I was going between buildings this morning and watching the sunrise. I saw different colors in the woods around the property and was looking at the clouds changing color. When I got back to my office, I went to an eastern facing window and looked at the clouds.
This photo is what I saw when looking out the window.
Thursday, 12/16/2021: Posted photo — Waterton Lake Sunset Alberta.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/1000 s, 25 mm
Waterton Lakes National Park is in southern Alberta, Canada, bordering Montana’s Glacier National Park. We camped there a few years ago after sending time in Glacier.
I took this photo the first night we were at the park. I took it at the blue hour. You need to search my previous blogs for the definition of blue hour as it pertains to sunsets. I was able to post edit this photo to make it look like what I saw. Most times the camera will wash out photos or make them look different that that you see. This proves the adage that you can never justify the colors that you can see with a photograph.
Friday, 12/17/2021: Post photo — Off We Go.
Settings: Canon EOS 60D, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/1000 s, 121 mm
Off to Chicago Midway we go!
I was driving around this afternoon and stopped by an airport to watch the planes. It is very relaxing to see the plans take-off and land. Even after studying aerodynamics, I am still in wonder to see a plane fly. I know the time that I took this photo and then went to the airports website to see were that flight was heading. I took photos of the plans to practice AI Servo focusing.
The focus modes on my camera are:
ONE SHOT : One-Shot AF
AI FOCUS : AI Focus AF
AI SERVO : AI Servo AF
[One-Shot AF] for Still Subjects: Suited for still subjects. When you press the shutter button halfway, the camera will focus only once.
[AI Servo AF] for Moving Subjects: This AF mode is for moving subjects when the focusing distance keeps changing. While you hold down the shutter button halfway, the subject will be focused continuously. When you use this focus mode, the camera does not “beep” when the object is in focus, so you need to trust your skills.
[AI Focus AF] for AI Focus AF switches the AF mode from One-Shot AF to AI Servo AF automatically if the still subject starts moving. AI Focus AF mode is one that I do not use, and do not recommend using. It does not work very well.
Saturday, 12/18/2021: Post photo — Statehouse
Settings: Samsung SM-G930V (Galaxy S7), ISO 50, f/1.7, 1/154 s, 4 mm
The statehouse in Columbus OH. My nephew was the lead male in a ballet across the street today. He is 14 years old and is a great dancer. We saw the show twice. Great show.
Photo by Joseph Ciras 