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Frozen Friday

A cold shot to wrap up the week…

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Winter Revisited

A Cold Shot

As we’re wrapping up the week, I figured it might be a good opportunity to look back a couple of years, when I took this photograph.  Although I didn’t give it a title right away, I have come to call this image ‘Winter Revisited’; this sprang forth more from going back to this image again and again than anything in the subject matter, other than the obvious.

This shot was taken on February 7, 2014, at Rocky Pond in Boylston, Massachusetts; this is along one of the variants of my commute.  I had pulled over, because I wanted to see what could be done with the sun’s warm glare off the ice, juxtaposed against the blue of the morning sky.  Nothing really satisfied my desire to create something worthwhile, so I walked a bit along the edge of the pond.

That is when I noticed the frost still on this small brush and how the frost had grown into fractal patterns along the branches and twigs.  Looking through the frosty brush toward the sun, the overhanging tree provided a nice bit of framing to the photo.  All in all, I felt, and still feel, pretty good about the end result.

Random Notes

You’ll notice that a good percentage of my photography doesn’t adhere to the standard edict of keeping the sun in your back to properly light your subject.  There are plenty of times when that is a good idea, but I find that allowing light to come from some more unconventional angles can provide dramatic images.  Of course, for portrait photography it is not at all unusual to put the sun behind your subjects and use flash to light them; that provides for pleasing edge lighting (aka hair lighting) and full control of the light you put on their faces.

Using the sun to a similar effect in landscape images provides rather nice results, such as in this image, where the hoar frost gets to stand out rather than disappear.

This photo was taken with an iPhone 5S.  With a minor bit of Photoshop work, I was able to enlarge the image for a large print with rather dramatic results.  Thus far, I have printed it on 2’x2′ acrylic, which lifts the glow from the sun’s glare off the ice even more.

Hopefully you enjoyed this image, and, thank you for reading my ramblings!

3 Day Quote Challenge (Day 3)

Where the train takes us may not be important…

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Past meets present, as we reach infinity.

 

“My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing,
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.”
– Edna St. Vincent Millay, The Selected Poetry

THE 3 DAY QUOTE CHALLENGE

This is the final day of the 3-day quote challenge that I was given by Mysticalwriter.  First of all thank you for given me the challenge.  As you can tell, I stuck to my plan of using photos to lead me to quotes.
Today’s quote is from American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay; her poetry has always stuck a chord with me.  These lines are a perfect description of life’s journey, which ties back to the image.

HERE ARE THE RULES:

One quote a day for three days. They can be your quotes or quotes from other people. Post one a day for three days and nominate three bloggers per post. Also, thank the person that nominated you.
My nominees for today are:
  1. Instamatic Gratification
  2. With Only One Life
  3. Things Understood

Have fun!

Shot of the Week – vol 3

The path leads forward…

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The Path

This week’s shot of the week was taken this past Thursday during my commute.  As I prefer backroads when driving to work, there are plenty of opportunities to find spots that have some photogenic qualities.

My favorite spots are those that are not apparent to all who pass them; this is definitely one of those, as this is a road that goes up to a state mental hospital that is no longer in use (of course it is about time that the good old mental hospitals from the 50’s and 60’s are being shuttered).  Just out of the shot to the left is a ‘No Trespassing’ sign, which didn’t deter this person walking their dog.

This photo was taken with my iPhone 6S with the standard camera app and adjusted with Instagram.

3 Day Quote Challenge (Day 2)

The sound of the waterfall…

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Chapman Falls in Devil’s Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, CT.

“When I was walking in the mountains with the Japanese man and began to hear the water, he said, ‘What is the sound of the waterfall?’ ‘Silence,’ he finally told me.”

– Jack Gilbert, Collected Poems

The 3 Day Quote Challenge

This is the second day of the 3-day quote challenge that I was given by Mysticalwriter.  First of all thank you for given me the challenge.  My plan is to use one of my photos each day and find some quote to go with the photo.
Today’s quote is from American poet Jack Gilbert.  I like it for its simple depth and zen quality.

Here are the rules:

One quote a day for three days. They can be your quotes or quotes from other people. Post one a day for three days and nominate three bloggers per post. Also, thank the person that nominated you.
My nominees for today are:
  1. Zero Creativity Learnings
  2. silverpepperofstars
  3. MIDI Mike

Have fun!

Let’s Talk Some Trash!

Broncos will be busted with some Patriot missiles!!

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Return for Refill!

The work week is coming to an end once again, or at least slowing down a bit, as there will be some testing that I’ll continue over the weekend.

Of course, like most of you, I have plans for the weekend, but most of them will be rather pleasant and relaxing, as I’m not overdoing it after fighting off this nasty stomach bug!  So here it goes…

  • Guitar lesson on Saturday!  Yes, this will be an hour of fun, as my guitar teacher makes it enjoyable and ensures that at the end of an hour’s playing, I always feel better about my ability than I should realistically.
  • The basement project shall continue…I’ll at least spend a couple of hours to further progress.  Baby steps!!
  • Hang with the dogs!  Did I ever mention that Cardigans are a blast to hang around with?
  • Hopefully not clear too much snow…the forecasters are saying that most will stay south of us, but you never know!
  • And watch the all-important game this weekend, as the Patriots exact revenge on the Broncos to complete their next step in the Farewell Goodell Tour!  Sorry Peyton (not really), but this is not your time, as Brady has his weapons of choice and will not be denied!

Enough trash talk for the moment!  What are your plans for the weekend?  Whatever they are, have a great one!!

Scene of the Crime

A chance encounter in a parking lot

I like to put a little humor in my photography and I always keep an eye out for something unusual that might make an interesting subject that fits that bill.  Staying in the moment and not being too serious helps with this.

Such was the confluence of events this Thursday morning.  I had just received my caffeine-fix from my local Starbucks dealer and walked back to my truck.  Next to my truck, I found this crime scene; a clear case of hit and run with two victims, whose contents had been spilled across the pavement.

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Scene of the Crime

A lovely couple of Diet Coke cans had been violently crushed and left without a second thought right here, just moments before I arrived on the scene.  I was too late to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator, so this crime will likely end up in the cold case file…

The look develops

Struggles with the look and feel of my blog.

For me, a photographer, there’s nothing harder than designing the look and feel of this blog; I don’t know, if it is the perfectionist in me or my inability to make this type of decision.  Whatever it is, it’s a funny thing!

With any kind of camera in my hand, I can make snap decisions (yes, there is a pun there!) and even use a bit of precognition to help determine the look and feel of an image, such as the one here…

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So, for the time being, as this is an assignment in the excellent Blogging101 class that I’m taking through WordPress, I’m using this as a basis for my blog’s look and feel.  There will be further tinkering, as I figure out menus and widgets to add and make it more usable.

Stay tuned!

Instant Grammar – page 43

The railroad that runs through West Boylston does not carry a large amount of traffic.  The occasional cargo train will rumble through town at a rather slow speed; if one gets caught by the train at one of the two grade crossings in town, it is best to turn your car’s engine off and relax, as it will be a while before the crossing clears again.

Past meets present, as we reach infinity.
Past meets present, as we reach infinity.

When I am fortunate enough to meet a train in this way, I enjoy the time to take a closer look at what is passing in front of me.  There is much to learn by watching a train pass by.  The railroad is a veritable history collection on steel wheels.  Ranging from the collection of freight cars and their owners to the cargo that they haul, each train tells a story.

The train may be made up from a large variety of rolling stock from carriers, such as Green Mountain Railroad, Boston and Maine, Pan Am Railways, Bangor and Aroostook, Maine Central, Providence and Worcester Railroad, and the list goes on.  Each of these railroads has their own background and current state of success or trouble.  Some railroads do well financially, but many small railroads’ fate often hinge on consolidation.

The types of the railcars tell another part of the story: what is being carried.  Usually, I see a mix of tankers, car carriers and loads of building wood on center beam cars.  One part that is always a mystery, is where the cargo originated and what its final destination is.

Additionally, the train is a rolling canvas for graffiti artists.  Often just a stylized writing of the artist’s chosen name or some clever message; occasionally, there is a true masterpiece that rolls by and you cannot help, but be amazed by the talent.

By the time the train completes its passage of the grade crossing, I have been entertained, puzzled and stimulated.  It’s time to fire up the engine once more and continue the journey.

I hope you enjoyed my musings about page 43 and feel free to take a look at the entire book at the following link for the softcover versionInstant Grammar 2013 by Frank Jansen or for the hardcover version Instant Grammar 2013 (Hardcopy) by Frank Jansen

Instant Grammar – page 11

During my (then) rather lengthy daily commute, I always opted for the scenic route, which, albeit 10-15 minutes longer, was much more relaxing than using the highways.  And it had the added benefit of providing some interesting scenery to enjoy!

The Cows are Hamming it up!
The Cows are Hamming it up!

One of the points of interest is a set of farms near the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border, one of which literally had a road right through the property of the farm.  This did make for slower travel and the occasional scent of true farm life, such as organic fertilization; from time to time, I would stop here and capture something or other.

On this fine day in April, I wanted to get a bit of a wider image of the cows feeding in the very New England farmland (read: large rocks intersperse grass and mud).  However, the cows had a completely different idea!

As soon as the cows saw that I had pulled over, they decided to come over and find out what I was up to…after all, there may have been food involved!  So rather than getting the wide shot, I got this wonderful close-up of the cows vying for attention.

I hope you enjoyed visiting page 11 and feel free to take a look at the entire book at the following link for the softcover versionInstant Grammar 2013 by Frank Jansen.