Why This Picture isn't Very Good

So I was on my way to Vermont for the Telescope Maker's Conference. I stopped to have lunch with two of my sisters, Joan and Betsey.  Uncharacteristically, the service in the restaurant that we always go to was impossible.  It took nearly an hour to be served!  And I was under a deadline because I needed to be at the bed & breakfast in Vermont by 5 PM.  There was no time to waste. BUT...   I wanted to stop and look at this iconic scene of Milford, the duck pond and waterfall behind town hall.  This was one of the first scenes I photographed as a kid when starting out in photography, because everyone in the photo club I belonged to shot it.  So I was in a huge hurry, and only took five minutes to look for and take this picture. And then there was not much water coming over the falls. And did I mention I was in a hurry?  So I managed to take several views in five minutes and then dashed for the car.  In the winter, with a lot of water flowing, and the falls iced up, it is a much better photograph.  I will have to come back in wintertime.  By the way,  I have now been in Vermont for less than 5 hours and I already have a billion pictures for blog posts!  Stay Tuned.

The International Space Station

I went out east for observing last night, and got skunked.  There were clouds, but they were supposed to clear.  But they didn't. You can see them in this time exposure photograph of the sky - the clouds are blurred.  In between bands of clouds I was able to view parts of constellations for a bit.  But there was one very cool thing - there was a pass of the International Space Station.  You can find schedules online for times that it flies overhead where you live.  So I decided to do a time exposure and captured it as a long line bright in the photograph.  It is always a spectacular sight - it usually looks like the brightest star in the sky, moving from one horizon to the other in maybe 5 or 6 minutes.  You don't need any equipment to see this - just your unaided eyes.

Sausage & Peppers

Sorry for being late with this post - I went back out to Custer Institute for observing last night.  More on that in tomorrow's post.  This is another photograph that I took at the St. Rocco's Festival, featuring my favorite food - Sausage and Peppers.  I love the light in this photo - the late afternoon sun, low in the sky, and I love the sky - storm clouds which passed nearby, but only left us with a sprinkle.  I think that this gives more of a sense of what the festival feels like, than the bubble photograph from yesterday.  Too bad the guy in the photo isn't clutching a Sausage & Peppers hero!

Saint Rocco's Feast

Every year at this time there is the St. Rocco's Feast in the next town over.  We always go over so I can have a sausage and pepper hero, and then a cannoli for dessert, with maybe a bite or two of a zeppole.  It's fun to walk around and see all the carnival games, where you have absolutely no chance of winning anything - all the games are fixed.  And there are all kinds of things for sale on the midway.  This young man, and the young woman behind him were selling electric bubble squirt guns.  It was cool how the bubbles came out of the gun in a stream.  After I snapped a few photographs, he realized what I was doing and pointed the bubble gun right at me, and suddenly I had my shot!

I Used to be Good

I was looking for some garden photos so went back through my collection and when I saw this portrait, I realized that I wanted to post it, even though it was taken about 6 years ago.  Hey, I used to be a good photographer!  I realize I like the idea of having more portraits in the blog.  Anyhow, the story is, that the paper decided to do a series of interviews with civil rights activists in the 60's and 70's.  This distinguished gentleman was the first black principal of a school on Long Island.  And one stunning story that he told was that he was accosted by one of his teachers in a department store, who was also black, and she said "Why don't you go back where you came from!  We don't need you here!"  Wow.  I remember be stunned when he told that story.  What an amazing face he has - the signs of years of living.  I tried to light his portrait to accentuate his character.

The Rainbow

I have been cleaning up and throwing stuff out.  Well, some stuff.  In a cabinet in the basement I found this rainbow colored windsock - probably something I bought on vacation years ago.  It was brand new and never used, so I thought it would be fun to hang it on the front porch just to brighten things up.  I love seeing it every morning.  When it is backlit by the Sun, as it is in this photograph, it is just brilliant and brightens my day.

The Ivy Doesn't Quit

I used to let the ivy grow up the side wall of the garage, because it was so pretty.  The only problem is that it grows under the shingles and into the garage which is not good.  So several years ago I stripped it all off, and kept after it.  Last year I stored leaves from Fall in garbage bags next to the garage to use as compost, and this year the ivy had a shorter path to get to the garage from where it grows on the wall.  It has grown up the garage wall quickly.  It is beautiful, but I need to rip it all off.   So I decided to photograph it first, and infrared makes the dark ivy so much more dramatic.