Judy's Dogwoods

This blog could probably be called "How many pictures can Ken take without leaving his house?"  I hadn't found a photo today and after dinner I went up to the bedroom for a second and happened to look out the window.  The setting sun was illuminating our neighbor's dogwood tree, and that caught my eye.  There are actually two Dogwoods in the picture, a pink one behind the white one.  It's nice to see the trees in blossom, a reminder of Spring.

The Old Dogwood

Well, I am kind of beating the magic camera to death, huh?  This is the last of the two dogwoods that were growing here when we first bought our house.  The one by the garage died and I cut it down.  This is the other one, just off the end of the porch.  Little by little it has been dying.  There are still a few branches that still bloom, but the tree is on its last legs.  The trunk and branches have become covered with Ivy.  I love the delicate tones and textures in this photograph.  Like so many of the other infrared photographs, this has a ethereal quality to it.

Fresh Bread

I am so spoiled!  I walked into the kitchen, as I did yesterday, and Kathy was working away with the KitchenAid mixer.  This happens all the time.  "What are you making?" I ask.  "Bread" was the answer yesterday.  And here it is!  A loaf of white bread.  Other days it might be cinnamon rolls, or, these days, hot cross buns.  Needless to say, this was delicious.  We had it for breakfast, toasted, and then for lunch, I had a slice, cut in small pieces, which I dipped into olive oil.  Yummm.  What a treat!

Ivy & Ferns

I am still investigating things that grow around here with my Magic Camera.  This is a photograph of the fern bank on the front hill.  What we have in the photograph are leaves of Ivy, and the fiddleheads of ferns, and underneath are old vines of Ivy, and a few examples of another kind of fern.  I love this photo because of the complexity of the textures and layers within the picture.  Please click on it to see it in more detail.

It's The Latest, It's the Greatest...

...it's the Library!  When I was walking around yesterday, looking for all the movie activities, I walked past the children's library and saw all the tulips.  I figured it was worth a shot.  It is such a beautiful, classic building, and the Tulips are such a beautiful touch.  Sea Cliff has one of the 11 oldest public libraries in Nassau County, having been founded by the Sea Cliff Improvement Association in 1894.  The library then offered books, German lessons, drawing classes, and for the men, dominoes and smoking.  Dominoes and smoking???  In a library?  In 1914, Mrs. Mary L. Stenson purchased land and built this building to honor her husband. On May 12, 1915, Stenson Memorial Library, now the Children’s Library, formerly opened to the public.

Hollywood Comes to Sea Cliff!

There has been a movie crew around town for the last several weeks.  There are all kinds of trailers where "the talent" gets dressed and has makeup put on, parked down at Tappan Beach.  There are signs that say "This way to Set."  When I got back to town from my astronomy meeting late last night, there were a number of the crew huddled under a pop-up tent in the center of town, in the rain.  Man, these people put in long hours! So here are these LGBTQ flags hanging over the main drag, and the truck is carrying lighting equipment.

So I walked up to town to see if I could find a photograph or two for the blog.  I stopped to talk to some of the crew and ask questions.  On Sea Cliff avenue, I saw this garbage can "Help Keep Provincetown Clean," so that was a clue!  The crew told me about the production.  It is a new series for TV about the opioid crisis, and it is based in Provincetown, MA.  One of the people I talked to said he had been to Provincetown recently, and that Sea Cliff didn't look a thing like it!  I would agree with that, and it has been years since we were in Provincetown.

This is a collection of "dollies" which are used with movie cameras for "tracking shots."

Here are two electricians I spoke with, and they are having coffee in their truck.

And here is a quick grab shot I did that I think has the director in it, and some of the other people leading the film.  They are watching computer screens which show the video from the camera as it films a scene.  It's kind of cool - the camera was perhaps 100 feet down a nearby street, and cables ran from the camera to where these people were, under a black pop-up tent.  Hollywood magic in Sea Cliff!

Blue Ferns

A good friend and faithful reader of the blog wrote me tonight and said that she loved the Cyanotype image that I posted four days ago, as the best of my "magic camera" shots.  So of course I have to post another Cyanotype!  There are two small groups of ferns under the Japanese Maple tree, and I spent some time trying to make an interesting composition of the group.  I think this does the job nicely.