Going to the Movies

We decided to go to the movies tonight at the local theater.  Why not?  Seriously.  There is no real risk, as we see it.  And going to the movies around here will not put you in the middle of a crowd, which is what everyone is telling us not to do.  We did wonder how many people would be in the theater.  When we booked the tickets online, there were NO seats reserved!  Just us two.  So this is what we found when we arrived.  The good news is that by the time the movie started there were about 12 of us scattered around the theater.  No one was within 6 feet of us, which is also recommended.  Oh, the movie:  "The Way Back" with Ben Affleck.  It was great and he was great!

How To Use an Equatorial Telescope

Last Wednesday night's talk at the astronomy club was about different ways of finding your way around the sky.  This is Dave Bush, the Director of the Vanderbilt Planetarium, and he is demonstrating how to use a telescope on an Equatorial Mount.  These mounts seem complicated at first and are a bit difficult to understand.  Dave did a great job of explaining how they work.

Revealing a Photographer's Secret!

 

I started down Laurel Avenue on my walk, and not 100 feet later, I spotted these Crocuses coming out of the ground.  The joy of seeing Spring color!  So I zoomed the lens out to get a close-up photograph.  This is it.  This is also really boring!

So I decided to shoot from a lower angle.  By placing the camera on the ground.  Wait, but if you do that, how do you look through the viewfinder?  Well, you don't.  In this camera the small LCD screen on the back of the camera, where you look to see your finished picture, is articulated where it connects to the body of the camera.  So you unfold the screen, turn it around, and you look down on the screen as the camera sits on the ground.  Cool, huh?  This is my first digital camera that does that.  Much easier than lying in the dirt.  And I think this photograph of the crocuses is much more interesting.  Now you know one of my secrets.

The Daffodil Garden

I was coming back to the house, and as I went downhill toward the turn which takes me home, I happened to see these Daffodils in full bloom.  But this is funny, what actually caught my eye was the background - a cracked and stained concrete wall!  That's why I stopped the car and jumped out.  I think that what makes this interesting is the contrast of textures, and also that it's kind of surprising to see this wall as part of what appears to be a flower garden.

More Work for You to Do!

OK, so here's more work for everyone.  This is a photograph I took of a solitary seagull with a long lens, and I like the photograph because of the patterns in the sand in the background and the foreground.  So I was looking at it, and then thought it might be a stronger image if I cropped in closer.  So this is the result, below:

At first I thought it was the better image because it just focused on the seagull and its reflection.  I thought it was also better because you could see the bird better.  But then I looked at the wider view, and thought that the patterns in the sand made it more interesting.  Boy oh boy, I am just a jumble of indecision these days. So pease help me out and let me know which photo you find more interesting. Thanks!

Two Cats Share a Chair

The kitties behavior is always fascinating.  This is Sam, and man, is he BIG!  Look at the size of him!  Here he is taking a nap in my chair.  He climbed up into the chair after Bebe was already asleep, but his presence didn't seem to bother her, even though part of him was leaning on her!  She is the oldest cat, at 20 years, and she gets respect from both Grace and Sam which is really nice.  Maybe when I get old, I will get the respect that is due me...   :-)

I Can't Decide...

I have a dilemma here.  Two photographs of the same subject, and I can't decide which one I like best.  I saw this Moonrise yesterday on my walk.  And I am a huge fan of Ansel Adams, and his most famous photograph is "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico."  So whenever I see a moonrise, for a second I wonder if my photograph could even come close.  Not a chance...  Anyhow, I did the top photograph and I liked it, but since Ansel Adam's photograph was in black & white, I thought that I would convert my photo and see if it was better if it was not in color.  Now I can't make up my mind!  Please let me know which photograph is your favorite, if you would.  Thanks.  Please click on each photo to see them in more detail.