Storm Clouds & Boulder Creek

The Photodude and I went to Boulder Creek for lunch a few weeks back. You might recognize his name - he is a faithful reader and commentator of this blog. Normally I order a steak here, but for lunch I had a burger and it was absolutely delicious. So when we were hungry late in the day today, we headed here so I could get another of those burgers. It had been raining earlier in the day, and storm clouds were still scudding along low in the sky. There was something about the foreboding look of the clouds, and the warmth of the building and its sign that got my attention. I really like the tiny image of an aircraft inbound to Kennedy Airport that can be seen if you look carefully, just clear of the clouds.

Blue Sky & Sunshine

I was riding my bike along the water on the last leg of my ride today when I was struck by the beauty of the blue water, blue sky and sunshine. It seems like such a wonderful change from snow and rain and fog. I wasn't planning to stop, but I found all the blue irresistible and pulled over in order to take this picture. It was nice that as I stopped, this couple walked by. I spent some time working on how I cropped this. I decided finally to cut into the branches on the left. I was reluctant to chop into the branches, but realized that the final picture would make the trees seem more monumental.

Minimalism

I went out looking for a photograph in the mist and rain yesterday. In desperation I wandered over to the Japanese maple tree. Instead of seeing a group of branches, I saw this single branch, with some small threadlike thing hanging off the end of it. I have never seen this before. Anyhow, as I watched, the bright drop of water that caught my eye suddenly dropped off the branch! Oh no! But then as I watched, another drop slid down the branch, and replaced the first drop! This was repeated every thirty seconds or so. For some reason, it was really fun to watch. And frustrating, with the wind blowing the branch toward and away from me. I shot a lot of images, hoping one would be in focus, with a water drop on the branch. Lucky me, I got it. I was immediately struck, looking at this scene, by how minimalist this scene was. The photograph is made up of so little. I think the subject of the image is really the shape of the line made up by the branch, and, of course, the single water drop.

Sprockets

I photographed the new bike chain a few days ago. It was worn and needed to be replaced. Unfortunately I rode the bike way too long with the worn chain, and as a result, the work chain damaged the set of gears, or sprokets on the rear wheel. The assembly of sprockets is called a cassette. The smallest gear has 11 teeth on it, and the largest has 26 teeth. This is what gives a racing bicycle the huge range of gearing for different conditions. When 10-speed bikes were first made, the sprockets were just flat circles with teeth, stamped out of steel. Now, as they add more gears and use narrower chains, these assemblies are just astounding works of complex machining. The teeth of the sprockets are not all the same, they are not symmetrical, and "shifting ramps" are machined out of the metal as well. But what a gorgeous piece of machinery this is!

A Different View

This is left over from the snow the other day. I was trying to get something different, and found myself looking up from underneath this dogwood branch covered with snow. Usually I am looking at trees from eye level, more or less, but not straight up. So it was interesting to play with the composition of these delicate branches. A completely different feeling, I think.

"With or Without You"

"With or Without You?" What? Ok, here is the story for this photograph. I was coming home from Astronomy, and had a "driveway moment." I had turned off the engine, and the radio was still on, and suddenly the U2 song came on. I hadn't heard it in a couple of years, and I was enjoying listening, but realized that the radio would automatically shut off in 30 seconds or so. So I turned the ignition key back on, and the headlights lit up, so I turned them off, leaving just the parking lights on while I listened as the song played. It was then that I saw the garage doors illuminated by the yellow parking lights. Loved the strange quality to the scene, so I did this photograph. Phew, that story was a long way around, wasn't it... :-)

Snow Mountains & Shadows

Oh boy, here I go again - out looking for a photograph in the snow. I actually spotted this scene from the dining room table. There is freshly shoveled snow from yesterday by the side of the driveway, and then those wonderful long shadows in the side yard. My first thought was that the piled snow looked like a mountain range. And it is the strong light from the side which brings out this texture. I think that this photo is really about the wonderful shades of blue-gray, from white to dark. Click on the image to see it in more detail.