Window Treatment

You're not going to believe this one! I drove out to Huntington to have lunch with a friend in this great little restaurant. My hands were dirty from having read a newspaper while waiting for my friend to arrive. So I went to the small room in the back to wash my hands. I happened to look up and was amazed by this arrangement in the window up high on the wall. I kept looking at it, and decided that it would be a good blog post, for some reason, so here it is.

Another Garden Statue

I came out of the planetarium tonight after our astronomy meeting and as I was getting in my car, I looked over a balcony toward the garden, and saw the power plant lights reflected in the water of the harbor. Then I saw the statue. I loved the smoothness and softness of the clouds and the water. I had only two places that I could shoot from - through gaps in the hedges. In the other version, the statue is off to the right hand side of the photo. So I did two versions of the photograph, and had the hardest time ever, trying to decide between them. I don't remember having such a struggle in choosing a favorite.
So here is the other shot so you can see if I made the right decision.

Angel & Shadows

I was sitting at the supper table when I glanced out the window and saw shadows of the Japanese maple tree on the neighbors cement block wall. Because they were crooked and twisted they really grabbed my attention. It was then that I saw the little stone garden angel. Wow! So I grabbed my camera and 200mm lens, and quickly ran outside, knowing that the light can change in an instant at this time of day. Fortunately I got the shot before the light changed. This is amazing, right?

The Bathroom Sink

I was brushing my teeth this morning when I noticed how the sunlight was shining on the sink. I almost walked away from this, but then went downstairs and grabbed my toy camera and came back upstairs. The composition seemed obvious - I didn't change much between exposures. As I was framing the picture it felt as if this was either some kind of hyper realistic painting, or an abstract image. Funny about how I was going to walk away from this. The lesson is always to listen to the still, small voice from within.

The Plants WILL Rise

This photograph is left over from the snowstorm last Thursday morning. I was surprised to see these shoots coming out of the ground after the snowfall. What made the work even harder for them was that the garden didn't get raked last fall, so the shoots had to push up through a tough layer of fall leaves which were all sort of glued together. The shoots will have their way, and they did rise, against all odds. Wonderful to see the force of nature at work.

IMAX

Our astronomy club met at the Cradle of Aviation museum today for a guided tour of the facility, and then to watch an IMAX movie. We had a great tour guide who added so much richness and background to so many of the aircraft and space vehicles that were on display. I have been in this museum since before it opened, and love every visit, but with such a great guide, the experience today was absolutely first rate. When we went to the IMAX theater I was looking around at the blank screen kind of half heartedly, when I saw these people walk up the far side. Wow! Click! It was all about the shadows on the wall.

The Big Questions in Life

This is a quiz. Why do all the pigeons sit close together on the wires like this? One of the "big" questions in life for me at the moment! It is not as if they can get warmth from one another. It is not as if they get aerodynamic efficiencies by being close. Geese fly in "V" formations, by the way, because it is aerodynamically efficient for each of them - the trailing birds gain a bit more lift from the air coming off the wings of the leading birds. And that's why the leading bird doesn't lead for long - they all switch off after short periods in the lead. Back to my quiz. I think this must be from the "flock" instinct. If you know different, please let me know.