Memorial Day #4

We always put our flag out on Memorial Day, and on July Fourth, and on Veteran's Day. So we put it out in the morning, and then didn't think about it again.  Late in the afternoon, I happened to wander into the front hall, and the sun had come around to the west far enough to light up the flag, and to shine in front door and illuminate the lamp as well.  Something about this stopped me in my tracks, and I grabbed a camera and made this shot.  It's all about the light.

The Last Night

For the last year or so, once  month on Thursday nights, I have been meeting with an interesting group of  men, including a particle physicist, a college professor, a carpenter, a couple of high school teachers, an ex-cop,  a doctor, a Post Office supervisor, and a few others.  Oh, and me, the photographer. These meetings have taken place at this facility - the St. Ignatius Retreat house owned by the Jesuits.  I have photographed it before - it is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind building.  But it has been sold and we have to find another place for our meetings.  So I took one last photograph, on the last night.

Memorial Day #3

On Memorial Day, after dinner, I drove up to Memorial Park which overlooks Long Island Sound.  There is an ongoing conjunction of three planets which I wanted to try and see.  This is a great park for viewing astronomical events, because it is high above the water and you can see all the way to the distant horizon.  I did manage to see Venus, Jupiter and Mercury together through the thin clouds.  As I was leaving I was looking around, because that's what I do, and I noticed the bright yellow color of the leaves on these trees against the dark blue sky.  The leaves look yellow, because they are lit with mercury vapor lights, which is very red light. Then I noticed the flag was at half staff, and there was my picture.

Memorial Day #2

Here's a "secret" for photographing parades - don't forget to look away from the parade itself, and see what the spectators are doing.  Sometimes the people watching the parade are more interesting than the parade itself.  Of course quickly turning from the parade to look behind you, and then turning back can make you a little nuts after a while.  Hey, it's just part of being a photographer.  I took a lot of pictures of this group - it was hard to get everyone looking good.  There were flag shadows on the older child, and at one point the woman in the middle was blowing her nose!  Man, this ain't easy.  But I finally got this shot where you could see everyone, and they looked as if they were enjoying the spectacle.

Memorial Day #1

Here's the thing - when I am looking for photographs each day, and nothing in particular is going on, it can be difficult to come up with something decent.  Then along comes an event like Memorial Day, and I am definitely "locked and loaded" and looking for photos.  And I find a lot of photos in a relatively short time.  So here is the first of my Memorial Day photographs.  There will be others.  There are actually two veterans riding in the back seat - you are seeing one vet's face, and another's arm.  But I love this shot because of all the bystanders cheering and waving flags.  That's what makes the photo for me.

Where Do I Put The Tree?

While wandering around the old RIT campus, I came across this building. I didn't recognize it at first because an expressway has since been built through part of the campus.  But then I realized what building this was - The School for American Craftsmen.  I spent time there when I was in college, because it was the coolest place to take photographs - it was where the potters worked in clay on their wheels, others built furniture, and jewelers worked with precious metals and torches.  Anyhow, I saw this part of the building and the tree, and saw a photograph right away.  I shot it one way, then the other, changing my point of view to "move" the tree within the image.  I was sure that first picture was the best, then when I was editing, I thought that the second picture was best.  Whew!  Which is it?  I am honestly not sure.  But you can vote on your favorite photo, if you like.

Strange Doors

I was going by this group of industrial buildings and spotted this doorway right away.  Because?  Because the doorway was two feet off the ground!  With no stairs leading up to it.  Who builds a doorway, with doors that don't open, and that you can't walk up to?  I don't know.  Perhaps the owner of the building wanted to make this industrial building look more beautiful or something.  I do love incongruous things like this.