The Mirror Making Class

This is a photograph I took of the mirror making class that I visited in New London, with a friend of mine, who gave a lecture on some history of amateur telescope making in the United States.  These students wanted to learn how to grind and polish a telescope mirror, so their professor decided to conduct classes.  I was impressed to see how enthusiastic they all are about their project.  I brought two telescopes that I made along with me, and photographs of three others. That's my telescope sitting in the foreground - and it was pretty neat to see them carefully examining it, and looking at photographs of the others.  It is exciting to me to be around people this motivated.

The Kitties for Nicole

When we were in Connecticut recently Nicole reminded me that her favorite photos on the blog are those that feature the kitties.  Today I saw them sitting together looking out the dining room window so I grabbed my camera to take a shot for her.  Guess what - the minute I had the camera, the kittie on the left turned to look at me!  Arghhhhhhh...   So I had Kathy go out to the back yard and they immediately sensed that she was there, somehow, and the left kittie turned to look at her, and I had my shot.

The Upside Down Rocking Horse

How's this for a photograph that you would never have thought of?  I stayed at my sister Joan's last night and she is getting rid of stuff she has collected over the years.  I took a look around before leaving and saw this rocking horse, upside down, in a window in the basement.  The incongruity of it - where it was and the fact that it was upside down and covered with cobwebs struck me immediately.  So I had to go out to the car and get my camera, and record this.  I can't, however, tell you why it makes such a powerful impression on me.

My Home Town

Pretty picture, huh?  I have photographed this scene before, in the spring, I think it was.  But it is always pretty spectacular in the winter if the temps have been below freezing - the water droplets freeze after going over the falls.  So here is the embarrassing part:  I was driving through Milford on the way to New London, and I really needed a photo for the blog, and I knew I would be coming back after dark. So I drove here and parked the car.  It took me three minutes or less to do this photo.  That's because when I was in High School, and a member of a camera club, every member of the club did this photo, in one season or another, for the photo contests.  And I did it myself as well.  So I know exactly the right spot, and this is it! Three minutes!  Embarrassing...

The Subtlety of Winter

On the way down the street to photograph the frozen landscape at the water, I passed by this garden in the front yard of a neighbor.  I have tried to photograph these grasses before, but the picture never quite worked, for some reason.  Maybe there wasn't enough snow, or too much snow.  I can't remember.  But I love how it looked on this day.  There is something about the subtle color of the grasses that made me feel good.  It brightened up a cold and gray day.

Cold As Ice

Snow everywhere, and it is pretty cold, so naturally I needed to go out and look for a photograph.  First place I always go is down the street to the water.  What was cool is that the tide was out, and the whole sandbar was covered with ice, which makes for more interesting pictures.  I wandered around for a while shooting the ice patterns, and then, lucky me, a woman came along the edge of the harbor with her dog!  Perfect! I had to wait quite a while because her dog was a long distance from her, but eventually she called him and he came to her, and then passed her, and then I had my picture.

A Portrait With a Painting

It's not as if this is one of my great photographs, but this situation interests me.  For some reason, it would not occur to me to have my portrait taken with a painting.  I have seen a lot of paintings in my life, but never thought to do this.  So what do I have my picture taken with?  Airplanes.  A lot, in the real world and in museums.  Buildings. The natural landscape - like the Grand Canyon.  But to each his own.  This a Van Gogh painting of sunflowers that this visitor decided to be photographed with.