The Last of It

Well, this is the last of it.  Fingers crossed of course.  We have had a St. Patricks Day snowstorm in years passed, and I think maybe we even had an April snowfall once?  I forget.  But this year, for some reason, the snow and the cold seemed harder to deal with.  Several weeks of 15 degree temperatures were a tough one.  The cold was worse than the snowfall.  I think we got 12 inches of snow the first time and about 16 inches the second time, but that was not a problem because of my snow blower.  On the first storm I cleaned the driveway and walkways in an hour and a half, which was not bad.  But now even this last bit it is all gone, and the temperature today was 64 degrees and out I went on my bike with just a jersey and shorts on!  Fingers crossed that the temps stay reasonable.

 

My FrankenSONY Camera

I am reading a book by a famous woman photographer, about what it takes to be a creative artist-photographer and the struggles and the creativity and all the issues with doing it professionally. She works with a huge 8x10 camera for her work.  But I found a photograph of her with a 35mm Leica digital camera around her neck.  The Leica costs $9600.  But what is interesting is that the lens on her Leica is a lens from a really old Leica film camera.   You saw the photograph I did on February 25 of the tree branches, where I used essentially a magnifying glass as a lens.  So using an old Leica lens is similar to that quality but not as severely out of focus around the edges.

So this is my original Leica film camera.  It is a Leica II manufactured starting in 1932.  When I first got it in a trade with a friend, I traded a more modern lens for his much older camera.  I discovered that I had to use a slow film to take photographs with this because light leaked around the edges of the focal plane shutter.  So I remember walking around Geneva, NY, where Kathy's mom lived, taking photographs with this camera. So I am temporarily putting the lens from this camera on my modern SONY a7 III camera, with the use of an adapter I built.  I did some tests, however by gaffer-taping the lens to an adapter on my SONY!  I will, of course show you some of the results after I finish making the finished, more permanent adapter.  What IS interesting, is that this camera still works perfectly!  What is the chance, by the way, that my SONY a7 III will still be working in 94 years!

 

 

The Trifecta!

So I told you yesterday about doing two photographs within 50 feet of each other in the snow covered park.  And I mentioned driving by a house and returning to where it was to take a photograph.  This is the third photograph that I took in probably 30 minutes.  The trifecta!  I think this is an interesting photograph because it is not really about the house, it is about the trees in the foreground.  That's what I saw when I flashed by this scene the first time I went by.  I spent maybe 10 minutes or so moving around and trying different compositions, both closer to the house, and further away.  But this is my favorite.

 

Getting To Know You

I photographed that bench and the ball field covered in snow the other day.  Then I drove around the corner to drive home.  I passed a house that looked interesting in the rain.  But I had already gone by it, so I drove around the block to drive back to it. As I turned the corner to circle back I saw this out the front window!  I immediately stopped and shot through the front windshield. Two people walking their dogs on the ball field took time to stop and introduce their dogs to each other!   I took about 10 shots.  But what luck, that I went around the block and they were here when I passed by!  Two photographs on the same day not 50 feet from where I shot the bench!

 

And Now for Something Completely Different

I saw a post on Facebook today about a  man who bought a pair of Wolverine work boots and left them in his closet without wearing them for a year.  When he finally went to use them, the heel and part of the sole had detached from the upper boot.  It looked like it was attached with some kind of foam, rather than rubber to leather with some glue.  The manufacturer said they were more than a year old and wouldn't do anything to make it right for the customer.  I couldn't believe how cheaply the boots were made.  It made me think of my pair of Timberland work boots that are at least 30 years old.  I have used these for everything around here.  I wore them working on the roof, tearing off old shingles and I wear them on the ladder all the time that I am painting the house and I wore then when I built a brick patio and sidewalk.  They are well used but they have stood up well to all the work that they have been through.  These boots are the best, and I am shocked at how poorly the boots on the Facebook post were made.   So I decided to photograph my boots just for fun, and it was fun to look really closely at them and see all the details and all the of the wear over all the years I have used them.  Seeing all the wear and tear makes them kind of beautiful in a way.  Please be sure to click on this to see all the details.

 

Snow, Bench & Fog

Did someone around here mention not shooting any more snow?  Or was it no more ice?  I can't remember.  By tomorrow all of this will be gone, it has been raining all day and it is raining tonight.  These benches at the large field with two baseball diamonds look like a nice place to sit most of the year.  There is usually someone relaxing or reading or sitting with their dog.  But not these days.  I looked at the benches and they are soaking wet!  And there is water and ice where you would rest your feet.  So this might be worth a photograph, but definitely not a fun place to sit.

 

Back Working Again

I'm back at work again!  Well, not exactly.  I mean I did a self-assigned portrait tonight after the astronomy meeting.  A friend of mind, Steve, needed a portrait showing him with something astronomy related.  So I set him up in front of a giant painting of the moon on the wall in the plandetarium lobby, and then I asked hin to bring his automated telescope, which is seen on the table in the background.  I used two lights for the scene, one with an umbrella to the right, and another less powerful light way in the background on the left which put a highlight on the left side of his face, and on the brightest part of his automated telescope.  That second light from the left makes a world of difference in the sense of the photograph.  How'd I do?