Blue!

Look at all the blue sky!  Just glorious!  Such a beautiful blue!  We went to the beach for Dunkin' today, and then after having our drinks and one donut each we got out of the car, and sat on a park bench at the beginning of the beach and just took all of this scene in.  Wall to wall blue sky.  It makes you feel so good to just look at and enjoy this scene.  It did for us.  Oh wait, what is going on with this photograph?  It looks out of focus?  What's going on?  What's going on is that I AM A DOLT!  Really!  I used my iPhone to take three exposures of this scene.  I never checked the first photo to see if it was OK, I just shot two more and put the camera away.  Imagine my shock to look at them on my computer this evening to see that all three were out of focus!  Completely blurred!  Obviously the camera couldn't find anything to focus on, in the sky!  I am crestfallen that I blew this shot.  I am hoping the weather will be the same and I will go back tomorrow and do this again, and do it right!  After 70 years of taking photographs, starting when I was a teenager you would think I would have learned how to take a simple photograph and make sure it was in focus!  I guess I could say that I meant for this image to be "impressionistic."  But you would not buy that excuse, I am sure!

 

The Moon in The Trees

I was out looking at the moon with just my unaided eyes, to see how high up it would be.  In the summer the sun is really high in the sky, and it is low in the winter. The Moon is completely opposite and it is low in the winter and high in the summer. We have trees all around us so it is hard to find it.  I did spot it through the branches of some trees in other people's yards up behind us.  I was going to shoot a closeup but like this wider view with all the dark shapes of trees around it.  I think it is a really beautiful scene.  I did post a larger image so please click on this to see it larger.

 

Before The Snow Arrives

I thought I should post this photograph which I took nearly a month ago. September 22, to be exact.  It has been sitting on my desktop while I shoot other things and if I wait any longer it will not be relevant to the season!  These blossoms are long gone, of course but they were a joy to look at this fall.  There is a funny thing when photographing flowers with a digital camera, that the colors never seem true.  I promise I did not enhance this at all.  But in real life it is not quite this bright.  But it is so beautiful.

 

Oh No! More Ghosts!

I took a run over to the grocery store and as I was coming back I saw these ghosts fly by out of the corner of my eye!  So I pulled over, got a camera out of the trunk with a telephoto lens on it because the house was set way back.  Then I stood on the sidewalk and did this shot.  What a beautiful, stunning ghost in the middle of the photo!  Wow.  And she is mainly made up of "netting."  So I had to look up the name of the fabric.  It is called "Tulle":  "A very fine, lightweight, net-like fabric with tiny hexagonal or diamond-shaped holes, commonly used for wedding veils, tutus, and dress overlays."  I love Wikipedia!

I decided that this ghost is so well done, I should include a close up photo of it so you can see more detail.  So beautifully done!

 

A Quick Trip in the Rain

I got the yearning for some ice cream.  The kind of upscale grocery store nearby is a great place to shop for everything BUT ice cream.   They charge full price all the time.  As most of you know, Stop & Shop always has at least one brand of ice cream on sale.  So I felt the need to take a drive.  Who would know it would be in a downpour?  It's OK because the heavy rain quit when I was halfway to the store.  I thought this was pretty, shot with my iPhone.  OK, I will answer the question on everyone's mind before you can ask.  Tillamook was the brand, and mint chocolate chip was the flavor!  We are new to this brand.  It says it uses more cream than required, and it sure is creamy, and delicious as well!  It was worth the drive!

 

To All Gardeners: Help!

Although I have done enormous amounts of garden photography, I don't know the first about plant and flowere identification.  So I need help here!  Is there anyone who can identify this plant with the green leaves with white spots on them?  I am totally at a loss!. Thanks for any help you can give me.  I know there are so many of you who are seriousl gardeners and who can identify this plant!

 

OK, So I am "Old School"

OK, so I freely admit that I am "Old School." I do some things the "old" way.  Like paying my bills. I love using my fountain pen to write checks.  I love to mail the checks as well, and yes, I know it costs me $.82 for each to mail.  I love writing addresses on the envelopes when necessary, and I really love using postage stamps.  Guilty as charged!  I am eccentric sometimes.  I get that.  So here's the story:  A good friend of ours sent a check to a charity and their bank called and asked her to come down to verify a check because it was of high value.  She was shocked to see that someone had "kited" her check and increased the value by some thousands of dollars!  Fortunately the bank caught it.  So I am aware that crooks can do that.  I use a fountain pen and I have read about special archival inks.  So I wondered if one of my checks, if stolen could have been increased in value - "kited."  I took two checks, used a roller ball, and then my fountain pen with Parker Quink black ink, and then used a ballpoint. After I let the inks dry for an hour I put some acetone in a small dish and "washed" one of the checks, as it is called.  I read somewhere that acetone had been used for such a thing.  The GREAT news is that acetone would not touch the rollerball, or my fountain pen ink.  But look at the ballpoint - I was shocked!  That ink was almost completely gone.  Notice the area circled in red where you can see that some of the ink of the check was dissolved (the check was not completely immersed in acetone).  Bottom line I am safe with my checks written with my fountain pen or the rollerball pens I have around!  I can continue to be "old school" when it comes to paying my 3 or 4 bills each month!  This is fascinating, isn't it?