A Strange Landscape

I took the train to the city yesterday.  I had to change trains at Jamaica station and you do that by climbing up a set of stairs, and then walking along an overhead ramp to the stairs down to the other tracks.  This is what you see walking along the ramp. These are the roofs over the platforms below.  I have seen this scene before but never really stopped to look carefully.  But I had time so I stopped and shot this.  What attracted me was what a strange looking landscape this is!  It looks like some futuristic landscape in some world of the future I am not interested in living in!  Be sure and click on this to see it larger.

 

Dr. James Dewey Watson 1928 – 2025.

 Dr. James Watson was an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he and Francis Crick co-authored an academic paper in Nature proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. In 1962, Watson, Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material".  After his death, The New York Times called Watson one of the most important scientists of the 20th century. The BBC noted that Watson's works "opened the door" to help explain how DNA replicates and carries genetic information while also "setting the stage for rapid advances in molecular biology". I was lucky enough to photograph him on three occasions during my time working at Newsday and this is one of my portraits of him.  On the wall behind him is his Nobel Prize certificate.

And in case you wondered wha the Nobel Prize looks like, here it is, cropped from the photograph up above.  Of course you receive a gold medal as well.

Optics Demonstration

Tonight we had a talk and slideshow about optics for astronomy.  After the talk, Tony, the presenter, got out a small set of lasers and then placed different types of lenses in front of them so everyone could see how each of the three lasers were "bent" as they went through each of the different lenses.  It was a great illustration about how different lenses used in astronomy worked.

 

The Colors of Fall

These are the brightest colors I have seen this year!  And guess where I found them.  Just two houses down the street, in the driveway!  There was a blazing red tree on the property but there was no way I could get a good shot of it several days ago.  But today!  I was walking down the street looking and looking and here was the photograph right under my feet.  These leaves are from a Japanese maple tree.  Of course my beautiful Japanese maple is very similar but those leaves are more on the yellow part of the spectrum.  I am thrilled with this shot.  Finally some real Fall color

 

A New View of the Point

I know you have seen this scene dozens of times.  I never tire of looking for something new each time I pass by.  But walking in the rain the other day, I saw somthing completely different, for the first time!  The water was very calm and for the first time I saw that reflections of the trunks and tops of four trees.  Usually when I frame this photograph, I only include two of the trees.  I had never noticed this before, probably because the water was so calm.  And with the rain clouds above the tree tops, I think I have a really nice photograph here.

 

Minimalism

Since bike riding weather at this time of year has fewer good days, I have begun substituting my 2.7 mile walk along the harbor down to where the old power plant was.  It was warm with a light rain falling.  Wonderful atmospheric weather and the rain was light enough that I brought my umbrella but didn't need it.  On the way back along the harbor I saw this scene of sands point in the distance, and the calm water on my side and as I was wondering if it would make any kind of photograph, this Double-crested cormorant swam into the frame and I realized that would complete the photograph.  But a minimalist photograph, as in "there's not much in this photo" but I still think it is interesting so I am posting it.  You are no doubt  impressed with my knowledge of birds, in recognizing this Double-crested cormorant, right?  Don't be impressed.  I cropped the original photo really close to the bird and then dropped it on Google Images, and I become an expert in bird recognition.  In my defense, I did realize that this was a familiar silhouette, and the bird was low in the water, so I knew it was not a Mallard, but that's all.  Please click on this to see it larger.

Signs of Fall

There are only a few signs of color in the trees around here, so far.  Most trees are still on the green side, except for a brilliant red Japanese maple I passed on someone's lawn today.  This morning there was some rain and then the air was moist and warm at 61 degrees and it was so nice to be outside with my cameras.  I do love to look at and photograph plants and flowers as they deteriorate.  I found these giant Hostas in the small back yard corner garden and I spent some time trying to get the best composition.  I am astounded at the size of these leaves and their transition from deep green to bright yellow and brown.  I guess Fall is here.