Forbidden II

The Photo Dude is going to be proud of me! I told you the story about a month ago about the security guard who said I couldn't photograph this plant, and how he pointed at a sign that said "no photographs, no video." So I wimped out then, and walked away. The Photo Dude reminded me that if I was standing on a public street, I could photograph anything I could see. So today when I did my three-mile walk, I passed by this scene, but kept moving. Then I stopped, went back, and photographed these tanks. I loved two things about this scene: one is that it is mostly "high key" - meaning that pretty much everything is white or light gray, and two, I love the design in this scene. I love the red pipes running around the tanks, and then the other dark lines criss-crossing the scene.

Military Honors

Because my Uncle Paul served in the U.S. Army in WWII, he was accorded an internment ceremony with military honors. We have all seen these ceremonies on television, but it was really impressive to see it in person. There was an honor guard consisting of two sergeants - a woman from the Air Force, and a man from the Army, in addition to a rifle party of three service members, who fired a three-volly salute which was followed by one of them playing taps. Then the flag was removed from where it had been draping the coffin, and was carefully folded into a triangle, and then presented to my aunt Marie. It was a moving ceremony.

Uncle Paul 1921 - 2012

I am in Connecticut for the wake and funeral of my uncle Paul Clarke. He was the last of 5 Clarke children including my mom, and now they are all gone. He was such a cool uncle - he knew cars and boats and electricity and could fix anything. He had a garage with some antique cars in it - they all needed restoration, of course. I had not realized that he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army, and that he had served in WWII in central Europe, southern France, and Africa. I remember when I was an 8th grader, going on a boat trip with him, from Connecticut over to Sag Harbor, Long Island. I never dreamed I would actually live on Long Island. He was an inspiration for me - when I saw that he knew how to fix anything, I realized that I could probably learn that myself, and I did.

Different Daffodil

Every year it seems, I photograph a Daffodil or two. I am just overjoyed to see the first brilliant color of spring on display. And every year I photograph the blossom from the front. So this year I realized I needed to look at the Daffodil in a different way. So this was fun to explore with a camera, and to try and see it differently. This shot from the side is different, and I tried a number of exposures from the side, but chose this because of the arrangement of the tips of the leaves at the bottom of the frame.

Observing the Moon and Planets

Our club had an outreach event this evening, where a bunch of us brought telescopes to a middle school, which the son of one of our members attends. The response before the event was so-so, but at the last minute there was a crunch and we had over 50 people, adults and students, show up to look through our telescopes. For me, I think there is nothing about astronomy that is more rewarding than showing the moon, and planets to people who may have never looked through a telescope before. I spent some time at the end of our session with a father and his daughter - she could not take her eye from the eyepiece! They both had questions about what they were looking at, and their fascination was, for me, such a wonderful affirmation of why I do astronomy.

The Moon and Venus

This a very poor representation of a spectacular sight that I saw tonight. It is the crescent moon and Venus blazing in the western sky. It seems impossible to show the grandeur and scale and beauty of this in a mere photograph. You need to see this with your own eyes. It would have been better if I could have shot it earlier in the evening, when the sky was deep blue, but I was in a class and not out shooting. This last month has been spectacular with the dance of Venus and Jupiter in the western sky after sunset , and then to have the Moon added to the collection was the crowning glory. Tomorrow night the Moon will be further away from Venus, and not as spectacular. I wish you all could have seen it tonight.

Magnolias

When I sat down at the dinner table tonight I looked out the dining room window and saw the setting sun lighting up the neighbor's Magnolia tree which was in full bloom. I grabbed my camera and ran outside so that I wouldn't have to shoot through the window. But from the driveway I was standing about 4 feet lower and the composition wasn't right. So I went back in and shot through two panes of glass - the regular window and the storm window. I didn't have much hope that the image would be sharp, but it was sharp enough. I love the contrast of the brilliant magenta blossoms, and then in the background the scraggy branches of the Locust trees.