Merry Christmas 2021

Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas.  

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host , praising God and saying "Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men"

                                   -------Luke 2:13-14

Quincy Massachusetts Christmas

 I photographed the Christmas lights in downtown Quincy MA the other day. The city of Quincy does a beautiful job decorating the square for the holidays. You can see the trail lights from the vehicles moving through the square at rush hour in this first photo.

John Hancock greets the visitors at Quincy Center. He was born in Braintree MA, but that section of Braintree later became part of Quincy MA. There is a lot of early American History in Quincy, best known for being the birthplace of John Quincy Adams, the 6th President of the United States.

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season!

Powder Point Bridge Duxbury MA

Last Sunday I met up with people from my camera club for some sunset/night sky shooting. One of our members led a workshop on long exposure photography for those that wanted to learn. It was a beautiful evening, although a bit chilly there was very little wind and it was very comfortable just wearing a winter jacket. 

We wandered the beach on our own before sunset and I found this crab laying belly down on the sand. I picked him up and put him belly side up and propped him against a rock in the sand to use as a forefront interest in a shot. I set my focal point where I wanted it and opened up my aperture to get a sharp crab and a blurry background. I then took my camera off the tripod (gasp) LOL and set it on my sneaker and fired off a series of shots. A few came out off kilter and out of focus but there were a few I was happy with such as this one:

It was a beautiful pink sky which also added an extra special something to the shot.

I wandered over to the other side of the bridge as the sky was really beginning to darken, and liked the look of the tree in silhouette, as well as the person walking towards me on the beach.

The next photo was taken during the blue hour. Using a long exposure, you can see the headlights streaming across the bridge as a car was driving over it. You also can see some stars in the sky as well.

There was a 3/4 moon in the sky which helped to illuminate the bridge, but it also hindered the ability to get good star shots as the moon prohibited the sky from getting dark enough. If you look closely, you will be able to see some stars in the sky. The forefront sand was illuminated by a street light which was behind us and over my left shoulder.

This time of year the sunsets so early in the late afternoon that I was able to get home in time to catch the end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game and watch Tom Brady and the Bus beat the Bills. I still love Tom and enjoy watching him play and was happy that they beat our AFC East division rival. The NE Patriots are in first place in the division. As much as I love Tom, my heart will always belong to the NE Patriots! :-) 

Words For Wednesday GIFTS

 "Some gifts are big, others are small.

But the ones that come from the heart

Are the best gifts of all."

                         Tinku Razoria

Today's blog post is about gifts. I've recently received a few gifts that I cherish, and I know they came from the heart.

A faithful follower of this blog named Cynthia, who I only met one time many years ago, recently contacted me about a special gift.  Cynthia is a beautiful person who frequently comments on my blog posts with kindness. I always appreciate her comments. She recently contacted me and told me that she was sending me a gift containing some of her favorite photos from "Carols View Of New England." The gift arrived the other day and I LOVE it so much!!!!!!

Thank you so very much for the beautiful mug Cynthia. I absolutely love it and am so touched by your kindness!!!!!

I also received a few more gifts that have special meaning to me and my photography. Yesterday was my final day working at my job after 32 years. It was such a bittersweet day for me and I was given a lot of love from my coworkers (who I consider more as family than coworkers) Here is the cake that was made for me:

And someone made these beautiful camera mold chocolates

My dear friend Kathy also had "Carol's View Of New England" in mind when she had this t shirt made for me.

Front of shirt:

And here is the back of the shirt:

I feel so thankful and blessed as I begin a new chapter in my life focusing on myself, my family, my health, and my photography!