Words For Wednesday Full Moon

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator." —Mahatma Gandhi

Vermont Solar Eclipse in Totality

 Last weekend we went up to VT with Ms J and her husband and 3 kids. We had a great time, but the ultimate activity we did, was watching the solar eclipse on Monday. It was a beautiful day in Northern VT. We went up to my friend's farm in Barton, situated high up on a hilltop to watch the eclipse. From there, we had 360 degree views.

This was two hours before the eclipse started: Please ENLARGE the videos for a much better viewing.

Eclipse Watching:

Four minutes before totality. Notice how deep the shadows are:

Totality! I had to split this video into two separate videos to fit on the blog. Best view ENLARGED

It was such an incredible experience, and I was really happy to share it with some of our grandchildren. I was really surprised with how the horizon in 360 degrees looked like a sunrise or sunset during the 3 minutes of totality. I also loved that we could see the planet Venus located under the sun to the right.

In this next image, if you can zoom in, you can see the planet Saturn in the very upper left of the image.

These next photos were taken with my camera and a special solar filter attached to the lens. I was struggling a bit to get a proper exposure when the sun went into totality, so I just set the camera aside and just enjoyed the three minutes without worrying about getting a photo. It was the best decision I made!

Spring Flowers at Rockland Garden Center in Rockland MA

 It sure hasn't been feeling like Spring here in SE MA with the weather we have been having lately. Last week I went to a local garden center to take some photos of the Spring flowers. They had a great assortment and it felt good to be photographing flowers again. Most of these were shot using my macro lens.

I have plans to shoot something different this weekend that I'm excited about. Stay tuned and enjoy your weekend.

Cordage Park Museum Plymouth MA

 Saturday was a rainy day which was a perfect day to photograph indoors. I went to Cordage Park in Plymouth with camera club members to photograph the Cordage Park Museum and historical mill building.

A sepia version 

The Plymouth Cordage Company, a rope making company , was founded in 1824. It was operational for over 140 years. It became the largest manufacturer of rope and twine in the world in the late 19th century.

A few friends made for some great models:

Most of these images were taken with the "nifty fifty" (Nikon 50 mm lens) and a few were taken with the Nikon 18-300 lens.

Happy Spring

Happy Spring! Even though we have had a fairly mild Winter with very little snow here in SE MA, it's still nice to know that Spring has arrived. I Saw this beautiful Great Blue Heron when I was out and about the other day. Within the next 4-6 weeks I should be starting to post some newborn wildlife photos here on the blog. Looking forward to it.

I am failing miserably with my new year's resolution to get out with my camera at least once a week. I got hit really hard with the flu this Winter and  it kicked off a pretty bad asthma exacerbation. It was nice to finally get back out again and looking forward to more photography outings. I hope all is well in your world.

I was fairly far away and was shooting with a long lens so I don't believe I scared him away, but he eventually took off and I caught him in flight.

 

Photographing On Overcast Day Great Blue Heron Photos

 Happy February! I went out with my camera the other day. It was another overcast day, but I think the cloudy conditions helped these photos. On cloudy days, the light is diffused by the clouds and the light is soft and even. We don't have to worry about shadows. 

I was using my Tokina 150-600 mm lens on this day, because my primary goal was to photograph wildlife. While walking along the beach, a Great Blue Heron flew past me and was heading to land in a marshy area with tall grasses.

                                                                   Delicate

The Hunt

Soft Landing

Don't let overcast days prevent you from getting out there with your camera!

Words For Wednesday 1/31/2024 Gray Day

 

Gray Day.

Everything is gray.

I watch.

But nothing moves today.

------Dr. Seuss

January 2024

 I hope your January is going well. I can't believe it's almost February. It seems as though January is flying by so quickly. 

I began the new year taking photos On January 1st in downtown Quincy MA to capture the Christmas lights before they were removed.

John Hancock Statue

The following week I took a walk on a nice Winter's day with Mr S in Hull MA. I just had my cell phone w me but took a few shots. This was my favorite of the day which I converted to black and white. 

Went into Boston one day the following week with Mr S. A view from one of the buildings at MGH

No afternoon traffic on this day.

I hope to get out w my camera one more time before January ends so stay tuned. As always, thank you for viewing.

Happy New Year 2024

 Happy new year! I hope you all enjoyed the Holiday season of 2023. It's time to look back on the year of 2023 and look forward to the new year of 2024. 

2023 was a good year for me photographically speaking, mostly due to the 10 days we spent in Alaska in September. The months of January to early April kept me indoors for a fair amount of time and I didn't get out shooting much at all. I did quite a bit of wildlife shooting in the Spring, which was wonderful. 

The Summer months were busy with some health issues of a family member with a few hospitalizations and many procedures and Dr appointments. Things are all good now on that matter, thank God. The Fall brought me to Alaska in early September, and then the first few weeks of October were spent chasing the Fall colors in VT. It was a rather fickle foliage season, but I enjoyed every minute of it, nonetheless. November was quiet, and I did get out shooting Christmas lights and decor during the month of December. 

Here is a photography lookback on 2023: Sit back and get comfy. There are probably way too many photos posted here but I will explain why at the end of the post.

March of 2023 in Vermont:

Spring wildlife 2023:

Sunrise on Mother's Day morning at the Boston Public Garden:

Various images I made in Alaska

                              

October in Vermont:

December 2023 photos:

Whew! My NY resolution for this blog is to post a blog post at least once a week. I did not post often enough in 2023.........hence this huge photo dump posted today. 

Thank you for your support and I wish you and your families a very happy and healthy 2024.

I'm heading out the door after I post this to go out shooting. I want to start 2024 doing what I love to do.

Happy New Year!!!!