April 2012


Every year about this time there is a day when I look out at the woods behind the house and think, “Wow, that’s really green.” It’s usually right after a rainy spell like we’ve been having the past few days. Well today was the day. All the leaves are out in their full glory. The green is overwhelming.

Green

Ups and Downs of the Week

Red Sox – The road trip against weaker teams is resulting in some wins. We’ll see how long that lasts once they get back to playing ALE teams.

Bruins – Out of the playoffs and done for the year, but a good season nonetheless.

Ups and Downs of the Week

Mom – Mom’s birthday was Wednesday. She’s doing quite well. We had a good time last weekend while I was there. I need to do that more often. Love you, Mom.

New Tripod – The new tripod worked like a charm on my trip to MA last week. So easy to set up and use. Should have bought one ages ago.

Red Sox – I didn’t expect a great season, but this is pathetic.

My cornfield project is progressing. The corn has just started coming up.

Corn Begins

Corn Begins

This is a *really* big field. This panorama shows how wide and deep this field is. I need to check with Jeff (the farmer) to see how many acres it is.

This technique involves using a filter (or in this case, filters) to slow exposure times enough to blur motion while leaving non-moving objects sharp. In brightly lit situations you cannot have shutter speeds in the 20-40 second range without way overexposing the image. But if you can “drip feed” the incoming light to the sensor by shooting through very dark glass, you can slow the shutter speed to 30 seconds or more. This can make waves or other water movement look silky. It can also make crowded areas seem empty of people or vehicles as long as those things are moving fast enough to not register on the sensor. Here are some examples of Black Glass photography on ocean waves. These were taken during the sunrise and sunset shoots from yesterday. I used three stacked filters with a total of 11-stops of darkening. Each stop reduces the incoming light by half, so these 30 second shots would have been taken at 1/60th of a second without the filters. At that speed, the water would have shown all the detail of the waves and current instead of looking silky.

Black Glass Photography

Black Glass Photography

Black Glass Photography

Ups and Downs of the Week

Friends – My best friend Dana turned 60 today, which is one reason why I’m out in MA for the weekend. Dana and I have known each other for 30 years. Looking forward to the party later. Happy Birthday, pal.

Mom – Mom turns 81 later this week. That’s the second reason I’m out in MA. I can’t be here for her birthday, but we can celebrate early with some dinners out. Love you, Mom.

Red Sox – They’re looking a bit better at home than they did on the road.

First Class – I got a chance for a cheap(ish) upgrade on my flight from Chicago to Boston yesterday and flew out First Class. If I could do that all the time, I’d enjoy traveling much more. Very comfy.

Seafood – Mom and I went out for seafood last night. I had a humongous (too big, really) fisherman’s platter with clams, scallops, and haddock. Delicious. I miss good seafood.

This evening Mom and I went down to Hull Gut to grab some pics of the sunset over Boston. We weren’t disappointed.

Sunset over Boston

Sunset over Boston

Sunset over Boston

Dana and I headed out in the wee hours this morning to catch the sunrise at Minot Beach in Scituate. We got some very cool images.

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Minot Beach Sunrise

Red Barn

Red Barn

Wally

Wally

Poor man’s macro. 50mm f1.4 with a 12mm extension tube.

Select

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