Changes

The leaves are changing along with the season.  Just a little bit north of here the leaves are past their peak colour, but down in the valley there is still a lot of green.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	31.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 62.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Catalpa flowers

Catalpa trees seem like the last ones to get leaves, the last to get flowers and the first to lose their leaves.  The USDA has a write-up for those interested; I knew these as 'bean trees' when I was a boy.  It's late June, and the local catalpas are in bloom.  I was thinking of cropping this, but I sort of like the context.  On the left are sumacs (considered a pest in the city), in the middle are the catalpas and on the right are maple trees.  My guess is that only the maples were intentionally planted.  Something I learnt while researching this tree: catalpa is a mis-transcription of the original First Nation word catawba.

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Sunset in the city.  This is facing east, where the sun's last rays illuminate distant clouds.

Many photo bloggers from round the world post a photo of their sky of Friday - visit Skywatch Friday to see them all!

F Number	5.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	26.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 52.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/50
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly Theme - The Beauty of Decay

On the first of each month,  the City Daily Photo community members choose a theme and then post a photo that represents how they visualise that theme.  This month the theme is The Beauty of Decay.  Please visit the link and see the beautiful photos our members have taken from round the world!

This is a photo from Vale Cemetery.  It's something of a green and natural oasis in the middle of the city.  This section is not quite steep enough to be called a gorge or canyon, but it's a steep climb from the footpath to the top as well as down to Cowhorn Creek below.  So when trees finally fall, they are generally left there unless they cross the path.  The tree on the left broke up above the frame, but nature has reclaimed the stump to the point that we can see straight through it.  Skunk cabbages are growing around it, and a tiny sapling has taken root in the middle.  It's hard to imagine that all this is quietly happening a few hundred yards from the main city street.

F Number	5.6
Focal Length	35.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 70.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Sunrise in the city

I'm off on a trip; won't be posting for a few days.  One of the benefits of being up and about earlier than usual is I get to see the sunrise.  Sunrise in the city is a funny thing; the houses block that first glint on the horizon, but they also frame magnificent old trees; trees so tall their gaze isn't obscured by mere buildings.  Trees that have seen thirty thousand suns rise and set.  I don't begrudge them the first look.

F Number	8.0
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Vale

We call it The Shortcut.  We almost always want to go down to the creek when we go into Vale, an we can either take the long trail with the switchback or the more... direct route.  I like the direct route although it's pretty difficult to climb back up it in the winter!  I can't tell whether my favourite part is the gigantic tree that's fallen over the path (we walk under it!) or the wiggly tree on the left.  What made it grow like that, I wonder?

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Vale panorama

I decided to try another panorama.  This is Vale Cemetery, the north side of Cowhorn Creek.  It was a foggy day, but the fog doesn't really show in the more compact view.  Although some 14 inches of snow had fallen a few weeks ago, it's been so warm that there are many bare patches of ground here.  I'm standing on a gravel path that goes round the vale. The panorama shows the gentle hill across the way and the shape of the dingle sloping down to the water much better than a single image, so I'm pleased with the result.

F Number	9.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

I put the camera in Manual, and took all 3 images with the same settings. I overlapped about 40% of the frame for each image and used a program called Hugin to stitch them together into a single image. That image was a .tif file so I used the Gimp to export that as a .jpg.  I don't have much experience with post-processing, so I haven't purchased any programs; everything I use is free and open source.

Afternoon sun

Leaving work, the late afternoon sun filtered through the trees.  I don't know what to call this tall grass - I always jokingly called it pampas grass but it grows in wet areas around here.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Some days the sky is a uniform grey.  The leaves are almost all gone from the trees now, but the squirrels somehow manage to collect a big clump of leaves for their nest.


A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Local colour

We had a very dry summer up here in the Northeast.  I wasn't sure how that would alter the way the trees change colour.  If anything, it seems to have delayed the change a bit - many trees are still very green.  The trees on either side of this path are both maples, and only a few yards apart.  The one on the left is mostly yellow while the one on the right is almost entirely green except for those few red ones.  The yellow tree is what I usually see.  It's always interesting to see how the trees and animals adapt to the different seasons.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	36.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 72.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Golf course

I drive past this golf course every day on my way to work.  I put the camera on automatic and pointed it out the window as I drove by yesterday, hoping for the best.  It wasn't until I looked at the photos that I noticed I'd taken another cherry tree photo.

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Mohawk River at Mabee Farm

Had an interesting day yesterday.  The little guy had a role in the DRAMAcademics production of The Amazing Erie Canal.  It's a combination of learning, acting and singing.  Ruth Henry does a great job writing plays that are fun to be in and enjoyable to watch.  Past plays have included Nellie Bly and Lewis and Clark.  Anyway, this performance was held at the Mabee Farm.  It's a historic site just west of Schenectady, on the Mohawk River.  The original Erie Canal passed within eyesight of this farm, so it is a very appropriate place to stage an educational play about the canal.

Today, most of the original canal is gone; paved over or abandoned in place when the current canal system was switched over to use the Mohawk River where possible.  The river is too shallow to carry traffic much of the year, so the current canal uses a system of removable dams to impound enough water to keep the river navigable for much of its length.  Like the original canal, the current canal uses locks to lift and lower boats from one pool to the next.

Last September, the locks and the dams took a terrible pounding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.  Several locks are still being repaired.  It turns out that Lock 9 is sited just upstream of the Mabee Farm (maybe about a mile?) and I decided I'd wander down there to see how the repairs are coming along.  This photo is a few minutes' walk upriver from the farm, looking back at it.

James at Weekend Reflections collects photographs containing a reflection from round the world. About a hundred photo bloggers post a photo containing a reflection; beautiful work. Click the link and go see!

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	23.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 46.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Weekend reflection

This photo is 2 weeks old; the snow is all gone now.  But the sky is the same in the photo as it is outside my window, and I thought I'd contribute to Weekend Reflections with this.  Imagine my surprise when I saw what James posted!  This photo is my favourite pond down in Vale.

James at Weekend Reflections collects photographs containing a reflection from round the world. About a hundred photo bloggers post a photo containing a reflection; beautiful work. Click the link and go see!

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

It's almost Spring, and that means... rain!  And rain means clouds.  But the sun is not so easily dissuaded, and despite the clouds, insists on making an appearance.

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	11.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Swiiiiiing!

So I was supposed to be watching the little one, but he was gallivanting about with his friend and they are both good boys.  So I wasn't breathing down their necks; I was giving them the space to run round and be boys in the park.  Of course, it is almost spring, and everyone knows that in spring a young man's fancy turns to.... the swing set!  And so I hopped on the swing (In?  On?).  I had my camera with me, and I had the not-so-very-brilliant idea of taking a photo.  Whilst swinging.  And when I swing, I go as high up as I can get; my head higher than the top bar holding the chains.  That poses a bit of a logistical problem, because letting go of the chains at that speed and height is a recipe for a tumble.  In the end, I let go one hand and took the shot from my lap - those are my toes at the bottom of the photo, pulling toward the sky.

I tore my coat pocket on the dismount, but oddly enough I was in such a good mood that it didn't bother me at all.  When I got home, I started disassembling the pieces so I could repair it and put it back together again. 

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	18.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 36.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

I wasn't thinking when I posted yesterday's photo.  I should have saved that for today.  Now I have sky photos two days in a row.  Oops.  At least today the sun is more out than in, although this is more due to the fact that the sun is currently below the clouds (it's morning) than there being fewer clouds.  We live close to Vale Cemetery, and on the grounds there are some very large trees.  Crows like to gather in those trees, and I was fortunate enough to catch one on its way to the morning meeting.

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/500
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Green eyed monster

My oldest did a bit of trimming and decided to bring the more fragrant boughs in.  I think he's planning to make a wreath.  Lancelot the cat decided he very much likes the idea and pretty much wouldn't leave these alone.  I like the way the flash makes his eyes seem the same colour as the boughs.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/8
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Red-eye reduction

Reach for the sky

I liked the way the moon way nestled into the tree limbs and thought I'd crop it to make the moon look nicer.  Of course once I started to manipulate it I just made a mess of things.  In the end, I settled on the original image.  One of these days I'm going to actually sit down and learn how to use the Gimp.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Foggy morn

Ever since I was a boy I loved foggy days.  Mysterious and wonderful and rare.  The weather is so warm that we've been given another morning with the mist clinging to everything.  Although it seems as though I took this in black and white, I didn't - this is how it really looks!

F Number	9.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/640
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire