Archive for December 2015
Dear Readers,
Thank your for reading, visiting, or following my blog, which is a great source of satisfaction, creativity, and expression for me. The folks at WordPress.com sent me some encouraging stats as part of their annual blog report:
- In 2015, I added 114 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 548 posts.
- Visitors came from 118 countries, most of them from the US, France, and Germany.
- 243 pictures were uploaded in 2015. That’s about 5 pictures per week.
- My most commented on post in 2015 was No photo, just a holiday message
Here’s an excerpt from the full report:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
Happy New Year everyone, see you in 2016!
Watching the news about various political campaigns around the world I am reminded how I loathe people who speak in absolutes. I know they believe that their words are more powerful if accompanied by ‘always’, ‘everyone’, or ‘never’, and to those too tired to think for themselves this type of speech has great appeal. Black and white. Right and wrong. Don’t think, just follow. But to those who still have the strength to question, those who yearn for and practice free will, to them these absolutes ring hollow, and thus these absolutes negate the credibility of even the tiny kernel of truth that they may contain. How can anyone claim to know everything, which is the only circumstance under which one could truthfully use words like ‘everywhere’ or ‘nobody’? I know that life, history and the universe is not black and white, but a rainbow of possibilities, truths, and perspectives. Unfortunately, many people are just too tired, lazy or incapable of parsing the multitude of opinions to establish their own, and instead they follow those who yell the loudest and who use the seductive vocabulary of absolutes, of demagoguery, of fear. Because fear is easier to ignite than hope, and motivates people faster than love. Yet love, of all things, is what deserves more attention, as it is the only thing that can provide peace, harmony, and happiness. So this holiday, let’s not focus on absolutes but on nuances, not on differences but on shared origins, not on fear but on love.
I spotted this take on the classic 40’s roadside billboards from Burma Shave right here in Connecticut. Well done, whoever did this, and happy holidays!
To learn more about this iconic advertising campaign, check out the wikipedia page.
Canon 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm
ISO 400
f/8.0
1/100 sec
No, this is not some strange world out of the Star Wars saga. I captured this picture of Meteor Crater while flying over Arizona.
A visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix provides some great opportunities for black&white shots. Click on any pic to view them in full-screen slide show format.
iphone, Hipstamatic
ISO: 32
1/580 sec
f/2.2
lens: John S
Film: BlackKeys B+W
This one is located just south of downtown Hartford:
I passed this old factory in Bristol that looked abandoned and decided to explore it, only to find out that it houses a variety of small artsy businesses:
Canon 7D, 28-70mm EFL f/2.8
Well, not so much a shoot as just a few shots of my son. But I liked how glamorous this one turned out when adjusted to black&white.
Canon Mark II, EFL 24-70mm
ISO 100
f/2.8
1/2000 sec
adjusted in Lightroom and Color Efex
Captured in Clinton Harbor:
Walking through the Vermont woods, I was struck by the beautiful birch tree bark everywhere. Click on any picture to see them as full screen slideshow.
Canon 5D Mark II, EFL 24-70mm f/2.8
Caught in Vermont, after the leaves were gone.
Canon 5D Mark II, EFL 70-200mm f/2.8
ISO 2000
f/5.6
1/640 sec
Snapshots For Sore Eyes 