365 Day Photo Challenge

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”  
― Ansel Adams

 

 

Today I started the first day of my 365 day photo challenge.  I didn't feel particularly creative, but got a few more shots of the river with my little point and shoot.  A couple photos are similar to yesterday, but without the mist.   Temperatures are now warming up with another ice/snow event in the forecast.  I probably could've used my DSLR today with the warmer temps, plus I finally bought the fog eliminator cloth for my lens.  I'm also getting the system down of acclimating my camera from colder to warmer temperatures.  This is something one never had to think about with film cameras, but technology makes life a bit trickier, although I couldn't live without it!

With warmer temperatures, I did manage to make it to the car wash in-between taking pics.  Glad I had my ice treads on, but I think ice skates would've been more appropriate.  Winter is a constant adventure!  Its beauty is what holds me here.



Ice on the Delaware River



 

It's Cold!!

 

Temperatures were below zero a couple nights ago.  Yikes!  Schools were delayed, so kids didn't have to wait for buses in the bitter cold.  Many friends had pipes freeze and some of us struggled to stay warm.  No one seems to want to turn up their thermostat when it's that cold, even though fuel prices are fairly low right now.  I'm happy to have the wood on the front porch (above) that I use for these super cold days, as opposed to hauling wood from the woodshed.  For some odd reason, my friend Greg and I decided to build the woodshed quite a distance from the house.  Not sure what we were thinking!    Anyway, temperatures climbed to around 12 degrees today, somewhat of a heat wave I suppose.  I went to the dump, so I was outside for awhile, but literally felt like I needed to thaw out when I returned to my house.  Wood stove is keeping things warm and cozy right now.

 

As to photos, I'm nervous about taking my DSLR with me in the car.  The cold is ok for my camera, but not jumping in and out of a car with a camera that has warmed up in the car to take a picture in sub-zero temperatures.  Guess it can damage the sensor.  So, my latest challenge is taking pictures with my $90 Canon Point and Shoot.  I've gotten a few good shots, which I'll post below.

 

Another challenge I'm taking on is a 365 day photo shoot.  This means I'm  taking a picture every day.  Even if it's in the house. Charley the cat is always a good subject.  It's a way for me to hone my skills and force myself to think about photography on a daily basis.  Not so difficult, as I love taking pictures!  The hard part is squeezing in the time around my day job.

 

The Delaware River was particularly beautiful last Thursday early morning when my car told me it was -2 degrees.  I do love winter, not the bitter cold though.  Hopefully, this will pass.

 

Here are the pics taken with my little point and shoot from the Callicoon Bridge, which crosses from NY to PA.  I love the maroon colors in one of them, but I'm also drawn to black/white photography these days.  So, I'm sharing a similar shot with both.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

One more shot with the point and shoot - inside of an old barn with light snow falling outside.
 

A New Year

For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.”
― T.S. Eliot


As I get older, I am stunned by the passage of time and how quickly this year flew by.  Today marks the first day of a new year.  I am feeling tired and it's not particularly the best way to welcome 2015.  Stayed up late with friends ringing in the new year.   I probably should attempt to  nap, but decided to blog instead.

I refuse to go crazy with resolutions this year.  It has never been my thing.  I do know I want to keep taking pictures and not get frustrated when I don't capture the right moment.  Sometimes that's a tricky piece for me.  Letting go of expectations and practicing acceptance - not just with my photography, but with life as well.  Ok, I guess I do have some resolutions!

Winter is upon us and I am forced to remember what the cold of this season feels like.  I put on "Big Black," my long down coat, to go outside, and I keep the home fires burning.  Thank God for a wood stove.  Love its warmth!

We had a series of dark dreary days, at least fifteen of them.  It had begun to wear on me and then this magically warm sunny day arrived with temperatures almost hitting 50.  I called a friend to have wine and cheese at the lake, followed by dinner here at my house.  The lake was gorgeous.  First visible sunset in days, and ice beginning to form on the lake.  A perfect evening.

On Swago Pond after "dock"tails.

The ice cometh.

 

Winter sky near the lake.

 

Ice patterns

 

 

Spectacular sky.

Happy New Year!!

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Winter Solstice

 

Yesterday marked the beginning of the winter solstice.  It's a happy time for me because I look forward to more daylight each day.  I took the photo above about a week ago when there was a bit of snow on the ground, but all the snow has disappeared now.  It has been gray and dreary with absolutely no sunlight for days on end.  I've lost track of the cloudy days.  My guess is we've had about ten days of no sun and it's expected to stay this way.  Rain is in the forecast for Christmas Eve.  Not exactly the white Christmas that I'd hoped for.  But, we'll make the most of it, turning on the festive decorations and lighting the candles, creating our own holiday cheer.

 

I remember living in Key West and wishing for a cloudy day.  I tell my friends that I got more than I wished for when I moved to this little corner of the northeast.  But, soon the snow will arrive.  It's almost inevitable and then my little world will be transformed.  Can't wait! 

 

Yeah, I'm one of the crazy people who  loves winter and gets excited about snowstorms.  It's a forced retreat that I cherish.  In a big storm, the world  around us often comes to a complete halt.  Kind of special.  And, peaceful.  But, not for the faint of heart.  I often think that my sailing days prepared me for the serious snowstorms and sometimes bitter cold.  It's another adventure.

No big storms yet this year, so I'll post some winter photos from the past couple years.

 

The barn across the street. Why would I want to go south??

 

Delaware River - looking south from Basket Bridge.

 

Winter on Swago Pond.



 

A sunny shot of the barn.
 

 

Snow falling in the backyard, magical.






 





Winter Storm Warning

Emergency Broadcast System was going off  like crazy on some of the radio stations today.  Winter Storm Warning begins tomorrow morning at 4 a.m.  Forecast looks like a wintry mix, my least favorite and the most scary time to be out on the roads.  I long for the white powdery snow, when I can strap on my snowshoes or cross country skis.  This wintry mix stuff is when one starts hunting for ice treads to put on your shoes and the snow loses a bit of its magic.    However, I'm looking forward to the forced retreat.  My day job has been insanely busy and I typically don't drive in snow and ice.  I just might have two days off.  Yay!!  Batten down the hatches and get the wood fire roaring!

Meanwhile, we've mostly been living in a black and white world here.   Which is fine.  I'm finding myself wanting to shoot more photos in black and white.  Suddenly my dismal world becomes slightly brighter as I capture some interesting  black and white photos.

 

 

 

 

These are the nights I have swimming and sailing dreams.  My sea/country world collides and this Herman Melville quote runs through my head.  Not from Moby Dick, but a time when Melville lived in the Berkshires.

 





"I have a sort of sea-feeling here in the country now that the ground is covered in snow, I look out my window in the morning when I rise as I would out of a port-hole of a ship in the Atlantic. My room seems a ship's cabin; & at nights when I wake up & hear the wind shrieking, I almost fancy there is too much sail on the house, & I had better go on the roof & rig in the chimney."          
~Herman Melville

 

Saturday night and freezing rain

It's Saturday night and I cancelled my plans based on a winter weather advisory for freezing rain.  Yeah, my AWD Subaru has studded snows, but not everyone else  on the road is as well prepared.  I decided to stay home, snug in my house with the wood stove going.  And, Charley the cat.
The outside world can be a bit dreary this time of year.  The landscape is stark and trees look terribly bare without their leaves.  Reminds me of that Joni Mitchell song, "Urge For Going," made famous by Tom Russell.  Love these lines:



I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
And shivering trees are standing in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go
    ~Joni Mitchell

This is the time of year when photo opportunities don't pop up as frequently.  But, if you look closely, it's really quite beautiful.  I noticed today that small sections of the river were beginning to freeze and there were icicles on the rocks by the river.  It has been  very cold here.  A bit too early in the season for me.
I spend lots of time looking at the sky these days, which appears to be constantly changing.  In fact, almost rear ended the car in front of me the other day when the sky looked like this:

 

Inspired by Joni Mitchell -  "shivering trees are standing in a naked row" 

   

All has not been totally bleak.  We did have a light dusting of snow last week.  Yay!  Grabbed my camera and got a few shots of the barn/field across the street in the early morning.

 

Sometimes I love capturing the world in black and white rather than color.  Love the shadows in this barn shot.



Fog and Art In Sixes

Yesterday was my first show where I presented my photographs: Art in Sixes, a small works show at the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance in Narrowsburg, NY.  I was pretty excited and a little nervous.  Not sure why I was nervous, but I was.  Turned out to be great fun!  Huge crowd, wine was flowing, lots of interesting people.  At one point it was wall-to-wall people (literally!) and I never did see the entire show.  Will go back one day soon when I'm alone and can take in everything by myself.  Many terrific artists in the show and I was proud to be a small part of it. 

Big surprise of the day for me was that I sold two photographs!  Wow.  I'll post them here, even though I posted one before in a previous blog.  One photo is a foggy morning in Mystic, CT .  Always loved that photo and was thrilled that someone else did.   A friend asked me about some of my fog pictures and how I take them. Obviously, there is a sense of knowing your camera, but it also involves patience.  One must wait for the fog to lift.  It's always best for me to get out early in the morning. Then, I watch carefully until things slowly begin to appear in the dense fog.  I love the waiting part and sensing that 'right' moment to take the photo.   Good thing I'm a morning person.  By the way, a good cup of coffee is also an important piece in getting the fog pics just right.

 

I used to do lots of sailing when I was younger and found fog incredibly scary.  All one had to rely on were lights and horns.  When I'm on land, I love fog.  However, last year crossing over to Block Island on the ferry we were in thick fog and I didn't mind.  That's because the Block Island ferry is a big boat and I was always on small sailboats, feeling rather vulnerable.  That fog horn on the ferry blew almost constantly for the entire trip.  I felt very safe even though I couldn't see a thing - nothing.  Next time in the fog I will take a pictures of the 'nothingness.' 

 

One of the other photos in the show that sold was a house on Block Island.  It's a house that I photograph frequently, a house that always stays in my mind.  I return every year to photograph that house and still don't think I've gotten it quite right.  But, someone bought it.  That felt great! This year I will find out who lives there.  Guess I used to think it was an empty house because of its location, but not so sure anymore.  It appears to sit on the edge of the sea and I never noticed a road.  Will have to do some exploring.  Ok, here are the photos: