Betsy in the Evening Light

I've never been happy with the light in this place: it's a townhouse, with a one-car garage in the front, hence no front windows. The back has two large glass panels and a sliding door,but it faces a row of trees about ten feet away, tall ones that block what little of the western sun manages to get through.

The Long Beach house, as I have lamented before, had great natural light just about everywhere. Today I have to wait for late afternoon, hope that there's a cat staring out the back window, and hope I can get past her to open the door and position myself without spooking her up into a bedroom closet.

May, 2008

Betsy was crouched on the base of the scratching post tonight, she gave me a lazy look as I stepped over her and opened the slider all the way. It was a little before seven with an overcast quality to the light. Betsy lifted her nose to the breeze as it puffed into the room, but didn't rise. Fine by me, as I settled on the deck about six feet away. The light was steady, but low, so I set the ISO at 320. I shot this with my new camera and lens, the 5D with a 24-105 f4, at 105mm wide open.

There was a lot to smell, so her head was darting back and forth and she was looking this way and that, making it a little tough to frame a good composition with decent sharpness. This shot was the thirteenth of twenty-eight pictures, for those of you interested in my pass/fail ratio.

West River Bridges

Route 30 in Vermont, just northwest of Brattleboro, is called West River Road, after the waterway it follows. Here twin viaducts launch Interstate 91 over the river, sending it north to White River Junction, while SR 30 meanders northwest to Bondville.

Island Panoramas

(click on each picture for larger image)

Above we have three panoramas, two recent, and one from last year. Each one is made up of seven individual images, stitched together using Photomerge in Photoshop Elements 6. The final size of each print is approximately 58 inches long by 9 inches high. Matted and framed the overall size is about five and a half feet by 14 inches.

Whaddaya think as far as pricing for the framed pieces? $1100.00 each?

Fourth of July, Plymouth Notch

Nobody here today ever voted for him, and none of them served under him when he was Commander-in-Chief, but Calvin Coolidge is honored here every year; the only president born on the fourth of July, and the only one (so far) to be sworn into office in the parlor of his family home, by his own father, John Coolidge, Sr.

Along the quiet streets of Plymouth people begin to gather about an hour before the procession starts. Locals, tourists, veterans from the area's American Legion and VFW posts. A group of bikers. No bands, no politicians. A wreath, a couple of Reservists, a whistle.

Shuffling steps reclaim their stride, the once-lost cadence emerging like the motions of a lapsed Catholic at a funeral mass, and the only sounds along the mile-long march are these footfalls on the blacktop. To a hillside cemetery where the Coolidge family lies in a row overlooking the road.

July 4, 2007

My own notion as to Vermont's fondness for Silent Cal: He spent his entire political career in Massachusetts.

Baseball, Hot Dogs....

October 2007

There's a picture like this tucked inside of every parade, a real Norman Rockwell moment. You just have to be on the right side of the fire truck in order to capture it.

This scene was too perfect, and I only saw it about with about twenty seconds to act. The line of fire trucks was long, and each of them was wailing its own distinctive siren. I glanced to the left and saw this boy leaning out of the window of the upcoming truck. I knew I had a good shot when I saw the flag being held with the oversized gloves. I quickly framed and focused my camera on the side of the truck. As the window came into the frame, he leaned a bit towards me, I composed the shot and squeezed off one exposure.

Of Trees and Knees

I want it to be clear that I was in no way responsible for these children being up in the tree; regardless of the fact that the little girl is hardly dressed for tree-climbing in that knee-length skirt, it was entirely her idea. Yes, despite the scowl of the young man, I did not heartlessly pursue them merely for the sake of posterity. They were not running away from me, and were going to be climbing the tree anyway. That I was there with a camera was added benefit.

I'm very proud of this shot of Sophia, or, Evie, as she prefers to be known. Proud, simply because this is about as close as I'm ever going to get to having her smile for me. Ever.

Evie, or Evil, as this makes me think of her, has for the last two years been my holiday challenge, as I attempt to photograph her and her brother for their parent's Christmas card. Evie simply will not smile for me, and neither threat of punishment nor promise of treat can coerce her cooperation.

This time I think I won; she's smiling behind her knees in this one, that you can see in her eyes.