I’ll keep up… at least for a while

Posted by Photonstopper on June 28, 2010
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Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4
Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4

She hadn't spoken about it often but She Who Must Be Obeyed was seriously interested in purchasing a new bicycle for herself. We had visited one bicycle shop together not long ago and she had visited a bicycle shop earlier in the week by herself. In neither case did she find what she was after. So yesterday we headed out to Eddy's Bike Shop in Stow, Ohio. One of their staff spoke with her at length about what she wanted: the Right Fit, light weight, excellent quality and the choices were narrowed to one Trek and one Cannondale. Today we revisited the shop, this time She wore full bicycle riding garb in preparation for test rides. She did the rides (in very high heat and humidity) and, returning from the second ride with a big grin, chose the Cannondale Synapse Carbon 4. The beautiful machine is built around a carbon fiber frame and festooned with components that would make many a weekend racer drool with envy. So now, equipped with a healed heart and a top-notch bicycle, She is bound to be pushing me to ride every weekend from now through autumn. Fortunately, I think I'll be able to keep up… at least for a while.

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Colorful distractions

Posted by Photonstopper on June 25, 2010
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Balloon Flower #4848
Balloon Flower #4848

The perennials planted by She Who Must Be Obeyed are thriving. Besides being well established now, the season's weather has provided adequate rain and plant-friendly moderate to warm temperatures. On my way out the door this morning I was struck by the beauty of the morning light shining through the centers of the deeply-colored balloon flowers (Platycodon Grandiflorum). Nearby the crop of yellow Asiatic Lily (Lilium Asiatic) blooms shined from the shadows as if by their own light. And then I had to head off to work.

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Old-fashioned?

Posted by Photonstopper on June 22, 2010
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Old-Fashioned Tasha
Old-Fashioned Tasha

Just for fun I tried a cell phone photo of Tasha this morning by the dim light of a nearby window; the rest of the room was dark. I didn't expect much but, when I finally looked at the picture, it reminded me of some of the very early efforts in the history of photography.. a Daguerreotype, glass plates, or something. I stripped out the color and darkened the image a bit. I kind of like it. I've also been intrigued lately by the growing interest amongst cell phone and other digital camera users in making their images funky-old looking. Hipstamatic is but one example of nostalgic image software, giving iPhone images a '50s – '60s retro look. Fun, but is it old-fashioned?

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They’re blue, alright!

Posted by Photonstopper on June 18, 2010
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Blue Heron #1384
Blue Heron #1384

I knew it was a Great BLUE Heron but I had no idea! I had the day off due to working all day last Sunday. The day dawned sunny with heavy dew and a bit of haze, perfect for a little nature hike. As I walked a trail at Hinckley Lake, I spooked a heron fishing near the shore. It took flight and, camera at the ready, I squeezed off a series of shots. Examining the images later I was impressed at just how blue the bird looked in the shadow. The reason? It is illuminated almost entirely by light scattered down from the clear blue sky overhead. The next image, recorded less than a second later, shows us a bird of a feather more like what we are used to seeing: blue-gray.

Heron #1385
Heron #1385

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Fishing in the Falls

Posted by Photonstopper on June 18, 2010
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Falls Heron #4832
Falls Heron #4832

Before Thursday morning, I had never seen a Great Blue Heron fishing in rushing waters. Herons usually frequent the shallows of quiet lakes and streams. They wade slowly along and watch for fish to scatter from around their feet then stab at them with their sharp beaks. This bird stood still, one eye on the photographer, one apparently watching for fish, as river water cascaded over smooth rocks. I'd a little extra time on the way to work and, seeking calm, stopped at one of my favorite natural spots. The heron was a total surprise.

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{Sigh!}

Posted by Photonstopper on May 29, 2010
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Thursday was a really, really lousy day at work! Started out in the wee hours with a power failure in the server rack, then a yahoo co-worker moved a couple of networked printers before their time putting them out of use, then the HR manager's PC died, and on and on and on. By the end of the day I was stressed out, my body hurt from head to toe, I was angry, frustrated, and I was physically exhausted having stayed up late with observatory programming the night before and scrambling to work an hour early when I discovered there was a crisis in progress. This morning was a time to unwind a bit on my way to the place of Thursday's torments.

Olmsted Irises #4778
Olmsted Irises #4778

One of my favorite local places is a city park in Olmsted Falls. There, amongst hand-carved rocky walls, grow mosses, flowers, and trees. Nearby a river slowly wears down its rocky bed creating the falls for which the town is named. The light and the atmosphere are peaceful there. It's on my way to work.

Olmsted Irises #4781
Olmsted Irises #4781

Several varieties of iris grow there, surely planted by forgotten hands. They glow softly in the early morning light amongst the rock walls.

Olmsted Tadpoles #4793
Olmsted Tadpoles #4793


An unkempt and smelly lily pond is adjacent to the park's tiny parking lot. I was looking for frogs or turtles, and even heard but did not see a bullfrog. Then I noticed the tiny black dots floating amidst the tangles of pond weed… tadpoles! Hundreds, maybe thousands of tadpoles were swimming everywhere. Most were of a very small, deep brown or black variety dotted with yellow. What I thought were bubbles of gas burbling occasionally to the surface turned out to be much larger bullfrog tadpoles! They darted to the surface, gulped air, then dove back to the relative safety of the pond floor!

Olmsted House #4796
Olmsted House #4796


Before leaving, I strolled to the bridge carrying a street over the river valley and crossed to the north side. There, perched just on the river bank, is a house of enviable location. Still, I got my respite and a bit of stress relief through a much less permanent visit to a tiny city park. One of my favorite places for, now, several decades, David Fortier River Park.

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Gave it another shot

Posted by Photonstopper on May 24, 2010
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Swasey Observatory (2)
Swasey Observatory (2)


It surprised the heck out of me when She Who Must Be Obeyed suggested we take a drive back to Granville, Ohio today and re-photograph the Swasey Observatory! On our first trip out there on Friday the weather was gray and rainy. Today the weather was warm and sunny with fluffy clouds thrown into the blue sky to keep it from being too shocking. We had a nice drive out via a different route from Friday's and took another shot at it. I'd grown to like my original picture, even with the gray sky and soft light, but today's bright sun and blue sky really set off the scene. On the way towards home we stopped by another location I'd wanted to re-photograph: the Warren Rupp Observatory, home to the Richland Astronomical Society. It was a fun drive cross-country and I got a nice portrait of the Observatory's "warm-up room" and dome atop a hill outside Mansfield, Ohio. A day of driving, perhaps, but happy travels.

Warren Rupp Observatory
Warren Rupp Observatory

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Small and large

Posted by Photonstopper on May 22, 2010
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Insight-n-Truk
Insight-n-Truk

In our travels Friday we stopped at Lehman's Hardware in Kidron, Ohio. That's a business that grew up serving its local community, primarily a very substantial Amish and Mennonite population. Over the years since 1955 the little store's unique stock of non-electric tools, home goods, kitchen equipment, and old-fashioned gadgets drew more and more tourists to visit — part of the Amish mystique. Today the store has grown to the point where it seems as much tourist attraction as local merchant — there's even a cafe inside, for goodness sake! I don't think it has been spoiled, but it's certainly unique among the retail places I know about and occasionally visit!

We'd parked in a far corner of Lehman's now huge lot. When we returned from visiting a nearby (completely spotless) pizza and ice cream store, our little Insight had been joined by a not-so-little pickup truck from out of state. Stunned by the comparison, I shot a cell phone camera image.

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Swasey Observatory

Posted by Photonstopper on May 22, 2010
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Swasey Observatory
Swasey Observatory

After a Tuesday postponement due to foul weather, we headed on out today to Denison University in Granville, Ohio; it was another step in my Ohio observatories photography project. I'd recently read about the centenary of the University's nine-inch Warner and Swasey telescope and contacted the Physics Department offering congratulations and asking about visitation. I was warmly welcomed, given a tour of their compact but nicely-appointed 1909 building, examined and photographed the wonderful telescope, and compared notes with the professors. The day's weather was worrisome but the rain stopped at about the time I was ready to photograph the telescope. The dome's shutter was opened and I got nice, soft lighting for a lovely portrait of the old celestial machine. Fortunate for Denison, unfortunate for me, their telescope does not share a control linkage component I'd hoped to see to confirm its design. Still, the day offered decompression from a stressful work week and I was able to document yet another of Ohio's wonderful old observatories.

Swasey Telescope
Swasey Telescope

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