Celebrating a Record…

Well, it’s official: it’s been a record-breaking year for snowfall amounts in New England! Yipee.

Last winter, I shared my thoughts on The Art of Snow Shoveling. This year, after one particularly deep snowfall, I was out shoveling (duh!) when I thought how little my previous advice applied while standing in two or more feet of snow! And I thought, “It’s hard to be methodical when the snow is three feet deep!” The following poem was born. I thought I’d share it on this record-breaking occasion…

Help! I’m Caught in a Snow Drift!

It’s hard to be methodical
when the snow is three feet deep;
I’ve been shoveling in circles
and can’t seem to find my feet!

I swear they were there at the end of my legs
only a minute ago,
but now I can’t see nor feel them —
I’m numb from hip to toe.

I wonder, will someone notice
the pathway that I shoveled?
I tried to call for help just now,
but the sound was somewhat muffled.

The wind is blowing sideways
and my scarf has frozen flat.
Perhaps they’ll spy the pom-pom
on my smartly knitted hat.

I could use a sip of cocoa
or a nip of something stronger,
for I may be a “hearty New Englander,”
but I can’t take this much longer!

Wait, I see light; maybe someone’s coming
to rescue me somehow.
They’re coming closer, hallelujah!
Oh, crap, it’s only a plow!

cvb 2015

Photo Project 2015: Update

A few photos from the first weeks of my photo project: Kitchen Window:

I’m having fun playing with shutter speeds to see what gives the best effect for the light available on each day. And it seems to be snowing every other day, which makes things interesting!

OK – So, I slept in on the 20th! But the sky was such a clear blue that I had to take a shot…

Next time I check in, Daylight Savings Time may have begun. What to do about that? Hmm…

Photo Project: Final Decision…?

Hi there!

So, on February 5th, I took several photos of the view from my kitchen sink window. Since January 26th I’ve been playing with photographing that scene daily — defining and refining the parameters of the project I’ve dubbed “Kitchen Window”. (See Museum-worthy Inspiration to see what inspired me to try this.) So far, I’d decided to use my digital camera set on F16, recording images as JPEG Fine, with a focal length of about 21mm. The shutter speed has been and will continue to be varied. I just hadn’t nailed down the exact time each day when I would take the photo(s).

Anyway, on Feb. 5th, I took a couple of pictures just before 6:50 am:

What a pretty pre-dawn, impending-snowstorm blue!

Twenty minutes later, I took another with the exact same aperture and shutter speed as the one above right:

10 seconds @ F16

Twenty minutes later and there was a lot more light! So, I adjusted the shutter speed. This one was also taken at about 7:10 am:

1/2 second @ F16

I thought I was done for the day, but then the snow came! I had to take another just after 9am:

1/20 second @ F16

So, the time of morning has quite an impact on the results! The question is what do I want my results to reflect? Robert Weingarten, in his project, 6:30AM, wanted to show the changing light and colors that eluded the naked eye but could be captured on film. That’s why he wanted to be so precise with his timing. I’d like to capture those, too, but I’d also like to observe the changing of the seasons and the beauty of the early morning light.

I’m usually up by 6:30 am, but I didn’t want to commit to that time every day, so I’ve decided to choose a window of time (apropos?) instead. I’ll try to take a few photos of the scene every day (that I’m home) between 6:30 and 7:30 am. (Would you believe that it’s started to be one of the first things I think of when I wake up in the morning?) We’ll see what happens with the light when daylight savings time starts. But for now, I think that’ll work. And I’ll try to keep it up for the rest of 2015. Of course I won’t post every single photo, but I hope to pick at least one or two a week to share. Stayed tuned…and thanks for checking in…

BTW, I’m curious – has anyone else got a photo project going this year? I’d love to hear about it!