Evening Photo Excursion

Most of my little photo excursions don't quite come off as I envision them.

After a previous nosing about wetland area in the evening, I had thought that I spied wildflowers that were backlit by the westering sun. Maybe I had at the time but not when I returned this week with my tripod and macro lens.

The closest I came was this wildflower. If I had shot from the backside, it would have been backlit, but we don't tend to look at flowers from the backside.

I think that it came out alright, but it is not what I had been hoping for.

That photo was taken along the path, but first I went into the growth in close to swamp-like conditions. I was pretty well covered and had applied some repellant to my face and hands, but I didn't think to apply it to my socks. They were pretty vulnerable as I has stuffed my pants into my socks to ward off ticks, but they were open season for the mosquitoes.

I did try two photos in there but just because I was there, for I realized that they would be disappointing. I did try to stylize them in post in order to come away with something. Call it fine art if you will. Whether it works, I leave for the viewer to decide. (I do wish I had made the second one bluer, more like the first.)

On my way out of the park, I took this photo for the light only, for the subject is weak. But we experiment. This hobby is a journey.

Penultimately, I came across a turtle just before I actually exited. I assume that it was a she who was either laying eggs or who was about to. I contended myself with one quick photo as I didn't want to interfere with the creature. She had already pulled her head back a little, and I felt badly for disturbing her like that.

Upon my exit, I noticed light and reflection on the building of our venerable canoe club, the oldest continuously operating canoe club in the country. I only had my macro lens, but it worked well enough. I have included a bw version, for this is what the photo would have looked like back in the day, and this club has been around for a very long time.

Photography as Art

Let us begin by acknowledging family dinner. It seemed that the universe was returning to normal when we got together on Monday due to our newly endorsed social circle that allows, i effect, two bubbles to get together. It had been 3 months, but suddenly it was like no time had elapsed.

Moving on.

Although Faux News (thank you for that term, Margaret) recently altered and added elements when posting photos of protests in Seattle, it is generally considered to be verboten for documentary photographers to alter photos in this way. Probably some mild edits in terms of tonality are fine, but much beyond that would be considered improper, which most certainly adding or removing elements.

Other types of photographers are more interested in art and creating pleasing images and will edit their photos according to their whims in software. They do things such adjusting contrast, adding saturation, dodging and burning, changing the white balance, and so on.

I belong to the latter group but usually try to stay pretty true to the scene as it presented itself. I will seldom add elements such as replace a blank sky, but I have only done a very few sky replacements and usually as an experiment. However, I will alter or even subtract distracting components as in the two following examples.

When I originally posted this photo, I was bothered by the extra stump in the background to the lower right of the subject, but I wasn't bothered enough to remove it until later.

If I ever decide to display this image, it will be the second one that I will print.

Same below: I liked the image but not the two brown spots in the background hedge: one on the extreme right and the other to the right of the dominant tree on the left.

It is a little thing to remove the brown spots, but I think it helps a lot. However, it is not something that a photojournalist would or should do although I don't suppose that a photojournalist would have reason to take this photo.

Rainbows in the House

My good woman, Sue, delights in certain little things. When her sister sent a photo of a covering for her window that throws rainbows, my lady was entranced. This is the link https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01N20YR6B/. If you substitute the .ca for your Amazon, it should work — at least if it is .com in the USA. (I have often substituted a ca for a com when I have seen an American Amazon advert, and I think it has always worked or almost always.)

The Ad on Amazon

The product description if you can't find it via my Canadian link but want to search for it: Rabbitgoo 3D No Glue Static Decorative Privacy Window Films for Glass Non-Adhesive Heat Control Anti UV 17.5 x 78.7 inches.

There is a full strip on the bedroom window facing westish and a small strip on my den facing eastish (below).

The Den

We tried to get rainbows cast from the bedroom onto Sue's hair. It worked a little bit.

For a brief moment, Lacey stepped into the light, but being a cat, she moved off quickly, which didn't afford us the opportunity to do more than one take.

The next morning, I looked up from my computer in the den and saw rainbows being cast through my room, then the hall, and all of the way onto the back wall of the bedroom across the way. Mind you, this was before 6AM, but I decided to waken Sue anyway. She was glad that I did — at least this once.

Back in my den, it got to the point that I had to finally lower my blind because the rising sun hits my computer screen. I held out for as long as possible so we could keep on enjoying the rainbows, but there came a point.

As you will see in the next and final image, I left a slit open at the bottom. This was enough to highlight steam rising from my coffee mug. This is not something that I have noticed on any other morning, although given the state of my general level of morning awareness, it may have occurred on countless other mornings. You can also see Lacey on her pedestal in the background.

Yes. We have promptly ordered another roll, specifically for the patio door, downstairs.

Overlooked Park Pics

I was looking back at fairly recent photos that I didn't post at the time. These are all photos of our lovely Riverside Park but taken at three different times.

Sometimes I wonder why I miss or gloss over some photos, for I had posted a vertical photo similar to this one, but I really liked this landscape orientation when I had another look.

This sky was also one that I didn't post. I am trying to remember to take a few sky photos just in case I ever want to replace a sky in a photo. I have only ever done this a few times from stock photos, but I thought it would be good to have a few of my own on hand.  To me, this one is interesting but not overpowering and could come in handy someday, not that I ever intend to get heavily into sky replacement.

Just a few days ago, the town installed the seasonal dock in the park that gets used more for fishing than boating. Needing a few repairs, it is not open to the public yet. However, this not-young couple whom we know slightly in passing sat upon a boulder to contemplate the addition.

Finally, I present some of the pathway through the park.

Sunday Snippets

I hope your Sunday goes well as I post very lightly this morning.

A little more information about our new social circles and how they compare to social gatherings. 

If everybody is up for it, the 5 of us will resume family dinners on Monday after a 3 month hiatus.  While we have lots of food in the house, we don't seem to have much to cook up for a proper dinner if you know what I mean, so I have purchased 2 frozen chicken pot pies, not mass produced, from a local shop.

Why cat racing is an idea doomed to failure.

A photo from the week where I explored behind a building on the highway out of (or into) town. I played around with various filters to arrive at a version of the scene that pleased me, emphasizing the glow that was already present.

We are festooned in garlands and bokeh to finish the weekend.

A Step Forward

I am sitting at my desk in the heavy sweater that I wear in winter, for it is chilly 7C/45F, which is a degree warmer than the overnight low.

But, there is good news, for we can now expand from family bubbles into limited social circles of up to 10 people.

This means we can get together with family more freely and even get back to having family dinners after three months in our separate bubbles. I don't think it means much more than that in our daily lives, but it's a great step.

The number of new cases dipped below 200 yesterday. This is so positive. I hope people proceed with caution to avoid a big second wave.

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I read an article last night (I can't say from where now) where one expert was quite confident that we would have a vaccine although it would take many months yet. I think they mentioned that there are ~100 trials occurring. Oxford and perhaps one other are in the third stage of testing. I was pleased to learn of their confidence, for some experts have been doubting whether a vaccine would be possible.

They did mention (again, I am going from memory) that the normal time to develop a vaccine and get it into production would be 10-20 years, but that things were proceeding very quickly with this one. Let's hope that they were correct.

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When we were last at the park for coffee just over a week ago, a young lady was the subject of a photoshoot. I assume it was for grad and prom. Too bad this cohort will be missing some of these special events.

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And when I was last at the park for a sunset shoot, possibly in the evening of that same day, I did get a photo of sunset along with reflections along with the rusty boathouse.

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We end the post with garlands and . . . well I don't know what to call what is on either side of us. Stardust?

Discrimination

I have struggled with the concept of white privilege because I haven't felt privileged relative to the rest of my society, which is white. I have been contemplating recently that I was probably just about the poorest kid in my high school and so on and so forth, so how could I be privileged?

This poster offers a certain point of view. Whatever has been my reality, my life has not been made harder by the colour of my skin. So, I can accept the term when viewed this way.

I can live with the term, but wading very gently into this most delicate topic, I want to say that I don't care for it. I don't think it is the best way to characterize the issue of racial inequality.

To me the issue is not that whites get treated well but that minorities of colour get treated badly. Minorities are discriminated against when we all should be treated the same way — which is with common decency and equal opportunity.

What we don't need to do, in my opinion, is to eliminate what we are referring to as privilege.

What we do need need to do, in my opinion, is to raise everyone up to the same level so that no one group is especially privileged compared to other groups.

But the term is what it is and is the prevailing term of the times, so I can live with it. I just think it is not the most accurate or best way to frame the issue, but maybe this ↓ is.