The Loop in Methuen, MA. It’s an outdoor walking mall. I like this spot. There’s usually too many people around for me to feel comfortable with the camera. I was here before anything opened today.
The Loop
Tag: nikon d90
Another View
Another couple of looks at the old gate to the Tewksbury State Hospital.
Here’s one that I think I prefer the black and white version.
For the record, you can probably tell this on your own, I am not just taking a color picture and then editing it to black and white. They are both separate pictures of the same thing because I am one thorough nerd, you know?
Picture Day
I had a quick little photo morning today. Just three quick little stops. There would have been four but I forgot the damn key. Never mind.
From the old gate in front of the Tewksbury State Hospital. One color, one monochrome.
More fun to come.
Stars
I took three pictures, all with different shutter times. The first one is kinda blah. The shutter was open for 11 seconds.
The second pic has a 22 second exposure. This one is better if the goal is just seeing more stars.
The third pic did what I was hoping it would do, but given that Methuen is the land of the light pollution the end result is a sad mess. I wanted the stars to trail, which they did, but I also wanted the background to stay black, which it definitely did not.
So the next time I try this out I will have to do it in a place with little or no light pollution. Yeah, like that’s happening around these parts. Road trip!
Bad Night
I went to sleep last night at a little after 11:00pm and woke up a little before 1:00am. My CPAP mask was slipping and sliding all over my face and it was leaking like nuts. I pulled the straps as tight as I could stand it and went back to sleep. I woke up again a little before 4:00am with a splitting headache. Were the two things related? I don’t know, but I couldn’t get back to sleep for a while. I got up and walked around for a bit (earning two stand hours! Bright side, babie!) and then managed to get back to sleep.
When I got up at about 7:00am my head was still a little funny, and I was extra tired, but as I started going through my morning routine I definitely felt better. I wouldn’t say I’m feeling 100%, but I’m getting there. I’ll probably take a Covid test this morning, just for paranoia’s sake. I’m sure I’m good though.
Harry has spent most of the summer at our house. Yesterday he went to his dad’s and he’s not coming back here until next Friday. Then he goes back to school on Sunday. We are effectively empty nesters again and we’re both feeling pretty sad about it. I need to play guitar this weekend to cheer myself up. I also need to play photographer this weekend to further cheer myself up. When I spoke to the psychologist during my pre-surgery prep time he asked if I had anything to use instead of food for reward behavior and cheering myself up. I said it would probably end up being guitars and cameras… now is the time, my reward behavior friends.
Also, I started a candle time lapse today because I am a total freakin’ nerd. Also…
New Flower Alert!
I’ve been checking the Japanese Peace Lilly in the bedroom every day, searching for signs of new flowers. Today that search paid off!
I had the little point and shoot in the room so I used it for that picture (with the flash). After two posts last night, can you guess what’s coming? Oh yeah, DSLR (no flash) Vivid vs Monochrome comparisons! WOOHOO!
I then got carried away and took a couple more…
I didn’t edit these in Apple Photos at all. I usually just use the auto setting as a tiny little tweak, but I left these alone.
One final pre-work-morning note. Two days ago I ran for a minute at the end of my 30 minute walkies. Yesterday I ran for two minutes. You might expect that I ran for three minutes today but no… I ran for five.
Who am I?
Fun With Camera Settings
Black and white:
Vivid:
Camera Settings
All this film photography crap has me wondering if I should shoot black and white film. I think black and white might be a little cheaper, but I’ve always been a color guy. In the name of research I might set my DSLR to monochrome and pretend I am a black and white guy for a while.
My DSLR also has a Vivid color setting. I’ve always left it on the Standard color setting so I’ve never tried vivid before. I’m leaving it on vivid for now. Not sure if I like it or not. We’ll see.
Stars
I want to take a long exposure shot of the sky and get some little star trails happening. I put the better of my three lenses onto my DSLR. I even cleaned the lens for good luck and I found my polarizing filter in my bag and I cleaned that and put it on too, not that it has anything to do with anything, but I put it on anyway.
Then I looked out the window just after sunset and there was nothing but cloud cover in every direction. Shit.
So here’s a picture of a candle that I took to make sure the lens was on correctly. You can do that with a digital camera though it’s a pretty bad waste to do it with a film camera.
Super Salad
I made Jen’s preferred salad for her lunch today. It is one of the most complicated recipes I’ve ever encountered. There are so many things in this salad. It’s amazing, just like her.
Inside the Red Head's Head 