Tag: photo walk

How Are We Doing?

Hey folks. How is it going? Are we all doing all right tonight? It’s Friday the 13th, has the universe thrown you any curve balls?

Today has gone okay for me. I found out my nephew has Covid. Sigh in frustration. I hope he’s okay, and I hope he kicks it way faster than I did. I don’t want him to be sick for three weeks the way I was. I have a whole new perspective on this particular plague and somehow it makes everything worse.

I had another one of those empty stomach things that I wrote about last night. Usually it hits about three hours after eating. Today it hit two hours after I finished lunch. I had a snack and thought I would be okay until dinner, but an hour later it came back. Weird. That’s the first time this issue was not predictable. I didn’t eat dinner until 7:00, which was about an hour after the stomach ache came back. We’re going to have to keep an eye on this tonight. I don’t want any weirdness. Unpredictable weirdness is not as fun as you’d think.

Jen and I just watched this week’s episode of Loki. Season two episode two. At lunch today I was poking around news.google.com and I was almost spoiled about seven times. I am going to have to be more careful on Fridays for the next four weeks.

I just checked the weather for the weekend. It is going to be clear at sunrise tomorrow and clear just after sunrise on Sunday. There must be photos this weekend. It’s a necessity. I have a lot of stuff on my agenda and I’m booked pretty solid. Still, from a mental health standpoint a photowalk somewhere must happen. The mornings are getting cold and there are only so many more opportunities left before the winter ruins everything. I have to take advantage of this. Ocean sunrise and maybe some Merrimack River stuff tomorrow and then either around town on Sunday or maybe finally spend an hour or two walking around the city? Boston at sunrise on a Sunday should be easy to social distance, shouldn’t it?

Like I said, there is a lot on my plate this weekend. I need to make time for some creative stuff. I’m still feeling a little shell shocked from the covid journey so my brain needs to stretch its figurative legs a little.

Here’s hoping we can make something happen this weekend. Assuming Friday the 13th lets us through the day, right?

Morning Plans?

The weather is supposed to be okay in the morning. Should I take the cameras out for a walk? I want to, but I also want to sleep late. If I do go out early I don’t want to go far. Maybe the park along the river in Methuen. Maybe the train tracks near Dascomb Road in Andover. Maybe the riverwalk behind the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Some place close, but not the usual two or three stops in town. I don’t know. I guess it depends on what time I fall asleep tonight.

Harry and Jen are going out to run some errands in the late morning. Jen’s mom might be coming for a visit. I want to make some music. The fifty songs in 90 days thing has kinda gone down the crapper. I haven’t touched it in 18 days. More or less. I could still pull it off, but do I still have the motivation to try? I don’t know.

The weather looks decent on Sunday too. Maybe some sunrise at the ocean? We’re into the second half of August now. We’re running out of good weather days. I should do something while I still can. We’ll see.

First though, before I fall asleep, how about some Doctor Who. 2nd Doctor, season five, episodes 23-28, The Web of Fear. Sounds like a plan. Bring on the Yeti.

Weekend Photo Plans?

It’s Friday night. I’m sitting in the living room watching some Doctor Who (new series, season seven episode four co-starring the guy who played Arthur Weasley and it’s great to see him) and I am trying to think of where I should take my camera this weekend.

I want to do a lot of music this weekend and I want to spend some time on a work project that’s due on Monday, but I also want to take the camera out shootin’ too.

Boston. When? Sunday morning is supposed to be sunny. That seems like the best bet. It’s supposed to be cloudy around sunrise tomorrow and then clear up later so Sunday feels like the better bet, assuming the forecast doesn’t change or magically become inaccurate.

Where to on Saturday morning then? Downtown Lowell? That train track in Andover? Find another light house? The river walk in Lowell? Minuteman National Park in Concord?

I just don’t know. I don’t know what I want to shoot and I don’t know how to figure it out. I only know that I want to shoot something. Film and digital both. Oodles of photos, that’s the goal. But where?

Sleepy Wednesday Night

Today has been a long day. I am tired. I had a little problem eating dinner tonight but after a little more than an hour break after coughing up a small ocean of foamie saliva, I was able to eat the last of my protein goal. I have hit all of my health goals today so it’s good in that case. Now I just need to get some sleep.

I haven’t done any music challenge work in two days. Tomorrow I’ll get back into it, I promise. There’s so much left to do. I think I can say I am behind the pace of my three previous 50/90 successes. I’ll catch up soon enough.

The long range forecast is calling for good weather this weekend. Maybe some post-sunrise golden hour photography? I keep thinking about going into the city and walking around the Back Bay. It might be odd doing it that early in the morning, but the plus side is I should be able to get in and out of town easy enough, and I might even get some street parking, and I won’t need to worry about crowds looking at me funny. Yeah, maybe a 6:00am photo walk up and down Boylston and Newbury streets? That could be fun. I could do that on Saturday morning, then maybe Kenmore Square or the theater district on Sunday? Who knows.

For tonight though, I am trying to finish a Doctor Who season three serial from 1965. I am starting to get close to the end of the run for the first Doctor. The NuWho binge watch started season seven earlier tonight. I am starting to get near the end of the run for the 11th Doctor. I am ready for both of them to change. Tomorrow morning while I exercise before work though, it will be the musical episode of Star Trek: Brave New Worlds with songs written by Kay Hanley and Tom Polce of Letter to Cleo. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.

Morning Photos and Car Music

I pulled double duty this morning and it might throw off my whole day.

I went out early for car music, but on my way there I stopped downtown for some film photos. I took my Nikon and Dad’s zoom lens and finished the roll that was in the camera. I went to the dam and our little downtown shopping area and took a few pictures. I did not bring my mirrorless camera, but I did bring my point and shoot, just so I could have something to post here.

334/365

The sunlight was really nice for a change. It was a good day to go out.

After a short trip downtown I went to the movie theater parking lot and put vocals on three songs. I could have done two more but my voice was starting to get tired and I wanted to get home for some breakfast and a shower before work.

The one thing I failed to do this morning was my 30 minutes of exercise. I am going to have to get that in a piece at a time throughout the day. I failed to close my exercise ring on Saturday, and I failed to close my move ring (calorie counter) on both Saturday and Sunday. That ends today. No more missing rings, even if I do have a day where I am feeling sick. August starts tomorrow and I want another perfect month.

Until then, here’s the obligatory clock pic.

DSCN3671

Random Thoughts

How do you tell if your two cats are playing with each other, or actively tying to kill each other? One second they appear to be trying their hardest to tear each other’s throats out with their teeth, and the next second they are curled up together, grooming each other. I don’t get it. All I know for sure is that the kitten likes to stir up shit any chance she gets, and every now and then the bigger cat will turn the tables and ambush the kitten in ways that nearly make her shit herself. It’s scary and entertaining at the same time.

Harry’s coming home tonight. Just for one night. He’s having computer troubles and Jen is going to troubleshoot with him. That’s all. It’s going to be great to have him here though, even if it is a super short visit.

The weather sucks. It’s going to be super cold tomorrow, and we have another snow storm on the horizon. Hopefully I’ll be through with the car music by then. Hopefully the weather will start to improve once February ends, but we all know that Spring doesn’t come to New England anymore until mid-May at best. I want Summer. I want to move to San Diego where it’s summer all the time.

The Red Sox are playing their first Spring Training game right now. The annual beat-the-hell-out-of-a-college-team kick off to the grapefruit league season. They have a 5-3 lead over Northeastern University in the middle of the sixth inning. I am looking forward to the Red Sox season, even though it is clear we have another last place finish in our future. The fun part about Spring Training is the clean slate. Sure, our roster is a nightmare, but until you start losing games that matter, the possibilities are still very much endless. Speaking of San Diego, now that Xander Bogarts is a Padre, maybe it’s time to become a fan for real. I mean it is one of only three non-Boston stadiums I’ve ever been to. There’s personal history there. Maybe.

So television. I am currently trying to keep up with the following shows: The Last of Us, Star Wars The Bad Batch, Star Trek Picard, Poker Face, The Flash, Extraordinary, and You (season three, I am a full season behind). I may also get back into Star Trek Discovery but I’m a full season behind there too. The Mandalorian is coming back next week so we’ll add that to the mix as well. Yellowjackets season two is on the horizon too. On top of those shows, I have a weird compulsion to start binge re-watching The X-Files and Star Trek Deep Space Nine as well. Why am I torturing myself like this?

I haven’t shot any film since Disney World. I blame the weather. I still have a bunch of rolls saved up. I had way more than I needed for Disney so there’s still a nice supply available. I want to get some more black and white film to play with too, and once the weather starts clearing I am going to go WAY off the deep end, with both film and digital. I just need to find a way to convince people to go with me. Like a photography club or something, but just with people I actually know rather than random folks in some online club.

I want to go wander around Boston. I want to go wander around New York. I want to go wander around the mountains in New Hampshire and Vermont. I want to go wandering around the coast of Maine. I want to go wander around the coast of Massachusetts. I want to go back to Washington. I want to go back to San Diego and Los Angeles. I want to go to San Francisco for the first time. I want to go to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington for the first time too. I just want to go places. Covid screwed us out of three years of exploring. I want to make up for lost time.

Okay. Back to work, Robert. Only 2.5 hours to go until the weekend when you’ll see Harry and do a mountain of work on music and spend quality time with the love of your life. Get on with it!

Morning Pictures: Kind of a Bust

I went to two places this morning to take a few film pics. Both places ended up kinda sucky. First was a frozen Forrest Lake. It was 8:00am, less than an hour after sunrise, and the light on the ice was kinda cool, but it just felt weird. There were a handful of people there bitching loudly about yesterday’s Patriots game. I felt weird standing there taking pictures of nothing while they were hanging out. I wasn’t anywhere near them but it was still strange.

The second spot was a public parking lot that only holds about eight cars right next to the Spicket River, which is very high right now, across the street from the top of the Spicket Falls Dam. There was nothing to see there though. I took a couple of pictures of the buildings across the river reflecting in the water. Maybe one will look okay? Doubtful though.

All in all, kind of a waste. I might try again tomorrow though if I can get out a few minutes earlier. This sort of thing is easier and better when the sun comes up before 6:00am rather than after 7:00am. I didn’t take the point and shoot though, so I don’t have anything for the photo a day yet. I’ll get something. Where’s the cat?

Musical Desks

I don’t have a desk in the office anymore. Now when I need to go in I have to reserve a desk through our scheduling system. It’s not a bad deal, really. I just pick a desk location at random, show up, sit down and go. I can see the desks’ names but not a map of where they are, or who else has signed up around that spot. Today I had a desk in the Foxborough building for the morning, now I have a desk in the Westwood building that is closest to home. There are a few people sitting within ear shot of me right now. No one is close enough for Covid-discomfort, but I can hear them when they are on the phone… and they are all on the phone… and have been for over an hour.

Worse? I forgot to pack some headphones today. I have a headset mic I use for conference calls, but nothing that I can use with my iPhone. My solution? I installed iTunes on my work laptop for the first time in 100 years. I had to take multiple updates and reboot once before I could get it to run, but it’s working now. I’m listening to a photography podcast and I’m thinking about switching over to some Boston based 80’s punk rock. Moving Targets, maybe? Overall my impression of iTunes for Windows in 2022 is, wow does this application SUCK. It really does. Oh well. It’s working and I am okay with that.

On a personal “Duh” note, I have been sitting here for nearly two hours and just happened to notice that my laptop battery was down to 40%. I have a power strip that I brought with me and I plugged it into the wall when I got here, and my laptop is 100% plugged into the power strip. What the hell? Oh… there’s a little on/off switch that I didn’t see at all. The power strip was off. Oops.

Unrelated, I am hoping to take Dad’s film camera out around town tomorrow before work. I’ll freeze my ass off, but I still want to do it. I’m not sure where to go, I just know I need to finish the rolls in both of the film cameras, Dad’s Pentax and my Nikon, before Disney. Both cameras have black and white film in them and Disney needs to be in color, you know? Also, my Nikon is a test case, using Dad’s 50mm lens via an adapter. The lens/adapter combo worked perfectly on my DSLR, but I’d like to have some proof that they work on film too before I take them to Florida. There are only a few weeks left. I need to get on this. the light is supposed to be crappy tomorrow morning, but I’ll do what I can.

Another unrelated topic. On the way home tonight I need to stop somewhere and buy a winter coat and some gloves. We have snow in the forecast this weekend, though it looks now like it might be mostly rain, and I need to be ready. I also wonder if I should get a couple of extra t-shirts for the Disney trip. I only have three that fit me correctly. Maybe if the weather holds this weekend I might go to a thrift store and see if I can get some 2x shirts cheap. Hmmm. Interesting thought. Maybe I could look for some camera gear while I’m there. Heh heh, ain’t I a stinker?

Okay, back to work with you.

Feeling Okay

My stomach is okay today. No issues at all. I am almost willing to declare that whatever started going wrong two days ago, and then went really seriously wrong yesterday, has passed. It’s 3:13pm and I’m an hour passed lunch. I have taken in 40 ounces of liquid and 56.86 grams of protein. Everything is on pace for a successful day.

So the question left to me is, did I do something wrong to cause my problems over the last two days, or was it a bug that I possibly caught from Harry as he was sick to his stomach all weekend. I was going to assume it was something I did wrong until Jen told me that she’s feeling sick to her stomach today. I think it might have been a bug after all. That almost makes me feel better about the whole thing, other than the fact Jen is feeling sick today, which sucks completely.

I am feeling well enough tonight to go out and run an errand for Jen, even though it bums me out on an unrelated level. She bought something from her favorite computer/electronics store recently but it needs to be returned. I am going to return it for her. The bummer part is that the store is in Cambridge, right down the street from Harvard Square, and right across the river from Boston’s Back Bay. I have been wanting to take a camera to both of those places for months now but haven’t had a chance. I could do it tonight but it will be dark and I won’t have time to stop and that makes it a two strikes and you’re out situation. Maybe I’ll be able to take some pics from stop lights. I’ll bring my DSLR and put it in auto mode, just in case. I won’t bring film though.

Speaking of pictures, the weather is going to be crappy tomorrow. No sunrise pics this time. It’s not supposed to rain until mid-morning though, so maybe I’ll take the film camera out to a couple of places around town. We’ll see. The DSLR will go to Vermont with me on Sunday but I don’t think the film camera will. We’re not planning on spending much time in Burlington so there won’t be many opportunities for picture taking.

On a final, also unrelated note, our bathroom has a floor again:

93/365

Where To… Again?

I find myself asking this multiple times each weekend. If the weather is going to be good tomorrow around sunrise, where do my camera and I go?

Well, the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow so I’m asking yet again. Boston is the big beacon on the horizon, but I just don’t want to deal with parking and getting around town.

Maybe head back to Plum Island and hit a couple of the spots that I saw but didn’t stop at on Friday.

There’s a lighthouse in Gloucester. I think there might actually be two of them. It’s an hour drive, but if I’m on the road early enough it could be kinda cool. I don’t know.

There’s still the Concord River at Minuteman National Park. There’s another pond in Tewksbury and another river walk in Lowell.

I really don’t know what to do. What a weird feeling.