Apple harvest

From last week's Greenmarket.  Maynard Farms has an assortment of apples grown right here in the Hudson Valley.  I'd like to bake a pie with each variety and do a tasting!

F Number	6.3
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Lance is on the case

I have been a viola player for... hm, about 40 years give or take.  All my life, I've lived with cats who like to sleep in my viola case while I play.  I just recently got this wonderful Bam case from my cousin Frank who's a local luthier.  This is literally the first time I've opened it up in the house and it didn't take Lance 2 minutes to walk over and settle in.  I didn't even have time to but the neck bridge on!  It's nice to see the tradition continue.  I guess.

F Number	4.8
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	23.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 46.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Fired

Halloween parade

Yesterday was the last outdoor day for the season for the Schenectady Greenmarket.  Next week, the vendors get to move indoors at Proctors.  Since Halloween is so close, the Greenmarket held the first annual Halloween parade.  There were about a dozen of us who dressed up and walked up and down the market place.  And at the end, we each got an apple!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Greenmarket from afar

I don't often get to the far end of Jay Street, but we were driving downtown and I found myself looking at the Greenmarket from the other side.  Snapped this one through the windshield.  I was the passenger, so it was quite safe!

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/800
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Mighty oak

That's one big oak leaf!

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	19.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 38.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Milkweed pod

This is how the milkweeds end up; leaves gone, pod brown and dry.  Finally, when the seeds are ready, the pod splits open and the seeds float off on the wind.  The next generation.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

October surprise

The phrase 'October surprise' has been used in the US to mean some news item that isso influential that voters will alter the way they intend to vote (in early November).  I don't talk much about politics here - there are plenty of places one can find that sort of talk - but I like the expression.

We had a big thunderstorm move through.  Thunder, lightning and even some hail.  This is quite unusual for October, but it's kind of welcome because it means the air is warm enough to create a large local storm.  We take the good with the bad!  Both my boys were on the front steps enjoying that warm air.

F Number	5.5
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	34.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 68.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/20
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

I took this photo because of those two scruffy birds.  Yes, they're pigeons.  Common, everyday pigeons.  When I was a lad (oh, here we go...) no, wait a minute.  When I was young, it seemed that every house had pigeons on the roof.  There were pigeons in the street, pigeons eating breadcrumbs on the sidewalk, pigeons everywhere.  But as an adult (who, me?) I don't see many of these birds.  In fact, I see more hawks here at my house than I see pigeons.  Apparently, whatever it is that eats pigeons has multiplied.  It's probably hawks.

A group of photobloggers post a photo of their skies each Friday - it's called Skywatch Friday. Click the link to see photos from round the world.

 

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f/1.4
F Number	unrecorded
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Tree stump

Saw this on a bike ride through Vale and couldn't resist the reds, greens and browns.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Local colour

We had a very dry summer up here in the Northeast.  I wasn't sure how that would alter the way the trees change colour.  If anything, it seems to have delayed the change a bit - many trees are still very green.  The trees on either side of this path are both maples, and only a few yards apart.  The one on the left is mostly yellow while the one on the right is almost entirely green except for those few red ones.  The yellow tree is what I usually see.  It's always interesting to see how the trees and animals adapt to the different seasons.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	36.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 72.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Balloon twisting

A talented young lady called Flutterbug has been at the Greenmarket for the past few weeks, and she's a master (mistress?) balloon twister.  Last week she made a spider for us that was quite realistic.  This week, she settled on a Jack O'Lantern.  Watching her work was as magical as receiving the finished product.

F Number	9.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	39.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 78.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Indoor plant... now

Every spring we buy a few hanging plants.  This year the weather was marvelous for them, but as the seasons change, they can't stay outdoors.  Too delicate for temperatures in the 30s (F) - we've already had one night below freezing.  I can't stand to watch them die in the cold, so of course I bring them inside.  Finding a place for them is always... interesting.  I had sat this one down in the sun and caught a glimpse from behind and thought to myself 'This looks pretty cool!'

Good news - the City Daily Portal is back!  I'd like to thank Julie over at Sidney Eye for keeping us all together over on Facebook.  I'd also like to thank Gerald over at Hyde Daily Photo for his magnificent work compiling a list of members AND a record of our patriarch's blog - Eric Tenin at Paris Daily Photo.  Eric got the idea started, and  many, many thanks are due to the father and son pair Demosthenes and Igor who made the original beautiful City Daily Photo portal.  How many people have you brought together as friends - people who would never have met otherwise?  Thank you so much!  And especially, thanks go to Peter over at Sunshine Cost Daily Photo - Australia for rebuilding the portal after hackers mangled it yet again.  If you're at the beach, I'll be thinking of YOU!  :-)  Thanks so much all of you for making my life richer.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Seasonal food

For me, one of the best things about the Schenectady Greenmarket is that it is a showcase for local farms.  Local farmers grow food that thrives in our area, our climate, our seasons.  I have to confess a weakness for seasonal cuisine.  I look forward to the tomatoes ripe off the vine, apples fresh from the orchard - oh, those apples!  Apples that have been stored are a faint shadow of these magnificent fruits that are available now.

This is a display from last week's market, with Indian Corn on the left, ornamental gourds behind that,  a green, speckled swan gourd and white pumpkin on the right.  These are all considered ornamental by most people here, but they are all edible and unlike apples, store well too. 

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Leafy path

We took a bicycle ride through Vale Cemetery, and while the youngest was down in the creek bed, I wandered along the path a bit.  Last year's twin storms (Irene and Lee) washed out a lot of this path, and it got a new layer of gravel in the spring.  That's usually noisy to walk on, but not now, with this thick blanket of quiet leaves.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Cowhorn Creek

This is the Cowhorn Creek as it looks right now.  It's hard to believe that this runs through the heart of the city!  Well, runs through is a bit misleading, as it runs in pipes for most of it's course.  Only here, in Vale Cemetery, does it have an unbounded path.  The leaves have been changing colour for a week or so.  Some are still deep green, but the colour is creeping in.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	22.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 44.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Lance and the harvest

We'd picked a bunch of veggies from the community garden plot and laid them on the counter before putting them away.  It wasn't long before Lance decided the cabbage leaves made a good bed.  Who knows what goes on in the minds of felines?  He sure looks comfy though!

Lens	Minolts MD 50mm f/1.4
F Number	unrecorded
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/15
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Shrimp moult

The oldest has been keeping a marine (salt water) fish tank for a while now.  One of the residents of that tank is a Skunk Shrimp, Lysmata amboinensis. Apparently the tank agrees with it, because it moults every few weeks.  The first time it happened, I thought it had died, but then it occurred to me that it wouldn't have... dissolved from the inside.  Sure enough, the shrimp was off doing its thing elsewhere.

The shrimp actively seeks out the fish, trying to clean them.  The fish took some time to get accustomed to this, but they all seem to enjoy it now.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f/1.4
F Number	1.4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Theme day - Silhouette

Each month, the City Daily Photo Blog community choose a theme and many of us post our interpretation of that theme.  Our  much-loved portal is still out of service, but Julie has stepped in and created a place we can post our monthly theme photos: CDPB Theme Day.  Click the link for many photos from round the world!  This month's theme is Silhouette.

This photo was taken in January 2012.  I go out roving the hilltops of the Northeast with my good friend Sigurd.  We set up antennas and talk to as many people as we can before moving on to the next hilltop.  This is a shot of some of the antennas stowed in 'transport' mode.

F Number	9.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire