The next morning

Yesterday's storm has moved on... for us.  When I took this, the storm still covered Boston to Portland and continued to dump snow on them.  It's amazing to think the sun can be shining in a cloudless sky here, and 3 hours east, not a glimpse of it can be seen.

F Number	8.0
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	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Stormy weather

I took this photo last Friday, leaving work.  The parking lot cleared out right quick - the weather people had been saying that this was a big storm.  It turned out to be pretty big for Boston, who got close to 3 feet of snow, but I only got about 1 foot at my house.  We don't think of a foot of snow as a lot.

F Number	4.9
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	25.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 50.0 mm)
Exposure Time	0.3
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Amaryllis

I almost never give up on a house plant.  I have gangly poinsettias that were left at the office three and four years ago.  I bring them home, move them outside in the summer and bring them back in for the winter.  Somewhere along the line, I picked up an amaryllis.  (The only reason I know this is that there's one of those plastic identification tabs stuffed in the pot.)  This amaryllis went followed the same path as the rest of the oddball plants.  Outside for the summer and back in before the frost.  It lost all of its leaves before I brought it in, but that didn't stop me - I could plainly see the bulb, and figured that I'd save it from the frost.  I sort of lost track of it after that.  It's pot sits inside one of the pots containing a spider plant and what looks like a begonia.  It got watered somewhat infrequently, and it's very hard to find any sun inside, but I move them around when the opportunity presents itself.  Despite my abject neglect and even forgetfulness, this amazing flower has decided to bloom.  I'm (almost) speechless. 

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f 1.4
F Number	2.4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/40
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Naughty Spot

Spot knows he's not supposed to be up on the stove, but the smell of meat on that pan was apparently irresistible.  I liked how the light over the stove shows that although he seems black to my eyes, he's apparently a gorgeous brown.  Hand-held, so I'm not sure how well the enlarged version will look.

F Number	5.4
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	33.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 66.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/5
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	1600
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Theme day - Umbrellas

Each month, on the first, the City Daily Photo community suggests a theme for members to interpret as they see fit.  This month, it's umbrellas.Visit the Monthly Theme page to see how others in the community interpreted the theme.

I was a bit at a loss for this one.  I don't own an umbrella!  My wife has several, but it seemed strange to ask her to pose for me, and I couldn't come up with an idea that was either natural or representative of the area.  As is usual, all I had to do was open my eyes and look.  Literally across the street from me was this beauty.  Some time ago, a neighbour bumped into the fire hydrant and snapped it off.  Water poured out, the fire department and city crews showed up to shut the valve off, and the hydrant was left flopping around in the hole.  Snow came, was plowed onto the broken hydrant, and then it melted again.  Eventually, the city came by and took out the old, broken hydrant and replaced it with a brand new one - this one.

Sure, the top has an umbrella shape, but it's also a metaphorical umbrella, a shield in case of fire.  I'm very glad to have it back.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	43.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 86.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/50
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Rabbie Burns Day

Today is the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns.  I'm not sure I can convince the family to partake of a Burns supper, but I can at least wear my kilt to work.  It's still 0F outside.  Woolen socks help a lot.

F Number	9.0
Focal Length	20.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 40.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/400
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Midwinter's day

It's below zero today, -3F (-19C).  As is typical of such days here, the air is completely still.  Since the furnaces are on, there is steam or smoke coming out of most every chimney.  Because there is a high pressure system right over us, and the air is so still, the smoke rises straight up out of the chimney and into the air.

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	1/320
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire