A day at the beach?

Taken just as the latest snowfall was ending.  Man I wish this was sand!  It was one of those fun moments we'll remember for a long time.

F Number	4.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	18.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 36.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/20
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Late winter afternoon

Afternoon sky.  Calm, the trees sleep through the winter, but the sun stary in the sky a little longer each day.

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	6.3
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	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Blogging buddy

My blogging buddy

This is Huckleberry.  He's a rescue so we aren't exactly sure how old he is but he's at least 15 years old.  When I sit down at the computer, Huck jumps up and insists on sitting on my lap.  If I'm unavailable, he goes for the lap of my oldest son.  I don't know if I've ever seen him on my wife or the little guy.  Cats are funny that way; they choose 'their people' and that's that.

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
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Sidewalk ice jam

Sidewalk ice jam

It got to about 20F yesterday, so I decided to tackle the sidewalk.  These are the bits that came up by chopping with an ice chipper, a a long handled implement with an 8 inch steel blade at the end.  It wasn't enough.  I needed to spread salt on what was left before I could finally get down to the concrete.  All this used to be snow before people walked on it.  I wasn't home to shovel during the storms...

This reminded me of an ice jam on the river.

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	1/500
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Winter Market crowd

Every Sunday, we have a farmer's market downtown.  In the winter months, it's held indoors, at Proctor's Theatre.  Well, not in the theatre, but in the same building.  There's a large-ish space upstairs and some more room downstairs.  Typically, there's a separate band playing on each floor; local bands, local farmers.  This is a photo of the crowd downstairs swirling around the vendors.

F Number	3.5
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/4
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Jay Street art

This artwork is on the wall of one of the shops on Jay Street.  Jay Street is a pedestrian walk with boutique shopping.  It's quite a lovely place!


James at Newtown Daily Photo runs a theme called Weekend Reflections. Around a hundred photo bloggers post a photo containing a reflection; beautiful work. Click the link and go see!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	38.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 76.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Taken last week when the city was removing the snow.  A sudden squall popped up, turning the bright, sunny day to a dim and snowy one.  The specks are snowflakes coming down.

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	11.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/1300
Exposure Program	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

New construction

There isn't much construction in Schenectady; the replacement for Center City was finished in the autumn.  This was taken near to where I work.  It will be a new State Trooper barracks when it's finished.  This crane has been hoisting steel almost every day, even when it's been 5F outside!  Of course, the crane doesn't get cold but the men working on the exposed beams do.  Construction used to stop during the winter months, but now builders see winter as an opportunity to use equipment year-round.  As long as they get the foundation poured before the ground freezes, they keep on working!

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	1/800
Exposure Program	Manual
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

The postman

I'm always hesitant to take photos of people.  It seems scary to me, mostly because I'm an amateur and I don't want to publish something they might find unflattering.  So when this gentleman paused for a moment whilst making his rounds and made a joke about being in the blog, I jumped at the chance.

He's tough to get a photo of - he pretty much never stops.  The day I got this photo, he was working around the city snow removal crew.  Both of us were very happy to see the city on our street, because parking had basically become an impossibility.  And he needs to come in here every day, 6 days a week.  Yuck.

Even though he works outside in all kinds of weather, I'm not sure I ever remember seeing a frown.  Always has a wave and a howdy-do.  I don't think I ever told him how much I appreciate him, not only because he delivers the mail, but because he's a genuinely positive person.

Thank you!

F Number	6.3
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
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Snow removal

The city removed the snow on our street!  They came in with a front end loader and many dump trucks and pulled down the snow banks that were in the street, then scraped the ice off, too.  The man operating the front end loader is an artist - he maneuvered that big machine within an inch of where he wanted to.  Here, he's scraping the ice.  he front wheels are off the ground!

Thanks to Steffe at Photos From Haninge for the idea to embed a slide show!

View all

Get your own

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	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

It is -6F this morning, and the furnace is working hard to keep us warm.  The icicles are growing little by little, and the frost appears magically every morning.  But the sun is out, the sky is blue and somehow the cold doesn't reach my bones.  On days like this, I am extra thankful for the people who work outside to make my life easier.

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	9.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	38.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 76.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

No!

Saw this door at the Winter Market and couldn't resist.  There's a story here, but no one I spoke to knew what it was.

F Number	5.5
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	35.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 70.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/8
Exposure Program	Manual
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

My car behind the snow bank

My car is on the left side of the street.  Yes, the snow bank is taller than the car.  It's also longer and deeper, too.  It gets harder and harder to find a place to put it.  What was easily a two-way street with cars parked on both sides has become a mostly one-way street.  Some people think the city should be doing more, but honestly, there's only so much heavy equipment to go round, and we aren't exactly a highly trafficked street.

It really looks this gritty.

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

Bee in the snow

Spent a good deal of time chopping ice (compressed snow) this weekend.  Incredibly, found a bee on the top of the snow.  I have no idea where it came from; the ground is completely covered several feet deep.  All I can guess is that it came from someone's house.

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

Blowing snow

This is from downtown, Walking on Jay St toward State.  The new building is complete and empty as far as I can tell.  The weather has been chilly, so the snow has been that dry, fine powder.  It isn't very sticky, so when the wind catches it, the snow moves every which way.

This photo was a matter of looking up at the right time.  The afternoon sun was still high enough to reach over the brick building in the background, and just at the right spot to shine through the columns on the right.  The swirling snow was a crystalline shaft of light...

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

Skywatch Friday

The sun backlit this icicle and it was so pretty I just had to try to take a photo.  It didn't come out as well as it appeared in my mind's eye, but it's not horrible either.  Just don't stand under it! (it's inside the yard, so no danger to passersby).


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	11.0
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	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Hot and cold

We had 6 to 8 inches of snow during the day, so the street is narrower than usual, because the plows clear a lane in the middle and push it all to the side.  After a while, the street will only allow a single car to pass, where in the summer cars park on both sides and there is still room (mostly) for two cars to pass by each other.

And so people park in the middle of the street when they come to pick someone up or drop them off.  Where else can they go?

This car caught fire.  I don't know what happened, but everyone got out all right.  The fire engine made it down and put the fire out before anything else went up.

This is hand-held, at night and therefore shaky.  I let the camera decide on the exposure, and shot a dozen or so images.  You can see the firemen around the car, silhouetted by the flames and the lights from the fire truck.  The snow around me is lit up because a Chinese takeout car pulled up to make a delivery.  All together, a surreal experience.

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	4
Exposure Program	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Chilly

The weather has been a bit chilly.  I feel for the people who have to work outside.  Spent the better part of Saturday chopping the packed snow (ice, really) off of part of the sidewalk and driveway.  Just in time for a new storm to plop some more down.  That's life in upstate NY!

F Number	11.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/25
Exposure Program	Manual
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire