It's easy to be green!

A can of green spray-on hair colour is all it takes to become neon green.  Both parents thought that he wanted to be Frankenstein's monster, but no.  He just wanted to try having different coloured hair!  Maybe we'll repurpose that hair for tonight's trick-or-treating!!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Confidential to Miss E. He's emulating you!

Weekend Reflections

This is an old photo, taken 23 Sep 2011 in the parking lot where I work.  I meant to post it earlier but never got my act together.  Today, the yellow trees are all bare and the green trees are red.  Autumn is such a dynamic time of year; things change almost daily.

We are forecast to get several inches of snow today and 4 more tonight, which made me reflect on the dynamic nature of the season (and to find this photo!)  So many trees still carry most of their leaves.  6 inches of snow on them is going to be a very heavy load.  Many limbs will break, undoubtedly causing electric power outages over a wide area.  In a strange bit of fortune, we had a heavy autumn snow just a few years ago, so many weak limbs were remove then, which means fewer limbs will fall on power lines today.  We didn't think of it as fortunate when it happened!

James at Weekend Reflections collects photographs containing a reflection from round the world. About 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	1/40
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Our first snow of the season fell yesterday, and it was still here this morning.  But that sky! 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	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Leaves

Last week, the little guy decided to walk home from the Green Market.  It's a pretty easy stroll from downtown to our house although State Street hill provides a bit of an obstacle.  He decided to avoid State Street and instead, 'take the shortcut' through Vale.  It definitely took us longer to walk through Vale than it would if we'd gone up State Street, but the walk was so much nicer.  The trees are odd this year; some are past their peak colour and some still completely green.  This image of a lone maple leaf among the oak leaves caught my eye.

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
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

They can do it

These ladies were distributing reusable grocery bags at last week's Green Market.  They were from MVP, a local health insurance provider.  It was a very nice thing to see; MVP have an imposing building right on State Street, but it isn't often that we get to see the people who work inside that building.  Thank you ladies, and thank you MVP!

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	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Colour

This tree always winterises like this.  The colour comes in waves, from the top down.  First red, then orange, and then is sheds all the leaves, ready for winter.  It takes a bit more than a week, so catching it at the right moment isn't as easy as it might seem..

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	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Milkweed

It's time for my annual milkweed photo.  Form certainly follows function here - the packaging is an exquisite wat to protect the delicate seeds until they are ready to be launched on their journey of propagation.  Who knows where these may end up; what monarch butterflies they'll nurture?

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

Apples!

One of the great things about living here in the upstate region of New York is our agriculture.    We don't have many mega-farms up here; most of them are small operations.  Love Apple Orchard in Ghent is one of those places.  They have many different varieties of apples, and they have tractor drawn hay rides through the orchard as well as a petting area where one can pet and feed the goats.  But those apples!

This year, the conditions were good for the orchards in the Hudson Valley - the trees were loaded with beautiful, wonderful apples.  The good thing about picking apples is that you can choose the day (within reason) to go, and we chose the most marvelous October day I can remember in a long, long time.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was just a perfect day to take the short drive and walk through the apple trees for a couple of hours.

F Number	7.1
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
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Last rose?

I didn't take good care of the roses this year.  I started out with the best of intentions but somehow the season ran away from me and I didn't do a good job.  Bugs ate so many rose leaves... I can't believe there is something that likes them!  But the plants somehow thrive despite my abuse.  Here we are, in the middle of October and she has bloomed again - with more buds in the wings!  Nature is amazing.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Sloppy soccer

It was another wet week, but the coaches decided it was OK to play, so we did.  Every child's back was mud spattered from them running on the wet field but they all looked happy to be out there.  The temperature was much more seasonal - high 50s (F).

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	37.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 74.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

A few weeks ago, we were treated to this sunset, right here in the middle of the city.  I was a bit bothered that the power and telephone lines would mar the image, but then I reasoned that this is how it looks, so I jsut took the photo :-)  In the end, the overhead wires don't look all that bad.

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.

October geranium

This old friend kept me company me through the summer of 2010, hung with me through the winter of 2010 and bloomed once more in the spring and summer of 2011.  I thought all her blooms were past her, but here she is with another round!  Almost time to bring her in for another winter, but for now, she's still enjoying the sunshine and outdoor breezes.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	40.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 80.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/1000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

First practice of the year

The field has been so wet that the soccer club has had to postpone the first practice of the season twice!  Those two weeks won't be lost though - they'll get tacked on to the end of the season.  The kids were all complaining of the heat: we won't ear that when the season's over!  This might be my first deliberate action shot.

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	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Late season raspberries

These raspberries come from 'ever bearing' plants at Yonder Farms in Kinderhook, NY (pronounced like kindergarten).  It's less than an hour by car from my kitchen and the day was simply marvelous - 80F and sunny!  We picked apples close by, then went here to pick raspberries and pumpkins.  A great way to spend an afternoon here in upstate NY!

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	37.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 74.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire