Afternoon sun

Leaving work, the late afternoon sun filtered through the trees.  I don't know what to call this tall grass - I always jokingly called it pampas grass but it grows in wet areas around here.

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

Last ladybug

During a walk in Vale, at the Revolutionary War memorial, this ladybug was sunning itself.  I hope this little insect hibernates or migrates to a warmer clime.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm F/1.4
F Number	Unrecorded
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/1600
Shooting Mode	Manual
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday in the US. I don't do a lot of shopping, but the name does give me the opportunity to post a portrait of Spot, the black cat.  He's getting older, and is just a bit grizzled but he still has that twinkle in his eye!

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm F/1.4
F Number	1.4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/20
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

All spruced up

Downtown is already wearing Christmas decorations and the city tree is up too.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm F/1.4
F Number	Unrecorded
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/1000
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Milkweed pod redux

After a week or so, this is what those once orderly seeds look like.  I figured I'd try to take the time to compose a photo instead of snap one on the fly.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm F1.4
F Number	1.4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/500
Shooting Mode	Manual
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Stockade-athon

The Stockade-athon is an annual 15K foot race run on the streets of Schenectady.  This year, the course took the runners through Vale Cemetery.  It was a beautiful day for a race in November - it rained during the night but the sun was out in the morning.  This is between Mile 6 and Mile 7 - hard to believe the energy these people have!  Go, go, go, one more hill and you're done!

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	1/160
Shooting Mode	Manual
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Alternate focus

I was trying to get a photo of the cleaner shrimp in the marine fish tank (that pinkish blob to the right of center) but the autofocus wasn't cooperating.  I thought I'd deleted them all but I guess not.  Upon closer inspection of this straggler, I see that Huck the cat is steadfastly watching over the front flower patch in case any squirrels try any funny business.

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	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/50
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	800
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

Some days the sky is a uniform grey.  The leaves are almost all gone from the trees now, but the squirrels somehow manage to collect a big clump of leaves for their nest.


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	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	1/200
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Signs of election day

Today is election day in the US.  If one watches the news on TV, reads the papers, Twitter, Facebook or the comments to just about any YouTube video, one could easily assume that the only elected official in the country is the president, and that he has the sort of powers to govern that the absolute monarchs of yore couldn't even dream of.

I live in New York, and both major political parties have taken our presidential vote for granted.  There aren't many signs for president out in my neighbourhood, and in fact, there aren't many campaign signs in my neighbourhood whatsoever.  I was reduced to blindly pointing the camera out of the car window to capture this cluster of signs while on my way to work.  Like most of the campaign signs I do see, these are for state level elections.

Furry fellow

These squirrels are galloping all over the place.  This one had just been raiding the neighbour's trash can.  He 'hid' a pizza crust on my window sill and then raced through the front garden to reach the safety of this tree.  He is about 10 feet high.  I stand over 6 feet high.  This makes him a bit nervous, but I moved slowly enough that he didn't try to leap into the street to escape.  These are about the last green leaves left anywhere on the street.  I expect them to be gone within the week.

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	1/30
Shooting Mode	Manual
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Water's edge

Each month, on the first, the City Daily Photo Blog community suggests a theme for each of us to interpret.  This month, the theme is The Water's Edge.  I struggled with this one, but it was a good struggle.  I was originally going to try something with my Go Pro camera half in and half out of the water but for the life of me I couldn't finish the thought.  I had no idea what would be even vaguely interesting enough to put in a photo to be posted for the world to see.

I thought about the ponds in Central Park and down in Vale.  I thought about the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers but nothing really jumped out at me.  We had a big thunderstorm about 2 weeks ago, and while snapping photos of leaf reflections in the leftover puddles, I saw the most ordinary thing in the world.  The round manhole cover over the sewer.  As usual, the two finger holes were plugged with dirt and leaves, and without thinking, I walked through the standing water and poked my fingers in them to clear them out.  And immediately, my theme day dilemma was solved - there, not 20 feet from my house, were a pair of whirlpools as the water swirled down those holes into the sewer below.

I took a lot of pictures - 23 of them.  It was a bit of trouble to choose the one I wanted.  This one is my favourite because I can make out the shape of the manhole cover.  I tinkered with zooming in and cropping and when I zoomed in, I could see that I captured a leaf falling.  This is the one for me.

Please visit the rest of the community's offerings at Julie's place: cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com

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	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire