Thank you, Eric

Eric Tenin is the man I consider the father of City Daily Photo.  His Paris Daily Photo has inspired me and so many others to post photos of their town.  And today, Eric has ended his Paris photo blog.  He has moved to Malta, and it's a little difficult to post photos of Paris when not there!

I haven't been nearly as faithful as Eric when it comes to posting photos, but the news of his retirement jolted me into taking a walk on a chilly winter's day through our downtown area.  At the very western edge of the city stands this copy of the Statue of Liberty.  It turns out that the Boy Scouts of America had 200 copies commissioned in 1950, and one of them is here in Schenectady.  Cheyenne Troop 101 are keeping a list of the known remaining statues.

Eric, merci beaucoup pour dix ans de Paris Daily Photo; à bientôt!

F Number	8.0
Focal Length	41.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 82.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Halfway up

This is halfway up from the bottom of the vale where the Cowhorn Creek flows.  Those are two storey houses, so one gets a sense of how far the creek has cut down from the top.  These houses are almost invisible in the spring and summer because of the underbrush and leaves.

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	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

More evidence of squirrels

It's really amazing how well a grey animal disappears into the brown leaves.  It's actually easier to see the one on the grey tree than it is to see the one on the ground.

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	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1600
Advanced Scene Mode	Intelligent Auto (5)
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skywatch Friday

I took a walk through Vale Cemetery.  It was one of those cold, bright afternoons and the wind had that bite that presages the full onset of winter.  There are often a gang of crows here, and this afternoon they were raucous - they'd land in one tree, call to each other and then fly to another tree, repeatedly.

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 ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	8.0
Focal Length	25.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 50.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Intelligent Auto (5)
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Tree... path?

It's not really clear from the photo, but this tree is laying down, almost horizontally, hanging out over the gorge where the Cowhorn Creek flows through Vale.  Someone likes to walk out to the end and hang out above the creek, and apparently to make it easier, nailed some scrap boards to the limbs.  It's not really a tree house, although maybe it's the foundation?  I really do have to wonder about the computer keyboard just left and above centre.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.5
Focal Length	28.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 56.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/40
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Evidence of squirrels

All over the gravel path that goes round the pond, there are acorns.  And not just under the oak trees - they are really everywhere.  The squirrels scamper about chasing each other but there really are a lot.

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	1/25
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Late afternoon in Vale

I decided to take a walk through Vale and the late afternoon sun really brought out the colour here on the north side of the valley.  Yes, it's brown, but what a brown!

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.5
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	200
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Ghosts

F Number	6.3
Focal Length	30.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Vale duck 2

Graffiti in Vale.  Finished, I guess.

F Number	4.9
Focal Length	25.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 50.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1250
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Vale duck 1

Graffiti in Vale Cemetery.  Unfinished?

F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/15
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1600
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

St John's duck

Graffiti in St John's Cemetery.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	37.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 74.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1600
Advanced Scene Mode	Intelligent Auto (5)
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Last rose of the year

This is the last of the roses until spring.

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	1/125
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	250
Advanced Scene Mode	Macro (5)
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

St John's

Morning in St John's cemetery.  The sunbeams were pretty and subtle; I don't know how well they show up here.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	6.3
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/4000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Swan and State

I love this tree.  Every year it puts on a show.  Some years it's blaze orange, some years it's poor Macbeth's incarnadine.  I hear that line every time I see these two trees together.  One is always in colour before the rest.

The photo isn't my best; I was walking the dogs and they don't like to stand still.  In fact, they don't like to stand at all - pulling their leashes violin-string tight is more their style!  But I liked the framing of the trees between the telephone poles.

F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Landscape
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Scenery (5)
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.

 

This cloud was almost exactly over my house; I don't often get to see sunbeams and this was quite a treat.  The birds flying by were a bonus!

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	8.0
Focal Length	16.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 32.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/1000
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Bee in oregano flowers

This bee was taking advantage of the many wild oregano flowers.  These smell like oregano; I wonder what her honey tastes like?

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	6.3
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Field of purple...

...oregano!

This is wild oregano, growing in the grass in Vale Cemetery.  It's quietly beautiful and unexpected.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	19.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 38.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Day lily

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	1/800
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Red, white and... blue?

OK, so the ripe mulberry fruit is purple.  It's a really, really dark blue!  This particular specimen stands outside my front door, in exactly the same spot where an old maple tree stood.  I don't know how this one got started - I'm guessing it was a bird.  No silkworms though.

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	1/60
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

City sunset

The view outside our only back window - the stairway to the attic.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/25
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly Theme Day - Celebrating Summer

Every first of the month, the City Daily Photo community members post a photo that interprets a single theme.  This month, the theme is Celebrating Summer.  Please follow this link to see all the wonderful photos from round the world!

As for my interpretation, it might take a bit of explanation.  I am an Amateur Radio operator - a ham.  My call sign is KC2HIZ.  One of my hobbies is radio contesting - in particular, microwave radio contesting.  I'm a member of the RPI Radio Club and one of the things the club likes to do is to carry a bunch of gear up to the summit of Mt Greylock, MA.  We build these towers, then climb them and put these dishes on them.  Actually, there are 6 other towers we set up but this was all I could fit into one frame!  I'm on my tower, looking roughly southeast.  What a view!  For me, this is how I celebrate the start of summer.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/500
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Milkweed flower

I don't suppose most people consider the common milkweed to be a garden flower, but it has a lovely aroma and deserves some consideration on that basis alone.  Plus, it feeds Monarch butterflies, and that certainly adds to its cachet.

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	1/125
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Fiddleheads

The fiddlehead ferns are popping up.  In a week, they'll be a foot tall and double that in another week.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	42.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 84.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	250
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

It's creeping myrtle

I thought this evergreen was partridge berry but now that I see the flowers, I can tell that it's creeping myrtle.  This is considered invasive here in New York, but it doesn't seem to be expanding outside the hollow where  I found it.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	42.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 84.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/80
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Vale violets

I'm not sure I'd call these white, but they aren't nearly as purple as the wild violets in my yard.  These were mixed in among the skunk cabbages at the bottom of Vale, near the Cowhorn Creek.

I couldn't resist the Latin pun.

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	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	320
Advanced Scene Mode	Macro (7)
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Violets

The violets popped right up in the front yard.  I haven't even had a chance to clear out last year's old leaves yet.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	800
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Trillium

The red trillium is native here, and only blooms in the early spring.  I was fortunate enough to catch this one back lit by the sun while walking in Vale Cemetery.

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

Looking for the lap

I don't know for sure how old Huckleberry is; 19 or 20 years old.  He's more than a little deaf now, but if he sees someone sit down at the computer desk, he jumps up looking to sit in my, er, that person's lap.  This is the look I get if I'm near there but don't sit down.

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	1/100
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1600
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Green!

This little hollow in Vale always has this patch of green.  The plants look like wintergreen but they're not at all minty tasting so I think they're partridge berries.  I don't generally pick plants in the wild, but I might take some close-up photos for better identification.  I think it's cool that this little hollow has the first green down there.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Shutter speed priority AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Coltsfoot

This little plant is the first yellow flower I see in thespringtime.  At first blush, it looks like a dandelion, but looking at it from the side, it's clear that it's something else.  Coltsfoot is endangered in New York - I had no idea.  When I went looking, the USDA's plant database does not show it here in Schenectady County - I guess it's rarer than I knew.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	8.0
Focal Length	31.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 62.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Skunk cabbage

My annual skunk cabbage photo.  It seems to me that they're out a bit later than usual but I didn't get into Vale when the snow was still 6 inches deep.  Oddly enough, this is the flower!

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Watch the birdie

Normally, I would crop this tightly so I can see the bird better.  But I think I like this photo as-is, because I can see exactly why this house sparrow likes these bushes so much.  I often hear them in this bush, but it isn't often I get to see them, and you can, er, see why - they blend in; their colouration is a perfect match for the branches.  This fellow was so confident that I couldn't see him that he never moved the whole time I was fumbling about trying to take his portrait.

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	1/40
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	1600
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

April snow

This snow was all gone by the afternoon, but the crocus were completely covered by it in the morning.  You can see them there in the shelter made by last year's leaves.  These flowers are natives, so they are very well adapted to the occasional snow blanket and will be fine tomorrow.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	8.0
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Snow drop

This year the snow drops came up after the crocus did.

Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
F Number	7.1
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Crocus

This is the time of year when things change so very quickly.  A week ago the front yard was completely buried in snow.  Today, the crocus have emerged.  In fact, the crocus came out before the snow drops have!

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	1/80
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	160
Advanced Scene Mode	Off
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire