Theme day - Details

On the first of the month, the City Daily Photo blogging community members choose a common theme that we then post our interpretation of.  This month, the theme was Details.  Click the link to see all the amazing interpretations of this month's theme!

As for me, like most of the theme days, this stretched my comfort zone.  I had literally no idea what to post until out cat Savannah decided to pose, and then all became clear.  Well, not exactly.  She's an indoor cat, a rescue, and she doesn't go outdoors (although she's been known to sneak out from time to time.)  That means taking her portrait indoors.

I haven't got a studio.  No umbrellas, no multiple flashes, no klieg lights.  I have regular fluorescent swirly lamps that screw into Edison sockets.  I could use the on-camera flash, but that tends to flatten the image.  So I started shooting.  Handheld, since Savannah's patience only lasts so long and then she wanders elsewhere.  And so, I made my own luck by managing an indoor shot that wasn't blurry from my hand shake.  Or the cat moving.  Or the autofocus finding a bizarre spot to make razor sharp.  I did shoot in in RAW and crop it in SilkyPix.  I kind of like how it turned out.  There's a lot of detail in her face!

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	1/13
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Theme day - Pink

Each month, the City Daily Photo Blog community choose a theme and many of us post our interpretation of that theme.  This month, the theme is Pink. 

Click the CDPB Theme Day link for many photos from round the world!

This hibiscus is growing in a neighbour's yard.  This particular blossom is at my eye level, about six feet off the ground, and that's not the top!  A beautiful plant with beautiful flowers.

F Number	5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/25
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

St George's Day

The City Daily Photo community are running a set of 'national days' to celebrate the various nations we all come from.  They're a bit like theme day, only they fall in the middle of the month.  Today is St George's Day - for England.  St George was famous for slaying the dragon, and recently we had an addition to our menagerie - fire belly toads.  They look like dragons to me!  I myself have some tenuous connexion with Old Blighty as my Mom is a British colonial (The Bahamas).  She taught me to spell properly :-)

Please visit the City Daily Photo blog's St George page to see how other photographers interpreted this theme.

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	1/8
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Pedestrians crossing

On the first of the month, the City Daily Photo community suggests a theme for all of us to interpret.  This month, the theme is Pedestrians Crossing.  Please click on the link to see the wonderful photos interpreting this theme from round the world!

I found this theme to be somewhat challenging.  I don't often take photos of people, and when I do, I feel... funny about posting them online.  I realise this is irrational - they can see I have a camera, they can see it up to my eye, they know I'm taking photos, and yet I still feel uneasy about posting them.  Thankfully, Eric came to my rescue with an idea that many in the community have dubbed 'The Tenin Technique' - putting the camera down low; practically on the floor.  Now that I had a way to photograph pedestrians in a way that wouldn't impinge on their privacy, I needed to find some pedestrians!

That isn't as easy as it might seem.  Schenectady in late winter is not a place where people spend a lot of time outdoors.  Sure, I could probably search through some older photographs to see if I'd inadvertently taken photos of pedestrians, but given my proclivity for nature photos that seemed unlikely to succeed.  So, I went to the one place I knew that would be crowded - the downtown Greenmarket in the Proctors building.

The layout of this building is a bit unusual by modern standards.  There is a long hallway called the Arcade which connects Proctors theatre and the small shops located in the same building.  Behind those shops, opposite Proctors, is a large open space called Robb Alley.  This is where the Greenmarket sets up on Sundays in the winter.

Here, people are crossing from the Arcade, the hallway, into Robb Alley, the room.  Pedesrians, crossing.

F Number	unrecorded
Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f/1.4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/160
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	1600
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Festival of the Equinox

The City Daily Photo community has been experimenting with mid-month theme days and this one is perfectly suited to me - the Equinox.  Do check out the other submissions from all over the world - there are some incredibly creative photographers in our community!

I approached the theme literally - as usual - and strove to depict balance.  The trees are roughly equidistant from the edges of the frame, there's about as much water as land and about as much ice as water if we consider the snow on the ground.  More philosophically, the ducks - male and female - are mates.  They've weighed the benefits of migrating against the costs and decided to brave the ice and snow in order to have first pick of the nesting sites.  Their survival and their offspring's is in the balance.  Drama right here in the middle of the city.

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f/1.4
F Number	unrecorded, probably f/4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/100
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	-0.66
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

Monthly Theme day - Best photo of 2012

Each month, on the first, the City Daily Photo community choose a theme, and we try to interpret it as best we can.  This month, the community is taking a break, so there's no official theme for January, but traditionally, we've done a retrospective - a 'Best of the year' photo.  Gerald at Hyde Daily Photo has put up a Linky that gathers the 'Best of' posts.  Sharing that is the main reason I'm posting today. 

I myself didn't have a prolific year, photo-wise.  I found my motivation somewhat lacking, and missed quite a few days.  No New Year's resolution to do better; I want to be more regular, but I'm not really sure where my inspiration has got to.  In that spirit, I found the October Monthly Theme to be an unusual source of inspiration.  I took a lot of photos of this slowly moving water, and then struggled over whether I should post-process any of them.  In the end, I decided I liked this one, just as it is.  I can see the man hole cover with bits of sand on it, and of course the water too.  Reflected in the water I see trees, my house, clouds, the sky and even a crow!  Serendipity meets persistence.

Is it my very best photo of 2012?  I'm not sure how to decide that, but it strikes me as the one I'm most proud of.

Monthly Theme Day - My Street

Each month, people in the City Daily Photo community choose a theme and we post a photo that we feel interprets that theme.  This month, the theme is My Street.  Julie at Sidney Eye has a page that showcases all the entries - do have a look!

Mother Nature blessed us with a dusting of snow last night.  The little one bundled himself up and made many a footprint and a few snow angels first thing this morning.  Spot the cat escaped out the back door and pulled up short when he realised he was standing in this chilly white stuff.  He sniffed around a bit and came back in.  We have many neighbours who came here from Guyana.  The amount of snow on the ground is so small that it doesn't come up over plastic flip-flops.  (Guess how I know that!)  The weather is supposed to warm up tomorrow - I fully expect this snow to be totally melted by then.  It didn't occur to me to get a snow shovel out.  But my Guyanese neighbours are more careful than I am!

F Number	6.3
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/250
Shooting Mode	Program
Exposure Program	Program AE
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

Theme day - Silhouette

Each month, the City Daily Photo Blog community choose a theme and many of us post our interpretation of that theme.  Our  much-loved portal is still out of service, but Julie has stepped in and created a place we can post our monthly theme photos: CDPB Theme Day.  Click the link for many photos from round the world!  This month's theme is Silhouette.

This photo was taken in January 2012.  I go out roving the hilltops of the Northeast with my good friend Sigurd.  We set up antennas and talk to as many people as we can before moving on to the next hilltop.  This is a shot of some of the antennas stowed in 'transport' mode.

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	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

September theme day - People Watching

On the first of the month, the City Daily Photo community chooses a theme that we each try to interpret.  This month, the theme is People Watching.  The much-loved portal is still unavailable, but there is an alternate site where many of us have linked in.

I'm not really a photographer of people.  About the only place I seem to have people in my photographs is when I am at the downtown Greenmarket.  Every Sunday, local farmers and crafters gather downtown to sell their wares.  It's a lot of fun to try all the goodies.  I personally like supporting all these local farmers. This particular day was quite warm, and I'd sat myself down on the curb and was fiddling with the old 35mm film lens I have on the digital camera.  It turns out to be a serendipitous photo.  As I was watching the Mu Mu Muesli lady, she was watching customers.  People watching squared!

Lens	Minolta MD 50mm f1.4
F Number	unrecorded, probably f/4
Focal Length	50.0 mm
Exposure Time	1/1000
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Theme Day - Numbers

Each month, on the first, the City Daily Photo bloggers show a photo that illustrates a particular theme.  This month, the theme is Numbers.

This photo was taken downtown, near City Hall.  There are a lot of numbers  visible in this frame.  Address numbers, phone numbers and even a sign indicating a low bridge is ahead!

Our City Daily Photo portal is still down, but visit our Facebook page to see all the wonderful photos from around the world!

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	38.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 76.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/500
Exposure Program	Aperture-priority AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly Theme Day - Chimneys

A Schenectady landmark since 1887, this building was built by George Westinghouse up on Broadway hill for his mother, who refused to leave her downtown State Street home so she could be closer to social life.  Since the late 1920s, the building has been the site of the Bond Funeral Home.  They maintain the historic building and grounds immaculately.

It's the first of the month, and that means the City Daily Photo bloggers are posting photos based on a single theme.  This month, the theme is chimneys.  Do have a visit and see all the wonderful photos from around the world!  NOTE: the portal is down again; apparently still searching for a host.  Try this backup site instead: http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	30.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Landscape
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Theme Day - Tranquility

On the first of each new month, the City Daily Photo community choose a theme, and we try to post a photo that we feel realises that theme.  This month's theme is tranquility. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants - the participants are from all over the world, and their ideas are simply marvelous!

This is from the wood next to the soccer field we go to.  The soccer field is on the edge of Central Park, and there is a mountain bike path that runs through here.  There are streams and bridges over those streams, although I think I might have rode my bike over that when I was younger I don;t think I would do so today!  Anyway, soccer practice was over, the kids were all heading for the cars and it was quiet.  The air was still and I could hear the birds in the forest, the slow trickle of the water, the voices of the children, glad to be finished with their workouts.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	31.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 62.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Electricity

Today is the first of March, and on the first of every month, the City Daily Photo community choose a theme for each of us to interpret.  This month, the theme is Electricity. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

I was a bit at a loss for this one.  I'm an amateur radio operator, so the first thing I thought of was an electronic circuit board.  I've got plenty of them around in various stages of completion.  But they don't say 'electricity' to me.  So then I thought about all those electric wires running down the street - that would be 'electric' enough, and representative of where I live, but I think that may be too representative.  So then I started thinking about ways to be creative, but it wasn't until I was preparing a mug of tea that this idea occurred to me.

It's the electronic igniter on the stove.  We have a stove that uses natural gas as fuel, but there aren't any pilot lights; no 'always on' flame like my old stove had.  Instead, there is an electronic igniter that creates a spark when the gas knob is turned to the 'start' position... a spark?  A spark!  Electricity!

I turned the exhaust fan on so that I didn't flood the kitchen with gas, removed the diffuser plate and snapped several photos of sparks in action.  I ended up cropping and enlarging the igniter so that the spark was more impressive.

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
Exposure Program	Shutter speed priority AE
ISO	1600
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Animals

Each month, the City Daily Photo community chooses a these for us to use.  We each interpret the theme as we like, and post our interpretation.  This month, the theme is Animals.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

This photo was taken in November 2011.  It is perhaps the most typical example of animals in the city; walking the dogs.  We haven't got a zoo nearby, so no exotic wildlife.  We do have the usual complement of city animals - squirrels, sparrows and pigeons, as well as an occasional nocturnal visit from raccoons, skunks and opossum.  And of course, there are cats both domestic and feral.  Dogs just seemed more... typical.

F Number	4.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/125
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Action shot

On the first of the month, many in the City Daily Photo community post a photo that realises a common theme.  This month's theme is Action Shots. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants 

This is my youngest, doing what comes naturally: throwing stones into water.  The weather has been wonderfully warm, which explains the lack of a coat when there are no leaves on the trees.

F Number	4.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	18.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 36.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/15
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	200
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Fences

On the first of the month, the City Daily Photo blogging community chooses a theme for us to post a photo of.  This month, the theme is fences.  Click here to view thumbnails for all participants
 
I must admit that I didn't look up the theme until a few days ago, and then I scrambled to take photos of fences like a madman.  They were all horrible.  Industrial.  Commercial.  Common.  And then I saw Ciel de Quimper's post and knew that these would not do.  So I started looking through the archives.  And remembered this.

This horse was at the Love Apple Orchard's petting area.  He was interested in me because I was feeding him clover.  At the time I took this, I was hoping the fence would be less... prominent.  Because afer all, isn't the horse more attractive than the fence?  I think so too, but in this case, the fence isn't there to stop the horse from roaming about.  It's there to stop the goats from annoying the horses.  With this fence, this industrial, chain link fence, the horse can walk a few feet and be untouchable.  If he wants, he can be away from annoying goats.  And annoying people.  I felt privileged that he chose to spend a few minutes with me.

F Number	7.1
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	30.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 60.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/320
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - Perspective

Toady, the first of the month, is Theme Day in the City Daily Photo Blog community.  Each month, we choose a single subject and we each take a photo that realises the topic.  This month, the theme is Perspective. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

This is a photo of an antenna tower.  I'm a ham; an amateur radio operator.  For me, towers are not only engineering wonders, but a way to make communication possible.  Most amateur towers are held up by supporting steel cables called guy wires.  These wires don't carry any radio signal; they just hold the tower up.  And yet, if I put my ear on one, I can hear the wind singing through the tower and if I touch the guy wire, I can hear the sound pulse travel from one end to the other, reflected back to my ear from the distant end at the top of the tower.

This isn't my tower; I was helping someone with some ham-related work and I just decided to listen to the guy wire.  By the time I thought of getting the camera, it was almost dark, and hand-holding the full zoom at 1/20th of a second was a little difficult.

This theme challenged me and I'm not sure I realised the theme as well as I could have.  Do visit the other blogs - the community is magnificent!

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	1/20
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

Monthly theme day - The colour green

Each month, on the first, the City Daily Photo blogging community suggests a theme that all of us try to realise.  This month, the theme is the colour green. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. The community is so talented, I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Around here, green is everywhere.  The rain has caused the earth to leap with verdant joy.  The grass is green, the fields are green and the trees are green.  This tree had its portrait taken while walking in Vale park, near my house.

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	1/25
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	400
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire