Last Commented Photography Blogs (166)

Watch some pictures of my life and some random stuff.

Now that the rains have returned in earnest, it's time for me to do all those inside chores and other things I've been putting off. Two weeks of nothing but wonderful fall sunshine, had me gallivanting around the area, seeking and taking as many photos as possible.

My main goal today is to lay out a calendar I had no intention of making. As I'm on a local community fb page, and post photos of our picturesque area, I had no idea I had such a following. I knew I received a lot of comments and likes for my photos, but I take those with a grain of salt, as what someone likes on fb, doesn't always necessarily translate to a good photo in photo club.

After posting a photo of one spectacular sunset, one of my 'followers' said she hoped I was making a calendar as she wanted four. Numerous other people chimed in that they also wanted at least one calendar. After pricing it out, I decided that it could be lucrative. The next step is to design the calendar, choose the photos, and put up a web page for orders. Yikes! I really hadn't planned on this, and the pressure's on now as most people want them in November.

Although I have other household chores that need attending to, they'll get done in between breaks from the calendar. The chores will still be there, regardless. It's not like the chore fairy will show up and magically do them while I'm working on something else, unfortunately.

Yesterday, a little overcast, I went with two other photo club members out to the old shipyards. The following are a couple of photos from the excursion.

The old cannery



Obviously, a swan near the base of the building over the river.

One of the things I enjoy is nature.
I used to post nature photos on CS a while back.
I'm thinking of perhaps doing it again on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis,
depending upon the level of interest.

For now, here's 3 of my photos. Let me know which of the 3 you prefer the most, if you don't mind.

1 - Soaring bald eagle;




2. Cormorant caught a fish




3. Sunset over the Raritan River, NJ



That's enough for now.

If you like, have some fun adding your own caption(s) for the following photo;



My first entry is;

After hearing the recent movie critics reviews,
Pooh hit the honey malt liquor quite hard, as well as anyone,
who dared to cross his path.

The moon followed me home last night. Very bright and lots of spots where it peeked through the clouds. I stopped to shoot a few pictures but my cellphone camera is very limited especially for distant night images. Obviously the focus and contrast are lacking, but you get the idea of proportion. By 11pm the moon was overhead and lit up the entire sky.

Just for fun (you do remember having fun don't you ?),
add your own appropriate caption(s) for the following photo;



My first entry is; 'Shake, shake, shake. Shake your plastron.'

Have you ever done something and felt totally exhilarated afterwards? This morning was one of those mornings for me. This week has been overcast and yesterday it just teemed rain off and on all day. I didn't ride my bike as I was exceptionally tired from the long drive and work I'd done the previous day.

I didn't realize how windy it was this morning until I wheeled my bike out of the garage. A gust of wind blasted me, almost toppling my bike on it's kickstand as I shut the garage door. Well! This was going to be an interesting bike ride! Pedalling into the wind, I had to work twice as hard as I usually do, and lower my gear a notch.

Usually, I don't like riding into the wind, but this morning, somehow it was refreshing. Riding towards the dike, the approaching train sounded like it was coming right at me. Sunflowers bent their sunny heads with the force of the wind, the nearby cornfields rustling eerily in the strong gusts.

Too much cloud cover to see any colour of the sunrise this morning, it was still a glorious morning, the unmistakeable screech of eagles circling above. Smaller birds flitted in and out of the bushes, although many of the summer birds left during August when the smoke from the forest fire was so bad.

I didn't stop for any photos this morning, I simply enjoyed the ride, the dawning of the day, and the exhilaration of having completed a strenuous ride.

My sister has left to drive back to Arizona, so I've added a few photos of a couple of days ago, some with her, some on my early morning bike ride.

One of my first views on my bike ride. Mt.Cheam standing guard over the valley, the sun rising behind it.


After riding under the bridge, one of the farmers kindly lets me ride through his fields.


One of the sloughs I cycle by, quiet on this particular morning. Usually, herons and ducks are present, and if I'm lucky, the beaver.


Riding past the Friesan horses after a rainfall, raindrops were highlighted on the numerous spider webs in the page wire.


My sister and Mom dropped by later in the morning, where we went out for lunch to the local deli, and then headed out to where the old truck was located. She took photos of that while I busied myself with the rare local wildflowers. Blue chicory is common and grows everywhere. The white chicory is rare, but there it was! And the variegated kind they don't even mention, but again, there it is!




We headed to the historic site of Harrison Mills, where an abandoned mill crumbles and is the canvas for graffiti artists. My sister was thrilled that I took her there, although she'd been there a couple of times and never found it.


Behind the mill, I believe this was the remains of the old dock where they shipped lumber down the river.


A CP rail train traversing the river where two rivers converge.


A very good but busy week. The wind this morning blew all the cobwebs out of the brain and it looks like it's also blowing the clouds away and blue sky may prevail!

What does one do on an overcast day? Well, you can do all the things indoors that you've been putting off, or, if you're me, you get in the car to find a landmark. Granted, it's not a landmark everyone would want to visit, but it was interesting.

I had no idea the area I lived in had so many hidden areas! Travelling the back country roads, farms abounded with verdant hay fields alternating with towering corn fields, and sunflowers lining the roads, their bright yellow heads sagging with the weight of their seeds.

Exploring the road, I wanted to see where it ended up, and, as I suspected, it ended up at a dead end. The great part of it was though, as I drove down the gravel lane, a dike dissected it, so I found another place to ride my bike and explore. I just had to find where the end of it was.

Driving back along the lane, cows lay on a grassy hilltop overlooking the slough.


Passing the cows, I glanced under the trees and spied an old semi truck near the overgrowth. What a find! I love these old trucks and cars, especially in a state of disrepair.




I had a couple of people pass me and look intently at what I might have been photographing, and I'd bet that they hadn't even noticed the truck before.

Carrying on back down the road, I took a side street in hopes of finding the end of the dike, and sure enough, although it's not the end, I believe it's close enough, as the farm gates on it are closed. I have no idea how far it goes, but I'm going to find out, hopefully tomorrow, if it's just overcast like today.

Returning to the winding country road, I drove back to my planned destination - an old cemetery. Now, it's not my thing to visit cemeteries, but this one opened in 1895 and closed in 1946 and someone had mentioned the other day that it was well worth a visit.

Parking at the bottom, I'd been warned that it was on a really steep hill, and they definitely weren't lying. Holy cow! Starting the climb up the many, many stairs, after the first set of stairs, a bench made from boulders had been set into the side of the hill.


A sloped path cuts across the grass from the left side stairs to the precipitous stairs on the right. Looking upwards, and with a bad knee, I wondered if I'd make it to the top. Thankfully I'd grabbed my cane, as there are no railings to hold onto.


Starting up, there are, as any cemetery, there are large headstones encircled with wrought iron fencing.




Some of the fencing is missing on some of the graves, or laying in a heap behind a headstone.




I criss-crossed the grass in order to take photos, glad I was wearing my hiking boots with the extra grip on the soles. I definitely needed them as the hill is exceptionally slanted. Finally, I reached the top where the founding father of the town and his family are buried, their crosses signifying the end of the property at the very top of the hill. You can just see the top and a cross between the two trees from the below photo.


Turning around to make my way back down, here's how steep the hill is, the road at the bottom on the left:


And a different viewpoint looking down the hill:


Almost near the bottom:


On the same row as the one above, a child's grave is marked with a sheep on top of the headstone. A discarded stuffed toy lays at the foot of it, there for who knows how long?


-cont-

One of my clients stopped by my house to pick up some product yesterday and advised me that it was smokier where I lived than in Harrison, at the lake. Of course I was all over that and decided to head up to the lake, camera in hand, of course.

I first drove up to Greenpointe, a section of the lake that's a bit quieter. Very quiet yesterday. On the way there, I spied some driftwood in a cove that was inviting, even with the smoke.


I noted a heron sitting on a branch and zoomed in as he took flight and landed on another one, squawking at me in it's prehistoric voice.


Looking down into a private section of the bay from above.


Noting a woman sitting with her feet in the water, reading, she was a great subject.


And so she wouldn't notice me (she didn't anyway), I hadn't realized there was a windsurfer out on the lake.




Back into town to the resort area with the main road lined with shops and restaurants along the beachfront, it was a perfect place to people watch!

This lady looked like she was from my generation of hippies, and I loved her colourful dress.


This guy was waving at someone in the restaurant as he passed.


It's hazardous driving down the main road, as cyclists tend to ride the wrong way down the one way street.


This guy worked at the local market and came out for a smoke break.


A 'biker-chick' and her hubby, each with their own Harley.




Loved the trio of umbrellas on the outdoor patio of a restaurant.


A server at the restaurant.


A Sikh walking on the street instead of the sidewalk. Avoiding my camera, perhaps?


Loved the contrast of this hat with the shadows.


You see all manner of dress and hats here.


Checking out the menu outside of the patio.


In his own world.


I hadn't realized what was going on when I took this photo, but look at the woman's face, she looks decidedly peeved!


Another hat, looks well used.


Heading down to the beach, a city worker was on garbage detail.


This elderly lady was totally lost in her own world until her hubby called her to go the other way.


Although I'd zoom in on her hand in future, I cropped the photo to her hand as I loved the character in it holding her cane. A little grainy due to the cropping, but I like the composition.


This guy looks like a bouncer sitting outside an ice cream shop - lol!


And this is what was going on inside it!


Smokey on the golf course as I left.


You can see how smokey it is in this photo, it's almost like mist swirling around the trees.

On Friday, I headed down to Fairhaven in the U.S. to take my bike in for it's 10 hour check up. Needless to say, I have ridden far more than 10 hours, as Thursday alone I rode it for 9.5 hours. While waiting, I toured the town, practicing my street photography. Some of the benches have a statue of a renowned figure lounging on them, to the delight of many who have their photo taken with them.

The first one - a statue of Mark Twain outside a book store.


The g/f taking a photo of them. Strong legs on that girl! Look how she's squatting.


Mark Twain, himself.


The town has tons of old brick buildings that have been renovated and add to the appeal of it.


I could hear piano music across the street, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from as I was looking into the bright light. Two ladies told me the piano player had pushed the piano down the street and set up on the corner to play. His music was absolutely delightful.


Two young ladies glazing outside a pottery shop.


Down a cobblestone alley, a restaurant is set up in a courtyard. One of the tables is set off by itself by this tree and raised a couple of feet above the cobblestones.


A cool door handle for an up-coming subject for photo club.


Family patio dining.


The red umbrella and dress caught my attention.


In the courtyard, people relax and enjoy some refreshments, or read.


Yep, the red hat caught my eye.


Savouring some ice cream.


Desultory conversation.


Across the courtyard, another statue.


Chopsticks are not a challenge for some.


Two Mexicans outside of a Mexican restaurant loading up a dolly.


Part of the courtyard, rimmed with restaurants (and a huge book store).


Looks like the statue's perving...


Wife is ahead, sampling the sweets while hubby limps gamely behind.


His turn! And look, they even matched colours.


Piano player returning from one of the restaurants.


I guess this guy prefers his own music.


Giving me the eye...


Busy corner.


I didn't see anyone in red tights, but this mature lady had red runners!


This couple was from Oz and asked me to move off the bench I was sitting on, next to some statue taking notes. No problem. Another couple asked me how my date was - I told them he was a little quiet, but he was at least writing everything down.


Another old brass door handle.


Conversing on a round bench.


Busker joining the piano player, maybe?


An old chandelier in one of the vintage buildings.


....cont. in comments.....