Author Archives: Mike

Having Fun

Posted by Mike on

List five things you do for fun.

Bloganuary – Daily Prompt

I almost didn’t write this post. Even now I’m not positive I’ll finish it. I’m confusing this prompt with one of the first prompts this month – Playtime. What more can I say…

And then I thought about it too much…

Once again I checked the Merriam-Webster online dictionary-

fun (noun)
1: what provides amusement or enjoyment
specifically : playful often boisterous action or speech
2: a mood for finding or making amusement
3a: AMUSEMENT, ENJOYMENT
3b: derisive jest : SPORT, RIDICULE

fun (verb)
: to indulge in banter or play : JOKE

fun (adjective)
1: providing entertainment, amusement, or enjoyment
2: full of fun : PLEASANT

I know I embrace the verb form of fun. I make my own, especially at work. And if I’m truly thinking about it, in my attempts to indulge in play, I’m practicing the adjective form as well. You can verify with my co-workers, I provide entertainment. I say “I’m only there for the comic relief…”

So, what else is fun for me?

My photography has provided years of fun for me. It is many things to me, with fun being an important part. The learning, the exploration, and the sharing are all parts of what I find fun. Oh, I can also be frustrated, confused, and lost with my photography, but every time I come back to it, the fun is what I reach for.

My other big source of fun is video games. I don’t watch TV. I do not have cable. I stream what few things I watch. But video games, oh yeah, definitely fun. The worlds to explore, the problem solving, the exhilaration of completing a difficult area, and the escape from the long days at work. Yep, I can have fun.

The same can be said for reading a book. The world that is created in my mind when reading a good book is better than any movie or TV show. I can get lost inside that book. Oh what adventures I have experienced.

Reading what I have written so far has me thinking I should trash this post. I’m such a nerd… ha ha ha

Winter Picnic Anyone?

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome Winter
Monochrome Monday
Bellamy Harbor Park

I’m going to make it easy on myself today. I’ll stick with the monochrome/B&W theme and show another monochrome winter image. As I was searching for doors yesterday, I did eventually stop at Bellamy Harbor Park. It wasn’t horrible out (as long as I walked with the wind). I managed to find a few scenes worth capturing.

I typically grab an image of this pavilion from the Mill St. bridge. The additional elevation allows me to incorporate more of the area around the pavilion. I chose not to go up to the bridge yesterday as I really did not want to deal with the wind. I know, I should be more brave… :)

Winter Picnic Anyone?
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/400s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100

Doors

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 3 – Black and White

What to do, what to do?

The week three challenge at 52 Frames is Black and White photography. Readers of my ramblings know that I am no stranger to B&W, or monochrome, photography. Hardly a week goes by (when I’m posting consistently) without you having to endure another of my monochrome images. The style works for landscape, macro, still life, etc. You can visit my home page galleries and find three dedicated to monochrome projects.

So, what should I do?

I’m supposed to be challenging myself.

I thought about this challenge most of the week. I considered doing another image for the oil can project, or maybe the game pieces project, but really wanted something different. Out of necessity, due to the frigid temperatures, I had an idea. Something I could almost achieve from the comfort of my vehicle if needed.

I have written about one of my favorite photographers, Tom McLaughlan, and his ministract photography, in a couple of posts through out the years. He created a style that is part minimal, and part abstract. I can not do it justice but I encourage you to visit his site, Ministract.

My idea for the challenge this week would be similar to the ministract style I admire. I would photograph doors and patterns. Some I was even able to do from my vehicle (non-moving of course). For the last one I braved the elements at Bellamy Harbor.

Door #1
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/100s, 45mm, f/8, ISO 100

Door #2
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/400s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 100

Door #3
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/160s, 40mm, f/8, ISO 100

Dreams

Posted by Mike on

What’s your dream job?

Bloganuary – Daily Prompt

Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, FL

Your dream job changes with you. At least for me, that is how I’m currently pondering the answer to today’s daily prompt. I didn’t necessarily have a dream job when I was growing up. It wasn’t until late in high school that I could have answered this question. That young kid would have said “to work for NASA.”

NASA
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/250s, 16mm, f/11, ISO 200

Rocket Garden
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/500s, 112mm, f/11, ISO 200

Atlantis
Olympus E-M1 MK III, M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4, 1/25s, 12mm, f/4, ISO 800

My fascination with model rockets and everything space related is what focused me on college. I received my BS in Aerospace Engineering and then reality hit when I struggled to get a job. I stayed in college and worked toward an MS in Mechanical Engineering. My first job wasn’t with NASA but it was in the aerospace industry. I worked at a company manufacturing turbine blades for aircraft engines.

Through my experiences in manufacturing and the growth of computers, I suppose my next “dream job” would have been in application programming. I enjoyed creating applications and/or systems that benefited the manufacturing process. Put me in front of a computer, give me an idea to run with and step back. I loved creating everything needed to improve a process or make someone’s job easier/better.

I still do, although I don’t get many opportunities to create those types of systems any more.

When my love for Disney was rekindled in the early 2000’s I might have answered to be an Imagineer. That is a term coined within the Walt Disney company for their creative employees. It is created from “Imagine” + “Engineer”. Back then I didn’t think of myself as a creative person so I never attempted to pursue that path.

Recently at work I was having a discussion with my manager and our immediate manager. We were discussing how to handle the work distribution especially in light of now being able to fill a couple open positions. I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up. The response I blurted out, without any thought, was “useful”.

I don’t believe that counts as a dream job but it really has me thinking lately. What is me current dream job?

I want to be part of the solution. I want to contribute, beyond performing day to day tasks. And thinking back to an earlier prompt about my mission, I want to help the young engineers grow.

I suppose now that I have said it out loud I need to get off my butt.

Damn. Some days I enjoy being lazy… :)

Peer into the Heart

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome Winter
Mohawk River Trail

No real objective today.

Not positive where I want to go with this post.

I wanted to post an image today, but I haven’t had the opportunity to go out after work to capture anything new. So I’m left with looking through the images from the past few weeks. There’s not a lot you haven’t already seen.

This image reminded me of my friend Karma’s post, Icy Beauty, although it is nowhere as sparkly as her images. It is similar in that it is from my go-to walking trail. Seeing it brought me back to that afternoon in between the snowfall, listening to the river gurgling past as I picked my way along the path in search of winter scenes.

I need another one of those afternoons.

Peer into the Heart
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/60s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere…

Posted by Mike on

Where can you reduce clutter in your life?

Bloganuary – Daily Prompt

Snow Clutter
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/50s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100

The first step to answering the daily prompt was understanding the word. Sometimes I think I know a word but when I check on its meaning I learn a thing or two. From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary –

clutter (verb) – to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness; often used with up

clutter (noun) – (a): a crowded or confused mass or collection; (b): things that clutter a place

The second one has my name written all over it. I tend to create collections, good and bad, which grow before I realize I am out of space.

I know the prompt is “Where can you..” but I reduced a ton of clutter in 2019. I moved into an apartment in order to get the house ready to sell. I used that transition to reduce the clutter I created over my twenty-five years of living there. For the most part, it worked. I say that even though there are boxes of “stuff” tucked away in my closets.

So, on to today. I need to decide what I want to do with the boxes in the closet. It is a lot of Disney knick-knack. Jim Shore, Precious Moments and other figures picked up over the years. They were displayed in numerous shelving units in the old house but for the past five years have been mostly out of view and mind.

I recently did a good job with my camera stuff. I tend to hold on to old equipment even though I rarely pick it up or use it. I “proudly” display it on a shelf and all it really accomplishes is to gather dust. I sold almost all of it to fund the latest purchases. I haven’t missed it and now I don’t have to clean it.

I am a book hoarder by nature but I don’t see that ever changing. My shelves are packed full of books. To help with that bad habit, I have been getting books on my Kindle. Not my sci-fi books or those I get about photography and Disney, but the fiction, mystery, and thriller books I find myself enjoying lately. So, maybe that counts toward reducing clutter.

The definition for the verb clutter has me thinking, especially the “impede movement” portion. What is the clutter impeding my movement forward. I planned on being in this apartment until I sold the house. That happened in early 2020. I wanted to move out of NY, away from the cold and yet, here I am waiting for the snow storm to arrive today.

My mental clutter needs to be reduced as well. I don’t see myself as a deep thinker or one that does self-reflection. When I do jump in though, I can surprise myself. We’ll tug on that thread another time.

Time to get ready for work. Crap, what about the clutter there? Good grief….

Working Bellamy

Posted by Mike on

Bellamy Harbor, Rome, NY

There was a sliver of light in the sky Sunday morning. The forecast didn’t look good for the rest of the day, but I wanted to capture colors. I wanted the sunrise. I drove to Bellamy Harbor in the hope I could capture both.

The light was changing fast as the clouds were fighting the rising sun. I could see it already, my normal view down the canal with the sun providing the color against the gathering clouds. It was going to be a good one.

This time of year the sun rises to the right of the Mill St. bridge as I look east down the Barge Canal. When I arrived at the harbor my first choice was to setup at the water’s edge near the pedestrian bridge over the Mohawk River. I would be looking straight into the sunrise and could include rocks with river debris as foreground elements.

First Choice
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 26mm, f/11, ISO 100

Not a terrible image but not the one I had in my head. Time to move to “my spot” next to the water control gates at the opening of the harbor.

Damn.

The city fixed the fence again. Not sure what my thought process is or why I think this way, but I have no issue going around the fence if someone else has made the opening. I refuse to do it myself. It is a small difference but I stick to it.

Now what?

There is still a view to capture. Keep working the area.

Maybe the view looking down the canal framed by tree branches and the over growth? It could work. I’m not a fan of obscuring the sky but at least give it a try. Placement of the camera is important for this one. Too low on the bank and all you get is the over growth. Too high and the branches from the tree invade the harbor view. There it is…

Framed View
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 38mm, f/11, ISO 100

Still not the one. The light is changing too. Closer to sunrise. Next option?

An elevated view? Same spot in the harbor as the first image but from the top of the bank. I’ll still be looking into the sunrise. The light will be centered.

Higher View
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 29mm, f/11, ISO 100

Almost. Is it getting darker? No, my eyes must be playing a trick on me. Any other thoughts for your sunrise?

Something with out the over growth in the foreground?

Wow! Look at that color. Definitely a view with more water to get the color reflection. From the pedestrian bridge? That could work.

Bridge View
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 26mm, f/11, ISO 100

Damn. It’s cold out this morning. Fingers are getting a little numb.

One more. Back to the water’s edge. Look at those colors.

Fire in the Sky
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 1/4s, 29mm, f/11, ISO 100

As you can probably tell, the last two images are my favorites. I didn’t know what I would find for an image but I stayed with it. I didn’t get the image in my head but I didn’t walk away. The light was constantly changing providing new and different opportunities..

Looking at the last two images, I wish I had used a neutral density (ND) filter. It would have slowed down my shutter and created smoother, silkier water. It could plus these images or maybe not. The option for me as I processed the captures would have been nice. Next time…

Don’t give up on a scene, especially if an obstacle prevents you from the planned image in your head. Don’t be tied to that vision, create a new one.

Losing Battles

Posted by Mike on

52-week Challenge
Week 2 – New Technique

I struggled with this week’s challenge, use a new technique. From the beginning of this photography journey I have experimented with different techniques. I typically stick with the landscape and macro images but have tried intentional camera movement, minimalism, abstract, B&W, square format, etc.

We had a meeting this week for the photography group at work. Our goal was to get ideas for increasing the group, where we would like to go on photo walks, and what other types of “lessons” we would like to share. It was a great meeting and we came away with a plethora of ideas. We decided we needed a goal of meeting at a minimum of once a month. Out of this meeting I got it in my head to get back into my Game Pieces project. I thought maybe I could do something for this week’s challenge.

And then my mind made a left turn…

I picked up Battleship at the store. I could see numerous possibilities for the project. But would that be enough for the challenge? What did I want out of this self-imposed challenge? To push myself. As I walked around the store a concept became clear. Part of me wasn’t going to like it.

I did something way out of my comfort zone last week. How could I plus that? The title of the image was already in my head, it would be called “Losing Battles.” Another self portrait but this time with a twist. I would incorporate the Battleship game. I love a good play on words and/or double meanings.

So, I expanded on what this weekly challenge would be for me. I would follow, as best as possible, the challenges from 52frames.com but was free to challenge myself differently if I so desired. I guess in the long run, whatever keeps me moving forward with my photography is what I’ll do.

Losing Battles
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70 f/4 S, 0.8s, 53mm, f/8, ISO 100