Daily Image - Feb '22 Archive

22 Feb 22 We'll leave the castle grounds for today and return tomorrow. Today we are taking a look at what can be seen just about anywhere you walk in old town, especially on your way to the castle grounds. This is a portion of just one of the many churches in old town. Which one in particular I'm not certain as I didn't find names on many of the buildings and this is one of them. Most likely I wasn't looking where I needed to be looking. One of the more interesting aspects of the majority of all these sculptures is that the gold portions always seemed to be very shiny while other parts were not. Some of that was due no doubt to folks rubbing certain parts of them but obviously not so when they were located high above the pavement. A big distraction all over the city while we were there were renovation projects resulting in many of the attractions being cover with wire, tenting, and other material to keep the renovation work from injuring any of us tourists. Probably made the walks a bit safer but it sure did interfere with my photography. As did all the netting to keep the pigeons off the buildings. I did as much photography as time and weather would allow but was handicapped by not having a ladder to use to get the perspective needed for many of the shots. Fortunately modern software helps but it does result in loosing a fair amount of the original. Imagine having to see art like this on any given day by merely walking down the street. This is what the camera captured save for some perspective adjustments. Everywhere You Look Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/500 sec @ f / 8.

02 Feb 22 We began this triptych series with a colorful look at the two statues and the beautiful surrounding old world architecture which so far has garnered 2,229 views, then moved on to a B&W version featuring man's inhumanity to man be it via war or just routinely, which has garnered only 588 views which is close to what I predicted, and conclude with a creative version that is meant to imply motion. Whether that motion is positive or negative will depend on the viewer. Of these three members of the triptych I feel the B&W to hold the most emotion and in fact should set the stage for the other two. I can see them arranged to tell a few different stories, but however the stories play out, I hope it would serve to bring attention to man's deplorable state and the need for redemption. Same as for the previous two versions, save for the conversion using the Topaz plug-in Glow 2. Outlined Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 500; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

01 Feb 22 Not sure why, but the version of this I sent yesterday garnered 2,078 views as of the time I'm writing; that's an all-time high for any image I've ever shared. Today's B&W I'll wager won't get 1/4 that many. As I was creating the set of variations of this image I felt like the B&W version best conveyed the message of the two statues, or at least from my perspective. I got the strong sensation as I looked at them through the lens, attempting to get a shot that conveyed what I was felling was/is the message of the two, was that the sculptor was trying to convey the horror of war. In reading the web pages I've found and the books we purchased I haven't found a precise statement of what the sculptor had in mind, so I'm just going with how they struck me! Hopefully this B&W approach conveys such. As before, this is straight from the camera but converted to monochrome. Silvered Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 500; 1/500 sec @ f / 9.

21 Feb 22 Among our regrets of our time in Praha was not spending anywhere near the amount of time we should have on the Prague Castle grounds. One of the main attractions there is the St Vitus Cathedral. The present cathedral is the third one built on this site whose foundation stone was laid in 1344 and finally completed and solemnly consecrated in 1929. You can easily spend an entire day in just the cathedral although it is just one of many things to see on the grounds. We spent approximately 3 hours touring on the last full day the group was in Praha but that didn't even start to do it justice. Inside the cathedral were many different attractions and what I'm sharing with you today is a shot of the tomb of St Wenceslas which is the iconic feature of the St Wenceslas Chapel located in what I would consider the Nave. From the website: "The lower part of the [wenceslas] Chapel’s interior is adorned with paintings depicting the Passion cycle, studded with gemstones in gilded plaster. It forms part of the original decoration of the chapel from the 14th century. The second strip of decoration (with origin in the 16th century) depict scenes from the life of St Wenceslas. They are credited to the workshop of the Master of the Litoměřice Altar. The door in the southwest corner of the chapel is guarding the staircase leading to the Crown Jewels Chamber, where a collection of inestimable value is stored – the Bohemian Crown Jewels. There are seven locks on the door, and the keys are entrusted to seven representatives of the state, the Catholic Church and the city (the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the House of Deputies, the Chairman of the Senate, the Lord Mayor of Prague, the Prague Archbishop and the Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus Cathedral)." The "fence" you see around the tomb is as ornate as all the other adornments in the chapel. It was a very busy morning when we visited and I found myself separating from our tour for periods of time to get a momentary break in the crowds in which to get a reasonably clean shot of various features in the cathedral, then having to find the tour group and rejoin them. It was worth it. Other than some badly needed straightening, this is what the camera captured. The Nave Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 2,000; 1/15 sec @ f / 5.6 hand held.

23 Feb 22 Back inside St Vitus Cathedral for today's submission. As you walk through the edifice you encounter one alcove after another. Each equally magnificent in what is being presented with sculptures, frescoes, and materials. It is almost too much at times. Although spanning more years than the Baroque period, this cathedral simply screams Baroque. Both inside and out. And I love the baroque so this church was a real treat. Rather than carry on about it, I suggest you simply do a web search to see and learn about it to your heart's content. I'll endeavor to share a few more shots of it but of various aspects as you by now have a reasonable idea of its ornateness. This is what the camera capture except for my perspective control corrections. Ornate Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 2,000; 1/ 13 sec @ f / 5.6 hand held.

24 Feb 22 Another from the interior of the church. Can't tell you exactly where this one is in the church but you will definitely pass it on your tour or if on your own following a tour. You can't get real close to any of these "displays" and they all have those "little ropy things" as MS Poundstone used to call them keeping at a safe distance from the actual stuff. Now most folks will likely tell you that hand held horizontal panos are difficult enough to pull off and vertical ones simply out of the question. So here you have a 9 frame vertical hand held composition lit by ambient (room) light which was highly spectral. But you work with what you have within the constraints imposed. I couldn't understand the plaque so my take on this scene is it is a contemplation of heaven from the Book of Revelation. Study it some and see if you get that impression also. I imagine that what it is can be found somewhere either in the library or via the web but I haven't spent the time trying to locate such. Might be a fun experience for any of you with a bit of free time on your hands. Other than the compositing and necessary cleanup, this is what the camera recorded. Heavenly Concept Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 2,000; 1/6 sec @ f / 5.6 hand held.

07 Feb 22 The day we departed Praha for Passau to board the cruise ship was a bleak grey spitting day leaving us with little to regret leaving Praha. We all gathered outside the hotel with a mass of people huddled around a mass of luggage. It provided sufficient time for me to visit a nice bookstore just across the street from the hotel we should have visited the moment of our arrival as I got the best book of the area there; could have made great use of it during our 5 days. One of those many times when the dragon won. I got a window seat on the left side of the bus and took advantage of the window to shoot lots of shots of things about which I had no information but they looked nice so I just shot away. One of them, about which I guess I could investigate, was the Statni Opera (The State Opera) located in the very center of the city, above the Wenceslas Square, founded in 1888 as the New German Theatre. Considering that we visited several opera houses on the trip I'm a bit surprised that we didn't visit this one as it seems to be highly rated. The shot I'm sharing of it was taken through the window as the bus sped by so it suffers some from the method in which I got it. As I mentioned at the start the sky was awful so I had to swap it out with a different one due to the fact that the bright gray would cause you eyes to stop down making the building look way too dark. I've also had to adjust the perspective such that you only get to see the top half but that half was the real reason for taking the shot. You can see it all in the link I've provided above. The first and last photos in the page (tab) called (Opera, ballet & classical music) is where you want to look. Scroll down to the middle of the page. So, if Praha is on your bucket list you might want to include this a point of interest. I've drastically adjusted the original to make it look like a building and not a pyramid and added a nice sky. Top Half Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 1,250; 1/800 sec @ f / 3.8.

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08 Feb 22 A short distance past the state opera building I shared yesterday we came to the Dancing House, a modern building made of glass basically sandwiched between some of the older architecture. It was highly controversial when built in 1996 but that quickly changed when it won the Time Magazine Design of the Year award. I was only able to get a partial view shot through the window so you'll need to look on-line to get the full effect of this building now frequently referred to as Fred and Ginger; you are seeing Ginger. it is rather impressive and hard to miss tucked away amongst the older buildings. This is another one of those buildings I would love to see inside. Unlike the Opera House, this one was mentioned to us by our driver who seemed, as I recall, to be part of the old school group who considered its design to be out of place. Whether it is or not, it is a very striking piece of architecture. You might want to consider putting it on your Praha bucket list. Same approach as yesterday, bad weather requiring the sky replacement. Otherwise this is straight from the camera. Fred & Ginger Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 1,250; 1/ 320 sec @ f / 3.8.

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09 Feb 22 Our trip from Praha to Passau was one of the few days in which we didn't encounter rain. As we arrived in Passau to board the Amadeus Elegant we were reminded that the rain wasn't far distant (top of the image) but for the remainder of that day we stayed dry. The main deck of this lovely vessel, the "elegant" part of the name being most appropriate, featured several places to just hang out and enjoy the scenery or to gather for drinks and games. One such spot amid ships was a large chess game with the individual pieces being perhaps three feet in height. I was rather surprised that none on board elected to have a go at it that evening and that was too bad as we never saw the game set up again, likely due to the weather. When I was in Christ Church, NZ there was a similar set in the town square but the pieces were closer to 5 feet tall. Watched a couple of games while there. The vessel was really designed around social activities for the passengers but we didn't have much opportunity to enjoy that aspect of the cruise. A single exception was our first night in Budapest when the Captain took us on a river cruise to see all the lights. It was a cold 90 minutes or so but well worth it. I shared some of the photos from that little excursion a couple years back. Although we didn't get to partake of the chess game on the deck, we did get to do such with the weather; it won every time! This particular shot looks quite nice in B&W so for any of you who would like to see such just send me a note and I'll forward. This is pretty much straight from the camera save for a little contrast assist. Two Forms of Chess Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/1,000 sec @ f / 8.

10 Feb 22 We spent one day in Austria visiting Salzburg. It was a delightful visit but unfortunately a large proportion of the day was spent on the bus traveling there and back. Walking as we did on a tour I was delighted to pass a location that was apparently the lab of Dr Doppler whose work in the 1800s was the basis of much of my career. That was something of a real delight to see even though it was just a plaque on the wall of the building. Nobody else even noticed it but for me it was one of the highlights of the trip. The morning of the trip we awoke to a rain free sky but with the possibility hanging over our heads so to speak. On deck I noticed a couple of interesting all glass buildings along with a couple cathedrals that caught my eye. I took a couple of shots in that early morning sevenish sun time light but should have taken more as I was thinking I could get some nicer shots in the evening light however we got back too late for that to happen and the ship sailed after supper. What originally caught my eye was the leaning glass building you see at the left edge. It would have been smart to have taken a few shots on either side that morning but I didn't so you'll just have to use your imagination as to how the rest of the building looks. I don't remember so I can't provide any suggestions. One of the nice things that morning on the Danube was the slight ripple on the water's surface; made for some nice reflections. I can't tell you anything about these buildings as I don't recall where we were moored other than somewhere on the Danube a couple of hours from Salzburg. Other than a little contrast enhancement, this is what the camera captured. Sets of Two Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/500 sec @ f / 5.

28 Feb 22 Since moving here to the Kitsap Peninsula I've shared a few images of the Hood Canal Floating Bridge, mostly in the fog, as that's how I think it displays best. The longest bridge of it kind, it has a total span of 7,869 feet of which 6,520 float on the water. Impressive as that is, most folks would likely never consider it to be a photogenic structure. Contrast that with the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge that is considered to be the most photographed bridge in the world and perhaps the most beautiful bridge in the world as well having a total span of 8,980 feet of which 4,200 are directly above the water. I've been in SF just three times in my life, the first with family as a grade schooler, then in the mid-80s with Jan and the kids, and finally 3 years back when the two of us just drove through on a return leg from Berkeley. The first trip I was too young to have any say in what we did or saw, the second time when we were in charge of the itinerary but the kids had a major impact on how we spent our time, and that last trip when we just passed through. The 80s trip was one where I got to do some photography of the bridge but the weather wasn't cooperating any more than it was on the last trip. As we were approaching the bridge on this last trip we hit some nice fog and I was thinking hot dog, gonna get some potentially nice stuff this time. By the time we had crossed the bridge the fog was rapidly dissipating and the opportunity to get the bridge shrouded has passed us by. There are, to my way of thinking 3 locations in which to shoot the bridge properly: 1)SW end on the beach, 2) SE end on the hillside, and 3) north end on top of the Marin hills. There is a fourth, which is the NE end on the beach, but it pales compared to the other three. The shots I got on this last trip were from that NE end but our timing wasn't the best; the tide was full and the fog almost gone. But I did take a few shots and that's what I'm sharing today. This is looking south from the Marin (N) side of the bridge. It's roughly 1230 in the afternoon and the fog is just about gone for the day. Had we not wasted an hours time on the Bay Bridge earlier that morning we might have made it in time to get the shot I wanted. BTW, the link has a lovely slide show that is accessible by clicking on the first picture. This is what the camera recorded. Looking South Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1,600 sec @ f /11.

16 Feb 22 Our last day/night in Akureyri was potentially going to give us a reasonable chance at seeing the Northern Lights. It had been a snowy morning and our tour for the day was almost going to be canceled for a second day in a row but the weather broke sufficiently to go. Upon return from a long day's adventure(s) our tour guide/driver said that we had a good chance of seeing the lights but it was dependent on the moon. No moon good chance; we got a bright moon!! Took a few shots of the moon just for fun but none worth sharing. Around midnight, well 2326 to be more precise, I went out on the balcony with camera on tripod to shoot some HDR materials but that really wasn't needed as we were in the land of the midnight sun and the celestial bodies were more than eager to prove it. One storm passed, another on its way. This is how that later storm looked just prior to retiring. Lights in the city a bit blurry as the globe was spinning; this is the result of a 15 sec exposure. This is straight from the camera. Under the Midnight Suns Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 15 sec @ f /10.

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15 Feb 22 The afternoon we spent walking around the area of the Black Church in Budir (not the correct characters) was a most enjoyable one, with the best day weather-wise we were to experience during the entire trip. The scenery was breath taking, the winds calm, the sun bright, and only missing some nice white clouds. We of course got lots of those in short order, but that afternoon was truly idyllic. I've shared a lot of color images from that day but nothing in B&W that I can recall, so today's submission is just that for B & W Tuesday. I may share a couple more versions of this shot for another triptych but haven't yet made up my minds. I could be persuaded. Other than conversion to B&W using the nik filter Silver Efex Pro 2, this is what the camera captured. Anselish Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.

17 Feb 22 Back to the Black Church for a different perspective. The weather being what it was, warm, dry, and sunny, the surrounds were most accessible so we all just scattered to the winds each taking a little different path around the area. There were a few others there visiting doing the same thing and one of our group even flying his drone. The church was closed so we couldn't get inside to look at the interior or take shots through the windows which really would have been fun. The area behind the church was the most interesting landscape wise as the grass and rocks really set off the black building to say nothing of the nearby mountains. The church has an interesting history which you can read about on-line but none of what I have been able to find explains the 1847 flag (it is backwards in the shot) below the cross. The mountain in the frame is actually on the opposite side of the road but you are not aware of that while walking the grounds as there are, for lack of better terminology, dunes between you and the road. I was standing perhaps 50 feet above sea level when I took the shot so that will give you a rough idea about the heights of the surrounding mountains; the snow giving them the feeling of being much higher than they are. I guessing that they would make for a nice summer's day hike. Not certain what flies on the flagpole; there was nothing about it to read. Other than a bit of contrast enhancement, this is what the camera captured. From the Rear Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/1,000 sec @ f / 9.

11 Feb 22 When we built our home here in Eglon one of the things we really wanted was a wood burning stove. We got one, placed it in the center of the house, and was hopeful it would be something of a center piece as well as a backup heat system should we ever need such due to an extended power failure. Little did we realize at the time how important a decision that was. We designed this edifice to be as energy efficient as the county would allow, a story of govt incompetence if ever there was one, but that's a story for another day. One of the things we put in was a state of the art heating system which served us well for several years before circumstances of which I can't be certain caused it to fail. Replacement of the failed parts was more expensive than the cost of a newer system so we went with another product. That was 37 months ago. Since the day of install the new system has never worked properly and it generally is down when most needed, the cold winter days and the really hot summer days. As a result we have had to rely on the wood stove to heat the house each of the last 3 winters. Fortunately we have lots of stored solar power available living as we do on 10A of trees!! The other day the fire in the stove was looking rather photogenic so I tried to capture the essence of it all in a photo. Today's offering is one of those captures. We'll call it a close-up, this being a Friday macro/close-up, and such would not be a big stretch as I was literally 18 inches in front of the stove. This is straight from the camera. House Warming Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 1,000; 1/20 sec @ f / 6.3.

03 Feb 22 Today's offering is one of those that looks best at a distance from the screen. It loses it's impact when viewed up close. A couple mornings ago, following a hard overnight rain, we awoke to find most of the leafless trees covered in droplets of rain. It was as if someone had taken an eyedropper and delicately placed tiny drops of water all over the branches. It really was quite lovely. Returning from walking her majesty for her morning rounds the sun had broken through the clouds and was back lighting one of the Japanese Maples such that it looked as though it was strung with thousand of miniature lights. It was rather striking and although no photograph could fully capture how it looked, this is acceptably close. So give yourself about 6 feet distance from the screen and see what you think. This is what the camera captures. Miniature Lights Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/80 sec @ f / 5.6.

04 Feb 22 Jan returned from her errands today to inform me that one of her favorite stores, the $1 Store, was now the $1.25 Store. Yesterday my blog host informed me their new annual rate was going 35%. Probably should split the difference and raise the price of this mailing by 30%. I wonder if anyone would notice. 😂 The rain we had a few days back that created the "lights" on the Japanese Maple was with us again last night so for this Friday's macro/close-up I've elected to do a close-up of our pink pussy willow. It was also covered with the tiny droplets but after clipping a small portion of one branch and bringing it inside it quickly started to dry so I had to help it a little with my own rain storm. The fine hairs and all around tiny bubbles required that I take multiple shots, each focused a fraction of a mm apart, and use focus stacking to get the desired image. After getting it where I felt acceptable, I made 10 more versions. Showed them all to my in-house critic; she picked this creative version to share with you. Each little sparkle is a small bubble plus there are many more which the software ignored. The background is a black velvet cloth with some texture; I used a level adjustment (black slider) to remove the texture of the velvet. If you want to see the original send me an email asking for such and I'll send a copy your way. The original" consists of 11 frames all stacked together and taking the sharpest part of each frame. The creative part was done using the Topaz plug-in Glow 2. Electrified Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/60 sec @ f /7.1 with full flash on a tripod in the studio.

14 Feb 22 We awoke this a.m. to the sound of horns, both on the radio and outdoors. Opening the blinds it was was to see why we were hearing both. The fog had settled in and it was a bit like a fairyland outside. I took a few shots thinking it might make for a nice image. The show got better on the way to church but was completed by the time we left. Decided it was a nice day for a drive and it being Superbowl Sunday that the roads would be rather empty. They weren't as empty as I thought they would be but it could have been worse. By the time we got back home it was beginning to look like we might have a nice pink sunset. Did a few chores inside, took the garbage out to the street and as I turned around I was blown away by a brilliant deep radish red sunset back lighting all the trees. Never seen anything like it before. Trotted back to the house as fast I could to grab a shot to share and it was gone as fast as it had appeared. So back to where we started and you get the morning fog. Would have loved to share with you that sunset but I think the morning view isn't all that bad. This is what the camera captured. Out for a Walk Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 640; 1/50 sec @ f / 7.1.

18 Feb 22 For this Friday's macro/close-up we'll be taking a gander at an opening amaryllis that is sitting on the kitchen island but having been taken up into the studio to shoot. I believe I wrote a few years back about our first experience with one of them in the window of the quarters in which we were residing on our first tour. That was a deep red one and I still remember it. The one, well two but one really hasn't done much yet, we have now is a variegated one to white and not nearly as memorable. They are a rather awkward plant in that they come from a huge bulb barely in the soil, so not very stable, and grow very tall. But they are fun to watch as their rate of growth is such that you actually think you can see them moving growing in the neighborhood of 30 inches in maybe 4 - 5 days. All the ones I've ever seen have three blossoms, generally opening over three days, and they are big, being roughly 6" tip to tip. If you've never grown one you might want to try. They don't need any special care and will grow just about anywhere you place them, this one being, as I said, in the middle of the kitchen. This is straight from the camera save for some cropping. First of Three Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with full flash.

25 Feb 22 Real winter weather returned overnight on Monday and we got our second snow of the year to be followed by a third snow early Thursday morning. Couple more possible before the week ends. Along with the white stuff has been temps in the 30's. A great opportunity for an ice show in the pond and that's just what we got. So lets work with the ice for a Friday macro/close-up. We've got water, plants, temps; all we're lacking is a bit of a gentle breeze to be passing over the pond. You will recall my writing about a huge ice storm we experienced on our first tour in PA, the most memorable part of which was the accompanying winds that turned the ice covered branches in the trees into wind chimes. I'll never forget that. Wind or not, looking at the ice covered vines in the pond reminded me of music and thought about how fun it would be to make something like this into a new musical instrument. Not sure into which category we would place it but percussion seems the most likely. Main problem would either be keeping it tuned or the percussionist warm. Will have to work on that part. This is straight from the camera. New Musical Instrument Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/100 sec @ f / 9,