If followers of this blog have grown tired of grey photography, rest assured that I have grown equally tired of grey weather. I am looking forward to the “actual” arrival of spring so that I may tire you with images of budding trees, blooming flowers, and singing birds. Stay tuned as I turn my focus from shades of grey to wisps of color.
Warmer temperatures have led to rapid snow melt leaving all our local rivers swollen. The Sudbury River can more than triple in width in certain sections during the spring runoff. I must remember to capture an image of the river when it is at normal water levels for a frame of reference.
Taking advantage of the sunshine and and warmer weather, Jeanine and I went for an extended walk this afternoon. We started at the head of the Minuteman Trail which proved to be too muddy for Jeanine’s choice of footwear. We turned around shortly after reaching the barn pictured here which is very close to the capture site of Paul Revere. The rate of snow melt dripping from the roof line was equal to what you might expect during a rain shower. Unfortunately, my attempt to capture the feeling was less than successful. We continued our walk on the Rail Trail in nearby Lexington for a much needed, by me, bit of exercise. A bruised calf muscle has prevented me from playing soccer over the weekend. Later in the evening Jeanine and I had a second date. We went to see the movie Admission which was neither as funny or romantic as we were expecting but still an enjoyable film and particularly apropos in light of the timing of Nicolai’s college admission process. So far he has been accepted at Carleton College, the University of Miami, Boston University, the University of San Diego, the University of North Carolina, and Miami of Ohio. He is waiting to hear from Emory University before he makes a final decision.
What is the best food you have ever eaten? Up until now this would have been a difficult question for me to answer definitively. This evening we hosted a small dinner party which featured an Indian dish prepared by Jeanine which has set the bar for deliciousness. Discovered during her travels in India, she recreated a Parsi dish called Chicken Berry Pulave which was simply out of this world. Pictured here is the garnish tray for the main course which featured fried onion bits, dried cranberries, lime wedges, fried cashews, onions, and cilantro. Slicing and chopping of the latter two ingredients was my sole contribution to the meal.
I am rarely satisfied when I see an opportunity to improve on a design. This evening I turned my attention to a solution for portable flash photography with a light modifier. I own the latest hot-shoe (attaches to the top of your camera) mounted, battery operated flash which can be triggered by wireless remote (RF signal). Hot shoe flashes produce very hard shadows because of the small relative size of the light source. A common solution is to fire the flash into (or through) a stand mounted umbrella which increases the effective size of the light source by a factor of 50-100 and allows you to position it where needed. Several companies manufacture a swivel mount that connects your flash and umbrella to a standard lighting stand. The problem with every solution on the market is that the flash is supported in the same orientation as it is when used on camera which places the flashbulb significantly away from its optimal position in-line with the umbrella shaft. This offset produces a sub optimal and inefficient diffusion pattern and the body of the flash blocks a portion of the light when used with a reflective umbrella. This evening I prototyped a simple solution which places the flash in line with the umbrella shaft and reduces the blocked light by more than 50%. If I could source this design in plastic, I could make a pretty good business of selling these to fellow strobists.
The Shawsheen River Conservation Area is less than a mile from my work and normally I walk there during my lunch hour during the summer. Today I decided to drive over instead and came back with a few half-decent images. I was particularly attracted to the beautifully sculpted snow mounds.
I stopped into Great Meadows again this evening and found this muskrat making dinner out of the marsh vegetation. Wildlife activity picks up with the arrival of spring which in theory is now. In reality, it is still feeling a lot like winter around here with cold temperatures and frequent snow.
With the sun setting later each day, I am now afforded an opportunity to visit the Great Meadows National Wildlife Reserve before dusk during my homeward commute. I did not stay long because it was rather cold and I was not dressed for the temperature. I did manage a few photos before heading back to my car of which this was my favorite.
I placed my new picture frame (40″ TV to anyone else) on the back corner of my desk at work on top of the matching riser I constructed this weekend. I am now greeted with a new image from my collection of favorites every time I enter the office. I have enjoyed the wall mounted frame we have in our breakfast nook (currently featuring photos by Jeanine and Maya from their India Coming of Age adventure) so much that I decided to carry the idea over to work. The challenge now is selecting photos to display. It is certainly not a question of having enough but the process of selecting my favorites has proven to be a challenge.
In my office I have two 10″ digital picture frames which sequence through a selection of my favorite photographs. Last week I decided to purchase a 40″ TV which I plan to replace them with. Rather than have the facility folks mount it to the wall (not appropriate given this is a personal purchase and not something needed for my work) I will be placing it on the top of the back side of my wrap around desk where it will look best if raised by about 5 inches. This weekend I made quick work of a custom sized riser which will sit under the stand and match the set nicely. It took roughly 30 minutes to complete over a period of 24 hours (5 minutes to cut the MDF, 5 minutes to glue the joints, 5 minutes to round over the corners, 2 minutes per coat of black enamel repeated 8 times). I will install it on Monday and load a set of recent photos.
Maya was asked to choose a restaurant for our family dinner this evening. Having spent 3 of her 4 weeks of adventure on a diet of roti (wheat-based flat bread) and dal (dried lentils, peas, or beans that have been stripped of their outer hulls, split, and prepared in a stew) we thought she might enjoy choosing from a familiar menu. Her choice was Papa Razzi. Unfortunately, the Shamrock Ball is this evening and the restaurant was overrun with elegantly dressed fathers and daughters. We ventured outside of Concord to the River’s End restaurant in Maynard where Maya ordered cheese fries. Both Jeanine and Maya struggled to stay awake through the meal but having done so are well on their way back to operating on local time.
Before leaving for India a month ago, Jeanine prepared detailed instructions for me to ensure all went smoothly on the home front. The list of items included everything from when to water the plants and take out the trash to contact information in the event of emergency and her complete travel itinerary. As the weeks passed by I started to focus exclusively on the date and time of her return flight, March 15th, 7:50PM. Imagine my surprise then, when she called me last night from the airport wondering why I was not there to meet them. Thirty minutes later, Nico and I were reunited with Jeanine and Maya and enjoyed hearing many of their stories on the ride home. Fortunately, I was off the hook because the date error was not mine. Between them, Maya and Jeanine shot close to 1500 photos which we have whittled down to just over 800. The one posted here, taken by Maya, is one of my favorites.
Tomorrow my boss, the Chief Operating Officer of iRobot, turns 50. Today we paused from our work to surprise him with a brief celebration which included cake (of course) and the reading of a top ten list (Dave Letterman style) of “Jeff-isms” which was really quite funny.
In other over-50 news, my indoor soccer team competed in our winter league playoffs to determine a divisional champion last night. We made it to the finals and were losing 0-1 with 3 minutes left to play. I received a pass at midfield and dribbled up the middle for a few yards and then unleashed a long-range strike which was shielded by the defender (the goalie could not see it coming until there was no time to react) which tied the score and sent us into Golden Goal overtime (first goal wins). With 90 seconds remaining before the end of overtime (and a penalty kick shoot-out) I scored the game/championship winner. It was a powerful strike into the upper left corner from distance. No better cure for growing old than playing young.
Jeanine and Maya made it to Agra where they visited the Taj Mahal. They are now officially on their way home and we expect them back on Friday evening. I also received Indian newspaper clippings covering an International Women’s Day event during which organizers honored Jeanine and Maya for their volunteer work teaching English and Math respectively at the Yeklavya Parivartan School. Although I cannot read the article, I know my wife and daughter when I see them, even if I have to squint.
