The Quincy Quarries were first opened in 1825 to supply granite for the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston’s historic Charlestown neighborhood and was actively mined to one degree or another until 1963. Once abandoned, the Quarries slowly flooded and became a popular — if dangerous — site for cliff jumping. A number of people began to die jumping into the flooded pits, so in order to curb the practice, a number of wooden pylons were placed sticking out of the water. However, these eventually sank below the waterline, becoming invisible, and deadly. The death toll went through the roof.

After being closed to the public for a number of years, the site was reopened in the 1980s after dirt from Boston’s “Big Dig” was used to fill in the pits. Now, Quincy Quarries is linked to the Blue Hill Reservation trail system and is open to the public. It has become very popular for its spectacular array of graffiti art, rock climbing, and views of downtown Boston. 
I left the house at 5 am so I could arrive at the quarry before it was overrun with people and so I could still beat the traffic into Boston for work. Unfortunately, this did not leave time for any climbing which would have produced more interesting photos.  I will simply have to make another visit.

I have been without my Mavic Air drone for over a week while it was being repaired.  For some reason, the internal fan stopped working causing the unit to overheat.  Fortunately, the failure was covered under warranty and the manufacturer chose to replace the entire unit.  When I returned from work it was waiting for me so I did a quick flight over the house to test it out before the sun was gone. Props to the drone maker, DJI, for prompt and hassle-free service.

Over the weekend I did a series of Copenhagen Wheel photos for  work.  I enjoyed the assignment but not the results thus far.  Lighting such a highly reflective object is tricky and I do not feel I have quite arrived at the optimal result.  The goal of the image is to celebrate the interface between the hub and spokes, a design element we call a smiley for reasons which should be self explanatory. I think I will make another attempt later in the week when the effects of yesterday’s soccer match have worn off and I am feeling like doing something other than sleeping.
 

I was back on the soccer pitch this morning, my knees having made a partial recovery from my patellar tendinitis. With only one sub remaining by the end of the game, I was pressed into action for over 70 minutes which was quite a strain given my lack of practice over the last 3 weeks. Despite my poor conditioning, I managed to assist on one of our 4 goals. With one game remaining in the regulation season, my team has yet to give up a single goal and has amassed a total of 58. After the game, I attended a cookout at the home of our goalie. His backyard could pass for an arboretum with one of the larger trees serving as a home to a mother and child raccoon.

Jeanine and I enjoyed a visit to Clark Farm where we are now members of their CSA. We then made stops at their farmer stand (including adjacent garden, pictured below) and finally at Kimball Farms for ice cream. 

In response to the deaths of Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade this week Kyle made the following posting on his Facebook page yesterday.  Jeanine and I found it very moving and with his permission I share it here.

Two beautiful people lost this past week. Both passed on by their own hand. Both reached the pinnacle of success in their respective pursuits.

Mental illness afflicts people from all walks of life. A facade of success sometimes hides a soul in distress. A destitute circumstance sometimes breeds love and connection.

Tell the people in your life, including yourself, that you love them. Sending out love and positive energy today.

When I joined Superpedestrian my only non-negotiable  requirement was a 4 day work week, an attempt to retain a small measure of my early retirement freedom to travel. Given ideal weather today, I decided to use my day off for a road trip. The destination I selected was Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut, a three hour drive from Concord. There I was treated to the waterfall for which the park is named, a series of drops covering 250 feet in total and accessible by a short but steep trail.

Realizing I was only 15 miles away, I decided to also visit Lime Rock Park,  a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue.  My timing could not have been more fortunate.  Tomorrow is eEuroFest, New England’s premier European auto event hosted by eEuroparts.com. Today was an exclusive preview event for VIPs.  I knew none of this when I pulled up to the gate where an older gentleman mumbled something, handed me a waiver form on a clip board for my signature, and then waved me in. I followed the car ahead of me into the infield area where I parked in a queue of cars about a dozen deep.  A few minutes later I realized I was in line to take hot laps on the autocross track, a notion I entertained for a few more glorious moments.  I had borrowed Jeanine’s BMW X1 SUV for the day and it has a very compelling sports mode and option to shift manually.  All the other cars in line, however,  were low slung. fast looking exotics and the idea of sliding through the corners with my camera gear flying all over the place while trying to avoid colliding with the other adrenaline pumped “enthusiast” drivers seemed unwise.  Instead I parked nearby and settled for the pleasure of photographing these cars in action.

I stopped several more times during the remainder of my 340 mile (7.5 hour drive time) road trip and returned with a nice collection of images.

When I started working at Superpedestrian I was given a new bicycle fitted with a Copenhagen Wheel.  Sadly the bike frame was reminiscent of the one used by the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, which is to say, not really my cup of tea.  Today I swapped the wheel onto the bike I bought for myself a couple of years ago. I am now prepared to start riding in earnest and may even be able to keep up with Jeanine on her regular bike. Kyle took it for a test spin around the neighborhood and plans to make use of it when I am not.

I decided to focus on the sculptures I encountered during my morning walk today. All were found on the campus of Boston University which is just across the river from Superpedestrian. Trying to select a 2 dimensional slice of a 3 dimensional object is always a challenge and I found myself wondering what perspective the sculptors would have chosen. Perhaps they would have declined to make a choice at all arguing that the only way to appreciate sculpture is by experiencing it from all perspectives and by sampling the texture, characteristics which do not translate to photography at all.

Bunnies are intrinsically pretty cute. Baby bunnies even more so. This little fellow allowed me to get surprisingly close.  Lucky for him, I was not the gardener who planted the flowers on which he was snacking.

Local TV coverage of last weekends amputee soccer tournament.

This morning team USA faced England for a second time. The score at half time was 1-0 in favor of the UK on a penalty kick.  The US played one of their better halves of soccer demonstrating they could hang with one of the best teams in the world. Superior conditioning of the Brits in the second half and the loss of a couple of our players to injury resulted in a 6-0 final score.

All in all, the tournament, the first hosted by the US in more than a decade, was a great success. Team USA continues to show great improvement and promise for the future.  Key to our prospects in the World Cup will be a commitment to better conditioning and more frequent opportunities to practice together as a team.  The latter has always been an issue of funding which we are starting to overcome with recent grants to the AASA.  We are one very generous donation away from developing into a world-class team. Any wealthy followers of this blog or potential team sponsors are encouraged to contact me.

After the closing ceremony Nicolai and I made our way to Space Center Houston where we learned about the history of the NASA space program before heading to the airport for our respective flights home.

The tournament was organized by one of the regional chapters of the American Amputee Soccer Association of which I am the Vice President with local sponsorship and support from the Dynamo Dash Youth Soccer Academy.  Responsibility for speaking during the Opening Ceremony fell to me as the senior person present from the AASA and I was more than happy to return to photography as soon as that obligation was satisfied. Below, Nicolai and the captain of the English squad exchange greetings and gifts before what proved to be a thorough drubbing at their hands. To put things in perspective, the UK squad practices with each other as many times in a week as the US team does in 6 months, one of the down sides of living in such a large country and playing a sport with little financial support.

Despite the one-sided outcome, the US played a great match. Nicolai looked strong, relentlessly pounding away at their goal. Our only score came from the US Sled Hockey Gold Medal Paralympian and youngest member of our team, Noah Grove, who struck a beauty from distance over the head of their keeper.  The English dominated the remainder of the game amassing a total of 10 goals.

Redemption for the US came during a rematch with Haiti under the lights where we managed a 2-2 tie after giving up a questionable penalty kick early in the game.  Nicolai had a nice assist and lovely breakaway goal, shown below, his 14th in international competition.

After a busy morning of work, I jumped on a plane for Houston and then drove to The Woodlands where I arrived with 3 minutes to spare before the opening kick-off of the US Amputee Soccer Lonestar Invitational. This international friendly tournament between the national teams from the USA, England and Haiti is considered a tune-up before the Amputee Soccer World Cup to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico later this year.  Nicolai was sporting a new haircut which was a joint effort between himself and his girlfriend Karuna.  I thought the look suited him perfectly.

After briefly saying hello to Nico and members of the squad I jumped into my role as team photographer.  A complete set of images from the tournament can be found here.  A few of my favorites of Nicolai appear below.  The US team played better than I have ever seen them before but sadly where not able to overcome a one goal deficit loosing to Haiti by a score of 1-0.

Nicolai’s conditioning was not where it has been in the past and Houston’s intense heat and humidity only added to the challenge. Even so, Nicolai remained a force to be reckoned with on the field and he was generally double teamed any team he got near the goal.

Despite an extremely physical contest, the players have genuine respect and admiration for each other. Once the final whistle has blown confrontations give way to consolations and congratulations.

After an interview with a local TV station which carried coverage of the tournament, the team remained at the field to scout the English squad while I retired to the hotel for a respite from the heat and a nice nap. England destroyed the admittedly now tired Haitian squad by a score of 6-0 which did not bode well for tomorrow’s match with the USA.

I pass the Lincoln Public Library every day on my commute to Cambridge.  Today it was decked out with American flags and a lovely wreath.  I have no doubt this was done to commemorate Memorial Day which means I have driven past it two times this week without noticing. I often use my commute time to think about design challenges at work which renders me oblivious to anything other than collision avoidance.

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurs (NFTE) helps foster a future generation of business owners by working with high school students in under-resourced communities to develop the skills needed for success.  Each year they sponsor a nationwide business plan competition. Students have 7 minutes to pitch their business concepts and 3 minutes to respond to questions from judges.  This evening I had the honor to serve as a judge in the Northeastern Regional Finals which were held at District Hall in the Seaport district. The top prize at this level is $1,500. The top two finishers will advance to the Nationals where the first-place winner will receive $15,000 to be used for their business or for their education. 

With the grass in the field behind our house growing taller, a number of deer have taken up temporary residence.  Each morning heads can be seen popping up to survey their dormitory.  I only spotted two today (see if you can find them in the photo) but I have seen as many as ten before. 

Despite an overcast day, Jeanine and I spent the afternoon walking the grounds of the 281 acre Arnold Arboretum located in Jamaica Plains.

The Arboretum was established in 1872 when the trustees of the will of James Arnold (1781-1868), a whaling merchant of New Bedford, Massachusetts, transferred a portion of his estate to Harvard College. Arnold envisioned a park which contained “all the trees and shrubs . . . either indigenous or exotic, which can be raised in the open air. The Arboretum is now part of the famous “Emerald Necklace,” a 7-mile-long network of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted for the Boston Parks Department.

On our drive home we passed through the Chestnut Hill and Fisher Hill neighborhoods where we paused at the Fisher Hill Reservoir Park. The reservoir was built in 1888 to supply water for Brookline and retired in 1970. It was recently transformed into a public park containing a soccer field with spectator seating on the sloped landform, surrounded by various landscapes: a reconstructed woodland, meadow, and wet meadow. The original gatehouse (pictured below) is listed on the National Register of Historic Landmarks.

The New City Microcreamery was voted by Zagat, as one of the 15 hottest ice cream shops in the United States. Located in Hudson, MA, it was our destination for an early evening family outing. The expressions on Maya and Kyle’s faces tell the story as they return to the counter for a second order. Made on-site with locally sourced ingredients flash frozen with liquid Nitrogen, the ice cream lived up to the hype. Fortunately for our belt lines, the shop is located 25 minutes away which should limit our visits to special occasions.

WaterFire centers around a series of nearly 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence, RI. The string of fires illuminates nearly two-thirds of a mile of urban public spaces and parks, as residents and visitors gather to stroll along the river, listening to music and watching performances.  Although it seems far away, reaching Providence for Jeanine and I took less time than my commute into Boston.  We arrived late in the afternoon and started our visit at the State House where several young ladies were celebrating their Quinceañeras. We then walked along the river and stopped for dinner at an Irish Pub.

The Waterfire festivities were kicked off with a Japanese drumming performance followed by the lighting of the floating bonfires.

At the risk of being overly nostalgic, I am posting another batch of athletically themed images from May 2005.  Kyle still plays soccer on rare occasions but can be found weightlifting at the gym everyday. Nicolai still plays volleyball and soccer with the same intensity as he did in his youth. Maya has moved past soccer to ultimate frisbee while Jeanine continues to ride her bike and play tennis.  I am approaching the end of my soccer playing days but still share the pitch with more than half my teammates from 13 years ago.

This month marks the 13th anniversary of this blog and this is my 6,927th post. Between photography, post-processing, and writing, I spend an average of about 15 minutes each day (72 days in aggregate) keeping it updated. A labor of love, no doubt; but also a time each day to relax while photographing and writing about the people I love and the adventures we pursue. To put 13 years in perspective, here is a look back at the family from May 2005.

At Superpedestrian we have been working recently to diagnose some problems we have seen with one of the seals we use on the Copenhagen Wheels.  Using my camera stand and a ring light, I took a high-resolution photograph of a suspect seal so that we could use available software to perform critical measurements (a poor man’s optical comparator).  The most tricky bit of this setup was ensuring that the camera sensor plane was dead parallel to the seal.  I also made a set of images with my flatbed scanner which offered higher resolution at the expense of 7 minutes per side scan time.

The family returned to Concord arriving just after 1 am this morning.  I had much to catch up on at work and little time for anything else. These photos were taken yesterday before Nicolai’s commencement ceremony. I was up before the sun and was well positioned in time for golden light at the Garden of the Gods.

Nicolai graduated from Colorado College today with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. Over the summer he will be doing professional development for the college museum’s docent staff. In August, he will join the Teaching and Research in Environmental Education (TREE) program staff as a fellow. He has also been accepted into the Colorado College Masters Degree program in Education which he will begin in September 2019. Nicolai has thrived at CC, made a wonderful group of friends, and taken advantage of all his college experience had to offer. We are very proud of him.

Jeanine and I enjoyed a walk on the Colorado College campus and through parts of downtown Colorado Springs this morning.  Seating and stages for tomorrow’s commencement ceremony were already set up and worthy of an aerial photo based on the colors and geometric symmetry. If you examine the set of black chairs on the right, you will notice that they form a point with two chairs at the end.  This is where I will be seated during tomorrow’s event, carefully picked for the angle it offers of the stage and unobstructed sight line.

After our walk, we rejoined the family and those of Nicolai’s roommates for a lovely brunch.  Afterward, we gathered the group for a photo in a nearby park my first such photo using the drone.

Later in the day, the sibs hung out while Jeanine napped and I set off to visit Seven Falls. It is worth a double click to examine these falls covering a drop of 181 feet. 

This evening we dined at Four by Brother Luck. Brother Luck (that is the chef’s real name) was the winner of Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay where he won the judges over with his love of pork and also a finalist on Food Network’s Chopped. Our four-course meal was delightful and shared with Nicolai’s roommate Thomas, his family, and Karuna. Afterwards, we attended Colorado College’s Commencement Reception and Dance where Nicolai performed on the keyboard with his band. It was the first time the family had a chance to hear him play in public and he was fantastic.

Earlier in the day Jeanine and Maya walked through, Kyle ran around, and I enjoyed photographing the Garden of the Gods. Despite overcast skies, it was nice to be in the great outdoors. Nico joined us afterward for a truly memorable breakfast at a nearby restaurant of the same name.

Jeanine, Kyle, Maya, and I flew to Denver this morning and then drove to Colorado Springs. There we were reunited with Nicolai and introduced to Kubo, the dog he gifted to his girlfriend Karuna. He is very nice and reasonably obedient. It is very clear that we are a dog family. Kubo received as much or more attention than Nicolai.

When Maya joined the ultimate frisbee team at Olin College she was new to the sport. Her only frame of reference was soccer which, for those who know the game, involves a great deal of physicality. Her Olin teammates were amused when she innocently inquired at the teams’s orientation meeting if ultimate frisbee was a contact sport; it is not, she was informed. During her first practice game Maya leaned heavily on her soccer training and apparently on the opponents she was guarding as well. This style of play quickly earned her the nickname “Punchy.” On most levels this is really not a very apt nickname for Maya, but it does have a slight ring of authenticity to it — a debate with Maya leaves you feeling like you just went 15 rounds in a boxing ring with the champ. It remains to be seen if “Punchy” will replace her current family nicknames of “Maya Moo” and “Maja.”

Earlier today she moved out of her campus dorm room and returned home having successfully completed her freshman year of college. She will be here for a couple of weeks before heading to Indianapolis where she will begin a summer engineering internship with Rolls Royce.

Before the rains struck yesterday, I was asked to photograph some Copenhagen Wheel-equipped bikes for an upcoming review article. If you look closely, this bike does not have a kickstand yet it is standing upright with no visible means of support. It is about two feet from the wall behind it and there are no strings or rods of any kind supporting it. Any guesses as to how this was done? I will share the answer in tomorrow’s post.

My work commute is bad enough under normal circumstances. Add in torrential rains and it becomes downright unbearable. It took me 1 hour to travel the first 3 miles of my return home this evening. I could have made better time on foot. The final 17 miles took another 30 minutes making for a very frustrating experience. I made a lot of experimental photographs while stuck in traffic including the one above. It is taken through my rain drenched windshield of the car and traffic lights in front of me.

Olin’s Expo is an end-of-semester celebration of student learning and achievement, where students from every class share their project work through poster sessions, interactive demonstrations, and artistic performance. The projects range in topic, including but not limited to course assignments, competition teams, passionate pursuits, and research projects. Jeanine, Kyle, Caleb (Maya’s boyfriend) and I were in attendance as Maya shared two of her projects. The first a mobile app called Thrifter, a sustainability project aimed at extending the life of used clothing by facilitating barter exchanges between interested parties. The second, a data visualization project showing the shooting location and conversion rates for NBA players compared to league averages over the last seven years. Maya was as confident as she was ebullient. It was an inconvenient time of day to miss work but I am very happy I did even if it meant staying at the office until 10:30pm to make up for it.