Squirrel

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Early this morning I was sitting having a coffee when this little guy turned up. At first he perched on the head of a statue in our garden. Definitely picture worthy – but where were my cameras? I have a house full of them, and I usually have the most frequently used (Nex 5N and RX100) close to hand for when I go out. Unfortunately, because of visitors my wife had insisted that all the cameras had to be put out of sight. They were downstairs, so off I went thinking that by the time I got back the squirrel would have departed. When I got back he was still there.

I grabbed the RX100 because of it’s slightly longer zoom than the 45mm Minolta I had on the Nex. The squirrel was still quite a long way away and it was rather dark outside. This is a very extreme crop and the resulting pictures were dark and grainy. Regular processing in Lightroom couldn’t save them so I thought I’d go for the “Vintage” look (a la “Instagramme”. Here’s the result:

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While I’m not particularly happy with it (it’s still very grainy and really only suitable for very small size web viewing) it’s better than nothing.

Finally a nice day

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The Weather Channel (if you believe anything that they say) is threatening a “potential” significant storm towards the middle of next week. For now though the weather is gorgeous: around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. There’s still quite a bit of snow on the ground, but I was able to dig a path to our two Adirondack chairs where I sat for a couple of hours looking at the lake and watching the people on the lake who were, I think, trying to cut holes in the ice so that they could fish. Jackson wandered around for a while until he sat down on the snow (looked awfully cold) so I got out his dog bed and put it on one of the chairs. He jumped up and seemed to be very comfortable. After a couple of hours the sun started to go down and I set off to go in. Jackson didn’t want to budge so I had to pick him up and carry him in. I guess he was enjoying it.

Although I have a house full of cameras I had my antediluvian iphone 3GS with me so I used that.

1957 Issues of Life Magazine

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A friend of mine collects vintage magazines. He has a novel way of displaying them. On his walls you see nicely framed covers. However, if you take the frame down you see that it isn’t just the covers that are framed, it’s the entire magazine – very clever.

He wanted to get rid of some old ‘Life’ magazines and since ‘Life’ was known for its photography I took them, eight in all. Every issue has at least one (and sometimes more than one) photo essay from well known photographers. In my set (all from 1957) were the following:

– The reigning royalty of Europe: in a democratic era they survive by serving it, June 17 by Nina Leen.
– A farewell to bright college years, June 24 by Alfred Eisenstaedt.
– Pilgrims of the USA visiting the Capitol, July 8 by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
– In image of the master the famous photographs of Mathew Brady are matched today with the pioneers own camera, September 23 by Edward Clark.
– A frenchman looks at american women, Sept 16 by Pierre Boulat.
– Gunners choice: sites favored by ducks and hunters, September 23 by N.R. Farbman and Andreas Feininger.
– Ordeal for the “Beasts”: West Point plebes get stern barracks discipline to toughen them up as the future leaders in battle, October 14 by Pierre Boulat.
– Hunting the Alaskan Brown Bear: North Americas most imposing quarry is bagged, October 14 by N.R.Farbman.
– Ghostly American legends: the early tales die hard even in this skeptical age, October 28 by Nina Leen.
– The Madonna and Child, December 16 by Marik Kauffman, Gjon Mili and Howard Sochurek.

In addition to the photo essays there are lots of great pictures scattered throughout the articles. It’s also worth looking at some of the old ads e.g. cars with fins all over the place: “The EDSEL! To give YOU a wider choice”. There are even a number of camera ads: old folding polaroids, Argus C3s etc.

King David Cemetery, Putnam Valley, New York

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Looking across King David Cemetery towards the hills on the other side of Peekskill Hollow Road.

King David Cemetery is at the intersection of Peekskill Hollow Road and Mill Street. With so much snow around my options for walking the dog are limited. Cemetery’s are usually interesting places to walk in and they usually clear the snow from the roads. I’ve often taken the dog to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery so I thought I’d try this one. The cemeteries I usually go to are old and often have interesting sculpture, gravestones etc. This one seems to be much more recent and the gravestones are of he less embellished, more modern type. The location of the cemetery is interesting and the views across Peekskill Hollow Road are impressive. Unlike many of the other cemeteries I’ve visited this one seems to be multi-denominational. I noticed Christian areas; Jewish areas; and also a Muslim area.

The cemetery seems to combine with the Beverly Hills cemetery and spread across Mill street. I’ll have to go and take a look on the other side.

All pictures taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Minolta MD-Rokkor-X 45mm f2.

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Trees

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Beautiful gravestone in the Muslim Section of the cemetery

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Not something you see every day: “American Cuban Chinese Benevolent Association Inc.”

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Silver birch branch

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Wreath. This is arguably the sharpest picture I’ve taken. Even viewed at 100% magnification it’s extremely sharp. I wish I could remember the settings (I know it was taken at 100 ISO and 1/200 second, but I since I was using a manual focus lens I don’t know the aperture).

Is he seeing the first sign of Spring?

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We still have over a foot of snow on the ground, but it’s gradually disappearing and this little cherub has just re-emerged from a large pile. Five to eight inches of snow was expected last night and we got….nothing. I think the storm went south of us. In the mornings I hear more birds. Can it be that they know something that I don’t? So is he seeing the first sign of Spring? I certainly hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.