Counting Rings

I recently had a dead tree cut down on my property. I'm not sure how long it has been dead; although there are approximately 90 rings, so it lived for most of the 20th century.

Tailgating at the Speed of Light

A shutter open for five seconds capturing a southbound driver following much too closely, as is often the case on this road.

Almost Spring

I bought a 35mm f/1.8 prime lens for my camera, and spent a few minutes walking around the yard looking for something colorful as part of an experiment to see how pleasing or annoying the bokeh would be. I'm fairly pleased with the performance, especially considering the low cost of the lens.  Plus, with the cropped sensor on my camera, the 35mm equates to approximately 50mm - a normal lens equal to the 50mm lens on my SLR all those years ago.

Looking Forward to a Change of Seasons

When I first moved to Florida in 1996, I didn't understand how people could possibly miss the "change of seasons" - especially with our lovely West Virginia January weather. After a while, I realized I really did miss the change of seasons, and made my way back home. Of course the grass is always greener and I am missing Florida right now.  I found this weather data to cheer me up - proving that the 28 days in February will lead us to a beautiful spring, summer, and fall.

Dickson Dam

I am currently living in a house on the west bank of Twelvepole Creek in Lavalette, West Virginia. Within view of the house is Dickson Dam, part of a grist mill which was apparently built in 1805. The mill is long gone, although the steel bridge in the photo collapsed a few years ago. Refer to this excellent page for the story.

 

Happy New Year 2010

I thought I'd post a photo of a warm place.  This is a coffee plantation in Costa Rica, taken during my trip there in December.

USS New York on the Hudson River

USS New York Commisioning

These photos were taken yesterday morning near my office in the Newport area of Jersey City. The ship stopped briefly for a 21 gun salute in the direction of the World Trade Center.