Accident Within a Mile

I was on my way home tonight and I got held up in traffic less than a mile from my door. Ambulances passed me on the way to Sullivan from Ellsworth, and then as soon as I got past the high school there was a long line of stopped traffic. I took a few pictures as I went by after probably 30-40 minutes in line, and it looked like someone on a motorcycle was pretty seriously injured. Scary, and so close to home! Here's an approach shot and one of the scene.

Irene at Schoodic

Beautiful waves, ugly (beautiful) waves, and the setting sun's effect on the view. All these combined to make yesterday's trip (no power until recently today to post these shots) to Schoodic Point memorable for Jen, Matthew and I. Here are a few.

Shelter From the Storm

A pretty big "ketch" rigged boat came into the bay this afternoon , maybe even 80 feet or so, and dropped an anchor over near Treasure Island. Tough shot of it as it was almost dark!

Getting the Boat Out for Irene

I've had motor problems anyway and it seemed like a good idea just in case, so David helped me with hauling the "Sea Sprite" out of the water and got it backed in next to the loam pile out back. C'mon Irene! I may take Matt down to Winter Harbor Sunday afternoon to watch the fifteen foot waves break ashore. Definitely some photo posts there!

Rough Seas Coming? They're Already Here!

It's been blowing pretty hard for the last couple of days, and so my posts this morning were taken down at the water's edge with the tide on its way out! Saw a Nova video on fractals which was awesome and suddenly have a new appreciation of waves. We will definitely get to Winter Harbor and Schoodic Point to capture whatever strikes from Irene.

Tandberging to Augusta

The new technology is almost like the StarTrek shows in the "old days", where one could be "beamed" across vast distances. Our Commissioner of Education, Steve Bowen, met with the Teachers of the Year Association today and discussed a wide variety of topics on the plate for education here in Maine. He is attentive, up front and frank in his responses to questions, and seems to really appreciate and more importantly, listens to those of us in the field and working with kids every day.

There is a change coming in education here in Maine and elsewhere in the country, and I hope it is with students, parents and communities as part of the solutions to improving our schools. My school principal told me yesterday that he thinks Bowen and the "powers that be" want to "dismantle" school systems here in Maine, and he may be right, but it is up to those of us in this profession to make our voice heard, to monitor progress, and to make sure than the needs of kids and communities are foremost in the thinking and the changes that will inevitably take place.

Anyhow, my photo post is a shot with the iPhone of the Tandberg monitor as we were meeting. Real time and very good picture and sound... it was amazing! And it saved me a four-hour drive and a whole day's worth of time to work on my classroom.

A Wild & Windy Rain Last Night

I got up in the middle of the night to close up the windows a bit more as the wind was blowing a gale and I was afraid of rain coming into the house. Then early this morning I was glad I did as it poured! I could hear "Intermittent Stream" just rushing water down the field and the waves were enormous for right here in the bay. I waited until it stopped raining to go out and take some pictures, but I missed the best part of the storm!

Hearts on Toenails

I painted Jen's toenails tonight. Hearts on them... she liked them!

Causeway Totems

I pulled a couple of pics from this summer out of the archive and played around a bit in PhotoShop with them, creating a symmetry that I found quite compelling. The water and stone are an interesting combination/contrast and the fluid movement of one against the solid structure of the other gives rise to many meanings. Their interaction, each at peace with the other, is something we can, as humans, strive for in our interactions with one another.

"Lobsta" Pickers!

My niece and her husband came over to spend the night and cook up some lobsters they brought for Lynne's High School ReUnion this weekend. It got dark on us, as very often happens toward the end of the summer when we forget how the days shorten as quickly as they seemed to lengthen last spring. I took a few shots of the four of them picking out the crustaceans on a plastic-covered picnic table, and then I started thinking divergently about what I might do to spice up the typical flash-based shots I was getting under the porch lights (see above). I played around with exposure, shutter speed and using the zoom on my 35-70 mm lens and here are a couple that I particularly liked, mostly because of the way the subject worked through, but also for the composition.

Torrey & Kate

We had dinner with the whole family last night at the Sea Dog. A great time was had by all, and I'm posting another "glass" photo taken through the combination of lenses - drinking glass and camera lens.

The Longhorn Steakhouse

That's where we had our anniversary dinner, and even though I knew the 40th was represented by the "ruby", the only thing slightly red was the sunset behind those guys sitting on the hill watching us eat.

We had a great meal, Jen with the obligatory steak and me with the trout, and then I snapped the memorial picture of Jen through a glass as we were getting ready to leave. Now it's just turn on "TV" and wait for sleep to overtake us...

It's Really Been 40 Years?

 One would expect that the 40 years celebration blog post might be more involved than just a PhotoBooth shot out the motel room window, but apparently that is not the case. I think I may have become a firm believer in accepting what has been given to me and working toward sharing that with those who choose to be around me. Here's the shot, graphically manipulated by PhotoBooth. I think it describes the dreary nature of the day, the spirit of the day will be in my next post.

Dust Pain and Field is Mowed

There are two things in one on this post.

First, I got the field mowed... I didn't get to do it because the Farmall is not running right now, but a guy down the road came up and mowed. He really did a great job with a bush hog mower that went everywhere and ground things up pretty good.

Second, I have dust in/on my camera and I'm getting some artifacts on my wide angle lens that are driving me wild! I have cleaned and "blown" and brushed and dusted, and I just can't seem to get rid of it. I need to get some liquid cleaner and "wash" some of the surfaces, I guess. I had to "paint" the blemishes out of the sky on this picture of the house Jen grew up in and where we got married. 40 years in two more days!

The Afternoon in Winter Harbor

Jen and I went down and got some ice cream and rode around Schoodic and the Town of WH. I showed her where everyone she knew lived when we were kids and kind of reminisced about the "old days".

My Grandson... First Glimpse

The miracles of modern technology never cease to amaze me. I know from watching my cardiologist snake a catheter up my femoral artery to open passages to allow the flow of blood that almost anything is possible, but the ultrasound (which also diagnosed my arterial issues) showing my first grandson to be moving around in his mother's uterus was as much a rush as I've ever experienced. Here's one of the shots I took of the screen that day a week ago!

It Must be the Bricks

I went back over some of the shots from yesterday, and had a number of others that interested me and were shot from the upper window down to the street. The pattern in the background of all of these was the brick texture of the sidewalks. Fascinating in the variety of brick pattern sizes afforded by utilizing a 75-300 mm zoom, the photos that included people were a study in the contrast between the solid immobility of those bricks and the nature and movement of flesh and blood. Here I'm posting a pair of photos that emphasize and compare that human movement and character.

Four From a Window

Here are four shots (doctored a bit) from the third floor at Maine College of Art. Really interesting to work from this point of view. I missed a few, but here are the ones that seemed to work for me.

Curtains and Cores

Doing situps in the hotel room this morning and I discovered the curtains from the bottom.
















Finished a workshop session and so felt the need to create an apple core sculpture. Here it is.

Ahh, Portland...

I had the chance to sleep on Torrey and Kate's "lumpy" futon last night, but made it well, managed to get up without too much distress and get to the conference, which went very well for the first day!

Here is a picture of the Portland Waterfront out our hotel window with thunderstorms and all approaching, we are looking right over Peasant Street.

And some shots of the "dancing gulls" on the flat lower roof of the parking garage.