My Amateur Art & Photo Blog

A project to post a 'bike-selfie' of my handlebars from wherever my bike takes me throughout the year.  4/28/2016 - Upper Mystic Lake, Winchester 7/16/2016 - Mystic Valley Parkway, Arlington 7/19/2016 - The Fells, Medford (on 26er) 7/20/2016 - The Fells, Medford (on 29er) 7/21/2016 - The Fells, Medford (on new 27.5) 7/23/2016 - Portland, ME 7/24/2016 - Bunker Hill, Charlestown 7/30/2016 - The Fells, Winchester 8/3/2016 - Upper Mystic Lake, Winchester 8/4/2016 - The Fells, Winchester 8/6/2016 - Returning from the Fells, Medford 8/7/2016 - The Fells, Winchester 8/13/2016 - Depot Park, Bedford 8/14/2016 -  Reformatory branch trail, Concord 8/18/2016 -  Spy Pond, Arlington 8/21/2016 -  Esplanade, Boston 8/24/2016 - Depot Park, Bedford 8/27/2016 - Spot Pond, Stoneham 8/29/2016 -  Upper Mystic Lake, Winchester ..Coming Soon.. 8/31/2016 -  Me...

This posting should be entitled 'fun on the water' but it fits the category waves even though there weren't too many out there in Plymouth Bay the day we were there. Seadoo's and lots of open water protected by harbor islands and inlets makes for a lot of fun. If only I had the nerve to take my phone/camera out on the water the photo opportunities would have been endless, instead today's post is taken from dry land.  Waves - Fun on the water in Plymouth Bay Taken with the  LG Optimus Elite ,  handheld,  color enhanced in p ost processing.

It wouldn't be a photography blog it seems these days without the obligatory self-shot  With everyone and their grandmother having a smartphone I'm not sure how many of my posts to this blog count as 'art/photography' anymore, but with a goal in mind of taking 52 photos of the course of 365 matching 52 different themes I will trudge on!! Selfy- Me in one of my fave places on earth, the water Taken with the  LG Optimus Elite ,  handheld,  no p ost processing.

A great summers day with a light cooling breeze from the ocean provided the first oppurtinuty I've had in a while to take a shot for my photography blog. Clouds - W ollaston Beach Taken with the  LG Optimus Elite ,  handheld, these 3 shots where combined in post to one long panarama. This is W ollaston beach in Quincy . P ost processing to combine images and improve contrast.

Well it seems to have been an eternity since I had any time or motivation to post anything to my very neglected photo blog but here I am. So my plan going forward for the rest of the year is to pick from the subjects I chose in January in any order, no pressure, no timeline, just hopefully some fun and good photography is the end result. Water Refractions Water Droplet Being inspired by water droplet photography I had seen on pinterest earlier this year I tried to mimic the setup with my the Pentax K200d and  my  Sigma 70mm F/2.8 EX DG Macro Lens  attached to a tripod with manual release cable, off camera ligh ting from the  Newer LED light .   A pre-focused the Macro lens manually aiming at the top of the water line in the glass and attempted to drop water on to it from a water dropper while shooting off over 120 shots all together. Unfortunately none of the actual water droplets were in focus when making their big splash or I had missed precis...

Fountain This fountain in Boston's Post Office Square is the subject for today's photo. This area is a the number one destination during the summer months for the hard working people of the Financial District, today it was a little less so with the summer temperatures being long gone. Taken with the  LG Optimus Elite  no posting processing.

Look Right Sometimes there's a photograph to be made in places when you least expect them, as in today when the sun was shining and this scene presented itself when I looked to the right. There was only one chance to get this as trees were lining the side of the road either side of this stretch of water and there was no time to check composition or focus, just line up the camera evenly with the horizon and shoot. Taken with the  Canon PowerShot SX230HS  in landscape mode, flash did not fire. P ost processing for aspect, tone correction and removal of some dirt spots that were on the car window.

Water What with the rain coming down from above, humidity in the air, the water of the harbor splashing below and the fountain shooting up water in to the air the title 'water' seems apt for today's photo taken outside the Cambridge Galleria Mall. Taken with the  LG Optimus Elite , no post processing.

Public Garden Fountain What a great day to be in Boston, the humidity is all but gone, the rains are all forgotten and nothing but summer sun was shining in the Boston Public Gardens. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , contrast adjusted slightly in post processing.

Evening On Spot Pond Before the high temperatures and humidity return to the Boston area I decided to get some kayak time in on Spot pond. This serene scene however was spoiled when my paddle snapped in two and began floating away. Paddling with half an oar like a mad man I managed to catch up with it and get to shore. Quite the adventure. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , contrast adjusted in post processing.

Kayaking On Spot Pond This weekend the weather wasn't quite as good as it had been all week, or that last time I was out on my Kayak on Spy Pond in Arlington Ma. Today, however Spot pond in Stoneham Ma was virtually deserted, only the occasional fishermen and 1 other kayaker out there due to threat of thundershowers I think. I was lucky to get in and out without any thunder or lightning however right after taking this shot the heavens did open and soak me thoroughly (it was refreshing!) . Luckily having a ziplock bag on hand saved my camera phone from being ruined though, a tip for any water bound photographers! This panoramic frame was combined from 7 separate photos taken with the LG Optimus Elite , cropped for aspect and contrast adjusted in post processing, if you zoom in you can see the noise the camera has added in the lower light that was available this afternoon.

Kayaking On Spy Pond This afternoon was the start of my mini-staycation, getting out on the water to do some kayaking after finishing up work is a great destresser and today was a great day to be out there. Temperatures in the high 80s, low humidity and lots of sun combined with a cool water breeze and no wake on the pond, paradise. I was a little nervous being out again with my camera phone not wanting to get it wet but a ziplock back seemed to do the trick keeping the phone zipped away when not in use. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite , cropped for aspect with no other post processing, the harsh summer sun overhead is almost too much for my camera phone here.

Tall Ships In Boston Harbor I couldn't let the heat beat me this weekend to getting the rare oppurtunity of capturing the magnificence of these Tall Ships in Boston Harbor. The temperature gauge may have read mid 90s but that didn't put a stop to the thousands out this weekend thinking the same thing I was. In taking this frame I tried to capture the one tall ship being flanked by the other while avoiding the heads of the crowds of other amateur photographers and onlookers. Taken with the Canon PowerShot SX230HS cropped slightly (to get rid of some unwanted human heads), no other post processing.

Boston Harbor Panoramic With the heat rising I headed for the comfort of the Boston waterfront at lunch today, big mistake there was no sea breeze, just ever rising temperatures and decreasing parking lot spaces. Here 5 shots taken with the LG Optimus Elite were combined in post processing to create a pano image of 6378x1740 px before being uploaded to blogger.

Water Fountain As I walked back from the mall I past this water fountain in Kendall Square. It had been turned off all winter but now the warmth has returned it's in full flow. Taken with the LG Optimus Elite with no post processing necessary. I really like the touch to focus feature of this phone, so far it's been a winner!