Solstice

Cold Sun, Webster, NY

Finally, the winter solstice has arrived.  At least in the northern hemisphere.  After today, the sun begins its long return;  the days begin to lengthen.  Here in Rochester-land, the total amount of possible daylight today is 8 hours and 59 minutes, the shortest day of the year.  The sun, as you can see, is ridiculously low in the southeastern sky (at about 9:00 in the morning).  At most other times of the year, it wouldn’t even be visible from this angle.  Not much chance of a sunburn today.  Hell, we’re lucky it’s even visible.   

A number of years ago, my wife and I used to go to a “Solstice Party” every year.  It was then that I learned that there’s a very long history with respect to observing the winter solstice.  Most cultures and most religions had some means of commemorating this particular day.  It’s no coincidence, for example, that Christmas falls on December 25th, the winter solstice on the old Roman calendar.  Places like Stonehenge and Newgrange were built centuries ago to mark the passage of the solstice.  For our ancestors, it was not an insignificant day. 

For most of us today, of course, it’s just another day that happens to be 4 days before Christmas as well as the first “official” day of winter.  And where’s the mystery in that?

The Devil’s Bathtub

Devil's Bathtub, Mendon Ponds Park

“RIT Professor Charged in Wife’s Homicide”

About a week ago, the above headline was splashed across the front page of the local newspaper.  It also dominated the local TV news.  While murder isn’t exactly a rare event in the Rochester area, this one caught the public’s attention.  Why?  Because it is highly unlikely for a college professor to (1) kill his wife (or anyone else, presumably) by strangulation, (2) leave the body in a local park (in their own car), and then (3) call 911 and tell the police where to find it.  They could find her, he said, near the Devil’s Bathtub in Mendon Ponds Park (just south of Rochester).  Not long after, he was arrested and charged with her murder.

One of the things that caught my attention – aside from the bizarre nature of the crime – was the fact that the victim was, among other things, a talented photographer.  An environmentalist, she loved parks that contained wetlands and marshes.  She visited them frequently and loved to take photographs.  According to the paper, she once said that she found these places “haunting”.  I know what she meant.  And Mendon Ponds Park is just such a place.

My last visit to this park was about 6 weeks prior to her murder.  The Devil’s Bathtub is a very small pond that lies in a fairly deep depression, one of the many remaining artifacts of the last glacial retreat in this part of the world.

I didn’t know her, of course.  After reading about her, I wish that I had.  I think we might have had a few common interests.  One thing is certain: the Devil’s Bathtub will never be the same.           

Thanksgiving Lull

Nine Mile Point, near Webster, NY

Sunshine and relative warmth on Thanksgiving.  Right here in Rochester-land.  Amazing.  If I remember correctly, we had about an inch of snow on the ground last year at this time.  Today, though,  you could probably eat your turkey outside if you wore a sweater or light jacket.

Well, tomorrow the you-know-what (rhymes with “spit”) hits the fan.  Much colder temperatures, some wind, and rain mixing with snow.  And we’ve got to be on the road (we’re heading for Annapolis, MD for the weekend).  It’s south, but probably not nearly far enough south.  At least it shouldn’t be snowing there.  Have I mentioned lately that I really don’t like winter?  Even a little bit? 

Anyway, if you live here in the U. S., enjoy your turkey.

Bridge Building

I had an opportunity over the weekend to meet with Mark Hobson (The Landscapist).  Mark, who has lived in Rochester and has relatives here, had decided to drive to Taughannock Falls on Saturday and then head north to the Flower City.  Before doing so, he’d let me know he was heading in this direction and wanted to know if I’d like to meet him somewhere.  Well sure, I said.  Why not?

Now, anyone who has read either blog might wonder if this was a good idea.  It ain’t no secret that Mark and I have crossed swords from time to time.  Our views have clashed over a number of things, including what constitutes a good photograph.  Not to mention the nature of “truth” and “reality”.

Not to worry.  Mark and I had a long lunch and an even longer discussion.  It was so long that I think he was more than a little late getting back on the road to his home in the Adirondacks (Au Sable Forks).  We talked about all kinds of things (except truth and reality) and discovered we had much in common.  We also discovered that some of the differences we’d had were more the result of misunderstood language than actual substance.

Our views on photography, however, are still somewhat different.  Mark still favors complexity in his images and I still strive mightily for simplicity.  Our subject matter preferences are different.  Mark prefers color over black and white while for me it’s kind of a toss-up. 

Well, so what.  Unlike at least one of our political parties here in the U. S., the photographic tent is very large.  Lots of room for everybody.  I might not “get” one of Mark’s images, but in the final analysis he’s doing the same thing I am.  He’s trying to communicate something.  And that’s good enough for me.

In the Red

Some more or less random thoughts this morning:

I’ve been a New York Yankees fan for over half a century.  I remember watching people like Mantle, Maris, Berra, Ford, Howard, Richardson, Skowron, etc., etc. on black and white TV almost every fall.  That was when they actually played the World Series in the fall (instead of early winter) and when almost every game was played in the afternoon.  “Prime time” sports hadn’t been invented yet.  Kids could actually watch the games without staying up until midnight.  And they wonder why American kids don’t want to play baseball anymore.  It’s because they’ve never seen a World Series game, you idiots!   Anyway, we’d come home from school and the game would already be in progress.  Sometimes we’d have to listen to them on the radio.  Didn’t matter.  It was great stuff.  Especially if you were a fan of the mighty pinstripes.  Except, of course, for that horrible, horrible day in October, 1960 when Bill Mazeroski hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the ninth in Pittsburgh to beat the Yankees and win the series.  It was the first time in history that a walkoff home run had ever decided the outcome of the fall classic.  It took me months to get over that one.

But last night was good.  The Yankees won their 27th World Series.  Far more championships than other team in any other sport (at least in major professional sports).  As often happens, it wasn’t one of the big “super stars” that decided the outcome.  It was Hideki Matsui – probably playing in his last game as a Yankee – who provided all the big hits.  I loved it.  All’s right with the sports world, at least until next spring.

On a more serious note: In the news this morning it was reported that some major banking firms on Wall Street (like Goldman Sachs) have received as much swine flu vaccine as the local hospitals in New York City.  It was quickly pointed out that no rules were broken, but I have to say that this just really smells bad.  Flu vaccine is routinely distributed to corporations every year, but this isn’t your “routine” flu.  Why should major banks on Wall Street get 200 doses of this stuff when doctors can’t get it and people are standing in line for hours to get it all across the country?  Like pregnant women and kids.  This just doesn’t make sense.  This is a case, I think, where Barack Obama should get in front of the microphone and simply say, “No more.   We (the administration) will not only control distribution, we will strictly enforce the guidelines that already exist”.  I for one would love to see the guy show a little more backbone.  Like millions of others, I voted for “change”, not a limitless perpetuation of the status quo.  First the banks take our money, and now they get first dibs on flu vaccine?  Like I said, it just really smells bad.   

Speaking of politics, Michael Steele, the chairman of the RNC (Republican National Committee), said yesterday that  the GOP gubenatorial wins on Tuesday were the beginning of a “Republican Renaissance”.  Now there’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one.  Does either major party in this country have a clue, even a small inkling, of what’s really going on?  I’m beginning to think not.

Speaking of political humor, one Republican congresswoman stood on the floor of the House last week and said that passage of any of the currently proposed healthcare reform bills would be more dangerous to the future of the United States than terrorists.  Say what?  You’re kidding right?  No, probably not.  The inmates are truly running the asylum. 

I think I’ll go back to that waterfall.  Life is simpler there, even if it’s only a temporary reprieve from ”real life”.

A Light Mystery

Charlotte Lighthouse, Rochester, NY

As most people who live in and around Rochester know, we have our very own lighthouse.  Originally built in 1822 to guide ships coming in off the lake, the Charlotte Lighthouse (pronounced Shar-lot, as in a lot of money) sits near the mouth of the Genesee River.  In this case, “near” is the operative word.  When I first saw this light years ago, I was very much puzzled by its location.  It’s a good half mile from where the river actually meets Lake Ontario.  One would think that mariners of the day would have wanted it located as close as possible to the river’s entrance.  Why, then, was it placed so far upstream?

Now I have to say that I wasn’t losing any sleep over it.  Every time I saw it the question would pop into my head, only to pop right back out again as soon as it was out of sight (I’m a firm believer in the old “out of sight, out of mind” adage).  But the other day – the same day that I saw the Stephen B. Roman – I decided to walk up to the lighthouse just to see if I could get any decent images of it.  Lighthouses have always interested me and I’d never seriously attempted to photograph this one.

While walking around the grounds, a guy who was obviously connected to the place came up to me and said that he had to go up into the tower – would I like to come along?  I said sure.  It’s only 40 feet tall, so it wasn’t much of a climb.  I don’t know if you’ve ever climbed the Hatteras tower on the Outer Banks, but that’s a serious lighthouse.  You could have a heart attack walking up those stairs.  But it’s one hell of a view once you get there.

I didn’t get any good images from the tower, but this one will give you an idea of the distance from the light to the mouth of the river, and hence an inkling of the mystery that’s been banging around in my head for all these years.

As you can see, the river’s mouth is a way’s off.  So I asked him if he knew why they’d built the light so far from where it would be most beneficial to incoming vessels.  For just the briefest moment I got this look of incredulity, a look that asked, ”are you really this dumb”?  But just for an instant.  Then he pointed out through the glass.

“Do you see the railroad tracks down there”, he asked?  “That’s where the shoreline was in 1822″.  I was dumbstruck.  It just didn’t seem possible that all of that extra land, land that was now covered with roads and houses and a very large beach area, could have materialized in only 187 years.  He knew the questions that were forming in my befuddled brain. 

“It’s because of the piers”, he said.  “After the lighthouse was built, they put solid piers on either side of the river that extended into the lake.  The piers kept sandbars from forming across the river’s mouth.  But the sand had to go somewhere.  It built up along the piers, parallel to them, slowly creating beach area.  Once that started, dirt was brought in to fill in behind the sand, creating more useable land area.  Over the years, the lighthouse got farther and farther away from the new shoreline”.

Well, son of a gun.  And here I’d thought that the guys who originally built the light just flat didn’t know what they were doing.  I thanked him and went on my way.  He’s probably still chuckling about the tall, dumb guy with the nice camera.

Things that go Bump in the Night

Entering Port of Rochester

No, I don’t mean ghosts and goblins on Halloween.  I mean large vessels that seem to have a knack for bumping into things that they shouldn’t.  Bump into, that is.

But I’m way ahead of myself.

The other day I spent the afternoon walking what’s called the Genesee Riverway Trail, a trail that runs from just south of the city – along the river, obviously – all the way to the river’s mouth (into Lake Ontario).  I’d have to check, but I think the trail is 9 or 10 miles long and is paved most of the way.  Personally, I’ve never come close to walking the whole thing.  I tend to spend most of my time near the northern end by the lake.

Anyway, at the end of this particular excursion I was getting ready to leave when I heard the horn on the lift bridge signal that it was going to open up.  I went back to the river’s edge, looked downstream, and saw a very large vessel heading into the port.  It was the Stephen B. Roman, a cement carrier that spends most of its time sailing around Lake Ontario.  Rochester, you see, is kind of a regional center for cement.  If you live in the northeast and need to buy a bag or two of powdered cement, those bags probably will have come from Rochester.  That’s not nearly as glamorous as being the world’s center for photographic film (Eastman Kodak), of course, but the world has changed.  We used to do film - now we do cement. 

Naturally, I decided to photograph this particular event.  I mean, you just don’t get that many chances at this.  It isn’t as if this is the Port of New York or Charleston or San Francisco.  It just isn’t very busy.  Then, once I had the picture, I figured I should do “due diligence” and conduct a little research on the vessel.  I knew it was big – it looked like a battleship in a bathtub – but how big was it?

Well, that part was easy: it’s 488′ long and can carry 7,600 tons of powdered cement.  That’s big for the Genesee River.  The channel coming in, at least the dredged part, isn’t all that wide.  If you look at the image, you’ll see a guy standing right at the bow of the vessel.  He isn’t on break and he isn’t sightseeing.  He’s making sure that they remain in the center of the channel and that the way is clear.  This thing is moving very, very slowly.

What fascinated me, though, was what I read about the ship’s history.  It was originally built in 1965 and christened the Fort William.  On one of its first voyages, while docked in Montreal, the ship capsized and exploded, killing 5 crewmen.  Apparently, they were moving cargo to an upper deck while pumping ballast at the same time, rendering the vessel unstable.  Not a good start.

Then, in August 1967, the ship was involved in a head-on collision on Lake Huron.  In December 1977 she ran aground (in a fog) near Toledo, Ohio.  Finally, in October 1979, the starcrossed vessel hit the Detroit River light (again, in a fog).  All in all, not a great track record for a Great Lakes vessel.

She was eventually sold and converted (in 1983) into the cement carrier she is today.  Interestingly, they also changed her name.  Apparently, it worked.  She hasn’t been involved in any kind of incident since.         

So I guess it’s true – there’s always a story behind every image you capture.  You just have to look for it.

New 5D MK II

Wildflowers in Webster Park

Well, I went and did it.  Late last week I sold one of my favorite lenses (a Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS) on ebay and used the proceeds to purchase a Canon 5D MK II camera body.  Whether or not I made a good decision – well, time and experience with the new camera will determine that.  I mean, I really liked that lens.  It was incredibly sharp, even with a 2X teleconverter attached.  But I only used it a few times a year.  That’s a lot of investment to be sitting in the closet.

The above image, aside from a little cropping, is pretty much straight out of the camera.  All I did was bring the RAW image into Lightroom, crop it, and make a very minor sharpening adjustment.  What impresses me so far is the color depth from this camera.  While the 5D is pretty good, the color out of this camera appears to be much, much better.  Not to mention all the pixels you get to play with.  Even though this image is cropped, you could still make a very large print from it.

I also like the idea of “live view”.  I haven’t tried it yet, but it seems like a pretty good idea if you’re mounted on a tripod.  The menu system also seems a lot better, and of course the LCD on the back is bigger and brighter.

What irks me a little is having to buy a whole new battery grip.  They couldn’t make it so the one from the 5D would fit?  I can see having to get the “improved” batteries, but the camera bodies are very similar.  It wouldn’t have been hard to make the battery grips interchangeable.  And in case you hadn’t noticed, Canon likes to charge large sums of money for items like that.

Well, off to play with my new toy some more.  Who knows – maybe I’ll even manage to get some decent images with it.

A Quiet Moment

Darkness falls on Casey Park

Sometimes, it’s about the quiet.  We were picking up our two grandsons from football practice at a local park (is it that time of year again already?).  We were early, so I wandered down to the small lake that’s near the practice fields with my Canon G10.  There was a young girl standing just in the water who appeared to be rinsing off her shoes.  For some reason it got very quiet and all I could hear (other than the mosquitos buzzing around my head) was the sound of her dipping the shoes in and out of the water.  Nice.  A minute later, she was gone and the sound of young boys trying to act tough in football drills returned.

Thank heaven for those all too rare moments of silence.

“The Weather Outside”

Cloud Formation, Webster, NY

Years ago, when I was a teenager, I think, there used to be a local newscast that included a weather portion called “The Weather Outside”.  What would seem to be an oxymoron (where else would you find weather but “outside”) was simply a play on words – the guy giving the forecast was actually standing outside, on the street, with his handmade charts and maps.  I guess they thought he had a better chance of getting it right if he was actually out there looking at what was going on.

I don’t think anybody does that anymore, and that’s too bad.  Like everything else, it’s all computerized.  Forecasts are based primarily on mathematical models.  As a math guy, I understand that.  Modeling the behavior of any process – including the weather – allows us to reasonably predict (usually) what’s going to happen next.  Over the long run, we’re likely to be right more often than we’re wrong, assuming the model actually works. 

But sometimes it might help just a little if these guys looked out the window.  It might just make them wonder if, on a given day, the “model” was getting it right.  We’ve had a couple of days here recently when the experts said on the 6:00 o’clock news that the threat of rain was very low for the remainder of the evening.  If they’d looked, they might have seen something like the image above.

Or maybe this one.

It was shortly after watching the news (and weather forecast) that we heard people talking outside our window.  They were looking at the sky.  I’ve seen this kind of sky before (very low ceiling, with strange yellow and green colors at the base) while travelling through the midwest.  On one such occasion, a tornado dropped out of the clouds shortly after.

This was just a small thunderstorm – tornados rarely find their way into western NY, especially near the lake.  It just seemed strange that this thing appeared overhead shortly after the weather guy said that we would have a “quiet evening” weather-wise, so feel free to “get out and about” (and why do all weather people us that phrase?).

Anyway, the cool gloom continues.  The good news?  No need to run the air conditioner……