Just for fun, I played with a reel of heavy duty fishing line and a drill press. After attaching the line, I simply turned the drill press on and instantly got the line all tangled around the chuck and the drill. What fun. What stupid fun. Boys and there toys. I then proceeded to spend twenty minutes cutting away the line from the chuck. I bet hundreds of you have done the same thing after getting the line caught on the propeller. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/5.6, ISO 1600, 300mm (28-300mm) - 2145
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I have always liked black and white photographs. There is a simplicity and clarity not found in color images. The frogs have all gone now, to where, I have no idea. They always seem to return every spring. The water is still running nicely in the pond although it is dark from the leaf tannin. It is nice that the babbling brook sound carries better in the cold weather. Nikon D610, 1/6 second at f 5.6, 135mm (28-300mm) - 2079
I can't help but recognize the sorrow and sadness of the day. It makes no sense to me. The tempered beauty of the sun peeking out from the dark ominous cloud spoke to me. Our hearts weep. I don't understand this war, but I know it is real. We despise the cowards that forever marked this day. Liberty and freedom will always triumph over oppression and tyranny, but we can't help mourn the toll it takes on the human spirit. Nikon D610, 1/250 seconds at f/22, ISO 100, 28mm (28-300) - 2043
I think gravestones have mastheads, just like a ships mast or a flag pole. It is like the eagle atop the flagpole although not as ceremonial. But it makes a statement none the less. In this we have what could serve as an urn, but is not, aged with many seasons of crusted moss. A good headstone stands as a living memory of those who have passed. Note to Kids: I think it is a good thing. Nikon D610, 1/250 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 230mm (28-300mm) - 1729
Say hello to my little friend. We don't want to say good bye to the pumpkin lights. We love the pumpkin lights. And it's too early for Christmas lights. And they don't have turkey lights or pilgrim lights. But maybe they should. In fact, there should be special lights all year long. Pumpkin, Pilgrim, Santa, New Years, Ground Hog, March Basketballs, April fools, May flies, June bugs, July flags and fireworks, August hot bugs, September school bells, and around and around we go. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 160mm (28-300mm) - 1700
And so it begins. The spectrum of color has changed for us. The colors of dull are upon us. We can't yet complain because we just experienced one of the most beautiful fall seasons of recent memory. But I can't help but ponder words like dank, drab, gray, monotonous, dreary, gloomy, somber, murky and dismal. Nikon D610, 1/30 second at f/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm (28-300mm) - 1665
What can I say. Having never had a gas stove, I never realized all the benefits over electric. I love it. I have to believe that it is more efficient because it is faster and hotter than electric. This is propane but I think it is pretty much the same as natural gas which we can't get in our area. I love the blue flames. Like the ice of a glacier, blue is a cool color but don't let it fool you! Nikon D610, 1/15 second at f/3.2, ISO 100, 105mm - 8264
Not a remarkable photograph, but this tree with shriveled leaves is the last tree with any leaves at all. It reminded me of the Doors song The End, "This is the end my beautiful friend, This is the end, my only friend, the end". And the song goes down hill from there. "The end of laughter and soft lies, The end of nights we tried to die. This is the end." I thought the song was dark in 1967, it is darker than I thought. No wonder Francis Ford Coppola used the song (with Morrison's original words) in Apocalypse Now. Hello winter, I'm ready now. Fuji X100T, 2.5 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 200, 23mm - 2163
This is to some degree evidence that I enjoy the development process almost as much as I enjoy the photography process. This is simply LED lights in the bushes out front. Add some imagination or hallucinogens and this is what you might create. Fuji X100T, 7 seconds at f/5.0, ISO 200, 23mm - 2160
As the sun falls low in the sky, this glass cupola has a glow as if it was a lighthouse. Cupola comes from the Latin cupula or cupa. It means cup or barrel and usually refers to a small glass dome usually atop another dome. This one sits atop a gazebo, that is a structure from which to gaze. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/6.7, ISO 100, 105mm (28-300mm) - 1648
Ever notice how nature has grace? The winds blow and it fills nature with grace. In fall, the leaves fall from the trees with grace. The clouds pass by with grace. The trees, the grass, the water, all have grace. If you look up the word, it means simple elegance of movement. Well if that doesn't describe nature, I don't know what does. Nikon D610, 1/90 second at f/6.7, ISO 100, 32mm (28-300mm) - 1604
There are no words for how wonderful the weather has been this week. It is what everyone is talking about. November and I am riding my bike like it was June. It is sad that the sun leaves us very quickly in the afternoon. Too quickly. Daylight Saving Time be damned! Iphone 6Plus, 1/1900 second at f/2.2, ISO 32, 4.15mm (Panorama) - 2744
I brought fall into my studio today to do a leaf study. The age and frail coloring of the leaf reminded me of the character you can see in a person that has aged nearly a century. There is a beauty in this kind of character, the markings of distress, the wilting of the skin, the lines and crevices. They all make up a life's story. For the leaf, a mere season, for us, hopefully a century. Nikon D610, 1/125 at f/11, ISO 100, 98mm (28-300mm) - 1657
I said I wasn't going to take any more fall pictures. Well that lasted a day. I couldn't help it. This composition was too perfect for me to pass on. There is something about this picture that I love and I knew it even before I took it. It takes me away. I'll leave it to you to conjure up your own sense of time and place. Nikon D610, 1/90 second at f/6.7, 90mm (28-300mm) - 1647
I guess these are peppers, but I never saw anything like this before. All different colors, all beautiful. I did some reading and they apparently change colors as they mature. From purple to orange to red. Still need to know a lot more. How hot are they? Should they stay outside? Which ones are best to eat? Do I want to eat them? Should I cook them or eat them raw. So many questions. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 230mm (28-300mm) - 1586
I just received my ColorChecker. I bought it not only to help me with testing my camera, but more importantly, to help me adjust my monitors. I use 4 computers to edit / develop photographs. A couple of windows desktops with 5 different monitors, a laptop and a MAC. Each monitor shows color a bit differently and that really impacts my photo developing. I have begun to notice it more and more and it has become intolerable. I want to see the same photograph on every monitor,, no exception. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 300mm (28-300mm) off-camer flash fired -1505
I think we may have gone too far. Two little girls in their cute little costumes got out of a car on the street and started walking up the driveway and got half way and turned around and ran back to the car never to be seen again. It seemed maybe we did too much. We only got four trick or treater's all night except for family. We thought the graveyard and hanging skulls looked great. Oh well. Happy Halloween everyone! Nikon D610, 1 second at f/3.5, ISO 100, 28mm (28-300mm) - 1490
I think this will be the last fall photo for this year. I was able to take far more autumn shots than I thought were possible. This beautiful field owned by all of us (DCR) is used for producing hay now. Years back it was real farm land, but real farms have all but disappeared. Maybe that will change. Today, I also reprogrammed my camera so that my shutter button does not focus, I use the AF button on the back of the camera to focus. I love the new setting. I can focus on a subject and then move wherever I want to frame the shot and then click the shutter release. No refocusing. Awesome! Nikon D610, 1/1000 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm (28-300mm) - 1456
Astounding weather! Storms last night sun, clouds and winds today, but temperatures in the 70's. Remarkably there is color still in the trees enhanced by the drama in the skies. This is Muddy Pond and water levels are pretty low because we haven't received the rains we usually get this time of year contributing to the stamina of fall color. No complaints from me. I could easily take two more months of weather just like today. Nikon D610, 1/3000 second at f/5.6, ISO 100, 28mm (28-300mm) - 1397
I was interrupting her homework and Katie had little tolerance for my antics. It's hard for a ten-year old to hide their true feelings, I understand. I don't take her disapproval to heart. You can see her disapproval in her eyes but not just there, a ten-year old girl can exude displeasure from every muscle in her body. They have already earned their doctorate in attitude. She will love me later. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/11, ISO 100,100mm (28-300mm), off-camera flash - 1376
Halloween is just around the corner and out from the shed come all the baubles and trinkets of the season, this being one of the highlights. I am not sure that all the visitors will be taken aback but at first glance, it is no sight for sore eyes. Making this creature stand out like you see here requires some lighting magic. I'll see what I can do. Trick or Treat at your own risk. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/11, ISO 100, 45mm (28-300mm) Off camera flash - 1361
The early morning sun casts very long shadows that somehow mark the path into the old logging trails next to our house. Lots of leaves fell after the windy weekend, but so many more are still hanging on so late in the season. The air is so crisp and clean this time of year making an early morning walk almost mandatory. Nikon D610, 1/180 second at f/11, ISO 1600, 36mm (28-300mm) - 1313
A bit of color has fallen to the ground but there is still plenty in the trees yet to fall. The oaks are still green. So getting a head start cleaning would be a wasted effort. Trouble is here in New England, by the time all the leaves have fallen, the snow will most likely be on the ground as well leaving us little time, if any, to clear away the billion or so leaves. It is a cycle we repeat year after year after year. Nikon D610, 1/350 at f/8.0, ISO 1600, 32mm (28-300mm) - 1288
I took a couple of hundred pictures in the streets of Salem, Massachusetts today. It is a crazy place this time of year with more witches per capita than any other city in the world. Bus loads of tourists from all over the world land here just to see the spectacle. People advanced in years didn't seem to want to be at the center of my camera, yet children smiled and waved. Those dressed in costume posed as if they were famous. If looks could kill, I would have surely been wounded by this gentlemen. Such is life. Nikon D610, 1/125 second at f/8.0, ISO 400, 300mm (28-300mm) - 1191
This morning, the light was razor sharp and blazed through the trees setting them on fire. I don't remember a fall that lasted as long. The temperatures have been perfect and the rains have been kind. The trees are still hanging on to the leaves and the sun is tracking low in the sky making every day a gift. What a treat. Nikon D610, 1/90 second at f/8, ISO 100, 17mm (17-35mm) - 1072
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I am Robert McKay Jones, a photographer from Sterling, Massachusetts and North Fort Myers, FL. I take photographs almost every day. I post my favorites here. |