Red Cinnabar Jar

by Posted in Lenses, Still Life, Things Leave a comment
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In earlier posts I mentioned that when the weather was bad I started taking pictures indoors. The weather has now improved but I’m enjoying taking pictures of objects, still life etc. so I’m continuing. It was a nice day today and the snow has almost melted off our patio. So I could walk across it again for the first time in a couple of months. I’d been thinking of taking some pictures of this red cinnabar jar for some time and when I noticed that the snow had also gone from our glass topped patio table I thought it might be interesting to place the jar on top of it. So out I went. I quite like the result. I like the transition from the in-focus to the out of focus areas. It almost seems as if the jar is floating.

I was also trying out a new lens. A friend had been having trouble getting his ebay pictures to behave as he wanted them to so I lent a hand. He then brought out an old Nikon N2000/F301 (not exactly a treasure and apparently not working); a 50mm Nikon E-series (which I already have); and an 85mm f2 Nikkor. I like the 85mm focal length and although not the most favored of Nikkors I thought I’d try it out. He’s letting me use it for a while. If I like it enough I might buy it from him – if the price is right.

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Detail

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Another detail

Cabin on the frozen lake

by Posted in Black & White, Buildings/Structures, Landscapes Leave a comment
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I’ve often walked by the small blue cabin by the side of the lake and wondered what it was? Who did it belong to? It sits right next to the lake on a small piece of land with just the cabin, a couple of playground sets, a boat dock, and a rack for canoes. Is it a weekend getaway for someone who doesn’t want an entire house – just a small place to come out to on weekends? Or is it something else?

A friend who is also a real estate agent and who seems to know everything going on around the lake recently explained to me that it belongs to a house across the road and contains, among who knows what else, a sauna.

Puzzle solved.

At a Thai Restaurant

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Wall Mounted Fountain.

We went for lunch with friends Olga and Gustavo de la Piedra and Ken Cross at Thai Angels restaurant in Mount Kisco, NY. As with many Thai restaurants there were a lot of decorative objects scattered around the restaurant: on the walls, free standing statuettes etc. Here are a few.

It was quite dark inside the restaurant, but once again the Sony RX100 did a decent job.

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Wooden Screen.

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Statuette

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Statuette Head.

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Detail of Fountain.

A young me

by Posted in Black & White, People Leave a comment
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As I continued my scanning project I came across this old photo. It’s in pretty bad shape: creased, torn, stained etc. Once I’d scanned it I improved the appearance somewhat, but didn’t spend a lot of time on it (you can easily see some bits I missed up in the hair).

Yes, that’s me! I have no idea how old I was when this was taken. Nor do I know who took it – clearly not me. Notice the extremely blonde hair that I had at that age. I always liked this picture when I was growing up, but now I’m not so sure. As I look at it again it seems rather creepy, almost malevolent – like the child from “The Omen” and the more I look at it the creepier it gets.

Cherub

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When it was freezing cold and snowy outside I didn’t get out a lot to take pictures. Instead I continued with a long overdue project to scan old prints and negatives and I started to take pictures inside the house. This is one of them. It’s a small gold painted cherub that hangs from a plant stand in our living room. Some time ago I bought a tripod. When I’m outside I don’t like to carry it around – too much weight for me. So I decided to try it indoors. Not surprisingly it really does make a difference, although I did find all the knobs and levers a bit intimidating at first. Which knob to turn for what reason was not at all obvious to me so everything took longer than it should have. I imagine that as I use it more it will become second nature.

Picture taken with a Sony NEX 5n and Konica Hexanon 50mm AR f1.7 with adapter.