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WaterGirl

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On The Road – 🐾BillinGlendaleCA – Lake Hollywood

by WaterGirl|  January 27, 20219:10 am| 7 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

🐾BillinGlendaleCA

Two years ago I visited the Mulholland Dam at the Hollywood Reservoir to photograph the Hollywood Sign. While I was pleased with the visual photos, the IR photos were flat. I shot them using a 720nm filter, processed them for white vegetation and added a visual overlay. While the visual overlay helped to provide some contrast, the Hollywood Sign still didn’t stand out enough. Being that I’ve been toying with Aerochrome emulation, I though I’d wait for a day with some clouds in the sky and try shooting the lake and the sign with a 590nm filter (they let in more visible light). I also took my Galaxy NX camera, since it’s so cool, for visual shots.

I’ve been trying to get madame and the kid to join me for a walk from the north end of the lake down to the dam for several years with little success, so I decided to do it myself. This is not really a hike, it’s more of a walk down a street. There are no hills once you reach the trailhead and it’s just a flat road along the west side of the lake. The only problem from a photographer’s point of view is there is a chain link fence around the lake so any shots of the lake need to be shot though the fence (I’ve had to crop a few photos to remove pieces of fence).

The hike reports on this “hike” noted that to keep an eye out on the ground in the Spring and Summer since rattlesnakes like to come out of the hills to sun themselves on the asphalt. Being that I made the “hike” in early January this wildlife encounter wasn’t an issue, but I did run into a pleasant wildlife surprise. Rounding one of the bends in the “trail”, there were bunch of folk along the fence, looking closer, I notice a deer on the other side of the fence, less than a foot from the folk. I moved to the fence a ways from the people at the fence and noticed 2 more deer eating some of the leaves and stuff a few feet away.

On The Road – 🐾BillinGlendaleCA – Lake HollywoodPost + Comments (7)

On The Road -  🐾BillinGlendaleCA - Lake Hollywood 7
Lake HollywoodJanuary 7, 2021

The fence.

On The Road – randy khan – Venice and Environs, Part 2

by WaterGirl|  January 26, 202110:00 pm| 19 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, On The Road After Dark, Photo Blogging, Venice

randy khan

Today’s going to be all glass, and actually all one piece of glass.  On our second day in Venice, we watched a demonstration by Davide Salvadore and his team.  Glassblowing almost always is a team effort, and everyone has a part.  The studio was pretty small, our group was incredibly close – close enough to feel the heat – and my wife and I were in the front row.

On The Road – randy khan – Venice and Environs, Part 2Post + Comments (19)

On The Road - randy khan - Venice and Environs, Part 2 9
Murano, Venice, ItalyMay 22, 2015

This sequence picks up after the preliminary parts were done.  The first thing they did was dip the pipe you see here into a furnace that was filled with molten clear glass to pick up the glass on the pipe in what’s called a gather.  They blew a bubble through the pipe, shaped the glass into cylinder, and cooled it somewhat.  (You can tell how hot glass is by the color – bright orange is really hot, and it gets closer to its real color as it cools.)  Meanwhile, the little disks you see were laid out on a metal table and heated with a blow torch, because cold glass touching hot glass is a recipe for disaster.  When the gather was shaped properly and cool enough, and the disks were hot enough, Salvadore rolled the cylinder on top of the disks, and they stuck to the cylinder.

On The Road – Mike in Oly – Wooden Boat Fair – Olympia, WA

by WaterGirl|  January 26, 20215:00 am| 16 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, On The Road After Dark, Photo Blogging

Mike in Oly

Before the current circumstances, my little city of Olympia hosted a wooden boat fair every summer, and folks from all over the region would sail in, dock downtown and show off the beautiful styling and construction of their watercraft. It is always a treat to see them. Larger vessels often allow you to tour them too. In 2018 we had family visiting and decided to head down to check the boats out. Here’s what I saw.

On The Road – Mike in Oly – Wooden Boat Fair – Olympia, WAPost + Comments (16)

On The Road - Mike in Oly - Wooden Boat Fair - Olympia, WA 7
Olympia, WA

Looking north toward the Olympic mountains.

On The Road – randy khan – Venice and Environs, Part 1

by WaterGirl|  January 25, 202110:00 pm| 25 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, On The Road After Dark, Photo Blogging, Venice

We’ll be in Venice for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

randy khan

My wife and I went on a glass trip to Venice in 2015.  (I guess I’ll find out soon enough if any of the other people on the trip are fellow jackals.)   Venice, particularly the island of Murano, has a centuries-long history of glassmaking, and there are lots of fabulous artists there today as well.  There will be a fair amount of glass, but except for one day I promise other things as well, including two excursions outside of Venice that were real highlights of the trip.

On The Road – randy khan – Venice and Environs, Part 1Post + Comments (25)

On The Road - randy khan - Venice and Environs, Part 1 7
Venice, ItalyMay 21, 2015

Welcome to Venice!  You arrive by boat or, in our case, by plane then car then boat.  We started the trip on Murano, and then moved to Venice proper later.  So the first slides are from Murano.

On The Road – Albatrossity – Winter in Flyover Country 2

by WaterGirl|  January 25, 20215:00 am| 26 Comments

This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging

Albatrossity

More winter birds from Flyover Country

On The Road – Albatrossity – Winter in Flyover Country 2Post + Comments (26)

On The Road - Albatrossity - Winter in Flyover Country 2 9
Manhattan KSJanuary 8, 2021

Many opportunities for seeing winter birds in Flyover Country or elsewhere are available if you have a bird feeder, and even more are available if you have water for them to drink or bathe in. Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) have been scarce so far here this winter (an untimely freeze last spring hit the cedar fruits just as they were starting to develop). But a small flock paid a visit one afternoon, and I got a photo through the kitchen window.

Medium Cool with BGinCHI – Optimism

by WaterGirl|  January 24, 20216:00 pm| 116 Comments

This post is in: Guest Posts, Medium Cool with BGinCHI, Popular Culture, Culture as a Hedge Against This Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We're Living In

In case you’re new to Medium Cool, BGinCHI is here once a week to offer a thread on culture, mainly film & books, with some TV thrown in.

Tonight’s Topic: Optimism

In this week’s Medium Cool, let’s talk about optimism.

We watched a lot of good movies and TV in 2020, but one show that has stayed with me, far exceeding my expectations, is the series “Ted Lasso.” Its premise, and opening episode, seems to promise just another comedy, with a quirky set-up and lightning-fast humor. But as it develops, it’s much more. It’s about basic kindness, treating people as you’d like to be treated, following your desire, and becoming a better human being. Amongst all the TV about violence, crime, and serial killers, it gave me hope for the value of humanity.

With the new administration, despite the pandemic and other woes, it’s possible to look forward hopefully for a change. Beyond the political, what piece of art or entertainment makes you optimistic?

*Ted Lasso is on AppleTV+

 

Medium Cool with BGinCHI – OptimismPost + Comments (116)

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread

by WaterGirl|  January 24, 20212:54 pm| 209 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

Front pagers must be on strike.

Here’s a little something from Albatrossity!

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread 7

Sunday Afternoon Open ThreadPost + Comments (209)

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