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Here and There…Now and Then |
Low Scoring Game
Here’s a basketball score you won’t often see—one to nothing. Of course it was only two and a half minutes into the first period, but still, one to nothing. We left at half time, when WCA was up 22 to 16, so I don’t know how it ended.
And Yet Another Sunrise
Maybe I should change the tag line for the blog from “Here and There…Now and Then” to “What’s This Guy Doing?” (if you’ll pardon the pun and with apologies to Jimi Hendrix). I don’t know if it’s a function of the time of year, when the sun happens to be coming up as I’m getting Dorothy off to school or if the weather pattern just happens to be right, or what, but we had another wonderful sunrise this morning.
Another Sunset
After writing that I’m not a big fan of sunset pictures, here I am posting another two days later. This was taken from Hadley’s Park on Falls Road. It was too nice for me not to stop and take a few pictures, despite the “No Use After Sunset” sign.
Teeth
It has finally gotten a bit chilly here. The temperature was in the teens, although the upper teens, yesterday morning.
At lunch time I went out to the empty lot next to my office building and came across a jawbone with a few teeth still in it.
Sunrise
While sunsets are overdone, sunrises are sadly less common. They have, if anything, more beauty than their post meridian siblings but are considerably less commonly seen or appreciated. I suppose they share most other attributes with sunsets but are more private, somehow, and therefore somewhat more precious. Today’s sunrise was particularly beautiful, although this photo, like so many, doesn’t do it justice.
Blue Sky
Sadly I was in a meeting today when the snow was coming down so I wasn’t able to get a picture of it. I did get a shot of the beautiful blue sky with clouds down low, though.
Sunset
In general I’m not a big fan of sunset pictures. I’m not entirely sure why.
Sure, sunsets are beautiful, that’s not the issue. Maybe it’s because everyone takes sunset pictures, they’re too common. Maybe it’s because in general sunset pictures are really just about capturing the color and don’t have a point of focus. They don’t stand on their own in terms of composition. A picture of orange clouds, usually without any thought to the rest of the photo and without any significant foreground really isn’t all that interesting. So why does everyone like sunset pictures?
I guess it’s because we’ve all seen sunsets and we all know how beautiful they are. Sunset pictures, even mediocre sunset pictures like this one, remind us of the real thing. I understand why people like to be reminded of sunsets, of course. It is more than their sheer beauty. I think their ephemeral nature adds to their attraction. For their very brief existence they can be almost painfully beautiful, and yet we know we cannot hold them. That sums up much of life’s struggle, I suppose. Think of a wry expression on a loved ones face, the taste of a cold drink on a hot day, the remarkably fleeting childhood of our sons and daughters (or ourselves). They are all enjoyed for a moment but all too quickly vanish to become cherished memories. Then even memories fade and become indistinct.
But that’s true not just of the obviously momentary. The time scales are different but the fleeting nature of all things seems to be the only constant. “Everything changes and nothing remains still…and…you cannot step twice into the same stream,” said the dead Greek, Heraclitus. Viewed from a distance, and it doesn’t take a particularly great distance, all beauty is ephemeral. “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls” (1 Peter 1:24).
Yet we shall not despair. For “…The word of the Lord endures for ever.” (1 Peter 1:25).
Fire
Our Christmas tree being returned to its constituent parts.
Final Seconds of 2011
Counting down to midnight, this picture, my final Project 365 photo, was take with about two seconds left in 2011.
I want to thank you all for your comments and support this year and I hope you’ll visit my new photoblog from time to time.
Aasta lõpus.
International Banking
Dorothy and I were in Baltimore this afternoon with friends Nancy and Lyla and I took this, my penultimate Project 365 photo, of the BB&T building reflected in a window with flags behind the window superimposed on the building. Obviously I flipped the photo to make the text the right way round.
Oh, I don’t know, maybe I’ll call it quits and stop now. I don’t know that I can take any more pictures…
Gannets at Cape St. Mary's
Welcome to my new blog. I’ve been online in one way or another for quite a while but not this publicly before. I’m just finishing a Project 365 on Facebook where I post a photo a day for a year. I don’t plan to continue that, at least not in a formal way, but I do expect to continue taking pictures. This blog is where I’ll be posting them. If you’re a friend from Facebook, I look forward to keeping up the conversation. If you found me some other way, then you are welcome, also.
I can’t promise that this will only be photographs but that’s likely to be the emphasis. I’m not a word person, in general, although I do like reading. I’ve been known, on rare occasions, to be able to explain things using words but in general, if I have anything original to say, it will be an image.
I expect to be changing the banner image from time to time, as well. Currently the image is one I took in 1993 at Cape St. Mary’s in Newfoundland, Canada. Cathy and I enjoyed an afternoon there watching these gannets as well as auks and guillemots and the occasional razorbill.
Orchid
As we approach the end of my “Year of Living Photographically” I’ve been thinking about what to do next. I don’t believe I will continue this in its current form. On the other hand, I expect to continue taking pictures, just not necessarily every day. I’ve decided that I will try to post pictures to a photo blog. It’s set up but the only image there so far is the blog’s page banner. I hope to start posting there in 2012 and will put up notes about it on Facebook.
The blog is http://www.HenryHartley.com/ (clever name, eh?).
Oh, this picture is one of the phalaenopsis orchids in my mom’s living room.
Santa?
It does look a little like Santa, but something isn’t quite right. He’s also a few days late.
Bus Stop After the Rain
As the sun set this evening, a break in the clouds opened up and it lit, among other things, this bus shelter.
Cathy and Dorothy
Cathy and Dorothy sport their new Christmas sweaters on Second Christmas at Cathy’s mom’s house. Happy Christmas to all!
Christmas Cathy
Cathy dressed for Christmas in green and red, including one of my great-grandmother’s hats.
Joy To the World
At our church, we traditionally close our Christmas Eve service with candles lit as we sing Joy To the World. You may ask, ‘how did this tradition get started?’ I’ll tell you! I don’t know. But it’s a tradition…
Reflected Dorothy
This is Dorothy’s reflection in an amber glass bottle. The trick was keeping the reflection of the flash from ruining the image.
Duck Lake
We went to see “The Nutcracker” this evening so I guess I’m thinking of ballet. “Duck Lake” would be sort of like “Swan Lake” only not so graceful? Maybe I could call this picture “The Ugly Cygnet,” about a duck that thinks it’s a swan but doesn’t understand why it looks so different. Or maybe I should simply call it “Duck.”
Rain
I like dreary days. Colors are more intense (not that there is much color in this photo). The sound of the rain is so relaxing. If you don’t like it, don’t despair, the sun will shine again.
Of course, I would have enjoyed it more out of my office today but it’s been busy at work of late. I’m starting to feel it.
