Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Bridgewater, Connecticut

Senior Center Reaches Out

Diane has lived in Bridgewater since 1951. Back then, there were no Senior Centers, at least not in rural small towns. For years she was active in town affairs, Secretary of the Democratic Town Committee for decades. Her husband had a small business there. She had her 92nd birthday recently. There's a Senior Center now in town but she's been too fragile to get out except for essential doctor's appointments. A table full of Christmas presents arrived last Friday. For the Holiday Season, the Senior Center had put the strong arm on all the local businesses, to good effect. The town's senior citizens got lots of goodies. There was a nice table clock with big readable face, set already to the correct time (sure, it has a huge logo for the bank that donated it, but that seems OK).
Next there was a wonderful LED miniature flashlight, a night-light, nice fleece throws, candy and popcorn, another package with a sort of white teddy bear appended, with other things inside, and of course a poinsettia. Then my discovery: a toolbox with exactly the stuff I can never find there when I visit and am asked to fix something. Hammer, screw drivers, wrenches, Allen keys, all the things that "walk" from an old person's house. I hid the kit in a special place so it will be there the next time there's something I need to fix.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Technical Article

Just in case anyone stopping by here isn't a regular reader of The Online Photographer blog, yesterday we published the second half of my two-part article on technical and creative use of white balance controls for digital capture photography. Just use the link in the sidebar to pop over to TOP if you'd like to have a look.
Naugatuck, Connecticut

Painted Wall

Monday, December 22, 2008

Waterbury, Connecticut

Plantings and Overgrowth

Waterville, Connecticut

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Woodbury, Connecticut

Take Two

Friday's overnight snow storm didn't amount to much. Six inches or so of light, cold weather snow. But now it's started again, and this time temperatures are predicted to rise through the freezing point. That will turn the falling snow to sleet, the snow on the ground to mush that will turn into ice overnight as the temperature drops below freezing again, and might bring on an ice storm if precipitation continues to fall. We'll have to wait and see.

Woodbury, Connecticut
Naugatuck, Connecticut

Two Walls


Waterville, Connecticut

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Snow Storm

Woodbury, Connecticut

1:01 PM, here it comes.

Woodbury, Connecticut

9:21 AM, frost everywhere, no snow in sight.
Naugatuck, Connecticut

Competing Providers of Alternate Medicine


Naugatuck, Connecticut

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Reminder

Just a little note to remind you that the pictures appearing here are available as small fine prints at a very affordable price. For details, just click the WP30s link over in the sidebar.
Torrington, Connecticut

Waiting for Santa

The temperature was right around the freezing mark, the humidity was high and snow flurries kept drifting through. About the most uncomfortable weather conditions I can think of. Most of the kids were too excited about Santa's arrival at the end of the big Christmas parade to notice the conditions, but a lot of the grown-ups looked pretty miserable.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Naugatuck, Connecticut

Christmas Decorations


Torrington, Connecticut

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Plymouth, Connecticut

Free Trip

Church signs of this 'cute' inclination are common all over the southern US, and in fact I've photographed a number of them. It was a surprise to find one in front of a Congregational church in staid southern New England.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

Torrington, Connecticut

Before the Parade


Torrington, Connecticut

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Waterbury, Connecticut

Storm Light, 12/10/08

It's always puzzled me that so many photographers insist on "good weather" for shooting and avoid inclement weather for making photographs. Nothing strikes me as quite so dull as the light of a bright sunny day. OK, there are a few subjects that I think respond well to hard sunlight. My Drive-in Theaters and White Churches projects (both in the galleries on my web site) have quite a few sunlight pictures. But mostly I pass on clear sky days.

Yesterday it rained all morning in unseasonably warm temperatures, then began to let up in the early afternoon. Since I had to do some errands, I extended my drive to a place where I frequently hunt for pictures. I was rewarded with a little less than an hour of sometimes magical light. There's a special point just as it begins to rain, or just as the rain lets up, when things begin to glow. The conditions held at this point, in and out of a light rain, while I found subjects nearly every place I looked. Then the light got even better, very briefly, then plunged into darkness. Too dim for hand held shooting with the equipment I was using. When I downloaded the memory card I was surprised to see I'd made nearly two hundred captures in the brief session.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Torrington, Connecticut


Dressmaker and Restaurant


Torrington, Connecticut

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Monday, December 08, 2008

Sunday, December 07, 2008

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Torrington, Connecticut

Walls and Bushes


Waterville, Connecticut

Friday, December 05, 2008

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Torrington, Connecticut

More Trees


Torrington, Connecticut

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Postal notes and WP 30s

Prints began shipping out today. It seems that, if I avoid big express service boxes, international postage for a print mailer is only a few dollars more than domestic. So if you live outside of the US, are interested in the WP 30s offer (see link in sidebar if this is new to you), and not in a big hurry to get your print, go ahead and order but please bump the payment up to $33. US.
Torrington, Connecticut

Dresses


Torrington, Connecticut