Assignment 23: Recap

Thank you for the great response to the first photo assignment of 2013.  In all, there were 19 submissions from all over the globe.  This time, I am going to write the recap while reading each entry for the first time.  Normally, I visit each one and think about it first.  This time it’s right off the cuff.

Sybil laments what a lot of people can sympathize with this time of year, it’s too frikkin’ cold!  Especially, if you are into getting your hands in the dirt and helping things grow.

Rita shares with us what it is like in Australia in the winter (during the northern hemisphere summer) with a nice collection if iPhone photos from Melbourne.

Some days I think I would like to have a winter like Nye does in the mid-Atlantic area of the United States.  The snow and ice show up overnight, close schools and melt away by lunch time.

Nell, from downstate New York, shows us the winter can be calm and consent on the beaches of Long Island.

Simone shows us another color if Ireland in the January cold with a collage of wintery plants.

While I got rid of shoveling my driveway a few years ago with a snowblower and I am not too keen on using snow for any kind of consumption, I do agree with Amy-Lynn on one thing, the snow sure is pretty when it trims the forest.

Debbie brings us back to upstate New York yet downstate enough where winter can be a ying-yang affair with snow.  Her beautiful and whimsy post about winter is a must see and read.

Karma gets grumpy during the winter yet she shows us the beautiful way winter decorates her lawn, how cold winter days allow here to enjoy a hot drink and snack, how her dogs love to play in the snow and her joy in watching the birds.  Hey, her post got her to solve a family mystery.  Not bad, eh?

When I did shovel the driveway, I felt a lot like Mike does about the chore and his very creative way of showing it to us is classic central New York. BTW, I still mow the lawn and get my thinking time in then. 🙂

We know it is frikkin’ cold but Lynn gives us a different prospective of winter in Nova Scotia. Maybe once the “newness” wears off, she’ll think differently.  Now, it is just fine as are her images.

Isa tells and shows us how life in Switzerland handles winter from plants to animals to humans by becoming dormant. Enjoy your books, Isa!

It always seems to be winter in Denmark and Birgitte always finds ways to capture both the beauty and the chilling realism of it for us.

Dawn lives near Detroit and she takes us to the annual winter event, the North American International Auto Show. There, most if not all the automobile manufacturers in the world shows of their latest models and concept cars to “Wow” consumers into buying their brand.  While I do love the Hot Wheels Camaro, Dawn, I would have loved to have seen the Boss 302 Mustang.  Maybe next year?

Truels takes us out into the Denmark winter were he gets out, down, close, warm and into the light.  Truels would make a good Disney photographer with his eye for details.

asurrenderedyear shares how winter is a time of inner and outer reflection and can be used to find peace and renewal. I like the photos of life looking out into the cold winter world of Toronto, Canada.

Would you think of India for a winter assignment? Sonali, who lives there, shows us in many ways the season of winter from a white salt dessert to the Himalayas.  He may have exhausted his photo archives for this assignment but I am sure glad he did.

Carsten, who is also from Denmark, first complains about the long winter.  Then he shows us how the light and shadows create astounding winter beauty even if it chills his heart.  Do not worry, however, as his heart is soon warmed by thoughts and times with his family.

Lastly, with the weather being un-winter-like during the assignment period, I decided to share with you how I spent most of my winters growing up and into my adult life by talking about my favorite winter sport: Ice Hockey. I know the topic surprised a few of you. 😉

I hope my first impressions of each of these posts spurred you on to click on the links and enjoy them for yourself and to make your own impressions of all this talented and generous group of bloggers/photographers/writers/poets/friends. Until next our next assignment, keep shooting!

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View 265: Water and Ice

Ithaca Falls in winter near Ithaca, New York.

Ithaca Falls in winter near Ithaca, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, f/16, ISO 200, EV 0, 28mm focal length, HDR Image

The transformation of Ithaca Falls in winter is an amazing sight.  Where water flowed freely was now incased in icicles.  Where the water still flows is now restricted and takes different paths down the rocky cascade.

A close up view shows how the water flow is much different than during the warmer months.

Water flows between the ice on Ithaca Falls near Ithaca, New York.

Water flows between the ice on Ithaca Falls near Ithaca, New York.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/10s, f/36, ISO 200, EV 0, 135mm focal length, tripod

I was accompanied on this winter adventure yesterday by fellow bloggers Barbara of The Aspiring Photographer, Debbie of My Life in CNY and photographer Andy Williams.  It was a good day to be visiting my favorite New York waterfalls.

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Winter Sport

I was first introduced to the game of ice hockey when I was 9 years old.  Friends of my parents lived near enough to Lake Ontario to pull in the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s (CBC) Hockey Night in Canada games on Saturday nights.  It did not take long for me to fall in love with the fast action sport.  A couple of years later, my parents signed me up as a player in the Midstate Youth Hockey Association (MYHA) in Syracuse, New York.

For the next 15 years, winter meant it was time to lace up the skates and play hockey from November to April (no ice in the off season in our area back in the 1970’s).  As I improved, I moved up from house leagues to traveling teams.  My teams traveled all over New York state and the Province of Ontario, Canada.  We played in Buffalo, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Albany, New York City and many rinks in between. It was a wonderful time filled with memories of my teammates and their parents.  We were a traveling family for those winter months.

After my playing days, I watched NHL hockey on cable and went to a few Syracuse AHL games each season.  I would stay up until early in the morning as Stanley Cup playoff games would enter 1, 2, 3 and even 4 overtime periods.  Yes, I was a hockey fan(atic) as my family grew up.  I know my daughters would shake their heads at me when my favorite team would be on TV and the world stopped until after the game was over.

Baldwinsville Bees Matt Zandri (22) protects the puck from a Central Square Redhawks defender.

Baldwinsville Bees Matt Zandri (22) protects the puck from a Central Square Redhawks defender.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 4000, EV +1.7, 95mm focal length.

Four years ago, after I got a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom lens, I started photographing my high school’s ice hockey games. During the first season, I meet the Sports editor for my local newspaper at one of the games and he asked me to send a few photos to him from each game I photographed.  I got a kick out of seeing my photos published each week.  Players and parents started asking me where they could see the photos online and buy some.

Baldwinsville Bees Parker Ferrigan (7) nets a shorthanded goal against the Watertown IHC Cavaliers.

Baldwinsville Bees Parker Ferrigan (7) nets a shorthanded goal against the Watertown IHC Cavaliers. Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 2800, EV 1.7, 70mm, cropped.

The Baldwinsville Bees players in the two photos above are Seniors this year and I have photographed their entire high school careers.  They both are team captains this season and I have watched their skills blossom over the years and wish them well in their next life adventures.

Syracuse Crunch Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) one times a shot into the net for his sixth goal of the season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Syracuse Crunch Pierre-Cedric Labrie (20) one times a shot into the net for his sixth goal of the season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 2000, EV 1.3, 140mm focal length.

As I told many of you last year, I was given an opportunity to photograph a professional hockey team, the Syracuse Crunch, a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season. The AHL is the farm system of the NHL.  I was suddenly photographing players who will be the future stars I will see on TV.

Syracuse Crunch fans and Matt Taormina (6) celebrate his goal.

Syracuse Crunch fans and Matt Taormina (6) celebrate his late first period goal to take a 2-1 lead over the Binghamton Senators in American Hockey League (AHL) action at the Onondaga County War Memorial.
Nikon D700/70-200VR, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 1600, EV +1.3, 200mm focal length, cropped.

It has been a huge challenge being a Syracuse Crunch photographer.  I am just now getting comfortable with how each game is produced and what the Crunch want from me.  I have found it fun and exciting getting to know the staff, players and the fans.

Winter continues to mean HOCKEY for me. I am still enjoying it today as much as I did  watching my first games on a fuzzy TV screen all those years ago.

This is my contribution to my blog’s assignment on Winter and what it means to me.

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View 264: Dancing Trees

Blustery days are the bane of Landscape photographers looking for static subjects in beautiful light and dramatic sky.  Me, I like to take advantage of how the wind moves objects normally thought of as solid.

A tree dances as the wind blows its branches.

A tree dances as the wind blows its branches.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 5s, f/25, ISO 200, EV 0, 300mm focal length, tripod, ND filters equalling 5 stops.

Trees must sway and move when the wind pushes against them or they would be knocked down.  Watching the trees dance with the wind when I looked out yesterday morning, I had the idea of stacking two neutral density filters on my Nikon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR Zoom lens allowing the shutter speed to be increased into the seconds. Capturing the Dancing Trees.

More dancing trees.

More dancing trees.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 3s, f/25, ISO 200, EV 0, 105mm focal length, tripod, ND filters equalling 5 stops.

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Mind of a Young Elephant

I know animals do not act like humans.  I know they do things for their own reasons mostly having to do with food and propagation of the species.  However, it is hard not to imagine this young elephant was doing what many human kids would do when confronted with an obstacle.  Especially when his mother seemed to be herding him towards a bath.

Elephants at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

Elephants at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, New York.

What do you think was going on?

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