Perspective: Kid in Foreground

A few weeks ago I posted some pictures that played around with the differences in perspective down on the boardwalk in Old Lyme. The comment was made that the closer-focused shots would be more interesting if there were something more interesting to look at in the foreground. I happened to be back on the same boardwalk again last week and I just happened to have a good-looking kid with me. So, I threw him in the foreground of some similar shots... Yeah, I think the claim might be made that they are more interesting than the empty boardwalk shots...

 

 

 
We call this one his guapo pose.

 

 

 

Going, Going, Gone

So, Blogger has been broken for three weeks -- or, more accurately, the Blog This! feature from Picasa has been broken. The problem first manifest itself to me when two of my posts ended up showing up with blank pictures the next morning. It has taken a very long time for the Google team to "fix" the problem. I saw on the message board this evening that they have a fix in place and it appears that, at long last, the problem is, indeed, fixed! In addition, I can now post more than four photos directly from Picasa, which is a nice feature that should have been added long ago.

I posted these pictures as a 5-minute test. I didn't take time to sort, edit, or crop; rather, I just grabbed group of photos out of an old folder and hit Blog This!

These were taken from White Sand Beach on February 1, 2009. That was my first Sunday evening living in Connecticut. I had worked a grand total of one day at my new job in Groton. That's just over two years ago in human years (which converts to roughly 10 PCC years)! There are actually two lighthouses visible in these shots. In the first picture you can see the Saybrook Breakwater Light to the left of the sun. In the rest the Lynde Point Lighthouse is visible to the right.

 

 

 

 

 

May Day at Florence Griswold

This afternoon I noticed my daughter was scrapbooking photos from last summer. I was impressed with a few of them and since I didn't post them before, here they are.

Each Spring the Florence Griswold Museum has a Community Free Day on the first Saturday in May. This past year I took the kids to enjoy the art, to bask in the warm weather, and to partake liberally of the free ice cream!

This shot of the great tree leaning out over the river is the one that really caught my eye today. It's no wonder this was an artists' retreat.

You can tell that this kid was thrilled to be out in the sunshine.

The Rambles is a site specific stickwork sculpture.

Guests are encouraged to wander around and through the sculpture.

Outdoor portrait.

We found a fuzzy dead bee.

We took turns petting the fuzzy dead bee... Which led to problems that were later discussed in our private family blog here. If you happen to want access to the family blog and you don't already have it just let me know...

Sunset on the Connecticut River - One More Post

I guess I'm going to share one more set from our visit to the boardwalk.

Here are couple of Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) boats.

Yes, there is a train in this photo.

Reeds

Sun's Almost Gone

Sun's Gone

Sunset on the Connecticut River - Perspectives

Sometimes a very small change in perspective can make a big difference. The five photos featured in this update were all taken from the exact same spot on the boardwalk. Which perspective works the best for you?

This shot was taken from a standing position and at a bit of a slant to make it a bit more interesting.

Here's a bugs-eye view with a mid-range focal depth. The boardwalk nearly converges to a single point at this wide angle.

Same bugs-eye view at higher zoom and a deep focus. I love the line of screws winding down the middle of the walkway and the stand of tall reeds sprouting up like flames over the horizon. This picture didn't do much for me until I cropped it down a bit; now it may be my favorite of the set.

This one brings the focal point up close and personal. This one was my favorite until I cropped the one above.

When I was done laying in the middle of the boardwalk to take pictures I rolled over to get back to my feet and this is what I saw... One of my lovely assistants taking her own pictures despite the very-cold wind!

Sunset on the Connecticut River - Lines

My post Monday night seemed fine... until the pics disappeared. Here goes again to see if the uploads will stick... Thanks!

We took a walk along the river at sunset on Saturday night. I love the color of the light. I came back with many photos. These all feature dominant lines in their composition.

Boardwalk Under the Bridge
(It looks almost 3 dimensional)

Train Bound for Boston
(This one is probably too similar to the first one to be artistically significant... But is has a train in it, ergo, it is cool, ergo, here it is!)

Zigzag Path to the Osprey Nests

Here's another one that is pretty similar to the one right above it. I like enough to include it anyway. Which of the two zigzag paths do you prefer?

Art Show - Sill House, Lyme Academy

Note: When I originally posted this entry on Monday night I verified that the images uploaded correctly and that the automatic email worked. On Tuesday, however, I got feedback that the pictures were no longer visible online or in the emails. The Blogger forums indicate that many blog authors are seeing the same problem this week. Unfortunately, the fix the Blogger team listed didn't work for my posts so I am re-posting from scratch in the hopes that the uploads will stick this time! Thanks for your patience!

My daughter had a drawing on display at the 26th Annual Youth Art Show at the Lyme Academy College. Here is one set of sculptures by a friend of ours and a few other scenes that caught my attention.

Men of Snow

Light at the End of the Hallway

Sill House Chimney

Ivy Under the Sill

I've Seen Enough Art...

Look Up, Look Down, Look All Around

Here are a few views from our walk in the woods this past Sunday. Do you have a preference?

Do you like the abstract?

The macro moss?

The landscape stream?

Pilgrim's Landing at Sunset

So I took several (ok, it was well over a hundred) photos down at Pilgrim's Landing in Old Lyme. Here are four more that I like enough to post.

 

 

 

 

Composition: Foreground Study #2

The red dinghy is back again. I received a few good comments on yesterday's post, thank you. While similar to the first pics, this set is more focused on keeping the foreground in focus rather than the objects in the distance, if you get my... um, focus.

 
This photo is nearly identical to this one posted yesterday. Shifting the focus forward and the horizon up seems to reduce the crowded feel that it had before.

 

 

 
Angel emailed and suggested that I crop this picture, which I posted here yesterday, to improve it. Did it work?