Resting Sparrow (31/365)

Resting Sparrow

This little sparrow was just waiting his turn to get inside his home.  A pair of starlings had decided it was cold and took over.  This sparrow was not very happy about the takeover.  After a couple of dive bombs and lots of screeching,  the sparrow took a break and rested here.  

Icicles (30/365)

Icicles

While walking around downtown Providence this morning I noticed a rather large sheet of icicles hanging from an awning.  I was able to step behind them and shoot up toward the gray sky.  While tis photo looks to be B&W it is actually not.  I just cropped most of the building out of it.  I thought it looked rather interesting.  My other photos today were more buildings.  Needed to try something different.  

Here's the original without the crop.

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 640, 48mm, f/5.6 1/125sec

Downtown (29/365)

Downtown Providence

I got dropped off for work this morning a bit early so I took a walk around some of the downtown area I haven't gotten to in some time.  This is the view of Kennedy Plaza looking at what we call "The Superman Building".  If you've followed my 365 journey, you've seen the top of this building in a few other pictures, Believe it or not, the building is completely empty.  

Morning After (28/365)

Korean War Memorial

Well, we survived Juno, the Blizzard of 2015.  Here's a shot of some of the snow around the Korean War Memorial.  Images I've seen from the Korean War often show the bitter cold of the battlefield.  I think the kneeling soldier statue is enhanced when surrounded and covered with snow.  

Here are some other photos taken of downtown Providence after the storm.  

World War II Memorial

Providence River Looking South

Some Rhode Island School of Design Buildings at Twilight

Splashing Angel (27/365)

Splashing Angel

My daughter and I got a chance to enjoy the ample snow we had (24" or so).  She was so excited to try and do her snow angels.  I  got a few,  but really liked this one as I caught the snow splashing around her.  

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 200, 52mm, f/5.6 1/1250sec

Back To the Future (26/365)

Back To the Future

As I walked into the office today,  this is was the scene outside my building.  I thought it was neat how the tracks just took off to this car at the end of the plaza.  

Due to the major storm we were to have I left my DLSR at home, but the iPhone always comes in  handy for getting a pic for the day.  

Snowball (25/365)

Snowball

Yesterday's snow was still around this morning so we got outside to play.  Not enough for a good snowman, but there was plenty for some good snowballs hurled Dad's way.  I called a timeout to get a shot of one.  

I hope you're not getting tired of the snow shots.  If the forecast is correct we're going to have plenty for quite some time. Looking forward to the 2+ feet being called for starting tomorrow afternoon.  

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 100, 35mm, f/11 1/60sec

Clothesline (24/365)

Clothesline

We finally got a decent snowfall.  It was a wet one which is certainly pretty as it clings to everything, but it's heavy to shovel.  I liked the look down this clothesline with the clinging snow.  The picture seemed to pop better in B&W so I tried that.  Hope you enjoy

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 200, 52mm, f/5.6 1/160sec

Coffee Anyone? (23/365)

Coffee Anyone?

Work took me to Boston today.  So many different opportunities for signs, but I settled on this large cup of coffee sign sitting on the roof of the South Street Diner.  

Red Fez (22/365)

Red Fez

The stroll around the downtown streets of Providence continues.  This time I found another restaurant sign.  The Red Fez.  One of mine and my wife's favorite casual places for a drink and a good meal.  

Is anyone paying attention and notice something from yesterday's sign photo?  

I'm off to work in Boston tomorrow, so I hope to find a sign there.

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 800, 44mm, f/5.6 1/320sec

Pot On the Fire (21/365)

Pot On the Fire

In keeping with the week's theme of "signs" I snapped this shot of a fine restaurant in Providence, RI.  A terrific French restaurant that my wife and I visited last in October for our anniversary>

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 800, 55mm, f/5.6 1/800sec

Greenway (20/365)

Greenway

In keeping with this week's "sign" theme, I found this one as I walked into work.  I have noticed them before along the river and I always found it kind of nice to see that "Little Rhody" is included in the East Coast Greenway.  2900 miles from Maine to  Florida.  Pretty neat.  Follow the link to read more about it.  

Photo details:  Nikon D5100, ISO 800, 26mm, f/4.2 1/1000

Cool Jazz (19/365)

Cool Jazz

I've been struggling to not take the same type picture each week day as I walk to/from work.  A friend of mine commented the other day on a photo I had posted to my project.  She mentioned a pub we used to frequent.  Well,  the Custom House Tavern is it.  I knew there was still a sign despite the Custom House Tavern having been closed for many many years.  So, my thought about this week is that I'll take pictures of various business signs.  Not all of them will be as ornate as this one,  but it should be fun, just the same.

As to the Custom House Tavern, as I said, it's long closed and has never been occupied since it closed.  The Tavern was a place many of us in our single days would meet for a beer or wine, and enjoy an  evening of cool jazz,  If I recall the place had open mic on Wednesday and Sundays.   It was a dark basement type bar, just the kind I like.  

Lichen (18/365)

Lichen

It was supposed to be a lousy weather day today, so I thought I'd get out while I could.  I took a walk around my in-law's yard and found lots of lichen on the trees.  Thought I'd play a bit with bokeh and focus point.  Snapped this shot of some lichen on the branch of this tree and thought it came out rather well.

Here are a few others that I liked, but didn't quite make the picture of the day.  Hope you enjoy.

Whelk

Lichen Up Close

Waiting for Summer

Day Seventeen -- January 17th, 2015

Allegiance

Meet Allegiance, one of the Providence Police Department's mounts.  It's always fun to drive through the Roger Williams Park and see if the Mounted Command horses are out.  It was a cold day, but these horses are strong and we counted four of them outside in their pens. 

Day Sixteen -- January 16th, 2015

Standing Tall

The Hooded Mergansers returned to the Providence River which I walk by on the way to work.  I took many shots, but made a huge mistake in setting my aperture way to low.  Almost all of the shots were out of focus.  I did get this one, which I liked.  As this Merganser was rising out of the water to shake his wings,  I got him just before the blur of the shake.  

Getting good shots with the longer Tamron lens is still a work in progress.  I'll keep trying.  

Here's one  more from yesterday that caught me by surprise.  I was trying to get the auto-focus to work properly, aimed at the distant bridge and snapped.  I kind of like it.  

Distant Bridge

Day Fifteen -- January 15th, 2015

Go Pats

Today I had the opportunity to attend an event at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.  It was a good learning experience, and a fun time to see the stadium.  The conference I attended had the entire "Putnam Level" wrapped so we could not see the field.  When we walked from the West Wing to the East Wing we were exposed to the field, so...  No pictures were allowed during practice, but I snapped this one before they started the practice.  I nice light blanket of snow brightened the stadium just a bit.  

Oh, by the way, GO PATS!!!!

Day Fourteen -- January 14th, 2015

Downtown 

No real time today. Luckily, I snapped this walking into work. It's just a few of the buildings in downtown Providence. I like the old against the new along the bottom right. 

Day Thirteen -- January 13th, 2015

Mergansers Are Back

One thing I like about winter is that the Mergansers like to frequent the rivers in and around Providence.  They are beautiful birds.  I usually see them as I walk along the Providence River, but have seen them only once this year.  I saw them on  Saturday along the Seekonk River and  decided to try and get a few  shots of them early this morning.  They were there, but they are skittish.  As you can see from  these three they are anxiously swimming away from me.  I'll keep trying and hopefully can get a better closeup.

Here's a few more shots from this morning's expedition.

Same Pic but Cropped

Taking Flight

Up, Up, and Away

Day Twelve -- January 12th, 2015

Wet Night

Busy day today so not much chance to get a good shot.  I tried taking a simple shot with my iPhone as I walked to my car after work.  I liked the wet look and the line of lights on the far side of the river.  

Day Eleven -- January 11th, 2015

Shoreline

Took a trip down to Westport, MA this afternoon and a trip over to Gooseberry Island.  As you can see from the picture it's been pretty cold.  There is still ice on many of t he rocks.  I thought this ice covered rock made a nice focal point for the very nice sky.  I wish I could have captured more of the color in the sky, but for some reason it seems to have washed out.  

Day Ten -- January 10th, 2015

Warning

After Una's dance class we decided to swing through Roger Williams Park to see the frozen pond and the fresh snow.  The pond had a few footprints, as well as paw prints on it, but as we walked around it, we came upon this "unofficial" sign.  

I always like this spot as there is a section of the ice that crosses the entire pond that as you can see is different.  I'm not sure what causes it, but I saw it a couple of years ago, pretty much in  the same spot.  

Here's another picture from the walk

Temple of Music

As we drove home, we passed along the Seekonk River where I figured the small pond would be frozen well enough for some outdoor hockey.  A New England tradition.  There were plenty of hockey players, but I liked these two doing a little one on one practice.  

Hockey

Day Nine -- January 9th, 2015

Shadows On the Pond

After the bitter cold of the past couple of days, we got a bit of snow today.  Maybe an inch, but it was something.  [Yay, as I love snow.]  Anyway, was a tough day to get out and get my picture of the day.  Weekdays are hard.  But, the trusty iPhone comes through.   Since we had the cold weather the backyard pond is frozen over.  Well, I should say not completely frozen over.  That would kill the fish.  The pond has a surface heater which maintains a small hole so that gases from the pond (decomposing leaves, fish waste, etc) can escape.  I framed the photo so the hole is not visible.

Anyway, what you're seeing here is the shadow of the fence around the pond from a light in the distance.  Why the fence around the pond?  Nasty raccoons who like to reach  in and eat my pond plants. The particularly like the water hyacinth.  Not a problem this time of year, but the fence has become year round.  

The round orbs at the top of the photo are some of the beach stones, courtesy of East Beach in Westport, which line the waterfall.

Day Eight - January 8th, 2015

Brrrr...It's Cold Out There

We had our coldest temps of the year (many years actually) and it showed on  the river as I walked into work.  The negative zero temps made quick work of freezing the river.  Did a number on my fingertips, too, when I removed my gloves to snap this picture.  The power plant in the background was working extra hard to keep up with power demands.  With the wind, it made for a nice steam cloud blowing towards the east which I had noticed a couple of miles away as I drove to my parking space.

Stay warm.

Day Seven - January 7th, 2015

Snowy Bench

Brutally cold this morning so I left the real camera at home.  As I walked into work I always like to trek out to the virgin snow.  We didn't get much, but what we got stuck and without much wind last night, it's right where it fell.  I've had many a lunch sitting on this bench.  It's so calming to be along the river.  We're in for a real cold spell and we'll see the river freeze over soon (you can see some ice already formed on the left of the picture).

Week 1 of 52 is in the books.  So far so good with the project.  

Day Six - January 6th, 2015

Snowy Benefit St. (B&W)

Walking to the car tonight was a bear.  Unexpected light snow made the hills very slippery.  As I crossed Benefit St. I was surprised there was so little traffic.  I waited just a bit to capture a snowy clear street.  While the street lights are no longer gas, they still give off a nice glow.  Thought the B&W added to the shot.  

Day Five - January 5th, 2015

Canada Goose

As I walked from my car to work this morning the sun was in and out of the clouds.  I tried to get a good landscape photo (more on that later),  but I settled on the abundant Canada Geese that were present along the river.  There were many.  Is is one of four that paddled over to visit.  This one showed me the most detail so he/she gets the photo of the day tag.  

Here's the quartet

As I mentioned the sun was in and out of the clouds and I was hoping for a decent landscape with the early morning sun.  I like this one, but the "lens flare" troubled me.  I did a bit of research on that issue and learned how to hopefully avoid it next time.  While the shot isn't what I wanted, I learned something, and that's what a 365 Project is all about.  

Looking South

Day Four - January 4th, 2015

Foggy Harbor

It was a tough day today to take a photo.  Lots of fog, rain, and mist.  I snuck a trip down to the wharf in Westport Point, MA and took a few shots of the fishing fleet tied up there.  This was the best shot.  I need to work more on the exposure as there was so much white with the fog.  I was rushed as I tried to keep the lens dry.  

Anyway, I got the shot.  I'm somewhat satisfied.  

Day Three -- January 3rd, 2015

Look Down

We took a a walk this morning to the Wintertime Farmer's Market in the historic Hope Artiste Village.  It was a cool brisk morning and being outside really felt good.  I thought it might be a good time to snap a photo for my 365 Project, but didn't want to lug my camera through  the Farmer's Market as it can get rather crowded.  No fear, the trusty iPhone came in handy.  As we walked we saw a few Works Progress Administration placards, a couple from 1940, and one from  1935-1939.  I've snapped these before so I let them go.  

As we walked home we happened to find another brass placard in the cement.  This one, pictured above, is from the A.Del Pape & Co.  It seems many of the companies that laid the sidewalks left their mark.  As I researched the A Del Pape & Co, I found this local site about Providence and Pawtucket brass street markers.  It seems most of them are from the first part of the 20th century.  Neat stuff.

So, remember, make sure you Look Down, too.  

Day Two - January 2nd, 2015

Here Comes The Bus

I took a few pictures on my walk into work this morning, but nothing I really liked.  So, I was forced to try and take some night-time shots on my walk back to my car after work.  Without a tripod, and needing the long exposure to get a decent shot, I propped the camera on a wall to get a view of the Providence skyline.  I took a few shots and noticed I was getting the light trails as cars passed in front of me.  I saw the bus coming and thought, "Hmmm, that might be nice.".  The light trails are obviously a bit higher and I think are a nice addition.

Here are a few other shots I grabbed during the walk.  I think some of them are pretty nice, but I still like the bus one best so that is my "Photo of the Day".

Providence, RI skyline

 

Providence I-Way Bridge and Power Plant

A New New Year's Day Tradition

New Year's Day is often a laid back day for us.  I used today to play with photography stuff (start my  365 Project), and Sally took the time to cook.  Homemade bread was the recipe of the day.  Honey Oatmeal Bread to be exact.  As Sally was letting the dough rise, I was poking around this blog.  Lo and behold I found that we did somewhat the same thing last New Year's Day.  http://thrujohnslens.blogspot.com/2014/01/homemade.html

Here are a few pics I snapped off the bread making process.

Let the dough rise in  the bowl

Rise again in the baking pans

Ah, it's done - straight from the oven

Ah, but we must let it cool