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