I decided to go out comet hunting this evening, for Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)... I was barely able to see it for a couple of minutes with my naked eye, but was able to grab a few shots with my iphone. Not so lucky with my "big" camera, but used it (on the tripod) to steady the iphone. Fun outing, there were 8-10 people at the spot I settled on.
After my quickly created Haiku, I was bopping around the internet and found a couple of Haiku generators. I thought this one was pretty cool.
My prompt was: "it s a crisp clear autumn day. Birds frequent the feeder"
The response:
Golden light descends
Feathered friends flit, peck, and dine
Autumn's fleeting peace
Not bad....
I used to travel a LOT for business. Over the past couple of years, that's changed, but we've been doing more personal travel. Once upon a time, way back when, I decided to document travelling with a series of photos of hotel rooms, and the view from hotel rooms. That project didn't last too long, because... well, the average hotel room simply isn't that interesting. Or varied. But there's a few photos that worked out ok.
Anyway, I decided to revisit the concept during a recent trip. So here's a couple of photos from the Holiday Inn Express in Manchester, TN. We stayed here for 1 night recently. We were on our way to Atlanta area, and decided to split the drive... and drop by the Jack Daniels distillery (photos to follow?).
Anyway, here's a few photos from my phone, taken while walking around the parking lot. A little slice of life. I'll (probably) continue the program, and should dig through the archives for some of those old photos. Oh yeah, the post title is from the old Elton John song: CLICK
Just the words and melody - that's what moves your emotions. - Kris Kristofferson
RIP Kris Kristofferson, June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024...
A little late memorializing him, sorry.
During a hike today at Watershed Nature Center, I used the Merlin Ap to listen for birds. Over about 90 minutes, here's what Merlin heard (listed alphabetically):
Not a lot of post-processing, but here's the straight-out-of-camera version for comparison:
We spent Saturday with the grandkids at one of the local Apple Farms. Fun time, picking apples, picking pumpkins, just enjoying the time. Always makes it feel like autumn, even though it was a bit warm (pushing 90!).
Better Photo has announced the winners of their August contest, and I had a second place, along with several Finalists, etc. Always fun to get some recognition!
2nd Place winner:
A few photos from Watershed Nature Center, taken last week. WNC remains one of my go-to places, over the past 30 years or so... both for photos and to just spend some time in nature.
"If you're thinking about retiring, you're retired" - Chuck Noll
I saw this quote recently attributed to Chuck Noll, Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers back in their dynasty days of the 70's. But googling shows it attributed to other coaches. Regardless, I like the sentiment.
It resonated with me, as I retired not too long ago. We had talked about retiring for a while, and once I made a semi-firm decision (to retire in 6 months), my enthusiasm for work faded fast. Just another form of "short timer syndrome" I guess.
Regular readers (should) know that I've done a series of posts through the years looking back at my "best" or favorite photos every year. I call it "A Good Crop" in honor of an Ansel Adams quote: ""Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop". Well, I was doing some maintenance on the blog today and realized I never did a 2023 edition! I also never did a 2015 edition, but that's another story.
I guess I need to rectify that before it is time to do 2024! STAY TUNED...
Meanwhile here's one of my most popular photos of 2023. It received a 2nd Place badge, and a Photo-Of-The-Day recognition at BetterPhoto, as well as "Popular" and "Trending" at 365Project. It'll be on the Good Crop list for sure!
We've lost another one, Freddie Salem, guitarist for the Outlaws. I saw them several times back in the late 70's / early 80's, they were one of my favorite bands. Salem wasn't an original member, joined the band for their "Bring It Back Alive" album, Replacing Henry Paul. He was a solid contributor over their next 4 studio albums, and wrote several songs.
My favorite Freddie Salem song is "I Hope You Don't Mind"....
