triptych # 26-28 / civilized ku # 4007 (ku-ish) ~ neither Ireland nor Scotland

before the storm ~ Mineville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
porches ~ Mineville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
porches ~ Mineville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
various things ~ Mineville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Lest you think that I have given up making pictures in my own backyard (so to write), there are these recently made (last evening) pictures to contemplate.

It is certainly true that I have not been out and about much over the past few weeks due in large part to the task of working my way through the Ireland / Scotland picture mound o' pictures. However, yesterday I sent out the files for the Ireland book which should be in my hands by next Wednesday. So, that's half a load off my mind and back. Hence, more time to get out and about ....

.... like yesterday evening when the wife convinced me to accompany her to a board meeting in the middle-of-nowhere Mineville (along Lake Champlain about an hour drive from home). Part of the deal was to include dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (it was my birthday after all) which is located about half way back toward home.

In any event, I had about 45 minutes to kill while the wife attended to business. She suggested that I bring a book. I countered with the idea of making pictures, of what I wasn't certain but, quite frankly, if you can't make pictures wherever you are, maybe you should take up finger painting. And, immediately after dropping the wife off, my eye and sensibilities was struck with a number of porches, all of which had flowers and some other decorative accoutrements.

So, even with the inclusion a 15 minute deluge delay, I managed to make picture making hay while the sun (didn't) shined. Next time I'm in the Mineville area, I would like to add another 12 or so pictures to the collection. Or, maybe it's time for a picture making specific outing.

Ireland / Scotland # 26-29 ~ brown Ireland

rugged ridge / on the road to Port ~ Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen
road / rugged mountain / on the road to Port ~ Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen
The Poisoned Glen ~ Dunlewey, Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen
sheep / Atlantic Ocean ~ Port, Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen
countryside / on the road to Glencolmcille ~ Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen

Relative to not-what-I-thought Ireland would look like in yesterday's entry, I submit, as evidence, the below pictures. Although, I have included another picture, re; the green, green and more green of Ireland. Read about The Poisoned Glen HERE.

civilized ku # 4004-06 (ku-ish) ~ hockey trip with a twist

Kingston Bay / looking toward Plymouth ~ Duxbury, MA. • click to embiggen

shoreline foliage ~ Kingston Bay / Duxbury, MA. • click to embiggen

Hugo / striped bass ~ Kingston Bay / off Duxbury, MA.

Our own cottage. Salt Water fishing. Neither are normally part of a hockey tournament trip. However, on this trip to Kingston, MA. - Cape Cod / 35 miles south of Boston - thanks to one wing of the wife's extended family, we have own cottage (some might call it a house) next to the that family's house on Cape Cod and Hugo's gets to take an early AM fishing expedition, with our host as as fishing guide, aboard the family's boat. Add to that the fact that all our meals are prepared by our hostess and all I can ask is, "Why aren't all hockey trips like this?"

Ireland / Scotland # 15 ~ more's the pity

An Port / "Ghost Village" ~ near Glencolmcille / County Donegal, Ireland • click to embiggen

While in Ireland and Scotland, I made only a couple pano pictures. After merging 5 individual pictures to create this pano, I regret not having made more.

FYI, more updates on markhobsonblog

Ireland / Scotland #1-4 ~ an endorsement of sorts

Dunes ~ Ireland • click to embiggen

Barbers ~ Scotland • click to embiggen

Sweeny's ~ Ireland • click to embiggen

Amsterdam airport ~ Amsterdam, Northern Holland • click to embiggen

Back home and my internal clock is just about reset to EST. Catching up on work and processing some pictures. Off to Pittsburgh tomorrow through Monday.

FYI, while over on the other side of the pond, I was able to post pictures to Instagram after some down and dirty processing using the PS Express on my iPad. Actually, the processing was not so dirty. For my intended purpose the program/app worked very well. And, indeed, it was very quick and easy. No crashing or other problems, it just worked as advertised.

So, consider this entry an endorsement of sorts. I will continue to use it under similar circumstances - if you haven't visited my hobsonspictures Instagram page, do so in order to verify my endorsement.

civilized ku # 4000 / ku # 1375 ~ Ireland / 2 views + Instagram update

Jaci and Robert ~ Port, Ireland • click to embiggen

view between artist's home and gallery ~ Ardara, Ireland • click to embiggen

No surprise that Ireland is a rich picture making location. I'm trying to avoid making the Irish cliche picture and having some success at it. FYI, I am updating my hobsonspictures Instagram page daily.

kitchen life # 80 / ku # 1374 ~ I'm a winner

winter? ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
crumpled oatmeal packets ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
"test" picture made with new 12mm lens ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

In a word, this winter sucks.

I like winter, especially winter with a lot of snow. However, as the picture - ground cover / February, 2 - in this entry evidences, we have had very little snow. For some, this good news. For others - say, like, those who make a significant part of their income plowing snow or ski mountains - it's the best news possible. For me, it just flat out sucks.

The conditions are not great for Xcountry / Nordic skiing. There is little motivation to build a fire and sit by the fireplace with a warm drink (and the wife) while the weather outside is frightful or, iMo, delightful.

In any event, in anticipation of our upcoming 2-week trip to Ireland and Scotland, 1 week in each country, I have acquired a new lens - a 12mm f2 / Olympus Zuiko. While I have 4/3 lens (not a µ4/3 lens) - a Zuiko 11-22mm f2.8/3.5 - which I use with an adapter on my µ4/3 cameras, that lens is rather bulky when compared to the 12mm Zuiko lens. So, the purpose of the acquisition, other than pure gear lust, is primarily to be able to get all my gear - 3 µ4/3 bodies and 5 prime lenses - into a single relatively compact camera bag for the trip.

Truth be told, I have had my eye and wanter on this lens for quite some time. However, the miser in me was put off by its $799.00USD price tag. Occasionally the lens was on sale for $599.00USD, but even that price seemed kinda steep. So, with the upcoming trip on the near horizon, I checked on eBay and, lo and behold, there was 1 used 12mm Zuiko lens listed. The really good thing was that the lens was used for demo in a camera store.

Long story and the 4-day bid process made short, I "won" the lens for $420.00USD. It arrived this AM and upon inspection it can not be distinguished from new. Needless to write, I am, as they say, a happy camper.

FYI, the kitchen life picture in this entry was made with my 20mm f1.7 Lumix lens, not the new-to-me 12mm Zuiko which arrived an hour after the picture was made.

ku # 1370-73 ( with hints of civilized ku)~ Pete's Steakhouse window views

view from Pete's Steakhouse window # 1 ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
view from Pete's Steakhouse window # 2 ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
view from Pete's Steakhouse window # 3 ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
view from Pete's Steakhouse window # 4 ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen