Revisiting the Past

As a young boy my friends and I would take a few of our days of summer vacation from school to hike about the Middlesex Fells Reservation which occupied portions of the towns of Medford, Stoneham and Winchester Massachusetts.  They would be day long excursions with bagged lunches to sustain us while out in the “wild”.  I enjoyed those tromps through the woods.  At times we would have a small handful of boys and at other times it was big as a scout troop.  There was mystery and mystique within those treed pathways that wound about and at times crisscrossed deep in the woods.  All the while with the tramp of each footstep thoughts would run through my mind of who may have pass along this path yesterday, a century or millennia ago.  I was sure that Native Americans must have walked these paths and perhaps colonials too.  There was no visible evidence to support these thoughts but that did not damn back the flow if those random thoughts.

Now that I have attained senior status my thoughts vary to would others ever remember that I have travelled this way?  Would another young boy on a future day wondered who traveled through the same woods?  Maybe, he would see and think the same thoughts I did as we set out about our adventure within the woods of the Fells.

No trip to the Fells would have had been complete without a climb up the fire watch tower for a view of Boston.  In my younger days I did not have camera in hand to record the adventure.  So, a few years back on a sunny Sunday afternoon I went on an adventure to retrace some of those earlier steps.  First was the finding of the trail leading up the hill to the fire watch tower!  I walked the winding path with the less steep incline which seemed much longer that I recollected from my earlier days.  Back then we were surer of foot and I am sure the ascent to the tower took a much more vertical path and a lot less time than it had on my more recent visit.  Eventually, the tower was in sight and I hoped that still had access for those willing to climb the steps for a view of Boston.

Fire Watch Tower, Middlesex Fells Reservation

 This time I climbed the familiar tower steps with camera in hand.  The view was pretty much how it had been more than a half century ago but the landscape had changed dramatically.  The Boston I viewed was far different from my boyhood days.  However, the view is still one that gives a bird’s eye view of the city with the tall buildings appearing as parapets against the cotton ball cloud checkered sky.  The area closest to the tower did not have a highway running though it as it does today.  There were fields of rolling green grass, a running brook and trolley tracks in the landscape of those days.  I only wished I had a camera then to capture that moment in time that can now only be seen with my mind’s eye.

View of Boston from the top of the Fire Watch Tower, Milddlesex Fells Reservation

Satisfied that the view from the tower was pretty close to what was recollected from my boyhood, I decided to find the “Panther Cave” which held a great deal of mystique now as it had back then.  As a boy there were no signs that highlighted the features of the Fells as there is now and I was glad someone had taken the time to mark the trails.  My memory was not complete enough that I could locate this den on recollection alone.  At first when I saw the pile of rock that was labeled the “Panther Cave”, it did not appear familiar as far as how I recollected it.  In reality, it was an outcropping of rock that with its arrangement created a void to create the cave.  It appeared much smaller to me that day and the likelihood that cavemen may have occupied it in the past was erased from the boyhood memory bank.  The sun was starting to set and I thought best to start back to the parking lot before it got dark.

Panther Cave, Middlesex Fells Reservation

 As I made my way to exit the woods, I came across a less traveled path but a path nevertheless which seemed to lead out of the wooded Fells.  As I walked along I spotted something that appeared out of place within the woods.  I walked from the path to a tree where a set of frames containing water stained photo and type written page.  It was a memorial left by the children of a man who used to like to walk the woods as I had when I was a boy.  He apparently had taken them with him on his adventures and on one of those trips carved each child’s initial in a tree.  The tree is there with the initials very visible but I wonder if now after another few years had passed if the photo and typed text would be legible enough to see the love of a parent from his children and know how he used to walk these very woods.

A memorial to a loved Father

To me photography is the seizing of a moment in time and preserving it as long as the media can survive the test of time and the elements.  I only wish I had a camera in those earlier days, It will take another lifetime to retrace all those past steps.

The initials of the children carved in the tree

Anatomy of a Model Photo Shoot

You can flip the pages of any fashion or glamor magazine and see models made to look impeccably dressed and coiffed with unblemished and smooth complexions, what the viewer may or may not know is the amount of time and preparation that is required to get the right shot.  Photographers work at setting up the set taking light readings while the models wrestle with wardrobe, hairdressing and makeup.




No matter how exciting it may appear to be a model there is a certain amount of tedium that works its way in while waiting your turn in makeup, hairdressing or wardrobe.  








 


 

The photographer and model collaborate on poses to capture the mood and essence of the scene.  A series of shots are taken from various positions around the set along with the varying facial expressions and poses of the models.  When the photographer feels that they have captured the shots they need the shoot is called a wrap and the models are free to go while the photographers breaks down the set up. 

The photographer’s work is not complete yet, there is post production required to find and manipulate the photo that is desired.  Depending on the shoot the amount of photos may extend into the hundreds.  So, the next time you see a photo in a magazine that appeals to you think of the time and effort that may have gone into it by both the model and photographer.

Infrared Digital Photography

I recently purchased from a fellow photo club member, a Nikon D50 Digital Camera that had been modified to capture Infrared digital photos by Life Pixel, they can be found on the web at www.lifepixel.com. I been contemplating taking one of my older point and shoot cameras and having it converted for Infrared digital capture but had not acted on it. Now, I am so glad that my usual procrastinating had finally paid off. I now have a DSLR that fits my Nikon system lenses allowing for a wider creative ability in the Infrared area. I am a total newbie in the IR area far as trying to capture and process digital IR captures but I found the tutorials on the Life Pixel website to be most helpful.

Below are a couple examples of the IR photos I had taken, one where it is pretty much black and white and the other where the sky was left blue. I am going to continue to experiment to see what I can create using IR photos. For those contemplating jumping into the digital IR photo arena I would recommend reading the information and viewing the tutorials that are available on the Life Pixel site.

IR photo converted to Black and White

IR photo where the sky was left to remain blue in color

I will write about my new IR discoveries as I come upon them during my IR adventure

To Honor America

Here I sit the day before Independence Day catching up on miscellaneous tasks that have been too long left undone. However, I stopped in the midst of that activity to write this post. I picked up a framed embroidered piece of linen showing the American Flag and the caption “God Bless America”. Quite fitting considering today's date. Yes, God bless America and all that live within her boundaries. However, those blessings are not hollow and require adherence to the responsibilities that are required for a society to remain blessed and free.

This memento from the past was handed down to me from my wife's uncle John. I think she requested it after he passed away, along with another framed print of the American flag that he had hanging in his room. Both are in my possession now, but I would like to hand them down and have them placed in a place of respect and honor, and not stuffed into a closet or tossed away. John was a very quiet man, lived simply and probably was American as the flag, baseball and apple pie. He was loyal to his mother caring for her as she aged and was unable to care for herself. He himself was legally blind but could see well enough to be able to walk through a doorway without hitting the wall. He was adept at using the touch of his hand to sense things he could not see. He lived with his sister, my wife's mother and earned his keep by helping out where he could with chores that needed to be done about the house which he could accomplish with very little sight. He did these regularly and on a schedule that a train stationmaster would envy. He was also close to a second father to my wife and her siblings and he was well loved by all. However, his world was small and he lived a mostly nondescript life. He had a small room where these symbols of America were hung with pride. I am uncertain if it is true or not, but it is my understanding that the needlepoint of the flag was done by my wife's grandmother, John's mother and possibly an additional reason why it was hung and cared for in the manner it was. He loved his God, country and mother with unwavering loyalty. He attended Mass each Sunday and Holy Day, attending the 7 AM service that only few would attend. Each time he attended Mass, he would put on his suit, shirt and tie, shined shoes and felt hat. In cool weather he would wear a top coat and carried an umbrella if it rained. However, I cannot recall a day he missed until he became ill and was no longer able to attend on his own. I think he preferred that early morning Mass due to his sight issue. He shied away from crowds and possibly it was due to his having an issue maneuvering past many bodies without some sort of a collision happening. John was never one to cause any sort of commotion and preferred the solace of his small modest room. I know he also loved to listen to each and every Boston Red Sox game that was ever played in his lifetime. Being born in 1901, I imagine he experienced the thrill of the 1918 World Series win but it would be the last that he would experience. John passed away in early 1969 from Lung Cancer. He had smoked for a major part of his life and finally kicked the habit two years before being diagnosed. I remember seeing his slender build lose its strength and vitality as he lost his bout with a near unbeatable adversary. However, I prefer to remember John, being animated, loud and excited as he and I groaned as he would listen and I would watch the Boston Red Sox lose the 1967 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. They would finally break through in 2004, thirty-five years after John had died, to beat those same Cardinals in a four game sweep. I thought of John and was hoping he was whooping loudly wherever his spirit may be. I am not sure about how John felt about apple pie, but in his simple and quiet way, his love of his God, country, mother and baseball are what I would like to believe are the attributes that all Americans possess.

For many, the Fourth of July holiday is a day for cookouts, ice cream and fireworks and I must say I also partake and enjoy these also. However, I think we should stop for just a moment and renew our pledge in order that we may continue living the American life and freedoms we each enjoy.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

A happy and safe holiday to all and God bless America..

Signs of Spring

Maple sugar time

This past Saturday I traveled to Keene New Hampshire for the Maple sap gathering competition at Stonewall farm.

The day was pleasant with mostly blue skies with just a few occasional scattered clouds that dotted the country skyline.

  

Commercial Maple sap gathering has pretty much gone high tech these days but the competition consists of teams using a horse drawn sled to gather sap.  The team consists of a two horse team pulling the sled with driver and two sap gathers to empty the sap buckets into the vat mounted on the sled. 

Speed is one of the measures of a team but there are points for a number of judged actions that the team must complete while on the sap gathering trail.

The competition started in the morning with a lunch break in the farm’s visitor center.

 

The building has two levels with restroom facilities on both floors to accommodate guests.  In the morning hot beverages and breakfast pastries were served in the lower dining area and during the noontime break the upper level dining area served food beverages for lunch.

Guests were able to get the chill out their bones by standing near the large stone fireplace in the upstairs dining area.

 

The upper level of the visitor center also includes a gift shop where Maple Syrup and other locally produced products and crafts may be purchased.

 

The old time traditional New England process to produce Maple Syrup was by tapping Maple trees with a spout which collected the tree’s sap in a galvanized bucket.

The collected sap was brought to the sugar house where the excess water is evaporated off to get a fine grade of syrup.

The heat for the evaporator is created by burning wood in a firebox directly under the evaporator.

The sugar house is designed to allow moisture boiled out of the sap to rise as steam and vent out through the roof of the building.

It takes many gallons of sap to produce one gallon of fine quality Maple Syrup.  However, there is no substitute for pure Maple Syrup poured over a stack of warm pancakes.

Visitors to the sugar house are treated to a sample of warm, freshly made syrup.  Vanilla ice cream with fresh Maple Syrup poured over it is sold outdoors no matter what the temperature may be.  The ice cream is a substitute for that old time New England treat of having Maple Syrup poured over a cup of fresh snow.

Stonewall Farm is a year round facility with a working dairy farm that provides milk to the local community.  It is also an educational facility that provides many programs for all family members throughout the year.  Information about the farm and the events that are held at the farm can be obtained from the farm’s website at: 

www.stonewallfarm.org.