The dock of the bay

Novelty

What should be normal -- is the unusual.  Waking up to trees filled with snow is what is expected during a normal winter, but this year, not so much.

Artificial and natual

Straight lines or simple geometry; things made by man.

Complex and organic; things made by nature.

Those differences are always immediately apparent.

The house that George built

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of photography knows the name Eastman Kodak, a company currently in the news.  The founder of the company was George Eastman, and this is the house that he built.  It was here that he hosted friends like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.

Today the house, like the company that George created, is in winter and under overcast skys.  Kodak's slow downward trajectory over the last 25 years has undone the greatness achieved in its first 100 years.

Today the house is the home to the International Museum of Photography and Film, with exhibit space in a modern addition on the back of the residence.  But with the current status of Kodak and its legacy product, the emphasis is on "museum" and not "film".

Pale stain

It always seemed to me that "stained glass" was a strange name for colored glass. Stain seems to describe a soiling or application of dye, neither of which is an accurate description of stained glass.  The color in glass is not the result of pigment, rather the color comes from mixing metals with the molten material.  For example the deep wine color of most red stained glass is from the addition of gold to the mix, not an inexpensive dye.

In this photo the glass is pale, not like most stained glass found in many church windows, but is is attractive non the less.

Fire in the hole

At the end of my workday I look across the parking lot, and for a moment think the nearby offices the are ablaze within.  Then I realize I am at the perfect angle to see the brilliant reflection of the western sky... a vivid sunset.

No fire, just a fiery reflection.

The neighborhood Canadian geese do not seem to care one way or the other.

The photo is not very good from a technical standpoint.  Shot handheld at 1/8 second and at ISO 800 you can't expect much from the little sensor of my S90.

But that's OK... an interesting picture anyway I think.

Yellow parking

Lamp shades

The lonely bull

Reminds me of a bull, snout to the ground, ready to charge.

But where's the snow?

Around these parts our parking lots should be full of snow by the first of February.  And once the snow is too much for the plow trucks, the front loaders are required to scoop it up, pile it high, and get frozen white stuff out of the way.

But this year the plow trucks have had an easy job of managing the limited snow. And the little bit of snow we have had melts away a few days anyway.

So this bull sits off on the corner of the parking lot, waiting to make the charge.