Tag: fpjphotochallenge

Spring has sprung on Blue Spring Road

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Rain by jansenphotojansenphoto (Dutch goes the Photo!)

Rainy day moments!

Spring in the Mid-Atlantic of the United States isn't as edible as spring in the West Indies, but it's more colourful. I have learned to enjoy the display.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Rain by jansenphotojansenphoto (Dutch goes the Photo!)

Rainy day moments!

Feeling bored, I picked up some camera gear and drove out to Duke Farms in Hillsborough. Just a few minutes from my house as I drove along Blue Spring Road, I noticed the pink blossoms on one of the trees. So I pulled over and captured a few images. I just love how all the pink looks against a background of green.

Even though I spend most of it indoors, with a runny nose, and itchy and watery eyes, and I can barely breathe, spring is my favourite season of the year. I grew up in the British West Indies (Caribbean) where there is no fall, no spring, and definitely no winter. But it's not summer all year long.

There is the dry season and a wet season. The dry season runs from about February to June while the wet season starts in July and ends in January. During the wet season, there is less sunshine and more rain. Of course, there is also a hurricane season which starts in June and ends in November. Ignoring the occasional tropical rain forest shower, with blue sky weather and warm sunshine, the dry season is an ideal time for the islands.

During that wet season, the rains come more frequently and last longer. The land turns an even deeper shade of green. The islands enter a time of renewal when the fruit trees bear so much fruit; bananas, mangoes, java plums (Syzygium cumini), cashews, plum rose (Syzygium samarangense ), soursop (Annona muricata), sugar apple, acerola cherries, coco plum, Bequia plum (Spondias purpurea), guava, guinep (Melicoccus bijugatus), golden apple (Spondias Dulcis), avocado, and papaya. The list of fruits is long.

Spring in the Mid-Atlantic of the United States isn't as edible as the wet season in the West Indies but it's more colourful. I have learned to enjoy the display. And the beer.

Spring is also a time of renewal for me. It's when I come out of self-imposed hibernation both literally and emotionally. It's time for me to be outside, go hiking in the woods or on long walks with Bhavna.

I have decided to release the images under a Creative Commons Zero license. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. You can download the images from Unsplash.

Signs of spring along Blue Spring Road
Signs of spring along Blue Spring Road
Signs of spring along Blue Spring Road

Putting my best foot forward

Best Food Forward

I get the attention deficit thing. I discovered that listening to music on my phone and wireless headphones can help me focus my mind. But wearing headphones means being unaware of my surroundings in situations where sight and sound are essential.

One thing that frustrates me about where I love is that I see these beautiful scenes on my way to and from the office or while driving around town, but the narrow-one-lane-no-shoulder country roads don't allow for stopping, and we don't have any sidewalks here either. It can be a strange site for other motorists to watch a car slow down and stop briefly while the driver rolls down the window and stick out a DSLR camera and lens. It works when traffic is light only.

Princeton Battlefield State Park, Princeton, New Jersey
"Princeton Battlefield State Park in the Fog" — 29 October 2014 — Apple iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ f/2.2, ISO 800

Sometimes I get lucky, and the scene unfolds before me, traffic is light, and the road has a shoulder. But still, there is no time to pull out a DSLR, set up a tripod, compose the shot, set camera settings etc. Sometimes, there is just enough time for a grab-shot photo on the iPhone. It's the best I can do at that moment.

"View from The High Line, Manhattan, New York" — 28 September 2014 — Apple iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ 1/10000s at ISO 32

Being without my Nikon1 has forced me to use my iPhone 7. The camera on the iPhone 7 is much better than the camera on my previous iPhones. But I am less happy with recent images taken with the iPhone 7 and less willing to use it in general. But by using a DSLR for most of the pictures I captured over the last few years, I seem to have forgotten how to compose and think through capturing images with the iPhone. Looking back through my catalogue over the last few years, I have many old iPhone images of which I am proud.

Beach, Sunset, Rodanthe, Pier, North Carolina
"Rodanthe Beach, Outer Banks, North Carolina" — 3 September 2015 — Apple iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ the 60s at ISO 32

Why am I so stuck now? Why am I not even trying? Why am I struggling to put my "best foot forward"? Have I become one who thinks one can only capture a good photo on expensive high-end equipment. I hope not!!

Self Portrait, Carnegie Lake, Princeton, New Jersey
"Self Portrait, Carnegie Lake, Princeton, New Jersey" — 5 November 2015 — Apple iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ f/2.2, ISO 32

For the last few weeks, while driving along Mapleton Road on the border between Plainsboro and Princeton Township, I have observed the beautiful morning sun that illuminates the expensive homes on the western side of Carnegie Lake. There is no place to stop and take a photo. But I am determined, and perhaps tomorrow I will arise before dawn, drive to the southern end of Mapleton Road, park my car at the entrance to the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park Trail, and walk the trail, with the tripod and iPhone 7, north toward that area. I expect the walk will be pretty cold.

Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, Princeton, New Jersey
"Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve, Princeton, New Jersey" — 31 October 2015 — Apple iPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 @ f/2.2, ISO 32
  1. Dropped! Broken! ↩