Tag: Plainsboro

Sometimes the rain brings ...

This was an unplanned shot. I read somewhere that one can find a good sunset following rain. It rained intermittently all day. The pavement was wet when I looked out my bedroom window this morning. Perhaps that was in the back of my mind when I walked out of my doctor's appointment and noticed that it had rained slightly during my appointment. I looked up at the sky and then quickly drove up Route 27 along Carnegie Lake to the Kingston end of the D&R Canal trail.

I wasn't sure I would find a good place to shoot the sunset. The dam is under repair so the area I thought I might use was not accessible. I walked along looking for a clearing in the trees. The golden light was fading fast.

I had some challenges with the tripod. I recently changed to an Arca Swiss style clamp and camera bracket. In my haste, I brought with me only the tripod, camera remote, and level. This proved to be a mistake. The Arca Swiss bracket was loose. The Allen wrench was in the camera bag in the car. I tightened as best I could with my keys. I had to do this several times in between shots.

I didn't realize it but the battery in the camera was almost exhausted. After about four sets of bracketed images, the battery gave out. Good thing too. I was so engrossed in focusing and composing the shot I did not notice that the light was fading fast and the sunset was almost ended. I had a long walk back to the car.

The image is a three exposure HDR from Photomatix. I applied a filter I created in Adobe Lightroom. What do you think?

Terrarium Class at Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co. in Princeton

Shaan had bugged me for a while to help him make a terrarium. I've created terrariums in the past — before he was born — but I prefer aquariums because I have more experience with them. I've created aquariums since I was his age. I wanted him to learn on his own but I didn't feel confident in my ability to guide him. Sometimes I can get ... "intense" and ruin the experience. Fortunately, I didn't have to. I found out about a terrarium-making class being offered at the Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co at the Princeton Forrestal Village store and signed him up. I've used them before to deliver flowers for my wife on our anniversary so I knew we were in for some special treatment. Our host, Georgianne Vinicombe and her staff, Alana and Sheryl, were quite welcoming. We were treated to a spread of cheese and wine (sparkling water for the teetotalers) while we mingled with the other guests. I met a mother and daughter, Amanda, who were taking the class together and several other friendly women and one gentleman.

After mingling a bit we moved to the back of the store where Alana and Sheryl instructed us about choosing materials and plants and the finer points of creating a terrarium in an open glass sphere.

Shaan, Terrarium, Monday Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co, Princeton Forrestal Village, Plainsboro
15 August 2012 · Nikon D40 · AF-S Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

Shaan chose a unique combination of small tropical plants with butterflies as decorative accents. I loved his choice of plants, especially the fern. I love ferns.

Shaan, Terrarium, Monday Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co, Princeton Forrestal Village, Plainsboro
15 August 2012 · Nikon D40 · AF-S Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

Shaan's terrarium is different from the types that I've built in the past. I've always used a base of activated charcoal, followed by fine sand or small pebbles topped with soil. For this terrarium, Shaan used two sizes of small pebbles, on top of which he layered potting soil. The sand he used was more decorative than the substrate.

Shaan, Terrarium, Monday Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co, Princeton Forrestal Village, Plainsboro
15 August 2012 · Nikon D40 · AF-S Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

At first, Shaan had decided that he would decorate with only the two butterflies.

However, he had a burst of creativity and decided to add a few more items, including a small blue bird. Blue is his favourite colour.

Shaan, Terrarium, Monday Monday Morning Flower and Balloon Co, Princeton Forrestal Village, Plainsboro
15 August 2012 · Nikon D40 · AF-S Nikkor 35 mm f/1.8G

Shaan had fun creating his terrarium. He wanted to stay and do another one but I was too tired from activities earlier in the day. I promised him we take another class which I think is offered in September. Will I see you there?