Tag: Tuesday Photo Challenge

Photo of the Week

The only photographs I captured this past week are from dinner at Rocky Hill Inn to celebrate my nephews ninth birthday. The weather was cold and wet this week, through the weekend. It snowed on Thursday night, and Friday morning, a layer of snowfall and rain made the roads slick. The second layer of snow fell on the driveway very early on Saturday morning. I bundled up in layers of clothing to clear that layer before the hail on Saturday evening. Just as I was creating this post on Sunday evening, my iPhone weather app just alerted me with a winter storm warning. Heavy snow is expected.

This image is of the more formal dining area of the Rocky Hill Inn. It was made by running it through Nik's Dfine 2 to remove some noise. Then it was passed through Nik's Silver EFX Pro 2 to convert it to black and white. Then finally it was processed through Topaz Lab's Clean 3. I layered one image processing task after the other to create the final result.

Since it's the only image I have from my "camera roll", it will be submitted for both challenges.

Best Photo of the Week is personal photography project where I post the best image captured that week. The picture will be posted at the end of the week. That will be a Sunday. I can take one or 100 photos for the week, but I will post only one, the best one.

*Created by photographer Frank Jansen, the Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve

I walked on the path cut into the grassland, encountered ice and swamp-like mud. I slipped and slid, twisted and hurt something in my right foot. But I didn't know that at the time. Just a lingering feeling that I had overdone it. That something wasn't right.

Planes crawled across the sky over Franklin Township, travelling to and fro Newark Liberty International Airport. I walked on the path cut into the grassland and encountered ice and swamp-like mud. I slipped and slid, twisted and hurt something in my right foot. But I didn't know that at the time. Just a lingering feeling that I had overdone it. That something wasn't right.

While perusing the REI online store, I learned about the Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve. I was checking out the sales items and saw a link for the REI Hiking Project. Thirty minutes later, I downloaded the Hiking Project app and looked at a list of nearby possibilities for a hike. I decided to try the Griggstown Native Grassland because it was close to home. A grassland hike would differ from my usual hikes in the Sourland Mountain Preserve.

I rented a Fujinon XF27mmF2.8 pancake lens for a weekend trip to visit my brother in Charlotte, North Carolina. We had to postpone our plans, and while I could cancel my flight and hotel booking, I forgot about the lens rental. I felt I had to get some value from the lens, so I put it on my Fuji X-T2 and brought it with me on my hike. With a ~41mm full-frame sensor equivalent field of view, the XF27mmF2.8 provides a field of view roughly equal to that of the human eye. The photos would give a "Khürt's Eye View" of the hike on this hike.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200

I drove along Canal Road, and despite using Google Maps, I almost missed the preserve entrance. The entrance is via a narrow dirt road that winds its way around the trailhead. Hikers have parked two other cars. I grabbed my stuff and walked to the information shed to look for a map. I could not understand the map on the back of the shed.

I pulled out the Hiking Project app, which has GPS to pinpoint my location. One thing to note about using a GPS app on a smartphone. They are only accurate to about 50 feet. To increase accuracy, these apps often use cellular or Wi-Fi signals. The Hiking Project app uses the GPS information from my iPhone and the cellular signal to place my location on its preserve map. The hiking app won't accurately locate you on its map if you are in an area with a poor (or no) cellular signal. Your phone knows your coordinates, but the app does not.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200

I got some information about the two gentlemen preparing to hike in the preserve. There was a small Blue Trail and a larger Red Trail. I decided to take the Red Trail.

The trails are not well marked. I walked across the wide grassland trail and felt a sense of openness. This is rare here in New Jersey. I walked across a bridge and around a path that took me to an abandoned shipping container. Ironically the words, Evergreen, were printed on the side. I continued walking and realised that I had just walked in a circle.

Remember what I wrote earlier about GPS and cellular signals? I consulted the Hiking Project app and realised I had walked off the trail. I walked back across the bridge and re-entered the trail. This part of the trail was very wet, soggy, and muddy. It didn't help that the trail path was cut through the grass. I was walking on wet grass on top of damp soil.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200
Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200

I walked up this hill, slippery from water frozen into shoe prints leftover from another hiker. At the top was a park bench, and I stopped for a moment to take in the Sourland Mountain Range view. It looked so small in the distance.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200
Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200
Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200

I consulted the Hiking Project app and realised I was almost done with the red trail. Ahead across large patches of ice, lay the path to the Orange Trail. I slid my way across, slowly crawling to the other side. The path ahead was again soggy and wet. Arriving at the fork in the trail to start the orange trail, I saw even more ice and wet, muddy areas. I reconsidered my options. Take the exit path back to the trailhead or complete the orange trail. I decided I had had enough and took the route back to the car.

Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200
Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve
FujiFilm X-T2 | XF27mmF2.8 @ 27 mm | f/8.0 | ISO200

It was 3:30 AM when I uploaded these photos. I was in pain. I couldn't get to sleep because of the intensity of the pain. I uploaded the images, posted a link on Frank's website's comments section, and went back to bed. This morning my wife took me to the doctor. I had a sprained tendon and will wear a boot for a few weeks while my foot heals.

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.

Growth

This morning I convinced Bhavna to take a walk with me along the Raritan and Canal Park Trail. The sun was out, the air was ... well cold, but I wanted to find some images for Frank's challenge keyword, "Growth".

We slid on a few layers of clothing and drove over to the park entrance just off Mapleton Road on the border with Princeton and Plainsboro. I fully expected to find nothing but leafless trees and my first image was just what I expected.

Bridge between the Millstone, D&R Canal and Carnegie Lake — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (30.2 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

We walked along the inner trail closest to Carnegie Lake and talked about our youngest going off to college this fall, our future travel plans, life etc., while I kept an eye out for "growth". We passed a young Asian couple going the opposite way. The man wore a Michigan beanie hat and we spoke briefly. It was a gift from his brother in Michigan. I mentioned that I completed my master's degrees at the University of Michigan.

The man with the Michigan hat — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, f/5.6, ISO1600), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

Bhavna and I walked past Harrison Street to Washington Street then turned around for the walk back.

 

Washington Road, Princeton, New Jersey — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (30.2 mm, f/5.6, ISO1600), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

We found the young couple still wandering near the water's edge. I heard what I thought was a bird so I approached them where they were standing. I was hoping I might get a photo of the bird.

Making fozen lake sounds with rocks — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (28.3 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

They were tossing rocks onto the frozen water of the lake. The rocks bounced around making this very cool noise that sounded like a laser or chirping bird. The sound seemed to depend on the size of the stone and where he threw the rocks.

Underneath the ice, the water of the lake isn’t solid. The ice vibrates up and down, similar to a drumhead or cymbal vibrating after being struck. The lake amplifies the sound which we heard as chirping.

I found this video on YouTube showing what it sounds like. It's so cool!

Extant Lifeform — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (37.6 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

Bhavna saw some holly shrubs so we stopped so I could take some photos. We continued on our way. That young couple must have walked past us because they were in front of us taking some of something in a thicket of fallen tree branches. They called out to me excitedly. They had discovered some interesting mushrooms growing on the fallen branches.

Fan Blades — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

I had finally found the growth of photography I was seeking!

The mushrooms were growing in clusters and stuck out from the sides of the dead tree branches like little shelves. According to my research, these shelf mushrooms are a parasitic wood tree rotting group. However, the infected trees provide nesting sites for birds and squirrels. These rots attack the top of a tree, the heartwood inside, and the base of the stem. The tree stem often breaks as a result even though the tree is still alive. The mycelium, body of the fungus, decomposes chemicals in the tree cells.

Steps — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

After photographing our find we drove to the REI store to get some hiking shoes for me and Bhavna. In the past we have "hibernated" for the winter, staying inside to avoid the cold. I wanted to find ways past that to enjoy the outdoors even in winter. That means dressing in layers so we could take hikes in the Sourlands Mountains or along the D&R Canal towpath. Last month, I bought some clothing for this purpose.

I hope that being outside during winter, pushing past my discomfort and loathing of the lifeless grey of the skies and the tree line, will help me grow my photography skills.

Dead Growth — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
Other signs of growth on the lake — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (24.9 mm, f/5.6, ISO1600), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
Jolly Holly — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (19.4 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
Nature Trail — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (31.1 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (55 mm, f/5.6, ISO200), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams
Millstone River — FujiFilm X-T2 + Fujifilm XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ (16 mm, f/5.6, ISO1600), Copyright 2019-02-10 Khürt L. Williams

The Tuesday Photo Challenge is a weekly theme-based challenge for photographers of all kinds to share both new and old photography.