August 17, 2023 - Common loon on a still Pawtuckaway Lake, Nottingham, New Hampshire, USA. [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450mm; f5.6, 450mm, 1/3200s, ISO 25600 - Enhanced noise reduction in Adobe Lightroom]
After being harassed by several ravens, a Cooper's hawk goes on the offensive. Pawtuckaway Lake, Nottingham, New Hampshire, USA [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450 mm; f5.6, 450mm, 1/2500s, ISO 1600]
wildlife photography
American Goldfinch raiding the sunflowers seeds
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Thanks! It was just one shot (out of MANY I took that afternoon) where the finch and the sunflower were in the same focal plane relative to the camera. So even though it was f5.6, both were in focus. Lately I've been shooting in TAv mode on my Pentax K-1 - fixing the shutter speed and aperture, letting the ISO vary. Modern digital cameras already have pretty low noise at ISO's I used to think of as "high" on film. (I'm old enough to have "pushed" ISO 1000 film a couple additional stops in the darkroom.) Lightroom's new Noise Reduction function is another game changer.
Two pair of goldfinches spent the afternoon eating sunflower and cosmos seeds in our front yard today. [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450 mm; f5.6, 410 mm, 1/3200, ISO 3200, Adobe Lightroom noise reduction]
Sunlight streaming through the lens of an old lighthouse lamp at the Cape Ann Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts USA 
This red-tailed hawk in our neighbor's tree was being harassed by a herring gull and finally vacated the tree. Melrose, Massachusetts, USA Photo is a compilation of 12 individual shots assembled in Photoshop. [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450 mm; settings vary]
wildlife photography
Red-Winged Blackbird Enjoying a Sunset
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
I hope you are enjoying your time at the hospital! I've spent some time there... :)
Red-winged blackbird on an iron fence enjoying a lovely sunset across Ell Pond, Melrose, Massachusetts, USA [Pentax K-3, PENTAX-DA 55-300mm; ƒ/7.1, 300.0 mm, 1/1000, ISO 1600]
Red-tailed Hawk in a pine tree just beyond our backyard. A herring gull was circling our house, yelling at the hawk until it moved to this tree.
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Wow! I just saw one of these for the first time in our local market today. My first thought was somewhere between, "that's something Fed Flintstone would eat!" and "that's too much!". I fell better seeing it sliced and divided up... A meal for 4?
Great preparation, including the roasted asparagus!
Massachusetts
Lightning over Boston Last Night
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
I had taken my dog out earlier and she just sat on a neighbors lawn and refused to budge. She knew what was coming and didn't take any chances.
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Well I WAS going for pretentious, but I agree "recomposée" may work better... but it doesn't SOUND better, I love the sound of "amélioré" (a lovely French word that even my grating Boston accent can't mess up...too badly...)
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Delete?!?!? Maybe just EDIT the offending words away? 😀
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
All true! - I can't/won't defend myself! Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!
But by way of further explanation, the faux French and intentional pretentiousness was in the context of yet another boring and unimaginative office party centered around bad take-out Chinese food and pizza. Walking around cubicle-land wearing a chef's jacket, wielding a blowtorch and formally serving these - whatever they should be called - was just part of the fun. 🙂
I was attempting to develop a variation on poutine that I'm calling "Poutine Amélioré". Here they are out-of-the-oven, baked and cheesed. I packed them in Tupperware and brought them to the office party the next day, where I will finished them off: - cut gelatinized chicken reduction into small cubes and placed one in each potato cube. - fired up a blow torch (OK, a small culinary blow torch, but a blow torch nonetheless) and melted the reduction while warming the potato/cheese. Served.
July 5, 2023 - Mass Audubon's Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield, Massachusetts, USA [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450 mm; f/6.3, 450 mm, 1/2500, ISO 2500]
A window in the Shaker House at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, Massachusetts, USA. Fruitlands was a short-lived Utopian Community founded by Louisa May Alcott's father and she lived there for about 6 months. The Shaker House was later moved there from a nearby community, as part of a preservation project. This house was used in the filming of the 2019 version of "Little Women."
Looking South towards Boston, here's a composite of several photos with lightning from last night's storm. I think I missed the better/earlier weather cell that blew through.
wildlife photography
Bird
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
A Song sparrow!
For our upcoming high school graduations, my mother took my brother and I on a Caribbean cruise in February 1978. This was early in the morning as the ship was arriving in port - I remember it being Port au Prince? The photo was taken with a cheap Kodak camera but I was really happy with the way it came out. I consider this my first "good" photograph.
Skating rink at the Frog Pond on Boston Common, Boston, Massachusetts [Google Pixel 6; f/1.9. 6.8 mm, 1/25, ISO 608]
July 12, 2023 - female Ruby-throated hummingbird in our garden, visiting the crocosmia. [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450mm; f/6.3, 450mm, 1/4000, ISO 12,800; enhanced noise reduction in Lightroom]
July 14, 2023 - mid-day outing to Revere Beach (Revere, Massachusetts) for a stroll and lunch at Bianchi's. - Piping plover mom and chicks [Pentax K-1, Pentax-D FA 150-450 mm; f/6.3, 450 mm, 1/600, ISO 500]
Morning view of lower Washington Street, including the Paramount Theater, in Boston, Massachusetts. Overnight rain and melting snow make for wet, slippery sidewalks and street. [Google Pixel 6; f/1.9, 6.8 mm, 1/898, ISO 38]
Massachusetts
*Permanently Deleted*
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Not only does the beach have to be "posted", but there are now systems in place to receive electronic notification if you want, and to look online for the details... location of the outfalls, sampling data, etc... Check out: https://www.mass.gov/guides/sanitary-sewer-systems-combined-sewer-overflows
Massachusetts
*Permanently Deleted*
Niamtougou1983 1 year ago • 100%
Going back a few more years, here's a 1957 photo my father took from about the same spot!