Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. Minimal manipulation in post processing.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. Minimal manipulation in post processing. In this one I was trying to get the groups lined up but only the middle one in focus.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. Minimal manipulation in post processing. This is right on the front porch as it came off the camera with just basic RAW processing and then of course JPG compression for web output.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. This is not as vibrant as I would have like, I guess a filter might have helped, had real trouble with the lighting. Human eye made this so appealing, the iPhone not at all, at least the Fuji X-T4 does it some justice.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. This is the snow encrusted Joe Py weed which hits 12’ easy every year. Dominique leaves the dried stalks and heads up for along time to nourish the insects. This early snow was wet and heavy and I wanted to capture the head in focus with the stalk curving off into a blurred background. Took some light masking and playing to correct the light balance.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. This iron urn hosts a rotating flower based on the season. Not as open a picture light wise as I would like but I needed to get back in the house!

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. The park we live on (Wellesley Park) has some large statues and urns thanks to a persistent neighbor. I thought this shot would be easy, turns out, even with a tight crop, it was less successful than I wanted. Snow shooting is REALLY tough. I guess some lessons are in order.

Storm Zeta hit Boston with more snow than expected. Decided to tromp around and take some pictures with the new X-T4 and the trusty 18-55mm lens. A perennial favorite of mine shooting myriad branches, I am still hard pressed to get it right. The snow makes it so appealing, and in this I was trying to line up the Vinson street sign as some background. I think the focus sharpness on the snow is decent……

It has been a long time since I rode with my Dad, before his hip replacement. I was on my way to downhill at Highland Mountain when he texted me on one a late autumn Sunday, looking to see if Dominique and I would like to do his South Shore loop and then have lunch. Turned around and swapped the downhill bike for my Evil hardtail and a dude named Steve for a wife named Dominique and we were off to ride. Almost every shot I took stank, I was using my Fuji X-E3 with the 27MM lens- ok for static city shots but not a sporty fast shooter…..

Neighbor Ike and Tom’s Queen Anne, a little out of focus because my hands were numb and eyes watering from the cold!

I like the perspective of the handles in this tight aperture shot. The pumpkin is in focus, everything else softly and swiftly out of focus..

I like the pumpkin sticking out. Neighbor Nick makes found object arrangements in his yard and gardens…..

Park and Waldeck, being revived by two h7sbandsnwhomdo all 5e work themselves. Follow them on Instagram….

Truly massive home with a gorgeous metal roofed tower, recently visible after large adjacent trees were removed

Alone on Melville Ave is this example of a more formal neoclassical almost federal or Georgian style?

A personal favorite of Dominique’s , the thistle inspired our own , the proportions of this home are near perfect.

Classic.

Sun poking through heavy cloud makes for a slight visual pun…..

Snow piled on top of fence posts sculpted by wind. Heavy edit and crop..

Nixon St railing caked in snow from the nor’easter winds

Serene, the black white set off by the snow and grey sky. One of a pair we call the Mather St Sisters..

Holiday display topped with fresh snow, Mather St.

A proper farmhouse in the heart of the neighborhood.

A favorite home, it photographs nicely in the snow

Friends home on upland, difficult to photograph because of the trees.

What punny name for a winter storm!

Trying for the perspective shot. A certain someone is getting her citizenship in their at that moment….Shot on X-T4, developed in LightRoom CC,

Wanted a centered shot, on cold winter day in January 2021. Cropped and manipulated to dramatize the pylons and the sky. Shot on X-T4, developed in Lightroom CC.

I like the shape and rust, and the light and shadow falling onto the massive gear. Shot on X-T4, developed in Lightroom CC.

Shot from the Colonel Richard Gridley Locks, the shadows of the Zakim cables falls across the ice floes. Reflected in the water as well are the suppor cables. Shot on X-T4, developed in LightroomCC

Shot of the deck of the Zakim, the North Bank Pedestrian Bridge (middle right) and the North Station RR bascule bridge with MBTA commuter rail crossing. This trio is inspired by Dominique who took the shot from the other side at North Point Playground. Shot on X-T4 and developed in LightroomCC.

How do think this treatment came out? Unique shots of the Zakim are impossible to come by, it is so photogenic, but getting a unique angle or perspective is challenging as most of the approaches are active highways! Shot from the Lovejoy Wharf MBTA ferry terminal raised platform, on my Fuji X-T4, developed in Lightroom CC.

A complete mistake. But I like it.

Are we in Narnia? Gas lamps? No, Wellesley Park. On neighborhood, Feb 2021 as we trudge to the local watering hole through a small blizzard. Old montreal habits….well, actually, we never walked around in Montreal in blizzards, we kind of took it up as a thing when we moved to Boston, said “We are ex-Montrealers, this is nothing like a real Canadian blizzard!” and decided to head out from Elm Street in Brookline one cold night for a stroll through Brookline Village….

Hanging out in the COVID Cabana outback at the Ashmont Grill. I am happy because this shot was exactly as I intended. Tight focus on the near globes, loose/almost bokeh (well, some day, when I get a better zoom lens) for the rest. I like the tight depth of field. And the in camera stabilization of the X-T4 was solid.

The COVID cabana, this time I was trying to shoot thru the glass windows (actually recycled storm windows, amazing creation by the Ashmont Grill’s Chris) - miss Chouteau hates having her likeness capture in pixels…..this one is not unflattering?

I took a lot of shots of the snow laden trees with lighting underneath and behind them…..this is NOT my favorite but Ms Chouteau liked it and I did some minimal treatment (mainly vignette to push the attention towards the light under the tree).

I like this shot, mainly because it was very hard to take (for me) - the snow was blinding and I had a drink (or two) on board. I got most of what I intended - tight depth of focus, sharp focus on the sign, soft focus of the snow and the tree in the foreground. Could not line up the lamppost and any other letter without the tree limbs blocking most of the shot….

I tried an off the cuff no focus shot of the 215 bus rushing by as we walked home down Dorchester Ave during the snow (feb 2021). Dominique says “meh”. I dunno, I put it back in the line up….I kind of like it.

For a relapsed catholic, I do like my saints and virgins covered in snow…..this pair is outside the St Marks church on Dorchester Ave.

This style shot is something I attempt a lot, and yes, my three readers (well, reading? maybe viewers at least) I have bored and tormented you many times with my tight depth of field shots of snow on top of some object. Here I give you four granite pillars, outside the Shawmut MBTA Redline station.

I like the form and texture of the massive black metal piece with the rusty flange hole. It was shot through the chain link fence using my X-E3, 27mm fixed lens. MBTA Red Line Yard, South Boston

A detail of one the massive support columns being placed around the tracks at South Station for the new tower going up over the station and the tracks. I like the rust, and the bolts of course. Fuji X-E3, 27mm fixed lens.

I guess this is vertically mounted rail car hookup, in the South Station terminal. Looks like a face to me but then 30% of my visual cortex is dedicated to facial recognition……Now if I could remember their name……

The twist of the iron and the sweep of the street…..Melcher Street in Fort Channel district of Boston (where does the Seaport end and Fort Point begin)……

I guess its a rusty metal theme….Looking through staircase between Summer St and A St.

Does this work? Heavily edited to bring the birds out from the gloom of the overcast sky….

South Station under construction, I could not get good shots of the crane, I had a fixed lens and I still have trouble adjusting for shooting straight up into the overcast sky…..

This was hanging out abandoned on the street outside the welding shop across from the Gillette factory in South Boston. Slightly enhanced :-0 I of course like the patina and the shape and the stamped lettering and those sexy sexy Hex head bolts.

Swirly architectural detail that adorns the building Menton is In on Summer St. This unfortunately is compressed JPEG because the full one was huge (21MB) which SQUARESPACE limits to 20MB. Most of you won’t notice any difference since you are most likely looking at this on a telephone screen and not a large monitor…..

A visit to Allendale Farm in the early spring of 2021. I forget this guy’s name but he and his brother are fixtures at the farm.

Blue blue blue. I kind of liked it…..heavy edit to remove the darn price stickers :-)

At least I think they are pansies…..I think the tight focus and color popped

A close up of a flower I am supposed to the know the name of…..its yellow? Hanging at the entrance to the Allandale store waiting for COVID capacity constraints to allow us in….oh 2021 how I hate you.

A perennial favorite of mine, it is a difficult one to shoot. This was a late September day when the light was glorious and the sky dramatic. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

Did this come though? The reflection and drama of the sky on the glass? The change line up of the street lamp posts and the tower?

This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

I love the light, the multiple shot bracket really helps get the range of light and color as opposed to a single shot….More like my eye saw the scene than what the camera actually sees. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

I liked the sheen and glimmer of the letters in the late day autumn light. And the Skys and the brick warmed up by the low angle sun. This was enhanced a bit (letters only) to make that shimmer pop.. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

Because I tarried and took an early shot, I missed the head on shot (this one) in the glorious low angle sun breaking through the late September clouds. I caught that light in the oblique view but missed it by literally a minute running to shoot this head on….I want to do a golden hour to evening shoot at the plant with tripods sometime soon with the great winter light. Some burnishing of the silos in post processing. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

Second shot taken when the sun peeked through the clouds again….. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

Not as successful as I wanted, framing the vent building (I have been in there, we worked on it in 2019) with the reflection and the buoys. Masking to bring the sky down to acceptable levels. This is a five shot AE bracket with 1-1/3 stop spacing merged in Lightroom, shot on my Fuji X-T4 with XF35mmF2.

A single shot blue hour…..from the middle of the street between stop lights…..not as focussed as it should be and the ISO is grainy……..I had to stop in the middle of the street and block turning traffic….X-T4 with the XF35mmF2

A sign, yes, pedestrian, yes, it’s been a tough week for nice photos. This is a another synthetic photo, AE bracket, 7 shots, 1-1/3 stops per shot. X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & LRC post.

Just a quick shot of some musicians as we crossed Mass Ave in Central Square one day on our way to Artisan and Craftsman. Single shot from X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & LRC post.

I was bored and tried my old trick of tightly shot small vignettes while Dominique shopped for artist supplies. Single shot X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & LRC post.

I took a walk from Dorchester to downtown Boston on an overcast day to meet Dominique after her USK Boston Sunday sketching at City Hall Plaza. Not many good shots from the day, since the light was horrible. A couple of kids were throwing bread into the air, making the seagulls swarm, so I tried to switch from my (failed) focus bracket trials to some high speed shots. Better than usual using the Fuji autofocus but stilll….Single shot, X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens, heavy Adobe PS and LRC post processing to recover something…..Dominique requested B&W and then more contrast, I couldn’t get the request #2 accommodated..

Color version, heavily processed in Photoshop and Lightroom. X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens, PS and LRC post. I like it better than the B&W. But all the shots that day were bleh from the overcast…..

Detail, super zoomed, seagulls fighting on Carson Beach in Boston for scraps of bread. The off shore breeze let them hang in the air, scrambling and squabbling, X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & LRC post, maybe some PS for sky…

Full scene of the seagulls hanging in the breeze at the beach, as this kid through bread to them. Heavy post processing, I like Photoshop “Select Sky”, easier than masking my Skys but then I had to do separate layers for Levels, Contrast and added a Photo Filter in Blue to recolor the sky from the leaden gray. X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & PS & LRC post.

This is NOT a good photo but an attempt to rescue something from a lousy light day……Seven AE bracket shots, 1-1/3 stops apart, X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & PS and LRC post. I like the rust and the paint but close up the synthetic blending errors are horrible.

Waiting for my Dominique outside her Mecca of DSW….some skateboarders were repeatedly trying tricks in front of me so I HAD to take out the camera. Should have been closer for most of the shots, hence, why you will never see them, but this one was okay. X-T4 with XF35mmF2 lens & LRC post.

Not a really great picture, hand held AE bracket merged in Lightroom HDR and then cleaned with Topaz AI

There were a lot of gaudy over stuffed with gables and hideous Pallatine windows on the cliff walk. This was a view with a refreshing normalcy.

Another heavy edit to recover some color and push Ms Chouteau and the lighthouse out of the grey. sky and water

Moderately successful, composition is not great, the berry is nice and prominent with blurred out background. I had to rely on focus cleaning with Topaz, I really am having trouble with manual focus with my cheaper 18-55 zoom….trying all sorts of modes but I wonder if Santa is bringing me that new fuji lens I asked for…..

Really tough to make that bonsai like bush pop from the rocks….

I like this one actually.

Shot from high on the cliff, I liked the water, the log, the pebbles, larger than pebbles, the French word <<galets>> is a better description. 5 frame AE bracket merged in LR HDR.

We really like the panels installed on the walk detailing not just the few hundred year European use or few thousand year Native American history in the area but the geology of the area. Hundreds of millions of years ago, New England was a splinter of the proto-African continent that floated across the narrow pre-Atlantic ocean and merged with the ancient mass that became North America. Ancient volcanic activity, from different eras, dating back many hundred of millions of years, evidenced in the multiple light and dark basalt layers, occasional basalt columns and intrusions of variously huge granites.

Most striking are the twisted and folded metamorphic rocks along the shore. Hundreds of millions of years of depositing, squeezing, and folding from the pressure of the mid-Atlantic rift pushing the open open, all so a recently evolved organism can gaze for a few moments at the stony remains of distant ancestors who dwelt and died in a shallow precambrian sea.