What a wonderful surprise! I have seen swans on our lake before but it has been several years, and the pair then had no brood so this was a special moment for me. Fortunately, I had my long zoom with me.
Olympus OMD-EM1-MkII with the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 processed in PS Express.
May Evening © Steven Willard
I had to take a drive to the Post Office and took one of the long ways home. This is a part Connecticut where narrow two lane roads are bordered by old stone walls.
Olympus OM-D EM-1 MkII with 12-40mm f2.8 zoom lens, processed in Snapseed.
End of April and trees are bursting with buds. I guess if you live in a town called Woodbury, trees should be expected.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk II with Olympus 40-150 f2.8 pressed in Snapseed.
To those who have followed this site for a while it will be obvious that I have been off my game for several months. Now I’ve been practicing photography for more than sixty years and am no stranger of the occasional dry spell. You know what I mean; I never leave home without a camera and keep my eyes open for possible images, but I just haven’t been able to press the shutter button. In the past this might have lasted for a few weeks, maybe even a month, but this spell has gone on way too long, something had to be done.
In the past I might have picked a up a new piece of gear or looked for some new locations to get the juices flowing again. This time I’m trying a new approach; instead of spending money on new hardware I bought a beautiful print at a local gallery.
I have spent way less for a new camera and lens, but this time I’m hoping for inspiration through the work of another photographer, to sit down and talk about photography, to compare experiences.
Olympus Pen F and Olympus 25mm f1.8 Processed in Snapseed.
Located in the center of Bethlehem, CT the gardens and buildings of Bellamy-Ferriday offer a variety of architectural shapes and patterns.
Olympus Pen F with Laowa 6mm f2. lens processed in PS Express and Snapseed.
Out for short morning walk. I was surprised how much this image looked like some I made last Fall.
Olympus E-M1 with Laowa f2. 6mm lens, processed in Snapseed.
Woodbury, Connecticut © Steven Willard
Woodbury is old. Not the oldest town in Connecticut, but it attracts no small collection of people interested in antiques and old houses. The oldest house in town is the Glebe House, which dates from 1740. The Glebe House was the site of the first Episcopal election in the United States. It has been properly restored and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Needless to say, not all old houses are special only because of their age, and consequently not all of them are saved; this is one of those.
Pentax K-5IIs with FA 50mm f1.4 processed in Snapseed and Stackables.
The first time I saw this playhouse I was reminded of the 1948 film “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House”,starring Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and a wonderfully understated Melvin Douglas. The Blandings family is feeling crowded in their New York City apartment and decides to move to a house in Connecticut that needs some remodeling. Somewhere along the line what was a intended as a fix-up turns into a major makeover. Along the way, we meet Connie, played by Betsy Marshall, as the defender of the under privileged, and Louise Beavers as the family cook who saves the day for Mr. Blanding’s advertising campaign.
Well, I could only imagine the Blandings getting carried away in the construction of the playhouse that attempts to satisfy everyone’s wants.
Pentax K5IIs with Pentax FA 50mm f1.4 lens, processed Lightroom and Snapseed.
So far this winter I don’t think we have had more than two inches of snow and everyone agrees temperatures are higher than normal. Perhaps this is the new normal, but it was cold enough the last couple of nights to ice over this pond.
This is another working test of the new Laowa 6mm f2.0 lens, processed as usual in Snapseed on my IPad Pro. As far as I can see so far it’s a keeper.
Abandoned grain silo, Roxbury, Connecticut © Steven Willard
If you have never been to Connecticut it’s possible your vision of the state is more about the I-95 corridor and the urban build up one sees from that busy freeway. It’s easy to be persuaded that that is a fair representation of the state; it’s not. Much of the state was farm land, and though many of those farms have quit the business the evidence of their former existence still remains. Barns, fences and the sight of abandoned farm implements left to rust in fallow fields are common. So too are grain silos.
I have passed this silo in Roxbury more times than I can recall, but it wasn’t until recently I bothered to stop and explore with my camera. I do remember that there was a barn attached to the silo up until about five years ago when it was lost to fire; whether it was hit by lightning or someone set it alight is unknown to me, but here stands all that is left of the farm. The graffiti was not visible from the road or I probably would have stopped sooner. To whom the artist refers is a mystery.
Olympus OMD-EM1 MkII with Laowa f2.0/6mm lens.
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