Tomorrow is the first day of winter and, to this point, autumn has been an odd assortment of cold and warm. There is little hint of snow to be seen and if there is anything for Christmas Day, for all who like a white Christmas, it will be just a few flurries mixed with a lot of rain. The weather of late is not at all what we would expect and has not been so for a few years now. Most of my friends understand that the climate is changing, but one or two are steadfast deniers and will reference some scientist’s rebuttal as proof that it just is not so…..or “Hey, it was pretty cold last winter”. But the majority of climatologists vouch for the change and I am in line with their thinking. OTOH, I am not a scientist and am not here to change anyone’s mind. Time will tell, although it probably will prove out after I am gone.
This morning was frustrating. It seems that most mornings when I head out the sky looks relatively promising from my neighborhood. But I cannot see the horizon from here and today, as all too often, when I did see it there was a huge cloud bank that ended up blocking the sun for a couple of hours before things cleared up. I am not sure why this happens so often. Of course, when I am driving in to work around sunrise the sky does not seem so overcast. Go figure. 🙂
Today’s image is from a past autumn in Belchertown, MA. This particular scene is along a part of the Monadnock-Metacomet Trail that is managed by the Appalachian Mountain Club. Unfortunately, much of Hop Brook has received a lot of deadfall recently and most will just stay there for a few years until they rot and heavy rains and spring melt swell the flow to wash them downstream. For now, this location no longer resembles what you see here.
This is from November of 2005 and still remains one of my favorite stream shots. Captured with a Canon 10D (my first digital camera) and a 28-135 lens, f/16@1.5sec, ISO 100.
It is a beauty Steve. We are all white here – I sound like a waskly wabbit saying that. But not as much snow as the average for this time of year. The climate has certainly changed and is continuing to change. I wouldn’t buy any land in southern Florida for the long term unless you like undersea gardens.
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Thanks, Rod. Maybe Busch Gardens will have to change their theme. I envy your snow.
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I see why this is one of your favorite photographs. The exposure seems spot on. I like how the water flows over the flat rock in the center without breaking for an inch or two over the side. Plus those wispy streamers below the falls are nice.
As to climate change, I also understand it to be taking place in many places and in a variety of manifestations. You probably gather that from my posts. It is a slow moving change. People don’t notice it because it is embedded within the bigger changes of daily sensible weather for them. When looking at the longer term trends and data of things invisible to our senses, it is declaring itself to be present.
I’m not against progress. But, it must be mindful and done with intelligence. Future resources and generations will pay the price for our carelessness today. My father was a farmer. He understood that his resource of the land was his lifeblood for the future. He knew it was important to be a good steward of the land and to care for it. We need more of that attitude. We all need to be good stewards of the Earth.
I hope the solstice is good for you. We are under a large and dense cloud shield in the midwest. No sun and no snow yet. Fog and mist are out there now.
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I think the incrementality of the changes is what causes so much doubt or resistance from folks who need evidence in order to make changes. It seems that the need for work and capitalism’s requirement of growth and profit will resist any changes that will cost. And then there are some who just stubbornly refuse to accept such things as they are mostly supported by left-leaning liberals who just won’t leave things alone as they have historically worked just fine. The problem there is that by the time it is so evident that even the most ardent denier will acknowledge it, time will be past anything slowing it down.
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Your camera took some gorgeous photos. Who needs a newer model unless that one went kaput. The pic really is a beauty. You are correct about climate change, Anyone that denies change has there head in the sand and some of those beliefs are politically motivated. Of course climate change means that people have to change too and the government needs to come up with solutions to protect species and the environment. However folks still build in flood plains frack the earth for fuel, scrape hills and mountains and the destruction goes on and on.
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I agree with you, Yvonne. It seems hard to believe that so many folks deny the change much less our relationship with the changes. Some is for sure politics, but some is a fear that making the changes will cost jobs and people comfort of life in the immediate future.
That camera was capable of producing some nice image files, but in many cases they were quite noisy and often captured colors poorly. In addition the newer cameras produce larger files which respond to enlargement much better..
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Nice shot. Nice composition. Nice color. It’s clear that your ‘eye’ hasn’t changed in the nearly 10 years since this image was captured … if you had told me that you took it yesterday I wouldn’t have had any reason to doubt you. I sympathize with the plight of your weather. I too was out with the camera and simply forged ahead … gloom be damned! We had about 5 minutes of sunshine yesterday … it was a delight. They promise some of the bright stuff tomorrow … we’ll see. I think the weather gods (if there are such things) must be against both of us. A couple of days ago Joanna and I were driving home. About a mile from our driveway we saw a really intense rainbow form in front of us. “Hurry” Joanna yelled … “Hurry home.” I stepped on it. As we hit the bottom of the drive, the thing was still there … right in the middle of our front pasture. I got out of the truck, grabbed the camera, held the thing to my face … and (literally) before my eyes the delightful sight disappeared! Argh! D
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Well, misery loves company so if we are sharing bad weather then the company is good indeed.
Today was quite gloomy. The skies were grey all day and we had constant non-productive flurries all day as well. This weekend was unproductive which always makes me feel like I have wasted my time.
I haven’t experienced a disappearing rainbow, but I have lost out on some intense color at sunrise/dawn by arriving in a spot just a few moments too late. Extremely frustrating.
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That’s a classic shot for you. And a beauty. It would be one of my favourites too.
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Thanks, Lyle. Quite often my statement about which shot I like best is my next one, but occasionally there is one from the past that endures.
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If that is a 10D file then I think we have all wasted our money on upgrades, Steve. Its a corker.
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It’s not so much the equipment as the person wielding that equipment.
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I think we both know better than that, Andrew. I threw out a lot more files in those days.
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The 10D wasn’t my first digital camera, but it was the first one I had with interchangeable lenses. It still sits on a shelf in a closet, unused but not forgotten. There’s no question that the current 5D Mark III is a huge improvement, but the time will come when it will seem as dinky compared to whatever the latest and greatest thing is then, as the 10D seems when compared to it now. Ah, the price(s) we pay for progress.
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Yup. I’m holding out for the model that comes with 20 levels of dynamic range.
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Happy Solstice Steve! I can see why this is one of your favorites~it is a beaut. Balance, movement, texture~ lovely.
Global warming seems obvious to me, and I’m glad to see that Obama and some other leaders seem to be taking it seriously. I suspect the human species is heading for a “correction” of some form or other and then more people will be willing to look at their actions.
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Happy Solstice, Melissa. Thanks!
I think you are right about a human correction. It might even be an extinction. It would be quite a catastrophe if the heat build up and sea rise coincided with the poles flip flopping. That’s a scary thought.
Yes, I am pleased that Obama has been more active in trying to get our industries to change for the inevitable but when the senate changes party control it will not be easy.
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I agree. I find that as scary to contemplate as the poles flipping!
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I, too, really enjoy going back through archives and reviving past favorites, especially at this time of year, when things can be at their darkest. I am uneasy in the light of predictions for the hottest global year in recorded history and hope we can see the light turn this thing around. I also hope your solstice day met with your hopes.
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Well, the day of solstice was another day of life, so it was a pleasant day in that respect. Otherwise, to quote Snoopy….bleah.
I am pessimistic about the future of humans. It seems every day another calamity is upon us and the divide between people grows as each wants to blame someone rather than find a fix. I don’t see that ending very soon and without an end there is not much hope for a cure.
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