Surfacing Attention

Surfaces and Textures are an interesting theme for photography.  There are so many kinds of surface structures, details, shapes, and textures as the subject of the image. The photographer's task is to showcase the surface and texture itself.   There are so many places to find these - everywhere - in the grain patterns of wood, the surface of stones, crystals of snow and ice, water, fabric, metal, leaves, sand, woven objects, clouds.  Included are urban decay surfaces such as rust and decay where scratches and dents create surface structure, texture, detail, and colour. Textures can occur at all level – including aerial photography and landscape views. The types of surfaces and textures include: rough, ragged, gritty, bumpy, spiky, sharp, fuzzy, slimy, slick, slippery, smooth, soft, silky, scaly, coarse, burl, knot, slub, abrasive, scratchy, shaggy, bristly, prickly, spiny, thorny, burnished, glossy, polished, powdery, and fine grain. So I went to two of my own portfolios to see what was there - Surfacing Attention and Nature's Impressions - and clipped the thumbnail image displays.  We see the array of surfaces and textures all around us.

Barking Up a Tree

How loud is a typical day? I wondered this when I was walking into the wind yesterday and it seemed to fill up my ears. Here are the measurements of a blogger who has serious hearing impairment: "I wake up to the flash of the alarm on my iPhone. (For those of us with hearing loss, there’s no point having an alarm that makes a sound, as we aren’t able to hear it.) The noise in my quiet bedroom room measures 44dB. I cough (87dB), then I get up and nip to the loo. Flushing the toilet registers 84dB. I go downstairs to let our dog, Tilly out. As I wait for her to come back in, I run the tap (85dB) and put the kettle on to boil (82dB). I pour water from the kettle into a cup (52dB), and open the door of the refrigerator (65dB). Then, I empty the dishwasher and put away the items, which make the following sounds: Crockery/Dishes  (89dB) Cutlery (91dB) Glasses clinking together (94dB) I pop some bread in the toaster and it makes a kind of ‘ticking’ sound as the control knob rotates. (70dB) I go for my shower (93 dB), then I dry my hair using the hairdryer (95dB). The loudest sound I was exposed to on this particular day, was the traffic noise when in the car with the windows open, which registered 99dB. The hedge-trimmer was the second loudest sound I encountered at 97dB.  She used the Decibel 10th app. Her article says that sounds louder than 85 dB can cause permanent hearing loss.  So I guess I met a big noise yesterday.  Here are abstracts of tree bark.

Barking

All About Lawyers

There is a general sense that lawyers are less than honest.   I checked out the the lawyer jokes and  found a wealth of cynical humour. For one-liners, these two seem to sum things up: - 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name. - Talk is cheap. Until you hire a lawyer. Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, and honest lawyer, and an old drunk were walking along when they simultaneously spotted a hundred-dollar bill laying in the street. Who gets it?         The old drunk, of course, the other three are mythological creatures. Q: How many divorce lawyers does it take to change a lightbulb? A: 3 - one to argue for the rights of the old lightbulb, one to argue for the rights of the new lightbulb, and one to argue for the rights of the light socket A minister and a lawyer arrived at the pearly gates, Saint Peter greeted both of them and gave them their room assignments.         "Pastor, here are the keys to one of our nicest efficiency units. And for you, sir, the keys to our finest penthouse suite."         "This is unfair!" cried the minister.         "Listen," Saint Peter said, "ministers are a dime a dozen up here, but this is the first lawyer we've ever seen." Mark Twain notes... "It is interesting to note that criminals have multiplied of late, and lawyers have also; but I repeat myself." It is amazing how a profession can have such a long and enduring reputation.

November is Chrysanthemum Month

We don't usually think of November as a 'highlights in the garden' month.  And yet this is the start of Autumn colours for Japanese Maples, Dawn Redwoods, Cypress,  and Weeping Willows.  Our pictures show the turning colours of Hosta leaves in my garden.   The Chrysanthemum is the 'birth flower' of November.  Longwood announced its Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum Tree has more than a thousand blossoms again this year - 1,523 flowers on a single stem. The link takes you to a youtube video showing the growing technique over its 18 month life.  Close by to me are the Chrysanthemum Festivals of Gage Park in Hamilton (finished October 30th), the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouses (all of November),  and then Allan Gardens and Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto. Their growers have been to Longwood for training and expert guidance, and the results are displays of beautiful, large blossoms standing tall on single stems in many colours and shapes.

Lifehacker Thursday

The Cannas have finished blooming for the year, and the tubers are tucked away till next spring.  The leaves are a significant size.  That  means light in combination with the lines on the leaves make for wonderful abstracts. And I found this with the news today: There's a Top 10 website called Lifehacker.  In April, it celebrated its 10th anniversary and posted its most popular top ten lists of everything.  Take a look HERE.  With the website's success, Thursdays are known as "Lifehack Thursday".

Into the Woods

Wood lots have such interesting sightlines even though there is nothing at the end.  Or is there?  I guess that is what makes them interesting.  These images have the addition of colour effects using Topaz Lab's Black and White effects.