Bicentennial Fireworks

This weekend, my wife and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary alongside Trinity College‘s bicentennial. Given that we met at college, the symmetry felt impactful. Though the fireworks might not have been intended to be exclusively for us, they felt just a little extra special.

Bicentennial Fireworks

Time Series: Travelers Tower

The move to Hartford has offered me the opportunity to capture this time sequence (like the ones I took in Kentucky and the North Country) with a dramatic view of Travelers Tower over the course of a day. If the image appeals, it’s also available as a dynamic wallpaper for macOS that will change your desktop with the time of day.

04:30

Travelers Tower 04:30

04:52

Travelers Tower 04:52

05:10

Travelers Tower 05:10

11:32

Travelers Tower 11:32

14:11

Travelers Tower 14:11

16:33

Travelers Tower 16:33

17:31

Travelers Tower 17:31

18:51

Travelers Tower 18:51

19:25

Travelers Tower 19:25

19:40

Travelers Tower 19:40

20:00

Travelers Tower 20:00

20:36

Travelers Tower 20:36

23:46

Travelers Tower 23:46

Hartford by Night

Moving to downtown Hartford, Connecticut placed this view just outside my window. I used to look across the city to Travelers Tower (the illuminated building at right) from my dorm room at Trinity College; 15 years later, I realize it shone like a beacon because it was being actively lit from nearby rooftops. Perhaps that’s a good lesson for life: the achievements that stand out don’t do so by accident, but because of conscious effort.

Hartford by Night

A Chance Return

Big changes are coming to the world of Decaseconds: Next fall, I’ll be returning to Trinity College (my alma mater) as their newest physical chemistry professor.

I took this picture of Trinity’s chapel, framed by foliage, as I packed up my car to leave at the end of my interview. Though I didn’t yet know what I do now (I’m going back there!), the warm breeze and familiar smells and satisfaction of a successful interview left me with a sense of calm, comfort, and peace.

A Chance Return

A Seven-Year-Old’s Whole World

Neal Stephenson’s “Fall” suggests that that pattern of one’s childhood hometown is patterned deeply into the brain. This picture captures pretty much everywhere I could get to on my own (i.e., on my bike) when I was seven years old—so, basically my whole world at that point.

A Seven-Year-Old's Whole World

Saturday Sun on Ski Jump

As a child, I dreamed of flying over my home town—viewing all of the familiar paths from high above. Visiting that town last weekend, I was able to photographically make that dream a reality. The forests where I hiked and the town ski jump are all laid out before the drone’s lens.

Saturday Sun on Ski Jump

Chapel with Moon

While I was a student at Trinity, all of the lighting on campus was from orange sodium vapor lamps. The transition to white LED lighting has made a dramatic shift in the feel of the place at night, but the golden hue of the chapel here provides a little nostalgic taste of the one-time colors of the place.

Chapel with Moon