HDR Photography
I was searching for a cork to fit an opening in a piece of old-school chemical glassware. In the farthest-away, most-remote corner of an old chemistry lab was simply a drawer labeled “corks”; inside, I found an expansive sea of every possible cork diameter. Nothing more, nothing less than every cork—I felt like I had cast some sort of obscure seeking spell that brought me a “be careful what you wish for” volume of results.
Continuing my recent display of discoveries from my college camera rolls, this picture of a friend reading in the open window of my dorm is fairly perfect. The motion blue of passing students outside further highlights her stillness and the open quad highlights the profile.
With Hartford’s skyline looking on in the background, the brutalist facade of Trinity College’s LSC matches the carefully graded dirt of its adjacent quad before a thick layer of new sod was applied.
I decided to make my collection of photographs from my time as a student available to Trinity’s social media team, which required sorting and uploading them. Among the random motion-blurred messes of my past, I encountered the occasional serendipitous moments of actually striking photography.
The Hartford Marathon traveled past our house and provided an opportunity to capture some weirdly empty-of-cars/full-of-runners streets.
Like molecules through a chromatographic column, the runners spaced farther and farther apart as the race went.
The views closer to home produced intense shadows best viewed in black and white.
Bushnell Theater and the Connecticut State Office Building across the street look warm and inviting in the dusk light—friendly in a way I wouldn’t otherwise associate with massive facades.
Legend has it that the southern face of Bushnell Tower is nearly windowless because it was meant to closely face a mirror twin of the building (never constructed); now it remains a mysterious facade that adds character to the historic structure.
Rolling northern Connecticut hills hide the bright lights of the distant city just over the horizon, scattered from post-thunderstorm clouds once the sunlight vanishes.
Swagger and a backdrop of vintage NA Miatas make me want to dub this unknown individual with a dramatic title, but I’m sure there’s a tuner somewhere in Japan who has more properly earned the title.
The end of the semester (and some final-exam stress) nears but for now, relaxing on the quad on a warm and sunny spring day could be the move.
Though I have my fair share of images that were only possible with the full capabilities of my best camera (just wait for Monday’s post), I’ve been experiencing the impact of Chase Jarvis’s famous quotation lately: “The best camera is the one you have with you.” This perfect warm spring afternoon moment on Trinity College’s main quad was one I serendipitously passed and the image that resulted wasn’t one I would have missed for not having the “perfect” camera.
Clement Chemistry Building is surrounded by flowering plants that complement its red stone structure on perfect spring morning.
I often capture pictures of my scientific work in progress, allowing me to better explain my protocols to others. In this case: a partial pellet of pressed silica nanoparticles in the center of my 3D-printed gas cell, sealed behind orange-colored zinc selenide window that blocks UV light from escaping.
Bushnell Tower’s stark concrete looks particularly textured and entrancing as it dries after a rain storm
As a child, I would have immediately begun a debate over whether the red or the blue Miata was faster. (As an adult, I can see that the blue car has a K-swap, while the red car looks, from the pulley, to be supercharged.)
Decaseconds 