Bushnell Tower Watching Fireworks

Flying a drone in downtown Hartford requires some extra permissions, but they’re worth chasing for the opportunity to capture shots like this one: Bushnell Tower, the State Capitol, and a rain-checked fireworks display arrayed above Bushnell Park.

Bushnell Tower Watching Fireworks in the Park

Big Buildings and Little Ones

Trinity College Dublin’s campanile was the subject of my last post, but today I’ll bring it back to one I know a bit better. This photograph is another from my series of Berkeley pictures that I’m only now able to reveal with improvements in noise reduction technology. The effect of seeing this “lost” image recovered has me wondering what other moments—

Big Buildings and Little Ones

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

Eucalyptus Trails

Why save RAW camera outputs from (in this case) six years ago? Digital photography is a rapidly advancing field, and the advent of machine-learning-based noise reduction techniques has completely changed what sorts of images are salvageable. This lovely shot of Berkeley’s fire trails and tall (but invasive) eucalyptus trees stayed in the “unusable” pile for half a decade because I took it freehand, just after sunset, before I deployed my tripod—resulting in an ISO 4500 image from my old D7000 that was just too noisy. Topaz’s latest filters solved that and now this photo can take me back to my California sabbatical.

Eucalyptus Trails

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

Where the Houses Stop/Palm Trees and Sprawl

Like a child’s legos, spilled out onto the floor until they reach the wall of the room, the sprawl of Coachella Valley reaches from one mountain range to the other.

Palm Trees and Sprawl

Of course, when that sprawl does reach the edge, modern California’s land conservation kicks in and a hard barrier appears between homes and desert.

Where the Houses Stop