Forgotten Photo Friday, Boston

A couple of photos of Boston as we arrived by ferry last September.

Gloucester Skies

This afternoon's view from Saint Peter's Square


Tuesday Night's sunset with the Black Sheep in the foreground.


Last Saturday morning's view of the Town Hall Clock Tower

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

These were shot in California on our last trip. Although not very skittish, they are not very cooperative. In true chickadee fashion, they are always on the move making a living and don’t have time to pose. Nevertheless, they are a real treat. Enjoy!

Lobstering in Gloucester

Once a lobsterman has pulled his pot, he opens it and pulls the lobsters out.

The lobsterman is holding a gauge in his left had and measures the carapace.

If the lobster is too small, he is thrown back. Females with eggs in the swimmerets will be released back too.

Keepers have their claws banded and are put into a holding tank to keep them fresh for market.

When the lobsterman arrives at the dealer, they are loaded into totes.



At the pound, they are sorted and put into tanks while waiting to be shipped out.

Fresh New England lobster!

Oh, yah, go get some drawn butter, corn on the cob, some steamers, mussels and have yourself a real treat.

You just don't see this anywhere else

...but in Maritime New England.

Western Chipmunk

This Western Chipmonk was shot near Saratoga, CA.

Be sure to check out today's Scenic Sunday post too!

Eastern Point in a new Light

I think that the success of a photographer stems from showing people something that they have never seen before or at least in a way that they have never seen it. So when I go to Eastern Point Lighthouse, where there have been hundreds of photos taken and I also have take a couple-few myself, how can I make it look new and exciting?

Saturday morning we had an exceptionally low tide. This gave me a chance to walk out and get the seaweed in the foreground. Shooting in the morning like this means the light is coming from behind the lighthouse and casting glint off of the seaweed. Oh well, let’s be brave and make he shot.



Looking up the grassy slope to the light tower showing the contrast and textures makes a fun shot. Toss in a human for scale and you get the picture.



I think that the shot through the tree was the surprise shot, and my favorite for the morning. It breaks a lot of rules but that’s what makes it work.


None of these shots would work in any other season than summer. How can I say that? I’ve tried them in other seasons before!

This is Eastern Point, ever changing with the seasons yet always the same. I hope you enjoyed the shots. Feel free to have a look at my other Eastern Point Light shots for comparison.

Oh S**t Saturday

I went over to Eastern Point this morning to see if I could get out on the breakwater before the parking lot filled up. The 26 foot Barker broke her mooring and crashed into the breakwater. Her hull was breached and she went under.

The salvage crew patched her hull and fitted her with air bladders. It's off to the shipyard with her. I’m sure she will be shipshape in no time. Let's hope so!

Forgotten Photo Friday, Marsh Wren

Oh yeah, I remember taking this picture! How could I have forgotten this little beauty?



Be sure to see my other wren photos. Dont forget to see my SkyWatch Friday photos for this week.

Brigantine Corwith Crammer

Most sailing ships we get in Gloucester are schooners. The Corwith Cramer is a brigantine which is a vessel with two masts, only the forward mast is square rigged.

Along with the Corwith Cramer is a wind surfer and a medium sail boat.

My Mother-in-law’s Potting Shed

This is my mother-in-law’s potting shed that doubles as an art studio. She had morning doves nest in a basket hanging under the eves. This is one of the babies waiting for mom and dad to come back with some food.



You can tell he is a youngster because his tail is a little short and he still is erupting his feathers. Those pin feathers must itch!



His face has not filled out just yet. Here it is panting to help regulate his temperature.

Pavilion Beach is littered...

...with hundreds of boats.

Last Saturday was the Blackburn Challenge, a 22 mile rowing race for oar and paddle boats that started at Pavilion Beach in Gloucester, sends the rowers and paddlers around Cape Ann and back to Gloucester.









After the race, this young man is taking a turn in his dad’s kayak. I struck up a conversation with his mom. She said that he really wants to take it out by himself but dad is right standing right behind him, keeping him safe.

Gloucester welcomes the Kalmar Nyckel

While I was driving home today, I spied a set of flags flying over at the State Fish Pier. Under them I could see the yardarms of a square rigger. I went home and grabbed my gear and headed out. When I arrived, I bumped into an old acquaintance, the Kalmar Nyckel out of Wilmington, Delaware. Visit my earlier Kalmar Nyckel post for links to her website and to learn more.

I understand that the Kalmar Nyckel will be in Gloucester Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before she sails for her next port.

Pleasant Street, off of Main Street

Gloucester has good deal of wonderful architecture. Pleasant street has some interesting buildings and homes. I like to walk up here every once in a while. The first photo was shot on Saturday morning as the fog was burning off.



On Sunday, we woke up to a clear blue sky. This is one of my favorite brick buildings in town. It looks like it has had several uses in the past. Now the first floor holds upscale art galleries.

Sargent House Museum Garden

B and I went for an early morning constitutional and decided to relax on the Sargent House Museum lawn. This is a wonderful little patch of land that runs from Middle Street down to Main Street in Gloucester. They have a nice little butterfly garden that brought in this Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Uniquely Gloucester

Tenpound Island and the Thomas E. Lannon.


The paint factory.

Meet my new neighbor, Bob White.

I was having a conversation with a friend and she asked, "Have you seen the Bobwhite?" "Ah, well, no, but I'd like to." I had my camera in hand so chances were slim that he would be back there. When we went back, he was hunting bugs in the grass and graciously posed for a portrait.

I'm very pleased to present to you a bird that I have heard a few times but have never seen, a male Northern Bobwhite.





Although he did not call "bob-white" for us, he did whistle a couple of times.

Forgotten Photo Friday, A year ago.

This is a photo I took on 29 July, 2008.

Feather Clouds over Gloucester Harbor.

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco viewed from Sausalito.


The Golden Gate


Alcatraz Island

The Return of the Light

After six weeks of continuous rain and fog, it is really good to have fun light to work with again. Last June the weather was so wonderful and I had such a great time shooting the sunsets, it seemed that June just flew by so quickly.



This year, June passed us by, slipping though unnoticed in the fog.

Come with me to a Cormorant Nesting Colony

These Brandt’s Cormorants are in a breading colony on Monterey Bay.

Jet Lag

Yesterday we retruned from a trip to San Jose. We were delayed slightly by the control tower. This put us on a flight path off the coast of Gloucester. With the tail wind, it only took us 4 hours and 45 minutes to fly from SJ to Boston.

Dragonfly Photo Study

I shot this dragonfly at my in-laws' house in San Jose last week. This is most likely a Cardinal Meadowhawk. Thanks Chris for pointing in the right direction.

Forgotten Photo Friday, California Thrasher

I shot this California Thrasher at Crystal Cove State Park in Huntingon Beach California last March. There was a stiff breeze coming off the ocean that fluffed up his feathers.

Point Pinos Lighthouse, From the Left Coast

The Point Pinos Lighthouse is on the southern end of Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove, CA. Isn't that Fresnel lens cool?

Wilson's Storm Petrel in Gloucester Harbor

The Wilson’s Storm Petrel has been visiting Gloucester Harbor fairly regularly for the last few weeks due to the funky weather. These are some shots I took on the first of July in the fog.

The Yellow Boat

Killdeer Photo Study

There are a family of Killdeer down on the Audabon property on Eastern Point.

Roses, SMU Style

There are two roses that are found growing everywhere on Cape Ann, The wild rose and Rosa Rugosa. I like to search out the ones with little critters to add some extra interest.

Post Script:

Doug from Gossamer Tapestry has send in this comment. "The red insect in the top photo is a Rose Curculio (Merhynchites bicolor), a type of leaf-rolling weevil. Nice roses!" Thanks again, Doug!

Cabbage White Butterflies

Eastern Point Light

This is the Eastern Point Lighthouse on a damp day. This is one of my favorite angles to shoot Eastern Point which I don't think many people take.

Star-spangled Banner

Today is our Independence Day. Shown here is the Star-spangled Banner flown on the schooner Pride of Baltimore II in Gloucester Harbor during the Schooner Festival in September, 2007.

The Star Spangled Banner is a 15 star, 15 bar ancestor of our 50 star, 13 strip flag. The fourteenth and fifteenth star and strip represent Vermont and Kentucky, the next two states to join the Union.



The Star Spangled Banner was flown over Fort McHenry when 5,000 British soldiers and a fleet of 19 ships attacked Baltimore on September 12, 1814. The bombardment turned to Fort McHenry on the evening of September 13, and continued for 25 hours under heavy rain. The British ships were unable to pass the fort and penetrate the harbor and the attack ceased on the morning of September 14.

The battered flag still flew above the ramparts signifying that Fort McHenry remained in American hands. Francis Scott Key, an American Lawmaker and then-amateur poet, was inspired to write about the battle aboard a British ship in the Patapsco River. His poem was originally titled Defense of Fort McHenry. The poem was later put to the melody of The Anacreontic Song and titled The Star-Spangled Banner.

The schooner Pride of Baltimore II in Gloucester Harbor

Forgotten Photo Friday, Morning Dove Photo Study

I'm a little behind today, we are having some family activities this weekend. It's almost 8:30 and I haven't posted my Forgotten Photo Friday post. This week's photos are of Morning Doves.

Skywatch, Fog.

Fog. Fog, fog, fog, fog, F-O-G. Today, we are getting a change of weather. We have fog and heavy rain.

Thanks Joan and Richard

I’ve been working on Shooting My Universe for a year now. We have come a long way together. You may ask, “Together?” Yes, without my visitors, followers and fellow bloggers, this would just be an exercise in futility.

This seems like a good time to give some long overdo thanks to Richard who posts At The Water and Joan who posts Photographs from South Africa. Both have passed on blogger awards to Shooting My Universe.

When B introduced me to blogging with Smells Like Grape, our wine blog, I learned the importance of community and building a readership. With that experience, I wanted to find other photographic blogs with mindsets similar to mine to form my own community. At first, I had problems finding other blogs in my genre. There were lots of fine art blogs, kittens falling out of basket blogs and personal family blogs. These are fine and important to their authors, however not in my genre.

I found Photographs from South Africa and emailed Joan requesting a link exchange. She accepted and this opened the door to a great community. Joan is a wonderful blogger and I learn something new about her universe every time I go there. She hardly misses a day and always responds to comments. I can’t say enough about Joan.

Richard is another great blogger. He loves his birds and has a sense of humor. He posts nearly daily except when the spring floods invaded his basement. I got an “out of the blue” email from Richard saying that he gave me a mention. The email said that I may want to check out his post for that day. When I arrived on his blog what I saw was that he told his community to go check out my blog. I’ve always been grateful and will never forget his generosity. Richard has a back yard full of Redpolls, Chickadees, Blue Jays and American Goldfinch that he feeds and photographs. Richard’s favorite weather is Bird Chirping Weather.

So thank you both for the recognition. You guys are too cool. Thank you for the awards and helping me get a good jump start early on.

Part of the award game means disclosing some personal information that may not be readily available, and although it may be inane, here are some pieces of trivia about Steve B.

My first camera was given to me by my parents when I was Seven. We were going to move from my first home, so I wanted to take some pictures from my bedroom window of the view. Dad didn’t get my artistic concept and was a little perturbed that he spent money developing my film. Sorry you didn’t get it dad, but I’ve come a long way since then.

My first real camera was a Minolta XE-7 that I bought when I was 16.



My first big gig was being the photographic editor for my high school year book.

I have done bird counts in L.A. County in California and in Boulder County, Colorado. I’ve done breading bird surveys in Boulder County and in Yuma and Eckley, Colorado.

Number of birds on my life list? I don't know, I stopped counting years ago.

Why Photography? I can’t sing, can’t paint, I suck at music, and if you don’t write too good, you shouldn’t write too much. But any nitwit can push a button.

What do I think of Gloucester? In over 20 years, this is the first community that I lived in that I actually know and talk to my neighbors. We have been accepted by the folks here. The fishermen let me walk around the docks, (yeah, I look like a tourist when I walk around), and there are guys like Joey at Good Morning Gloucester that have helped me build a following here.

People ask me if I considered going pro. Yes I have. Nah, I’ll keep my day job, the work is easier and the pay is of a lot better.