Today’s Sky and a Remembering

Tomorrow is the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I remember the beautiful sky that morning, and how it made the newscasts sound surreal. 

This week I heard a few broadcasts on NPR about the after-effects of 9/11. It’s tragic that many of the first responders and volunteers who went toward the disaster at the World Trade Center have suffered and died from the effects of the toxins that were in the air.

I remember being shocked when Christine Todd Whitman, the Bush administration’s head of EPA at the time, stated that the air quality in Manhattan was safe for citizens, except for those working to clear the wreckage. It was obvious from photos that the city’s air was still smoky and polluted. Years later, she apologized after finding out that she had passed on dangerously incorrect information.

Both the US government and NYC Mayor Giuliani failed to inform citizens and workers of the health risks. It took years of efforts by injured workers and activists, including TV personality Jon Stewart, to secure adequate healthcare and benefits for the first responders. 

I am thankful for fire fighters and all the others who come to the rescue in times of crisis.

Link: No Responders Left Behind: The FealGood Foundation

Late Summer Sky Watching

 These are all sky scenes that I saw while walking Charlie in August.

That long, vertical cloud is probably a contrail, formed from moisture and the exhaust of a jet plane. I live directly under the flight path of planes going west from Dulles Airport, so I see plenty of these. This one has been scattered apart by the wind.

Yes, contrails contain pollutants. No, they aren’t some part of a secret plot. They’re just everyday industrial byproducts.

The next shot includes a morning appearance of the moon.

Sometimes I see a hot air balloon. I think there are a couple of local companies that take tourists (or romantics) for rides over the Shenandoah Valley.

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Dark Clouds, Silver Lake

Dayton, VA

This afternoon, dark clouds signaled that rain was coming, but it didn’t start until tonight. So far, it hasn’t amounted to much.

Birds and Alternate Versions

When I was leaving the place that I showed in yesterday’s post, I noticed this tall tree with crows perched on the upper branches. I snapped a few pictures, so below is an alternate shot, which I cropped for a closer look.

Next we see a bird that I noticed when I was walking Charlie. It was singing, and was shaped like a robin, but I wasn’t positive until I cropped and lightened an alternate picture. I usually try to take two pictures of a subject in case one of them is blurred. This also gives me an extra shot for experimenting.

More Pictures from a Busy Week

Over the past week, I took a lot of pictures because my sister was visiting. We went to Shenandoah National Park twice, once from the Thornton Gap entrance and the next day from the Front Royal entrance. Then on Thursday, we had a picnic with Lynn before going to the Quilt Museum. 

These are various pictures, mostly from SNP. 

In the visitor center at Dickey Ridge, I found the plaque from King Charles’ visit.

Sharing with Mosaics

Storm Front

The weather reporters were warning that a violent storm was coming. I could see it in the distance.

We had wind and could hear thunder. Then we got a few minutes of rain, and that was it.

This was on Tuesday. We had a similar brush with a storm a few days before that. We could use more rain.
 

A Month after the Summer Solstice

Even though the longest day of the year was June 21, we’re still enjoying daylight after 8:30 in the evening. The weather has been nice enough to be outside in the evening this week.

Yesterday I was walking with Charlie at 8:35 and noticed that the sky was getting pretty. I decided to sit on the bench in my front yard to watch for the sunset.

Soon the sky turned pink in the west. Towards the south, the moon was visible until clouds moved in front of it.

Today I Welcomed the Rain

You know how they dilate your pupils when you go to the ophthalmologist? That leaves your eyes extra sensitive to bright light, and it takes hours to wear off. Well, I had an eye exam this morning, so I was glad that it was a cloudy day. That makes the drive home much more comfortable. 

I was still in the parking lot after the exam, eating a snack, when the rain started. I took some pictures with my cell phone. 

The glass on the sunroof is tinted, so pictures I took through it have a pale aquamarine color.

The rain actually stopped when I reached the supermarket, so I was able to do some quick shopping without getting wet. It started again as I began to drive home. 

At one point, the downpour got so heavy that I took the next exit and left the interstate for a slower road where there were places to pull off if needed. I made it home and the rain stopped again. My timing was lucky today!

Also, the news from the eye exam was good. My left eye has completely recovered from the cataract surgery, although it took almost two years. Dr. Viti agrees with me that we don’t need to have the right eye done yet. 

Evening Sky Over Rooftops

We have passed the longest day of the year, which is sad in a way because I love long days. On the other hand, today was so hot that I was glad when the sun went down because it is unpleasant walking Charlie when the temperatures are in the nineties. 

Vibrance vs. Saturation

A June Sky, 8:50 P.M.

Some years ago, I took a Photoshop class and asked the teacher, “What is the difference between the Saturation Adjustment and the Vibrance Adjustment?” I forget her response, but I interpreted it as Vibrance increasing the contrast between colors. 

Most sources say that Vibrance enhances muted colors without overly saturating the colors that are already bright. If you increase Saturation instead, it deepens all colors, giving your picture an unnatural look if you’re not careful. 

Let’s experiment with my sky shot in the Photos app that came with my iPad. (I stopped using Photoshop when they started requiring a subscription because I don’t like recurring fees.) If I increase the Vibrance slider all the way to 100, the sky deepens and we see a pretty sunset.
 

If instead, I increase Saturation all the way to 100, the colors are brilliant, but the sky looks unnatural, especially the blue.

That looks awesome, but it’s not at all what I saw. I pulled the sliders back and then set Vibrance at 20 and Saturation at 10. The result is the first image, which is not as impressive, but it’s true to what I saw. After all, I was just walking the dog in the evening, and I wasn’t interested in waiting for the colors to possibly deepen to a stunning intensity.

Most of my pictures are fairly realistic. I’m not a big fan of overly manipulated images unless they are clearly art rather than journalistic. When I use AI or artistic filters, I’ll usually mention it. 

Most of my blog posts are journalistic in style, with the exception of the Saturday posts that I pretend are written by my dog. I like to think that everyone is “in” on that little joke. 

Patch of Blue

This is my contribution to Skywatch, which has remained popular even as blogging in general is declining. This blog hop has been around since 2008 (under different management). 

The challenge of finding an interesting sky photo each week has helped me to pay more attention to the skies. 

Theme Day: The Subject is Sky

When I first learned that the City Daily Photo theme for June 1st is “Sky,” I thought, “Oh that’s easy!” But then I realized that I have already used my dramatic sky shots for the weekly Skywatch linkup. I made an effort to get some more sky pictures today, but they weren’t very interesting. 

I decided to post this picture from Saturday, taken at Dickey Ridge in Shenandoah National Park. Shooting into the sun is generally considered a no-no in photography, but I do it all the time. Shade the lens to protect your eyes and electronics. I usually just stand in the shade.

These folks were members of a family, apparently from the Middle East. Others were doing prayers behind me on prayer rugs, but I did not intrude by taking pictures of them. A mountain top is an inspiring place to say prayers.

Later, one of the young men asked what breed of dog was Charlie. I told him beagle, and he smiled and said “Nice!”

Last Night’s Moon

On our final dog walk yesterday, I watched the moon come out from behind the clouds. I took two pictures with my cell phone, steadying it on a mailbox while holding Charlie's leash in the other hand. Realizing it was too dark, I tried to change the mode, but Charlie was out of patience and pulled me along. I'm afraid I left a footprint in the mud next to the curb.

Both pictures came out pixelated. Still, I like the mysterious look of the sky.

I made an attempt at improving the second shot using a filter, but it wasn’t a success. Then I noticed that my app was trying to identify a “bird.” Oh, good grief! That’s the moon, Siri, not a snowy owl!

Clouds on the Blue Ridge

Cloudy days and even rainy days can be interesting times to drive in the mountains.

The first picture shows a view of Page Valley with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. They were shrouded by clouds on Sunday, which meant I would experience fog when I got up there.

I have a senior pass to Shenandoah National Park, so I showed it at the Thornton Gap entrance. I decided to head south this time because I’ve visited the northern section recently. In a few minutes I drove through the Mary’s Rock Tunnel. I was already in dense fog. 
 

Soon I was back in sunshine, but clouds were below, obscuring the valley.

My companion was my beagle. We took a short walk at Pinnacles Picnic Area, and otherwise, he kept an eye out. We didn’t see much wildlife because the park was full of tourists. I did see a wild turkey, but it was not in a good place to stop to take a picture.

By the time we reached Jewell Hollow, the views had cleared somewhat, at least to the east. 

I only drove as far as Skyland, where I turned around and headed back home. It would be Charlie’s dinner time by the time we got there.

Charlie and Rhododendrons

Yesterday afternoon I took Charlie to the park in Edinburg. After a short walk, I wanted to take pictures of the rhododendrons near the pool.  Charlie became focused on something under the branches and as soon as I got a picture composed, he pulled on the leash.

After a few failed attempts, I was able to get decent pictures of the pink blossoms. 

Then a butterfly showed up! Again I struggled to get a clear photo, but between the dog pulling on his leash and the screen on the iPhone being overly sensitive, I failed and the butterfly flew off.  (It seems like the phone switches modes if I so much as breathe!)

Then the tiger swallowtail returned. I pointed the phone at it and accidentally switched on “portrait” mode. That’s why the picture has a black background. I could’ve modified it in editing, but I decided to keep it.

By the time I corrected the setting on my phone, but butterfly disappeared again.

As you can see, some of the leaves look stressed. This could be from the prolonged drought or from the sudden frost, or both. 

When I reviewed the pictures, I saw a blue abstract that I did not recognize. It must have been taken as I pulled the phone out out of my pocket. My pants have a knit pattern in these colors. They’re some of my favorite colors so I didn’t delete the picture.