Seven 9s and 10s

High-res Aurora Borealis over Lake Ontario (by Steelopus) Sometimes it’s 12:03AM and you’ve got your pajamas on and you’re ready to hop into bed but then you check Twitter one last time and see local meteorologists mentioning Northern Lights activity in the area and so you sit for a minute and try to convince yourself to just go to bed because you have to be at work in less than 8 hours and you really should get some sleep because you’ve been extra tired lately. Then you snap out of it and realize that this kind of opportunity doesn’t happen often. It’s rare enough that the aurora borealis is even visible at this latitude, let alone on an autumn night. It’s even rarer that the conditions are right in the thermosphere while the troposphere is free of clouds - Rochester is, after all, completely overcast an average 200 days per year. So you quickly throw some clothes on and you get your camera gear together and you drive 25 minutes up to the Sea Breeze Pier on the shore of Lake Ontario. You walk out to the pier through nearly complete darkness until you emerge from the trees and find yourself standing alone on the concrete. The vast, ocean-esque, lake - illuminated by starlight and lighthouses - surrounds you while a forceful and biting Canadian wind blows in your face and instills temporary moments of regret (30 minutes ago you were just 5 minutes from your bed). Tripod legs are extended. Camera is mounted. You snap off a few test shots. Review and tweak. Manual focus set to infinity. ISO at 500. Aperture at f3.2. Shutter speed at 30s. Wireless remote ready. Open. Wait. Closed. Pan. Open. Wait. Closed. Pan. Open. Wait. Closed. By this point you’re colder than you’ve been since March - and very glad you remembered to bring your gloves and your ear warmers. You review again and like what you see. For the hell of it, you go a little further and snap off a couple 2+ minute exposures (you’re cold already, might as well make the most of the situation) and then you call it a night. Carefully you pack everything up while being sure to not make any technological sacrifices to the boulders that surround you. Walk back to the car, crank the heat up, and drive home. 30 minutes later you’re back home and importing the photos. You catch a glimpse of what you’ve shot and understand that you made the right decision. The regret of missing such a beautiful sight would’ve frustrated you for years. The photos are processed and uploaded and a blog post is drafted and queued. Over two hours later than you’d planned, you slip into bed as you mentally cross “Aurora Borealis” off your bucket list. (green!) (View it large.)

Aurora Borealis over Lake Ontario (by Steelopus)

Sometimes it’s 12:03AM and you’ve got your pajamas on and you’re ready to hop into bed but then you check Twitter one last time and see local meteorologists mentioning Northern Lights activity in the area and so you sit for a minute and try to convince yourself to just go to bed because you have to be at work in less than 8 hours and you really should get some sleep because you’ve been extra tired lately.

Then you snap out of it and realize that this kind of opportunity doesn’t happen often. It’s rare enough that the aurora borealis is even visible at this latitude, let alone on an autumn night. It’s even rarer that the conditions are right in the thermosphere while the troposphere is free of clouds - Rochester is, after all, completely overcast an average 200 days per year.

So you quickly throw some clothes on and you get your camera gear together and you drive 25 minutes up to the Sea Breeze Pier on the shore of Lake Ontario. You walk out to the pier through nearly complete darkness until you emerge from the trees and find yourself standing alone on the concrete. The vast, ocean-esque, lake - illuminated by starlight and lighthouses - surrounds you while a forceful and biting Canadian wind blows in your face and instills temporary moments of regret (30 minutes ago you were just 5 minutes from your bed).

Tripod legs are extended. Camera is mounted. You snap off a few test shots. Review and tweak. Manual focus set to infinity. ISO at 500. Aperture at f3.2. Shutter speed at 30s. Wireless remote ready. Open. Wait. Closed. Pan. Open. Wait. Closed. Pan. Open. Wait. Closed.

By this point you’re colder than you’ve been since March - and very glad you remembered to bring your gloves and your ear warmers. You review again and like what you see. For the hell of it, you go a little further and snap off a couple 2+ minute exposures (you’re cold already, might as well make the most of the situation) and then you call it a night. Carefully you pack everything up while being sure to not make any technological sacrifices to the boulders that surround you. Walk back to the car, crank the heat up, and drive home.

30 minutes later you’re back home and importing the photos. You catch a glimpse of what you’ve shot and understand that you made the right decision. The regret of missing such a beautiful sight would’ve frustrated you for years. The photos are processed and uploaded and a blog post is drafted and queued. Over two hours later than you’d planned, you slip into bed as you mentally cross “Aurora Borealis” off your bucket list.

(green!) (View it large.)

High-res I don’t know why people are posting pictures of themselves “fancied up.” Anyway. I’m pretty sure this was the last time I wore a tie - July 18, 2009. Hopefully that will also be the last time. It can be nice to dress up, but neckties are old-world bullshit that serve no modern purpose. It’s completely possible to look professional and good and “fancy” without wearing one.

I don’t know why people are posting pictures of themselves “fancied up.”

Anyway. I’m pretty sure this was the last time I wore a tie - July 18, 2009. Hopefully that will also be the last time.

It can be nice to dress up, but neckties are old-world bullshit that serve no modern purpose. It’s completely possible to look professional and good and “fancy” without wearing one.

High-res green! After nearly 1,000 posts over the past 3 years, I’ve decided to give myself an early birthday present and retire my daily “green!” posts. Like the “green things” I used to post in the evenings, at some point the “green girls” started to feel like a chore. Sorting through hundreds of Tumblr posts that are tagged “green” each day took far more time than it was worth, and lately it’s been getting worse; I’ve generally had to sift through 50 pictures of pot and 20 stories about going green and 100 pictures of trees before I would even stumble upon a single “green girl” that I liked enough to share. Additionally, most of the pictures I reblogged were shared without credit, and TinEye rarely pointed to a definitive original creator; I’ve felt a lot of guilt about this for a long time. I’d prefer to not continue adding to one of the most negative aspects of the Tumblr culture (the lack of attribution). I’m happy to say that - as far as I know - I never repeated a single picture. That wasn’t easy, as there are many very popular images that continually show up in green searches. It’s pretty amazing to me that I can think back over the course of the last 1,000 days and pick out very specific images that are among my favorites. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed seeing the green! as much as I’ve enjoyed posting it. Thanks for the all the hearts and comments.

green!

After nearly 1,000 posts over the past 3 years, I’ve decided to give myself an early birthday present and retire my daily “green!” posts.

Like the “green things” I used to post in the evenings, at some point the “green girls” started to feel like a chore. Sorting through hundreds of Tumblr posts that are tagged “green” each day took far more time than it was worth, and lately it’s been getting worse; I’ve generally had to sift through 50 pictures of pot and 20 stories about going green and 100 pictures of trees before I would even stumble upon a single “green girl” that I liked enough to share. Additionally, most of the pictures I reblogged were shared without credit, and TinEye rarely pointed to a definitive original creator; I’ve felt a lot of guilt about this for a long time. I’d prefer to not continue adding to one of the most negative aspects of the Tumblr culture (the lack of attribution).

I’m happy to say that - as far as I know - I never repeated a single picture. That wasn’t easy, as there are many very popular images that continually show up in green searches. It’s pretty amazing to me that I can think back over the course of the last 1,000 days and pick out very specific images that are among my favorites.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed seeing the green! as much as I’ve enjoyed posting it. Thanks for the all the hearts and comments.

(via openmykaleidoscopeyes)