Nature Photography: Dormant Plants in Winter
January 28th, 2011Like much of the rest of the eastern United States, Pennsylvania just got walloped by another big snowstorm.
According to family reports, thick hats, heavy jackets, waterproof boots, snow shovels and plows are now the height of fashion. And will be for some time.
Although my Westtown, Pennsylvania family and friends may find it hard to remember their locale without 18 inches of snow, I offer the following photos as proof that there is a multi-colored environment buried under it. All of them were taken late last month...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
Related Posts
- Nature Photography: Snow in Pennsylvania
- Nature Photography: Goose Farm
- Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
- Nature Photography: Extreme Weather
- Travel Photography: Before the Blizzard
Event Photography: Weatherization Workshop
January 25th, 2011If you're like most Tucsonans, you live in a house that does a lousy job of keeping the winter's cold outside. Which means that you're left with the uncomfortable choice between living in an icebox or dealing with heating bills that rival your mortgage payment.
Almost all houses inside the Tucson city limits were built before any national energy efficiency standards. Roughly 175,000 houses in eastern Pima County – which includes the city of Tucson – have little or no insulation, R-2 or R-3 walls, and leaky single pane windows.
The above fits my house to a tee. This Middle-Aged House is in its mid-50s, it's pretty drafty, and I've already had the windows replaced.
So, how am I solving my drafty house problem?
I started by having home energy auditor Maggie Michel over for an inspection. Here she is, identifying air leakage with an infrared camera...
The bad news is that Maggie's report confirmed what I had long thought: This place leaks like a sieve.
The good news is that it's possible to make houses like mine more energy efficient – without spending megabucks. And a lot of the work can be done with tools you already own.
That's where Tucson's Green Retrofit Co-op (GRC) comes in. It helps members work on each other's homes in order to make them:
- Energy efficient
- Resource efficient
- More affordable and livable with age
I'm a GRC member, and I recently hosted my first of what will probably be several GRC workshops. Reason: This Middle-Aged House is an emotionally needy house. One workshop just isn't enough.
The festivities started with instruction from GRC founder Tres English. Here, he's showing GRC members how to seal air leaks around electrical outlets and switches. He's using a spray foam sealer called Great Stuff...
Tip: Tres is using the window and door version of Great Stuff. There's another version that's used for sealing bigger gaps. That version of Great Stuff foams like crazy. Don't use it for sealing leaks around outlets and switches. Just don't.
Maggie's home energy audit found quite a bit of leakage where my walls and ceilings meet. To help solve this problem, here's Richard, the courageous kitchen caulker...
On to the back of the house. What do you do to keep your hot water heater from getting cold and lonely?
Well, you give it a nice, warm insulating blanket so it doesn't keep coming on and making money-burning sounds that I can hear inside the house. GRC mentor Norm is on the case...
It's been a week since the workshop, and as mentioned above, there's still a lot of work to be done. But I've noticed that this place doesn't get cold as quickly in the evenings as it used to. So, some progress is being made.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
Related Posts
- Construction Photography: Window Upgrade
- Construction Photography: Replacing Windows
- Event Photography: Habitat for Humanity House Dedication
- Event Photography: Habitat Tucson House Dedication
- Event Photography: Composting Workshop
Nature Photography: Goose Farm
January 24th, 2011One of the most memorable features of a southeastern Pennsylvania winter is that it's highly variable. You can be deep in snow and shivering in sub-freezing temperatures, and then the weather warms up to the point where the hats and jackets are unnecessary.
Such was my recent trip to the Land of Winter Variability. Not a sign of snow when I arrived. But a few days later, totally different scenery...
Shortly thereafter, the weather warmed up and melted a good bit of the snow.
In honor of this occasion, I took a walk over to a nearby farm. It's quite the hot spot for non-migrating Canada geese. (Or should they be called Pennsylvania geese?)
Once these birds sense that a photographer is approaching, up they go...
Tip: If you should happen to be mingling with geese, watch your step. Why? Because geese are prolific. They leave plenty of squishy souvenirs on the ground.
So, unless your hoofs stay outside the house...
You'll need to do a thorough cleanup before going back inside...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
Related Posts
- Nature Photography: Snow in Pennsylvania
- Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
- Nature Photography: Solids and Liquids
- Nature Photography: Extreme Weather
- Nature Photography: Dormant Plants in Winter
Event Photography: Giffords Goes to Rehab
January 21st, 2011Today was a big day for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
She's made remarkable progress since suffering a gunshot wound to the head during a January 8 assassination attempt. Recent reports have noted that Giffords is able to stand with assistance and use an iPad.
This morning, she was discharged from University Medical Center. Giffords was then flown to Houston for rehabilitation. Hundreds of people lined the streets of Tucson to bid her farewell.
Giffords' escort to Davis Monthan Air Force Base included a Tucson Police Department motorcycle detail...
And here comes Gabby...
The Veterans of Foreign Wars' VFW Riders followed behind Giffords' critical care ambulance...
After Giffords' motorcade passed by, I headed over to the shrine that's been growing outside of University Medical Center (UMC)...
Now that Giffords has left Tucson, I expect that the UMC media encampment will depart to cover other news stories...
There's quite a spirited discussion about what should be done with the UMC shrine. I say that the space should be turned into a community park devoted to peace, healing, and respectful dialogue. Because that's what's happening there now.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
Related Posts
- Event Photography: President Speaks in Tucson
- Event Photography: Remembering January 8
- Event Photography: Health Care Reform Rally
- Photo Essay: Greenway Park Ramble
- Event Photography: Firetruck Tours
Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
January 20th, 2011My recent trip to southeastern Pennsylvania featured no-problem air travel and foul weather that didn't materialize until after I was on the ground.
What the weather forecasters billed as a blizzard turned out to be underwhelming. We didn't even get half a foot of snow.
After the weather cleared, it was time to go exploring. I began this adventure by going back to school. This is a back entrance to Penn Wood School, which I attended for grades four through six....
I wasn't the most attentive of students, what with the school being in the woods, and the woods offering many interesting things to sketch. Penn Wood School proved to be a very inspiring venue for a budding visual artist.
Decades later, the Penn Wood School grounds still inspire me...
Being the curious big-kid that I am, I had to make more than one trip to Penn Wood. Couldn't let that plein air go to waste...
Tip: You can view more nature photography in my portfolio.
Related Posts
- Nature Photography: Save Penn Wood
- Photo Essay: Penn Wood School
- Travel Photography: Blizzard Arrives
- Nature Photography: Rain in Pennsylvania
- Travel Photography: Before the Blizzard
Event Photography: President Speaks in Tucson
January 13th, 2011This past Saturday morning, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hosted a "Congress on Your Corner" event in the La Toscana Village shopping center at the corner of Ina and Oracle Roads.
As has been widely reported, a 22-year-old man opened fire on Giffords and others. Six people died, and 13 were wounded, including Congresswoman Giffords.
Yesterday, President Obama came to Tucson. His visit included a speech during the memorial at the University of Arizona's McKale Center.
Local news outlets reported that people started lining up for McKale seats during the early hours of yesterday morning. After sunrise, the line of a few hundred people became a line of several thousand people.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m., I got on my bike and headed over to campus. It was probably too late to get a seat in McKale, but the university said that overflow seating would be provided in Arizona Stadium.
First stop was University Medical Center (UMC), where Congresswoman Giffords and other shooting victims are being treated. Outside the hospital's entrance, there's a huge community shrine that has been growing and growing and growing...
After I left UMC, I pedaled south into the main campus. The McKale Center line had grown much larger than what that indoor arena could hold. Here's the view from Cherry Avenue, just south of Second Street...
And here's the crowd outside the McKale parking garage...
Although these people had been waiting in line for several hours, they were very respectful toward each other. I didn't hear one cross word spoken.
As soon as the announcement came about the availability of Arizona Stadium seating, I parked my bike and found a place in the bleachers...
The Arizona Stadium crowd alternated between pensive silence...
...and hearty applause and cheering. President and Mrs. Obama's appearance on the big screen got very positive reaction...
The President embraces Mark Kelly, husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords...
The President's speech was very well received...
I do hope that this tragedy does not turn the name Tucson into something synonymous with Columbine. Or Dallas. Or Memphis. We're much better than that.
Tip: You can view more event photography in my portfolio and on this blog. I am also available for event photography assignments in Tucson, Arizona, and elsewhere. I specialize in concerts, festivals, parades, political rallies, and sporting events. To check availability and to request a proposal, please e-mail me or call 520-690-1888.
Related Posts
- Event Photography: Giffords Goes to Rehab
- Event Photography: Remembering January 8
- Bicycle Photography: Cyclovia Tucson 2011
- Event Photography: Dillinger Days and Downtown Tucson Construction
- Event Photography: Alley Cat Bike Scavenger Hunt
Travel Photography: Blizzard Arrives
January 7th, 2011Eastern Pennsylvania's Christmas weekend blizzard came in with a vengeance. The bitterly cold winds and driving snow got my attention in a hurry. I had to go outside and investigate.
First lesson: Avoid looking north into the wind, because it bites. Hard...
This was a lesson that our family's super-smart border collie mix took to heart in a hurry. Sandy wasn't happy heading north, and the southerly direction was only slightly less amusing...
Second lesson: During a snowstorm, you pretty much have the outdoor world to yourself. Not much traffic coming in or out of this driveway...
Then came the snowplow. On this trip, it wasn't plowing. Instead, it was coming around to brine the roads...
As blizzards go, this one was a bit of a letdown. Snow accumulation totaled less than six inches. However, Philadelphia and New York really got hammered.
Tip: You can view more travel photography in my portfolio.
Related Posts
- Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
- Travel Photography: Before the Blizzard
- Travel Photography: University of Michigan Diag
- Nature Photography: Goose Farm
- Travel Photography: Vermont Fall Foliage
Travel Photography: Before the Blizzard
January 5th, 2011I just got back from visiting family in eastern Pennsylvania. Arrived there just ahead of a blizzard that was racing up from the South. The following photos show the calm before the storm.
The approaching blizzard wasn't about to affect the behavior of these affectionate trees...
But the decorated for Christmas sled would soon get a coating of snow...
And the still-flowing Chester Creek would freeze...
Tip: You can view more travel photography in my portfolio.
Related Posts
- Travel Photography: Blizzard Arrives
- Nature Photography: After the Blizzard
- Travel Photography: Vermont Fall Foliage
- Travel Photography: Visiting the Phoenix Zoo
- Travel Photography: Arizona Biodiversity
