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Two Birthdays
Figure 1 – Daguerreotype portrait by Nicholas H. Shepherd of then Congressman Abraham Lincoln in 1846. From the US LOC via the Wikipedia and in the public domain in the United States.
Today is February 12, 2016. Two hundred and seven years ago on February 12, 1809 two men destined to change the world were born. Abraham Lincoln was born on that date in a one-room log cabin on the Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin County, Kentucky. Charles Darwin was born on that date in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.
So I thought that I would celebrate these two men with historic photographs of each. Figure 1 is a daguerreotype of Lincoln, rail splitter, taken in 1846, when he was a congressman by Nicholas H. Shepherd. As such it is one of the earliest portraits of the future president. Figure 2 is a stunning, pensive albumen portrait of Darwin taken by Julia Margaret Cameron.
In a sense Darwin explained to us for the first time how structure and order can arise by random processes.As such, the random vagaries of history aligned the events which shaped the destinies of these men. Neither life was preordained, but the ultimate results are nonetheless marvelous.
Portrait of Charles Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron (albumen print) from the Wikipedia and in the public domain in the United States,
One more
Snow covered pines at sunset, Sudbury, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2016.
Well, one day before the work week and the next February snow storm; so I had better get my last image from the decisive sunset moment from Friday. This is Figure 1 and it shows the tops of four snow covered towering pines illuminated by a golden setting sun. This might be deep in the woods but was, in fact, taken from the small park across from my house. Again I like the drama the color and the dynamic range. I think the composition could be better, somehow adhering to the Golden Rule of Thirds. However, I do like the sense of motion created by the treetops leaning to the left in the picture. All and all I am pretty happy with it and was very happy that my camera was on hand for nature’s fireworks.
Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 70 mm, ISO 800, Aperture Prioty AE mode, 1/1000-th sec at f/7.1 with -1 exposure compensation.
Golden treetops
Figure 1 – Snow covered treetops illuminated at sunset, Sudbury, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2016.
The decisive light that I spoke about yesterday illuminated the tree tops against a dark, looming, almost night-like sky. The second image from this short but gorgeous moment is shown in Figure 1. What really appeals to me, beyond the drama, is the dynamic range – that is how the eye pulls out the features of the trees and snow in shadow. It is unusual for snow photographs to have a golden tone. The blue tone of Rayleigh scattering is much more common. And in this context it is unusual to compensate down in exposure, so as not to saturate, as opposed to up in exposure to drive the dynamic range towards saturation.
Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 70 mm , ISO 800, Aperture priority AE mode, 1/1600 th sec at f/7.1 with -1 exposure compensation.
Why I live in New England
Figure 1 – Sunset after the snow historic center of Sudbury, Massachusetts. (c) DE Wolf 2016.
El Niño has given New Englanders a welcome respite from snow and cold this winter. But today we had our first real snow storm at least in Boston and it’s western suburbs. Still the signature of El Niño was there, in that it was a heavy wet slushy snow, the kind that sticks to every tree limb and power-line. So it was all pretty magical,
and the there was “the decisive moment” actually about ten minutes fo decisive moments. The sky was dense and dark when the sunset broke through from the west bathing the snowy treetops in a golden light. I have a few pictures to share with you from the decisive moment. Today I’ll start with Figure 1 that shows the historic center of Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Why do I live in New England? ’nuff said?
Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens at 70 mm, ISO 800, Aperture Priority AE mode, 1/2000th sec at f/7.1 with -1 exposure compensation.
Close and very close: Contrasting pairs #3
Figure 1 – Close and very close: contrasting pair #3. (c) DE Wolf 2016.
Last Sunday as I was walking down a corridor into the local mall I came upon a sign on the wall that promised that I was close. It’s arrow pointed right. I walked a little further and there was a second sign with even greater promise. I was very close. It’s arrow pointed left. They form a contrasting pair and also together form a minimalist tribute to the great American pop artist Robert Indiana.
First photograph of life on Mars?
Figure 1 – Signs of life on Mars? Martian mineral deposits taken by Spirit near Home Plate shows silica formations poking out of the soil, which may have been formed by microbial life. (NASA/JPL-Caltech and in the public domain.)
In 2008, NASA scientists announced that NASA’s Spirit rover had discovered opaline silica deposits inside Mars’ Gusev crater. Significantly the outer layers were covered with in tiny nodules that resembled the heads of sprouting cauliflower. Merely of aesthetic and scientific interest?
It is a very curious point of ambiguity that the image of Figure 1 may, in fact, be the first definitive demonstration or evidence of life on Mars. Recent discoveries in a Chilean desert by Arizona State University at Tempe scientists, Steven Ruff and Jack Farmer, presented at the American Geophysical Union this past December, has led them to hypothesize that these silica structures may have been created by microbes.
The ambiguity may take a very long time to resolve. But recognize that obtaining microorganisms from another planet would have very profound significance. Do they have DNA? Is it composed of the same nucleic acids? Do the same triads of nucleic acids code for the same amino acid? The questions of similarity and dissimilarity have profound implications of the commonality of life in the universe.
But for now we still do not even know if these structures are caused by microorganisms. We do not know if Figure 1 is our first tentative look at extraterrestrial life.
Mannequins: Contrasting pairs #2
Figure 1 – Mannequins: Contrasting pairs #2. IPhone photograph. (c) DE Wolf 2016.
We have spoken before about this trend in retail for mannequins to lose all facial features and even to become headless. So I wanted to post, as the second in a series of contrasting pairs, photographs of two mannequins, one faceless one with appealing visage and even painted-in catch-light. Interestingly, these were taken at the same store. One window had the fully anthropomorphic mannequins and the other the faceless ones. I am even wondering if I Photoshopped out the arm to shoulder joint whether she could be mistaken for human. So what is the point? At one junture in their history mannequins were meant to be human like in their appearance. Now the opposite is true. And maybe a part of this is the political correctness of not assuming racial, ethnic, or national type. Still it gives you a little emotional jab to see them dismembered, stripped of clothing, and then rudely dressed – with no concern for possible humanity. Perhaps this is a metaphor for how we treat each other.
Hand-drying: Contrasting pair #1
Figure 1 – Hand-drying: Contrasting Pair # 1. IPhone photograph. (c) DE Wolf 2016
Despite an unseasonably warm winter, extenuating circumstances have driven me indoors and out of nature. So this poses the question of where to find photographic amusement. I am starting a project that I call “contrasting pairs,” and launched this project this morning during a walk at the local mall. Just to prove that there are amusing photographic subjects to be found everywhere, I took this first “contrasting pair” of hand-drying devices. The top shows the good old standby – a paper towel dispenser, while the bottom shows the new-fangled electric stream dryer – advertised as both more sanitary and more eco-friendly. The eco-friendly part I question as it takes a certain amount of electrical energy to dry one’s hand. I have yet to do the calculation. I am also suspicious that these machines are designed to rip peoples rings off – well not really. I will also point out that the top photo may well fall into the category of photographs of things soon to be obsolete. Of course, one may also wonder why such gadgets are necessary at all. What’s wrong with drying your hands on your pants?