Christmas Eve Service makes Front Page Photo

A couple weeks ago a friend at the First Parish Photography Club suggested the idea of photographing an outdoor, candlelight service on Christmas Eve in Concord, Massachusetts. As a recent graduate of the Professional Digital Photography program at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University, I embraced the opportunity as a means of practicing real event photography, a genre of its own requiring distinct skills apart from other types of photography.

This event was the first outdoor service in the 300+ year history of the First Parish, due to ongoing renovations this year. Historically as many as four services are held there on Christmas Eve, having as many as 500 attendees per service. This made planning a bit of a challenge because the number of attendees could range anywhere from a hundred to perhaps a thousand.

» Read More » »

  Power Mac G5: The lights are on but no one's home

The recent ice storm that crippled New England and left me looking for other shelter seemed to have killed my 2005 Power Mac G5. The night of the ice storm the lights in the house blinked off, then on, then off again... They stayed off for four days, along with the furnace, until the power company put my town back on line.

A week later, when I attempted to start the G5 in my home office the main power light came on, and stayed on when ever it was plugged in, and the desktop would not begin the boot sequence, nor were any sounds emitted such as the fans starting up.

With lots of other things to take care of I delayed troubleshooting it, but thought that it would eventually require a trip to the Apple Store Genius Bar for a drop off. Today I finally did a search and came up with this little wonder:

How to reset the SMU on a Power Mac G5

The SMU (System Management Unit) is a microcontroller chip on the logic board that controls all power functions for your computer. If your computer is experiencing any issues regarding these functions, resetting the SMU may resolve the issue. The functions controlled by the SMU include:

* It tells the computer when to turn on, turn off, sleep, wake, idle, and so on.
* It handles system resets from various commands.
* It controls the fan.

The guts circuit board did not look the same as in the photo on their article, so I started pushing all the transistors and every little silvery bumps I could find. Close to my RAM memory slots, I finally found a tiny, round, silver button on a small black square base that was in fact slightly pushable.

Upon reassembling the tower's side door and re-inserting all the cables, I was very happy to hear that little whir of the fan as the computer took its first breath after being resuscitated. The prospect of waiting in line at the Apple Store during Christmas week was something I was not looking forward to.

  Hollywood East comes to Boston... or not

Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray has better things to do... What?!?!

The Boston Globe reported today on the progress of a legislative bill to increase tax breaks for Plymouth Rock Studios, a.k.a. Hollywood East. Former executives from Paramount Pictures have been planning construction of a massive $420 million studio located less than an hour south of Boston, expected to have over 1.2 million square feet with 14 stages AND "50,000 square feet of the world's most advanced Post Production facilities"!!

The Massachusetts House of Representatives discussed the bill this week, and its destined for approval in the state senate next, but according to the Globe, Senator Therese Murray is blocking the additional tax incentive by claiming that its "not at the top of her agenda". The Senate's not even going to think about it.

Taxachusetts, er, Massachusetts has been hemorrhaging residents for years because there's not enough high wage jobs and out of control housing costs (a problem that continues in the area despite the nation-wide housing crisis). Hollywood comes to Boston and wants to drop a huge chunk of change, but now Senator Murray's too busy to help give the state a massive shot in the arm?

The opportunities for creative professionals in film, photography, audio, animation, and other computer specialists would be a boon for the state, and New England. According to Plymouth Rock Studio's website:

Plymouth Rock Studios will employ over 2,000 skilled professionals and generating billions of dollars in direct and indirect economic benefits to the Plymouth area and the Commonwealth.

And where is the brand spanking new Massachusetts Creative Economy Director Jason S. Schupbach in all this? He should be in Senator Murray's office tearing her a new lobbying on behalf of Plymouth Rock.

Geeze... Massachusetts, please get a clue!

  Creative Economy Director - Massachusetts Economy Focus on the Arts

The Boston Globe newspaper today cited Massachusetts Governor Patrick's administration appointment of a newly created title, Creative Economy Director.

From Boston Globe:

The appointment of Jason S. Schupbach of Boston illustrates the growing role creative sectors play in economic policy as states compete for jobs, companies, and skilled workers. Beyond the direct employment provided by museums, art galleries, and design and other creative firms, the vitality of the local arts and cultural scene is increasingly viewed by development specialists as key to attracting knowledge workers expected to drive 21st century economies...

The creative economy is loosely defined as a variety of nonprofit groups and for-profit firms that center on visual and performing arts, including film, advertising, architecture, and tourism.

[FULL ARTICLE]

In my own experience, I'm a new member of the artist organization at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, a former textile mill of the industrial age now rejuvenated and converted to an extensive collection of studios. The studios are fantastic but they're run at a loss by philanthropic investors. I hope the state's effort to focus on the local creative industry makes such artists' communities more profitable and more prolific across the region.

  Interactive Google Map of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a proposed development in Massachusetts that will convert a former railroad bed into a 25 mile, multi-purpose trail stretching from Chelmsford to Framingham, passing through the towns of Westford, Carlisle, Acton, Concord, and Sudbury too . The trail is logistically broken out into three phases, each to be developed sequentially as fund-raising and litigation with abutters move along in parallel.

The BFRT website is chock full of useful information for to help support the building of the Rail Trail. The map which diagrams the route and its 3 phases is rather vague unfortunately. I decided to diagram the bicycle path's proposed route using Google Maps instead, which allows for precise plotting, zooming, and both map and satellite views.

View Larger Map

I would love to see the whole network of rail trails in Massachusetts developed to encourage bicycling for sport and commuting since the roads are so very hazardous here. For starters, a connector trail to join the BFRT with the Assabet River Rail Trail would extend the trail network to Marlborough, Hudson, Maynard, and Stow. It would be a dream to also connect it to the Minuteman Bikeway that runs from Bedford to Cambridge and provides access to the Alewife subway station and Boston.

» Read More » »

  Morf Transit - The Burlington Vermont Welcome Wagon

While in Burlington Vermont this weekend, I setup to do an HDR image on Church Street, the pedestrian thoroughfare with cross traffic at every block. An HDR image at night requires several long exposures taken in sequence.

While in the middle of the sequence, this driver from Morf Transit taxi service pulls up to wait for a client and stops right in front of me, although there was plenty of space in front of and behind it.

For 5 minutes I wait patiently with my wife beside me, just chuckling to ourselves over his parking tactics. No bigggie..

After 10 minutes I'm wondering if I should just move closer to the church in the distance and start over. The driver begins honking his horn to notify his clients that he's ready.

At close to 15 minutes of waiting the driver continues honking, and rolls down his windows to get some air. I took this opportunity to request if he wouldn't mind pulling forward a bit, and the conversation goes roughly like this:

» Read More » »

  Vienen Los Vaqueros, Vienen Los Vaqueros!

Two urban cowboys outside The Skellig in Waltham

During a recent evening on the always eclectic Moody Street in Waltham, MA, among the college students sporting tshirts and baseball hats, two men wearing spurs and cowboy hats came jangling down the sidewalk. With local Hispanic, Brazilian, and Indian populations in the area its common to see an odd mix of cultures, but these two wranglers looked like they just fell off the ranch.

In Spanish, I asked if they wouldn't mind if I took their picture, and they replied with exuberance that two other people had also just taken their photo, and they couldn't believe how popular they were suddenly. I told them how the photography school is just down the street and its common for students to roam the area in search of material, and I just hit the jackpot.

  Photography Club Exhibit Opening and Reception in Concord

This Sunday on April 22 the Photography Club at the First Parish of Concord will present its fifth annual Photography Club Exhibit. The public is welcome (and wanted) to attend... hey, that's what its all about. I joined the group in 2006, and I've been told that membership has swelled in the last couple years, and we're nearly 50 members.

Come join us for food and drinks this Sunday from 3 to 6pm while you wander the galleries throughout the First Parish, just off Concord Center. Concord Center is usually busy on weekends, and with the first burst of Spring's warmth expected for Sunday the place will probably be bustling. You can find a huge parking lot very near on Keyes Road just across from the Sally Ann Food Shop and behind the Bank of America.

Here's photos on Flickr geotagged for Concord. For my photos of Concord click here, or here on a map.

www.flickr.com

  My Recommendation for the Best Massachusetts Home Inspector

Our recent home buying experience was one filled with lots of research, paperwork, planning, and conversing. At times it seemed overwhelming, and my wife did a great job of managing things, especially during times that wore me down. However, among all my interactions with attorneys, real estate agents, insurance agents and such, my experience with the home inspector was the best. If you're in the market to purchase a house in Massachusetts, I highly recommend Paul Rogoshewski of Harmony Home Inspection.

» Read More » »

  Our New Home and the Home Buying Experience

For several years now my wife and I have been researching towns of Eastern Massachusetts to find the “best” neighborhood to begin a family. In 2006 the real estate bubble in the Northeast finally began to deflate, and for the first time in a decade it became a real estate buyer's market. Coupling the favorable market conditions with regular seasonal lows, we felt the time was right and this winter our search intensified.

We considered factors such as the best schools, lowest crime, amount of open space, commuting distance, housing prices, and overall quality of life. Each year Boston Magazine publishes comprehensive spreadsheets which rank nearly 200 Massachusetts towns by more than 30 factors, including population, average house prices, percent change in prices, student spending, SAT scores, MCAS scores (Science/Math, English), crime rates, contamination, open space, disease rates, average age, and much more. Although this data is published in tabular format as a magazine insert, on some years Boston Magazine made the data available via Excel or CSV document download. We've kept some of these downloaded comparisons and found them to be very handy.

» Read More » »

  Boston Skyline at Night

Some wide angle, long exposures of the Boston skyline at night, as well as some of Memorial Drive and the Longfellow Bridge near Kendall Square in Cambridge.

www.flickr.com

  Concord's Second Most Celebrated Holiday

The town of Concord, Massachusetts was settled about 140 years before the founding of the United States. The citizens take great pride in the town's role towards this country's independence, and the annual Patriot's Day holiday is without question the most celebrated event in the area, comemorating the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, or as Emerson put it, The Shot Heard Round The World.

Yet Concord does make a very good turn out for Independence Day, the national holiday on July 4th. The town shines while stars and stripes abound on door stops, mail boxes, and flag poles.

Share my photo gallery of scenes through out Concord, MA taken during early morning before the town folks turned out.

See also the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Fireworks in the Park, or the largest July 4th parade in Maryland.

» Read More » »

  Photographs of the Maine Coast, and My First HDR Image

www.flickr.com

My wife and I spent this past Memorial Day weekend driving through mid-coast Maine, stopping in Camden, Rockland, Pemaquid Point, Damriscotta, and South Freeport. The Maine coast incredibly beautiful, and we loved the not only the winding tidal channels that spill out into the rocky shore but the many rolling, green meadows that blanket the horizon with lush grass and wildflowers. We took some time to photograph Camden, which seemed very cozy and friendly, and not much different than Rockport, Massachusetts. The next day we had a photo session at Pemaquid Point, best known for its lighthouse and bell house with its Stephens Striking Machine to sound the bell in foggy conditions.

My Photo Gallery of Coastal Maine

» Read More » »

  The Butterfly Place in Westford, MA - A Photo Gallery

www.flickr.com

The Butterfly Place [map]
The Butterfly Place is an indoor living environment which has been carefully designed for the propagation and development of some of nature’s most colorful living creations. This wonderful man-made habitat is contained within a 3,100 sq. ft. glass atrium building towering to a height of over 27 ft. at its peak. Within this atrium’s living butterfly environment can be found a variety of colorful plants and shrubs, each of which has been selected as a source of nectar for the butterflies.

» Read More » »

  The Real Patriot's Day: Dawn Salute at Buttrick Hill in Concord

This morning I had the opportunity to attend the annual Remembrance Ceremony held on April 19th at Buttrick Hill in Concord, MA, adjacent to the North Bridge. The event heralds the arrival of Samual Prescott on horseback at the North Bridge to warn the hundreds of militia of the pending arrival of British troops from Boston on the morning of April 19, 1775, and the ensuing start of the Revolutionary War.

Its not often that I'm awake at 5am, but I was pleased to find the event well worth my effort. The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes from the cries of "Samuel Prescott" galloping across the bridge until then the end of the dawn salute with blazing muskets by the resident militia.

For some additional photos from another spectator, including some very nice photos of Dr. Prescott on horseback, see these.

» Read More » »

» See More Entries in This Category » »