Daily Photo: January 16-31
For 2020, I am photographing every day, and posting the best of each day in half-month increments.
Olympus E-PL1: f4.2, 1/20 sec, ISO 1600
2020 January 17, Friday
The blizzard we got on January 17th was fierce. Still, it was not nearly as bad for Antigonish as it was St. John's: They got nearly a meter of snow and winds over 100km/h!
2020 January 16, Thursday
This year my family has a challenge for each month, and January's is to prepare a special meal. My Dad's entry was a big feast to start off an evening of board games. It tasted great, and the party was loads of fun.
Olympus E-PL1: f4, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 18, Saturday
Here's a shot of a ceramic turtle that my sister made for me many years ago. I definitely have an above-average amount of turtle statuary in my house, but this is my favourite of them all. I love his shades of green and yellow, his big smile, and how it looks like he's perpetually tap-dancing.
Olympus E-PL1: f4, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 20, Monday
For my hearty corn mash, I chopped up some green onion, leek, celery, a carrot, and three potatoes. I boiled the potatoes and carrot in a pot while frying the other vegetables in a greased pan (Along with a small splash of vegetable broth). After draining the potatoes and carrot I mixed in the fried stuff, plus the broth and oat milk. I added a generous dash of tumeric and - in hindsight - a little too much pepper. Later I added some corn meal to thicken it a bit. I simmered it all afternoon, then refrigerated it. By Monday it was at full flavour, tasty and filling, with a consistency like a pudding. I served it with multigrain ciabatta drizzled in a little oil and Italian dressing.
Olympus E-PL1: f5.6, 1/15 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
PhotoMatix: HDR Toning
2020 January 19, Sunday
As I mentioned above, my family's monthly challenge is to make a winter meal. I opted for a corn mash, and these are the ingredients. I've had culinary attempts spectacularly fail on me before, but this one turned out to be delicious.
Olympus E-PL1: f5.3, 1/80 sec, ISO 200
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
PhotoMatix: HDR Toning
2020 January 21, Tuesday
On Tuesday nights I go to Dungeons & Dragons at my local games store, Lost Realms. Currently, I am running a group with four adventurers. The team had their first test when a mysterious new wizard started making trouble in a forest near their town. They escaped with their lives, and discovered that the wizard is a local who had been presumed dead (I started the campaign with them at the funeral). They'll have to return and deal with the wizard later... Starting on January 14th they began a new plot arc when they found a diamond ring apparently crafted by one adventurer's family. They took it to a gem dealer who said it was a fake, so their task for the 21st was to track down who made it, and why.
Olympus E-PL1: f5.4, 1/25 sec, ISO 1600 // IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 22, Wednesday
The morning came very cold, hovering around -20°. Things heated up around noon. As a result, the snow on the roof of my shed began to slip...
Olympus E-PL1: f4.2, 1/60 sec, ISO 200
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
Olympus E-PL1: f9, 1/500 sec, ISO 200
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 23, Thursday
At our family game night, Mom won Settlers Of Catan. She was having a great day overall!
2020 January 24, Friday
The local dogs have been enjoying the new terrain of the frozen estuary. This pair cut through my yard and ran gleefully down the ice.
Olympus E-PL1: f5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO 500
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
Olympus E-PL1: f10, 1/400 sec, ISO 200
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 25, Saturday
I like wind chimes. My set, which I've had for years, is multiple strings of little bells, with sounding rods at the bottoms. I have had them through several moves, which invariably leads to an afternoon of trying to untangle them. I think they're worth it. These make a pleasing metallic tinkling when stirred by the breeze.
2020 January 26, Sunday
My Aunt and Uncle threw a pirate party. Naturally we went all-out on the costumes. We were not the only ones; nearly everyone at the party was in full piratey regalia. The party was originally set for earlier in the weekend, but they rescheduled it so my sister could join in on the fun. She and my little nephew arrived on Saturday for a mid-Winter visit.
Olympus E-PL1: f4.3, 1/15 sec, ISO 1600 // IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
Olympus E-PL1: f5.6, 1/13 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 28, Tuesday
After over forty years of operations, the location where I work has been closed (I still work for the company, but from home). The last project to come out of our old spot is a renovation to this little office building.
2020 January 27, Monday
Here is a detail from a hat. The ribbon around it is fairly nifty, to my eye. That said, I have a quibble with hats like it. It is a trillby, which is fine, but I am irked when people call such things fedoras. A trillby and a fedora are not the same thing!
Olympus E-PL1: f4.1, 1/60 sec, ISO 250
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
Olympus E-PL1: f5.4, 1/15 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Crop, Colour Balance
2020 January 30, Thursday
Gathering around the table for games is a weekly occurence for my family. In this shot my uncle, sister, and mother consider how best to give clues for a game of Codenames. Across the table are my aunt, father, and me - we have to identify the correct words and pictures based on one-word clues from our partners. It can be a tricky task for folks on either side of the table!
2020 January 29, Wednesday
This is a Perplexus. It's a kinetic toy reminiscent of a marble maze. Unlike a maze there is only one route. Also unlike a maze, that route goes in all three dimensions, often winding through both sides of a track! It's tricky to follow along, and if the ball falls off the track there's little choice but to start all over again. I've got several different ones, each offering a unique path through the strange landscape of ever-changing perspective.
Olympus E-PL1: f4.1, 1/30 sec, ISO 1600
IrfanView: Colour Balance
2020 January 31, Friday
The winds coming across the harbour can be strong at times. After a few days of sizeable gusts the snow behind my house was whipped into a dune.
