St. Stephen: My Namesake's Namesake

Merry Day-after-Christmas!
Not only is today Boxing Day (feel free to speak "Canadian" all day, eh), it is also the Feast of St. Stephen, who is pictured above from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
It is also my late grandfather's (dad's side) birthday - hence he was named after St. Stephen per Catholic tradition.
And I was named after my grandfather. (The "Umlaut" came much much later.)

Jack Frost Was Here

To celebrate the Winter Solstice, pictures of Mr. J. Frost's handiwork on my car window.

These were actually taken last year, with Old Camera from inside the car. The blue came from that morning's clear sky, with the car still in the shadow of our house.

Mantle Candles

For the Week 13 Photo Hunt challenge, a shot of our mantle decorated for Christmas.

This may just seem like an obvious grab for the bonus points (there are actually ten candles visible, and smoke from the "jar" candle on the left), but I'm pretty happy with the warm, home-for-the-holidays feeling I captured here, too. And we liked the way it looked so much, we're leaving it this way!

The Finished Product

And here are the finished kiffles!

...Uh, this plate's mine. Get your own. (ha ha!)

Kiffle Day, 2006

Kifli (or Kiffles, as we've come to know them) are German cookies consisting of a pastry dough rolled around a walnut filling, then doused in confectioner's sugar. They have been a tradition in my family for generations, and we look forward to them every Christmas. [I don't have time to type up the recipe right now, but a similar one can be found here.]
They are very labor intensive - dough balls and filling are made the previous day and refrigerated overnight, then each cookie must be individually rolled and filled.
To expedite all this, we schedule a Kiffle-making party every year on whatever free weekend we have in December. This also serves to make those who eat the kiffles work for their cookies! ;)

Our recipe yields 70 cookies, and this year we made 4 batches. And it still doesn't seem like enough!

This photo is also my "Party" entry for the 12th week Photo Hunt challenge.

Cotter

For the Week 11 Photo Hunt challenge: the cotter pin that holds the left side of my lawnmower handle.

Man and his dog/Kelly Drive

Taken during my jaunt to Kelly Drive to find a megaphone: for a few minutes, I watched this guy and his dog as they watched the world go by - by foot, bike and boat.
I thinkd there's something about this shot that captures some of what Kelly Drive is all about...

For the entire series of shots of the Man & dog, see my Flickr page.

Embossed Propeller

For this week's Photo Hunt, challenge - a leather-bound book, I dug out my well-worn copy of "Fighting Jets" from the Time-Life Epic of Flight series that I got as a gift from my aunt in my early teens.
I really like the propeller motif - the irony of a propeller embossed on a book about jets notwithstanding.

Running Late

This harried young man echoed my own sense of urgency as I tried to find a suitable photo for this week's Photo Hunt challenge: a skull cap (with bonus points for it being worn, being a yarmulka, and for varied coloration).
This picture was taken this morning in Lakewood, NJ, which is something of an Orthodox Jewish enclave.

Update – 11/28/06

TO ALL JORJ.ORG PHOTO HUNT PARTICIPANTS

Firstly, thank you to everyone who voted for this picture. First Place! Wow. I must say that I’m honored… and to be honest, a bit confused. More on that in a moment.

But to all of you – is it just me, or are all of you being driven completely batty by the Photo Hunt challenges of late? I mean, finding the subject is difficult enough – but to also photograph it interestingly…?

(I know that snapshot gratitude has felt my pain on at least one occasion!)

As the weeks go by, it seems my goal for each challenge falls into one of the following categories

a. try to capture the subject in a smartly-composed, well-executed (dare I say artistic) manner, or

b. to hell with the art, rack up the bonus points.

Ideally, these categories don’t have to be mutually exclusive. And I see that many of you have managed to create very striking photos that also earn the multiple, frequently arcane criteria required for big scores. I am often inspired by the shots I see entered every week, and I salute you for them.

I think I’ve approached this Platonic ideal a couple of times, most notably here and here. But sometimes, it’s just not in the cards and you make do with what you have.

Which is what I thought this photo was – my attempt at an entry that was very firmly (in my mind, at least) in category (b).

Maybe it was the difficulty I had getting it (see my Comments for that story). Maybe it’s because I typically don’t photograph people, unless they’re doing something really interesting (like this).

I guess you guys see something in this shot that I don’t. Maybe this is art after all… ? (The jury will take a while with that one... Meanwhile, I'll still be Finding My Way...)

So again: thanks. And extra special thanks to Jorj, for driving us (and driving us mad) every week!

(And thanks for indulging me in this rant – I didn’t mean to get all “bloggy” like this.)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go dig through my garage for a friggin’ cotter pin…

Penn Crew

This shot was taken from along Kelly Drive in Philly this morning, where (luckily for me) there was a regatta in progress.

I'm also using this for the week 8 Photo Hunt challenge: a megaphone. [I had another possiblity for more bonus points, but it fell through.]

Ganoga, Conestoga & F.L. Ricketts

From the recent Ricketts Glen trip:
Top: Ganoga Falls - at 94 feet, the biggest, baddest waterfall in the whole park. Note the figures visible at the top.
Middle: The rapids downstream of Conestoga Falls.
Bottom: Water washing over the rocks at the base of F.L. Ricketts Falls.

For more pix from the Ricketts Glen trip, see my Flickr page.

A Golf Odyssey

For this week's Photo Hunt, subject: a golf club (with bonus points for motion blur).

Que "Also Sprach Zarathustra"...

UPDATE - 11/14/06
Woohoo! This photo earned 3rd place (tied with this pic from snapshot gratitude) in the Week 7 challenge of the the Photo Hunt !
Thanks again to everyone who voted for it!

Lonely Tree - Bear Mountain

From our Hudson Valley trip - this tree had its own little spot claimed for itself on this rocky outcropping at the top of Bear Mountain.
Unfortunately, I couldn't back up any farther to get the whole tree - I'd have been over the edge!
For more pix from our Hudson Valley trip, see my Flickr page.

Autumn Colors - somewhere in-between...

...Both in proximity and hue:
This shot is from the Ricketts Glen trip. It was taken near the base of F.L. Ricketts Falls, looking straight up through the foliage. Still a lot of green on the lower boughs, but darker oranges and browns as you go higher.
For more pix from the Ricketts Glen trip, see my Flickr page.

Jack-o-Lantern Rogue's Gallery

...And every once in a while, the Photo Hunt is easy:
Our recent Hudson Valley trip included a Halloween party (our host's friends were gracious enough to let us tag along - thanks again, guys!) which included a pumpkin-carving contest! Here are some of the entries, lit-up and ready for judging.
Note: Justin & Ashley's "Wallace & Gromit" entry at top-left (to see a closer shot of it, click here) and my friend Brian's pumpkin - top row, second from right - which won for "Scariest." (Way to go, Bri!)
For more pix from our Hudson Valley trip, see my Flickr page.

UPDATE - 11/7/06
Woohoo! This photo earned 2nd place (tied with this pic from photomonkey) in the Week 6 challenge of the the Photo Hunt !
Thanks to everyone who voted for it!

Flashlight Beam

For this week's Photo Hunt: a shot taken over my gas grill.

Not the best shot ever, but after a week of uncooperative weather - and with time running out - I'll take it!

Autumn Colors - Large Scale

From this past weekend's Philadelphia Area Photobloggers trip up to Ricketts Glen, a view of the scenery north of Benton, PA.
More photos from this jaunt to come - as well as more pix from the Hudson Valley trip. And all this between Photo Hunt entries... !
For more pix from the Ricketts Glen trip, see my Flickr page.

Autumn Colors - Small Scale

While visiting friends in the Hudson Valley this past weekend, I spotted this tiny leaf on their back deck.

More Hudson Valley posts to follow...
For more pix from our Hudson Valley trip, see my Flickr page.

Flower Necklace

For this week's Photo Hunt, a shot of the window display from the Nirvana clothing store in Red Bank.
The polarizing filter got some of the glare (and provided that neat effect on the window) but it was no match for the midday sun lighting up the opposite side of the street.

South Street Chimes

At first, finding some interesting windchimes for this week's Photo Hunt was proving difficult, what with the nearest set already snapped up by another entrant. Luckily, a trip to Philly's South Street to see The Secret Machines (a band you really should check out, btw.) provided ample opporunities. We got there early and started browsing the shops, with this array appearing outside the Custom Stained Glass store.