Day 30 - falling hard on easy runs

Activity - day 16 of snowboarding. Lots of different trails, but the sad thing is that I crashed hard on my rear three times on easy green trails. Ugh. Good snow at the beginning of the day, and Slidebrook at the end. 

Photo:

Thought for the day: aim for the white spaces, not the trees!

Day 29: threat of powder

Activity: Day 15 on the snowboard, 2nd in a row with the former Acme Packet crew. The new snow - very little of it but enough to make a difference - definitely improved everyone's outlook on the mountain. Everyone started digging the toboggan run, and Eden Woods were actually pretty nice. Spillsville was great.

Photo: Finished product. I didn't think I arrived in time to catch the sun's rays streaming through the clouds. I was able to capture a little bit of it in the post processing.

Here is the original - can't even see the rays

Thought of the day: snow is forgiving than dirt. Hence why ground-loving mountain bikers become skiers and snowboarders in the air once winter hits.

Day 28: fun on the groomers

Activity: Day 14 of snowboarding. Even though conditions were pretty challenging, it was fun to spend a day on the hill with former colleagues from Acme Packet's Madrid and Peru offices

Photo - "Last run". The changes are subtle, but I tried to make the sky, the valley, and the snow / foreground each "pop" a little bit in their own way. I had to back down on the saturation on the sky - it looked a little too artificial the first time around...

Final product:

And here is the "before" version. 

Thought for the day: workplaces should encourage their employees to go out and hit the slopes on weekdays. It is a treat to ride the mountain without the crowds

Day 27 - slushy wet mess

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/479560000 sloppy ride on the singlespeed - lots of melting snow and generally squishy trails

Photo - Grooming Mt. Ellen under the stars. This is the after photo:

Here is what it looks like before post processing. I use a technique called ETTR (Expose To The Right), in which you overexpose the photo, and then adjust the exposure after capturing the image. The backlighting on the mountain is actually the moonrise behind the mountain. I also did a keystone correction for the perspective, because this was shot with a very wide angle lens (and then cropped).

Thought for the day: it is winter on the East Coast, and I must not have the mental fortitude of my friends who are doing Functional Threshold Pace rides on stationary trainers. Personally, I like a break from intense cardio during the winter, and I just hate exercising indoors!

Day 26 - Dusk hike on the water

Activity: hiking in the Fells - and on the reservoir for a bit.

https://www.strava.com/activities/478829852

Photo: post processed in Snapseed

But it will be better after using Capture One Pro

Thought for the day: don't make up stories to fill the void - just let the void be

Day 25 - cemetery sunset

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/478491843 A short walk to the cemetery to see the sunset

Photo: it was haunting to see this statue through the viewfinder!

Thought for the day: external validation is a siren song - listen to it at your own risk!

Day 24 - a full day

Morning activity: day 13 of snowboarding 

Afternoon activity: attending BYS's semistaged performance of Otello 

Photo: 

Thought for the day - discover the facts. Otello forgot to do this!

Day 23: fun dinner with friends

Activity: day 12 of snowboarding. Conditions ranged from not bad to very good depending upon where you were on the hill. Castlerock wasn't that good but Slide Brook was pretty nice. 

Photo: amazing chicken salad by Lars

This was part of a very fun and tasty dinner at the ski house 

Thought for the day: a meal with a dozen friendly people is really fun and puts everyone in a good mood

Day 22 - two flats and a sunrise

Activity : mountain biking in the snow. The ride was going well until my first flat. Nothing like changing a flat in 17 degree weather. https://www.strava.com/activities/475763666

Then I had a second flat with the tube. Then I had to ride home with a flat tire. 

Photo: 

Sunrise over ice 

Thought for the day: happiness comes from outlook. The flats and cold didn't make the ride with Matt any less fun. 

Day 21: slow and snowy Singlespeed ride

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/475367116 a pretty slow and snow covered singlespeed ride with a lot of stopping

Photo: didn't take any on the ride, but tried a bunch at home. Emilia made this for me a couple of years ago. 

Thought of the day: one of my daughters was complaining about the lack of cooperation from her fellow classmates on a school project. So how could this be improved? I'm not sure but I would think because it is school that everyone would be a bit more motivated. 

Day 20: Boston sunrise

Activity: riding out to Wright's Tower to shoot the sunrise: https://www.strava.com/activities/474404071

Photo: the sunrise of course!

Thought for the day: I'm reading "Aurora" by Stanley Robinson". The onboard computer is supposedly writing the nove. Will computers ever evolve to the point where they can write their own narratives?

Day 18: My first pow day this season

Activity: Day 11 of snowboarding. I acquired a Jones Hovercraft as a new powder board at the end of last winter. Today was the first day on it, and it was fantastic through both the tracked and untracked powder at Sugarbush. Katie and I were at Mt Ellen early in the day and had a great time on our first half dozen runs and then enjoyed skiing with the Burdges in the morning and the Destefanises in the afternoon.

Photo: I am enjoying the tilt shift capability in Instagram. I'll have to buy some better software to do this on my Mac. Here is the original - "Ready for first tracks"

And here is the post processed version from Instagram and Snapseed. I used the latter for selective saturation and desaturation and Instagram for the tilt shift.

Thought for the day: My friend Peter Holtzman recommends reading Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech". It takes just a few minutes and you can reflect on both how far we have come and how far we have to go. 

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Day 17 - my butt is sore!

Activity: day 10 of snowboarding. Conditions were ok in some spots and not so great in others and horrible at..the Castlerock runoff. Where I fell hard. Four times. Ugh. Butt is sore

Photo:

This is the sunrise after a small amount of post-processing in Instagram. 

And take a look at how nice it looks after some proper post and color grading in Capture One Pro!

Thought for the day: get back up after you have fallen down. No need to wallow in pity. 

Day 16 - rainy snowy hike

Activity: a rare hike with my daughter Katie in the wet snow and rain. https://www.strava.com/activities/471646568

Photo: Katie jumping off a fallen tree

Thought for the day: I am in awe at the constant and flagrant violation of basic traffic rules I witness in New England. Today I saw someone turn right on red with their kids in the car. Hmm - someone must have put that sign there for a reason, right? This must be a quintessentially New England behavior, because I have not witnessed it on the left coast. 

Day 15: The Ripper SWOP

Activity: getting lost on my side of the Fells and checking out random single track and double track.

https://www.strava.com/activities/470972902

Photo: The Ripper SWOP. As a photographer, lots of great material presents itself. This was my favorite shot of the night.

Before post processing: This photo is reasonably good. I was shooting in JPEG+RAW and ended up only processing the JPEG images. The main problem here is all the noise around the main subject.

Of course, that isn't anything a good crop can't fix. The other adjustments are pretty minor. This is more like it...

Thought for the day - a good laugh with friends is priceless

Day 14: fun single track snow

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/470440980 - snow is fun to ride in when there isn't any ice underneath. This was definitely one of those "good snow" days for riding single track.

Photo: I've been looking to get "interesting" selfies, and took this one using the iPhone's burst mode shooting capability. I post processed it directly in the iPhoto - it is a pretty useful tool.

 Here's the original photo - obviously needs straightening, but the contrast isn't there, and the trees could use some shadow and structure.

And here is the post processed version - straightened and some more contrast added to draw the eye to the wheel shadow.



Thought for the day: watching the season of winter take over is just fascinating. I love seeing what develops as water freezes. Just amazing.

Day 6: watch out for jumping trees

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/464608702
Ouch this ride hurt, and it wasn't the good kind. I was riding at a "New England in January" pace when a tree jumped out and checked me in the right shoulder, breaking a bit of skin. I had to stop for a minute until the pain subsided. Oof.

Photograph:

Our kitchen has some interesting light in the mornings. I adjusted the JPEG settings on my camera to see if I can get away without doing any post processing on this still life. It will be interesting to see how much of an improvement the RAW image yields.

Here is the post processed image. The photo looks more natural and some details like the olive oil bottle are less muddy, but the JPEG certainly isn't bad by any means in comparison.

Thought for the day:
Although the stress of not having an income is there, I am enjoying the lack of stress that comes without having regular deliverables! While I don't like being unemployed, it does have a few benefits.

Day 5: photo hike

Activity: Hike in the Fells - https://www.strava.com/activities/463656795
The Fells were a bit chilly - about 15 degrees Fahrenheit - this morning, so a hike definitely seemed more appealing than a bike ride. Conditions were just a shade icy in spots, but for the most part it wasn't treacherous at all.

Photography:

I liked how the longer shadows in the morning are fuzzy and drew a fuzzy line through the sharp part of the photo. This is definitely getting the black and white treatment!

In post, I brought out more of the drama in the differences between dark and light and highlighted the structure of the ice.

Thought for the day: I had a great work-related conversation with a former colleague this morning before my hike. The smartest people inspire others to learn and discover. Engage with them as much as you can.

Day 13 - fresh snow at home

Activity: nice but short hike with Anita and our friend Jenny's dog. https://www.strava.com/activities/469460152

Photo: morning sun through the trees and the snow.

Almost doesn't need any post processing!

Thought for the day: during the ski season, you are always anticipating and researching what is going to happen next. And regretting the time you're not there. I've just got to enjoy whatever is there when I'm there!

Day 12: go chickens!

Activity: a very cold morning ride with my friends Matt and Paul: https://www.strava.com/activities/468710759

Photo: what a gorgeous sunrise this morning! I only had my phone with me but the editing tools are getting pretty good. I was happy with how this came out. 

Before - taken in HDR mode on the iPhone

Same photo after post processing in Snapseed

Wow. Lots of recoverable highlights and shadows!

Thought for the day: a chicken doesn't care who is President or who is running for President. Chickens like their snacks and company and that makes them happy. Our happy birds laid five eggs to day - such a delight to harvest their gifts!

Day 11 - crispy winter hike

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/468096333

I went for a really nice hike in the Fells with Anita. The views were punctuated with nice light and we always have a good conversation on our walks. 

Photo:

One of my favorites this year. I am looking forwards to doing the post processing on this one. It has lots of potential. 

Thought of the day: not documenting with your electronica is liberating. I enjoyed Emilia's high school concert today without the obligation of documenting it. Joy. 

Day 9 (Jan 9): nearly bell to bell on the mountain

Activity: Katie and I came just short of asking from the opening to closing bell at a superb day at Sugarbush. A large number of the natural snow trails were open, and we enjoyed sampling the majority of them. The highlight of our day was certainly the hike to Castlerock - it was beautiful and quiet and the run down Castlerock and then Cotillion was punctuated by really nice snow and great conditions.

Photo: Katie at the start of the hike to Castlerock

The original shot from my iPhone 5S. It works just fine in good light, and my Sony's battery was out.

And here is the post processed version. There's saturation, structure, sharpness, contrast, highlight and shadow adjustment and tilt shift added to the photo. All of the processing was done in Instagram! Very impressive capabilities.

Day 10 - riding in the rain

Activity: snowboarding for 2 hours in the rain. I have mixed feelings about riding in the rain, but the conditions at Sugarbush were great, if a bit wet. Katie and I finally bailed when we were just too wet to continue.

Photo:

Sometimes, the iPhone works just great. These are the eggs from our friend Tom's mom in Vermont. I love the variety. 

Thought for the day: even GoreTex is lot invulnerable to a sufficient amount of moisture!

Day 8 - before and after chicken photos and the job search

Activity: a slightly slippery hike in the woods with Anita
https://www.strava.com/activities/465798331

Photograph:
It wasn't a good day for photographing landscapes - I didn't head out for the sunrise, which looked interesting, and during our hike, nothing really presented itself except some heavy machinery we saw near the reservoir. So late in the day, I checked out our chickens, and got a curious portrait of Shadow, one of our Australorps.

Before photo:

 This is the photo right after import into Capture One Pro with no modifications

After post processing in Capture One Pro:

There's a bunch of changes, including brightening and saturating the eye and comb, sharpening on the head feathers, increasing the structure on the beak and feathers, and reduction of saturation of the background chickens and making them a tad bit blurrier than in the original photo. Basically, all the changes are done to make Shadow (the foreground chicken) "pop" more and draw attention to her.

Thought for the day: looking for work is a discovery that you just can't do when working. Discovering the great activities organizations are engaged in is fascinating and a great learning experience. 

Day 7 - the dream of being a pro athlete is dead

Activity for the day: I actually left my phone on top of my snowboard so I just cribbed my friend Matt's ride from Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/464969720

Photo:

I was at 100 Summer Street for an interview, and I never tire of the architecture. The combination of old and new never gets old. The post processing on this is going to be pretty obvious - highlight recovery on the clouds and structure and sharpening and contrast on everything else. 

Thought for the day: 

In my 20s and 30s I harbored a stupid illusion that I could become a professional road cyclist if I really wanted to and put my mind to it. That despite significant evidence to the contrary, especially in the form of riding with professional cyclists. Now that I'm older, I've gradually let go of that fantasy and all I aspire info is ride "kinda like" those Leo downhillers. Except this time I know that "kinda like" is a huge stretch!

Day 4: Winter mountain biking

Activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/463102713 I confess that I was reluctant to head out into the cold. It's just a wee bit different heading into the chill with cycling clothes versus an army of warm snowboarding layers topped with wind stopping shell top and bottoms.

Photo:

The reservoir in the Fells is frozen for the first time this winter. I'll probably make this photo another high contrast black and white study. 

This was still pretty interesting in color after post processing. I don't think it works as well in black and white.

Thought for the day: mountain biking and snowboarding / skiing are quite the opposites in some funny ways, even if they are very similar in the fundamental way in which they impart joy to the participant. For example...

Rocks: great for mountain biking, horrible for skiing

Snow: bad for mountain biking (don't get me started on fat biking), good for skiing

Clothes: not warm in the winter for biking, warm in the winter for skiing

Cost of activity: fortune in gear / nominal pass prices for cycling, cheap gear / fortune in pass prices for skiing

And so on. Not deep thoughts - just mildly funny ones

Day 3: the full half day

Activity: Day 7 of snowboarding at Sugarbush. I stopped in at the season pass holders' office to work out why my resort charge wasn't working (expired credit card). While there, I changed Katie's pass to read "Katie" instead of "Katherine" and I also noticed that the snow report indicated that a run was not open that clearly had been opened by ski patrol early in the morning. That was Domino, a natural snow trail, and it was really fun. We did it at least 5 times. The last couple of times, Katie and the kids went into the woods, which I did not recommend. I followed them in once and that was enough - some of the lines were basically rock! It was still fun and only a littl bit of the base of Katie's skis got harmed in the process. 😀 We were only out for half the day, but we definitely crammed it full of good turns.

Photo:

I have driven by the Hancock lookout in Hancock Vermont dozens of times in the last few years. I finally stopped to take a photo today. I'm not sure how this will end up in the end, but I suspect a crop of the bottom and potentially converting this to black and white and increasing the contrast could be interesting. The clouds could come out nicely in post processing as well. I'll get to it later this week. 

Here is the photo after post processing. Not that great in black in white (or color for that matter). But definitely more interesting than the original.

Thought for the day: in our quest to modernize the world, we lose some of the romantic nature of things. In November, I saw a beautiful old mail chute in Chinatown in Boston, and today I saw an old mechanical cash register in Rochester, Vermont. Is Square better? Heck yeah - I love getting an email receipt of my purchases. But the workmanship and beautiful industrial design of this cash register from a bygone era hardens back to a time when technology and maybe life proceeded at a slower pace. I know I have set a personal rule of one photo per blog entry, but this one is worth a look. 

Day 2: some natural snow turns

Activity: Day 6 of snowboarding for the season. There were some really nice natural snow turns at Mt Ellen this morning!

Photo: "Après ski"

I expect in post processing I'll brighten the photo and fill in the bare spots further up the hill

Here is the photo after post processing. I just fixed the bare spot at the bottom and added some drama to the sky and improved the contrast and structure on the trees

Thought for the day: Don't get killed driving! It was snowing hard when we drove Ito the Mad River Valley yesterday and I heard from my friend Paul about an overturned car and a bus that went off the road. I was driving quite gingerly in the middle of the falling flakes for 30 minutes, and as a result showed up at the grocery store just after closing. That's s result I'll gladly take over the possibility of running off the road and risking life and limb. Drive safe out there!

Day 1 - hike in the woods

Activity: midday hike in the Fells. https://www.strava.com/activities/460800071

Photo

It has been so warm in December that a tulip bulb errantly appeared in our front yard!

This is the before photo. I just noticed that the tulip is a bit out of focus - the ice is in focus. I'll see whether I can improve that in post processing...

Here is the photo after processing. The focus can't be recaptured, but I did manage to get the focus on the bulb.

Thought for the day: I was really surprised to see this bulb springing - conscious choice of words - from the ground. Wow - this is just a stupid bulb, so think about how ecosystems are being impacted by the rise in global temperatures. 

What's this blog about?

In 2014, I started with - goal to do 70 straight days of exercise beginning January 7 and managed to get in 110 straight days in

In 2015, the goal was 100 days from the beginning of the year and I managed 206 days of activity in a row along with photos on just about every day taken in concert with the activity

This year, I'm setting a goal of 216 days of blogging. Each entry will contain a description and or a Strava link of the day's activity, a single photograph from the day, and a thought for the day. 

The activity may be cycling, snowboarding, hiking, or just a simple walk through the airport. It is a way for me to get cranked up and motivated for the spring cycling season in New England during the cold winter months and to record great days on the hill and the not so great ones in between of surfing snow. 

Last year, I tried to take photos during nearly every activity but this year I'm going to not necessary couple the two. I will attempt to show before and after of the photos to provide a peak into what kind of post processing goes into my photos. The after photo might not show up right away, as I am tending to process images in batches because that just seems to be the way I work. 

Finally, the thought of the day may range from sharing links I have seen in Facebook to commentary about a photo or a ride to some ideas that piqued my interest in a book I am reading. Just a mental appetizer for me to start the day. 

I am looking forwards seeing what develops in 2016!

Albert