Tag: photography
Beautiful azalea garden courtesy of our local water company
I was shocked to learn that our local water company, WSSC, maintains a beautiful azalea garden. We visited this week when the azaleas had just peaked and it was absolutely stunning. Five acres of nothing but azaleas bushes. The area is very accessible. There is parking just across the street near the WSSC facility, with a well marked crosswalk that provides access into the garden. Once in the garden area, you can traverse wide gravel paths. There are parts that are slightly hilly but it is fairl...
松江城 お城まつり 2026
今年は 2026-03-25 から 2026-04-08 の期間で開催されました。「ばけばけ」人気にあやかってか県外や海外の観光客も多く，比較的天気に恵まれたこともあって（田舎にしては）沢山の人がいました。 毎年お城まつりでは武将や忍者のコスプレをした人が歩き回っているのですが，今年はラピュタのロボットのコスプレ？着ぐるみ？がいてビックリです。写真を撮られまくってました。 お土産に栗まんじゅうを買ってったり。
Spring 2026 has outdone itself in the D.C. area
Springtime in the D.C. area is always amazing, with the cherry blossoms and many other trees bursting with color all at once. But this year has been particularly exception. It's like technicolor everywhere I look. Maybe it was the snowcrete this winter or the bitterly cold temperature we dealt with. But there's something special about this spring.
Cherry Blossoms in the D.C. Area
Contrary to what many non-locals think, the Tidal Basin in D.C. is far from the only place in the D.C. area to see the cherry blossoms. In fact, in my experience as a lifelong local, some of the best places to see the cherry blossoms are simply driving through the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. Cherry blossoms near the Washington Monument. Here’s some pictures from the 2026 cherry blossom season, which has been absolutely spectacular.
3月27日は「さくらの日」らしい
Taken on 2025-03-29 , Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiegel/54415681327/ 気候として今が春分の次候である桜始開（さくらはじめてひらく）に入ってるのと，さくら→3×9=27 の連想で3月27日を「さくらの日」としているそうな。 39（ザンク）で麻雀の点数を連想する私は汚れてますかね（笑）
雨粒美伝（雨粒御伝）
Taken on 2026-03-21 Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiegel/55159537469/ 「あまつぶびゅーでん」と読むらしい。8体ある石像「雨粒御伝 (あまつぶおんでん)」のひとつ。こんなもんあるのか。はじめて気がついたよ。松江城を中心に置かれているらしい。今度街中に出るときは探してみよう。
宍道湖散策
Taken on 2026-03-21 Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiegel/albums/72177720332640681/ 予定していたオンライン読書会が延期になりまして。1日完全オフになってしまった。さて，どうしよう。
布志名 才ノ神跡
Taken on 2025-03-20 Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiegel/54398478870/ 松江市，宍道湖の南側を東西に走る浜乃木湯町線（県道263）の道端にある才ノ神跡。山陰自動車道の建設の際に発見されここに移設された。
iPhone photo and video editing apps
Seeing how I cannot seem to use an actual camera to take pictures, I am doing my annual exercise of taking stock in the photography apps I use on my iPhone. When upgrading to the 17 Pro iPhone recently, I got the 1TB version, which means I have more room to store photos and videos taken at higher resolutions. For years I used Lightroom by Adobe. But ever since Adobe’s attempt to charge me to cancel a subscription, I have vowed to never use any of their services again. I also did not like having ...
My 2026 digital camera resolution has already failed
(or why I don't make New Years' resolutions) Just two months down in 2026, and I have already failed at the one thing I resolved to do - make use of my digital camera instead of always using my iPhone. Instead, I bought a new iPhone, the iPhone 17 Pro. Because that's a totally normal response to failing at something. Did I need a new iPhone? No, not really. But the improvements in the camera this year made it worthwhile spending of money (at least from my perspective).
Trying a digital camera....again
For most of the last 15ish years (maybe even longer), my primary camera has been my iPhone. I’m not a photographer but I enjoy taking pictures, sharing them with others, and occasionally posting to social media. As iPhone cameras improved, I saw less of a reason to carry around a separate camera. Unless I was going to use a heavy DSLR (NOPE), the device in my pocket felt sufficient for my purposes. And it was always with me! And I could edit on it! And I could use it to share my photos! A perfec...
Spring
I hate the cold weather part of spring, which is where we are right now, but I love seeing all the little signs of spring starting. Like birds! And trees blooming!
白潟天満宮
Taken on 2026-03-14 Pckt のギャラリー機能を試してみた。 白潟の天神さんに詣でるのって何年ぶりだろう。少なくとも40年以上は前だな。大学受験の合格祈願で詣でたのが最後？
中海周遊サイクリングコース
Taken on 2025-07-28, Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spiegel/54618565306/ 島根県と鳥取県を跨ぐ中海は実際には汽水湖で，島根県の一級河川，斐伊川水系の一部である。この中海をぐるっと巡るコースが「中海周遊サイクリングコース」で，全長72kmほどの道のりである。 私は脚力も体力も心もとないのとコース中に通称「ベタ踏み坂」とよばれる江島大橋があるため，それ以外のコースの一部を楽しむ程度だが。
Introducing my big blue suitcase
Five years ago when I moved across the country, I stuffed all of my zines into this big suitcase and there they have lived ever since. It’s powder blue, with a disgusting soiled fabric lined interior, except on the bottom where I once hot glued a bunch of electronics- back when I used it to house an instrument I built to make noise. I got it from the Salvation Army in Hadley MA. Since moving to LA the suitcase lived mostly in my van, and then when my van died it lived in the warehouse at the lab...