We have a Winner!

The other day I was browsing through the featured pictures section in Wikipedia when I saw this incredible picture of a match igniting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Streichholz.jpg
My first thought was that I could surely take a similar picture.

When I got home that evening I got out my camera, a tripod, a box of matches and a lighter and took everything into the kitchen. After inventing a system to hold each match, I set the timer on the camera and started taking pictures.

The idea was to light the match just before the camera took the picture. I figured it was going to be just a question of practice and luck. In the first 20 or so pictures you could see either an unlit match or a burning match, nothing to write home about. But eventually I managed to synchronize everything and after getting 4 or 5 “winners” I decided to call it a day.

When I compared my “winners” with the original Wikipedia picture I realized that I was doing something wrong. I had forgotten to use a flash and for that reason there was no visible smoke in my pictures.

The following day I made another attempt and this time, after adjusting the position of the external flash, I got the definitive pictures!

Winter

The winters in Madrid are nothing like the winters in Boston. I've been living here since 1980 and I still can't get over the fact that in the month of December I can enjoy the flowers on the outside window sills of my flat.

Mud & Stuff

The first thing I came across today were these mushrooms. They looked like they were covered with some kind of thick substance.



From there I headed straight for my favorite spot to see if I could get myself in the picture.



There were leaves everywhere. The tires of the bike don't make a sound when they roll over this bed of leaves.



There was a bright blue sky which contrasted nicely with the colors of this tree.



For the first time in my life I actually got stuck in the mud. The bike literally came to a halt and I couldn't move it at all. Finally I managed to lift it out of the mud and carry it to dry ground.



I had to use a stick to remove enough of the mud to be able to push the bike to the nearest puddle. I couldn't believe how thick and hard the mud was. Now I understand how they can build houses with it.

This picture was taken at 1.10 pm and I got home at 3 pm so I had to have spent a good hour there with the water and the stick before I could ride the bike again. On the way home I rode through every puddle I could find.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep

To avoid the dangers of being a weekend athlete I always try to get in some physical exercise during the week. This year I’m lucky because four days a week I have a midday class which I can walk to, 30 minutes each way.



I managed to squeeze in another bike ride to the Casa de Campo yesterday morning. I took my camera with me but since I didn’t have much time nor was I particularly inspired by what I saw I only took a few pictures. I spent most of the time practicing taking pictures of myself. The camera has a semi-detachable display screen.








I was heading back when I heard the sounds of a flock of sheep that are allowed to graze in certain areas of the park and I decided to check it out. There were quite a few sheep but they wouldn’t let me get close enough for a good picture so I had to zoom in from a distance.







Then I noticed a lamb that was all alone and apparently oblivious to my presence. I approached to what I considered the minimum distance to obtain a decent picture. I then proceeded to take successive pictures getting closer and closer for each shot.

For the last couple of pictures I was now on my knees. Well, you guessed it. After all this effort not to disturb this little guy I was now an arm’s length away waiting for him to open his eyes, turn his head and pose for the picture. I started making noises until finally he reacted. The minute he realized I was there he jumped up and ran off.

Here’s a cropped area of the previous picture.