Three posts at the MFA

Susan had to go into Boston for an eye exam, so I dropped her off and made a bee-line to the MFA.
It was a terrific visit, and I saw a lot of unexpected things, especially the Bloom exhibit, which was disturbing, riveting, fascinating, and remarkably beautiful.
Here is blog 1: Jewelry, Black History exhibit.

A  visit to the jewelry gallery, hoping for something new (there wasn't).

But I still love this great art in miniature

Art from the exhibit "Black Histories, Black Futures"

Alan Rohan Crite

"Madonna of Dudley Station"

(Curve in the Tracks), 1987

Archibald Motley

"Cocktails" about 1926

Eldzier Cortor

"Red  Ballroom Ensemble" 1996

Eldzier Cortor

"Still-life: Past Revisited" 1973

Eldzier Cortor

"Room No. V" 1948

Walter Augustus Simon

"715 Washington Street, Greenwich Village" 1947

Norman Lewis

"Untitled" 1660-64 

(detail)

Hughie Lee-Smith

"Along the Tracks", 1953

Yoshitomo Nara

"Your Dog" 2003

(In the cafeteria of the American Wing)

Cold walk in the Woods

Once in a while I am called back to the Streyer Conservancy, just up the road.  38 degrees, dark clouds, but I need the walk.  I took my 100-400 with the 1.4X and it is amazing that a lens that big could focus down to three feet!  So I took a few shots, and I'm finding that with IS set on no. 1, I get a lot of very satisfactory results.
Here is what I have.

Same shot adding flash.

Good solid pictures with pretty amazing contrast in such dark light.

I can't wait to get to a environment with some color!! (Costa Rica).

A few Early morning bird walks

I joined the Friday Morning Bird Walk with the South Shore Audubon, the first time I've been out with them in quite a while, and the first bird of the day was a real rarity, a Western Tanager, whose normal range is west of the Rockies.  I didn't get a superlative picture (too far away), but here it is, along with another bird I have never managed to photograph well until this morning, our resident Belted Kingfisher. The Kingfisher, Harbor Seal, and Cormorant were taken with a 1.4 converter, and the results are pretty good.
I am going to keep that on the camera and do more experimenting.
For a good percentage of the bird group (about 30), the  Tanager was a life list bird.  I had seen one in the woods around Lake Louise, Banff, and I had a picture, but I can't locate it. I'll just have to get to Banff again(would I love that!).

Western Tanager

Belted Kingfisher 

Harbor seal at Manomet, probably 500 yards away.

Common Loon, in Cape Cod Canal

Great Cormorant, again at a great distance.

New Year Getaway

After  all of the activities of the season Susan and I drove down to Provincetown for two nights of just being by ourselves, at the wonderful Admiral's Landing B&B, perfectly situated to enjoy strolling in P-town.
We had two splendid meals, one at "The Mews" (a rare find for New England, a great steak!),and one at "Finizzi's".
I did my usual before dawn drive both mornings out to Race Point in hopes of seeing a Gannet or Razorbill (no luck, ferocious wind, about 0 degrees with the wind chill), but I did get my first good photograph of a Long-tailed Duck in the docks of the harbor.  There were Black Guillemots reported there is well, but I missed them.
We visited the  Pilgrim Monument Museum, a first for us, and that was a great find.
Weather very rainy and dark for two days, but brilliant sunshine for the drive back.

Red-breasted Merganser

Compare this photo on a very dark and rainy day with the one below on Jan.1 with sunlight. 

Same thing with these two shots.

And here is the Long-tailed Duck on Dec. 31 in the murk.

And the same bird on Jan.1, full sun. 

I have never seen a duck look more like a dog. 

And I don't remember ever seeing a duck eating a fish (or trying to).

P-town harbor, New Years Eve.

And the Pilgrim Memorial

(which, by-the-way, is the tallest granite structure in the world)

Susan at Fanizzi's

The sunshine arrives Jan. 1

At the Pilgrim Memoria Museum

Art by the Del Dio family

White-throated at the Wellfleet Audubon Center

Pausing at the Cape Cod Canal for lunch. 

And, back to grandchild duties, taking Carter to school, Jan. 2 2020