Shadow and light

9 August 2010

The first photo in this post was inspired directly from the work of Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916), a Danish artist. There is a certain pleasant serendipity in this image being shot today, since it was taken in Charlie and Lulu's dining room and Charlie and Lulu were the ones who first introduced me to Hammershøi's work. The painting below, known in Danish as "Sovkornenes dans i solstalerne," was the piece I had in mind when I saw the photo opportunity this morning.



I think the first shot is even more interesting in black and white. iPhoto makes that conversion with just a click. I dialed down the contrast to get the image to the following form.



The remaining shots were taken late this afternoon on our walk through the Thompson Park, just a few miles away. I was playing with the theme of shadows and light…



… reflecting off of the water surface with ripples in deep shade



… on the closely spaced trees in the forest illuminated by the low sun angle



… and on the trunks, pavement, and walkers along the tree-lined path through the park.

Manasquan Reservoir and sunflowers

8 August 2010

For today's walk, Charlie and Lulu took me out to the Manasquan Reservoir, about a 30-minute drive from their house. The day was warm (85 °F) and mostly sunny, but not too humid. We did a loop around the reservoir and large portions of the walk were through thick hardwood forest that reminded me a bit of Denmark.



What I found visually the most interesting during this walk were the stands of snags at various places around the perimeter of the reservoir. The opening photo has this eerie feel where the dead tree seems to be levitating above the water! The second photo was from the other side of the reservoir, where the reflections reminded me of a pencil sketch.



On the drive in, we noticed a huge field of sunflowers and we stopped on the way back so that I could take these last few shots (among many others, of course).

Monmouth County, New Jersey

7 August 2010

The train ride yesterday evening from New Haven, CT, to Metropark, NJ, was pleasant. It's so much easier than flying! Walk to the train station that is only a mile from downtown. Check in by scanning my e-receipt under a reader to receive my ticket. Watch the old fashioned mechanical announcement board to find out which platform to use. Board when the train arrives and find a comfortable, spacious (relative to an airplane, anyway) seat for the three hour ride. A visual highlight was crossing into Manhattan as the sun was nearing the horizon. (But I had an aisle seat so I didn't take a photo.)



Charlie and Lulu met me at the station in NJ and drove me to their house in Colts Neck, where I'll be staying for several days to work on some joint research projects. This morning, we went to nearby Thompson Park for a nice long walk, part of which was along the banks of a reservoir. We saw an old cemetery and some wildflowers that were close to the end of their lives.

Ornamental Yale

5 August 2010

Hail Yale University!
• A premier Ivy League school (sorry, Brown!)
• Alma mater to former (and, no doubt, future) US Presidents and Supreme Court Justices.
• Selective beyond reason (only 7.5% of applicants are admitted to their freshman class).
• More than 300 years old!
• The second wealthiest university in the US (endowment ~ $20 billion).



Although mainly known for their liberal arts undergraduate program, their law school, and maybe their divinity school, Yale does have a good (albeit quite small) engineering school. I've been collaborating on research with a professor here in Chemical and Environmental Engineering. This week, I'm here for a research progress and planning meeting.



This is my 3rd visit to Yale and I don't yet have a feel for the "soul" of the place. One aspect: Yale is a walled-in fortress defending itself from the surrounding somewhat rundown community of New Haven. A second aspect: Gothic architecture that makes me expect to turn a corner to find Severus Snape or Draco Malfoy. A third aspect: The intricate, often humorous, sometimes bizarre ornamentation depicted here from the vintage buildings in and around the older parts of campus.



This year I'm staying at the Study Hotel on Chapel Street just a block or so away from the old campus. On this block, there are three Thai restaurants. Each morning, I've tried a different locally-owned coffee shop (two very good, two not so much). It's a pleasant mile-long walk to the Mason Laboratory where I've been working.



The weather was terrific for the first few days. Yesterday it turned hot and humid, but not horribly so. Each day, I've spent a half day in meetings with the Yale team and a half day working on Berkeley projects or tasks.



These photos are all from core parts of the Yale campus, mostly taken while I've been walking to work in the morning or back to the hotel in the afternoon.
1. The Master's House at Calhoun College.
2. Ornament at eye level on the side of the entrance gate to Davenport College.
3. Ornament at the entrance to the Sterling Memorial Library (note the bird's nest!).
4. From the Law School, I think. A drunken gambler. Maybe bootlegged liquor?
5. Definitely from the law school! A policeman whistling and a hardened criminal.
6. (Above) From outside the Sterling Library, maybe the strangest of all! A pilgrim shooting a native.
7. (Below) Above one of the doorways to enter the Law School, a professor's view of the classroom. He's enthusiastically pontificating to a sleeping class! (The complement appears above the other doorway: Passionate students and a disinterested professor.)



I leave Connecticut tomorrow afternoon and travel by train to New Jersey.