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Weekly Photo Contest Challenge: 2020 (December 9-16, 2020)
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Really struggled to come up with something both relevant and meaningful for this one. I took this picture one early morning at my in-law's cabin in central PA. It was actually taken in February (pre-pandemic), but in looking back through my photos, it seemed to encapsulate how I've felt for a good portion of the year - on the inside looking out.
Since it's not closed yet, here's a photo of our excellent air quality this summer with the wildfires
Apologies for the delay - working on it right now - think of it as waiting for your COVID test results
think of it as waiting for your COVID test results?
So I have to go to work and let my wife and daughter do the dirty work? ( I have only been tested by proxy. They developed symptoms and got tested, negative fortunately)
This was an interesting theme, and intriguing to see how each of us interpreted it. Thanks, Ed!
Congratulations to Stillcrazyman and Akash.nu! Good choices, both of these!
Yes, it took Alfred a bit of time to get himself out of the water and actually into the air -- probably the reason I was able to get that shot! When he is on land and takes off, it's much quicker and a bit more graceful, and once he's actually in the air and moving, he is just lovely then....
Congratulations to Stillcrazyman and Akash.nu! Good choices, both of these!
Yes, it took Alfred a bit of time to get himself out of the water and actually into the air -- probably the reason I was able to get that shot! When he is on land and takes off, it's much quicker and a bit more graceful, and once he's actually in the air and moving, he is just lovely then....
What ? I certainly don’t feel worthy of the top spot ?
I will try to come with something good for the next one.
I will try to come with something good for the next one.
Congrats to the winners. This was a very timely, creative and emotional theme - and the entries showed that.
In response to @deep diver - as a fellow PA'er I agree Central PA is beautiful. The wife and I love to hike and we don't have a shortage of state parks from which to choose. Really enjoy the area.
In response to @deep diver - as a fellow PA'er I agree Central PA is beautiful. The wife and I love to hike and we don't have a shortage of state parks from which to choose. Really enjoy the area.
Admittedly my entry was not even the best of the photos I took that day. Truthfully I've been using my photography as more of an escape from 2020 than an attempt at documentation.
I liked several of the entries, but since I emotionally gag whenever I see a mask on someone, I would have chosen differently. Admit that there is nothing at all objective in that response, and it is not intended as a slur on the deserving winner.
Hard to say for certain as I was just along for an enjoyable ride, but I would probably have gone with Laird Knox as the winner. I too preferred the colour version but monochrome better reflects the chosen topic.
Anyways thanks for an interesting topic.
I liked several of the entries, but since I emotionally gag whenever I see a mask on someone, I would have chosen differently. Admit that there is nothing at all objective in that response, and it is not intended as a slur on the deserving winner.
Hard to say for certain as I was just along for an enjoyable ride, but I would probably have gone with Laird Knox as the winner. I too preferred the colour version but monochrome better reflects the chosen topic.
Anyways thanks for an interesting topic.
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That's interesting, OldMacs4Me, that you would have chosen a selfie as a winner..... Just as you dislike seeing masks on people (well, that's not going to go away for quite a while yet), I tend to have a thing about selfies......don't care for them at all. I suppose it's a generation thing since I'm a bit older than many here.
Yep, photography is very much subjective!
Yep, photography is very much subjective!
Reminds of a shot I shoulda taken back in 2017. At the Big Bend viewpoint on Columbia Icefields Parkway, a couple of busloads of Asian tourists all with their backs to the scenery taking selfies. I'm not sure any of them even turned around to look at the grandeur, before they were herded back on the tour buses.
Congratulations to the winners and look forward to the next.
My photo was taken Thanksgiving Day and felt kind of weird in shorts next to Santa. Returning from a hike in the nearby Wetlands Park, and that is a perpetual display in the town of Christmas. Took both with and without a mask, but in keeping with the theme of the contest, I should have noted that hadn't had a haircut since February. Don't know when I will, but definitely by Spring as was quite hot in July when only partially grown out.
New contest is up: Weekly Photo Contest Challenge: A New Hope for 2021 (December 20-27, 2020)
As many said - tough contest ... 2020 soon will be a "wrap", I like the "New hope for 2021" theme for next one.
When I thought about 2020 ... there were so many who gave for others, my picture showed the educators faces only purposely as this group went to 500 graduating students homes over a few days.
Let that sink in, 500 trips.
That story & countless Senior's and their educators across the world who tried to bring a happy closure to the students HS life. Honestly, talking to many Seniors they've moved on to post HS already, I love it they accepted what life has thrown them and moved forward. Us adults can learn from them.
When I thought about 2020 ... there were so many who gave for others, my picture showed the educators faces only purposely as this group went to 500 graduating students homes over a few days.
Let that sink in, 500 trips.
That story & countless Senior's and their educators across the world who tried to bring a happy closure to the students HS life. Honestly, talking to many Seniors they've moved on to post HS already, I love it they accepted what life has thrown them and moved forward. Us adults can learn from them.
Also they make wonderful pretzels there, too -- in Lititz, PA, which isn't too far from Lancaster. Some years ago I visited friends in Lititz and we did the tour of the pretzel factory, which was really fun, and of course brought home some delicious samples! Now I'm sitting here trying to remember the name of that pretzel manufacturer..... Ah, thanks to Google, my memory has been refreshed: Sturgis Pretzel Factory. Mmmmm....!!
While there in the Lancaster area I also enjoyed a delightful Pretzel "sandwich" at Isaac's, a really fun restaurant, and somewhere, I forget now which restaurant, also tasted Shoo Fly Pie, which I'm sad to say, didn't thrill me -- it was a bit too sweet for my tastes.
It's so much fun driving around in Amish country and seeing the beautiful, lovingly tended farms and also of course seeing the Amish buggies with the horses dutifully trotting along..... Of course it can be a little frustrating when getting behind a buggy when one is in a car and needs to be moving more quickly, but at the same time it's an experience not found many other places around the US.....
While there in the Lancaster area I also enjoyed a delightful Pretzel "sandwich" at Isaac's, a really fun restaurant, and somewhere, I forget now which restaurant, also tasted Shoo Fly Pie, which I'm sad to say, didn't thrill me -- it was a bit too sweet for my tastes.
It's so much fun driving around in Amish country and seeing the beautiful, lovingly tended farms and also of course seeing the Amish buggies with the horses dutifully trotting along..... Of course it can be a little frustrating when getting behind a buggy when one is in a car and needs to be moving more quickly, but at the same time it's an experience not found many other places around the US.....
What a beautiful area. Any chance you can send me a genuine shoo fly pie?
Nice to see the Lancaster area getting so much love here on Mac Rumors! ? I agree with Clix Pix that shoo fly pie is too much for me. Whoopie pies are much more to my liking. I'm also not really sure the pie would hold up well in the mail. Sorry about that deep diver!
I basically live right between the 'city' of Lancaster and the town of Lititz (which was voted the coolest small town in America). While growth and development has been tremendous over the past 20 or 30 years, I still very much appreciate that I can drive 5 minutes in just about any direction and I'm surrounded by rolling hills with fields of wheat, corn or soybeans.
One thing which I was careful and mindful of was being respectful of the Amish people and their concerns about being photographed, so during my visit to Lititz and also on another visit when I was in Lancaster itself, I did not whip out the camera at every opportunity, especially when the Amish were around. I don't think they'd mind if someone took a photo of just the horses and the buggy, but I am aware that they are sensitive to the idea of someone pointing a camera at anyone in the family. I imagine that they are not happy with the many tourists who blithely disregard their feelings and start firing away.....
We would go the Lancaster when I was a kid visiting my Grandmother who lived in Wayne. Many fond memories of the Main Line. People out here in CA call it LanCASTer, I remember it being called Lanc-aster.
Eastern PA is known for two different kinds of pretzels. There are the hard sourdough pretzels from Amish Country and Philadelphia soft pretzels, which are magnificently dense and chewy. The latter can only be found in Philly. They cannot be shipped well because they have a shelf life of about 12 hours before they start to get stale. There is something about the mineral content of the water (properly pronounced as “woulder”) in the Delaware Valley that gives bread products a unique taste and texture. The same is true of water in the NYC area. Those twisted strings of bread called “hot pretzels” at all snack stands everywhere are not even close to the real thing. Pretzel buns are a closer approximation, but still not the same. Philadelphia soft pretzels are best eaten with plain yellow mustard.
Of course shoo fly pie is too sweet. It’s molasses sweetened with brown sugar. The flour and egg are there just to hold the sugars together. I liked it when I was younger. There is no way I could eat that much sweet now.
I live in Cleveland now. (My MR profile says Philadelphia because I am from there even if I don’t live there.) There is a large Amish community just east of us, so I can still enjoy those opportunities. I will sometimes take a longer route home just so I can drive through those communities.
Sadly, cultural respect is in short supply too often.
LANC-aster it is. The easiest way to figure out if someone is really from Eastern PA is to ask them to say Lancaster.