Mist on the Falls

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Photo #681: Niagara MistLocation Taken: Niagara Falls, New York
Time Taken: December 2009

…Huh, I’m actually drawing a complete blank for something to talk about. Guess the lingering effects of this bout of depression are teaming up with a lack of doing anything I feel like talking about lately. Nothing worrying, just one of those things that happen occasionally. Everyone has off days.

So, well, time for a pretty photo!

That’s one of the advantages of running a photo-and-writing blog. If one part just isn’t working, I can focus on the other. And picking out a pretty photo is really easy.

  

A Slip in Focus Becomes a Slip in Reality

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Photo #680: Soft FlowerLocation Taken: Gros Morne Park, Newfoundland
Time Taken: July 2012

Normally I’d pass on a photo with such little in-focus area, but here, here it works. It’s managed to go through the blurriness out the other side to what is known as “soft focus”.

I’m not quite sure how I managed it. Normal soft focus requires either a special lens or photo manipulation. But I still have large areas where the edges are clear, but the interior has that gentle blur. There are a few petals that are clear and fully in-focus, but they manage to actually make the out of focus areas look better.

So, why would you want soft focus? It adds an other-worldliness to the image. Just a touch of fantasy, an idealization of reality, a step into the realm of fairy tales and dreams. This adds in a lot of symbolization, especially related to nostalgia. Part of that’s because people in what’s currently the “Good old days” used this a lot, partly because it reminds us, just a touch, of memories that have gotten fuzzy with age and over-use.

It also turns the specific into the generalization. No longer is this a flower, it is THE flower, the one true essence of this specific flower. You look at this photo and somehow feel like you have a deeper understanding of how this flower acts.

Which, of course, is complete nonsense. You’re actually getting less information than if this had been properly focused. Which in itself is a misnomer, since “proper” implies one true way, and soft focus is a completely valid second path.

  

In Memory of What Was Once There, And of Those Left Behind

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Photo #679: Forest RemainsLocation Taken: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Time Taken: October 2012

I’m running depressed. This happens occasionally, and since I know it’s just an imbalance in my brain chemicals, it actually doesn’t affect me too much. Mostly means I’ve got a general feeling of irritation at the state of the world and my life, and the complete lack of motivation to do anything about it. I’m running bored and uncreative and unproductive.

And, alas, in a touch of mourning. My guild in Guild Wars 2 has been fading for months, to the point where only a handful of people even signed in daily over the past few weeks, and today the guild leader decided to officially call it shut down. Which means I need to find another guild or something. I’d bemoan the loss of the people I’ve enjoyed spending time with, but they all wandered away already.

Ah well, it was a good run. Lots of fun, lots of adventures, lots of memories. And now it’s over.

My personal philosophy on grief is to focus not on the fact that it has ended, but on that it happened. So I shall go through my mourning rather quickly, and move on.

Which, alas, will mean trying to decide what guild to join and then, toughest of all for a social phobe like me, actually join it. Which, of course, means I’m going to procrastinate on it some, all under the guise of “researching the other guilds”. Of course, I’m going to do some actual research too…

Hmmm… Do I stand in Lion’s Arch and collect recruitment messages, or do I go to the various group events I enjoy and see who’s doing a really good job at leading them… Choices choices…

  

All Volcanoes are alike, right? Not at all, not at all!

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Photo #678: Crater RocksLocation Taken: Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho
Time Taken: June 2010

Look at this! There’s a volcano that’s got blue flames!

If you can’t see the photos for whatever reason, it looks like rivers and lakes of electric blue flames. Soooo nifty.

This particular volcano, Kawah Ijen in Indonesia, happens to erupt a lot of liquid sulfur. This isn’t lava as we think of it, since it’s a pure element rather than standard molten rock. However, the sulfur is so hot that once it hits the surface and the cool, oxygen-rich, air there, it has a pretty good chance of just plain catching on fire. If you remember your high school chemistry classes, most of them mention how different elements burn in different colors. It’s a fairly easy yet dramatic demonstration, so most good teachers will show this off.

But anyway, sulfur burns a glorious blue. It’s fairly faint, so it’s not visible at day, but at night, that’s when the magic happens.

Kawah Ijen also happens to be a good source for sulfur mining. Well, mining’s not the right word, more like “funneling the liquid through pipes to cooling basins”. It’s dangerous work, what with working right on an active volcano spewing out toxic gasses. Plus this is a rather poor part of the world, so many of the workers have only wet rags to protect them from the bad air. And there’s no road up to the work area, so they climb the mountain and then haul the sulfur down on their backs. Not the best job, and fairly low-paying too, but obviously there are people willing to do it in those conditions.

And at least they can occasionally avoid having to work in the sun by working at night instead, their way lit by the blue flames.

  

A Storm Avoided, A Sight to See

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Photo #677: Cloud On The HorizonLocation Taken: Eastern Washington
Time Taken: October 2012

These days, it seems like I’m alternating between wanting to write overly elaborate posts and just putting up random pictures of, let’s say, clouds or something.

Don’t know what’s up with that.

Some of it is probably a sub-conscious anti-burnout thing. Coming up with something to write about each and every day actually requires a surprising amount of creativity. And sometimes, well, I just don’t have enough. So instead of pushing myself potentially too far, I take it easy for a day and let things regenerate.

It’s probably part of why I’ve been able to keep this whole daily posting thing up for so long. I’m closing in on 700 posts now, don’t you know? And I haven’t missed a day yet. I’m doing far better than the vast majority of blogs out there, who just put up a horde of posts right at the start, then fade away into “I know I haven’t posted in a while…” obscurity. I have no idea about how popular I am, mind you. Don’t fully want to know, either. In some ways its comforting to believe you’re just writing for your parents and a handful of other people who chanced upon this strange thing I create. Keeps the pressure low.

Hmmm… I seem to be in a self-analyzing mood today. And my goodness, isn’t that one of the most self-describing sentences ever? In order to notice you’re in a self-analyzing mood, you have to be analyzing yourself. It comes full circle.

And now I’m wandering into the delights of sentence structure, so to spare you further torment, I shall leave off here.