June 30, 2008 Archives

Sunday night was the scheduled holiday fireworks in East Haven. For this display, a barge full of explosives is towed out into Long Island Sound. The show can be seen from any point along the length of East Haven's shoreline. That's where Dr. Mel Goldstein, my partner in the weather department, lives with his wife Arlene.

This is where the fireworks should be watched from. I appreciate their invitation.

They have a beautiful home--the kind you get after your children are grown and elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned, the house is in move-in condition. I like their taste.

The show began around 9:15 PM. It wasn't perfect weather for a sky show. The state had been threatened with strong storms all day and into the night. Visibility was reduced in fog and haze. The cloud ceiling was low. The deck was wet from some earlier showers. The tide was in and directly below the railing.

I brought my tripod and an assortment of lenses. I am lost with fireworks. I really don't know how to set the camera. Since it's fixed and stable, I can chose as long or short a shutter speed as I please. Too many options!

I think the answer is a reasonably high f-stop, f11 as an example and around one second exposure at ISO 200. Maybe you have a better setting. I'm open to anything.

Longer shutter times bring more light and more of the frame filled. But longer exposures also make the fireworks look less sharp.

I like some of these, but I've seen much better. I need to learn the techniques used to get those shots.

A few years ago our driveway began to sag next to the front steps. Like any good homeowner I buried my head, closed my eyes and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, these things never heal themselves.

A month ago, I stepped on the depressed area and it give way. I was sinking. We had our own pothole! The time for inaction had passed. I called a few paving companies for estimates.

The first company wanted to rip out my driveway and start from scratch. It might be the best way, but I'm not ready to spend that kind of money right now. We went with a company which will repair, fill in cracks and then reseal the driveway. It's costing around 10% of a full re-do.

They were suppose to call before starting stage one. That never works, does it?

I now know why the driveway sagged and collapsed, "Moles." That's the word the driveway guy said as he peeled away the asphalt adjacent to our front steps. Then he pointed to a round tunnel, dug years ago.

Today they cut out two bad sections. Tomorrow (or the next day) they patch. Within the next week or two, they reseal.

I'm doing my part to help the economy.