Mallard ducks at West Falmouth Harbor December 18, 2020
Canada goose looking backward at West Falmouth Harbor December 18, 2020
I’ve gone to West Falmouth Harbor nearly every day for more than a week hoping to capture an image of the geese flying in. No luck so far. They are either already there when I get there, or they don’t show up. One day, however, they did come to the place where I was waiting, but they swam in instead of flying! No drama.
Monte
Chapoquoit beach, December 3, 2020
It’s always fun to divert my attention from the kiteboarders to people and their dogs on the beach, especially on a nice day like it was today — blue skies, wind around 18 mph, and temperature near 50 F. This dog, I forgot to ask for the name, was eager to perform for the camera. I like the other dog watching closely.
Luis at Chapoquoit beach on December 1, 2020.
Luis sent me an email after today’s session at Chapoquoit. He wrote that being out on the water gives him a sense of being connected to the universe in a way that is hard to describe. Perhaps this image of him can say what words cannot?
Monte
Zephyr at Chapoquoit beach, December 1, 2020
While photographing the kiteboarders, I like trying to capture the other action on the beach — dogs chasing tennis balls.
Monte
Paul’s dog at Chapoquoit beach, December 1, 2020.
Paul and his dog came out to the beach while I was there photographing the few kiteboarders that were out. I captured this image with a Nikon D500 and the Nikon 500 mm f-5.6 PF prime, which was a pretty tight zoom for the short distance between me and the dog.
Monte
Chapoquoit Beach, November 16, 2020
I was at Chapoquoit Beach today to photograph the kiteboarders. This cute corgi showed up and started chasing the kites up and down the beach. She had a lot of energy and was having a great time.
Monte
At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, Egrets were nearly driven to extinction because they were being killed by the millions so their feathers could be made into high-fashion hats. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918 saved the Egrets, and hundreds of other migratory birds by protecting them from people. In the past few years, the Migratory Bird Act has been weakened.
Monte
My friend, Ben, went out to paddleboard yesterday near sunset and I followed him with my camera. While we were out, he talked about how he and his family are dealing with life during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, I recorded all of it and made this video. I think Ben’s words and thoughts are inspiring because they are so authentic. I think you will, too.
Monte
Ben at Chapoquoit October 14, 2020
Ben at Chapoquoit October 14, 2020
Ben at Chapoquoit October 14, 2020
Ben at Chapoquoit October 15, 2020
Ben at Chapoquoit October 15, 2020
My friend, Ben, is an enthusiastic kiteboarder whom I’ve been photographing for a little more than five years. In the early days, I thought the images in which the kiteboarders were in the air were the most interesting pictures. But it turns out they like the photographs in which they are kicking up big waves whilst performing cutbacks as much as the aerial acrobatics, maybe more so.
I’ve been trying to capture more of those wave-making moments. Ben was really stirring up the water during my last two trips to Chapoquoit. So here are some of the shots, Ben. I hope you like them!
Monte
I’ve combined images and video of the kiteboarders from the past few weeks in this video.
Monte
Out yesterday on the bike path with my camera. Hoping for birds, but there weren’t many. So I did this timelapse of some wispy clouds over Great Sippewissett Marsh. It was a gorgeous day and just being out there was good for my soul.
Monte
Jenny wanted to learn how to ride the Elliptigo. She picked it up quick!
Monte
Miles at Old Silver Beach, October 10, 2020
Ben at Old Silver Beach, October 10, 2020
Ben at Old Silver Beach, October 10, 2020
David at Old Silver Beach, October 10, 2020
Windy Saturday at Old Silver Beach. I got there a bit too late. Tim, Hanu, and Paul had already stopped kiting. I was able to get a few shots and some video of some of the other guys.
Just got a new Elliptigo 8c to ride around for exercise and to take pictures. I’m still working on how to connect my bike trailer to it so I can haul around my camera gear and a tripod.
Monte
Sippewissett Marsh September 16, 2020
I went out to Sippewissett marsh on the bike path near sunset a few days ago hoping to photograph birds. I didn’t find many of them, but there was this interesting sun glowing through the hazy sky and reflected in the water. Then this big airplane appeared to my right as I was facing the scene. It became clear to me that the plane was curving around and would be flying right in front of the sun. I held the camera steady and waited for the plane to fly into the frame.
Sony A7R4 with Sony 100-400 f4.5-5.6
Monte
Yesterday was the first day for me to photograph the kiteboarders after the end of the summer. Peter was there with his son, Nico, who was skim boarding. It was fun to take pictures of the father-son team.
Monte
The World Wildlife Fund recently published The Living Planet Report in which they give the heartbreaking data on the 68% decline in global wildlife that has happened since 1970. The loss is nearly entirely caused by human activity. I, like many people, feel helpless to do anything to change human behavior.
Monte
My son, Justin, has started a sports analytics blog that he calls Turribul, which is a reverential reference to comments made about sports analytics by the popular, retired basketball player, Charles Barkley. Justin has a Ph.D. in economics, and he is brilliant with numbers. He is also a big sports fan. The combination of these two interests led him to a fascination with how the reams of data available for sports can be used to provide a fact-based alternative to all the speculation that goes on among enthusiastic sports fans and pundits about the games they love to watch and discuss.
Even if you’re only a casual watcher of sports, like me, you will appreciate what is revealed when hard data and number-crunching are applied to the world around us. This makes Justin’s blog an especially refreshing return to critical thinking at a time when our culture is being rocked by unsubstantiated conspiracies and alternative versions of reality.
The first blog post deals with the concept of “win expectancy,” and the second post looks at the real value of a home run in baseball.
If you consider yourself to be a “thinking” sports fan, take a look at Turribul.
Monte
There aren’t many butterflies in my garden these days, which is consistent with reports of declining insect populations around the world.
I was thinking about “obdurate loyalists” while waiting for this butterfly to show up. The term appeared in a newspaper column I’d read earlier in the day.
Monte
I am trying to educate myself on the subject of African American history, and the many contributions that African Americans have made to our nation and our culture. It is a really big area of study. Recently, I started looking at the work of Langston Hughes and found his very short, but profound, poem, “Beauty.”