Greg Molyneux Photography

Tag: musings

  • A Look Back

    A Look Back

    100mm macro photograph of a purple clematis flower backlit by bokeh and the sun.
    A Look Back — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 800 | EXP 1/100

    I have a photography problem. A mix of neglect, half measures and procrastination type problem. The neglect is simple: not shooting enough. The half measures and procrastination bit happens after the times I do shoot but do not process or post. Which brings me to today, sitting at The Union Market working at my backlog. And so we throw it back to mid-May and my backyard clematis. Thought it looked cute, probably won’t delete later.

    Thoughts and happenings

    It’s been a big year for me and live music, brought to you by Asbury Park. I’ve managed to see Rebelution, The Hip Abduction, Too Many Zoos, and Stick Figure in the span of about five months. I even scarfed a bunch of excellent Korean fusion street tacos along the way—looking at you, Mogo.

    2023 will go down as an all time banger year for video games. Tears of the Kingdom chief among them. I have 200 hours socked into this masterclass in game design, and it’s been superior summertime comfort food. A much needed palate cleanser considering the abomination that are the 2023 New York Yankees.

    Speaking of abomination: I cannot wait for Dune: Part 2. Which reminds me, I still need to see Barbie and Oppenheimer.

    The Witcher season 3 was a disappointment. I can’t decide if it was actively bad, or if I’m already missing Henry’s Geralt?

    Stoked for Ahsoka but not without concern. She’s my number one in the Star Wars universe, and I hope that don’t do her dirty like they did with Obi-Wan Kenobi which was decidedly mid. Andor, however, is LEGIT.

    Found out Andy Serkis has an audible voiceover for the Silmarillion. I’m souped to hear his version. Also, if you’re a LOTR fan with interest in podcasts and the entire legendarium, the Nerd of the Rings is an absolute must podcast.

    Buzzed my hair for the summer. So why is summer almost over?

    More to come in this space.

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  • Let’s Go

    Let’s Go

    14mm wide angle photograph of a fiery sunset burning intense reds, yellows, and orange across the whole of the sky. All reflected by the calm mirror reflection of the Stafford Forge lake.
    Let’s Go — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    Two Zero Two One, let’s go. You’ve a very low bar to surpass your predecessor’s legacy of pandemics and problems. We’re counting on you for life and health this year.

    Last year I was well into April before I shared my first photo on this website. A lapse I hope not to soon repeat. This evening’s banger of a sunset made for a smoldering debut and guaranteed such a slump would not happen this year. It was pure fire over the mirror still waters of Stafford Forge’s front lake. Absolute time well spent; 10 out of 10, would do it again. Skies Like This, let’s go.

    What have I been doing lately? Let’s go:

    • Watching: Bridgerton was a fun time; cool spin on a not so rigid period piece. Finished my second Star Wars Rebels rewatch last night. At its best the show is absolute peak Star Wars. It’s an animated series but do not let that fool you—it’s deep and worthwhile with characters you care about. World War II in Colour because my interests are all over the place.
    • Reading (audible-ing?): I finished Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere on my walk today. Having read Good Omens, American Gods, Norse Mythology, and The Sandman before it, I must say Neil sits atop my favorite authors list at this point.
    • Playing: Hades. This rougelite is an outright masterpiece. Easily the best thing I’ve played last year, and that’s saying a lot considering Ori and the Will of the Wisps was phenomenal. I’m over 70 hours into Hades and have made it out of hell 11 times. I cannot get enough. Play Hades!
    • Listening: the Who is getting an absolute workout right now, and I am properly wearing out Quadrophenia front to back, over and over sans jacket cut slim and checked. In fact I am listening as I edited this photograph and wrote this post.

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  • Short Days

    Short Days

    14mm wide angle sunset photo made of pink pastel clouds over brown wind swept salt marsh grasses and rippling water features.
    Short Days — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | 7 Bracketed Exposures

    The sun sets early this time of year. Snuffing out daylight early and often. Long nights leave us vexed, corrupting our internal sense of time. How is it only 6:00 p.m.? It feels more like midnight. Premature exhaustion settles in by 8:00 p.m. and the call to hibernate is real. So is the struggle. When midnight hits so does the second wind and the time destroying whims of winter come full circle. Morning alarm goes off and we rejoin the dark waltz again.

    Yet winter and its stunted days are not without benefit. Here’s a quick hit list of its boon:

    • Holidays! Halloween through New Year’s marks a run of festivities to cover all manner of secular and religious celebration. Hell, we’re even afforded our chance at the annual airing of grievances.
    • Time off! Dating back to our childhood we associate this season with winter break and snow days. Even into adulthood we appreciate the breaks we earn.
    • Snow! Many hate it, I love it. For my money it’s the only weather that makes living in cold climes worthwhile. Let’s all agree to slow down a bit more and stay safe when we have to drive upon it.
    • Video games! In honor of capitalism, entertainment companies drop all manner of first rate AAA titles upon button starved consumers. This pairs nicely with long nights and time off. As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy there’s nothing like questing through Hyrule on a long cold night.
    • Movies! Whether it was the early 2000s dropping The Lord of the Rings in three successive Decembers or the Star Wars drops of the late 2010s, winter blockbusters are a cozy way to spend an evening.
    • Sunsets! Sure they happen early, but nothing compares to cold fuel winter sunsets. It’s when the vivid pastels paint the sky, and the ever elusive purple comes to play.
    • Fresh starts! New Year’s gives us a chance to begin again. Wipe the slate clean and make new things happen.

    What are some ways you make the most of long nights delivered at the hands of short days?

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  • Slow Way Round

    Slow Way Round

    14mm wide angle sunset photo facing east over the salt marsh under pastel colored cotton candy clouds.
    Slow Way Round — 14mm | f/8 | ISO 100 | EXP 0.3 sec

    The pastel sunset theme carries on. Fitting I wrap September 2019’s photo bracket with one last cotton candy salt marsh burner. Here we are looking east over Cedar Run Dock Road marsh at sunset. Painted skies marked in all directions, coloring up in dashing pink tones any cloud floating about a fading blue sky. Not much to do except drift off and absorb the glow. Body, mind, and soul all lifted into righteous accord in the halls of nature.

    Musings:

    • From the video game font: Currently playing Link’s Awakening for Nintendo Switch. Outstanding. Never having played the original Game Boy nor its DX color version, this is a brand new Legend of Zelda experience for me. This coming on the heels of Hollow Knight, which was astounding. (Played on PS4.) Next up I plan to tackle Ori and the Blind Forest on Switch. Fun times.
    • Had my first real virtual reality headset test run this week. Spent about an arrow with Oculus. Something as simple as tossing paper airplanes in the opening tutorial was astounding. This was the most profound tech experience I have experienced in decades. Hard to imagine virtual reality becoming anything other than a dominating force in our daily lives. But at what cost to the human experience?
    • 2019 MLB Playoff baseball is here. The Yankees kick of the ALDS against the Twins on Friday, and I am pumped. Apologies in advance to my twitter feed. U feel good about this season though I have a gnawing worry about regression. The Yanks have handled their business against the Twins for the better part of two decades. If you believe in due, at some point the worm will turn. #YankeesOnly
    • Speaking of due: I want big snows at the New Jersey coast this year. Several blasts. I willing own this unpopular opinion. I’ll try to make good photographs at least.
    • A few days past I wrapped up 1984, and I am currently in the early stages of Catch-22. The former was a gut punch and so far the latter is cynicism dredged in sarcasm fried in satire and seasoned with irony at medium to high heat. I reckon this is Heller’s intention.

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  • Until Next Season

    Until Next Season

    100mm low key macro photo of a black-eyed susan flower with shallow depth of field and bokeh.
    Until Next Season — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 100 | EXP 1/800

    It is now September. This more or less puts a wrap on flower season for 2019. I have a few photographs from summer to publish here yet, but making new flower photos is all but done. Looking back on this summer’s flower shooting, I’m pleased with where I’m at. I spent more time with my 100mm macro lens than I have in years, and made at least one photograph certain to make the 2019 best of list. I am hereby allowing myself a pat on the back.

    Random musings:

    • The New York Giants defense is terrible; after one game in Dallas it seems we’re onto next season
    • The New York Yankees are good; a deep run of October baseball will be my football
    • I am currently listening to Mornings on Horseback on Audible; excited to learn more about Theodore Roosevelt
    • Did a run of Star Wars audiobooks before that (with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy mixed in)—Thrawn: Treason, Master & Apprentice, and Dooku: Jedi Lost; all were excellent. With music, sound effects, strong production values, and expert narration, Star Wars novels lend themselves well to an audio format
    • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a good video game
    • Hollow Knight is an exceptional video game—easily in my top 5 favorites of the past decade
    • The Mandalorian is going to be great; all in on space western sci-fi
    • Despite my disappoint with The Last Jedi, I am pumped for The Rise of Skywalker
    • Starting my fourth week of HelloFresh™, impressed and satisfied so far

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  • Cast Adrift

    Cast Adrift

    100mm macro photo of a low key, cross processed wisteria blossom; has a painted look.
    Cast Adrift — 100mm | f/3.5 | ISO 400 | EXP 1/640

    I’m testing out a different style of entry here. Instead of writing to some kind of set theme, I will roll with random thoughts. Plenty of notable happenings, with some long anticipated closures are worth mentioning here.

    Before all that, tonight’s post—err, this morning’s as it’s already after midnight—would not have happened without some much needed prodding. Within a 20 minute span I bumped into two long time colleagues, and all around wonderful humans, who both noted my dip in photo output. It was not an admonishment so much as a hey, we miss seeing your work. Both flattered and on the spot in the best kind of way, it stuck a chord of inspiration. Knowing I had a batch of flower photos sitting on my memory card, I committed to getting a photograph posted tonight. And while it is tomorrow, I still count this as meeting my deliverable as I have not yet gone to bed.

    While I knew I had some solid photos thanks to a promising wisteria blossom, I had not known I had something so to my liking. I was immediately struck by the moody, painted quality to the macro photograph. This low key, soft focus treatise on cross processing transports us into a fantasy struggle set to enchantment fighting back the melancholy invading the marches. I am lost in this photograph, and I selfishly want to see it large and on canvas.

    Notable closure happening number one: The some eleven-odd year Marvel Universe journey we’ve been on culminated with Avengers: Endgame. I would be exaggerating if I claimed myself a canon expert of all things MCU. But as a casual to enthused fan it was a splendid end to some 22 films. While it ranks right behind Infinity War in my book, the movie still rocked it. What gives its predecessor the nod for me was greater depth to Thanos, and that the stakes always felt higher in Infinity War. Nevertheless, Endgame was a heck of a victory lap for a team deserved of the praise.

    Notable closure happening number two: River Ave. Blues calls it quits! I’m a big-time Yankees fan all about the #YankeesOnly lifestyle. At the center of that world, orbiting only the Yankees themselves, is River Ave. Blues. The most prodigious and prolific sports blog on the internet. Run by fans but at an absolute professional level, the quantity and quality of output since I became a reader back in 2008 (maybe 2007?) is incomprehensible. That impassioned fans with inspiration and dedication could flesh out the best analysis imaginable, on a daily basis, for a marquee global franchise is an exemplar to us all. Mike and Co. deserve (an understatement) this rest, though the rest of us fans will be poorer for it. What an incredible 12 years. Fortunately Mike has set up at Patreon account at RAB Thoughts to give us a little taste of what we will miss.

    Notable closure happening number three: Game of Thrones is about to end. 2010 where have you gone? That’s right, within weeks of each other the MCU and Thrones cease to be. Two of the biggest and most followed arcs in entertainment wrap it up together. Couple this with the fact that the Skywalker Star Wars arc ends this December and 2019 is hosting a year of film making closures unlike any other. It is the definition of bittersweet that we have these long, involved, and emotional stories sing their song in full measure, though never again will hear their music the same way again.

    I rather enjoyed this open format, free form posting. I will be doing it again.

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