Week 12

Our second big snow  since this project started and this one came right on time for me to get the picture.  I managed to get this picture on the way home after having a wisdom tooth extracted, number 32 I believe, but I wanted the shot.  The snow had already melted considerably so i knew that any more delay would result in a picture without the snow. 

Remember that to get the full sweep of all the changes you will now have to go to the much earlier pictures when things were green, and then bright with fall colors, to compare all that with what we now have.

Our first big snow before this one resulted in a White Christmas much to the delight of many and the despair of an equal number who had to get out and drive about in it.  Luckily we have not yet had any ice.  I am continuing to enjoy the winter break.

Week 11

One day late again.  I stayed home all day on Wendsday. Went out today though for some coffee and to take this picture. Notice  how the sunlight is different and the color is more vibrant along with an absence of shadows?  Light conditions like we had today, somewhat overcast, are great for photography whereas a bright sun makes things too contrasty. 

Today the campus was deserted.  Christmas Eve, so the parking lots were empty and the offices closed.  As I  have stated earlier that is my favorite time to be on campus - whenever everyone else isn't.   Another semester passed and overall it was a good one.  I have been working on my syllabi for next semester and updating some lectures.  After over ten years of teaching college I am still learning and trying to improve.

Week 10

What a week.  My brother was in the hospital the week before and then it was finals week for me as a teacher and my daughter Hannah as a student at Columbia Independent School.  In addition it was Chanukkah and we were getting ready for a wedding. The worst part is that we did not get to enjoy yom tov as much as I would have liked.  We were just drained from all the accumulated drama.  I was just able to take the picture on Thursday between commitments - one day late. Then it took me five days to get this post up after I took the picture.  The good thing though is that there was snow for this picture.  The first time since I started the series but no doubt not the last.  Here is the photo for week 10:

I took this picture between errands just minutes before we all had to be at Rachel's holiday party at Shepherd School.

Week 9

Weather turned bitterly cold.  I was away on Wednesday tending to a family emergency in Kansas City and had to take the picture Today (on Thursday).  We had some rain, some snow, and maybe some sleet so there was some white on the ground but not much.  If you look close along the curb in this image you will see evidence of some of that frozen precipitation.

This is the last week of classes, and finals are scheduled for next week.

I had to rush over from Columbia Independent School where I had met Jenifer to drop off Rachel. They were all going to get yet another dress fitting for Adam's upcoming wedding.  Because of all the running around I did not get to take this picture until close to 4 p.m.  So, unfortunately this image was one day and an hour late but at least I was finally able to get done.

Week Eight

Wednesday was the coldest day so far since undertaking this project, but of course that does not show up in the image.  The picture for this week continues along the same line as the last three weeks without much change except for being a bit more overcast.

This week the forecast predicted some snow on Wednesday in the afternoon, when this picture was taken, but that did not materialize at all.  But, since then I have noticed that the thought of snow is very much something people are thinking about with half looking forward to the event with joy and the other half with dread.

That evening, I am writing several days later, I taught a Senior Seminar class in the evening and it was extremely cold.  Winter weather is here. Now we wait and see what develops as far as the scene I am photographing.

Week Seven

It just occurred to me.  Are there times when conditions just sort of freeze and remain unchanging for long periods of time?  Logically you would think that the change from one season to another is a slow gradual process but these pictures tell another story.  The first four weeks were weeks of dramatic change whereas the last few weeks have been one where the background has remained remarkably unchanged.

Week Six

When reviewing the photos I suddenly understood the transitory nature of fall colors and how quickly it fades.  This week the leaves were gone from even the most stubborn tree literally knocked to the ground by a week of hard rains.  The sun was also conspicuously absent with an overcast sky.

Week Five

Of all the pictures this one shows the least amount of change so far.  I had to look close to see what had changed but finally noticed that there was less color in the distant background as some of the other trees had lost their leaves since the last shot.  I did this picture a little later at around 3:30 since I had an advising session after my last class.  The sun is still an issue as far as glare off the lens, and will probably continue to be one for awhile at this time of the day.  It will be interesting to see for how long.  I need to find some kind of chart that will help me as far as knowing the angle of the sun for any given day.

Very close to the Thanksgiving break and then the holiday break.  This has been a good semester but I am tired.  Traveling and not being home for several weekends in a row have taken a toll. 

Week Four

Well today had an unexpected development.  The sun was shining pretty directly into the lens so that there was some flare.  Sometimes that is a good effect but today it was unwanted.  Also, the camera averaged out the exposure to compensate for the bright spot, the sun, and underexposed some of the other areas.  Yet, the picture did manage to convey something with some aesthetic sensibility.   

The image does represent a very pleasant, sunny, day.  We probably do not have many of those left but it is very nice while it lasts.  More importantly it shows the radical changes we have had in just four weeks!  It is amazing how this spot continues to change so much from one week to another.


Week 4 taken on 4 November 2009

Week Three

It is amazing how different each week is.  In the beginning I liked the idea of doing this project and I thought there would be a visual difference over time but I was not prepared for how different each week would be from the other.  Now I am excited each week when I go to take the picture and can't wait to get home and compare the new photograph with the one before it.

This picture was taken on time and on the correct day right after my last class. What a difference three weeks make.  When I started the leaves were still green, and since then they have not only turned, but have started to fall in earnest. 

28 October 2009

Week Two

I took this picture a day early, on Tuesday, because I was leaving for a conference in Oregon.

Week Two:  Taken on 20 October 2009 at 2 p.m.

Ron Taylor Project: The Last Assignment

This project has been moved from the blog Around Columbia to this dedicated blog for easier viewing and editing.  I have kept the original post in Around Columbia but will not be adding any new pictures to that one.

In an article in Coming of Age I talk about having only had about six real teachers in over 20 years of formal education.  I am talking about people who's primary responsibility was to impart some kind of wisdom or knowledge into me.  Of course other people took a crack at it but not as professionals.

Ron Taylor was one of those teachers.  This fall reminded me of something he said to me years ago.  After class Ron would hang around campus and sort of get wistful about things and I loved to talk with him then.  Like me he loved the campus, the idea and beauty of it, during the slow times when everyone else had pretty much gone home.  It is an awesome experience to have a whole campus to yourself!   It was a fall afternoon, around this time of year, when he had me come out to the front of St. Clair at Columbia College.  He told me that somebody should come to that spot at the same time every week and take a picture of the trees.  He thought it was worthwhile to capture the seasonal changes.  Well, that was years ago but last week I remembered.  At around 3 p.m. on a Wednesday I went out and took a picture.  It is my last assignment from Ron.

Every week for a year I am going to go to the same spot at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and take a picture of the general area Dr. Taylor indicated.  If I cannot be there at that exact time I will do it the day before or the day after, or perhaps have someone else do it for me.  I hope to use the same camera as well (my Lumix  with  Leica lens - a great pocket camera).

Here is the first picture and I will add pictures to this project every week or so until next year at this time. 

Week One:  Taken on 14 October 2009 at 3 p.m.