Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 4:00 a.m. in "The City."

The current temperature is 41° under mostly-cloudy skies. Today's high is forecast to reach 46°, also under mostly-cloudy skies. The sun will rise today @ 7:49 a.m. and set later @ 5:13 p.m.

A Gale Watch will be in effect starting Wednesday morning @ 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 a.m. Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Winds may be gusting to 45 knots and waves may get as high as 8 - 12 feet!

Of course, what would a Gale Watch be without another Lakeshore Flood Watch, also in effect from 7:00 a.m. until 4:00 a.m. Thursday. That indicates that those Gale Force Winds will likely cause further erosion along the lake-shore.

The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids issued that Gale Watch because there is the risk of Gale Force Winds of 34 to 47 knots. However the specific timing and/or location is still uncertain. That Gale Watch is intended to provide additional lead time for mariners who may wish to consider altering their plans.

I am certainly glad that our plans call for no travel for the holiday. It will be difficult to convince the fur-children that a walk is not in the cards.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I went to that session on Architectural Photography this past Saturday. I took some pix of the presentation, but they are the copyrighted property of the presenter, Frank T. Smith, who makes his living selling his work, so I can't include them here.

However, I can tell you that the presentation was very informative and that I came away with some great ideas regarding perspective, taking multiple exposures and allowing my Olympus DSLR camera to meld or blend them into a composite whole that more accurately represents what you are seeing. Plus, I learned that sometimes, saving a picture in black and white versus color, can be more attractive as the viewers eye is not distracted by the colors.

In addition, I learned that there is a way to view every scene from different angles/perspectives that can make for more interesting pictures. For example, look for reflections, window, door, or architectural frames that are part of the scenes.

One thing I was reminded of is that some of the best photographs are taken during what photographers call the "Golden Hour." The Golden Hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the Sun is higher in the sky. The opposite period during twilight is Blue Hour, that occurs just before sunrise or just after sunset, when indirect sunlight is evenly diffused. However, now that I am retired, I don't often get up early enough to take advantage of the sunrise "Golden Hour." I'll have to work on that.

I also learned that when you take pictures, you should take 30 - 50 shots, or more, to get that "one" shot that is a keeper. Finally, it is up to the photographer to decide what to include for the viewer. In other words, the photographer is the director.

Today, I hope to get to more artistic pursuits. I keep trying, but I seem to find multiple other things that pull me away. Once again, I have to make an effort.

So, that looks like enough for this blog. Ciao.