Wineries and Brewery Tours

This weekend was filled with drinking. Friday, Putnam had a company event at the Nashoba Valley Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts. We tried a number of their wines including a dry pear, a blueberry merlot, and a strawberry rhubarb. A nifty fact that I learned during the winery tour is that red wines actually get their color from the skins of the grapes that they were processed from. Cool huh? ...here are some wine bottles.

It was a frigid fall day in New England. Below is a shot of one of the houses on the property. A lady at the winery told me that it was a fantastic year for foliage. I didn't get the opportunity to really capture this, but I hope this shot can give you a glimpse of the cool oranges, reds and yellows before they are lost to winter. 

Since this was a company event, it was a great opportunity for me to shoot people. I really enjoyed this picture of my colleagues Irena, Blaire and Maria as they pick at some fresh grapes. Delicious. 

You can't have any fall event without football. David here put a wicked spiral on a pass to someone deep down-field while Paul looks like he's blocking Remco in the back field. 

The event was a great change of pace from the office. It's nice to be able to take a day off from work and enjoy some quality time with your colleagues. After looking through my pictures on Friday, I learned that shooting people is infinitely more difficult than shooting still objects. Not only do you need to control the exposure of the frame, but you also need to make sure you can capture the emotion of your subjects. Every picture should be able to tell a specific story.  

To end this post, I want to teach you Sam Adams' 5 step beer tasting and evaluation process. Keep in mind, my buddy Eric and I woke up early and trekked outside of Boston to get you this information! 

Step 1 - First, examine the appearance of the beer. Clear the condensation off the glass and observe the  beer's color, clarity and head. Looks good? Great.  

Step 2 -Next, put your nose deep in the glass and smell its aroma. What does it smell like? Heaven? or maybe just the hops that the beer was made with? 

Step 3 - Taste the beer with the front of your palette. Your tongue has sweetness receptors at the tip, so don't chug your beer all the time! You're missing some of the best flavors and aromas that the brewer has to offer. 

Step 4 - Taste the body of the beer. Focus near the middle of your tongue and you'll be able to taste the lightness or richness of the flavor. 

Step 5 - Finally, swallow the beer and taste the dry, bitter or sweet taste in the end. What's cool about beer is that, unlike wine where you should spit when you're done, you need to drink the beer to understand it's real flavor. Repeat and enjoy. 

The Freedom Trail

After waking up slightly hungover from our incredible housewarming party, I decided to take a scroll down Boston's famous Freedom Trail. Although I didn't finish the entire trail, I ran across a number of pretty interesting items.

First stop, King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston's oldest burial ground (est. 1630). About 1,000 people were buried in this tiny piece of land located in the heart of the city. Common to most of these stones is the skull with wings located near the top of the tombstone. This symbol was to represent the soul leaving the body. Let's hope they found a peaceful final destination.

Next up I found this exceptional statue of Josiah Quincy, Massachusetts Congressman, Mayor of Boston, and President of Harvard, right outside of Old City Hall. On the opposite side, there's a statue of Benjamin Franklin, he did a bunch of stuff in his life too (like founding Penn!). 

Interesting story behind this set of sculptures. This was placed here to symbolize the American Dream realized by many early Irish immigrants. To the right we see a family suffering from the potato famine from 1845-1852. To the left we have the same family strolling through the city. Many Bostonians of that time actually criticized the Irish influence but thankfully for us, the Irish persevered and now we have Irish Pubs everywhere. 

Final stop, Boston's North End. This beautiful walkway caught my eye. We can't really see whats at the end of the path, but such is life. 

A Simple Drive on a Three Day Weekend

October 11th was Columbus Day, my roommate and I had the day off from work and decided to go for a drive in the city.

Careful, no turn on red here. But did you know that you can turn left on a red when both streets are one way (in boston at least)? This was news for me.

We drove past the Church of the Covenant on the corner of Newbury and Berkeley Streets on this slightly overcast day (notice the blue tint on the windshield, not intentional).

Ever notice the line in your side-view mirrors: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear"?Like your goals and ambitions, no matter how far away, they're probably closer than they appear. Just remember to check that blind spot before changing lanes.

It's amazing the beauty you can capture from a simple car ride. I suggest taking some time off from your busy schedule and go for a drive, or just walk around. Absorb the beauty of your surroundings and that stress just seems to disappear.

A New Hobby. A New Passion.

What did you buy with your first paycheck? I bought a Nikon D3000 D-SLR camera. The date was October 2nd, 2010 and this is my first set of favorite pictures:

Here, we find a bridge in Boston's Public Garden.

A beautiful flower found in Boston's Public Garden.

Here, we find some contrasting architecture in Boston Commons.

It's been years since I picked up a real hobby. I spent 2 hours and took almost 200 pictures on this beautiful, sunny day, and I can't wait to take more. Thanks Nikon, for making my first paycheck worthwhile.