Poor planning combined with ungodly Friday evening traffic, that’s what it was. After a light supper-type meal at a diner to the north, the lovely Ms. Trask and I headed back south. We blasted past the homestead, cruising straight into Princeton which is as fine a place as any to wander in these parts. Especially on a temperate May evening. Especially in search of ice cream. And especially when in the mood for a bit of shooting (the photo kind, not the gun kind). Full disclosure: the ice cream was her sparkling idea and the shooting my less inspired one, although I could not let her scoop alone. I have my moments of gentlemanly behavior and they often coincide with ice cream.
The sky was still relatively light when we left the diner giving us (I thought) plenty of time to grab a tasty cold treat and then amble about pointing the Nikon in various directions. But the road gods had other plans. What should have been a 20 minute ride turned into a 60 minute one. I know, this should be expected in New Jersey on a lovely Friday evening. In truth it should be expected in New Jersey on a crappy Monday afternoon, a horrendous Sunday morning, and a god-awful Wednesday night. I don’t know why I was surprised. Perhaps the pressure of the sun slipping below the horizon got to me.
Not surprisingly Princeton was bustling. It is a smaller town than many folks realize. When filled with students, visitors and nomads it can seem even smaller. So yes, parking was a big issue and with dusk rapidly approaching I longingly thought of my tripod sitting at home. Like I said, poor planning.
Princeton has three notable homemade ice cream shops and an award winning cupcake joint, so there’s really no chance of making a bad decision. Unless you pick no dessert which would clearly be the delusional choice of a crazy person. So we settled on Halo Pub which is not a pub, at least not by strict British standards (i.e. no booze). I had a small draught of coffee ice cream (yes, they call it a draught) and the lovely Ms. Trask threw back something in the chip mint family. Fortified we headed to the campus of Princeton University with the light disappearing faster than Congress at the start of their August recess. As busy as the town was, that’s how quiet the campus was. Here is some of what the Nikon saw.
Impressive hand-helds. I finally broke down and purchased a tripod. But it is a chintzy little thing because I wanted something light weight. I knew if it was heavy it would sit in the closet instead of travel with the camera. I used it a bit this weekend for some flower shots. What a difference even a chintzy tripod makes! All this time I’ve been beating myself up for the lousy fuzz in my shots. I’m still a klutz when it comes to working with the darn thing, though. Geez, attaching it, extending the legs, figuring out which knob controls which angle. Oh my, as if the camera weren’t challenge enough for this ol’ gray mare.
BTW, Mrs. Trask is a lovely lady indeed.
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Tripods are really marvelous contraptions, aren’t they? But, as noted, bringing them along is somewhat critical!
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Is it strange that your Witherspoon Hall looks exactly like the castle I live in in my head?
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Actually, no. lol
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Those are some great photos.
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Thanks, Rick!
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Mrs. T is lovely indeed!
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On behalf of her, thanks!
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Mrs. T. is quite lovely. Princeton’s campus is beautiful, I’ve only visited there once but it really is a pretty place. Great photos, sir.
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Once is not enough.
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Tripod, schmipod! (I don’t think schmipod is a real word) Who needs a tripod? Not you! Those are great shots! I especially like the color saturation in the reflecting pool photograph. The Witherspoon Hall shot is my second favorite. Shooting in low light is so much fun!
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I like schmipod.
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Nice pics as always, John
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Thanks, Kayjai!
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