Asphalt crossing

While walking through the woods, I followed a dirt path off a main trail, and found myself staring at this railroad crossing sign with no railroad in sight.

Thinking of the old New Jersey West Line, I started snapping photos. Maybe this was a leftover relic of a railway of yore!

As I clicked away, an older gentleman (who’d been sweeping a nearby back porch) called out and asked me what I was doing.

I explained— blah blah, local photoblog, blah blah blah.

Since I had his ear, I asked if he knew the origins of this crossing sign.

“Yeah,” he said, “one of the guys found it somewhere and put it here a few years ago. We’re hoping to rewire it, get the lights working, and actually get a gate going one of these days.”

As he spoke, I read his shirt:
THE MODEL RAILROAD CLUB

I’d stumbled into the backyard of the local Model Railroad Club! Of COURSE they’d have a railroad crossing sign in their parking lot!

I didn’t really have time to go inside and get a full tour at that moment, but I really have been meaning to check out their offerings for a while (because, as we all know, I am a giant nerd). One of these days…!

Sunset 4

Everyone loves a generic sunset over a generic lake!

(This is actually Echo Lake, which I suppose is a very specific lake.)

The Strand

Tucked away in downtown Summit, there’s a little halfway-indoors mall— an arcade, perhaps?— called The Strand.

(What’s weird about this— for me— is that “The Strand” is a very large, very well-known used bookstore in Manhattan. But that is not what this is a photo of.)

According to cinematreasures.org, the Strand was a movie theater until it closed in the late 1980s. It was renovated into an “open-air mall” sometime after that. Pretty cool!

Sunset 3

I dunno, sometimes sunsets are pretty, so I try to capture them and take them home with me. I didn’t have a clear view of this one, but I could tell it was a good one.

No opera in the opera house

Look! It’s the Summit Opera House, as viewed again and again.

Why do I keep taking pictures of it? I dunno, it’s got colorful bricks.

Photo of the year 2011!

Thanks for helping me choose NPDP’s 2011 photo of the year! You rock!

“Sunrise” was originally posted February 18, 2011, after the existing snowcover got a fresh coating of ice.

This is actually a City Daily Photo theme day. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants!

Sunset 2

Sometimes sunsets are breathtaking, and sometimes they’re just pretty, and sometimes you miss them entirely.

But most of the time, it’s good practice to watch them anyway, if you can.

 

(Submitted to Skywatch Friday.)

Sunrise 4

As I’ve said: I’m a fan of sunrises.

Tangent: I did virtually no post-processing on this photo (aside from nudging the black point up a teeny smidgen).

(For Skywatch Friday.)

Looking up

Yessirreebob, fall is sure in the air. I needs me some apple cider.

Overhead

A lot of the time, I forget to look up, so I’m often surprised at the interesting patterns I find when I do.