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August 17, 2025

Keep Summer’s Glow Alive with this Memory Hack

Miss summer already? You don’t have to let it totally slip away. Here’s a little photo exercise that can help you keep all those good summertime vibes going. 

Labor Day isn’t quite here yet, marking the official end of summer. But realistically, it’s already over. Do you feel the energy shift too? It’s unavoidable. 

When I wake up, it’s dark out now. I chat with work colleagues in other states whose kids are already back to school. Everyone I run into asks me if I had a good summer.

Well, did I? Did you?

Sure, it’s easy to call out the fun vacation, weekend at the beach or summer BBQ. But what happened across all those other days and weekends? Can you remember the highlights? Or is it already starting to slip into a cloudy past as the fall season approaches.

Let Your Photos Jog Your Summer Memories
When faced with this moment, I find it useful to take a little stroll down memory lane via my summer photo collection.

It’s not just the big moments I’ve documented. It’s the little ones that matter too.

Only then can you take it all in and authentically say, “Yeah, I had a good summer.”

I just performed that photo review for myself, and here are a few images that reflect some of my own summer’s story.

Taking in Norwalk’s Memorial Day Parade from My Lawn Chair

That’s my city’s mayor leading the parade (Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling). On this bright, young summer day, I felt part of a timeless tradition. The moment could easily have been from a 1925 parade (wardrobe evolution aside).

Flying My Drone in Cape Porpoise, Maine

I barely knew how to get my new drone in the air, but I knew enough to drag myself out of bed at the crack of dawn and hoof it to the empty beach. Nature’s stunning beauty did the rest of the work for me.

Eating Dinner by The Last Taco Stand During Sunset

My wife and I enjoyed a few tacos from this special food trailer by the water as the sun set over the Norwalk Cove Marina. It was perfection in a parking lot.

Watching The Boston Symphony Orchestra Perform at Tanglewood

It’s Tanglewood. Enough said.

Experiencing the Music of AJR at Jones Beach Theater

Our 15-year-old son’s musical tastes led us to this amazing experience, As the full moon rose behind the outdoor stage, I knew this concert would be locked into our memories forever.

Walking to Work from Grand Central Terminal on a Hot August Morning

Even the most boring of summer moments like a commute can be turned into a photo exploration. And that’s never hard to find in New York City.

Doing Nothing but Watching the Flames from Our Solo Stove

For someone who’s always on the go, I find that slowing down to stare at a fire’s glow is essential for any summer.

Your Photos are Your Secret Portal Back to Summertime
Though I’ve shared some of my own pictures here, creating this type of photo collection is more for the creator than anyone else. This little portfolio reflects a larger set of stories, because of what’s behind each photo. Only the photographer can know them.

And each image doesn’t have to be stunning. It should simply bring back the experience of your happy memory. 

I highly recommend trying this photo exercise as you wrap up your own summer.

Best Summer Ever?
So, did I have a good summer?

Absolutely.

How about you?

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July 27, 2025

How to Check the Ocean Temperature on your Phone Before You Hit the Beach

Is there an easy way to check how cold the surf is without putting a giant thermostat in the water? Yes! Here’s how to help avoid a shivery surprise when you take that first step in.

My wife and I decided to take a quick dip at our town beach last week after work. It’s not something we typically do, even though we live just a short drive from the Connecticut shore. We enjoyed our 90-minute vacation so much, we repeated this refreshing early-evening experience over the next two days (and hoped to do it more in the upcoming weeks).

As much as we enjoyed our pre-dinner excursion, we were surprised that the ocean temperature varied from day to day. The water felt warm on day one. The second afternoon’s ocean temperature was colder. And day three’s surf seemed downright icy.

I suspected the differing air temperature and humidity between the days affected our experience, but I didn’t think the ocean could get noticeably colder that quickly.

I decided to fact check my opinion and find a way to confirm the actual water temperature by my beach on those particular days.

NOAA Data Buoys
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration maintains numerous data buoys off the coastline. These NOAA buoys track the weather including ocean conditions.

So, I went to the NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center website and identified the closest ocean data buoy to our beach. I found a nearby buoy in Bridgeport, CT and took a look at its historical data.

And in fact, there was a variance of five degrees in the sea water temperature across those three days. (between 70-75.5° Fahrenheit).

Wind Direction Affects Ocean Temperature
This was a surprise, as I’ve always thought the water by our Connecticut beach remained a steady temperature that simply inched up over the summer. And as such, it was a non-factor on which days were the better beach days.

So, I did a little Googling on this topic and realized that the wind plays a huge role in determining how your beach’s water feels from day to day. 

I discovered that wind blowing towards a beach will keep the ocean warmer. That’s because the surface water that’s been warmed by the sun gets pushed towards the beach. The opposite is true for offshore winds which will suck the top ocean layer away and make your beach’s waves colder.

Wow. 

So, in fact, if you want to go for a swim at the beach and hope for warmer water, some days are actually better for that than others.

I immediately started to think about my iPhone and how nice it would be to easily check out the ocean temperature on my phone before I jump in next time.

Is there an app for that? Well, of course there is…

Mobile Apps that Display NOAA Data Buoy Info
There are a variety of mobile apps that collect and present the data from the NOAA’s data buoys. You just tap in your buoy’s number, and the water temperature pops up along with the weather conditions. (Some apps automatically use your location to find the nearest buoy.) Either way, it’s easy.

Here are the apps that I tested on my iPhone:

  • Buoycast: NOAA Marine Weather
  • Marine Weather Forecast Pro 
  • NOAA Buoy Reports

I’m more partial to the design interface of Buoycast, but they all provide the same data.

All three apps are free, though they offer premium features (such as historical data) for a price. But if you just need to know the real-time water temperature, the free versions are all you need.

Don’t Forget to Check your Data Buoy Before Grabbing your Swimsuit and Towel
I used to think a warm, sunny day is all that determined a good beach day. But if you’re looking to swim, warmer water is always nice. And the right wind conditions can heat it up for you.

With an app on your phone that tracks the nearest NOAA data buoy, you can now quickly check the water temperature before deciding to head out to the beach.

Real-time data means no more chilly surprises!

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June 29, 2025

From Static to Cinematic: How I Added More Motion to my Sunrise Videos

A timelapse video has been my method to capture the grandness of a summer sunrise. But without a few properly positioned clouds to glide through the shot, the footage can look flat. Consider using a camera drone instead to provide the dynamic motion you’re looking for. Here are my examples.

A sunrise timelapse video can be amazing. But unless you’re running your timelapse for a couple hours, the sun doesn’t move enough to make a big impact in your shot. (Plus, after 30 minutes, it’s not really a sunrise anymore.) So, our star is only half of the equation to generate a beautiful timelapse. 

Clouds are the other half. They’re often moving a bit faster, and when sped up by a timelapse, their motion is far more dramatic. Plus, clouds can help provide the deep, reflective coloring distinctive of any great sunrise.

Sure, clouds are technically the supporting players for this opening act, but they can steal the show when they’re in sync with their star.  

Conversely, without properly positioned clouds in your shot, a sunrise timelapse can look… boring.

In Search of the Perfect Timelapse of a Summer Sunrise
For the past few years, I’ve been vacationing in southern Maine by the stunning mud flats in Cape Porpoise. And I’ve woken up at the crack of dawn each morning with the hope of capturing a ‘perfect’ sunrise timelapse. 

I use my little DJI Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera, which is a great tool for timelapses. You just set it up on a tripod, program the timelapse sequence, and then it does all the work. It can even add a little panning motion. 

But the odds of success each morning have not been in my favor. 

Stormy Sky
Surprisingly, a stormy cloud mass can make for an interesting sunrise timelapse. But then it’s more about the cloud dance. The sunrise becomes a background player, if you can still see it. This happened during my Sunday timelapse this year.

Blobby Sky
Conversely, too many clouds obscuring Sunday’s sunrise eventually created this milky sky blob.

Barren Sky
My Monday timelapse captured a mostly barren sky and a tiny ball of fire. I felt the few wispy clouds just weren’t enough to fill my digital canvas.

Perfect Sky
As I’ve described, the perfect recipe for a spectacular sunrise timelapse is a good balance of clouds moving about (but not in front of) the rising sun. That finally happened on Thursday.

Anyone will always be at the mercy of the weather. So, if I’m able to capture one great cloud-fused sunrise during a vacation, I feel lucky.

Camera Drone in the Sky
Timelapses add motion through time acceleration. But as I’ve mentioned you need a few clouds to accelerate. If you could add motion to your shot without having to rely on clouds, that could be a better way to get the job done.

Last time, I wrote about my new camera drone, the DJI Flip. And yes, I took with me this year on our vacation to test out.

I discovered that a drone beach shot rushing towards the sunrise can be a game changer. It’s not a timelapse, but the drone’s motion through the landscape instantly creates a cinematic video.

No, the clouds don’t move (if there are any), but it doesn’t matter. The dynamic motion zipping across the mud flats blows away any cloud. My camera drone has instantly taken my multi-year sunrise video project to a whole new level. Look at the visual energy it created for my Friday sunrise.

I’m just a novice camera drone operator, but I couldn’t be happier with this clip.

Next time, I’ll share my journey to this successful shot. And believe me, it wasn’t all sunshine.

A Week of Beautiful Sunrises
You may say that every sunrise is perfect. And you’d be right. 

The fact that I got to witness multiple beautiful sunrises on vacation should be my headline. 

But I’ve also chosen to spend that time practicing my creative. 

I know you can never truly capture nature’s perfection. But a sunrise certainly gives you something amazing to point your camera at.

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