tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post8776651474856139076..comments2024-03-28T16:36:12.581-04:00Comments on Gurney Journey: Annular HighlightsJames Gurneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-72979043293372470322014-01-30T15:22:30.041-05:002014-01-30T15:22:30.041-05:00Katie, thanks so much for sharing that excerpt. It...Katie, thanks so much for sharing that excerpt. It's great to know that others have noticed the same effect. I also found a reference to it in Minnaert's book. Thanks, too for your kind words.<br />James Gurneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01870848001990898499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-24350956094551779362014-01-30T11:36:07.719-05:002014-01-30T11:36:07.719-05:00Hi, James, I'm coming here from your snow post...Hi, James, I'm coming here from your snow post today. Did you know that George Eliot wrote about this very effect in Middlemarch? She was a wonderful observer. My English Lit. professor picked out the passage and read it to us aloud as one of her favorite passages in the novel. Here it is: <br /><br />An eminent philosopher among my friends, who can dignify even your ugly furniture by lifting it into the serene light of science, has shown me this pregnant little fact. Your pier-glass or extensive surface of polished steel made to be rubbed by a housemaid, will be minutely and multitudinously scratched in all directions; but place now against it a lighted candle as a centre of illumination, and lo! the scratches will seem to arrange themselves in a fine series of concentric circles round that little sun. It is demonstrable that the scratches are going everywhere impartially and it is only your candle which produces the flattering illusion of a concentric arrangement, its light falling with an exclusive optical selection. These things are a parable. The scratches are events, and the candle is the egoism of any person now absent...<br /><br />And then she goes on with her story. <br /><br />Thank you for your wonderful blog, I have been enjoying it very much the last couple of days. Your little explanation of light--that all would be formless darkness without a specific light source--was a total "lightbulb" moment for me. You are also very generous with taking the time to check out your readers' work. Someday I'll post some. My favorites of yours are your plein air paintings of everyday places like the McDonalds' sign. Thanks again!Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17165683077571559377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-951284332428144672008-06-20T16:26:00.000-04:002008-06-20T16:26:00.000-04:00It kept me thinking, but did you know that the sta...It kept me thinking, but did you know that the star forming stripes are caused by the same principal, ... those are really the polish-marks on the glass that you see, ....when looking through some optical stuff, .... obviousRené PleinAirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03368603005553165550noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-90130689367061462922008-06-10T16:54:00.000-04:002008-06-10T16:54:00.000-04:00Holy Cow! That is the most amazing, "I would never...Holy Cow! That is the most amazing, "I would never have noticed that in a million years" tip I've seen! BTW, I'm a frequent visiter, I just don't write much. Love the books too.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for doing this!RocknOatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932627826679625220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-42539964724983265822008-06-08T01:12:00.000-04:002008-06-08T01:12:00.000-04:00It's the little observations like this that make t...It's the little observations like this that make this blog so great. Thank you, James.Moaihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14149373854768008667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-7957337636049009842008-06-07T20:32:00.000-04:002008-06-07T20:32:00.000-04:00Cobwebs on the grass at dawn. A great name for it...Cobwebs on the grass at dawn. A great name for it... Did you coin it?Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12453125929159161583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-50256205444660066692008-06-07T16:07:00.000-04:002008-06-07T16:07:00.000-04:00Cully, I tried to take some photos of that phenome...Cully, I tried to take some photos of that phenomenon a while back, with <A HREF="http://severinghaus.org/pictures/work_camera/DSCF7831_bright_tree_halo_sm.jpg" REL="nofollow">limited</A> <A HREF="http://severinghaus.org/pictures/work_camera/DSCF7838_big_tree_halo_sm.jpg" REL="nofollow">success</A>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2999230124118604245.post-11470786486117329552008-06-07T13:24:00.000-04:002008-06-07T13:24:00.000-04:00I LOVE this affect. My favorite place to see it is...I LOVE this affect. My favorite place to see it is looking at a streetlight through a winter-bare tree. I tried to explain this phenomenon to a non-artist friend once and they simply couldn't see it.Cullyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01681286724728002089noreply@blogger.com