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What is an object, anyway?

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And now for the second inanimate object of the new year is something that is definitely inanimate, but may not actually be an object. Now there are lots of things that are definitely objects in this picture.  I'm sure we'll get to all of those at some point.  The thing I'm interested in is the rainbow, which has some properties of an object but lacks others.  The definition of an object is: 1a:  something material that may be perceived by the senses So it's definitely something that can be perceived by the senses, but it isn't really material.   Wikipedia comes down pretty squarely on the side of "not an object": A rainbow is not located at a specific distance from the observer, but comes from an optical illusion caused by any water droplets viewed from a certain angle relative to a light source. Thus, a rainbow is not an object and cannot be physically approached. Indeed, it is impossible for an observer to see a rainbow from water droplet...
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These are the inanimate objects of New England

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The best thing about photographing inanimate objects is that they don't move.  This takes all the pressure off of fiddling with the dials and buttons on your camera trying to get the right exposure.  With people, you either take too long fiddling and they get upset or don't take long enough and end up with a blurry or overexposed picture that's also out of focus.  I'll stick to inanimate objects, thank you. The second best thing about photographing inanimate objects is that it usually doesn't result in any sort of awkward conversation.  A flower doesn't wonder why you've been staring at it for the past five minutes and taking pictures.  A large rock won't be upset that you're saying too much--or not saying enough--to it.  A building will gladly listen to you drone on about whatever and will always have the common courtesy to just stay quiet about it. The best part about photographing New England is that it is all relatively close to where I live....
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