Thursday, December 31, 2009

Blue Moon 2009


Tonight is the second full moon in December 2009. In modern times this is called a Blue Moon. I've heard may explanations of where the term came from or how this particular phenomenon inherited the name.
Two full moons in one month happen approximately every thirty months or so. But the last blue moon to happen on a News Years Eve was in 1990. The moon doesn't look any more blue than any other full moon. It's just the name for the second full moon in a month.
Today's photo I made yesterday on the way home from work. I was amazed at how beautiful the sky looked with all the blues and grays and the almost full moon. As I drove, the sky kept changing, so I looked for somewhere to pull over to make a photo.
It looked so peaceful, maybe some how it could be a sign of what is to come in 2010. Optimistic I know, but I can still wish everyone a peaceful, happy New Year.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Frozen Cold Spring Pond




Today's post is of the frozen Cold
Spring Pond on Christmas night. Cold Spring Pond is not a pond at
all. It is said that the strip is man made, put there to make an
expensive development. Most of the homes on the strip are seasonal.
I'm not sure about the the A frame on the left, but my boys were in
school with the children that live in the other lit house. I think
the strip is beautiful this time of year, especially from our side of
the pond.



I used the Canon 5d and Photomaxtix
Tone Mapping Program for this image.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Bay Skiff


The frigid cold hit Long Island today. Since early this morning, we've had high winds and temperatures in the twenties before the wind factor. The wind is sill blowing relentlessly, and it's a mere seventeen right now. I'm glad I'm in for the night. My wife walked to a neighbors house a few doors away. He sister and mother, the neighbor Lorraine and my wife get together every so often and play games. As of late, they've been playing Nintendo Wii games. Tonight, as I understand it, my mother-in-law wants to play Rock band. I'm sure it's a sight to see, bur it's way too cold for me to venture out into the night air for entertainment. Even if it might be really funny.

Today's photo is from the dock around the corner, in fact, it's a few yards from Lorraine's house. This is one of the skiffs used by the baymen to harvest clams and oysters that grow in Cold Spring Pond. Except for the inlet into Peconic Bay, the pond is frozen over. After today, the inlet and Peconic might also be mostly ice.
 

Monday, December 28, 2009

Black Sand



Today's photo came from a walk I took on the beach. I'm not sure I'd ever seen sand this color sand in Southampton. Maybe, it's the winter tide or how much of the beach has eroded these past few months.
Whatever the reason it looked beautiful and I had to make a couple of photographs.
My wife and I rented the movie My Sister's Keeper with Cameron Diaz last night. If you like tear jerkers, this gets five stars. It's about an eleven year old's quest to get medical emancipation from her parents who had her as a child donor to keep her lukemia-stricken older sister alive. It's a bit jumpy, I felt like I was paging through a family photo album from various parts of the album. Other than that it was a great tear jerker. The actors and actresses did great job in the movie, even Alec Baldwin.
 

Saturday, December 26, 2009

A day of quiet.



Christmas comes and goes so fast sometimes. This was one of those years for me. The blizzard we had last weekend didn't help. It took us two days of shoveling and snow throwing the driveway to get the cars out. There's a lot a work preping for the Christmas Eve dinner with the in-laws. Christmas Eve mass and putting the gifts under the tree makes for a long day.
It's nice to have a day that's close to the normal routine.
Today's post is of a flag waving snowman in Hampton Bays I passed on my way to pick-up the fish order for Christmas Eve dinner. With today's warmer weather and the rain, I'm not sure she'll be around for long.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas and a happy, health and Peaceful
New Year.


Sunday, December 20, 2009

Shoveling




Evan Cel and I spend all day shoveling out and I'm not sure we'll be able to get out tomorrow
Needless to say, I an very tired.
My oldest son, Brian is driving home tomorrow form Potsdam. They felt it would be better to leave a day latter. I'm so glad I didn't suggest that.
Isabel does know what do do with the three foot drifts. She's not fond of snow.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Careful what you wish for.





I've been so looking forward to snow, but of all times to get it, it's the weekend Brian and Adam are coming home from school Brian and a couple of friends are driving back form Potsdam. The weather maps all show the heaviest of the snow here on Long Island. They should be fine, but I still worry.
Adam is taking Amtrak in Manhattan like he did for Thanksgiving. It's a lot safer than driving, but I still worry.
I made this photo at about four o'clock , it hasn't stopped since. The meteorologist are saying we'll get between six and twelve inches before five tomorrow. I got what I wished for.
 

Homeless for the Holiday





Last night, Sayville was transformed into something magical. Unbeknown to shoppers as they walking from shop to shop looking for holiday gifts. Quietly, like a nighttime snow, half a block away homeless families from Suffolk County Shelters are dining on prime rib and listening to a jazz trio and gospel singers. Not just any jazz trio, a phenomenal group of brothers, without formal musical training, the youngest, an eight year old drummer; they also are homeless.
Every Child's Dream, the not-for-profit who organizes the night for five hundred guests also arranges to have a Santa and gifts for all the children, and it’s all donated.
Bill Lindsay, the Presiding officer of the Suffolk County Legislature and Wayne Horsley a legislator from Lindenhurst collect gently used coats, hats and gloves. The families are free to browse through the racks of garments for whatever they need.
Buses were donated from a local company for those who needed to get back and forth.
I left as the volunteers were changing the table setting for the second seating.  As I stopped at the light two blocks from the festivities a bus from Little Flower Children’s and Family Services pulled up beside me. The glow from the children on that bus out did the holiday lights that adorned the well-decorated village shops.
Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus. He comes in all shapes and sizes, all colors and nationalities.  He was big and small, young and old and yes, I think he was even homeless. Everyone left there knowing what Christmas is really all about. 

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Pine Cone



I took a short walk today at one of my usual trails. I didn't come across anything of interest but a couple of pine cones on some Black Pine Trees. This is the first one I made a photo of. The way the sun filtered into the wooded area and lit the cone made it stand out against the out-of-focus background. I thought the detail was unreal.
I made this photo with the Canon G20 and processed it with photoshop.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Green Wall




It’s funny how something I see a few times a month can all of a sudden look different. I park against, along or across from this wall whenever I visit the dry cleaner. This one morning I must have been there at the right time to catch the light.
The one spatter of yellow on the green wall just added to the whole thing.
I used the Canon g10 and Photoshop for this image.
 

Monday, December 14, 2009

Christmas Window



 
Inspired by a line in a Mary Chapin Carpenter song, I made a couple of images of store windows dressed for the holiday season. This is my favorite of the two. Believe seems to be a reoccurring theme this Christmas. Macys has it on their bags and this little shop in Hampton Bays has it in their window. I liked the depth this window has and I’m a sucker for white picket fences.
I made this photo with the canon G10 and processed it with ACR.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Leaves and twigs




Looking down, good advise I picked up from a fellow blogger, Georgia at itsjusthowiseethings, brought met his image today. In the steady rain I caught a brake and made this image. Actually it’s three images, all at different exposures for a HDR composite.
The camera was the Canon 5d Mark II and it was processed with Photomatix Pro and Photoshop.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Tree of Honor




Ellen McVeety, the Deputy Supervisor, of the Town of Babylon, has decorated the Town Hall Christmas Tree a bit differently this year. Instead of traditional Christmas ornaments, their tree is dressed with red, white and blue stars as well as white lights and American Flags. McVeety has asked town residents and employees to supply a photograph of an friend or family member in the service, They can be active or in the reserves. The photos are then attached to the stars and hung on the Tree of Honor.
She just wanted people to remember the men and women serving our country during the holiday season.
One mother wrote to Ellen about how difficult it will be this Christmas without her son Matt there. Hopefully all of us can remember the service people and their families this season.
These are some photos of the tree.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

More peace; it's still a good idea.


I had to have been really tired last night because I had to edit yesterday’s post twice. It was the photos that had to be changed not my English! Sad.
Today’s photo is the last of the peace wreaths. Maybe when I go back to the village I’ll see more.
Same camera and processing.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Southampton Village Peace


Southampton Village is all decorated for the holidays; the reoccurring theme this year is the Peace Wreath. I did a family portrait Saturday night and my client told me about the wreaths. She said it’s because of the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock.
These were made with the Canon5d Mark II and processed with Photomatix Tone mapping program.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Patchogue in the rain



Patchogue looked very cool in the rain through the windshield, so I just had to make a photo. This was the best of a half dozen or so images. You can see a red car on the left of the frame.
I made this image with the Canon G10 and processed it with Photoshop.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Purple seed pods






I came across these seed pods on a walk last week. I've seen them before, maybe they're some kind of plant in the milk weed family.
This time I stopped to get a good, close look. I especially love the way they drape down and their color. This group had a seed or two still in one of the pods. It also had the remains of a spiders web around the top.
I used the Canon G10 in macro mode and processed it with ACR.
 

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Busy Saturday



It’s a very windy and cold night. We had rain all day sometimes it was mixed with snow. Our house is situated higher than all the property on the north side of us. Cold Spring Pond also sits to our north. When the wind comes from the north, nothing stops it and it sounds fierce. Sometimes I think I’ll find the siding all torn apart, and once it peeled back a piece of the flashing used on the roof. Tonight is one of those nights.
I worked all day today. This morning I photographed Jeffery Canada, a man doing amazing things in education with children in Harlem. He came to speak before the first graduates of The New Beginnings group in Wyandanch; the town Mr. Canada came from. This evening I want to Patchogue, where the Fire Department was holding a surprise welcome home party for a member returning from Iraq. Both were very emotional events.
Today’s photo is from the Village of Patchouge. I made this image from the Fire House parking lot. I thought the lone Christmas tree in the window looked cool. I made this image with the Canon G10 and processed it with ACR
 

Friday, December 4, 2009

Hard Hat Area



A little irony is always a good thing. With all those hard hats it’s easy to see this is a Hard Hat area. I found this while waiting for a press conference to start at a buildings trade school. The pattern the hats made remind me of the computer game Tetris I used to play. It was so addicting. I just got a Wolverine ESP photo safe that reads media and makes backups. It has Tetris loaded on it. Hey, is that a ladies hat on the bottom right?
Photo was made with the Canon 5d Mark II and processed with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional and Photoshop.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Mr. Cool, calm and collected.





I don’t often post photos made on the job. But I was so impressed with how composed this person was I needed to make this image and post it.

Last Tuesday at the general meeting of the Suffolk County Legislature, this candidate for a commissioner’s spot in the county was there to answer questions.
The legislature grilled this guy. I couldn’t believe how he sat there cool, calm and collected and answered their questions for two and a half hours.
This photo sums up how he looked for most of the ordeal.
Canon 5d Mark II Canon’s Digital Photo Professional, and Photoshop were the tools used.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Blue



Another tiring day, not with a lot of work, just a lot of running around, I even did some Christmas shopping.
Blue. I just had to make a photograph of the side of this storage container; the color just jumped out at me.
Made with the Canon 5d Mark II and processed with Photoshop and Canon’s Digital Photo Professional 

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Birch Trees





Today’s post was made near yesterday’s cattail photograph. Nothing  different, Canon 5d Mark II and processed with both Canon’s Digital Photo Professional and Photomatix Tonal Mapping program.
Birch trees are my favorite trees and they make great subjects.
 

Monday, November 30, 2009

Cattail




After dropping my son, Adam off in Northfield Vermont, I stopped to fill the car and get a much-needed coffee. I noticed a few cattails and decided to make a few photographs before leaving.
This was made with the Canon 5d Mark II and processed with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional and Photomatix Tone Mapping program.

 

Cross Sound Ferry, Orient, NY


I’m sitting in my car at the New London Ferry terminal waiting for a spot on an earlier ferry back home. I’ve been in the car almost all day. Adam and I stopped for breakfast in Massachusetts. That was the only stop on the way back to school, once we got there; I took him grocery shopping and then say my good-bys. Now it’s 7:30 and I’m on stand-by for an earlier boat. My reservation was for the last ferry back to Orient Point at 8:45. I was just too tired to hang around up at Norwich, and I sensed that Adam didn’t really what his father hanging out in his dorm.
Part two.
It’s a lot easier to get a good night sleep knowing the boys are safe and back at school. I got back home around 11:30 and was wiped out.
This image was made yesterday morning when we arrived for the first ferry to New London, Connecticut. Made with the Canon 5d Mark II and processed with Photoshop. 

Saturday, November 28, 2009

 
The holiday is over. Tomorrow Adam and I leave at five thirty to catch a ferry. I’ll be driving him back to Vermont. Brian needs to catch a six o’clock train from Speonk to meet his schoolmates in NYC. They are driving from Manhattan to Potsdam. I just hate the thought of someone else driving.
My in-laws were here for diner tonight and to say good-bye to their grandsons. It’s a tradition now for the family to gather here the night before they leave. At least tonight was early and I’ll get a good night sleep before my trip to Vermont and back. It was fun having them home and having the whole family together.
Today’s image is from the dock around the corner. Oyster pots. Photographed with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR.

 

Friday, November 27, 2009

The cold, the wind and the rain.



What a cold and rainy day. I’m glad yesterday was better. We had Thanksgiving at my sister-in-laws yesterday. They made a fire in the outdoor stove; it was a beautiful day.
Today’s photo I made yesterday morning when I ran out to get a couple of things. I used the Canon G10 and processed it with ACR.
 

Thursday, November 26, 2009

52 and Thankful



Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am most grateful that my family is home and safe. This morning or local newspaper has an article about a young man from SUNY Potsdam, Brian’s school, who was killed when coming home for Thanksgiving break. The car he was in flipped over. All three students in the car were from Long Island.
I can’t image the pain that family is feeling today. I try to teach my boys to be independent and to try and find their own way home. I feel blessed that Brian got a ride and made it back safely.
My prayers go out to the Spencer family.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Windows in Babylon



Last night I had some time to kill as I waited for my oldest son’s train to arrive. So I walked around the village of Babylon for the hour. There’s not much happening at ten o’clock except for the taverns.
This barber poll lit up the sidewalk and most of the interior of the small shop. All the stores had this magical feel to them. Possibly the cold air or the anticipated excitement of everyone being home for Thanksgiving, but everything had a magical feel to it.
It’s such a simple thing to be thankful for, I’m thankful we’re all home and we’re all safe.

 

Monday, November 23, 2009

The World Down-Under


Ever since my first trip into Manhattan I’ve had a fascination with subways and the underground world of Penn Station. Sometimes it hard to believe how much activity is happening below Madison Square Garden. Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, New Jersey Transit and the subway all converge beneath the asphalt and brick of the city. Hundreds, no thousands of people hailing cabs, catching busses or just on the go and below that thousands more on each level below. The crowds are unreal, scary at times.
Today’s post is a grayscale conversion made in the Penn Station terminal of the Long Island Railroad. Made with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR. 

Sunday, November 22, 2009

A commercial break



I tried to post the text to this post last night, but something went wrong. Half the text never showed yup on the post, and the other half was a link to no where. The link thing has happened to me before.

I'm a sucker for Christmas. The smell of a burning fireplace, cookies baking and the fresh cut tree that graces out living room. For me,  the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is the start of the whole thing. Yea, I know many people consider Macy's just another big box store. And I know that there's a lot of big box stores that do altruistic things. I know the Parade is really a big advertisement for Macy's. But, they don't have to do it. When times are tough in the retail world, they could of pulled the plug. They could have made room for another retail giant to step up to the plate and foot the bill for the parade.
They always hung in there, even when battling bankruptcy.
I have childhood memories of sitting in front of the TV waiting for the end of the parade just to see the real Santa. I know he's the real Santa, I've seen Miracle on 34th Street enough to know Macy's has the real Santa.
So, call me what you may, this is my soft spot. Shopping at Macy's Herald Square the week between Christmas and New Years has become a tradition for the family. We love riding the wooden  escalators and getting snacks in The Cellar. If the boys get any cash of Christmas, the look at the after holiday mark downs to find bargains. Cel and I always look for half off Christmas cards and wrapping paper of the following year.
Maybe we'll be lucky enough  to get snow again for the train ride home.




Saturday, November 21, 2009

Picking up Adam





We just returned from New York City to pick up Adam from the Amtrak station. We got in a little early, so we walked around Macy's, Herald Square. More about that tomorrow. It's great to have Adam home. We went for some New York Pizza, something Adam misses up in Vermont, before taking the train home. The city is all decorated for Christmas, and preparations were well underway for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Today's image is from the last Sunday's walk outside our church. I originally was focusing on the water drops, but then I saw that focus looked better on the grass blades. The one aspect of the Canon G10, or any rangefinder type camera for that matter, I'm not happy with, is not being able to watch focus change through the lens.
Other than that, it's still very convenient. This was processed with ACR.
 

Friday, November 20, 2009

Walking in the rain





Rain has made the news both here on the east coast and in Great Britain where flooding has caused great losses and the life of a policeman across the pond. We had a heavy down pour early this morning accompanied by thunder and lightening. As usual, Isabel, our dog, went through her routine of looking for safety. We have a room upstairs that only has a skylight, no other windows, this is her place in the storm.
After the rain, I noticed my little red maple and all the raindrops on her branches. I made this photo with the Canon 5d and processed it with ACR.
 

Thursday, November 19, 2009

One leaf left





Today was the first day this fall that really looked like winter. Many of the trees are bare, the sky was gray and dark. Clouds were laden with rain but they didn't spill till mid afternoon. I even heard two ladies talking on the way out of a building about how it looked like snow.
There's a couple of homes in my neighborhood that burn wood in the winter. I just love the smell of a fireplace. My parents had a fireplace. I have some warm memories in front that fireplace, no pun intended. It's one thing I wish my home had that it doesn't.
Today's photo is the little red maple out in the back yard. There's only a few leaves left. I was originally drawn to the drops of water on the bare branches, but the leaf made a better image. I used the Canon 5d and ACR.
 

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Leaves in the forest







I had a nice assignment today. The owner of this private auto repair garage wants to give back to the community and has set-up a not-for-profit to work on the cars of the needy. We made some photos of the owner with the first recipient and an elected official that helped bring the whole thing together. Some things restore my faith in my fellow man.


Today's photo was found on a walk in the woods. These yellow leaves stuck out in the dark forest. They looked like they were floating in the woods.


I used the Canon G10 and photoshop to make this image.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Queen Ann's Lace in fall.


I had a very busy day today. And sometime early afternoon the auto focus in mt canon d5 body. I was covering the general meeting for the Suffolk Count Legislature and a press conference following the morning session. At the press conference I noticed focus wasn't changing so I switched to manual focus for the rest of the day. I'm glad this didn't happen when I was busy.
Today's photo was made Sunday after the red mailbox photo. It was made with the Canon G10 and processed with Photoshop.


 

Monday, November 16, 2009

A year and six days



Well, I missed my blogging anniversary. Sometime back in October I looked to see when I started blogging. I wanted to post a new version of the bike rack that graced my first page in cyberspace.
It was an attempt at high dynamic range photograph, until the figure stepped into the frame. Today's post is also a straight photo, this one made with the G10 and processed with ACR.
I'm always drawn to colorful objects. The rack looks better than the original post mostly because of the open overcast lighting and the sky. The first time I photographed it I was more concerned with cropping out the distracting signs and maybe making it look a little abstract. This time I just wanted to record the whole scene.
One year. As I've stated before blogging has helped me return to the kind of subject matter that first go me interested in photography. As a teen I would have never believed I would be working s a political photographer. But as a teen, I do think you could have told me that you couldn't make a living making images of autumn leaves or blades of grass or most of the other things you'll find on this blog. I was no different that most teens and just didn't listen. I had to do it my way.
Thank you to all who visit, and all of you who comment. You have all become a part of my life.
 

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Four






This mailbox is across the street from the church we attend. I've wanted to photograph it before, I've even gone there for the sole purpose of making a photo. But today, the light and atmospheric conditions were perfect today. It was a great morning for making pictures.
I made this photo with the Canon G10 and processed it with Photoshop.
 

Friday, November 13, 2009

Blowin in the wind.



This is another image of the Red Maple tree in my backyard also made on Thursday. I love photographing on overcast days, add a little wind and a slow shutter speed. A tripod and magic happens.


 

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Hanging on



The little red maple tree in our back yard took a beating today with the high winds. Its leaves were hanging on even as oak leaves were blowing all around the yard. The oaks are usually the last trees to lose their leaves.
The weatherman is calling for even more wind tomorrow. If that's true, I won't have to rake, the leaves will all blow away.
I made this image with the Canon 5d and processed it with ARC.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Mailboxes


 
I guess one day these things will be something of the past. E-mail, bill-pay and all the other electronic means of communications are taking a toll on the United States Postal Service. Not too long ago I read that the USPS is considering a five day delivery week instead of the six we have now and a rate increase. These say there's a drop in the need for their services.
For the most part I have always liked the USPS. When we lived in Shirley, we had the greatest mailman, Joe. He always went over and above the call of duty. Whenever I had those little orange Kodak boxes of slides delivered, Joe would walk them up the 200 foot driveway. He didn't want to leave them in the mailbox. I was privileged to photograph his second marriage, his sister's marriage and is daughter's marriage. And I was very sorry when Joe decided to leave the route and take a counter job at a different post office. He's a town away now, and I see him whenever I need stamps.
All the years of mail service and I never lost anything in the mail, coming or going. I still look forward to receiving a letter from an old friend. It's not the same when a past acquaintance friends me on Facebook. I still enjoy walking down to the mailbox and finding a letter from a friend.
So I for one will be upset if I live to see the day everything is electronic. Yea, I know it's probably greener to go electronic, it just doesn't seem the same to me.
Today's photo was made yesterday in Rocky Point while I was looking for Rick and Georgiannne house.
I used the Canon 5d and processed it with ACR.
 

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A great cup of coffee.



I made a surprise visit to my friends Rick and Georgianne of the Homegrown String Band. Rick had invited me for a cup of fresh ground, organically grown, free trade, rattle snake gutter brew in the comment section of my Coffee and a photo to go post. So, I stopped in unannounced to collect and catch-up on old times.
What a great cup of coffee. They buy their coffee from Dean's Beans. Rick made me a cup of Beach Bean, one of the monthly specials, it was delicious. I could easily fall in love with the taste of this coffee. Read Rick's post here.
Today's photo was made while I was waiting for an elected official to arrive at an elementary school veterans day assembly. He was in committee meetings and his staff scheduled me, needless to say we never connected and I had some time to drop-in on my old friends.
Today's post is in honor of all our veterans. My heartfelt thanks for your service.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sunlight through the pines



We had a beautiful day here on Long Island and it all started this morning. I love seeing the morning mist as it burns off the foliage. Besides, all my Garzania's are still blooming and it's November!
This was made with the Canon G10 and processed with Photoshop.