Ice

I made these two ice photos on the golf course at Timber Point in East Islip. They reminds me of arial photographs.

It was a beautiful day today and it was great for a long walk with the camera. I was able to make a few keepers which always makes for an excellent day.

These were made with the Canon 5d and processed with ACR.

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.

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.

 

Reflection at Bay Shore Marina

The nor'easter caused some high tides and flooding along our south shore these past two days. Everything is a little calmer this evening. It got me thinking of our harbors. This image was made in September in Bay Shore. There's not many boats left there this late in the season. I just never finished working on it.

This image was made with the Canon 5d and processed in Photoshop.

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.

 

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.

 

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.

Before my assignment this morning, I went for a small walk in a county park. I was looking for the last colors of autumn. The pickings were slim at best. I did manage to make a couple of keepers and the walk was refreshing.

Today's photo was made with the Canon 5d and processed with ACR.

Looking down

Here' another image looking down at the kaleidoscope of colorful leaves at the public parking lot in Deer Park.I get sent there to record freight trains parked on the rail overpass in the middle of town. The town supervisor made it a priority to get these trains not to lay-up on the downtown overpass.

This was made with the Canon 5d and processed with ACR.

Mattituck Barn

I made this image last Monday in Mattatuck at the train station. This is an HDR composite from six frames of different exposure.

I'm still not happy with how hot the sunlit white door is but it will do. I made this image with the Canon 5d and processed it in Photoshop.

Fun with red.

What a great day I had today. I covered a press conference on the east end of the north fork of Long Island, Cutchogue. I made a point of heading out early so I'd have some tome to do some personal photos. The weather was perfect and so was the colors. I felt like a sugar addict loose in candy store.

I've come to the conclusion that when we have a wet summer, fall colors are better. I'm gonna have to look this up to see if it is fact or something I'm imagining.

These two images came from Mattatuck, the sign was at the train station. The leaves were a few blocks away. Both were made with the Canon 5d and processed with ACR.

Stain glass leaves.

I love backlighting and rim-lighting, so give me colorful leaves and a bright sun and I just go crazy. I as at the doctor's office Monday and I couldn't wait to get out of there. All these green and yellow leaves and blue sky were calling me. The office building she's in also had these beautiful planters by the entry and I made a few images there.

This was made with the Canon 5d and processed in ACR.

A keeper on a bad day.

It was not a nice day today, windy, cold and rainy. I'm sure days like today was made for big bowls of soup. Soup wasn't on the menu today, but my better half did make a great diner that hit the spot.

Today's photo was made in Quogue. I was driving to the photo lab in Westhampton when I saw this field of wind blown grass. I set the camera on the tripod and made a bunch of long exposures. This is the image I like the best.

Made with the Canon 5d and processed it with Photoshop and ACR.

Red Reed

What a day. I did manage to get a coat of spackle on Adam’s wall, but that’s about it. I couldn’t sand the spackle because it didn’t dry. Sometimes I just don’t know where the time goes. Tomorrow, I have the October General meeting of the Legislature in the morning and a press conference following that.

I made today’s photo yesterday. My eye was drawn to the red reed surrounded by the green leaves of the ornamental grass. This was made with the Canon 5D and processed with ACR.

Rugby Helmet

This photo is from last Saturday's Rugby match up in Northfield Vermont. Some of the players wore these helmets. They don't look like like they offer much protection, I guess it protects you from getting your hair pulled.
I made this with the
canon 5d and processed it with ACR.

Rockin & Rollin

I had my annual physical today and my doctor says everything is looking good. That surely helped me to feel better, especially after hearing about my dad falling again and my younger brother getting admitted to the hospital because he lost his vision. What a week.

Monday I needed to photograph a town building at a park complex in Babylon. The schools were closed because of a holiday and the skateboard park was rockin’ an rollin.’

It’s wild! Some of the older boys are really good at what they do on those boards.

Today’s picture is from the skateboard park at Tanner Park in Copiague. I used ACR to pump-up the contrast.

Autumn

Autumn is a reflective time of year for me. I think about life and about death. With two sons in college and the third just starting high school I think about age more than I want to. Every ach means something different now.
Calls to my parents in Florida are not like they once were. My mom tells how dad fell again, how she’s getting too old to look after him. She wants to find a senior care facility they can live in. Autumn in their lives doesn’t look the same as autumn in mine.
The feelings I’m having are best summed-up by Carrie Newcomer’s song
“Leaves Don’t Drop, They Just Let Go.”
Leaves don’t drop they just let go,
And make a place for seeds to grow.
Every season brings a change,
A seed is what a tree contains,
To die and live is life’s refrain.
It’s a song about letting go, and that’s what autumn is to me.
I’ve quoted this song before on this blog. Carrie is a awesome songwriter.

17 to 23

Friday, the end of another week. I have a light weekend with a fire department inspection dinner Saturday evening and the end of a fishing tournament on Sunday. As a freelance you take work when it comes around. Next Friday we are going up to Vermont for parents weekend. I can’t wait to see Adam. He sounds so excited about college.

Today’s post was made at self-storage units at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton. These units were ammunitions storage units in building D, which was a post, a few days back.

I used the Canon 5d and post processing was with ACR.