My auto repair shop

 

This photo is one of the photos sitting on my desktop waiting to be posted. It's a photo of Hampton Tire and Brake in East Quogue. It's the shop I bring the car to for everything. It's great to find a repair shop that you can trust. Bill is a true neighborhood business.

Sometimes, I wait for a oil change and take a walk around the village with my camera. This photo was made on my last visit. I was drawn to the broken neon tires sign and the sky.

Made with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR.

 

Rainy Day Photography

We has a whole day of spring rain, the light misty kind of rain. The kind of rain that make flowers grow and the green grass sparkle. I had a lot of fun out in the rain today, except for the tick I found crawling up my pant leg.

Ladybug, Ladybug

I found this little ladybug sleeping in the new bud of the Black Cherry tree in the front yard. Spring is a great time of year to look close at things.

Made this with the Canon G10, I couldn't get close enough with my other camera / lens combo.

I processed this in ACR.

Main Street, Babylon

Today's photograph is of an old street sign along Main Street in Babylon Village. The letters are all worn off. As I go close, I noticed in the background this street sign separated the newer school building and the older white shingled building.

Made with the Canon G10 and processed with ACR.

Rain Rain go away

 

It has been raining here for two days. Tonight the rain is suppose to change to snow. Right now it seems too warm for it to happen. They're saying only an inch or two...three at the most.

I can't get motivated to do any personal photography. Yesterday I made a photo of my feet and a puddle, today I stood in the rain looking at park benches surrounded by a lake.

The weather has everyone talking, pro global warmers and anti global warmers. I don't know what to think other than to say I need some sunshine and I need it soon.

The feet photo was processed with Photomatix Tone Mapping program and the bench I used ACR. Both were made with the Canon G10.

 

Snowy Handrail

We had a snow day today and it's still coming down. I think Evan will have another day off tomorrow or at least a delayed opening. Evan and my wife both helped with the shoveling so it wasn't as bad as the last storm that came through. I'll have to shovel again in the morning.

Today's photo is of the handrail at the side door. The wind didn't kick-up till the evening, so everything looked pretty.

I used the Canon G10 and Photoshop for processing.

 

More Snow

 

 

We woke up to a couple of inches of snow this morning and for the most part it was all gone by three this afternoon. There was no wind, so whatever fell stayed on branches. I had a little time before my first assignment to make a few photos. It was the best part of my day, too bad I couldn't have spent more time while the snow was here.

The forecast is calling for a possible snow storm this Friday evening into Saturday. So, I might get another opportunity and if I don't … no disappointment. I'm ready for spring.

Pussy Willow Buds in Snow

 

Bananas in the Window

Having a camera with live-view is very cool. It's one of those features that grew on me, I had no idea how I was going to use it.

Back in the days of film, I'd look at a subject, determine how it was lit, back-lighting, side-lighting etc., and set my exposure accordingly. Many times I would bracket my exposure, that's when a photographer makes a few frames of a scene using different exposures. Maybe one the camera meter recommended, one over-exposing the scene and one underexposing the scene or a half stop over and a full stop over. So a roll of 36 exposure film could of have varying exposures of 12 photos on it.Live view show you exposure before and sometimes it's just great.

This photo of bananas on the window sill is a perfect example. I was sitting on the couch reading and glanced up into the kitchen. I noticed the bananas on the sill and how they were back-lite. The lines of light were very intriguing even sensuous.

I picked up the Canon G10 and looked at the screen in live-view. The exposure was set for the shadows and the hi-lights were blown out, rendered white. It's so much easier now to get what your looking for. Sometimes the right exposure is not the metered exposure.

 

Pine Tree Geography

The frigid cold came back yesterday and was still around today. I originally told most of the people that I do work for that I would not be available this weekend because my wife is in California. I wanted to be available for Evan. But I did wind up working for a couple of hours today. It's ok, I sure can use the money, I think the oil burner has been running for the past two days.

Yep, it time for father and son bonding! My wife left me a list of things I should make sure Evan takes care of before her return Monday night. Yea, not much fun in that. I did buy a package of bacon for breakfast and diner tonight was just a starch and a protein, no veggie. Hey, it's just a weekend. I'm making spinach with tomorrow's meal. Don't tell him...it's in the soup ,-)

Today's photo is a couple of day's old. It's a close-up view of a Black Pine Tree. The bark has this topography to it that looks like and ariel view of a mountain range in Afghanistan, especially in Black and White. Hey, just having a little fun.

This was make using the Canon G10 and processed with Photoshop.

Open

 

Yesterday evening I had time between work and Evan's wrestling match so I took a walk around the village of Babylon. The open sign at the American Legion hall in the village has caught my eye before, but the sky was just right last night.

I made this photo with the Canon G10 and processed it with both Photomatix Tone Mapping and Photoshop.

 

The Latch

I found this old abandoned farm building, yes I was trespassing again, and attached to the siding was this latch. The door was long gone as were parts of the roof and walls. There were boxes and boxes of old books and papers, water logged from the heavy rain that found its way in through the porous shelter.

Outside was this latch, standing guard, ready to work.

Made with the Canon G10, processed with Photomatix Tone Mapping program. 

Just hangin' out

This is a photo I made a week or so ago. I liked the way the cloths pins looked just hanging there on the line. Originally made as a color image, I converted it to gray scale with ACR.

Here in Southampton, there was a law that stated your cloths line could not be visible from the road. I think they removed the law from the books during the last administration.

Sneakers on a line

 

I can remember seeing sneakers on power lines ever since I was a youngster. Recently, I learned that the police consider this a sign of gang activity. The power company has to report any sneakers on a line to the police. They photograph them and make a record of where it was and then remove them. They say it's how gangs outline their territory. ( I'd love to have that job! Hey Steve, there's some sneakers on 5^th and Broadway....)

When I was a kid, after the school year was over, you took your old gym shoes and tried too get them around the power lines. It had nothing to do with anything, it was just something to do with some old smelly shoes.

I made this with the Canon G10 and processed it with Photomatix Tone Mapping program. I got an added bonus when the sky and the power lines took on a stained glass look to me.

 

frost on the Pumpkin

I found these leaves yesterday when I went to drop off a finished job at the Suffolk County Legislature building in Hauppauge. I don't know what this plant is called, but, in the summer it has large, long green leaves and a large red flower in the center. I've never seen one at the garden center, or I'd most probably have purchased one.

It even looks good dead and covered in frost. I've used the phrase Frost on the Pumpkin because my wife says that every morning she sees frost on her car.

Made with the Canon G10 and processed with photoshop.

Warm Colors, Cold Day

I pulled into 7-11 for an afternoon cup of coffee Friday and parked facing this wall and pine tree. I just had to make a photo. The warm setting sun and the color of the wall made a nice contrast to the White Pine tree.

I needed to post something up-beat, we dropped Adam off at the train station for his return trip to Vermont. I'm a bit melancholy today.

Holly

 

I went for a long walk in the woods to air out my head. There's been a lot going on up there. Can ya smell the wood burning? There's been little said about the offer of full-time employment as the town photographer. So I've been taking freelance work. I have to cross the double bookings bridge when I come to it.

As I walked into the woods up in Riverhead, I came across some Cedar Trees that had mos growing on the trunks. I kept walking deeper and deeper until I realized that I was walking on a snow covered, frozen bog. On the way out I found a couple of Holly's. I used the Canon G10 and processed this with ACR.

 

A Pair of Oak Leaves

On my walk in the woods the other day I noticed some green leaves belonging to a vine. They were withered, but still green. I made a few photos from different angles but was not happy with any of them.

I prefer these Oak leaves that caught some of the falling snow.

I used the Canon G10 in macro mode for these photos. It's one of my favorite things about this little camera, the macro setting. Bother were processed with ACR.

Paw Prints

These tracks in the snow probably belongs to one of my sister-in-law's cats, Oreo or Louie. I've seen them both in my yard at various times. Our cat, Sasha is strictly an indoor cat, but I think they know she's in here.

These foot prints remind me of my life. I never venture too far from what I know. The photo only shows a small part of the tracks, and even though they cross and look like they separate; they start and end-up in the same place. Creatures of habit, both the cats and I.

Shells

So, I was offered a full-time job as a photographer yesterday that caught me by surprise.  There’s a lot to think about, I’m still a bit dumbfounded. One the one hand, I’m 52 and could use the security that comes with vested benefits, this is especially important being diabetic. On the other hand, I’ve worked very hard to get to this point to get the stable of clients I have. Working full time would mean giving up the majority or all of them.

This morning I spent some time photographing these shells my wife keeps in a basket. I placed them on the floor in the sunlight and made a few exposures with the macro mode of the Canon G10. This is the one I liked the best. 

Sedum in Snow

I have Sedum growing in a few spots in my yard and usually I cut them to the ground in fall. This fall I just didn't have time to cut them back, lucky me.
I made this photograph yesterday when there was little wind to blow the light snow off the dead flowers. Today, they are covered with snow again.