quiet reflection

I went for a little walk through the pine barrens today and came to this little still lake. 

The overcast day and the repeating semi-circle shapes caught my eye. 

I'll have to go back with a longer lens one day.

20)  I am thankful for the quietness of the woods.

 

Inferred winter

Fooling around with the inferred camera.

I've been having Blogger problems.

I've been posting on some of your sites but they never appear. 

Do they fix these things automatically?

It was back in the 40's today, but that didn't stop me from taking a nice brisk walk. I had my camera with me, but there was nothing that caught my eye. There were plenty of birds singing in the Ceder trees.

19) I am thankful for the birds and their songs.

Winter Cemetery

Another photograph from the old cemetery on the North Fork. I don't know if the headstone is just cracked or if it was cemented back together. It looked as if it were two pieces at one time. To my right, and just outside of the frame, was a fallen stone. I did not want to get any closer for fear it might fall.

The bare trees and the lifeless lawn got me thinking about death and those forgotten. Is it the busyness of life, the generational separation of the years or some other reason a cemetery can end up looking so?

I am not innocent. I have not been diligent in visiting the brother I lost 46 years ago. I did not know Thomas, I was eight years old. He never was released from the hospital, he went straight home. 

My parents decided to take this as a sign that life is precious, everyone born into this life should have a good home. They fostered a teenage girl, Gina, and later, a toddler, Antonio.

After a number of years, Tony went back to his other family, he keeps in touch. Gina graduated high school, left and we never heard from her again. 

Thomas, I do think of you. I wonder who you would have looked like, what you would have been. You spent such a short time on earth, but you spread so much love.

 

In the Reeds

Today was the first day that felt like spring. 

It helped that there were visual signs as well. Highway crews were removing snow fence along the highway.  I passed a farmer working the earth. Now if that's not spring, the Robins on the lawn are a sure sign that spring is close by. 

I need a change of season.

18) I'm grateful to know my friend Jackie is well in Afghanistan. This is her forth tour of duty. I pray everyday for her safety.

Red Farm Truck

 

There's something about the color red and HDR.......

If you followed my posts, you know this is not the first red pick-up I've posted.

This is now my favorite red pick-up.

17) I am grateful to live in such a diverse area. 

A visit to the North Fork

I had a job on the North Fork this morning. 

It was such a beautiful day, I took the long way home. Someplace along Rt.24, maybe Mattituck, I came across this old cemetery with a grave for Benjamin Moore. I got excited thinking it was THE Benjamin Moore, but no, it just Benjamin Moore. 

Still, it was a perfect day for photography even HDR photography!

16) I am grateful for blue skies.

Made it through

Winter is almost over. 

Evan started Lacrosse practice this week. 

Today was in the mid fifties, and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. 

It's been very windy. 

I thought this was sharper when I saw it on the back of the camera. 

Oh well, spring is almost here.

15) I am grateful for the four seasons.

  

Hearts on a tree

I took a short walk after a grueling meeting 

and a portrait session today. 

It was nice to come across these 

hearts 

carved into trees.

 A nice distraction for me, 

not so nice for the tree. 

14) I am grateful for short walks and tall trees.

Snow Fence II

Snow fence on a cloudy day.

13) I am grateful for imagination and creativity.

Corner Stop

I just love the red against the dark storm clouds and had to snap a photo.

Three textures and three colors.

11.) I am grateful for clouds moving in the sky.

Lost in the fog

This is how it looks around here for the past few days....gray. That and lack of inspiration has caused a me to " fall of the face of the net." This morning we had some fog and that was enough for me to go out looking. Funny.... looking in the fog.

All I have seen teaches me

to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

My wife has started a blog here on blogspot, she calls it Cel-g, if you have a minute stop in and say hello. 
Thank you

10. I am grateful for the fog and what it doesn't allow me to see.

Teens

That's Evan, 

ear buds in and ignoring his parents. 

My wife, Cel is on the left of the frame. 

They are leaving to visit colleges and Cel's niece's family in Cary, North Carolina. They will meet Cel's sister, and drive down together.

I'm watching the home front.

9. I am thankful for togetherness and time alone. I truly appreciate one only with knowing the other.

15

Another number for the Numbers to 100 series. I'm really looking now to fill in the gaps. I find it funny how I'm attracted to certain numbers. I'm missing about 40 numbers, but I keep finding the same ones...

I needed 15, so here it is. Actually found this around the corner from my home. In fact, I walk past it almost all the time, but the number is on the other side of the box. You can see the collection on flickr.

8. I am thankful for the relationships in my life. Friends, neighbors, fellow bloggers. I am very thankful for family, near and far.

Water Tower

The old water tower on the Pilgrim State Hospital grounds. Many of the buildings have been demolished years ago, but the water tower is still standing. I shot this a few weeks ago and have been fooling around with it. This is an HDR photo that I reprocessed with Topaz Adjust.  This was my first time using Topaz Adjust, there's a lot to learn. 
I remember coming here when I was in High School to make photographs for class. It was a scary place back then. It still a bit spooky today.

7.  I'm thankful I still have the desire to learn new things.

Still River reflection

6. I am thankful for 

the peacefulness 

I find in nature.

Meandering Path

We had a lit of snow yesterday morning. 

By the afternoon, it was all gone. 

There's more in the forecast. 

Maybe we will have a winter.

5. I am thankful to have the ability 

to walk and to see all the beauty of 

Your Greatness.

Snow Drops

We had a dusting of snow Thursday morning. The Snow Drops have been up about two weeks already. This is the earliest I've every seen them. 

Today, we are getting more snow, not enough to cause havoc, but the temperature is supposed to drop and make for dangerous road conditions tonight. It would be a good night to curl up with a book and something warm, but it's the second night of the high school play. 

Last night's opening performance was awesome. West Side Story was always one of my favorites and my son Evan plays Little John, so how could I go wrong! I posted some photos from the play on photobucket. I didn't know where else to put 160 photos for anyone with an interest to see. I'm open to ideas. P.S. Evan's the first frame. He's wearing a while shirt with black sleeves.

 4. I am thankful for the four seasons in nature and life.

Birds on a wire #3

Every now and then I have to photograph birds on a wire. This photo I came across yesterday on my walk. Yes I'm trying to get back into my walking schedule, maybe it will help my knee heal faster.

This was made using the infered camera. I have a habit of  photographing this, you can see previous attempts here and here. I always have that song running through my head.

#3. I am thankful for birds, the joy they bring with their songs and their beautiful colors.

Blades of Grass

Blades of Grass

2.  I am grateful to see beauty in small things.

black river

I started reading, 

One Thousand Gifts, A Dare to live fully right where you are. by Ann Voskamp. 

I thought maybe I would start a photographic list. 

1. the way still black waters make mirror-like reflections.

Tracks to Beyond

Color infered photography.

Smoke Stack

While on a job Tuesday,  I came across this and had to photograph it. 

This window is dressed with some sort of mechanical shade that darkens the room to allow you to view projections. The best part is that it also allows you to still look out the window. (Built special for day dreamers like me?)

How cool is that! I see the old smoke stack and the years of billowing smoke that darkened the atmosphere.

Blue Thursday

Same scene as yesterday. 

Yesterday's image was processed from a RAW file, this came from a jepg. Since I still don't know how to get the color I want from the RAW image, I converted it to a grey scale image. For the color version I followed the basic instructions and proceeded from there.

I know there's more inferred light in the summer months and that my results will look different then, I just need to fool around with it.

Getting there...

This is an inferred photo the Peconic River that almost there! Looks ok this size but it's lacking sharpness and there's more noise that I'm comfortable with. But I'm getting there. Tomorrow I'll post the color version.

The old mill

This is my second attempt at inferred photography. 

I converted this to grey scale. 

I'm not happy with it at all. 

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. 
Back to the drawing board camera!

Curled up

Sasha say's it's the best way to spend a cold day! I have to agree it's in the top five, but someone has to shovel the driveway. 

Hope everyone is staying warm.

First real snow

It's snowing. 

It started sometime in the night.  

I'm not looking forward to clearing it.

My post today is a scene from an East Quogue beach club I made last week. 

Nice view!

Winter on Shinnecock Bay

A bayman emptying pots in Shinnecock Bay. 

It was a beautiful day Monday, maybe in the forties. Still there's no place to get out of the wind.

My interest in baymen go back a number of years. I started documenting them and everything about them one cold November day when I saw a scene similar to this in Captree Bay. It was frigid that day and I couldn't stand being out on the car for as long as it took to expose eight or so frames of film. He was  long raking for clams, probably for the holiday season.

I sent the collection around to publishers, but there was no interest. I still think there's a niche market, I did alright with print sales at shows, and a book would sell for a lot less that the price of a hand printed fiber print.

I should give self publishing a serious consideration. 

Here's two photos I've posted before, scanned from the series.

Digging for soft shell clams

&
Captain Erik Bender

Crushed on the side of the road.

 

Whenever I go for a walk, I have my camera.  I'm amazed at how much litter I come across. I am a little embarrassed to say that Long Island is about the worst place I've ever seen when it comes to litter. We have a five cent deposit law on carbonated drink, beer and water containers. It doesn't seem to help. Go figure. Sometime last year I decided to put together a collage of cans that I found. 

Stick in the Sand

Came across this stick in the sand. 

Looks like it's sticking in a heart.

Beach Dune

This is a beach dune photographed with an old Canon 20D that's been converted to an inferred camera. I was too cold to take a walk down the beach, so I exposed 6 or 8 frames and went off to work. I'm still learning how to adjust the files to make something interesting.

Looking East

The past two days have been frigid. I was at the ocean today, but only was able to walk along the shore line for a short period of time. I made some images with a Canon 20D that was converted to an inferred camera. Maybe I'll post one of those photos tomorrow. I'm still learning how to process the image. This  photo was made earlier in the week, when the temperature was a bit more friendly.

The Path

I just love the light.

You can't see me!

Sasha sunning herself on the window sill.  

She hates being photographed.

Not now, I'm eating...

A doe in the evening sun at 

Smiths Point County Park. 

She only looked my way to see if I had anything better to offer.

Vapor Trails 2

I made this photo yesterday right before yesterday's post. This view looking north, made me pull off the highway to get the shot. 

But after I saw the foreground and moon, I liked yesterday's post photo better. I worked both images in Photoshop and Photomatix Pro to enhance the color and make the trails pop!

Vapor Trails

The cold sky is great for vapor trails.

Sorry about my absence, 

I've been busy with work, and the weather and temperature has kept me from venturing out doors.

Agawam Beach

Morning breaks at Agawam Beach, Southampton Friday.  

This is the beach that appeared on my very first blog post. It's a great place to walk in the morning.

Reflect

May your reflections 

of the past year

be bright,

and the tides of life bring you 

health and happiness in the New Year.

Recover

Recover is the last word of the year for the One Word at a Time Blog Carnival. I decided to participate,  because I feel guilty for always visiting the site and never contributing and after my knee surgery four weeks ago, recover is something I really want.

I've been fortunate in that I don't know what it is to recover from anything except for a broken collar bone as a child and the usual bouts with the common cold. In my 54 years of life, a torn meniscus is my biggest problem. I will recover.

I can say that because I want to walk and kneel and maybe even run again. I have the desire and drive to see that it will happen. It was just two days ago I started going down steps one leg at a time. It wasn't pretty, but it was one leg at a time.

I know that in order to recover, you need support. Family has picked up the slack around the house. Co-workers have given their words of encouragement and understanding. Most of all, I'm sure I've been the subject of a prayer or two. It's funny how I can feel some other force (not the right word) helping me along.

That's how I plan to recover; support, desire and prayer.

It will all be alright, I will recover.

Merry Christmas

 

“I am the light of the world. 

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

Well decorated

I can't help but thinking of those serving in the military around the holidays. 

How lonely it must be for anyone not to be with the ones they love at such a special time. 

January fourth, Jackie, a friend of mine is being deployed for her fourth tour of duty.  

Special prayers for all those who put on a uniform with the aim of protecting and serving.

Where has the time gone!

Sorry about the long hiatus from blogging. I never realized how much time a photographer spends on his knees, or using his knees or just plan needed working knees.  

Last week I went for a walk along the beach. Actually, I should say I took a feeble attempt at walking on the beach. Even though the good doctor has said my recovery is "a head of where it should be," I'm still disappointed with progress on steps (down) and kneeling. Soon I guess.

Today's post is from last Thursday. This is a group of photographers that volunteered their time to make family portraits for the less fortunate . This happened through an organized effort Help-Portrait and a great team leader, Joanne Henig  (Standing second form left). 

Yes, that me, kneeling down on my good knee. I really needed this to feel the spirit of the holiday this year.  I recommend it to all of my blogging friends; with  and without cameras. There's so much that needs to get done the more help the better.

P.S. Photo credit belongs to Mr. Henig.

Evening drive home

First, it was the color of the sky that I wanted to photograph, but the power lines were in the way. Then I pulled up to the intersection and the light turned red. 

So I made the photo  and used 

the lights 

and 

lines and sky. 

Just fun.

Trains and Christmas

I had to photograph a toy train display at the Town of Babylon Museum. They expanded an exhibit for the holiday season. 

When my boys were younger, we always set-up a train at the base of our Christmas tree. 

We haven't set it up in a few years, space, time and the boys being older all take a little of what makes it special, away.

 I also had to photograph a USO dance at a senior center. Many of the seniors wore uniforms and brought memorabilia from the wars. It was awesome.

Fog

Alcotts Pond in the fog. 

The unseasonably warm weather gave us fog this evening.  As I passed Alcotts Pond I had to turn the car around to make this photo.

Jet fuel

I passed this carrier truck and had to slow up to grab the photo as he passed me. I was really wondering what the driver behind me was thinking. 

Well, there's no jet fuel for me, but a friend of mine tells me to eat my greens... it will speed up my recovery. So greens will be my jet fuel.

700

I'm finding it difficult to bend to make the kind of photographs I like to make. And with stitches in my left knee, there's no kneeling.  

I went back to work on Monday, and of course I would get a job for Thursday to tour the local waterways by boat. I went out to photograph canals that are in need for dredging, The ride wasn't too bad. The water was calm and the weather was mild. I tried to sit on as much of the ride as possible. Yesterday I had a tree lighting which was all on my feet. 

I'm feeling a little less ok than I was yesterday morning, so I decided to take it easy today. So with my leg up and iced, college football on the tube and a good book to read; I'm all set for the rest of the day.

I can't believe that today's post makes number 700.