The Old Stomping Ground

 

I had an assignment today to cover someone I really don't care for. But, A job is a job. The best part was that I was in a neighborhood that I spent much of my time as a young adult. So, after the job I drove around the old stomping ground.

Today's photo was made in the parking lot of Vanderbilts Wharf. We knew it as The Wharf back then. It was the starting point and sometimes the finishing point for many a Friday and Saturday night.

I cant believe the sky in this photo, it looks surreal.

I used the Canon 5d mkII and processed it with ACR.

 

Are they dolls?

I came across this tree carving and so I made a couple photos and walked on. It wasn't till I started to work on the image that it dawned on me Ken and Barbara, Ken & Barbie the dolls... Whoever they are,

I bet they get teased all the time.

Made with the Canon 5d mkII and processed with Photoshop.

Driving Through The Pine Barrens

 

Driving home today I realized I didn't have anything to post today. So I thought I'd make a photo of the pine barrens. I know I've mentioned this part of my journey in other blog posts. This is the water shed area for Long Island. Rain water is filtered through the hundreds of acres of undeveloped pine barrens and becomes our drinking water. This is the reason it stays undeveloped.

A few years ago, while taking Brian up to Potsdam for school, we passed the building of a wind farm in Clinton County New York. The windmills were build on farm lands. To me, they looked awesome.

I often wonder why they can't build windmills in the pine barrens. I can't believe it would effect the ground water.

I used the Canon G10 and processed it with Photoshop.

 

Sneaky Sasha

 

Today was gray and it snowed all day. It's still snowing. I'm tired of snow.

Today's photos of Sasha were made Sunday. She likes to watch the birds from the bathroom window. It's the closest window to the bird feeder. She's never been outdoors, but I think she has an idea of where she'd head off to the moment she gets out. She's a sneak, like most cats I guess. I didn't know which photo I liked more, so I posted both. Made with the Canon G10 and processed with photoshop.

A Potter Weekend

I had a four day weekend, not good for the family finances but it sure felt good. We spent Saturday and Sunday catching up on the last four Harry Potter movies. Half-Blood Prince, we rented, Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix we watched on-line, and we own The Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm all Harryed-out for a while, even thou I'm glad I'm all up-to-date.

Really it's a well needed, once-in-a-while thing. This coming week is pretty chock-full of action, just would have been nice to have the work before the rest. Well, as a freelancer, you take what ya get!

Here's the other lone grass I promised to post.

 

Lone Grass 1

Today ends our high school wrestling season, today being the second day of the county finals. Poor Evan didn't do well and as any parent would, I felt for him. Hey, better luck next year buddy. Only a coach can put a athlete's loss in perspective for them. As a parent, all I can do is be as supportive as possible and not be an embarrassment in front of the team. Last night, a parent from another team was kicked out after his son lost. He thought the ref should have called something. Our coach used that incident to bring a smile to Evan's face. “So you lost, at least you dad didn't make a scene in front of the whole gym and get escorted out by security”.

Evan is stronger mentally than he is physically and he'll recover. It's still hard to watch them lose.

After eight and a half hours sitting on high school bleachers yesterday, my back and neck were killing me. I have upper back and neck pain from years of carrying my gear. The winter is hard enough on my back with snow shoveling, the bleachers just did it in.

Today's photo came from a walk a week ago Friday. I made a couple of lone grass images that day, I post the second one tomorrow. I used the Canon 5d mkII and photoshop for this image.

 

Ice Thursday

Yesterday's snow had a coat of ice over it that lasted all day. It made shoveling easier. Every thing was iced over. I made a few photos before I shoveled the driveway. These were made with the Canon G10 and processed in Photoshop.

 

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.

 

Sign on the X

When I was a youngster we used to sit around looking at slides and of course we would see things that weren't there. Ok, so we were under the influence which may have helped a little. That was over thirty years ago. Today, when I saw this frozen X, I thought about those times. Life was sure different then.

Made with the Canon 5d mkII and processed in ACR.

 

36

I made this photo for my number series. This is the second time this parking meter had appeared in one of my photos. In 2000, the Town of Babylon buried a time capsule and in that time capsule they put some photographs. One of them was this parking meter in the Village of Babylon with a car parked at it. I thought that maybe, in time parking meters would be done away with. In a way, the village has changed some of the parking meters with metered lots. There's one meter for a lot, you pay for parking, key in your spot number and you receive a receipt that you place on your dashboard. Collection takes place at one meter instead of dozens, and most of the machines take plastic. 
They don't have the the panache of the old meters, that's for sure.

Make with the Canon 5d mkII and processed as an HDR image in Photomatix Pro and Photoshop.

Discarded Newspaper

 

I found this in an open field and liked the way the two textures played against each other.

We just finished watching the Super Bowl, I'm happy New Orleans won even though I'm a Colts fan. Strange, I wouldn't been happy if it were anyone else. New Orleans could use a little boost in spirit after Katrina.

I made this with the Canon 5d mkII and processed it with photoshop.

 

The Pine Barrens

The east end of Long Island is separated from the west by a large swath of land known as the pine barrens. This land was set aside so no development would ever take place on it. The thought was that being an island we needed to protect our ground water. The pine barrens serve as a filter, if you will, for our drinking water, keeping it pure. Sometimes I wonder why they don't build windmills on the land. I can't imagine that windmills would have a negative effect on the groundwater.

Called the pine barrens because the only trees are scrub pines, none of which are very tall. So, on a clear day you get a good long view of, well, nothing but pine trees and sky. Kinda boring.

My walk yesterday was through a portion of the pine barrens and this is where today's photo comes from. This was made with the Canon 5d mkII and processed with Photoshop.

 

A walk in the woods.

 

I took a long walk in the woods this morning. It felt good, not too cold, no wind and as of February first

hunting season was over.

I was inspired by a black and white photo I saw earlier today, so I headed out looking for monochromatic subject matter. All I kept seeing were rabbits. At first I thought it was the same one running back and forth on the trail I was following. But there were more than just a couple of them. I couldn't get a good photograph of any of them. Way too fast for me.

I love isolating things in nature. This weed and the light were my favorite find today.

Made with the Canon 5d mkII and processed in photoshop.

 

Share and Share Alike

 

My next door neighbor had a visitor to her bird bath on Monday. I had to hustle to get this photo and I wound up spooking this deer and two others that were elsewhere in Sally's yard.

There's a tree at the shared corner of our properties. As a youngster, my son Evan loved squirrels. So we built a platform, attached it to the tree. In winter, we put bird seed that the squirrels and the birds ate. Actually, the blue jays and squirrels or the cardinals and the squirrels or the big black birds and squirrels always fight. This is the first time I've seen anything at Sally's bird bath.

Not a great photo, but the best I could get before it ran off.

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

 

Nice Tie

 

I spent the better part of the day covering the Suffolk County Legislature's February General Meeting and then I made a team photo for Evan's wrestling team. Today was a exhausting day.

One of the aides for a legislator is a really sharp dresser, and today was no exception. His pocket square and tie are the cats meow! I just had to photograph them.

I used the Canon 5d mkII and ACR.

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.

 

Birch Tree

I have always been fascinated by Birch trees. The small heart shaped leaves with ridges along the edge and the bark that looks like paper. This tree with its patterned bark caught my eye. Especially the stitch pattern to the right of the knot.

This photo was from my walk along the Carman's River in Shirley. Camera was the Canon 5d mkII and processed with Photomatix Tone Mapping program.

 

Clear as mud

Well I'm sitting here getting ready to watch President Obama's first State of the Union address. I know it will be the subject of any of the political events I cover tomorrow as it was today. I pay attention, but mostly I keep my views to myself and my immediate family. But today I'm making my first political post.

My thoughts about the heath care reform, I wish it was easier to understand. Right now it's as clear as mud to me. Maybe the folks voting on it can't understand it.

It would be nice if there were a plan to get unemployment under control. People not working need jobs, jobs that pay a decent salary.

As far as my thoughts on the deficit; in June of 1782, before America was even an independent country, John Adams secured a two million dollar loan at five percent from three Dutch banks. Yea, we weren't even a country and we were in debt. I doubt we will ever be without owing someone money.

Well, that's that! My political post.

Today's photo was made along a path by the Carman's River in Shirley. It was a beautiful day for a walk. I even saw Skunk Cabbage popping up through the ground. Hopefully that means spring is on the way. I used the Canon d5 markII and processed it in photoshop.

 

Teaching Peace

Susan at Just...a moment turned me onto blog carnival hosted by Bridget Chumbley and Peter Pollock. Bridget is participating in a challenge in which she hopes to raise $100 for World Vision for Haiti by 9 PM PST. I'd like to help her reach her goal by contributing a post on Peace.

Just yesterday, I photographed some of the children of Miss Montuori's 4B Class from Parliament Place Elementary School at Babylon Town Hall. These students, their teacher, and most of the elementary school took part in a Peace project that had the whole school making origami paper cranes.

Miss Montuori's class read the book Sadako by Eleanor Coerr, a story of a young Japanese girl who died of leukemia as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Japanese legend states that if one makes 1,000 paper cranes, a special wish will come true.

In the book, Sadako tried to reach this goal before she dies, but fails. The students finish for her, their wish is Peace in the World.

Parliament Place Students are on a mission to gather 1000 origami cranes to send to our troops by Memorial Day, May 31. They asked the Town Supervisor to hang some of the cranes at Town Hall along with their story in hopes that others will help them reach their goal.

The students told the story to the town councilwomen, town Clerk and Town Supervisor all who were there as the cranes were hung from the ceiling.

 

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.

Haiti Relief effort in Suffolk County

Yesterday morning I got a call to go to a union hall where a County Legislator, DuWayne Gregory and his staff were organizing and boxing donations collected at county facilities. Every now and then I see collection boxes at stores and churches and in office buildings, but there doesn't ever seem to be all that much in them. When you get a chance to see the collected effort it looks better. Still is just an iota of what's needed to get the Haitian people back to where they were.

Consider donating to the Red Cross, if you haven't done so already.

Frozen Stick

I had a long day today. This is another photo that I made at the golf course last week.

I told ya it was a productive day, unlike today.

Connetquot River

It rained all night and a few hours into early morning. Most of the snow here is gone, but that's ok. It was looked dirty.

So today's post is from the frozen Connetquot River of a snow covered stump. I made this shot at the beginning of last week. I'm sure it looks different today, the canal by my house is all broken up ice. It looked like it would make an interesting photo, but I didn't have time today to stop. I worked in the morning, and this afternoon we went and saw Avatar in 3D. Great special effects and an interesting story. I liked it a lot. We drove Evan and three of his friends, we all were impressed.

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.

Sunrise over the Atlantic

 

Evan had to be at weigh-in at seven this morning for wrestling tournament. It was a perfect morning to stop and walk along the beach. It was a fruitful morning.

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.

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.

 

Kreativ Blogger Award

I was speechless today when I saw that Mrs. E has nominated this blog for a Kreativ blogging award. There's a few conditions I need to complete that are listed below.

1.Thank the person giving the award. 

2. Copy the award to this blog. 

3. Place a link to their blog.

4. Name 7 things people don't know about you. 
5. Nominate 7 bloggers who you admire.
6. Place a link to these bloggers.

7. Leave a comment on their blog notifying them of the award.  


Thank you Mrs. E for the Kreativ Blogger Award. 


Seven things people don't know about me.


1. I'm loyal to brands, retailers and the like... to a fault.
2. I hardly ever proof what I write, and I'm a poor speller. So I usually write my blog in open office or word and copy and paste it so I get the benefit of spell check.
3. I don't mind chick-flicks... if they are good.
4. I always wanted to live in Manhattan.
5. I don't mind the cold.
6. I sometimes visit a blog and don't comment.
7. I don't always say what I should when I should.
(that was harder then it looks)



Seven blogs I admire.
http://scriptorsenex.blogspot.com
Always interesting and sometimes very funny. 
http://elainaavalos.blogspot.com/ 
Some cool photography and writing.
http://silaartphoto.blogspot.com/
Lidija has a great eye. She is a gifted photographer especially in black and white.
http://stevengravano.blogspot.com
We share the same name and are not related! We found each other through blogging. A very talented artist.
http://homegrownstringband.blogspot.com
The Jackofsky's are a family band full of tradition. I've know Rick for a number of years and always enjoy their music. Their blog site is informative, just needs more posts!


Well, I'm gonna have to own you two more blogs, because the three other bloggers that I love to visit have been nominated or have already received the award. They are, in no particular order:



http://thesmittenimage.blogspot.com
Even though I'm really new to it, Hillary has a great blog. She has some beautiful photographs.
http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/
Georgia's blog was just nominated by S.Etole another blogger I wanted to nominate.
Georgia is the living definition of creative. She's a true muse of the blogging world.
http://susan-moment.blogspot.com
Just_a moment is my spiritual grounding in the blogging world. Susan is a very special person and her blog is a worthwhile stop to find peace and beauty.

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.

Nine

Today was a long day. We volunteer as a family to cook breakfast for a homeless shelter here on the east end of Long Island. Maureen's Haven is a non-denomination not-for-profit that arranges dinner, a warm place to sleep and breakfast to the homeless. They work through local churches that host the program. Our church doesn't host but supplies volunteers to St. Mary's who can do double duty so to speak because of this arrangement. We'd like to host the program at our own church, but we have storage issues and have no place to store the bed rolls, pillows and air mattresses.
Last year we did a breakfast in January and another in March. This year will be the same. This morning we saw the largest group in our five years as volunteers. I'm sure it's a combination of the very cold weather and the bad economy. This was the first time I saw a bit of rudeness towards one of the volunteers. Enough of the guests thanked us to make up for it.
Today's photo could have been a snow photo, but I decided I would add to my numbers series. This nine was on the front grill of a old brush truck parked at the Middle Island Fire Department. I was there for an Boy Scout Eagle Scout and the old truck caught my eye.
Made with the Canon d5 MkII, processed with ACR.

More snow

It snowed all day today with little accumulation, maybe an inch or two. It felt good to get out and walk around in it. There was no wind and it must have been just cold enough for snow, it was comfortable to stay outdoors for a while. I walked through the woods and everything was white and still.

These three photos were made in Hampton Bays, by the railroad tracks. They were made with the Canon 5d MKII and 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. 

Dance Zone

I think that's what the sign says, dance zone. I made this photo at Agawam Beach in Southampton, there must be a lot going on there in the summer.There's hardly anyone there when I'm there, so I don't know when the dancing starts.
Today was the annual organizational meeting for the Suffolk County Legislature. All eighteen members, the County DA and Sheriff and the legislative clerks and council all get sworn in. So there's lots of photos, lots of work today. I'm a little silly at this point in the night. Silly and tired.

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.

Isabel turns nine.

If it wasn't for the tattoo in her ear, we would know when Isabel was born. Both ears have tattoos, one is a serial number given to all greyhounds and the other is her date of birth and litter order.

Here she is not looking happy, she doesn't like photographs, the cold or snow. It's snowing and I'm trying to get a photo of her, two out of three of things that annoy her the most.

We adopted Isabel in 2003, she was two years old and came from a track in Seabrook New Hampshire. She didn't know how to go up or down steps and she ate really fast, both of which she has overcome.

She's a real mush and loves people.

New Years Day 01.01.10

We had a light snow yesterday morning. It's a good thing it was light, because it was wet and it would have been difficult to shovel. Along with the snow, there was no breeze, so the snow just stayed on the branches or whatever else it landed on.