Congrats Lo and Ty!

Tenmile Station in Breckenridge, Colorado - site of Laura and Tyler's incredible wedding a couple weeks ago. 10,000+ ft elevation!

Fly By

The Chicago Air and Water Show was about two weeks ago, and we had front row seats on our 43rd floor balcony! The show was technically Saturday and Sunday, but they did full dress rehearsals the two days before, so we had 4 straight days of fighter jets buzzing the building. The Blue Angels were certainly the highlight, flying less than 100 feet above the top of our building on their way towards the lake -- LOUD! (Laura and some others ducked, understandably). They're flying at about 500 feet in this shot. Big thanks to Lo and Tyler for coming by to join the party!

The Last Frontier

Alaska! Rented a BMW G650 GS this past week and spent a few days cruising around Anchorage, Seward and Denali. Could've gone for a little more sun and warmth, but still had a great time enjoying the beauty of our 49th state.

Nick Shaheen at Gallery Cabaret

The One Hundredth Post!

Tour de Belize

1979

Think about it...

Caye Caulker, Bird Sanctuary

Recess From Recess

A close-up of a swing in the playground of the church/school from a few posts ago.

Fran's

I'm not sure why Fran advertises her operation as "fast food", but I suppose everything is relative on an island whose motto is "Go Slow". We ate dinner at Fran's one night, in which Fran herself served us with all sorts of good fish as we sat at the picnic table next to her grill.

Caye Caulker

This is a 30-second exposure from our dock at Barefoot Beach Belize. The long exposure flattens the water, and the dock posts look like they're descending into a thick mist. Kind of nifty.

Porch of the Church

This is the small Catholic church and school on Caye Caulker, about a half hour before sunset. Lots of interesting lines and shapes in this shot, from the arches below the cross to the angled roof to the diagonals of the fence at the bottom. The colors looked kind of cool in the late afternoon sun, too.

Un-Belize-Able

Aaaahhhhh... take me back there. Just returned from a fantastic week in Belize on the tiny island of Caye Caulker. Nice to get the camera back out a few times, in between hammock sessions, where I must have logged about 100 hours over the course of the trip. Had a great time with Steph, Cullan, Abby, Clay, Cassie and Chip... and Jen! Many more pics to come.

Brrrrrrr....

A chilly weekend in Chicago -- so it's back to my lazy man's photography, from the balcony.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dipping back into the cruise bag again! Fear not, I'll be in Belize for a week in three weeks, so hopefully I'll be able to replenish my albums then. But for now, this is a shot from where the Dubrovnik old city wall meets the water, a great place to grab a beer and enjoy the views.

Corfu, Greece

Ancient Ruins of Ephesus (Turkey)

Corfu, Greece

I'll be honest, I don't know anything about the building or statue in this shot. All I remember is Mike, Christa and Jen getting really annoyed that I kept falling behind taking pictures as we made our way to the market. So I hurriedly fired this one off, and was pleasantly surprised with the symmetry when I looked at it later.

Atop the Basilica

On our descent of the incredible hike that is the dome of St. Peter's, we stopped by the top of Carlo Maderno's facade, where Jesus and the apostles wave to (bless) the crowds in St. Peter's Square.

Santorini, Greece

What a day it was in Santorini, Greece! The small island is formed by about 2/3 of a volcanoe's rim rising above the surface of the sea, shaped like a crescent moon. A single main road bisects the length of the rim, with incredible views in all directions. We rented some 4-wheelers and descended from the main road to a number of small beaches scattered across the island. It's a miracle I didn't ride off the road while being distracted by views like these.

Whew... so much pressure! Dad and Aunt Deedee, this is for you. I'm going to get out and get some new pics soon, but for now, some more cruise highlights. Above, a picture taken in our first port city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The fortified ancient city wall can be seen at the top. And below, a picture taken from the ship's top deck as we approached Dubrovnik -- a pilot familiar with the narrow channels boarded the boat to navigate us to the dock.

Day and Night

The view from the balcony of our new apartment in Chicago. The balcony faces the lake to the East, and this is the view facing Southeast, with the Hancock Building at the left and the new Trump Tower at the right. 43rd floor!

The Tiber, Roma

Corfu

Alright, back to the cruise. One of my favorites from Corfu, Greece. The polarizing filter worked pretty well here, as those little white clouds really pop (but I might have overdone it a tad). Wouldn't mind being back there right now...

Streetfighter

My new toy -- a 1995 Triumph Speed Triple. The 2nd model year of Triumph's iconic "streetfighter" bike -- a sport bike without plastic fairing on the front. Eight hundred Eighty-five cubic centimeters of pure manliness, or, early mid-life crisis.

Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II

On our way to St. Peter's, we crossed the Tiber River via Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II, where a few clusters of sculptures line the bridge. I particularly liked this one, as the sense of motion is so pronounced.

And We're Back!

Laura, Pops -- It is a miracle that you still check this blog given my poor posting performance. But I'm now back in full force with a boatload of pics to post from the cruise (no pun intended).

This is probably one of my favorites, from Santorini, Greece. I split from the rest of the crew about an hour before we needed to hike back down to the sea, and went off on my own for some exploration and non-trinket shopping. The sun had dipped a bit lower at that point and made for some interesting shots. More to come soon!

A Picture

I've posted this photo simply to appease my dad and sister, who have repeatedly been requesting new posts. I don't really like this photo all that much -- I'm clearly in need of new material, but this Winter has not been very conducive to picture-taking. Enjoy Dad and Laura!

Cobblestone Path

Another shot from the Ute Trail off of Trail Ridge Road. The summit of Longs Peak can be seen in the distance, left of center. Look closely and you can see the snow in the Trough.

Rocky Mountain Rise

This shot was taken on the Longs hike, shortly after emerging above timberline -- at the Chasm Lake / summit junction.

14,255

From the summit of Longs Peak, at 14,255 feet! The medallion at the bottom is embedded in the highest rock on the relatively flat summit, and was placed there by the U.S. Geological Survey. This view faces East.

Snowy Ridge

Another shot from along Trail Ridge Road in Rockey Mountain National Park. And also another example of why I love my new superwide lens. It allowed me to get the cool pattern of the wooden fence against the snow at the bottom of the frame, while also capturing the dramatic cloud patterns toward the top. The resulting effect captures the incredible vastness of the mountain range.

Longs at Dawn

A few hours after starting our ascent of Longs Peak (elevation 14,255 ft.) and not long after popping above timberline, we enjoyed a great sunrise and really fantastic views of the summit, with a reddish glow cast across the East Face. To get a sense of scale, that's Tyler and Aslon in the bottom right corner of the frame.

Trouble On the Horizon

Get ready for a Black & White onslaught. Just got back from an incredible trip to Boulder, Colorado, where my sister Laura and her boyfriend Tyler reside. I wasn't thrilled with the color composition in some of my photos, but found that the deep contrast was perfect for B&W. I took this shot on my first day there, having driven through Estes Park and up Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. I parked the car on the road's shoulder and hiked about 2 miles along the Ute Trail. On my way back to the car, some extremely dark storm clouds rolled in from the West, making the sky on the horizon much darker than the sunlit path in front of me. My superwide lens allowed me to get the caran, path, and mountain range into the frame.

More to come soon. Longs Peak is next!

Steel Co.

Pretty much sums up the Allentown-Bethlehem area. The remnants of the steel industry remain, though not in their former glory. The full sign reads "Lehigh Structural Steel Co."

2nd post of the week! After weeks in Allentown, I finally decided to take my camera out there, as there were a few things I wanted to shoot that I drove by to and from the hospital each day. Glad that I did, as I caught some stuff that I was pretty happy with.

The shot above was taken with my 70-300mm zoom -- this is an old sign for a spa that no longer exists. Instead, an ugly concrete cylindrical structure serves as the backdrop (maybe a water treatment facility?). The low sun made for really strong contrast and dramatic shadows, along with the soft yellow light on the concrete background. More to come soon!

Road to Nowhere

So I'm pretty sure no one actually checks this site for updates any more (of the 5 or so that were checking), with the possible exception of my extremely loyal and ever-hopeful sister Laura -- although she has a job now, so she's probably not looking either.

That said, my project in gorgeous Allentown, PA is almost over and I really do plan to get out and take some shots this Fall. More updates are coming!

This shot was taken in New Buffalo, Michigan in late July at Jeff Nelson's bachelor party. Nelly, Mike Nelson, Shrage, Flo and Shumaker are seen laboring up the hill away from the beach after a long day of boozin and sunbathing...

Bean Bender

Millennium Park in Chicago, with the famous Cloudgate sculpture in the foreground (or, The Bean, as we call it here). The slight distortion on the buildings at left is a bit bothersome to me, but I like the concept.

Untitled

A train passes waiting passengers in the NYC subway.

Wormhole

A little architectural photography: A skylight in the atrium of the U of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Million Dollar Ranch

From my Southern California trip. The picket fences are offset because the street is on a hill that descends to the beach not far below. I like the simplicity of this house, and the parallel lines of the roof and the small door covering.

Northern Beach

Malibu

Another shot from Southern California with my new Sigma lens. The wide angle allowed me to get a bit of both the water and the hills in the frame, while some slight stretching at the lower corners causes the footprints to point toward the subject, the lifeguard cabin.

Pacific Sunset

My first post of a picture taken with my brand new Sigma 10-20mm Super Wide Angle lens. I had alot of fun playing with my new toy out in Southern California, where I spent last week with Mike and Spence. It really expands what I'm able to capture in a frame and creates some interesting effects. In this pic, the slight distortion at the corners stretches out the clouds and waves, giving it a more dramatic and powerful look. More to come...