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...

Survivor

Took this shot yesterday along Lake Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, MI, just north of Petoskey, Jen's hometown. Despite the wind and low temperature, the coast and dunes were gorgeous. The low winter sun and thick clouds made for really great contrast and deep colors. The white bark of this tree really jumped out at me as Jen and I drove by, prompting us to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Leafburst

Singapore River at Night

On the Beaten Path

Urban Quilt

Back alleys in Chicago are fun to explore because many of the buildings are very old (even if their front facades have been renovated). Additions from different eras often intersect to make an interesting patchwork of construction.

Bolt to the Sun

Flying Off Axis

My attempt at panning. The idea is to follow a moving subject against a stationary background. So in this shot, I moved the camera in sync with the swing. Relative to the moving camera, the swing was stationary and the background was moving (thus the blurred ferris wheel and the frozen swing). This technique is pretty tough and takes practice. I definitely have some room for improvement, as the girls and swing are more blurry than I'd like.

Vang Vieng Panorama

Going to back to my Southeast Asia trip of June 2006, this is a shot from Vang Vieng, Laos. Note the fishermen peering into the stream below the bridge that appears to be made of twigs (right side of the frame). What's crazy about this region of the world, in my opinion, is that it's more beautiful when the skies are overcast. The earthy colors are so intense that they seem to stand out more under gray skies

Buckingham Fountain, Chicago

Under the Table and Dreaming

Wish I had thought of this title. Thanks DMB. This is a daytime version of the previous post, taken at Navy Pier.

Trippin'

I took this photo today, and did not subject it to any editing or enhancement. This is just as the camera caught it. Big prize to the first person to guess what it is. Please submit guesses via "Comments."

UPDATE: Well that was no fun. My mom gets it right on the first guess. This is the spinning swing ride at Navy Pier. The spoked light pattern at the left of the frame is the Ferris Wheel in the background.

Anyone Home?

I didn't realize these things still existed until I passed one in Brooklyn a couple weeks ago. I like that this shot has naturally dark corners and that the phone's position and stance look almost out of place, somewhat awkward... a relic of the past in this high-tech modern world.

Herbie's Uncle

Time Flies

This shot from a New York City subway stop has started to grow on me. I like that the hazy lighting and blurriness on the left side of the photo lead into better contrast and a sharper image at the right. If you're wondering, the subway train was moving right to left and I caught the tail end of it, thus the semi-obstructed view at the left. I think the shutter speed was probably 1/20th of a second or so, fast enough to freeze the two men on the other side of the tracks and slow enough to blur the speeding train.

Once again, I'm not quite sure if I like this better in B&W or Color. I think I'm leaning toward B&W, but Jen made the good point that the movement of the train's tail lights is less obvious in B&W (i.e. it looks as if there may be no train at all, but rather stationary lights on a track). I'll post the B&W below. Opinions welcome...

And FYI, I've started posting my pics as slightly smaller files, so that when you click on the photo to expand, it takes up the whole screen (approximately), rather than taking up the equivalent of 4 screens.

Lonely Noodles

Took this almost straight down from the top of the 45 story Eugenie Terrace condo highrise in Chicago. I like the perpendicular lines of the pool's edge, surface tiles, chairs, railing, etc. It was fun taking 'aerial' shots, getting a new perspective on the city. I'll have to buy a helicopter after I make my millions doing... uhh...

Grand Central Terminal, New York City

Spectator

Taken in uptown Manhattan, this guy sat just outside the hustle of the busy streets. This shot would have been better with my f1.8 lens, but I didn't really have the time to switch from my zoom.

Hazy Lady

Took this shot down at Battery Park, at the south end of Manhattan. Not a lot I could do with the Statue given the haziness, but I like this one. Almost looks like the two girls are posing.

Williamsburg Bridge, NYC

I should start by apologizing to all my adoring fans out there who have been patiently awaiting my next blog post (Laura). The LCD on my POS Toshiba laptop broke, so I didn't have access to my pictures, or a computer for that matter.

But this has worked out well, because now I'm rocking a new MacBook complete with Adobe Photoshop, so my editing/publishing capabilities are much greater (nevermind that I still need to learn to use this stuff).

I've been in NYC since Friday, hanging out with some good college buddies, and I finally got out this evening for some photography and exploration. I'm staying in East Williamsburg, which is connected to Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge (pictured). This area has a lot of character (both the buildings and the people) and the photo opps are endless. I'm looking forward to going into Manhattan for a full day of photography tomorrow. Many more posts to follow (and more frequently)...

Northern Lakes

Sunset shot over a lake in Northern Wisconsin. I think this was taken over Memorial Day weekend 2006, when a group of us (Roge, Lasoff, Brad, etc.) drove to Jeff's lakehouse in Dairymens (sp?), Wisconsin for a weekend of fishing, golf and all activities of leisure.

River Trek

Unfortunately, the bridge being built over this river was not yet complete, so Dave and I barefooted through the gooey mud in order to get to the mountains in the background that we wanted to climb. We weren't too concerned with cleanliness while in Laos.

Breakers at Dawn

The Gardens of Ferrari-Carano

One of our many stops in Sonoma County, California, the winery at Ferrari-Carano is known for its landscaping as much as its wines (which were pretty solid too).

Loner

Captivated

On our way to a pretty intense hike/climb, Sturz and I walked by this elevated hut just outside the village of Vang Vien, in Central Laos.

I think these little ones were watching family members in the rice fields.

Railay Beach, Thailand

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