Sorry Nikon, you'll have to do better than the D5300...

You'll have to do better than the D5300 or the D610 to get my money!! 

The action and sports photographers have been waiting for 5 years now for you to up date the D300! I realize that you went through some tough times with the Tsunami and the Thailand floods, but since then you have updated your whole product line except for the high end DX camera. I have a considerable sum of money tied up in Nikon equipment and lenses, but if you can't (or won't) upgrade the high end DX series, then the Pentax K-5 could end up getting my money! 

On a brighter note, Photo Expo is this coming weekend!! See you all in NYC!!!

Last Shuttle Flight....

I came across this video on the internet today. It has nothing to do with photography per se; however the sheer imagery of the Endeavour that day is a sight to see and remember. Remember it for the imagination and hard work it took just to get the first shuttle in the air. Remember it for the incredible engineering required to accomplish such a lofty goal. And also remember the heavy cost that such a dangerous feat takes on the humans who dare to push the boundaries of space exploration. My hat is off to all of the men and women who were a part of this wonderful space program.

Wet Weekend....

Mel and I spent the last four days at Letchworth State Park along with friends and fellow club members Mary Lou & Jack. We set this trip up last March hoping to get more club members involved but as it turned out we were the only four to actually make the trip. 

Letchworth Park at this time of the year is a photographer's dream, and we were certainly not disappointed! Gorgeous waterfalls and brilliant foliage made for some beautiful compositions. Thursday and Friday morning were beautiful but as the weekend progressed the weather really turned against us. Thankfully we were in a nice warm cabin instead of a tent, and we made the best of the weekend. A winery excursion gave us a respite from the weather and on Sunday morning on the way home we made a side trip to Stony Brook State Park in Dansville, which turned out to be a very pretty little park. We'll file that away for next Fall!

All in all, we had a great time and we would like to do it again, but next time with less rain!! Below are a few images from the weekend. Click on the images to enlarge.

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Lazy Day....

Mel and I just spent a very enjoyable and relaxing day with our friends Mary Lou and Jack at their place up on Lake Ontario. Salmon fishing season is in full swing and the town of Pulaski was overflowing with fishermen!
We basically spent the day relaxing and enjoying a fish fry hosted by their next-door neighbors Kathi and Harry who are also friends of ours. Great fish fry you two!!  We took a few sunset pictures and we also sharpened our night photography skills in preparation for our trip to Letchworth Park next weekend. Thank you all for your hospitality and friendship, especially Mary Lou and Jack!! Click to enlarge image

Monomoy Island NWR

We were able to take a guided tour of the Monomoy Island National Wildlife Refuge just off the coast of Cape Cod. We've been here for a few days of R&R. We both love this area for landscape photography, but the weather gods have not smiled on us this trip. But that's okay, we will make the best of it and muddle our way through... :)

The pic below is from the resident Gray seal population. It's not a great pic, but it's the best I could do from a moving boat.... 

Tech details: Nikon D300 ISO 200, 70-200 2.8, 1/500 @ f3.5
 

Thater Race Recap....

I have no idea who won or lost, photographers are usually too busy getting the next shot to know who the winners were until you read about it in the news the next day. But I do know that I had a good time, met some very nice people, and I'm getting better at sports photography. (I think)  But I'll let you be the judge. I have posted a few in the events section of my gallery. Take a look and let me know what you think!
Click the image below to enlarge...

And They're Off!!!....

I got the opportunity today to shoot a day of horse racing at Tioga Downs in Nichols, NY. I was there because of the kindness of Justin Horowitz, the Regional Racing Marketing Manager at Tioga Downs. Justin also oversees Vernon Downs and The Meadowlands racing programs. (you think you're busy!!)

I wasn't sure what to think when I got there. I had never even taken a picture of a horse before, let alone 9 of them flying around a racetrack! But Justin basically gave me the run of the place, and told me I could shoot from wherever I wanted as long as I didn't get run over! So I proceeded to shoot from every corner that I could squeeze my fat butt into! And I had a great time! I've posted a couple down below, but I also have a separate folder in my gallery for the Tioga Downs pics.

Click on the image to open a larger image. 

Check out the tongue flappin' in the breeeze.... 

Cheetahs Win It All!!!

Congratulations Cheetahs!!!


The New Jersey Cheetahs have won the Stop DWI Tournament of Champions played at the BAGSAI Softball Complex in Binghamton. After 2 long days of playing multiple games in very high heat and humidity the Cheetahs took control of the title game and never really left the outcome in doubt.
It's just a shame that nobody in the Binghamton area was aware that this tournament was even happening, thanks to the non-existent coverage by the local Binghamton Press. You would think a tournament of this caliber would be covered by the local newspaper. And they wonder why their readership is declining rapidly....
Anyway, a couple pictures below from the weekend. I will try to get a page online of pics from the tournament very shortly.  (click on pics to enlarge)

Lightroom 5......

LR 5 has been out for a few weeks now and I've been asked by several photographers if the upgrade from LR4 is worth it. In two short words: "you betcha!!!" Let me tell you why I think you should upgrade: 

  • Healing Brush - This tool is worth the upgrade all by itself! We are no longer confined to just taking out spots, we can now use this as a true brush and take out things like power lines, stray branches, garbage, etc. For the most part it works very well. 
  • Spot Visualization Tool -  If you are like me and printed what you thought was a killer image only to find dust spots in the enlarged image, this tool is for you.  It will highlight the spots and make removal simple.
  • Upright Adjustments - Automatic correction for your images that have perspective problems. It will make your verticals stand up straight!
  • Radial Filter - Like the vignetting tool on steroids! You can make a custom vignette of any size or shape, anywhere in your image. 

This is just a quick look at the new tools in LR 5. I'm hoping to have another class either the end of this month, or early next month. Stay tuned....

Now That I Have Your Attention.....

Two Rivers Photo Club went to Sycamore Hills Gardens  for a group photo trip today. Weather was perfect and the company was even better. What a beautiful place!! A perfect mix of hard and softscape, with plenty of photo ops for everyone. This is a place we need to get back to in the Fall, as the foliage up there will be incredible! Many thanks to Cindy Ruggieri for organizing and pulling this off!

Lightroom 5 Released.....

Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 5, the latest version of its image editing software. Available as either an individual license or as part of a Creative Cloud subscription, Lightroom 5 adds a more advanced healing/cloning tool, automatic image leveling and perspective correction, a new selective editing tool and the ability to edit files that are offline. Just more reasons to  not upgrade my Photoshop CS 5!!!

Click here to learn more.