Barkin' at the Moon....

Two Rivers Photography Club, which I am a part of recently went on a field trip to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, NY. The trip was prompted by the Winter photo contest that the zoo was running. Considering the threat of poor weather we said the heck with it and went anyway. We were pleasantly surprised by sunny skies and seasonable temperatures, and the animals were very cooperative.

Everyone that went enjoyed themselves, and many thanks go out to Bill Bay for running the trip. I think we should do it again next year!!

Back in the Saddle....

Happy New Year everyone!!! Yeah, I know  I've been slacking off in the blog posts..... but hey, I've been busy!!! I recently had the chance to shoot the Stop-DWI Holiday Classic basketball tournament in Binghamton. It's a 3 day high school boys tournament that draws some of the best players on the east coast. And the purpose of the tourney is to drive the point home to the kids that drinking and driving could be the worst decision they could ever make.

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The level of play was top notch in both national and regional brackets with Christ the King (NYC), Maine-Endwell & Norwich taking top honors in their respective divisions. Congratulations gentlemen on a tourney well played! See you next year!

Teach-In Speaker Announced....

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Two Rivers Photography Club has announced that the speaker for the 2014 Teach-In will be Mark Bowie. Mark is an outdoor photographer and an instructor at the Adirondack Photography Institute.
Mark will be spending most of the seminar teaching us about night photography in all it's shapes and forms.
He'll cover photographing the stars, moon, planets, meteors, the Northern Lights and other celestial phenomena, as well as earth-bound subjects at night: mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, the ocean, cities and villages.
Details have not yet been posted on the TRPC website, but I can tell you the seminar will be on Saturday, March 22nd at Binghamton University. I will post more details as I get them.

One Of My Favorites....

This is a print from last year, but it still rates as one of my favorites because we had so much fun while we were there. This was taken when we spent a week in Virginia at Assateague Island. This shot is actually taken from where we stayed on Marsh Island, looking back toward the mainland. Assateague and Chincoteague are working fishing communities, so if you like seafood you will definitely enjoy your stay here! But the big draw here is the National Seashore and Wildlife Refuge. Miles of beach with numerous shorebirds and of course, the wild ponies of Assateague Island. We were lucky enough to take a kayak trip so we could get an up close look at the horses and get some decent pictures. The only downside to the island is the mosquito population! If you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, they would literally drive you back into your vehicle! We learned when we were biking the island that there were certain places you just didn't stop unless you wanted to be the main course for the mosquitos!

All in all, a wonderful week and we would certainly go back again. I would like to see the annual pony swim between Assateague and Chincoteague!

Photo Expo & 9/11 Memorial....

Last Saturday we took a club trip to the NYC Photo Expo and we squeezed in a side trip to the 9/11 memorial.  

The photo expo wasn't much different than last year, except that it was about 25% smaller. And it seemed that the attendance was down this year also. To be honest, once you've gone for a few years in a row, there isn't a hell of a lot that is different. But if you have never been, it's a trip you need to make. The sheer amount of photo gear will put your brain into shock. And if you're looking for anything photographic, this is where you'll find it. 

After a few hours at the show, we grabbed a cab and headed down to the 9/11 memorial. Click on the photos to enlarge.

You really have to see this area to understand the magnitude of what happened here. And to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the memorial. It was insanely busy the day we went, but you could still find your own little piece of solitude among all the people. 

And to see the new building rising beside the reflecting pools gives you a sense of how strong and resilient New Yorkers are. 

This is a view from the Battery Park area, where we headed next. 

This is a view from Battery Park. None of us had ever been here before, but we decided we would definitely come back! It's a beautiful park located on the southern tip of Manhattan, just a few blocks from the 9/11 memorial.

All in all we had a great time! The show was good, the memorial was something to see, but the company of good friends is what really made it a great day! 

Double Trouble....

My friend Bob Merritt has been nice enough to let me wander about on his land, and the other day I came across these twins.  They are this year's deer, about 4-5 months old. Technically they are fawns, although the spots faded out a month or so ago.

But these two were so very curious about me, even though I was out in the middle of a field. I had hunkered down trying to make myself as small as possible so they wouldn't just turn tail and run. But after their initial fear subsided a little, they actually began walking toward me! They just couldn't figure out what I was, and their curiosity was getting the best of them.  They got to within about 40 yards of me before they decided they had seen enough, which was a good thing because I had been holding the camera up the whole time and my arms were getting very shaky! It wasn't until I got back home and uploaded the images that I noticed the little bumps on their heads and realized that they were twin bucks.

It's days like this that keep you coming back for more....
Click on the image to enlarge

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)