Dedicate to the Victims & Familiies of the Sandy Hook Tragedy

So it's Saturday December 22, 2012 and although the wind continues to howl for the second day, life on earth continues. I'm glad it did, not that I thought that it wouldn't.  The week before, the world did end for many in the tragic school school in Newtown, Connecticut which is only 26 miles as the crow flies from New Canaan. The world did end for 20 children ages 6 and 7 who were all excited to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas with their families. Whose only care in the world should have been what gift Santa might bring them.  Six heroic women died trying to protect the children from the gunmen as he showered his deadly bullets all over them. What does this have to do with photography? Absolutely nothing.

I have been very business this month with setting up my new business, Homegrown Harvest and I haven't had a lot of time to take new pictures with my Canon camera.  Recently my iPhone has been there for me when I felt the urge to photograph something. 
This week Instagram set the online photo sharing world on fire with reports of their new Terms of Service. The legalese got everyone up in arms forcing the company to retract their plans and clarify their stance in their blog. Kevin Systrom co-founder, Instagram writes:

"You also had deep concerns about whether under our new terms, Instagram had any plans to sell your content. I want to be really clear: Instagram has no intention of selling your photos, and we never did. We don’t own your photos – you do."

I like Instagram, I'm glad it looks like I can continue to use it.  This week I didn't post a lot, as I said it wasn't a big picture taking week or month for me for that matter.  I did take a few pictures of our Christmas tree and with the help of one of my favorite app, Percolator filtered a picture of my tree's angel. I like the effect it creates on my lighted figurine, obscuring it just a little - similar to the way it looked to me as the tears streamed down my face thinking about the victims of the tragedy.  I dedicate this piece to them, their families and their friends. May they all find peace.

Angel on High

Xine Segalas' photostream

Xine Segalas' photostream on Flickr.

Zazzle Sunset Trees Poster

Sunset Trees Poster at Zazzle

The weather here in southwestern Connecticut has been dreary and rainy. The silver lining is that my backyard is so green and lush like a tropical rain forest.  All this rain though has me a bit water logged and has me looking for more cheerful pictures to work on. Thankfully I have tons of photos which need going through, so finding a beautiful, bright sunset isn't that difficult.  I took this photo last week actually during one of the lulls in all this rain we have been getting.  I was in Greenwich, Connecticut and had just finished having dinner when I noticed how beautiful the sky was and was able to grab my iPhone and take this photo.  Now that I think about this, it the first of my photos that I have worked on that I took with my new iPhone 4S.

Light Tent Photography

From time to time when the weather is just too awful to go outside to photograph I will stay in and take pictures.  A few years ago I bought myself an inexpensive light tent that I could easily fold up and store away when I wasn't using it.  The light tent allows me to easily photograph certain things cleanly and use different color backgrounds.  I found my Cowboy 24 in Studio Light Tent on Amazon.com.

Memories of Our First Date

Memories of Our First Date available at Society6

October Road

October Road

 I took this photo originally on a fall morning.  The original photo has tons of cars on it as you can see below.  I used Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit and I used various Topaz filters.  I have the above pice, October Road available through a number of vendors.

Chinese Rooftop

Chinese Rooftop

I had the fortunate luck to travel to China with my father some years ago.  I was struck by how ornate and colorful the buildings are. I make this black and white to give it that old vintage feel to go along with the architecture. This picture is taken in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Capital Sun

Capital Sun

Poetry in Motion

Autumn Waterfall

I took this picture up in the state park at Taughannock State Park, Ulysses, New York. It was a spectacular fall day, my nephew was getting married that afternoon but we decided to go for a hike to check out the falls we had heard so much about.

Go Go GoPro

Skiing Stratton Two Weeks Ago 

 Last November, I was given the new GoPro Hero2 camera for my birthdayand I have spent the last few months playing around with it.  This little camera packs a punch with 11 megapixels and can burst 10 photos per second to catch some incredible action photos. It has a bunch of different mounts for your helmet or skis, handlebars or my favorite the chest mount.  The chest mount is a harness that you wear so that the camera is in front of you attached to your chest.  I used it skiing this season, opting for the chest harness verses the helmet mount like so many of the skiers and snow boarders on the mountain.  I found the camera really fun and easy to use on the mountain.  It's incredibly durable so the few times I fell it didn't bother the camera at all and certainly didn't bother me.  The pictures I think are incredible.

Skiing down Grizzly Bear on Stratton Mountain

For the last few weeks I have been up in Vermont on vacation. We were supposed to be skiing but the warm temperatures for the last week over 60 and even into the high 70's has filled the second week of our vacation with exploring and hiking.  This has allowed me to take my GoPro off the mountain and test it out beyond the slopes.

I love using the GoPro from the car for my Drive By Series photography.  Today while exploring I was able to easily use this little powerhouse of a camera. I was the passenger so both hands were free but I really only used one hand. I held my hand out the passenger window and also took shots from out of the skyroof.  

Drive By Shooting no. 30 Vermont Red Barn

Yesterday I strapped the chest harness on again and went hiking up in Jamaica State Park. I also had in tow with me my Canon EOS 50D with my wide angle lens on a monopole which I used as a walking stick.  The GoPro Hero2 is so small, so light and with the harness I forgot I even had it on.  

View from Overlook Point in Jamaica, Vermont

Another thing I love about the GoPro is that it's so small and compact that throwing it in your handbag isn't a problem.  I look forward to explring what other delightful things this little camera can do.  I have used the video feature, but I still have yet to use some of the other features like the burst and I am waiting to get my LCD Bacpac which is the attachable LCD viewfinder.  This will allow me to review my photos on the camera without having to take the card out or attach the camera to a computer.

I'm looking forward to boating season with this camera especially since it's waterproof I will be able to have more freedoms in my photography while on the water.

  

The Ottaquechee River, behind Long Trail Brewery

PhoDOGraphy

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.  For me they are the role model for being alive.  ~Gilda Radner

Winston

I love taking photographs of dogs. Not just my own dogs, but dogs in general.  I have four brittany spaniels so I am never at a loss for finding a model.  I find that so much can be told about a dog's personality through a picture.  I don't limit my photography though to just my own pets.  Many times while out hiking or walking in town or at the park I will meet some beautiful dogs.  Even in those quick moments I will try to capture a photograph of them like the beautiful bull mastiff I sat next to at a lacrosse game a few years ago or my friend's bulldog, Fribble who was hanging out the car window one day while we all waited to pick the kids up after school one day.  I take care of a friend's black labrador on occasion and will use him as a model from time to time too.
If you have dogs you know that their personalities come out at unexpected moments, so I always try to have a camera at the ready whether it's my Canon, iPhone or GoPro.  We joke about strapping the GoPro on one of the dog's for a day to see the video footage of their treks through the backyard.

I have used other people's pets up close and at a distance. One day I was at the park after a terrific snow fall - it was the winter of 2011, not this last winter we just finished.  I took a photo of two ladies walking a dog.  From a distance the photograph depicts a scene and tells a story which is very different than an portrait shot which gives you insight into the subject's character.
Here are some other beautiful dogs I have met along the way so far that I have had the pleasure to photograph.

Fribble

Tucker

Apollo

First Day of Spring is Always a Great Day for New Beginnings

"Though no one can go back 

and make a brand new start, 

anyone can start from now 

and make a brand new ending."

 Marcus Aurelius