Big Snow

Here's the view from my kitchen window looking down on Dean Street in Brooklyn, New York. It took me 17 hours of traveling time to get home from southern California. And this is what I found. Some 20 inches of snow fell over Christmas weekend - the 6th largest storm in NY history. The airports here were closed and us holiday travelers were hard pressed to find alternative ways to get home. Last year our biggest storm came in February. So this could be a preview of things to come.

Rain Is Good For Something

Wet weather in Los Angeles - six month's worth over an eight day period - has given the streets a nice sheen. Here is my favorite gas station - with its futuristic sweeping roof - being reflected on the street as traffic whizzes by.

Favorite Light Fixtures

What's better than forks, spoons and knives to make up of a light fixture in a diner? In this case, we have Kitchen 24 in Hollywood, California. So just in case your waiter fails to provide utensils, all you have to do is reach up and pry lose something to use to cut and eat your steak

Visiting St Patrick's Cathedral

The lighting of a prayer candle at New York's famed St Patrick's Cathedral is possible right of passage for this young boy. I wanted to photograph a child because of the way the fire light reflects off of young faces who are learning to think of others especially during the holiday season.

I set my small Panasonic point and shoot camera on its timer to get a nice steady shot of the interior of the church which is not lit very brightly. At 1/6 of a second at iso 800, I wanted to accent the color in the beautiful stained glass windows while bringing out the detail in the support columns and arches.

The vast interior of the church is in a neo-Gothic style and can accommodate 2200 people. The church was dedicated in May of 1879.

Look Over There!

When I saw the woman looking to her left and the bird looking to its left, I lined them up just right and shot this picture. I think it's my PICTURE OF THE YEAR!

Part Of The Preparation For The Big Day

This couple was having their engagement photos taken on the streets of New York City when I happen to come up on them. I snapped a few frames while they posed for their photographer who was standing to my right. The photog brought along an assistant who held a bright floodlight on the scene. I like the fact that while they're posing there's plenty of activity in the background. They seem to be on an island of calm as they lead up to their wedding day.

Christmas Season On Display in New York

Christmas time in New York City always brings out visual feasts for photographers. And that means almost everybody because cameras are a prime accessory for tourists and locals alike.





Here is a window display that reflects Rockefeller Center.

And a giant moth adorns another window - although it looks like it's climbing the outside of the building it faces. And the rink below the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is busy with lots of skaters.

Time For Lunch

As is the case in many restaurants, this bird was looking around and wondering why his meal was taking so long to be delivered from the kitchen. I ate in an indoor place that couldn't keep small birds like this one from flitting around the room. But long as there were no "accidents" from above, I was OK with their presence.

Cashing In At The ATM

While waiting for a light to change, I saw this scene unfolding at an ATM. I liked the color and shadows and the single figure in the scene.

Blue Light of Worship

The warm-up musical group that played before a Joyce Meyer ministry appearance in Tampa, Florida, has the man on the right and others on their feet. I'd seen Meyer on TV down through the years and I accepted an invitation to see her in person during her weekend visit to the bay area.

One Thing Looks Like Another

Ever seen a picture of what deep, deep space looks like? I'm talking about those super novas - those explosions of gas and stars that are many lights years away. That's what I seem to have here. Actually this is a simple photo of fireworks over Central Park last weekend, but when I looked at it, I was reminded of images I saw when I looked through a powerful telescope two years ago. One thing looks like another.

Big Bubbles

On the day before the 41st annual New York City Marathon run, people were out and about in Central Park to check out the finish line area of the 26.2 mile course and explore other attractions of the park. And that includes the big bubble zone in front of Bethesda Fountain. This woman was a bystander until she decided to give big bubble making a go and she got the hang of it right away.

One of the regular bubble blowers fashioned what appears - to some - to be a floater that has a human face on the right side. I can see it. Can you?

Ready For Halloween

Out for a walk in the neighborhood and this big dog was sitting on his owner's lap while they waited outside a grocery store on Court Street in Brooklyn, NY. His owner cautioned me - after I sought permission to take a picture - that his dog probably wouldn't pose very well. But I have a way with pets to get them to do what I want and I got a very nice look from the "Devil" dog - much to the shock of his owner.

Say Good-Bye To 70 Degree Days

When I opened my front window today I saw this bird looking around and wondering - what happen? This time yesterday it was in the 70's - admittedly about 15 degrees warmer than the average temperature for this time of year in Brooklyn, New York. But still, it was great to feel warm weather this late in the year. But today it was only in the 50's and the weather forecaster on TV says we probably won't see 70 degree temps in these parts again until next spring ... around April. Luckily I have many warm jackets that will get plenty of use in the next few months.

Change In The Weather

It's a foggy night atop New York's Empire State Building due to the unseasonably warm weather we've had. A cool front moved in at night and brought with it the low ceiling of fog and clouds.

But it's headed back into the low 70's for the next two days before a big drop off into the 50's over the weekend.

Help For Halloween

While on my way to a place from another place, I passed a wig store in downtown Brooklyn, New York. The choices of head-gear was somewhat limited. But if one is daring, the wig in front would be my pick. And thanks for the suggestion that it's for

Halloween ... so my Christmas wig will have to come from someplace else.

Wild NY Weather

Little pearls of hail on the ground outside my house in Brooklyn after a tremendous thunder, lightning, rain, hail and wind storm blew in around 8:30pm. It was a noisy storm with the hail pellets raining down on the roof and windows sounding like being inside a popcorn popper. It was in the low 70's earlier today and tonight we get hail.

Many people were caught unprepared for the hail and rain storm. The sidewalks were full of the thousands of little ice pellets.

And walking across the street was an invitation to get your feet wet since streams of running water were hard to avoid. This is at the corner of Dean and Smith a few feet from my front door.

Can't Escape Conan

While watching the TBS television network the last few days, you couldn't help but notice the many, many promos for Conan O'Brien new late nite talk show. But that wasn't enough, TBS hired a blimp to float over New York to help 'remind' people that CONAN is coming. I was switching back and forth between football and baseball (on TBS) when the blimp buzzed my neighborhood. So with its great color and some nice tree branches in front of my window, I thought I'd combine the two to lift the picture from being an ordinary snapshot.

One Night In The Bronx

The playoffs returned to New York and the Yankees beat the Twins to win the first round. 50,840 fans turned out - the biggest crowd ever in the two year history of the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will play the winner of the Texas -Tampa Bay series for the ticket to the World Series. The West Point Color Guard (center) presented the colors in front of the giant American Flag and the West Point Glee Club (bottom left) sang the national anthem.

The Color Of October

The color is orange. And when I saw these squashes at a New York farmer's market I thought about how often we see this color in the month of October. The leaves are changing to orange with fall well upon us and with Halloween coming up and pumpkins on every doorstep, orange is the go-to color this month. And the San Francisco Giants - whose team colors are orange and black - are in the baseball playoffs and their fans have been waving bright orange rally towels this week.

A Different Point Of View

Sometimes things look better upside down. That was the case for me with this lighting fixture.



It's upside down. The floor is actually the ceiling and the top of the fixture is really the bottom of it.




But when I was looking at it on the computer - doing some toning and stuff - I hit the button that flips the image around and when it came up this way, it reminded me of a tree of lighted balls of glass.



So the lesson here is to look at things from a different point of view - you just might like it better than the conventional way.

Is This Too Early For ... This?

While on holiday in southern California, I saw my first Christmas window in the front of a music store in Westwood near the UCLA campus. I took this shot on Friday, October 1st. Christmas is a little more than 2 1/2 months away. But with the economy the way it is, you can't blame a business owner for wanting to get the jump on the competition. As the sign says: Have a Cool Yule.

Night and Day At The Ferris Wheel

The place to be in Los Angeles recently was the Santa Monica pier where it was a lot cooler than a few miles away in downtown Los Angeles where it was a record 113 degrees - the hottest day in the history of Los Angeles where they've been keeping such information since 1887.


The Ferris wheel at Santa Monica is solar powered and changes colors all the time with differing patterns of lights. Here, the purple lights are reflected in the ocean.

Here is the same Ferris wheel during the day time. I've been on the old wheel that was replaced by this one and the view - as you can see - is great from the top of the wheel because you can forever.

The Moon And The Sign

Here's another in this week's series of photos of the moon as it works its way around to different parts of Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. I took this shot from the upper deck shortly after the game ended. The moon is rising behind some fencing at the top of an apartment building and I placed it in the middle of the YANKEE STADIUM sign. It looked best with the word 'stadium' cropped out. The final home game of the regular season is Sunday and I'll have one more chance to make a picture with the moon in it with an element of the ballpark involved ... I hope.

Moon Shot In The Bronx

I like September in New York because I know the moon will be rising over Yankee Stadium in the Bronx providing a chance to make a picture.


In this case the full moon was coming up behind right-field and I wanted to match it up against the unique architectural feature only found in Yankee Stadium - the frieze - a horizontal band that runs all along the front of the upper deck with its vertical openings and swooping arches. No other stadium that I know of in the world looks like this part of Yankee Stadium.

Back in 1923 when the original Yankee Stadium was built, the owners of the team at the time asked the engineering company to add an "air of dignity" to the stadium. So the frieze was constructed as a nod to the classic and historical buildings in Greece and Rome.

Book Stoop

Who needs the big Internet book sellers or those giant chain book stores located in every neighborhood when books are free for the taking in New York City. Here in Brooklyn, for example, people simply place unwanted books on their stoops and passersby have the choice to grab and go and keep on walking like this women. In this case the subject matter is somewhat narrow: All things Egypt. But just the other day on this same stoop across the street from my house several romance novels were available. Soon - I hope - maybe some sports-related or photography titles will be featured.

Lost In Space?

I saw the moon and I saw a lamp on the street near my house. So I wondered what the two of them would look like in the same picture. Ta Da! At first, I got the impression that I was in outer space shooting a shot of moon from edge of the sun or Saturn. But, in reality, I was on the street and letting my imagination take over.

Function And Form

These are a couple of the hundreds of fire hydrants located on streets in and around New York City. Some are plain and others - depending on the neighborhood - are seen as possible works of art.

Beads Of Water Take Life

It was a rainy day in New York and I always like to shoot close-up shots like this one during bad weather. The water beads were pretty big and give the appearance of an almost other-worldly growth on the leaves.

9-11 Tribute In Lights

It's been nine years since the attack on the World Trade Center in New York by terrorists. Almost 3,000 people died when both towers of the Trade Center were hit by jet planes - the towers collapsed and in their place since that time, these twin beams of light serve as a reminder of that infamous day. Each year in the days leading up to 9-11 these lights are turned on and people pause to reflect on the past and the future.

Swisher Takes the Tour

Yankees' players surround home plate at Yankee Stadium as Nick Swisher arrives with his hands in the air celebrating his game-winning homer vs Baltimore. The Yankees snapped a four game losing streak with the 3-2 win. Home plate celebrations are fairly subdued after the May incident involving an Angels' player who blew out a knee when he landed wrong after leaping on home plate following a game winning homer. And of course, Swisher had the hero's pie waiting for him ...

A.J. Burnett got Swisher with the pie. Swisher who then turned to the crowd with the pie remnants still on his face. The camera man is waiting for him to turn around to get the money shot of the hero of the Yankees win.

ARod Of The Yankees

The September shadows helped create this image of the Yankees' Alex Rodriguez as he prepared for his plate appearance at Yankee Stadium. ARod reached the 100 runs-batted-in (RBI) plateau for the unprecedented 14th time in his career (13 in a row) with two RBI against the Orioles. I had to act quickly to get this shot because he was standing in that spot for only a short amount of time and I wanted to line him up with the famous interlocking NY that is on the ground behind home plate.

A Nice Day In The Bronx

The hottest summer in New York City history is - we hope - behind us and cooler weather is here ... for now. The weekend began with the fear hurricane Earl would bring lots of wind and rain to the city, but - as was the case many times when I lived in Florida - the weather system didn't live up to the predictions and we spared any problems. BTW, the Yankees have won 9 in a row and are in first place in their division with one month to go before the playoffs begin.

Two Artists At Work

Yankees' pitcher CC Sabathia won his 19th game of the season allowing just one hit over 8 innings to Oakland. CC - who doesn't use periods between the two letters that make up his first name - turned in one of his best performances of the season in 90 degree heat.

It was this pose, or position, that seemed to catch the attention of an artist who literally had a front row seat as she tried to capture the essence of what CC is all about. As we'll see, she took some artistic license with her version of the scene at Yankee Stadium ...

Her finished product of Sabathia gives him much thinner legs than he actually has. But she gets the upper-body girth pretty much right. Yankee Stadium itself is rendered in generic hues of blue and green. I spotted this woman from my perch high above home plate, but I have a pretty good zoom lens and I waited until she made some progress before I took this shot.

Where Are His Manners?

You would think this man would allow his instrument to sit down while on a subway ride into Manhattan. But when you think about it - it's clear why he's sitting; it's a STAND-UP BASS.

Rainy Day Window Views

It was another rainy and cool day in Brooklyn (a nice break from the regular summer heat.)

Bad weather often leads to interesting photos and I took these from my living room window. Water droplets hanging from leaves and cable wires and people with colorful umbrellas were well within the range of my lens. The bad news is that the weather is expected to return to normal summer highs (80's and 90's) by the weekend.