The Fly

As I was preparing for my game - going over the script of announcements for the Yanks-Brewers contest - this fly landed and simply started walking around. It must have been tired because it refused to fly off even though I waved my hand at it very closely. So ... I took a photo. The first picture is a cropped version of the second one. If you've ever wondered what a fly looks like up close then here ya go.

On Display

This bike - parked at the base of the staircase leading up to the walking path under the Brooklyn Bridge - is covered in a colorful kind of crochet. It must have taken hours to get the shapes right because it appears to be a custom fit. The bike sits there day after day and no one touches it because it's art and you don't mess with art. The white lights that look like they're shooting out of the seat and handlebars are actually a lighting sculpture on the ceiling of the overpass. This is a time exposure - no flash was used - of 8 seconds on aperture-priority with the camera sitting on the ground.

More wet weather in New York led to a very low ceiling of clouds over Manhattan and the iconic Empire State Building. I'm miles away on the Brooklyn Promenade which faces lower Manhattan from across the Hudson River. But with my trusty Panasonic point and shoot camera and the solid surface of a railing, I was able to make some 7 to 10 second time exposures of the unusual sky over the Midtown. Those are the Brooklyn Bridge lights in the foreground of all three pictures. They show up in photographs with a green color cast.

Windows 1

When I walk around New York - and other places - I like to look at windows (not in them ... but at them.) The shape of the window and how it's dressed for the outside world is often interesting. This is the first in my new series called ... "Windows." It's in Brooklyn Heights which is near where I live.

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn

I was going to update the construction of Brooklyn's new Barclays Center - the future home of the New Jersey Nets - once a month. I started back in April but found that the place - due to open in September of 2012 - didn't look much different in May.

So here on the first day of Summer 2011, I went back and walked around the entire construction site to get different looks.

The 2nd and 3rd photos show they are preparing the seating foundation in the upper section of the arena. It's right there in picture two under the water tower. The 3rd shot - from across the street upstairs in the mall through glass, shows the seating foundation even better.

Back on the street in picture 4, I wanted to get the overall perspective from Atlantic Avenue with the lights from traffic whizzing by.

Most of these photos were taken on a 5 to 8 second timer and the camera was placed on anything flat and solid I could find (I really should start carrying my small tripod again) so I could use my lowest ISO of 80 to get a steady shot.

In two of the lower photos you can clearly see the famous landmarked One Hanson Place clock tower. The art-deco style building has been around since 1927.

In a couple of months I'll be back to follow the progress of the construction. September 2012 is still a long way off.

In Search of Color

Out for a walk in Brooklyn and I was looking for colorful things to shoot. I didn't have to go far to find interesting subjects. The ceiling of a DUMBO (which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) restaurant was very ornate. And light fixtures always catch my eye.

The subway sign is a vintage model that's rarely seen in and around New York these days.

On a warm summer-like night, the steps of Borough Hall are a good place to take a break from the fast-pace of the city. This is about a six second exposure and I'm glad those people didn't move.

The last two shots go together in their amber sort of way. The window light stood out at dusk and the beer tasted good after walking around looking for pictures.

Flag Day: Red, White and Blue

June 14th was Flag Day in the United States. It was back in 1777 that the powers that be decided we needed our own flag so a resolution was passed. The colors Red, White and Blue were seen all over New York on Tuesday.

In the top image, Brooklyn Borough Hall is bathed in the patriotic light. This landmark has been around since 1834.

In the second shot, the All American image of Babe Ruth of the Yankees is pictured overlooking fans on another rainy day at Yankee Stadium. Thanks to the guy in the blue cap, I'm counting this photo in my Flag Day theme.

And of course, The Empire State Building was the picture of Americana in observance of Flag Day. Only in Pennsylvania is it a state holiday. But Wisconsin is the official birthplace of Flag Day.

New York Scenes

The first photo is what happens when you grab your camera and move it after 28 seconds of what supposed to be a 30 second exposure of the Empire State Building. I placed the camera on a wide railing on the Brooklyn Bridge and shot back into Manhattan. It looks like an earthquake is going on.

The second shot is of how the Brooklyn Bridge looks (for the next several months) with a portion of the span being refurbished with tin temporary walls and canvas coverings on part of the bridge. This is another 30 second timer exposure. The picture was taken about 11:15 pm.

And the third shot is the moon. It is easy to get this picture hand held because the moon is bright as it is reflecting the sun light. I had to shoot on the low ISO of 80 and two stops under exposed to cut down on the light in order to bring out the detail of the surface of the moon

Found Objects

If you look for interesting things you can find them in New York ... or wherever you live. In the first and second photos, what you're seeing are expressions of commitment from various couples. The deal is to affix a lock to the Brooklyn Bridge and then toss the keys into the river as a sign of being "locked" together in your relationship. Apparently the trend started in Italy and was popularized in a movie a few years back. It's illegal to place these locks anywhere on the bridge but I don't think any arrests have been made.

In the third photo a colorful umbrella has given its life.

New York at Night

It was a hot night in New York City with the game time temperature at 90 degrees. In the first picture, Derek Jeter get a little help with his slide from Alex Rodriguez (#13). In the other photos I shot timer scenes (3 to 8 seconds each) on my way home as I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. The famous Empire State Building - decked out in purple and blue for the United Nations World Ocean Day. The still-under-construction Freedom Tower (L) in the footprint of the destroyed World Trade Center and traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Looking for Pictures in New York

You can always find a vast variety of photos in New York. On this night, I found many different subjects to my liking. The first picture is from an A train subway station in lower Manhattan. The colorful tile eye caught my eye.

In the second photo, I'm standing on the New York side of the Hudson River and shooting towards New Jersey. I don't know the name of the building but I like its red and blue top and the crescent moon is a nice addition.

The third photo is a look at the new Freedom Tower (also known as One Word Trade Center). The tower - on the left - still has about 60 more stories to be built. It's located where the destroyed twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood until September 11, 2001.

Here in picture four is another look at New Jersey from the New York side of the Hudson River. I wanted to use one of the many blue lights along the esplanade as an anchor for the image. And since that shade of blue is my favorite color it was perfect for me to use as an element in the composition.

I had dinner in one place this desert in another. Picture five is a chocolate mousse and a cup of coffee. And the confection tasted as good as it looks.

The famed 4th street basketball courts always have a spirited game going on and here - in the last photo - I isolated the two players as they did battle in the late afternoon sun.

A Visit to the Mount St. Helens Volcano

I returned to see the Mount St. Helens volcano after last visiting the area in the mid 1990's. The mountain peak was shrouded in clouds for most of the day, but suddenly the sun came out the clouds parted enough to see what's left of the top of the mountain. Most of it was blown off during the eruption of May 18, 1980.



The second photo shows Spirit Lake which amazingly still has thousands of trees clogging its north end. The light colored mass you see in the water are all logs. Those trees were blown into the lake during the eruption.







The third photo is what the mountain looks like from the theater at the Johnston Ridge Observatory which is about six miles from the volcano.







The fourth photo tells the story of the millions of board feet of lumber that were blown to bits during the 1980 eruption. 31 years later, some of those dead trees are still on the ground but new growth is evident in the areas surrounding the mass devastation.











The last photo before the video shows is what happens to a tree when a super-heated volcano blast hits it. The background use to be full of thousands of trees. But as you can see, it's still a pretty bare landscape close to the mountain.









Here's a short video of my helicopter flight to see the still active lava dome at Mount St. Helens. It's hard to see, but there was steam coming out of its top.