The weather forecast said we'd get nine inches of new snow - we got 19 instead! These are some scenes taken from the living room window of my home here in Brooklyn. The snow started sooner than expected and lasted longer than expected. 
The new statue of the late New York Yankees' owner George M. Steinbrenner III was recently unveiled in Tampa, Florida. It stands in front of Steinbrenner Field as a memorial to the man who revived the Yankee franchise in the 1970's and - after moving his family and team headquarters to Tampa in the 1980's - helped many local charities with his donations - quite often made without anyone knowing where the money came from. I took this shot late in the day and the shadows on the staircase add a graphic dimension to the scene and nicely frame the bronze statue. 
Ever wonder what it looks like when a cigar is lit? Here's a close-up view at the pretty colors and shapes. BTW - This blog does not condone smoking cigars ... or anything else for that matter.
Actually this dog has nothing to do with our latest snow fall. He was waiting for his master in the dry cleaners while I was picking up my clothes.
Our latest snowstorm here in New York - described as a "snow bomb" because of its size, arrived about 1am and is supposed to last thru the morning rush hour and be done by noon. 9 to 12 inches of snow are expected. This shot is from inside my warm apartment looking out across the street to the red door condo.
Here's a sanitation truck with its plow bucket at the ready to scoop up any and all snow. But - there is no snow ... yet. Another huge storm (they keep telling us it's "huge" on the weather reports) is due to hit late Tuesday night. But this and other trucks were out and about EARLY as an apparent display of readiness after the abysmal response to the Christmas Weekend Blizzard that saw work and rescue vehicles, cop cars and city buses stuck and abandoned in the snow because many streets weren't plowed for days. One sanitation department higher-up lost his job, but many others in New York City's "front office" escaped with only of the wrath of the politicians and citizens as their punishment ... so far.
Another big snow storm is headed to where I live here in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday. So to offset that impending doom, I'm taking a look back at a Santa Monica, California beach sunset from 2008. All these people were there as if waiting for some kind of intervention from a higher power. The guy on the far left seems to be pleading for something other than a simple sunset to occur. Nothing did.
The Los Angeles Clippers pro basketball club has a dance team and cheerleaders. But they also have a drum troupe to help entertain their fans during timeouts. As a former school boy drummer and a fan of anything that makes noise, I wanted to capture the essence of playing a percussion instrument. The guy in the middle is the star of the group because there's no doubt how much he loves drumming and competing against his band mates. I used software that mimics the results of what's called a tilt-shift lens to home in on the faces of the drummers while putting everything else into a soft focus.
The new season of the professional bull riders (PBR) tour kicked off its 2011 schedule at New York's Madison Square Garden. It was my first rodeo since the mid-80's in Las Vegas where the circuit ends with the championship tournament in October (they take June and July off to rest.) Here, 2010 PBR World Champion Renato Nunes of Brazil, is barely hanging onto Congo during the first of three nights of competition.
Coming home from seeing the very average movie TRON (as in yawn), I came upon some of the millions of tons of trash still on New York streets more than a week after a ton of snow fell on the city. The blue light from the overhang of an apartment building cast my favorite color on this small mound of garbage ( in New York, this is considered a 'small' mound) that's due to be picked up soon. They better hurry: more snow is predicted to hit the tri-state area on Friday.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
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. 
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 
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.
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.
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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 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.
Sometimes things look better upside down. That was the case for me with this lighting fixture.
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.