First time in NYC

My first thought getting off the train in Grand Central Station, after admiring the iconic architecture, was, "Is it always this crazy?," and of course, since it was a Saturday morning, the answer is most definitely, "No! It's usually far worse!"



A week ago, Jacqui and I took the express train down from Poughkeepsie into the city. The ride down was pleasant, giving us a nice view of the Hudson River Valley. We saw the United States Military Academy, a bald eagle, a nuclear power plant (you were right Jacqui!), a couple of great blue herons, and a whole lot of garbage along the tracks and roads as we got into the city.

Walking out of the station we made our way over to Lexington Ave, where there was a large market full of vendors, which stretched for blocks. Each consecutive block sold almost the exact same items just with different faces behind the booths.

It was an extremely humid 94° F day, we visited a small portion of Central Park, where I was very dismayed to see a huge golden statue of General Sherman, portraying him as some sort of godly figure. Despite the controversy that surrounds him, he somehow also has the world's largest tree named after him..

Anyway while we were sitting on a bench at the edge of central park we noticed a model walking along a crosswalk back and forth, with a group of photographers snapping away as she strolled across at each red light. It was funny.Her outfit looked totally ridiculous, plus she could barely walk, each time she turned around she nearly fell over with her long narrow heels that looked like small stilts.
Check out the huge L-series canon lens. Several thousand dollars right there.

We couldn't tell if this from an actual wedding or just more models, but it was in the middle of grand central, with a half dozen photographers.
We also visited the UN building. Below is the flag from the UN building that was bombed in Baghdad, the Canal Hotel, killing 22 people including the UN representative.


On our way back from the noisy, bustling city. It was a hot and busy day. We still have so much more to see, I look forward to visiting again, most likely in the fall, and after I have recovered from the madness of the city.

Fireworks

Above are a few photos from fourth of July weekend from back home

more exposure experimenting

Over the July 4 weekend while I was visiting home, in Springfield NH, I hoped to do some star trail photography. The night sky is incredible over there, the milky way is even visible. By the time I got around to it, it was late, and I ended up only having enough energy to leave the shutter open for about an hour and a half, which ended up not being enough time. But Jacqui and I did some playing around with my head lamp and the bulb exposure/remote before that. My initials, and two hearts Jacqui made.

Finally!! The heat wave ends!

When I woke up this morning at 6 am, groggy, and half-asleep, I was alert enough to recognize that it was still very warm and muggy. Since it is Saturday, I tried to get back to sleep, and managed to fall into a light sleep.
The first thing I noticed when I woke up two hours later, at 8 am, was the sound! The unmistakable drip-drop of rain pounding on the roof. I glanced out my window to confirm what I heard, and noticed it was quite the rain storm! It was coming down very fast and hard. I jumped out of bed, put some shorts and sandals on and ran outside!
The perfect way to wake up on a Saturday morning after over a week of horribly uncomfortable humidity and heat, and sleepless nights! The heat wave finally broke, with a beautiful morning rain storm!
After getting thoroughly soaked and enjoying the rain I grabbed my camera and starting shooting!

Hazy night during the heatwave

I was up unusually late each night this past week week, because the heat and humidity didn't abate very much at night during the heatwave, making it difficult to sleep. During the hottest night I just lingered outside for a few hours, enjoying the slightly lower temperature. To occupy myself I experimented with some long exposures. The sun had just set several minutes before I took this photo, but the hazy night was still visible with the 30 second exposure. A few of the many fireflies lighting up the field, can be seen in the foreground as well (above).

Mt Kearsarge

My brother and I took the quick trail up Kearsarge, Sunday morning. A dozen or so people were milling about on the summit, checking out the open fire tower and the great 360 degree view. It was not as clear as I have seen it before, but it was still wonderful.
















Interstate 89 and Lake Sunapee are visible in the bottom photo.

Catskills from the Taconic

On my way back to NH for the July 4 holiday weekend, I took the Taconic up to I-90. The clouds were particularly beautiful along with the nice view of the catskills, so I pulled into a parking area and snapped a few quick photos.

Bash Bish Falls

Two weeks ago I checked out Bash Bish Falls with a friend. While it is pretty spectacular, the hordes of people took some of the shine away. We explored further up the creek, where it was far more peaceful.








Above is a view from a rock out-cropping above the falls