A couple days per year

Couple Days Per Year

These trees bloom once per year and it only lasts a couple of days, but the smell and the beauty make it worth the wait.

By the way, my camera is back and I am so very happy. It's been 5 weeks without and I feel like it's been a way longer than that. I missed the way the camera felt in my hands and the way I see things through the view finder. I missed the sound of the shutter and the looks on people as I take their picture. I missed the clarity of the shots, having full control of the image, and the softness of the depth of field.

Ritz camera really took care of my camera for me. I had a dead pixel and they replaced the sensor. Thanks to the Ritz camera repair center for taking care of my D80.

Lens: 50mm

If it needs a sign, it's badly designed

If it needs a sign, it's badly designed

One of my mantras in the programming world is "If it needs a sign, it's badly designed." Many times we get frustrated with common everyday things including this water faucet. In order for the water to come out, one needs to place their hand in just the right spot and hold it there for 6 seconds before water jets out. The water then propels out so harshly that you end up getting water on your pants causing you to pull you hand away. It becomes a vicious cycle, because pulling your hand away stops the water and you need to wait another 6 seconds for it to start. I had to do some camera acrobatics to get this shot, but it was worth it.

Sunset Cross

Sunset Cross

Capturing sunsets is one of the benefits of carrying a camera at all times. Some of the most amazing shots seem to come when the sun is low in the sky. This was no exception.

Gimmie Sun

Gimmie Sun

This red flower opens during the day collecting the sun's goodness. I just don't know what kind of flower this is. Anyone out there have a green thumb?
Taken with Canon SD750 in macro mode.

Touch Of Light

Touch Of Light

Today is a very special day for this girl. She has been in remission for 4 years from Leukemia and Lymphoma and still growing strong. She is a survivor, and she is one of my heroes.

Keeping Track

Keeping Track

Keeping track of gym scores is a past time exercised by parents in the stands. We wait 30 minutes to an hour for our child to perform 30 seconds of a routine. When it's all complete, we have a list of scores that we will soon not look at, but the memories of the events live on our video cameras. Yes, we have 3 minutes of video at the end of a gym meet. We waited 4 hours for 3 minutes of video?

Yellow Drops

Yellow Drops

Raid drops on a flower seem to make a flower much more interesting.

On another note, I miss my Nikon D80, and feel like a part of me is missing.

Working Sunset

Working Sunset

Tonight I was doing some work on my balcony (the power of wireless networking), and I just happened to have a camera in my pocket. This sunset made the work go much faster and I thought it would prudent to share it with all of you.

Confidence

Confidence

This portrait session was great fun and the confidence portrayed in this model comes through in the shot.

Eye of the Tulip

Eye of the Tulip

A northern facing window was the light source for this shot. This was another inspirational moment of "I gotta grab the camera for this." Taken with a Canon Powershot SD750 in macro mode.

Sub Tulip

Sub Tulip

Levitation

Levitation

Here's some more from my last portrait session. Levitation is always a fun thing to photograph.

Portraits Are Fun

Fun with Portraits

The art of portrait photography includes making your subject feel comfortable. I like these type of shots because it gets the subject to open up a bit and relax.
Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.008 sec (1/125)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 70 mm
ISO Speed: 100

April Flower

April Flower

Rain droplets on a flower seem to add a bit of texture.

Camera: Nikon D80
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Geometry Rocks

Geometry Rocks

I just love math, don't you?

Monarch Design

Monarch Design

Here's a masterpiece in the making from a local artist. Notice the fine use of color and texture to the painting.

Dead Pixel Still

Dead Pixel Still

The camera store told me that my camera had been repaired. The instructions to the repair center were very specific (I watched the camera store employee write them up.) The instructions were to replace the sensor because of a dead pixel near the center of every photograph. I believe the only thing this camera repair shop did was to clean the sensor thinking I would just go away after that. I took the camera for the weekend to take some shots and will be bringing my camera back to be repaired on Monday. The photo above is just one of many pictures of my son with a dead pixed on his body. Not only is it in every shot, but it's getting bigger and bigger!

Gym Ceiling

Gym Ceiling

I love how the lines of the basketball hoops converge to the center of this shot.

Durgin Park

Durgin park

This was from my photo walk in Boston. Taken with a Canon Powershot SD750.

A lot of people have been asking me about my camera status, so here's an update. My Nikon D80 was returned to me by the Camera shop yesterday and it had not been fixed. I think they cleaned the sensor and tried to send it back to me even though they had explicit instructions to replace the sensor. Once a pixel dies it spreads, so I want another sensor put into my brand new camera. So far my satisfaction level with this particular retail company is very low. I have the camera for the weekend and will be taking some shots in Columbus Ohio, but will be giving it back to the shop on Monday to be repaired. Stay tuned for more on the dead pixel saga.

Boston Garden

Boston Garden

I took a walk through Boston Common tonight and found the atmosphere was great. I took part of the Freedom Trail as well. This shot was taken with my Canon Powershot SD750 mounted on the park bench in fireworks mode. I needed a longer shutter speed to capture the depth of the garden and the bridge.

Today I received some great news from the camera shot. My Nikon D80 has a brand new sensor and is ready for pickup. I can't wait to get it back.

Candy Dulfer

Candy Dulfer

Candy Store

Tonight I met Candy Dulfer at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston. She's a Dutch smooth jazz alto saxophonist with an amazing tonal quality. She even signed her CD for me.

Boston Sewer

Boston Sewer

The city of Boston is rich with history and photos to be taken. I did not have much opportunity to take daytime shots here. I really like this city.

Please Turn Knob and Push

Please turn knob and push

I love signs and think they serve a great purpose. Some signs are a bit obvious and unnecessary. This sign found on a photo walk in New Orleans last January was one of those "Captain Obvious" signs.

I've been traveling and unable to post. I'm in Boston right now and I should be able to capture some of this awesome city.

Morning Sun

Morning Sun

The only good part about waking up early is the sunrise (with some exception for coffee and eggs.) This morning's sunrise was a delight. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. A little bit of post processing was dun to bring out the richness of the sun's color using Paint.Net. Taken with a Canon Powershot SD750.

Lego Racer

Lego Racer

Taken with a Canon Powershot SD750 in macro mode.

Yield To The Sky

Yield To The Sky

This sign was begging me to photograph it this morning. I can't explain it really. I just saw this image in my head and had to photograph it.

No Means No

No Means No

Signs tell us how high a bridge is, they tell us when to stop and when to go, they keep us from going in the wrong direction, and they also tell us No. This one tells me much more than that. I like the little reflectors that collectively make up one large yellow advertisement for the lack of an outlet. Taken with a Canon Powershot SD750 in automatic mode.

I called the camera store, and my camera will be at least another 2 weeks before it is fixed. Sigh.

Daddy's Little Girl

Daddy's Little Girl

These are the days that I will remember.
These are the times that will go by so fast.
These are the moments that will stay in my mind.
She calls me Daddy, and that means the world to me.