For Lack of a Better Photo

230-London Memories

2010-08-18T15:24:00.000-04:00

Last lunch in London and I've found my way to Covent Garden, home of market stalls and street performers. Off behind the apartments you can see the top of the London eye, with a plane bound for Heathrow up near the top. I can't believe that 10 days prior I was in one of those planes getting ready to land. Magnificent.

229-Royal Garden

2010-08-17T17:10:00.001-04:00

The Gardens at Hampton Court Palace just outside of London are absolutely amazing. Recently they set up an exhibit showing how the gardens evolved to their present state. Hampton Court also contains the largest grape vine measuring 3.8 meters in circumference. At some distant point in my life, I would like to have something similar to this, just in my own back yard.

228-Bohemia

2010-08-16T05:05:00.000-04:00

At the Champ de Mars opposite the Louvre in Paris I saw this man. God bless this man, although he does drink better wine than I do.

227-Eiffel Tower

2010-08-15T04:57:00.001-04:00

After a day north I took the Eurostar to Paris. That train puts anything in the US to shame, topping out at 300 kph and running absolutely silent. Crossing the channel in just under 20 minutes. And apparently the tour spazzes on the hour, something I never knew.

226-Blink of an Eye

2010-08-14T04:39:00.011-04:00

Took the train north in the early morning and as I was taking photos out the window an the landscape this power station popped into the frame, and then it was gone. Average speed: 200 kph.

225-Statue of Queen Anne

2010-08-13T13:58:00.000-04:00

Statue of Queen Anne outside of St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I stopped off at St. Paul's after going to the Tate Modern and walking about in Southwark.

224-Palace Garden

2010-08-12T20:05:00.009-04:00

The sunken garden at Kensington Palace. Kensington is undergoing major renovation in preparation for 2012 so much of the palace is closed to the public. The gardens are still kept up as well as the grounds around the orangery.

223-High Up

2010-08-11T19:01:00.000-04:00

I took my ride on the London Eye today, and if you are considering going, spring for the Champaign Flight, extra $20 will save you 3 hours in line, put you in a capsule with half as many people, and a glass of bubbly to boot. Cheers.

222-Horse Crossing

2010-08-10T17:35:00.000-04:00

Next to the Wellington Arch is a cross walk that I paid zero attention to until I looked up and saw a box 8' in the air above the cross walk button. I had to laugh when I realized what it was for.

221-Victoria & Albert

2010-08-09T19:44:00.003-04:00

Just a small sampling of the magnificent ceramic collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum in Kensington. Amazingly the first museum that I wanted to see is only a 5 minute walk from where I'm staying. Each of 6 rooms is 100 feet long, with 4 rows of glass shelving each about about 8 feet tall. Needless to say the collection is very extensive from all periods and all parts of the world.

220-Departure

2010-08-08T18:34:00.000-04:00

Standing by waiting to board my aircraft for my overnight flight to London. I'm presently camped out in the American Airlines Terminal at JFK watching all the other planes take off and land. It's quite a sight especially when the jumbo's lumber in.

219-LUV

2010-08-07T23:53:00.002-04:00

LUV is Southwest Airline's ticker symbol and their marketing department has played up the idea of the airline you 'luv'. Two very quick flights with a layover in BWI on my way back to NYC in preparation for my London trip.

218-Forms

2010-08-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

I liked the way the sun was hitting a shell on our front porch this evening. I cropped it down, and punched the contrast to draw out the organic forms in the foreground and linear forms in the background

217-Perle

2010-08-05T18:43:00.001-04:00

Wölffer Estate's Perle Chardonnay label. This is one of my favorite wines from one of my favorite vineyards and like the label itself, the wine is simple and elegant. I like to save this particular one for special occasions.

216-Birthday Pie

2010-08-04T22:04:00.001-04:00

I'm not a big fan of cake, but I love pie. So this year's birthday 'cake' is an apple pie. Complete with the plastic garfield figures from my 7th birthday cake. My mother saves them and pulls them out each year on my behalf.

215-Ferris

2010-08-03T23:59:00.003-04:00

More Guinea Pig, because he's just so cute and fat. Also he hasn't been featured in a while so I figured it was time to give him another round in the spotlight.

214-Above the Clouds

2010-08-02T17:30:00.000-04:00

Flying back from NYC to Norfolk today with a connection at BWI. I spent most of the day traveling for two 30 minute flights, hanging out in airports mostly. Nice views though, and I didn't have to drive.

213-The Dark Side

2010-08-01T18:27:00.001-04:00

If lighting is the light side then sound is the dark side of tech. Today was a day to embrace the darkness within and play with knobs.

212-More Pollination

2010-07-31T14:23:00.000-04:00

This week being the only week I'm back in NJ and my sunflowers are in full swing I felt the need to post another photo of them. Today there were several huge bees flying around stirring up so much pollen that it was falling onto the leaves under the flowers. The are also getting so heavy with seeds that they are starting to droop.

211-Donaldson Park

2010-07-30T14:18:00.005-04:00

Donaldson Park in Highland Park, NJ is right on the Raritan River between Rt 18 and Rt 1.

210- Pumpkin Pi

2010-07-29T14:16:00.002-04:00

This was on the door to my new office at Rutgers. I think I'm going to leave it.

209-The Bee's Needs

2010-07-28T09:38:00.000-04:00

The sunflowers are out and the bees are covered in pollen. You ca start to see the seeds developing in the center of the flower. Just stunning to see all of them clumped together.

208-Perfect Pair

2010-07-27T23:30:00.000-04:00

Cigarette and martini, two inseparable friends late night on the porch watching the world go by.

207-Maple Radiation

2010-07-26T20:11:00.000-04:00

Playing with exposure settings and effects layering created this radioactive maple leaf. Solarizing the edges and brighting the vein structure are rather neat effects I feel.

206-Petrie

2010-07-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

Another photo of the bird of the house. She gets featured here and on CIOPhoto. She is rather photogenic though.

205 - In Search Of Sun

2010-07-24T10:12:00.000-04:00

First morning back at my house in NJ after almost 3 weeks of traveling. The Sunflowers are now almost at full size ranging from 5' to 9' tall. One already has it's flower facing toward the morning sun but the shorter one next to it seems to be poised to open toward the mid day sun.

204-Phantom Drophead Coupe

2010-07-23T21:47:00.000-04:00

There are no words to describe how awesome this car is except for the almost half million dollar price tag. The dealership gave it to my friend for the weekend so he could take it around the Hamptons and show it off. So we went around Sag Harbor, Southampton and East Hampton today taking pictures and just having a good time.

203-Chess

2010-07-22T21:42:00.000-04:00

I spent the day going around to the various houses taking photos for people to document the damage done by yesterday's storm. One yard had a large concrete chess set, which I thought was really cool.

202-God of Carnage

2010-07-21T21:39:00.002-04:00

Wednesday evening saw 10 minutes of total devastation right in our front yard. The neighbor from across the street and I came out to take a survey and this is what we saw in the street. Both houses survived what we assume was a tornado/waterspout very close to the neighborhood.

201-Sunny Puppy

2010-07-20T21:36:00.006-04:00

Lola and I spent the afternoon in the sun. Little did we know it would be the last day of good sun for the rest of the week.

200-Ashawagh Hall

2010-07-19T20:25:00.000-04:00

Ever rotating art exhibits from local artists here in East Hampton, specifically the Springs. The Springs has had a thriving artist community since the sixties with Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning.

199-Paddle Guy

2010-07-18T18:26:00.000-04:00

Surf board plus canoe paddle equals this guy. Laying out on the beach in East Hampton I noticed several people taking part in this activity, no idea what it's called. But interesting.

198-Snake Head Chair

2010-07-17T08:59:00.000-04:00

You've seen the snake head fish, now I give you the snake head chair. There's a lot of detail carved into the chair, the head being the most prominent example.

197-Searing

2010-07-16T21:54:00.000-04:00

I went up Island today to play golf with a friend of mine, on the way back east I stopped at a farmers market and picked up a pound of fresh scallops. I pan seared some of them and froze the rest. Paired with Shiitake mushrooms in a white wine sauce, they were excellent.

196-Vertical Vine

2010-07-15T20:52:00.000-04:00

Potted vine climbing up the wall in the dining/kitchen area of the house I'm staying at. They have lots of potted green things around the house, mostly of a vine nature.

195-Trident

2010-07-14T15:26:00.000-04:00

The symbol for Maserati taken off the back of one of the sports car manufacturer's 4-door models I found parked out in East Hampton. Playing with the exposure and contrast settings I pulled out all of the car leaving the chrome Trident visible by itself.

194-After the Rain

2010-07-13T12:21:00.000-04:00

It's been humid here and again taking the cold lens out doors it fogged up, and again created this really neat shimmer in the sky. This house is next door to the one I'm staying at and I really liked how the large front window was framed by the trees between the road and the house.

193-Waiting Patiently

2010-07-12T17:17:00.000-04:00

This chicken is waiting very patiently to be grilled and eaten. How is it sitting up like that you may ask yourself? Well I'll tell you. It has half a can of Sam Adams up it's backside.

192-Laughing Dog

2010-07-11T17:11:00.000-04:00

This is a laughing dog toy that's on a motion sensor, get too close and it drops into hysterics rolling around on the floor or table or where ever it happens to be. This thing was a birthday gift to a friend of mine.

191-Morning Glories

2010-07-10T09:40:00.000-04:00

I discovered the vine growing all over my hydrangea, my tomato baskets and my sunflowers was morning glory, and now it's flowering. I love the coloring and the geometry produced by the flower, you can already see a second bud to the left.

190-Super Highway

2010-07-09T22:27:00.000-04:00

Taking Metro-North to Westport, CT today for a quick umbrella maintenance. Train photos are my favorite so I spent the whole trip with lens to glass. This was taken while going across the Bronx toward CT.

189-Adult Conversation

2010-07-08T23:44:00.000-04:00

I dropped into Richmond to visit my friend and her 8-month-old, Miles. She claimed she was in need of adult conversation. He's very lively and can be a handful, but he's good when he's out in public, which is all I can ask for.

188-Nipper

2010-07-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

My kitty, a maine coon, tabby mix. He's a shy guy but so sweet. We've had him about 11 years now.

187-The Eyes Have It

2010-07-06T17:45:00.000-04:00

My friend has some amazing eyes, just thought I'd share.

186-Ravaged

2010-07-05T13:41:00.001-04:00

Something's going after my mother's sunflowers. This is one of the leaves that has been eaten almost clean off.

185-Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T11:38:00.002-04:00

Stepping out of my cold basement into the humid air caused my lens to fog up, creating this haze effect that I kind of like.

184-Select

2010-07-03T14:05:00.000-04:00

The 'select' button from my old DDR pad.

183-Texturing

2010-07-02T17:01:00.003-04:00

I love the texturing in my friend Shaun's work. Today's post features a detail of the newest piece in my collection.

182-Umbrella 2

2010-07-01T02:51:00.001-04:00

This is my second fully recovered umbrella, only this one has the wiring for the smoke effect sewn into the new shell.

181-Umbrella 1

2010-06-30T20:49:00.007-04:00

My current project is building 2 umbrellas for a theater production in CT. This is the first recovered dummy umbrella, the second will have an electronic flame trick.

180-Lola

2010-06-29T11:44:00.000-04:00

Lola is the adorable dog I've been watching the last week or so. It was her turn to be on the blog.

179-Landing Gear Down

2010-06-28T17:39:00.005-04:00

Driving back out to the hamptons today I got suck in traffic so thick it was parked for minutes on end. Luckily it was along the landing path for a certain NYC airport, so I at least had something to look at.

178-Two Cents

2010-06-27T21:17:00.001-04:00

It's all I got at the moment.

177-How Much?

2010-06-26T14:13:00.001-04:00

Coffee is coffee, unless it's from Starbucks, in which case it's $4.

176-Pink Margarita

2010-06-25T22:15:00.000-04:00

Twist on the classic margarita using a splash of chambord. Adds just that touch of sweet to a generally sour drink.

175-Peas

2010-06-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

I got home after a two week stint away from home and Peas! It's nice to see something actually growing in my garden.

174-Marina Toys

2010-06-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

This device is used for lifting large yachts in and out of the water. To give you an idea of scale that is a gas pump to the left of the machine.

173-Fuchsia

2010-06-22T20:00:00.001-04:00

The house I'm at has a lovely assortment of potted plants. This one sits right outside the door on the back porch. Heading back to Jersey soon so I'm getting some of the last few photos out here for a couple of weeks.

172-Summer Solstice

2010-06-21T19:36:00.000-04:00

Longest day of the year and official start to the summer season. Mine was spent relaxing on the bay with the dragon flies.

171-Lunch

2010-06-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

The Lobster Roll, also known as, Lunch. I went here for lunch and had the lobster roll. This place is a seasonal favorite just east of Amagansett, and just a no frills roadside seafood diner.

170-Tent Party

2010-06-19T22:29:00.000-04:00

My friend Bruce graciously hosted the 'Live Out Loud' summer gala at his home in East Hampton. The setting was perfect and the weather gave us probably the nicest day out of the week. We spent the afternoon setting up and the party ran from 6 to sunset. Live Out Loud aims to provide positive role models to teens going through the coming out process.

169-Sea Barrier

2010-06-18T22:30:00.000-04:00

High winds yesterday plus storms the day before washed all this crap up near the shore. the retaining wall kept it out of the neighbor's section but it got all over mine. Kind of neat looking though.

168-Lazy Afternoon

2010-06-17T18:26:00.000-04:00

There are very few better ways to spend and afternoon. This is why I love the Hamptons.

167-Carpe Diem

2010-06-16T22:07:00.000-04:00

Seize the day, an apt name for a yacht of this magnitude. I had lunch in Sag Harbor today which among other things is the port of call for many large vessels during the summer months.

166-The Wölffer Estate

2010-06-15T18:06:00.003-04:00

The Wölffer Estate in Bridgehampton, NY is one of my favorite vineyards. I spent the afternoon here sitting along side the rows of grapes sipping my late harvest chardonnay enjoying the sun and the breeze. They also do a sunset concert every friday during the summer. iPhone.

165-Sunset over Gardiner Bay

2010-06-14T21:59:00.000-04:00

One of the homes I'm watching out in East Hampton is situated on Gardiner bay being the first build-able property coming down the point, the views are absolutely stunning and unobstructed. Canon 50D

164-Paint them Red

2010-06-13T16:45:00.000-04:00

Stunning white roses growing over the gate to the back yard at the house I'm staying at. Canon 50D

163-Washed Ashore

2010-06-12T16:42:00.000-04:00

I'm house sitting for the next 10 days out in East Hampton. Going to the sea side with the home owner we discovered a cell phone washed up on the shore. iPhone.

162-Everybody say 'Bye House'

2010-06-11T16:41:00.000-04:00

with working and traveling I've barely seen my house in a month. Look there it is! iPhone.

161-Coming up Roses

2010-06-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

The roses on the opposite side of the back yard are also coming in nicely, although they were trimmed way too much in years past, so they aren't as thick as they ought to be. Canon 50D

160-Over Grown

2010-06-09T16:35:00.000-04:00

These guys are growing into my garden, so I had to resort to cutting them back. Unfortunately the half that was in bloom was the half I had to trim. Canon 50D.

159-Ceiling Fixture at Taste Cafe

2010-06-08T22:16:00.000-04:00

Taste Cafe in Red Bank, NJ has these very awesome lighting fixtures that essentially are a bunch of smaller fixtures all collecting at the same point at the top. They have them in various sizes throughout the place but the two largest ones are over the bar.

158-Strawberry

2010-06-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

Delicious strawberries from the grocery store. There were larger than I'm used to finding at the store plus they were wrapped in bubblewrap, but still tasty. Canon 50D, 1/80th sec @ f/8, ISO 1000.

157-Shamu

2010-06-06T15:06:00.000-04:00

Fun day at my friend Cliff's pool, complete with inflatable pool toys.

156-I Can Do It for Less

2010-06-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

Really awesome canvas ottoman for a mear $275. I can probably make one for less, add it to the list of projects for later. iPhone.

155-Mixed Messages

2010-06-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Found the cutest little martini glasses after Mike informed me that making smaller martini's allowed you to drink them while still cold. Only problem is they are 'Stoli' brand glasses. Adding insult to injury Mike picked up a sample bottle of Tanqueray gin. Everybody knows I drink Sapphire, but I do want to give the smaller martini a try.

154-All the News That's Fit to Print

2010-06-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

All the news that's fit to print, including the Onion. Honestly reading some of the 'legitimate' news papers makes me think I picked up the Onion by mistake. Canon 50D.

153-Sticky Rice

2010-06-02T23:59:00.000-04:00

The restaurant emblem of a place called Sticky Rice just down the block from the theater. Great place for local take out.

152-Work

2010-06-01T23:57:00.001-04:00

My 15 hour day staring at an Express board while programming Gretty Good Time, at the H Street Playhouse in Washington, DC.

151-Light and Dark

2010-05-31T22:19:00.000-04:00

At Galaxy Hut, the local beer bar, tonight with people I haven't seen in 5 plus years. A good time, a great establishment. iPhone.

150-LOC

2010-05-30T23:40:00.000-04:00

The main entrance to the Library of Congress. I didn't have much time to dwell but the lamp post caught my eye. Canon 50D.

149-Dangerous Pies

2010-05-29T22:58:00.000-04:00

The menu board of my new favorite pie shop. It's been open for 2 months on H street in North East DC, and I hope they expand north. iPhone.

148-Sacrilege

2010-05-28T09:25:00.000-04:00

So many things wrong with this. can you spot the ways? Canon 50D

147-Torpedo

2010-05-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

Visited the Torpedo factory in Old Town Alexandria today with Mike and Kelly. It is an old factory that has since been converted to art space and galleries. The place is also decorated with old munitions from the factory. Canon 50D.

146-Down the Tracks

2010-05-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Heading back to DC from Hampton roads via Amtrak again. I love shooting out the windows of trains, they always give you a new perspective. Canon 50D, 1/500th sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400.

145-Best View in Town

2010-05-25T16:51:00.001-04:00

Looking out the third story window over the harbor in the Ghent part of Norfolk, VA. A beautiful house, cared for by my roomate's father's cousin. iPhone.

144-My Grandparents

2010-05-24T16:42:00.000-04:00

My grandmother's birthday today, as well as my dad's. So I took the train down sunday to see my grandparents and surprise my dad for his 60th. Canon 50D.

143-Marina

2010-05-23T19:55:00.000-04:00

Photos from out the train window, toned and stylized to push the sky. I really like this one. Canon 50D, 1/200th sec @ f/8, ISO 800.

142-Shards of Light

2010-05-22T19:42:00.000-04:00

Stylized photo of the alleyway going to the bar behind the Two River Theater. iPhone

141-Rockscape

2010-05-21T19:37:00.008-04:00

Salvatore Ferro's rock sculpture in front of the house. The rocks are stacked and not secured to each other, making this a rather remarkable feature. iPhone.

140-MMMM Wings

2010-05-20T22:44:00.001-04:00

Delicious, delicious, wings. My hosts for the evening made wings, they were quite good.

139-Yellow Tang

2010-05-19T17:25:00.000-04:00

The Yellow Tang in my friend Cliff's salt water tank. I've always found salt water aquariums to be much more interesting than their freshwater counterparts. Much more vibrant, but a lot more effort. I can't keep regular fish alive much less tropical ones. Canon 50D, 1/400th sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1000.

138-Aged

2010-05-18T16:13:00.000-04:00

My friend Cliff has a box of old alcohol that he never drinks, this sad bottle of Canadian Club Whisky still has the old tax seal from 1980, and judging by the collection of dust, is probably pretty authentic. Canon 50D, 1/60th sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1000.

137-Stuck in the Mud

2010-05-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

Evidently I have a thing for shopping carts out of place. This one was far more interesting than the one that's been popping around my neighborhood for the last month. This one was much trickier to get to.

136-Severed

2010-05-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

Found a severed tail in the woods along a trail. I thought it was interesting, and I was curious where the rest of the squirrel went. Canon 50D, 1/60th sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1000

135-Series of Tubes

2010-05-15T23:31:00.001-04:00

The internet is not a big truck, it's a series of tubes, in this case, fiber optic tubes. In theater, we use the principals behind the fiber optic strands to create lighting effects like star curtains. Canon 50D, 1/60th sec @ f/5.6, ISO 500.

134-ORT

2010-05-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

ORT or Off-peak Round Trip, a discount rate NJT used to sponsor, will no longer be accepted after May 23rd. What am I going to do with all these tickets? I guess mandatory trips to NYC are in order. Pain In My Ass. Canon 50D, 1/60th sec @ f/13, ISO 125, Flash.

133-Paul Revere

2010-05-13T21:55:00.000-04:00

My Paul Revere Tea Kettle, with that distinctive whistle, sure to wake you up and get you moving. The kettle serves double duty heating water for both coffee and tea. iPhone.

132-My Mornings

2010-05-12T07:46:00.001-04:00

Delicious morning coffee, without which my day would start significantly slower than it does. iPhone

131-Wrap Your Feet Around It

2010-05-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

After 364.1 miles, the WYFAI crowd came tumbling down at my door for the evening. After much food and merriment they will be continuing their trek on to Times Sq. finishing a 400 mile walk from CNU in South Eastern Virginia. Here for your review, Jeff Gallo's feet. Canon 50D, 1/60th Sec @ f/10, ISO 125, Flash.