Day 37 - they say the neon lights are bright on broadway.....

Ahh the feel of a hometown subshop at it's finest. Had a bite to eat at Paul's in Cumberland last night before we headed down to Warwick for the non stress tests for the baby. I picked up a grilled chicken sub and Michelle had the steak and cheese grinder. They were both very tasty and we got to hear the pleasantries of high school kids talking about their sexual conquests. It wasn't really pleasant, more of a damn, did they just say that out loud in a public place without a care in the world. Maybe I'm getting older, but I don't remember blabbing with others in places like this about the inadequacies and shortcomings of others..

I like this shot, I liked the colors the brightness of the neon lights, the reflection in the mirror which gives you the menu board as well. I wanted to take it from the inside and have it read backwards as well. I used the telephoto 70-300mm on a few shots, but after the kiddies left I just stood up closer to the sign and took this shot. I think it encaptures the atmosphere perfectly. A typical late night bite to eat at a typical restaurant in Anywhere, USA.

...they say there's always magic in the air....

Day 36 - it's the eye of the tiger it's the cream of the fight....

The king of the jungle and the king of the chair. Leo sits and stairs at me a lot, I always wonder what he is thinking , he just looks right back at you staring deep into your eyes. Here is his usual spot while we are watching television in the great room, if he's not staring at people he's curled about in a ball and usually snoring. Yeah, my cat snores.

It's been a busy week at work so I have had to be a bit more creative with my pictures. I took this shot using the tripod and the stillness of my cat allowed it to come in clearly in a dimly lit room. I love the color combo of his fur and the chair, not quite please with the non-symmetrical cross bracing I got going on underneath, but it's not a big deal. I think the viewer is drawn toward those large staring eyes anyways.... meow....

...Risin' up to the challenge of our rival ....

Day 35 - you spin me right round baby right round...

Well I decided to make an appearance in here again since it's been a while. I did set up this shot because I was trying to think of something different again, and what better than putting my camera into the wash cycle! Well before I pushed start anyways. Just another load of laundry between commercials of course, ha ha.

I set up this shot because I was looking for another unique angle on a self portrait. Getting the focus clear and setting up the camera and setting the self timer proved to be quite the challenge. I took several shots and then some and even though this one is dark it seemed to get the best perspective of the interior of the washing machine and me looking in as if to check on the progress of the laundry cleaning. I played with the timer and the focus but just getting the camera in the right spot and closing the door and then standing still as the shutter held open for a few extra seconds was challenging as I mentioned already. So I like the shot, dark yes, angled , on purpose, come on it's in the middle of a wash cycle :)

...like a record baby, right round round round..

Day 34 - If I had a million dollars.... (if I had a million dollars)

If it were just that easy as the Game of Life. There is my car parked at the millionaire estate. CJ and I played last night and I eeked out a win by a mere 100K. I loved this game when I was little and still like it. The new version is really rather dumb though. I mean how does a teacher get a salary of 100K but a lawyer get 20K? They are trying to make a change, but they should have stuck with the original, which is why I got this one 80s version off of Ebay a few years ago. I didn't end up with any kids this time! There's been times when I had a whole car full and then some.. alas not this time.

I took several shots of this , trying for just the right one, I wanted the car and the house to be the focus and the rest to be blurred which is what I got after much trial and tribulation. The autofocus was giving me trouble on these close shots lately for some reason. I layed the camera flat on the carpet in front of the board and focused on the car and house and got the shot I wanted. It makes you feel as if it's lifesize almost.

... I'd buy you a house (I would buy you a house).....

Day 33 - I wish I were big.

OMG! This thing is huge. We were driving to Jenn's house for our weekly get together and Michelle pointed out the snowman, I said , woah! back up, I need a picture of this. The thing is bigger than the house and that is not a perspective trick, it is huge. I love the sign that says Beep for Dusty!! They must have used a backhoe or something to build him. I'm not sure exactly what the buttons, eyes and the giant mouth and nose are made of but , damn!! We are getting a snow storm tonight so Mr. Dusty may be a little bigger after that. I think somebody had too much time on their hands though!!

The shot was taken rather quickly as we had to park on the side of the road and cars kept zooming by. I took a few shots but this one seemed to be the best with the lighting, and the scale of the snowman as you can see the house in the background. I didn't need to use the flash since there was just enough daylight left to capture the colors and to see the scarf lit up as well. All though it seems that there is some light in the foreground that may have been a car passing by.

...and you can get really big stuff at http://www.greatbigstuff.com....
(found by accident, but very funny)

Day 32 - and a spoonful of sugar...

Not too much to say about this picture, Ok it was at Wright's farm where he had a little post X-mas get together with my Mom and brother's since I hadn't seen her at Christmas. We waited a while in the lobby for our dinner and everybody loved the food. You see, none of them had been here before and were quite shocked at the enormity of the place, yet they all seemed to enjoy themselves. Michelle pointed out, honey, that would be a good picture of the day for you, and since I had no other shots of the day , minus the family in the lobby candid photos, i took a few aims at this , before I devoured it.

I tried to get the close up , but the camera could not focus on anything closer than about 8 inches with any clarity. I shot this one manual and managed to keep the camera still enough with the somewhat adequate lighting in the room to avoid andy blur. I love the fact that they put the chocolate chicken in the center of the ice creams...


..in the most delightful way.....

Day 31 - oh the places you'll go..

What on earth happened to this poor tree. It reminds me of something out of a J.R.R Tolkien novel, or perhaps the Dark Crystal, or a Dr. Seuss book. I took a detour after dropping CJ off at the Y for his car modeling class and went into the Blackstone Valley State Park. I headed down the snow covered path and took a look around, got some pictures of the river and the bridges and of a very cute german shepherd. On my way out I notied this oddly formed trunk or root system. I 'm not quite sure what happened here, but if I look long enough I can almost see a sad twisted face, two big sunken eyes and a furrowed brow, and small knobby nose and a bit of a sad grin. It's just an odd looking tree. I kind of feel bad for it, but it was my object d'art for the day.

I took a closeup shot of just the twisted trunk, but opted to post this shot which shows the not only the bottom, but a bit of the size of the tree. This root ball part was probably as tall as me, I may go back for measure sometime. I like the angle of the shot, the tree appears as if it's leaning away from the shot, the snow around the base let's the tree be the focus of the shot as I imagine if it were just dirt it might have a whole different feel to the picture.

...And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants....

Day 30 - karma karma karma karma karma chamelon....

Ok there is some blue in there too , but I like the song... I was sitting in the computer room and I noticed the Galileo thermometer there and thought such nice colors I bet it would make a good picture. In case you don't know how to read a thermometer like this, you read the # on the lowest floating bulb in the tube and that is your temperature, it only has a range from 64-80 though so it's only good for an an average home. It's not very precise either as it is in 4 degree increments as well.

I did position the thermometer in front of an open window get get the focus on the tube itself and have the blurred blackground. I really love the way the colors came out in this shot, very clear, crisp and the thermomenter centered nicely in the picture. You can really read everything easily as well. I'm waiting for the day now where all those bulbs are down the bottom and it says 80 again, that would be nice right about now It's cold out there.

Red gold and green, red gold and greeeeeeeen.....
(and blue) :)

Day 29 - Feed me! Feed me! Feed me!

A little bit of the ingredients I used yesterday to make dinner. An old sushi chef of mine used to tell me to use vinegar, soy sauce, oil, garlic and sugar to make a nice stir fry sauce, and I did and liked it. I used all of these ingredients and a few more with some nice juicy pork chops. Mmm, Mmm, good!

I was practicing taking different shots around the house using the tripod to deal with the low lights indoors and it worked very well. This shot I only steadied the pod against my body and used the light from the hood and above to get the shot. I tried several different angles and thought this one which appeared more random than a straight on shot was the best. I did purposely arrange the vegetables that way as to have separation of green with orange between. Not a bad shot and I will now remember what I ate on January 22nd 2009 as well, because I certainly would not have without this shot.

Feed me! Seymour!!!!

Day 28 - oh let me be (oh let him be)....

I really was not sure which picture I took yesterday I was going to post. I really had in mind a picture with some good color in it, lately it's been all snow. So I was leaving the mall and walking by the Build-A-Bear workshop and decided I'd sneak a picture from outside the store. I figure they can't say anything to me if I'm not in the store taking a picture. Apparently stores don't like you taking pictures in their establishments. I was reading some photographer's stories about incidents. I guess I'll have to sneak my pictures from now on. Well perhaps we will be heading into a store like this soon enough with the baby almost here. He's coming real soon, inducing on Feb 4th. Woohoo! I can't wait.

I really like the colors in this shot. We have all the primary colors and the individual bears on their platfroms. It looks like they are all part of a council about to vote on an important matter. I think the one quick shot without much setup still came out quite nice and bright, definitely got the colorful, cheer you up from the doldrums of winter shot I wanted.

...your teddybear...

Day 27 - and no one dared....

Ok, I've had enough of the snow and it's only mid January. Well on my way to Millbury, I needed to stop and eat lunch as it was already one o'clock. I pulled off at Exit 8 and a 1/4 mile up the street is the parking lot for Purgatory Chasm. It is closed for the season, so they have signs up stating the chasm is closed and such. Yet for this one man smoking a cigar it was absolutely serene. I walked on over to the entrance of the chasm and started taking a few shots. It looks like someone else didn't heed the warning signs as much and ventured a bit further in, perhaps for a better shot. I know when I was here in early April or so that it can be very slippery so I imagine now without being able to see the rocks it would be much more treacherous. If you don't know what this place is , it's a neat place to check out. It is basically a 1/2 mile of climbing over and around rocks and under some to check things out, nothing too crazy, the areas is surrounded by quite a few walking trails as well but it seems the brunt of the traffic comes through the chasm.

I like the shot I chose due to the lighting , the shadows created by the branches and the late noon sun coming in . The crystals of the snow seem to come in, in the foreground shot from the rock on the right. By not being able to see beyond a certain point it also draws the viewer in to wondering what is really further on down past that last rock. At least it makes me wonder.

...disturb the sound of silence.....

Day 26 - Wait a minute Mr. Postman....

I'll be waiting a lot longer for my mail if they don't shovel these out! This is the parking lot for the Post Office in Cranston, RI. It was MLK day so that is why there seems to be no lack of urgency to shovel out the cars in the lot. I took a few other pictures yesterday down in Mystic, CT , but this really shows the day. All government activity grinding to a halt to honor one very important man. So as I drove down the street I spotted the open gate and drove up to the entrance and took a few shots.

I love the line up of all these trucks in the photo. The jpg version of the picture for some reason seams very washed out due to the sun glare off the ice, but the raw format looks much better , richer colors. As I mentioned previously though, I put up the unedited versions of the pics , not any modified ones.

Is there a letter in your bag for me ?


(In case you haven't caught on, my title and last line are usually something related to the picture and quoted from either a movie, song, or other pop culture phenomenon. )

Day 25 - there is unrest in the forest....

We keep getting more and more snow. Won't it stop!! Well I was out and about after snowblowing the driveway I walked around the yard and took all sorts of nature pics. I noticed the big pine trees in the back covered with the white stuff so I ventured in for a closer look. It's somewhat ominous to venture under a snow covered tree with camera in hand, knowing that any moment it could unleash a heaping helping on top of my. Well that said it was quiet peaceful under the trees.

I took a few different shots from a few different angles of this tree, but this I like the best. I placed the camera directly on the tree trunk and looked straight up. It gives a unique view of the tree I never noticed before. This kind of reminds me of a spiral staircase of sorts. The sky is a bit washed out in the shot, but the overall essence of the tree remains intact and is a very unique look on an otherwise commonplace natural object.


there is trouble with the trees...

Day 24 - beer for my horses...

Went for lunch yesterday at Tuck's Pub in Cumberland. It's a small place just a few miles from home. I really like the hometown feel of the place and their very good Turkey Bourbon Tips. We also usually get their buffalo wings that are decent but they don't put the sauce on them for you, instead they give you a bowl of the stuff to dip or ladle on yourself.

I think I like the decor of the place because it is really an old pub style which is where I found this unique lamp. It probably looks like a carousel horse to you, but at the top of the pole is the actual light of the lamp. The shot came out decent, clear and nice sharp colors. I think the light behind me from the window helped with the low light of the restaurant itself and made the shot have the brightness it needed.

Whiskey for my men....

Day 23 - are they made from real Girl Scouts ?

Oh the time of year when the cookies are here!! mmm, mmm, good! I love when the kids or the parents are taking orders for these delectable, although I'm sure a little bit overpriced treats. The #1 favorite is always the Thin Mints. I just can't get enough of them when they come around. But, we only got one box of them so, I'll have to savor them slowly.

I had taken a few "scenic" pictures this day, but their were a bit washed out looking with the bright sunlight off the ice, so before bed I was walking through the kitchen and got the idea of this delectable quartet of boxes for a photo op. Yes, I posed them in their current arrangement, and I like the color mix we have here. I think the contrast could be a little better in the photo and I had to use my tripod to work with the lighting from the kitchen and hallway otherwise the shutter is open to long and all I get is blur.

Well perhaps I'm off to enjoy a few of these.

They're creepy and their kooky....

Day 22 - up, up and away......

Not an interesting day at all. I was busy with work and had a chance to get out for a break to pick up some gloves at REI after I ruined my other pair which were rather new. So I looked around inside for a few shots, took a few shots outside but nothing really struck my fancy. Call it an uninspired day. I expect some of those along the way, it's gonna be at least a year of pictures or more we shall see!!!

This is taken right outside the front doors, I like architecture and I especially like modern architecture with clean lines and industrial styles, so this shot looking up towards the sky interested me. I like the unique angle of the shot, as well as the stark contrast the metal sheeting and bolts make against the natural wood beams. A lot of the sky was washed out due to not using the correct light settings and/or flash. An external flash may have helped here.

In my beautiful, my beautiful balloon...

Day 21 - look a wagon wheel....

Situated on the picturesque setting in the quaint village of ... Who am I kidding, this is some utility house on the grounds of the Blackstone Valley Shopping Plaza in Millbury, MA. I'm not sure what is actually inside of this house, but you see it on the side of the entrance/exit ramp to the plaza.

A friend of mine has been looking at my photos and mentioned I have all closeup shots. While true, it's just a style I happened to like and this shot was taken before I had seen his email, but it's not a closeup! One thing I noticed about this shot that I like a lot is that it looks almost like a black and white photo. The only color really discernible is the brown wooden door and perhaps a few trees in the background, all due to the snowfall. I really like the way the house sort of protrudes from the stone wall, and the wheel on the side, neat looking whatever it is.

A hanker for a hunk of cheese.. yahoo.....

Day 20 - turn on your heart light....

Well you can probably figure out what this is. It's the baby's heart beat!! Michelle has to go for non-stress tests twice a week until the baby comes out, so here we were at the hospital last night listening to the sounds of our little one. It's very exciting and so great, I can't wait. The heart rate kept going up and down as he must have been quite active in there. He's getting excited for the big day as much as we are!

Well not much to the shot besides a close up of the fetal monitor screen. It took me quite a number of tries to get the heart beat on the screen as it flashes on and off. I had to use the continuous burst mode which takes 3 pictures in succession. There is a little refelection from the light in the room or shadow created from the camera being close to the scree, but it's not a distraction.

Let it shine wherever you go...

Day 19 - rollin, rollin, rollin....

I didn't plan to mention hot dogs yesterday, only thought of it because I mentioned beans. I didn't have any of these, they were rolling along in the display case at BJs. The lady behind the counter asked if I had the managers permission to take photos. Of hot dogs ? Didn't think they were proprietary. I left after that.

The reflections and the deflects on the glass make it look as if there is steam coming off of the hotdogs. The shot is a little greyed out due to the reflections I was getting off the glass, and the fact that I didn't want to hang around and be tossed out by security because I was taking pictures of their food . Otherwise it's just something I noticed yesterday as I was leaving and had not been too many places yesterday.

Rawhide!!

Day 18 - too many beans...

So what now, A gas container. Yup, that's what it is. I finished snow blowing most of the driveways and had run out of gas in the darn thing. I tried to pull the snowblower up our driveway with no luck, so I poured what was left in the canister in order to get back into the garage.

I left the canister outside in the snow and the bright red colors stood out sharply against the white snow. I especially like this shot with the tire in the back blurred purposely to focus on the main object. The lighting was easy due to the outdoor shot and the fact that there was white everywhere, very clear, sharp, colorful. It looks like I may have needed this for the car if I hadn't told you already.

I feel like hot dogs tomorrow...

Day 17 - no wire hangers in this house!!!

I don't remember much about that movie, Mommie Dearest, only that Joan Crawford was a very scary woman. I saw it when I was very little...

Here is a shot after we hung up all of the baby's clothes. I love all of the different little pictures and designs on his outfits, they are very cute. He's not even out yet and he has more clothes than me!! Ha!

I love the bright colors in this picture and the lighting came out perfect. The line of clothes seem to go on and on in this shot. It is a very playful shot with the abundance of primary colors, just what every baby boy needs!

Papa needs a new pair of shoes.....

Day 16 - blue dub a vee

I was at work and heard that there was a radio station doing some sort of promotion at the store. So I went out front to check out what the deal was. I noticed they had their car out front. A painted up V-Dub. Of course it popped into my head right then and there, photo-op! So I went back to my desk grabbed the camera and took a number of shots of the car from different angles.

I think this was the best of the shots, it shows off the nice paint job they had done as well as some of the features and curves known to a typical volkswagen beetle.

I love the colors in this shot, the blues, the reflections from the fender (you can see the building I stood in front of if you look hard enough, and the bright red from the tail light. I enjoy these pictures the best, closeups examining some detail of the object/person/place I am photographing. Let's see what tomorrow will bring for I am not heading out to too many places so perhaps something will spark my imagination. We shall see.

Let's go for a ride....

Day 15 - frosty spring

It was a cold and windy day yesterday. I was driving in Johnston on Hartford Ave when I noticed a state park on the right. I stopped on in for a quick look around since it was lunch time anyways. There is a couple ponds here with bridges, a walkway, and some trails that head off into the woods.

I headed over to a small waterfall that runs underneath the road and noticed this bright green moss. I thought it was such a great hint of the warmer weather to come, so I got a few shots from different angles in the sun and this shot here.

What I like about this shot is the contrast of colors and the idea of these too complete opposites in one shot. The cold ice of winter and the warm lush green of the moss. The shot is complete by the wooden branch that spans across the both almost as if it's joining them to one. The colors of the shot stand out with great contrast, as well as the different textures.

Groundhog day is just around the corner, are there 6 weeks of winter left ? Of course, but seeing this green makes me all the more hopeful for the springtime.

Day 14 - pizza party...

Well capturing the moments of the day really shine through in this picture. This is Abby, Michelle's best friend's daughter. Everyday Wednesday we head over to their house for a little get together. This time we were having pizza and someone was very happy to see us. Her brother was just as excited as well.

I tried a few different shots to get a good clear picture without using the flash, but with the indoor lighting of a chandelier alas I had to use the flash, so the overhead incandescent compensated enough to make give her a bluish tint .

I like the randomness of this shot, she wanted to just smile for her "uncle brian" and have a picture , but I waited until she started stuffing her face with pepperoni pizza. It might not be the clearest shot, but it's one of the cutest shots I've taken so far. It also breaks up the monotony of nature picture, vehicle, nature, food, although there is food in this one too.

Papa Gino's is still better than this one....

Day 13 - snow steps....

Sometimes I get ideas for a pictures, other times I get a sudden inspired shot. This is the case. I just got home from work, pulled into the driveway and noticed the light casting shadows up the hill with the footprints that my stepson had made. He just got some boots that allows him to walk in the snow without having his feet soaked, so he had to walk all over the yard to try them out.

After many tries of a good shot without blur, I only got a few that came out the way I liked them. Of course I could have run inside to grab my tripod, but I didn't feel like it at the time.

I think the shot came out decent. I like the feeling of the picture, it let's me know someone was there, made their mark, and continued on with their day. I think the lighting cast enough shadows to make the otherwise blanket of white look a bit interersting and create some texture and intrigue. In a month or so all of this may be gone and I'll have this image to remind me of that day someone took the path least followed and made their own way through the world...

Let's make snow angels next time...!!

Day 12 - red alert!

I came back to the parking lot at my office and there was a little commotion going on. An ambulance, police, and this fire truck parked alongside. I dont' know what was going on , there didn't seem to be any great urgency as I saw know firefighters or medics for the 5 to 10 minutes I stood around to take a few closeups of the vehicles.

A few people kept looking at me with my camera bag as I looked for the non walk-up shot. Perhaps they thought I was a newspaper photographer or soemthing. I sort of felt like one too at that point, the ever so eager journalist trying to get the scoop for the papers tragedy column. No Just some photos to document society.

I particularly enjoy the whole shot being only a portion of the fire engine. Yet just from this rear end you can see the whole picture, the emergency, the live saving fire hose, and the symbol of america, our flag. You know who and what all of this stands for from just a small piece of evidence.

I'm suddenly thirsty....

Day 11 - it's all in the lights...

Okay, I was out and about and took a few pictures here and there, but nothing seemed great, they seemed forced. This picture was taken inside of an Applebees. I really liked the colors of the lampshades and tried to line up the lights down the row for the shot, without much success.

So to avoid having yet another food shot in my photoblog so soon, I opted for this.

I don't like the shot that much due to the fact that I couldn't get it centered . Of course I can do after shot editing and put the picture however I want to, yet these are the original, unaltered shots. I do especially like the vibrant red of the lamp shade however and playing with the Shutter Speed I was able to capture the mood and lighting without to much blur or grain. So in that aspect I'm happy with it.

Let's do lunch...

Day 10 - pot luck.....

Okay, so this might not look like much. Well it's just a very filling and tasty chicken cacciatorie we had for an after Christmas get together.

Not getting outside on a day makes it a challenge for getting just the right shot for that day, so I'm working with what I got inside too.

I like the rich warm colors of the food, it makes me feel all warm and toasty inside. The counter surfaces may have ended up a bit washed out in the shot but they are not the essence of the picture, so I guess in this case it keeps the viewers eyes focused on the main catch.

Let's hope we have many more of these tasty meals this year. That's 2 food pictures this year so far.

Day 9 - What's in the bag ?

Okay, I've seen similar shots like this, so I decided for my own. Removing a newly purchased Stephen King book from a Barnes and Noble bag.

It looks as though i'm looking down further in the bag to see if I missed anything else that may be hiding in the depths.

Overall I like this image, and I only had to take a good 20 shots or so to get one that looked the way I wanted. I also want to include at least 1 picture a month that has me, the photographer included in it. Somedays the pictures need to be more improvised when my travels do not bring me anywhere special or inspiring. In these cases I can use even more imagination.

I'll let you know how the book is, when I finish!!

Day 8 - New Years Day Sushi!!!

What a nice way to start off the new year by having some sushi. New Years day we needed get some things done and pick up a few things at the store, so before that we headed off to Jackie's Galaxy in Cumberland. I don't eat sushi as often as I used to or would like to, so when I do I try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Front and center is some tobiko, surrounded by negihama maki, maguro, saba, suzuki, and a Boston maki. That may be all gibberish to you, but to me it's just delectable pieces of raw fish.

I like the nice contrast of colors in this photo. The bright oranges surrounded by contrasts of black and white and then subtle hue differences of reds and pinks. The picture is centered upon the favorite of the photographer, both in taste and color.

Day 7 - Snow Years Eve

The last day of the year and we get slammed with snow. This was the scene in Smithfield yesterday afternoon during the height of the snow storm.

I kept seeing the plow go by and thought I have to get a picture of this.

I like the way I have the photo full of the snow plow filling the entire frame and then some. It lets you wonder how much snow he really is pushing now being able to see the other end of the plow. It also lets you realize that this is one big plow, it takes up the whole road!

Happy New Year to everyone ! I hope this year brings lots of joy and excitement to everyone. This is how we ended the year in a fury, let's hope it starts off the same way with the economy and everything else going on today...