"The last spring," New Jersey, April 2011

Spring, finally, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I took this photo in the spring on my walk to the train. The tree in full bloom with the cloud-dusted sky and the church steeple -- not to mention the late-afternoon light -- just caught my eye. It was a beautiful sight, a wonderful opening to spring and the promise of the weather to come.

On my walk today, I neared the church and felt something was amiss ... and then I saw it. Or, rather, didn't see it. The tree; it's gone. It's the second tree from in front of the church that has disappeared since we moved to the block, the first one cut down after half of it was damaged in a wind storm. I hadn't noticed any recent problems with this one, so I hope it was some sort of hidden disease or another problem not noticeable to casual passers-by and not simply because someone didn't want it there anymore.

"Game 1 hero," Camden, New Jersey, August 2007

Game 1 hero, originally uploaded by NJ Baseball.

With Spring Training well under way and Opening Day now three weeks away, I've been enjoying all the baseball images popping up (as well as looking through some of my own). So when it came time to find a celebration, I thought back to some of the home-run high-fives I've captured over the years. This one was at Camden's Campbell's Field, where Matt DeMarco (center) won the first game of a doubleheader with a walk-off home run. Looking at the smile on his face, it may have been the first such home run of his life.

"The less talk, the better," Arizona, March 2010

The less talk, the better, originally uploaded by DC Products.

"There is a deeper thing to express — the return of humanity to some sort of balanced awareness of the natural things — some rocks and sky. We need a little earth to stand on and feel run through our fingers. Perhaps Photography can do this — I am going to try anyhow. -- Ansel Adams

Today is Ansel Adams' birthday; he would have been 109 if he were superhuman. I was drawn in from the moment I first saw one of his black-and-white prints taken at Yosemite, so I thought I'd take a moment to tip my hat to the man today. The combination of his photographs and the crisp, exciting action shots I saw in Sports Illustrated are what drew me to the hobby.

The header on this blog, of course, also recognizes Adams, and for this day, I went back to find a photo taken out West, one that might have been taken by Adams (though in black and white) had he stood where I stood. However, I stood in a parking lot -- making sure to step forward enough so that the pavement did not encroach upon the view, leaving the contrast between blue sky and white clouds against the red rock and green desert foliage to speak for itself.

And, once more, I'll let Adams speak for himself:

"I hesitate to define just what the qualities of a true wilderness experience are. Like music and art, wilderness can be defined only on its own terms. The less talk, the better."

"Offseason in Truro," Cape Cod, January 2011

Left behind, originally uploaded by DC Products.

As a vacation destination, Cape Cod gets its share of visitors from Memorial Day through Labor Day. But it's a different scene in the middle of winter. Cottages are boarded up, stores are closed for the season, roads are empty and the restaurants that are open are more than happy to see you.

Sometimes you just have to get away, and with a friend housesitting in the woods on the outer Cape this month, my wife and I were more than happy to visit her on a cold January weekend. The signs in front of these North Truro cottages said "See you in May!" and the beach was empty, the waves lapping at the steps that lead down to the water and the wind leaving the sand flat and undisturbed.

"Edie's, Little Silver," New Jersey, October 2010

Edie's, Little Silver, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I love this little luncheonette in my hometown. It's a nice little slice of suburbia. I wrote more about it here.

New Year's Eve timelapse

New Year's Eve timelapse, originally uploaded by DC Products.

For my second timelapse (here's the first), I set up my camera in a corner of the living room on New Year's Eve. My wife and I were in the Boston suburb of Milton, Mass., staying with my college roommate, Bryan, and his husband for their annual party. Casey and I have gone up for several years now, so it's become a great tradition we both enjoy.

My first thought was to set up the camera in the kitchen to document Casey's preparations for the party (it's her thing), but there was no out-of-the-way place to set up the tripod. This spot in the living room was the next-best thing, because it shows the path to the kitchen through the dining room and also contains the TV, where we all gathered at midnight.

The music for this version is Frightened Rabbit's "Extrasupervery," chosen for the simple fact that it was the only song on my computer that came close to the 87-second length of the video. All the rest of my music was on an external hard drive at home, and I didn't feel like shortening a different track. (When I posted the video to YouTube, I just went with one of the tracks available on that site.)