'Just had to be different,' Texas, June 2013

Just had to be different, originally uploaded by DC Products.

It's been a while. I had kind of lost my mojo when it comes to posting photos -- and then even to taking photos. I rarely took my camera out anymore, unless I was shooting a minor league baseball game. The seven-year-old Konica Minolta had some issues, and the photos needed quite a bit of work before they were good enough for posting.

But then, my 300mm zoom lens wouldn't focus anymore. The autofocus seemed broken, and then the manual focus wouldn't go past a certain point. It was time -- so a few weeks ago, I upgraded to a Canon 60D, literally a day before leaving on a short vacation to Austin, Texas.

And just like that, I fell in love again with photography and started carrying my camera with me just about everywhere -- like on short car trips or to work. I took half an hour one afternoon to drive to the Great Falls in Paterson, N.J., because I'd read that they were flowing at high capacity after so much rain. I'm having fun again.

And so it's time to get back into some of the weekly challenges I used to enjoy. For this one -- flowers in the field -- I'm using one of those Austin shots. But soon I hope to use the challenges as inspiration to go out and find something to fit the theme.

To new adventures ...

"Brothers Under the Bridge," Pittsburgh, September 2011

Between the bridge towers, originally uploaded by DC Products.

I didn't post much on the blog in 2011, but I still wanted to choose a best shot from the year. With two trips to Pittsburgh, and this concert capping a wonderful sixth anniversary day, I decided to go with it.

My gracious, giving and loving wife allowed me to spend part of my anniversary at the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh football game with three college friends. Afterward, we reconvened downtown (my three friends and one of their wives joining us) for appetizers and drinks before crossing back over the river for a Reds-Pirates game. The night ended with a postgame Steve Miller Band concert, which led to this shot.

Another great year.

New Year's Eve timelapse 2.0

I'm not about to attempt another year of photographs each day like I did in 2009, I would like to get back to posting here more. One way I hope to do that is to simply post one photo -- at least -- from each excursion, adventure, trip or day of shooting. Simply put: If I take a picture on any particular day, then I'll post it. If I shoot many, I'll pick one. That should help to inspire me.

And so we begin with one of the 800+ shots from my second (annual?) New Year's Eve timelapse. Again, we were visiting my former college roommate in the Boston suburbs, and I set up the camera and timer in the living room, but chose a different vantage point to get more faces as people sat on the couch and faced the TV. It was also a bit more inconspicuous -- instead of on a tripod in a corner, it was on the top shelf (a cubby hole, really) of a bookcase in a different corner. I'll have to come up with something new for next year. This shot came just a couple minutes before midnight.

"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.)

2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

2010 Winter Solstice Eclipse

It's not the best shot we'll see of tonight's eclipse, it's not going to win any awards and it's not going to make it onto Gothamist (is NJ eligible anyway?). But it was worth 20 minutes of standing on the sidewalk in front of the house for 20 minutes, fingers going numb, eyes watering, wind cutting through my jeans. We had a perfectly clear night for the event, which is no guarantee (sorry, Midwesterners). This chance might not come again and I was awake anyway, so why not take advantage?

Christmas lights time-lapse, December 2010

Christmas lights time-lapse, originally uploaded by DC Products.

My first time-lapse! I've been dying to try this and decided that putting up the Christmas lights was as good a subject as any. Now I'm hooked.

It's 729 frames, at 2 seconds per exposure, taken every 10 seconds and put together at 18 frames per second. I doubled up (by 10) on a few frames (you'll notice them) for the heck of it.

But here's the lesson to learn: Be sure to check your photo applications thoroughly before buying software. I missed that Picasa -- the awesome free photo editing software -- has a "time lapse" setting in its movie maker and it allows for several speeds of frames per second. So I went and bought QuickTime Pro, which wasn't as flexible (or as easy to add music to). It was a not-cheap (but not outrageous) $30 (anything more and I wouldn't have bought it; if only it were $35). Oh well. Just gonna have to sell some things on eBay.

At least I'm happy with the end result.

"Daybreak on the reservation," Arizona/Utah, March 2010

Daybreak on the reservation

I'm not sure I've experienced a place any more peaceful and spectacular as Monument Valley at daybreak.

"Blue room," New York, December 2009

The blue room

It's not like I have any shortage of images to fit a blue theme, but as I searched through the images, this one stuck out -- just as it did when I first saw it in the West Village.

And no, I never did get to see Nicole Kidman's bare behind on Broadway, even though that was back when I loved going to plays and musicals with movie stars in them.

"In the Utah sky," Arches National Park, March 2010

Worth the walk

The beauty of Delicate Arch explains nothing, for each thing in its way, when true to its own character, is equally beautiful. ... If Delicate Arch has any significance it lies, I will venture, in the power of the odd and unexpected to startle the senses and surprise the mind out of their ruts of habit, to compel us into a reawakened awareness of the wonderful — that which is full of wonder.

-- Edward Abbey, "Cliffrose and Bayonets," Desert Solitaire

The walk to Delicate Arch takes you up into the higher elevations of Arches National Park and when you reach the formation, the adjacent canyon gives you the feeling of being high in the sky.

"Keeping cool," Hudson Valley, July 2006

The staff of the Hudson Valley Renegades ensures that their unofficial mascot stays cool on a hot day as they give the fans some brief relief.

"Peaks, valleys and the like," Colorado, May 2006

Peaks, valleys and the like

It's hard not to take a good photograph in the West. But sometimes it helps to mix up the views with a vertical landscape.

"Josh on guitar," Maine, July 2009

Josh on guitar

Good summer fun: Rafting the Penobscot by day, sitting around the campfire that night.

"Disappearing Endeavor," March 2008

Disappearing Endeavor

I've posted this photo before, but considering that I've let this blog slide a bit of late (a little over a month, sadly), I thought it was worth reposting the image now that it was selected for a New York Times gallery of reader-submitted photos. It's only 12 images of shuttle launches -- no contest or prize or anything -- but cool nonetheless. Not bad for my one and only launch and a less-than-ideal viewing point and low cloud cover. Not my best night shot, either, but considering the timing, I'm happy to include it.

"Empire o'lantern," New York, October 2009

Empire o'lantern

Every block seems to contain a symbol of New York, especially those that include a view of the Empire State Building.

"At the bottom of a glass," New York, November 2009

At the bottom of a glass

As much as I loved the theme "macro without bugs or flowers," I sometimes fall victim to the cliche myself. But even if the assignment had simply been "macro," I would've avoided the floral or insect options.

In any case, the distorted Blue Smoke coaster beneath the glass -- in this case beer, but it could easily be bourbon, among other choices -- is inviting. And tempting.