HDR

The following pictures were taken on 12/31/11, in the town of Cold Spring, NY (another little historic town along the Hudson River). 
With this very bizarre winter we're having (or more accurately, NOT having), the temperature approached 60 degrees, so it was a great day to shoot by the water.

These are all processed through Photomatix (HDR).

This was on the roof of a building at West Point. 

We were about a mile north and on the other side of the river.

911 Memorial

The following shots are from a 911 Memorial at the Kensico Plaza in White Plains, NY.  It is dedicated to the people from Westchester Cty, NY who lost their lives on that day:

Christopher was from Rye.  I didn't know him, as he was born the year I graduated from Rye High School.  He was on American Airlines Flight 11.

I met Ward on 9/8, just three days before the towers were hit.  I was introduced by a mutual friend at a Rye High School football game.  As we chatted and got to know each other a bit, he told me that he had just started a new job with a company located high up in one of the towers.  He said that he was terrified of heights.  When the news of the crash was reported, he was the first person I thought of.

I did not not know this person, but the epitaph, "-more than just a name", seemed to grab me by the throat.  so to Joseph, I dedicate this post.

This final picture is of the memorial itself.  It's called "The Rising" and was designed to resemble the piece of the building (South tower, I believe) that remained after it came down:

It's impossible to stand in front of this memorial and not be moved to one's very core.

On the Wing

As I've noted, I'm not a birder, but I caught this gull soaring about 50 feet over the Hudson River.  This is one of those "lucky" shots.  The bird was flying in my direction.  I shot this with one with my Canon 24-70mm and cropped it way down. 

The bird's body is dark, as the sun was above and to the left, but I just like the detail in the feathers.

Edith G. Reade Bird Sanctuary

A few weeks ago, I went back in time to my old home town of Rye NY.  I grew up directly across the street from Rye Playland, an historic amusement park located on the Long Island Sound.  Behind the park, there is a section of woods that has been set aside as a protected bird sanctuary.  I'm not a birder, plus I don't have the proper gear to effectively capture pics of the little fellers, but the area is loaded with great hiking (no bikes!) trails, and other wildlife abound.  Here are a few pics from the area:

Classic Cars

These classic american cars were prominently featured at the Chinese New Year parade

(go figure, maybe they were made in China?):

Chinese New Year

It's been a while since I've updated this page, so the time is ripe.  A few weeks, I ventured back to NYC with a few friends to shoot this year's Chinese New Year festivities.  Here are some pics from the day: