At the Minot Rose Garden

In Brazil

"Resting" will be featured in an article about pareidolia in the Brazilian science magazine Mundo Estranho (www.mundoestranho.com.br). Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon that finds recognizable forms in any natural manifestation, seeing images of animals or faces in clouds, the man in the moon, and hearing hidden messages on records played in reverse.

Photo Tip of The Month - September 2010

In this seascape photograph of the Maine rocky granite coast in Acadia National Park I was challenged by difficult lighting conditions due to the bright and misty ocean and the darker landscape scenery of the rocky coastline, cove and trees. I also was looking for an attractive silky ocean water effect and pattern in the incoming waves. I first metered on the coastline near the ocean edge but that provided too dark of a rocky coastline, cove and trees with limited detail in the trees and rock formation. On the other hand metering on the large tree provided decent detail in the granite rocks and trees but blew out the ocean leaving them washed out. As a solution I metered on the large tree that provided a correct exposure setting for the coastline area in the foreground with a slow enough shutter speed for a desired silky ocean water effect. Then I hand-held a 1 stop graduated neutral density filter in front of my lens, placing it near the edge of ocean and shoreline. Applying the 1 stop split neutral density filter reduced the incoming light on the ocean and dark rocks in the background to an amount that still showed enough detail, while the trees, cove and granite coastline in the foreground were correctly exposed for best impact.

From Wikipedia: A graduated neutral density filter is an optical filter that has a variable light transmission. Typically half of the filter is of neutral density (gray) which transitions, either abruptly or gradually, into the other half which is clear. It is used to bring an overly-bright part of a scene into the dynamic range of film or sensor. For example, it can be used to darken a bright sky so that both the sky and subject can be properly exposed.

At the Fruitland Museum

My wife and I had a fabulous day at the Fruitlands Museum in Harvard, MA where incredible tree figures by sculptor Joseph Wheelwright are on display along the beautiful Fruitlands Museum trails. Explore sculptures created from real trees - some over 25ft. high at the museum's location at:

102 Prospect Hill Road, Harvard, MA 01451

Visit http://www.fruitlands.org for more information and direction!

At the Minot Rose Garden

Marbled rose was captured in one of my favorite flower photography locations in Brookline, the Minot Rose Garden. It is just a 5 minute drive away from my home and you may find me there in the early morning hours during May and June. I especially enjoy exploring the garden after an early morning rain shower. This morning, the roses were lit by the beautiful morning sun while still covered in rain drops after a midnight shower. The sunlight had not reached the background of the particular marbled pink rose, leaving it in the shade and dark for the most part. All I had left to do was to compose a floral photographic image that left any distracting highlights in the background out of the frame. My photographic goal was to draw full attention only on the main subject of the pink rose. Additionally I decided to apply limited depth of field so I laid the focus on a section of attractive raindrop covered rose petals. A large aperture provided the intended limited depth of field and a polarizing filter enhanced color saturation and minimized reflections. Metering the sun-lit rose in combination with the large aperture setting granted a desired fast shutter speed that in return limited the light on the shadowed background, therefore further darkening the background. In the post-processing steps I removed any dust spots, minimally enhanced contrast and color saturation and lastly applied sharpening of the flower photograph.

At the 2010 Boston Arts Festival (ahts)

My landscape and flower photography was juried into the 2010 Boston Arts Festival (ahts) and is on display at the event. Last day of the festival in the beautiful and idyllic Christopher Columbus Park is tomorrow, Sunday - September 12, 2010. The Christopher Columbus Park is conveniently located between the Boston Aquarium and the North End on Boston's waterfront. It's a perfect location for a fun day outing in Boston. Feel free to stop by my booth for a chat and enjoy the visual and performing arts of Boston presented at the festival.

In Remembrance

In Remembrance and to never forget the men, women and children who lost their lives and the brave people who gave their lives, and the Heroes that responded to the emergency!

Beneath an Orange Sky

At Acadia National Park

At the 2010 Boston Arts Festival (ahts)

My landscape and flower photography was juried into the 2010 Boston Arts Festival (ahts) and will be displayed at the event. The arts festival will take place on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, September 10, 11, 12, 2010 in the beautiful and idyllic Christopher Columbus Park. The Christopher Columbus Park is conveniently located between the Boston Aquarium and the North End on Boston's waterfront. It's a perfect location for a fun day outing in Boston. Feel free to stop by my booth for a chat and enjoy the visual and performing arts of Boston presented at the festival.