MetroPlus

Scarsdale Reds

Since Oct. 24, 2005 I've been shooting in Raw (Raw+Jpeg actually). I decided to do this after last years PhotoPlus exhibit at the Javits Center and saw all the wonderful things that could be done with Camera Raw and converting to DNG. I've been pleased with the results so far and generally I just tweak the auto setting that Camera Raw makes. For the most part Camera Raw tends to brighten too much and not add enough contrast and flattens the shadows. With some adjustments the results are better than the Jpegs that accompany each shot. But todays post I just couldn't get the right balances to show the colors that I'd capture. The Jpegs though were spot on. I'll have to examine the jpegs more thoroughly from now on. Working with them saves steps and time.

Along the Croton Reservoir

Bx River Stroll

Its still early fall in New York. The colors have just started but the cool and crisp air makes you want to be outdoors as much as possible. Freak storms like the one in Buffalo make you appreciate these days even more.

Execution Rock

I've been asked how I get out to David Island and while I'd like to say its on this $4.5 million, 85 foot beauty, its on the beach skiff I dug out of the archives. The yacht pictured here takes an hour and a half to fill up at $7,000 a tankful.

Execution Rock is located on the Long Island Sound off of Sands Point. During the 18th Century, legend has it, that condemned prisoners were tied up there and left to drown and became a rallying point for the Revolutionary War. Its also a regular stop on my once a year route. The water tower is on David Island on our way out to Execution Rock

David Island 4

David Island 3

Over the past two years I've made several trips to David Island and each time I find fascinating new areas to explore. For the last year or so archealogist and geologist have been studying the island and have made inroads through the thick growth that has taken over. I also learn something each time. Like not only did David Island serve as a POW camp for Confederate soldiers but during the Cold War between 1955 and 1961, the island served as the control center for the Fort Slocum Nike Missile system protecting NYC from the armageddon. The launchers were located on Hart Island. I always suspected and wondered if there was such a system in place. My youthful imagination always led me to think that some secret skyscraper was really a missile protecting the Big Apple.

Yonkers View

Rye Beach 1

Rye Beach also known as Rye Playland is located on the Long Island Sound in New York. Built in 1928, it has the distinction of being the first totally planned and government owned amusement park. Its a prototype of today's theme parks. It also has a pool, boardwalk, lake, boating and a pier which makes it the favorite destination of High School boat trips.

RGBW

Leonard Park

On one of my many mile days I got to enjoy a beautiful Spring day at Leonard Park in Mount Kisco and the daffodils of Ossining's Town Square. Leonard Park is just a small park in Mount Kisco which is one of the municipalities of Westchester County. If you are not familiar with this county, it is a mostly affluent suburban county just north of NYC. Westchester is dotted throughout with these kinds of parks surrounding small manmade ponds. Usually a playground and some baseball fields are attached to them.

Aw C'mon

Though they've been predicting it all week, I'm really not in the mood.

Eastchester Metro North

I was surprised to find theses grafs on the back of a Metro North structure along the Bronx River Parkway.

Dead or Alive

Cold Duck on Bronx River

With the temperature staying below freezing none of the snow from last Friday has dissappeared and these ducks, in Tuckahoe, seem to be the only ones enjoying themselves.

Fake Snowmen

Cool

Uncool

Very Cool

Lenore Skenazy had it so right in Wednesday's Daily News.

Raw Fall

After the PhotoPlus expo I came to two decisions. One was that I was going to start shooting in RAW and the other was that I was going to start using Adobe CS2 and Bridge the way they were meant to be used. The reasons were simple. The demos at the expo showed me how well they can be utilized to streamline workflow and organize all my shots. My collection has grown to the point where I simply cannot remember where everything is and so I need a better system. Needless to say the process has been slow and painful. Learning how to manipulate RAW files and convert them for web use was daunting enough (I knew absolutely nothing about it). Thank you Bruce Fraser for your marvelous tome CAMERA RAW. Please be patient while I build up to speed on the workflow and hope to be back in the full swing shortly.

Tarrytown Reservoir

I used the Photomerge feature on CS2 today.  Its really simple.  I used two photos to make one panoramic.  I really wasn't careful with taking the shots with this in mind but the option still did a pretty good job.  Now if I can only figure out how to display it in a larger format on my blog.  If you click on the image its suppose to gives you a popup that shows you a full size image but as of now it just shows you a slightly larger version.

The reservoir is next to the Rockerfeller Estate and is just starting to show a little color.  There's a one mile paved walk along the south side that is perfect for a non taxing stroll and a little bird watching.

Update: You can view a larger version at my flick site here.

 

Fall Light

Fire Island 2005

Rescheduling vacations can be harrowing. We usually hit Cherry Grove the first week in August which in five years has always been perfect weather wise. Circumstances forced us to make it the last week in August but as fate would have it we had to change one more time to the 3rd week. Lucky for us the weather was perfect and we missed Katrina's backlash. [unrelated: I enjoy posting street art on this website but the absolute master at it is Jake Dobkin. With sponsorship from the Wooster Collective and The Gothamist, Jake and Eliot have launched a new website dedicated to street art. Check it out Streetsy.

Sailor's Delight

To beat the heat Beloved and I decided to take in the free Jazz concert at Dobbs Ferry Hudson Park.  Unfortunately the cool front that broke the recent heat wave brought heavy rains with thunder and lightening, scaring away the less hearty and forcing the musicians indoors.   The sun managed to make an appearance just before sunset and offered up this spectacular red sky.  I hope these shots do it justice.

Woodstock

One of the first things native Woodstockians let you know is that the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969 didn't happen there.  That it happpened in Bethel, NY seems very important to them.  Yet the towns commercial strip leans heavy on the Three days of Peace and Music. The town has become a cultural center in the Hudson Valley. There are several great art, photo and music galleries neatly tucked into this bucolic village.

Esopus Lighthouse

The Esopus Lighthouse is the last wooden lighthouse on the Hudson river. Efforts to restore and preserve this landmark are underway at The Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission. The river runs shallow and lazy through this part of the Hudson Valley. A few Sea Bass are still straggling behind and occassionally you can see them leap full body out of the water. Some of the oldtimers tell me that as youngins they could walk to the lighthouse at low tide.

David Island 2

It was a wet and cold and miserable day on David Island. But duty called and we were in search of some enviromental hazzards. Luckily we found none on the Island. We made the trip in that beach landing boat in the first David Island post. For some more shots of the Island visit Joe's Pictures.

David Island

During the Civil War David Island was used as a POW camp for confederate soldiers. The were left alone and left to fend for themselves as long as they didn't try to escape.

Peekskill

Peekskill is the Gateway to the Hudson Valley. Its history dates back to 1600 when Jan Peeck established a trading post on the Annesville Creek. It is in the midst of a small revival after years of decline. And as with the other towns along the Hudson the rebuilding of the Metro station and park land on the river are key to that end.

White 2

No Saffron tonight.

Ulster County 2

Perrines Bridge is one of the few covered bridges left in NY and is  located on the Wallkill River.   The shots with the ice fllow are of the Roundout Creek which flows past Rosendale which is on the left in the 8th shot.

Ulster County 1

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Shots along Route 213 in Ulster County, Wallkill River and the Railway Trail in Rosendale.

Yonkers Raceway

One of Yonkers more famous attractions is Yonkers Raceway.  It is a half mile horse track that features harness racing.  The track is in poor condition, but has reached an agreement with the Standardbred Owners Association to renovate the track and bring in video gaming machines.  Racing and simulcast betting go on all year long but crowds are small and while walking around it almost looked abandoned.  On a technical note:  sundown probably wasn't the best time to shoot this series. I might redo this location at different times.

Ridges

Here are two ways to make use of of a ridge.  The first is in Yonkers.  The rest are at the River Ridge Riding Stables in Eastchester.  They are separated by less than 3 miles

Philip Morris Krafts General Foods

This massive structure in Rye Brook befits the size of the mega corporation that built it. I remember when it was being constructed, thinking that it might be a secret missle silo. A lot a construction went on before progress was made above ground level. The lake is also man made. The rear is an unimaginative block of what looks like aluminum siding. It was too bright with all the snow and most of my shots came out washed out. Completed in 1983 it marked the beginning of large corporations (IBM, Pepsi) leaving the City. The other shots were taken today in White Plains on a very overcast day.

Ice Blue

Sunset at Tappan Zee.  Even though there was very little wind, any exposed skin instantly turned the same color as the ice.

Scarsdale

At first glance this tiny hamlet along the MetroNorth corridor seems like all the other stops along the way, Tuckahoe, Hartsdale, Bronxville. But a short stroll around the center of town and you know your definitely not in Kansas any more. The price on second real estate shot is $1,195,000.00 and its not much to look at. The wild life is plentiful... foxes and minks have the run of the town.

Phonecia

If your'e ever in Phonecia you must stop at Sweet Sue's for breakfast. The pancakes are to die for. I don't care what kind of diet you are on, its worth cheating for a day. You can enjoy this delight all year round since this area is so multiseasonal. Belleayre Mountain Lodge is a great ski place. It's as challenging as Hunter but not as crowded and the intermediates are fun. During the summer there's tubing on the Esopus and world class trout fishing. The Fall is exquisite and inspires an art community that second to none.

Boiceville

Along route 28 near Phonecia I came across The Fabulous Furniture Store that reminded me a lot of Socrates Sculpture Park. Steve Heller designs great, custom one of a kind furniture from hardwoods and car parts. Outside of his store are sculptures made from car parts. Space travel and prehistory seem to be the theme and you definitely feel as if you left the planet while your'e there.

Hartsdale

Ann's Way is a little walking park around a tiny pond next to a 5 tennis court complex with its own unnumbered exit off the Bronx River Parkway.  Its also a shortcut to the Metro North Train Station.  Icy rain and light snow followed by 60 degree temps made for some heavy fog.  It was difficult keeping the D70 dry.

White

Tucked away in a corner of Westchester these buildings have always intrigued me.  I don't know what they do there.  There are few employees and most of the space looks abandoned.  The Life Center with its tunnel like entrances kind of reminds me of raptor pens

Random

Weather and lack of UV rays have played havoc with my shooting schedule. So I'm posting some loose and randam shots. Bronx, Yonkers, Manhattan.

Davenport Park, New Rochelle

This day's route started in Mount Vernon and then onto New Rochelle.  The Long Island Sound side of Westchester is dotted with all these little parks and beaches; all properly groomed and maintained.  Davenport is pretty plain, just a huge lawn with a walking path all around it that leads you past the water.  Still its a nice place to catch some rays and watch the sunset.

Sheer Numbers

I started my day in White Plains with the usual grande cup and upon returning to my vehicle I could swear I was being watched.  Holy Alfred Hitchcock!!!  So it was one of those days and the only theme that came through my shooting was Vast  Numbers; of pigeons, leaves and boats.  And as it turns out shots.  I'll cut  the number of Post to 2 until this one passes through.  The leaves are in Ryebrook where  the Central American Labor Force is doing its seasonal thing.  While my brothers labored intensively, I was sweating it out taking readings along this stream in Rye and waterway in Portchester.  Its a tough job but somebody's got to do it.

Bronxville

Bronxville is an affluent suburb whose heart lies closer to Manhattan than the 25 minute commute to Grand Central Station would suggest.  It was developed by William Van Duser Lawrence, a millionaire who built posh homes and sold them to people he knew.  This little strip of shoppes adjacent the High School is as high a traffic area as midtown during the day.  The last shot is a nod to Overshadow and his excellent series Available.

Windy Friday

These were my first shots of the day on Friday. So these last 3 post are in reverse order. I like Glen Island the best. I think I got more familiar with the camera and didn't fall in love with the wide angle as much. Wide angle can be addictive.  The clouds, wind and autumn light make for some beautiful skies.  Croton, Buchanan from Peekskill, back to Croton and then Ossining is the route

Hudson Park, New Rochelle

Friday was a very windy day and it was also one those days that I covered over a hundred miles.  I gravitated towards the water and went crazy with a gig card in the D70.  Croton-on-the-Hudson, Peekskill and New Rochelle on the Long Island Sound side of Westchester were my targets.  Tommorrow will be the last post of Windy Friday.