MetroPlus

Waterfront Park

Winter White Plains Morn

Yonkers Raceway 2008

aka Empire City. More pics here.

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