29 March 2010: You Light Up My Life

The lights of Broadway...Broadway St in Saratoga Springs that is!

21 February 2010: Cazenovia Meet Up

The Syracuse Photographers Association had a meet up today in Cazenovia. Bill came with me to wander around and take some photos. Today's photos include a creepy clown, 2 blind mice and a headless debutante all found in the window displays in the village!

12 December 2009 Photo(s) & Video: An Nollaig

Bill and I went to see Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul in Geneva, NY. She is an AMAZING fiddle player as the nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion and original music star of Riverdance. We discovered her music about 4 years ago when I surprised Bill with tickets to see her at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA. We have seen her 4 or 5 times now and encourage anyone who likes Irish music, fiddle playing or just an all around high energy good time to go and experience her and the band. The lead singer is Tommy McDonnell and recorded and performed with "The Original Blues Brothers Band". They are so fun and really know how to get the crowd going. There were people there from 8 - 80 and everyone had their toes tapping and their hands clapping.

You can see more about her and her band here: http://www.eileenivers.com/index.html and see more about her story as told by Sunday Morning news show here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW9Jqsrj8xo

Below is a short video I took to give you a taste of the show we saw in Geneva. Yes I know the video flips toward the end...sorry. What do you want, I'm a photographer, not a videographer! :)

15 November 2009 Photo: The Ugly Duckling

Since I am a shut in these days, I have to rely on Bill to take me out for rides. I almost went rogue and drove myself - is it illegal to drive with a cast? Yeah, yeah, I know it would not be brightest thing I have done. Well, I behaved and waited for him to take me. Today we went to a neighboring town and found this lone swan chillin' in the pond. Seeing beautiful swans always reminds me of The Ugly Duckling story by Hans Christian Andersen.

7 November 2009 Photo(s): Glowing

We took a ride to Onondaga Lake Park just as the sun was going down. Despite the fact that Onondaga Lake was the most polluted lake in the United States, it is still pretty to look at; however, I wouldn't do much more than look or you may come out glowing. To see a bit about the history of Onondage Lake, check out this website: http://www.upstatefreshwater.org/html/onondaga_lake.html

10 October 2009 Photo(s): I Don't Know Art...But I Know What I Like

Bill and I were driving down to Ithaca today to visit friends. I decided to veer off our usual route and head down the back roads hoping for some good foliage shots. However, I was more surprised when I saw this interesting sculpture garden on the side of the road. There was metal work, wood work and paintings in the old barn in Little York, NY. If you are ever in the area of Cortland, NY stop by and check it out http://www.ferroart.com/index.html. We found several sculptures that would be fun to have, above are a few photos of the art.

21 September 2009 Photo: Partly Foggy Chance Of Glowing

I had a beautiful drive from NY to MA as the sun was rising through the fog. The glowing disc was eclipsed by the thick fog and made the sky glow. I don't love this photo but with 5 hours of driving and 7 hours of meetings/fairs I didn't have a whole lot of time to shoot.

4 September 2009 Photo(s): Moonset...Sunrise

My long drive home today was made less painful because of the amazing full moon setting over the Adirondacks as the sun was rising over the Green Mountains. It was just magical as the mist hovered just about the ground and the darkness turned to light. The views as I crossed Lake Champlain on the ferry were breathtaking. I wish every morning could start like this one!

1 September 2009 Photo: Smooth As Glass

Today marks a couple things...my first day back out on the road for work and beginning my 9th month of doing this blog. As I was driving to Vermont, I drove through the Adirondack State Park and found this serene scene along the way. It was just so peaceful since no one was out and about yet and I had it all to myself!

16 August 2009 Photo(s): Fields Of Gold

I went to the sunflower fields in Camillus again this year. I went several times last year when they had the sunflower maze. This year, since there has been so much rain and less sun, the flowers did not get as tall so I think they decided just to have these amazing fields of gold. They were still gorgeous but not quite as tall as last year and no maze. But if you are looking for a cool place to see thousands of sunflowers, the Veterans Memorial Park in Camillus is the place to go. It is free to park and walk around and the flowers are at their peak right now.

15 August 2009 Photo(s): Photo Group Outing

Today I went on my first outing with the the Syracuse Photographers Association, a group I joined last month on www.meetup.com. It is a very active group of local photographers (some pros and some hobby photogs). The online connections were great but it was wonderful to meet people who are also obsessed with photography.

Today we went to the Seward House in Auburn, NY. It is a great museum of a house built in 1816 (just around the time our house was built). It is like stepping back in time to see the antique furniture and collections. You can check out more info here: http://www.sewardhouse.org/house/

The first 2 images are from the house and the last one is from an old abandoned factory I passed on the way home.

4 February 2009 Photo: Hangin' With The Ponies

I have been in the Saratoga Springs area for the last couple of days. As a friend said...it's better to be hangin' with the ponies than swimmin' with the fishes.

Saratoga is a quaint little town with a lot of character, beautiful old houses and, of course, the Saratoga Race Track. I always seem to be here in the winter but will have to come through in the summer as it looks like a great place to spend a weekend. I saw one of the best concerts of my life at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center about 10 or 12 years ago. It was Melissa Etheridge and she was amazing! There are also several lakes close by that would be great to check out as well. It's on the list!

29 January 2009 Photo: Champ the Lake Monster

On my way home today, I took the ferry across Lake Champlain. It is something that I have done several times over the last few years and it never gets boring. I love seeing the Adirondacks on one side and the Green Mountains on the other side. Since it is the dead of winter, the lake is frozen. While I prefer this trip in the fall when the colors are vibrant, the winter is pretty cool too.

My friend Brad was also on his way to NY so I convinced him to go on the ferry as well. As we hit the ice and watched it/heard it crack, Brad asked..."Haven't these people ever seen the movie, Titanic?" Ha! I gave him a lesson on Champ, The Lake Monster. If look close at this picture, you can almost see Champ lurking in the deep dark icy waters, can't you? If you can't, maybe Champ is visiting his cousin Nessie over in Scotland for the winter.