17 July 2010: Music In The Square

As we were driving home from the movies, I wanted to drive through downtown to see if there were any cool pictures that jumped out at me. To our surprise, we found some music being played in Armory Square. Syracuse can be a gritty city but tonight Bill commented that this made it feel like a small town seeing all the people hanging out in the square listening to some jazz.

We also found one of the old cars that are in town for the Syracuse Nationals at the Fair Grounds. There are thousands of antique cars wandering about this weekend as they show off their "babies" that they lovingly restored.

11 July 2010: Dino-Myte

It seems like the only time we go to Dinosaur BBQ is when there are friends or family visiting!

1 June 2010: A Rose By Any Other Name...

I have lived in the Syracuse area for nearly 6 years and it is nights like to tonight that I realize how little I know about the city. I visited the Mills Rose Garden with a couple of people tonight and was just in awe of the beauty, the fragrance and the variety of roses. I spent nearly 2 hours here photographing, smelling and just enjoying the garden. It is now one of my new favorite places in Syracuse! Check it out if you are ever in the area: http://www.syracuserosesociety.org/id11.html

29 April 2010: A Living Legend

Bill and I went to see Annie Leibovitz tonight at the Syracuse University Lecture Series. She has a niece that is a student at SU so she was instrumental in bringing her there. She is an amazing photographer with some of the most iconic photos of rock stars...celebreties...royalty. Check out some of her iconic photos (the most famous ones being John Lennon and Yoko Ono Rolling Stone Cover and a naked pregnant Demi Moore). However, she is not a great speaker. She seemed to stumble a lot over her words but there were several nuggets where she seemed to let her guard down and engage the audience. That being said, I am glad I had a chance to see her and hear her speak about her work. Bill bought me one of her books which we stood in line to get signed - she seemed a bit more relaxed when she was not speaking to a standing room only audience.

22 April 2010: Ten Thousand Hours

I went up to Syracuse University tonight to see a lecture by professional photographer, Stephen Wilkes. He was phenomenal and his work was quite amazing. My favorite was the Ellis Island series he did: http://www.ellisislandghosts.com/ Check out his work, he is truly a master of this craft. He said something during the lecture that I have heard/read several times before but it reminds me how long it takes to really be "an expert". He said you have to do something for at least 10,000 hours to master it. I have many more hours to go!

20 March 2010: The Salt City

It was another beautiful day on this first day of spring. We took a ride out to Onondaga Lake Park for a short walk and a few pictures. Syracuse is (or was) known as the Salt City. Back in the day the salt industry created the City of Syracuse and supplied the entire nation with salt!

13 February 2010: A Little Chilly for Chili

Bill and I took a ride downtown to check out the Syracuse Winterfest. The only thing really going on today was the chili cook-off. We tried most of them and I have to say, most were very UNDERwhelming! We also met the abominable snowman - at least I think that's what he was but who knows. We didn't hang around for too long as it was a little too chilly...even for chili! Next Saturday is the human "dog"sled race. I am sure it will be a bunch of drunk SU students competing but we'll see!

23 January 2010: AFLAC

I went and met up with a bunch of the members from the Syracuse Photographers Association today at Websters Pond. Apparently these ducks and geese didn't fly south either.

The first one reminds me of the AFLAC duck and the second one - well... A duck walks into a pharmacy, and asks for Chapstick. The cashier says, "Cash or check?" and the duck says, "Just put it on my bill."

5 January 2010: Only A Foot(ish)

Apparently Syracuse and Fulton, NY have been mentioned several times on The Today Show and I have had a few people contact me asking if we were buried in snow. Luckily I live about 20 minutes south of Syracuse which is 30 minutes south of Fulton. Fulton has gotten about 4 feet of snow, Syracuse about 2 feet and here in Jamesville...ONLY a foot.

Luckily we have good and plenitful snow plow drivers so our roads are clear and there has not been a run on milk and bread at the grocery store. We are working on day NINE of snow...luckily it is the light fluffy lake effect snow. The kind that does not accumulate quickly and come down even when the sun is out!

24 July 2009 Photo: I Spy With My Little Eye

Reflections of the way life used to be in downtown Syracuse.

19 June 2009 Photo(s): Jurassic Park

Both Bill and I have family visiting from out of town. And what do any good folks living in the Syracuse area do with their guests??? We bring them to Dinosaur BBQ of course. Dinosaur was recently named the #1 BBQ in the country as decided by a poll done by Good Morning America. I am sure there is better BBQ but they didn't get the votes. If you haven't been, find one of the three around NY state (Syracuse, Rochester and NYC) and get your own Big Ass Pork Plate! http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

6 June 2009 Photo: Baker Man

Today was an early day at the Regional Farmer's Market in Syracuse. We were up and at the market by 6:30 AM. It is much more manageable at that time because it becomes a zoo by 7:30. No traffic, no problem parking and first choice of all the "good stuff". We bought a ton of flowers, some veggies and the first local strawberries of the season. I am so excited for strawberry picking to begin! While I didn't buy any of this baker's bread today, it did look yummy! I love farmer's markets and frequent them weekly during the spring/summer. While I enjoy the quaintness and location of the Ithaca Farmer's Market, this one is much bigger with great local produce and wonderful vendors.

5 June 2009 Photo(s): Tasting Syracuse

Bill and I went to the Taste of Syracuse tonight. It is an opportunity for local restaurants to do dollar tastings and listen to some bands. It is nice because you get to try a little bit of a bunch of stuff...sort of like tapas. We had Jamaican beef patties, chicken riggies, empanadas, Thai shrimp, gumbo, and some other things I don't recall.

There were tons of kids wandering about and I captured this little one hanging out in front of the Federal Building dreaming about being a secret agent man. Sorry kid, I don't think those red crocs are stand issue for the FBI!

12 April 2009 Photo: Peep Show

OK so this is not the best example of photography, but I could not let the yearly CNY Diorama Contest go by without a shout out to the Peeps. I look forward to this every year, well it's only the third year running but still I wait with anticipation. It brings me back to my childhood when making dioramas was the best class project ever and I was good at it!

This year's winner in Syracuse was call St Baldpeeps Day which was based on St Baldrick's Foundation. St Baldrick's Foundation (http://www.stbaldricks.org/) is an organization to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer. It's great cause with events that run all over the country. Check it out!

And if you want to see more Peeporamas check out these websites:
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/plenty_of_peeps_try_out_for_20.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903818.html

Happy Easter to you and yours! Thanks Easter Bunny...BOCK BOCK!

17 March 2009 Photo(s): May The Road Rise Up To Meet You

Happy St Patrick's Day! In honor of the day, I took a ride up to Tipperary Hill in Syracuse "where the green is always on top." Do you notice something odd about the traffic lights below? In Tipp Hill Coleman's Irish Pub had a crowd of people drinking their green beer and enjoying the holiday.

While I am not Irish at all, my husband ONLY claims his Irish heritage so I guess that is enough for both of us. He LOVES all things Irish and Celtic and would move to Ireland if he could. My first trip to Ireland was with him because he wanted to show me his favorite place on earth and is now one of my favorite!

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

16 March 2009 Photo: No Bull

Another old abondoned building in Syracuse. Can you tell I am home this week and not traveling for work? This one is also downtown and would be a great place to renovate into industrial lofts. If you have some money to invest...call them! It's No Bull! :)

15 March 2009 Photo: Beware The Ides of March (or Dog)

With the beautiful weather, it has been nice to wander around the area and see parts of Syracuse that I have not ventured to in the past. Unfortunately the city has had a lot of industry and business leave the area in the last decade. There are many abandoned buildings which are not very attractive but do make for some interesting pictures.

14 March 2009 Photo(s): Luck of the Irish

Followed by yesterday luck of the orange, we went to the St. Paddy's Day Parade today. According to Wikipedia, "In the city of Syracuse, Saint Patrick's celebrations are traditionally begun with the delivery of green beer to Coleman's Irish Pub on the first Sunday of March. Coleman's is located in the Tipperary Hill section of the city. Tipperary Hill is home to the World famous "Green-on-Top" Traffic Light and is historically the Irish section in Syracuse. Saint Patrick's Day is rung in at midnight with the painting of a Shamrock under the Green-Over-Red traffic light. Syracuse boasts the largest St. Patrick's day celebration per-capita in the United States with their annual Syracuse St. Patrick's Parade."

The first photo is of one of my favorite buildings in downtown Syracuse. The art deco Niagara Mohawk building is an icon in the area. The balloon was escaping from a child's hand as I was snapping pictures. And the photo below was one of my favorite marchers in the parade...

13 March 2009 Photo: The Luck of the Orange

It is another month with a Friday the 13th but again in Central NY, it was not an unlucky day. The Syracuse Orange basketball team won in the wee hours of the morning on Friday the Thirteenth.  It took over 4 hours and 6 (SIX) overtime periods for the Orange to beat UCONN and to continue their dance to the Madness.  Get your brackets ready and start your trash talking!  Today's pictures was taken this morning on my way to the gym.  The Carrier Dome is the home court of our local team and with St Patty's Day approaching, Syracuse is celebrating the Luck of the Orange.