Photography

Photos and photography

2 New Albums – Fort Miles and Lewes, DE

I just uploaded two new albums to the Photos section. They may not be as glamorous or stunning as photos of Alaska or Las Vegas, but some of the photos hold a special interest due to a tie to my family. While visiting a friend in Lewes, DE, we took some time to explore downtown Lewes including the waterfront and a historic churchyard cemetery. Those photos can be found in the Lewes album.

We also visited Fort Miles, a historic Army base at in what is now Cape Henlopen State Park. The fort consists of 15 observation towers (11 in Delaware, 4 in New Jersey), 10 gun batteries and other support structures such as barracks, etc. It was built during World War II to defend the mouth of the Delaware Bay from German ships and u-boats that might want to do harm to the vital ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia.

This facility holds a special interest for me because the people who assesed incoming vessels and decided whether the Army should blow them out of the water were US Navy sailors. One of those sailors on watch in Fire Control Tower #9 was my grandfather. While visiting Cape Henlopen we were lucky enough to be there on a day when the facilities were open for tours. We climbed tower #7 and toured gun battery 519. We also watched as renactors acted out a battle with the Germans that thankfully never really took place at Fort Miles. These photos can be found in the Fort Miles album.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Las Vegas Photos Now Online

Bellagio FountainsWhen you think of Las Vegas, you usually think of gambling, drinking and general debauchery. Before heading there for a long weekend, I researched and found some fun things to do that didn’t involve getting drunk and passing out in the Bellagio fountains. It was supposed to rain on Saturday and Sunday so we ran around on Thursday night and Friday trying to do as much as possible. The only rain (and a little snow) that we got was during the night, but it’s a good thing we got an early start because we barely finished my checklist of places to see before it was time to fly home on Monday!

My photos from the trip are now online in the Photos section of the site.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Fire and Ice Festival Photos Posted

Dog Sledding DemoI just posted the photos that I took at the Mount Holly Fire and Ice Festival. It’s a ice carving competition and chili cook-off. This year is was nice and cold and there was even snow on the ground which made it even more fun than the last time I went four years ago. Check out the photos here.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Alaska Photos

Denali National ParkAt long last, I’ve posted the photos from my trip to Alaska. For those of you who don’t know, I spent a week travelling by cruise ship from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK followed by a week on land ending up in Fairbanks, AK. Some of our stops included Ketchikan, Juneau, Hoonah, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali National Park and Ruth Glacier. We also spent Canada Day in vancouver prior to leaving and spent one day in Seattle, WA on the way home.

I took over 4,700 photos. Of those, I kept 1,300. About 600 are posted on my website. Click here to view them. I hope you enjoy looking at them a much as I enjoyed taking them!

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Alaska photos coming soon

I know everyone is wondering why no one has seen my photos from my 2 week trip to Alaska. Well, they’re coming soon. However, I was home from Alaska for barely a day before leaving again for Norfolk for work. When I got back last week, I started working on them. This Alaska trip was a vacation I’ve wanted to take all my life and we saw a huge variety of sites. So armed with a ton of memory, I snapped approximately 4,700 photos. I’ve now pared taht down to 1,300 “keepers” but they still need sorting and editing before I start to get them online, and I’ll most likely pare that number down even more before posting them online.

So, keep watching this space, and soon you’ll be bored by looking at hundreds more of my photos! 😉

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography

Longwood Gardens Tulip Photos

TulipsLongwood Gardens has always been one of my favorite local day trips. I’ve been there a few times at Christmas and once a long time ago during the summer, but I’d never been there for tulip season. A few weeks ago when their tulips were in full bloom I went out there for the day. Almost a quarter million tulips is hard to descibe. Luckily a picture says a thousand words and I took plenty of photos.

You can view some of them in the photos section of my site, right here.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography

Yankee Candle Village Fall Festival Photos

Yankee Candle VillageWhen you hear Yanke Candle you think candles, obviously. But Yankee Candle Village in South Deerfield, MA makes you realize what a huge empire this compnay has built. You could (and we did) spend the better part of a day wandering through the many sections of the village. The slightly imperfect candles of the discount room are a great deal at half off. OK, so maybe you don’t want an Apple Cider scented candle that red on one side and pitch black on the other, but a tangerine candle that’s filled just a tiny bit too high is a great deal!

My personal favorite was the Bavarian room. $6000 giant German stein anyone? And who wouldn’t love the Black Forrest room where it snows all year long?

The Fall Decorations and events of the Fall Festival made it that much more fun. As usual I took plenty of photos. You can see them right here.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Mount Snow Oktoberfest Trip Photos

Mount Snow FoliageMount Snow is a ski resort in Vermont, but before the ski season starts German beer, food, music and events take over. I am, of course, describing Oktoberfest. They also had an arts & crafts show and scenic ski lift rides to the top of the mountain. Despite rain on Saturday, Sunday turned out to be a very nice cold day. As expected, the Fall foliage was impressive to say the least. It also gave me a chance to really test out my new camera. It turns out that shooting photos while hanging on for dear life to the ski lift isn’t easy. But that’s what a love for photography and a terrible fear of heights will get you!

The photos are posted in my Photos section.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates

Orange County Choppers Photos & more

Orange County ChoppersI just added 2 new albums to my Photos section. The first is from Orange County Choppers in Newburgh, NY. You probably recognize the name from the Discovery show American Chopper. I stopped by the Teutels new “world headquarters” on the way to Vermont last week. They have a retail store which is fairly over-priced, but I did shell out for a keychain anyway. The best part of it is the bikes that are on display. They have many of the theme bikes they built on the show on display. There’s also a viewing area where you can see into the shop area.

I also added a small album of photos from the Bordentown, NJ Cranberry festival. Thrown in with that album are also a few shots from the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival in Gloucester Township and my backyard all from the same day.

Another important note… these are the first photos I’ve posted that were taken with my new Nikon D90!

Check out them all out here.

Posted by Michael in Life, Photography, Site Updates