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There is a very beautiful promenade along the waterfront in Jersey City. The views of the NYC skyline are wonderful and it is just wonderful spot. It was such a gorgeous day but it was not terribly busy when we were there. There was a huge outdoor concert going on at Liberty State Park which is also in Jersey City and only a short distance from where we were, which may explain the lack of crowds.

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News:

This photo of the Bucknell Quad is a 2 page feature photo in the Summer 2008 issue of Bucknell Magazine.

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As of July 2008 I have decided to post the same photos on "Parallel Universe" as I do here. It has become too complicated to maintain two different photoblogs on a regular basis. Feel free to visit "Parallel Universe" and look through the portfolio/archives since there are quite a few photos there that were never posted here. I will continue to post on both since each one gets different viewers.

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This is probably my favorite photo in this series on Jersey City. I walked past these three men, construction workers, on the street while they were waiting for their ride after a long day working. The man standing called out to me "why don't you take a picture of the men that build America?" Of course how could I not? The men and women who build this country are the backbone, the very soul of us. These 3 guys were very proud and very pleasant to chat with. I thank them so much for allowing me the honor of taking their photo. I never did catch their names.

I had my fisheye lens on the camera and I warned them that it might look a little strange, but I was pleased with the powerful perspective it gave this photo.

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9.11.01 It's been 7 years.
Never Forget

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News:

This photo of the Bucknell Quad is a 2 page feature photo in the Summer 2008 issue of Bucknell Magazine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As of July 2008 I have decided to post the same photos on "Parallel Universe" as I do here. It has become too complicated to maintain two different photoblogs on a regular basis. Feel free to visit "Parallel Universe" and look through the portfolio/archives since there are quite a few photos there that were never posted here. I will continue to post on both since each one gets different viewers.

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The decision is in. Russell will attend Rutgers/Mason Gross School for the Arts as a music performance major and Biology major next Fall. It will be a tough schedule but he doesn't want to limit his options which is why he wants to go for both majors. This decision was a long time in coming but I think after careful consideration it is the right one for him.

There's a lot of other good and or hopeful and interesting news to share. First of all it looks like Rob will indeed be home very soon. I don't have an exact date, but I did get a letter from his command recently in preparation for his return and some of his things arrived here today. I missed the mail today but they are at the post office waiting for me to go get them tomorrow. I am so excited and elated that he will soon be back home.

I got a very interesting call this afternoon and I have been offered a job doing some freelance photojournalism for a fairly prominent news media outlet here in NJ. I will fill you in when I have all the details, but I am very happy and excited about it and I have a good friend of Rob's from high school to thank for the recommendation. It's a pretty big deal for me.

DL, Thanks so much for the recommendation!

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This photo was recently featured for a front page feature article on the NJIO in a local newspaper's "PrimeTime" entertainment and culture insert. The photo was 1/2 of the cover page.

My kids have been involved with the NJIO for the past few years. They have since left the group because of scheduling conflicts, but their time there was very well spent. They learned a lot and met a wonderful group of people who share a passion for playing great music together.

The woman and child and this photo are actually mom and her very accomplished young son cellists playing side by side in the orchestra.

It was shot with my D200 at ISO 1600 1/100 sec. with my 80-200 mm f / 2.8 lens @125 mm @ f / 4.0. That is the typical set up I use for shooting at these concerts.

I apologize for my absence but work is piling up...which is a good thing! But it keeps me from having time to post.

Russ has made his decision about college. I will reveal it when he has signed his letter of intent and sent it in. He was accepted to some very fine schools and I think he has made a good decision that will give him a lot of opportunities to explore all the possibilities available to him. Whew! What an amazing, sometimes exciting, sometimes disappointing, and stressful experience this past year has been for him and us on this journey. I am very proud of him.

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"99 Pig Balloons"

About 2000 attended

The "Big Yellow Van" from NJ101.5

"Pigs Will Fly"...and they did

"Hey Corzine...No Toll Hike Stop Reckless Spending!"

"Oink if You Want Spending Cuts"...and they did

"Stop Spending"

"Hey Corzine...Cut the Pork and Send Those Pigs Flying!"

"The Shell Game...Everybody Loses!"

"King Jon...You Roused the Rabble"

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I don't want to go too much into the politics of it here, but on Friday at noon there was a "Flying Pig Coalition" rally protesting Gov. Jon Corzine's toll hike plan to address the fiscal mess NJ is in. It was held on the Statehouse steps in Trenton NJ. The rally was sponsored and organized by NJ101.5 "Jersey Guys" and Jim Gearhart.

New Jersey's fiscal house in in absolute shambles due to wasteful spending, bloated government, and corruption among other things. None of which has been addressed with this plan. The middle class, myself included, is being forced out of the state due to the outrageous taxes and cost of living here in NJ. Even if you make a low 6 figure income you struggle to live here, and that is just wrong. 8000 NJ citizens are fleeing the state every month. We, Mark and I, will be among them if things don't change soon. We are making our exit plans. We simply cannot afford to stay here.

For more on what the rally was about look at this link for the "Flying Pig Coalition".

As for the photos, this was really my first taste of "photojournalism". It is quite different from what I am used to doing. It is very fast paced and a bit chaotic. I used an approach to it that I wouldn't ordinarily use in any other situation, but it proved to work fairly well. I set the camera menu to "Auto ISO" and set the limits to ISO 1600 (it never needed to go that high) and the shutter speed minimum to 1/100 sec. and shot full Program mode so I could get the shots quickly. I would have liked a little less DOF in some of the photos (the artistic side of me was bothered by that). The only ones I lost using these settings were shots where people or signs got into my field of view as I snapped the photo. While it wasn't the most "creative" in terms of photography, it was definitely fun, and the rally was a big success. It ended with the release of 99 pig balloons.

I have added the following video courtesy of Gellman Images.

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This is a shot from the archives that I found when I was doing some housekeeping on my computer. It was shot at the same time I shot the East Point Lighthouse series last June. Its a really beautiful place and I met this gentleman in the early dawn hours of what was a pretty overcast morning when I was there shooting. He said he comes there every morning with his coffee and his dog saying that there was really no better way to start the day. I can see why. I would love to be able to start each day in such a peaceful and tranquil spot, but this place is about a 2 1/2-3 hour drive from me.

It was a pretty busy weekend. I didn't do much shooting for the blogs. I did shoot a concert and might be able to post some of those. I did post one from a concert last week on Parallel Universe which can be seen here if you are interested.

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This was shot the same day as this shot. This was the engineer for the New Hope Ivyland train the day that I was there a couple of weeks ago. He was doing his inspection of the engine while the it was taking water and preparing for its next run.

I haven't been out to shoot in quite a while, since I was sick. All of my cued-up archive shots somehow don't seem to fit for me right now so I am running out of things I want to post. I think I will have to deal with that this weekend, or maybe even tomorrow. We are supposed to get some snow!

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"Tis' The Season"

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Today is Jon's 15th birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JON!!!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Rob is on his way home! He's in Europe and will be home tomorrow night!

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This was shot in New Jersey in the Delaware Water Gap area somewhere near Crater Lake I believe. We drove all over and I don't remember the names of all the places we went, but they were all in the Water Gap area. It is just so beautiful there. It was a real treat especially now that the fall colors are in abundance. It won't last long so if you can get there do it soon or you will miss quite a show.

I was shooting from on top of this mountain looking out across the valley when I saw this man perched on the edge of the cliff trying to get his shot. I loved this perspective so I took the shot. I only wish he had on a bit lighter color clothing so that he might have stood out more. What was he thinking when he chose to wear all dark clothes? Some people! I guess I can forgive him though since I still love this shot.

I took a few shots looking out over the valley as well but there was a bit of haze as it was a rather warm day and I wasn't that thrilled with them. I did get plenty of shots from all around the area that really speak fall however. I will be posting them over the next few days here and on Parallel Universe.

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I just wanted to remind everyone of the importance of regular self exams, mammography, and anual checks by your doctor. For more information here are several links:

http://www.nbcam.com

1(800) IM AWARE

http://www.komenpeoria.com

http://www.cancer.org

Please pass on this information to your family, friends, and co-workers. It's very important and could save the life of someone you love.

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This was shot back in the Spring at an NJIO concert. Cynthia Longley was a guest musician who played Vivaldi's Double Cello Concerto along with NJIO member Martin Steinberg during the NJIO Spring Concert series.

Jon and Russell have been involved with the NJIO now for several years. It's a great group of musicians from all walks of life and a wide variety of ages, hence the name New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra. Jon and Russ have both benefited greatly from being a part of it. Please visit their website NJIO.org for more information.

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I am continuing with some more candid street shots. It's not something I do very often but I thought I should do more of these since they really give a view into the diversity that I experience every day in my travels around the area I live, work, and play.

This was shot on Saturday in Peddler's Village PA, which is a touristy, and beautiful, shopping village in Lahaska, Buck's County PA. Even though I don't live in PA, I do spend a lot of time there. I have since I was a little girl. I have friends and family there so it definitely feels like home to me. I was passing through Lahaska when I saw they were having their anual Scarecrow Competition and Festival in Peddler's Village, so I though I would just stop in and have a look. I hadn't been there in years for the festival and thought it could be fun.

At the festival, besides all the fun and creative scarecrows, there were also all manner of street entertainers. I got there really late so most of them were packing up for the day. I did have the pleasure of coming across these fantastic musicians. They had a table set up with some of the most beautiful instruments I'd ever seen. They drew quite a crowd with their musical talent as they played some of the same instruments that they had for sale.

I feel awful because I forgot to grab a card for this pair of wonderful musicians. In reality I should have bought one of their CD's but I was short on cash so I didn't, figuring I could contact them later to purchase but I don't have their card and don't remember their names. I will say that the music was soulful and very moving. Just beautiful. If anyone out there knows who they are please, please, tell me. I tried doing a search but got nowhere with it. I plan on calling the shop where they were set up in front of to ask if they know. I will update this post with the information.

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In our continued search for colleges for Russell, we went to visit Princeton University on Thursday. It is the #1 University in the nation and it just so happens to be here in New Jersey, not terribly far from us with about a 50 minute drive. It has an impressive reputation and the campus is of course beautiful in the most classic sense with it's majestic architecture and Ivy covered halls. It is a University that is rich in history and has a long list of very distiguished Alumni. Being the #1 University in the nation means that it will also be extraordinarily difficult to get accepted. This is definitely one of Russell's "Reach" schools. Russell really liked it very much but I think that the intimidation factor has pushed it to #2 on his list with Lehigh still being #1.

After the information session and tour we took some time to walk around the campus. The campus was pretty quiet since classes don't resume until Monday. There were some students already moved in but this weekend will no doubt be the big one when the remaining students, both returning and new, get settled into there residences.

The students that were already there were doing various things and just seemed to be having fun in general. We stopped to watch this group of kids who had set up tightropes around these trees. It seemed almost like a metaphor for college life. Trying to strike a balance of social life and studies. They were really sweet kids and tried to coax me onto the tightrope. I politely declined. It did look like they were having fun though and they didn't seem to mind me taking their photos.

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The boy from the previous post has a beautiful younger sister. Again this was a candid shot and I really wish I had been prepared with a reflector to balance the light on her face better. Regardless, I still really like these very candid shots of the kids. They were so easy to photograph. I didn't manage to get a smile from her but I know she has a lovely smile. Her dad sent me a couple of shot of her flashing her beautiful smile. Although I must say I find her serious expression to be very "real" and holds a lot of impact for me if that makes sense?

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This is the boy whose hand is in the previous post. This was shot on Saturday afternoon in Ken Lockwood Gorge in Hunterdon County NJ. He was there with his mom dad and sister exploring the ecosystem in the pools along the banks of the river there. They were having as blast and I snapped a few candids of the kids while we were talking with the parents. They graciously allowed me to post the photos that I took and I am grateful to them for granting me the permission to post them.

If I had planned to do a portrait shot like this, I would have liked to have either used my reflectors or perhaps some fill flash to balance the light on his face more, but I didn't plan on doing any portraits that day so I wasn't prepared. From now on the reflectors stay in the car with me!

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This shot was taken Saturday at Ken Lockwood Gorge in Hunterdon County NJ. It is a lovely spot where you can go fishing, hiking, biking, and generally exploring. Needless to say there were many people out enjoying the gorgeous weather. The water was pretty turbulent, murky, and muddy from some wicked near monsoon weather we had on Wednesday and then again on Friday. I went with black and white for this because the water looked much more pleasing in black and white as opposed to muddy in the color version.

The dog in this photo was having a grand old time running around all over the park. No one knew who he belonged to and of course the fishermen were rather purturbed that he was in and out of the water scaring off the fish. We were asked several times if it was our dog and of course it isn't. I got the feeling that at least one particularly annoyed fisherman didn't believe us when we said it wasn't ours.

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This is actually a shot taken at a fair last summer. Jon has big beautiful eyes which he's taken to hiding behind his long shaggy hair. His hair in this shot was actually short compared to what it is now. I have to sneak up on Jon to get photos of him and that was the case for this shot.

I went for a high key look for this shot. I blended a slightly softened, overexposed layer with the original and masked back in the detail and color in the eyes.

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On Saturday we got up at 2 AM to get on the road by 3 AM so that I could be at Eastpoint Lighthouse in Maurice River Twp. in Cumberland County in time for the sunrise. It was wonderful to have the morning all for me and my camera and some rare Saturday time together with Mark. It was a beautiful morning, warm and pleasant, although the sunrise itself was just so so. I felt so peaceful and happy to be there doing what I love to do.

After shooting for over an hour Mark and I went to breakfast then made our way southeast where we wandered around in Cape May for a while taking pictures and walking around. We eventually made our way to my brother's house back in Cumberland County for a visit. It was good to see Alan and Peggy. We don't get together nearly enough and I hadn't seen them in a very long time. That needs to change!

We had planned on going back to East Point for the sunset but when we got there the "green heads" (large, nasty, biting flies that can bite right through your clothes) were unbearable even for a dedicated photographer like me! I tried to walk up to the lighthouse but was swamped by the flies even after liberally applying bug repellent. I gave up. Some other time when there isn't a land breeze maybe I will try again.

Eastpoint Lighthouse is probably my favorite in New Jersey because of it's remote location on the Delaware Bay. It isn't the tourist attraction that the others around NJ seem to be. Unfortunately the lack of tourists has actually hurt it. It's not being kept up even though a major renovation and effort to save it was undertaken a number of years ago. An effort that my brother was involved with.

I will be posting a series titled "Looking Through" in the next couple of days/weeks which will feature the Lighthouse and surrounding area. It will include some unusual views.

This photo is of a really friendly gentleman we met while at the lighthouse that morning. He comes there with his dog (also in the photo) and a cup of coffee every morning to just sit and take in the tranquil beauty there. Of course his dog was having great fun playing with the horseshoe crabs that came on shore to mate the night before.

We talked to him for some time about how the area has changed for the better and for the worse. He seemed to get lost in a memories as he was talking. I wish I remembered his name but I don't and for that I am sorry. He was very gracious to allow me to take some snaps of him while we talked.

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I saw this couple in Liberty State Park on Saturday. I talked with them for a few moments since I'd noticed his creative use of his girlfriends shoulder as a tri-pod. He complained that his 600mm lens, was nearly impossible to hand hold and he really needed to get a tri-pod or at least a mono-pod. He had noticed that I was using a mono-pod at the time.

He was shooting with an "old film camera" as he put it, and what looked like a pretty old, if not somewhat well used 600mm lens.

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We went to West Point on Friday to see the United States Military Academy. Russell is a Junior in High School and has started investigating colleges, and universities. He expressed an interest in West Point so we went there for a Candidate information session and tour. If you want to read about the experience, I went into it in greater detail on Parallel Universe.

This was the Cadet who was our guide. While each of the Candidates, went off with their Cadet guides, he took the parents on a tour of the Academy. I don't remember his name, unfortunately, but he was great. He was funny and smart, and very engaging and informative. He is about to graduate in less that 40 days.

I wanted to get a clear shot of him, with a better composition but it proved difficult since we had a very large group that day. Often someone would walk in front of the camera as I was about to shoot. It was also very cold and my poor hands were ice so I didn't take many photos and kept my hands mostly in my pockets. When I took this shot he was standing on an incline. If I had pulled back there would have been the tops of heads just below his neck, so the composition is a bit off. I wanted to post it anyway even though it is a less than optimal composition.

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Members of a local church got together last Sunday and made these wonderful blankets to send to soldiers in Iraq. Although it is hot there during the day, the evenings can get quite cold. I spent Sunday afternoon taking photos of the men, women and children of the church making the blankets for the soldiers.

There is a woman in the church whose grandson is a lieutenant (I think) serving in Iraq. His men are not living in the greatest conditions to say the least and so the church decided to get together and see what they could do for the men in his platoon to make things perhaps a little more bearable and to let them know that people are thinking of them and do care.

My friend Holly is in charge of "Operation Blanket" which provides blankets to needy people all over including troops. I don't know if that's what it's called but it seemed appropriate so for the purpose of this post that's what I will call it. Holly made sure to have one made for me to take to my son Rob when I went to see him. Holly is a very dear friend and is always there to lend a hand or a shoulder to cry on. She is always there to answer a call for help.

Spending Sunday at the church watching so many people making these blankets for the troops was really moving. It was lovely to talk to the Grandma of the soldier whose platoon will receive the blankets and we share a special bond even though we really didn't know each other before. I spent the afternoon photographing the adults and the children and I put together a CD of photos for the church.

The loving hands in the top photo are those of the soldiers Grandma.

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If this posts on March 3, that means I managed to get to a computer with internet access while I away visiting Rob.

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Thanks all for the wonderful "Blogday" wishes on my last post. I'm so glad you are all out there and visit so often.

After the last shot which definitely portrayed Winter, I decide to go to the archives and find something totally opposite to suit my mood. This shot is from last August when we all went to LBI (Long Beach Island) in NJ for a day together as a family while our son Rob was home on leave. I did crop this photo. There was a bit too much going on to the right of the frame when I looked at it, and I preferred to have just the two kids in the frame.

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The last post was indeed a macro of a large pine cone. They are cinnamon spice scented ones that I got at the craft store. I have them in a basket on my family room coffee table. I used flash to get that shot.

This is my son Robert who is home on leave for about 2 weeks. After chasing him around for the last few days with my camera trying to get a relatively clear shot of him, I finally managed to get this one. Like his youngest brother Jon, he also suffers from severe camera-phobia. His camera radar is even more keenly tuned than Jon's.

I managed this snap just as he was trying to duck from view as he was carrying around his devoted kitty, Missy. (Thanks Missy for slowing him down a bit!)

I took this with the new macro lens since I'd been using it only moments before and it was on the camera at the time. I think it actually makes a pretty fair portrait lens as well. This was shot using flash.

Robert's presence is a blessing. I am so happy to have him home, although I could do without being set upon with the Velcro dart Nerf gun he's been hunting me down with over the last few days...Some things never change. I've been hit while brushing my teeth, doing my hair, drinking coffee, working on the computer, and just about any time I am unsuspecting. I'm tired of pulling those things off the back of my sweaters! It also isn't fair when he brings his brothers in on the ambush. I did use the same tactic to wake him up yesterday morning though...he he he... ;-)

The life of a mom with all boys is an adventure to be sure, they just need to remember that I had 3 older brothers and no sisters growing up so I am not all that phased by their rambunctiousness, and can give as good as I can get!

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This was shot on an early October evening just around sunset in Highlands. It's a popular spot among the locals to go and fish. I don't know how that sailboat came to be wrecked there, but I can tell by the looks of it that it was a nice vessel at one time, not terribly old, and I'm sure someone was not too happy about it. You can see other shots from the same day and location here and here.

I've been seriously lacking inspiration lately. I'm not sure why, perhaps the rather gray uninspiring weather and being too busy with other things to get out and shoot, but it's been difficult to find things that I want to shoot and or post. I hope this "funk" lifts soon and I get that old thrill back again. In the meantime I hope you will all bear with me and not get too terribly disappointed.

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12/12/06 post: "Vintage Santa"

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Ok...This is Jon and he is camera shy as many of you know. He's only shy around a camera, otherwise he is loud and boisterous and very outgoing. He tortures me all the time by not cooperating for portraits, posed or otherwise. He has developed a very keen Camera Radar and it's nearly impossible to catch him off-guard. Hence this shot. I think this would have been a nice candid portrait. It had it all, subtle lighting a nice setting a relaxed and happy mood, but...as you can see his Camera Radar was set to high that day and he caught me. So instead of throwing it out I warned him that I was going to use whatever I got and that would be that. So for the record this is Jon on Thanksgiving. Isn't he handsome?

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12/10/06 post: "Jon in Concert"

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