Coit Tower, San Francisco

Coit Tower stands atop Telegraph Hill just south of downtown San Francisco. From the top of the tower you get some fantastic views of San Francisco including the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, the various piers, the financial district and Nob Hill. Tough walk up the hill, but worth it.

Ducks on a Pond

Ducks on a Pond sounds better than Canadian Geese on a Pond so I went with that. Got this shot with a rented Nikon 600 millimeter lens that retails for around $10,000. Nice lens, but huge. Need a tripod to shoot with it. I love how sharp the focus is on the closer of the three birds. I was easily 75 yards away and this crop is blown up quite a bit and the shot stays sharp. If I ever win the lotto, I have to buy that lens.....

Out the Back Door

Whenever I am on a long road trip I always miss the comforts and joys of home. This fall I looked out the back window and saw this wonderful view of the backyard in the fog. Of course, had to grab a camera and take a shot. Miss that view today.

Edgartown Lighthouse -- Martha's Vineyard

Got to visit Martha's Vineyard with Cheryl for our 30th anniversary in 2011. Great trip and a beautiful place to visit. Got up before sunrise (by myself, I might add) to walk down to the famous Edgartown Lighthouse. Was rewarded with some beautiful views.

The Transamerica Pyramid and San Francisco Skyline

View of San Francisco skyline, Transamerica Pyramid and Alcatraz Island out there in the distance. Great city if you like hills. That is Coit Tower out there at the edge of the downtown, a great viewing platform for the city. I got up there a few days later and took a shot back towards the office building in which I was standing when I took this shot. San Francisco reminds me of an east coast city situated on the west coast.

Clio's turn

I can't post a shot of William without a follow up of Clio. Took this yesterday just as she left go of her hat. Clio is at a healthy 7 months. No crawling yet, but sitting up and smiling all the time. Four great kids and now two wonderful grandkids. Doesn't get any better than this, except, come to think of it, when one of the kids buys dinner.

William with Attitude

This photo blog is about places that I visit while traveling for work and play. However, the restarted blog will also focus on shots closer to home. This is one of my favorites, catching a bit of attitude coming from William.

Yacht Race at the Chicago Lighthouse

Spent a fine summer day walking Navy Pier and happened on a yacht race near the Chicago Lighthouse. A fine summer day usually makes for a fine shooting opportunity and this was no exception. What a great view of blue and white.

Ring Around the Moon

Had a full moon while in Maui at a work event last year and caught a nice "ring around the moon" while at an outdoor dinner. Laid the camera on the table and took a shot straight up. Also caught Jupiter near the moon in the upper left of the picture. Nice two-fer. The ring around the Moon is caused by the refraction of moonlight (which of
course is reflected sunlight) from ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. The shape of the ice crystals results in a focusing of the light into a ring. Keep looking up.

NYC Rockafeller Center Water Sprite

Got a chance to walk around Rockefeller Center heading to the ice rink with my new Sweet 35 Lens Baby. As you can see, it is a lens that allows you to select your area of focus and blur everything else out. Now I can go back to areas that I have already visited to try to find a different perspective in my travels.

2011 Shot of the Year

I thought that this was my shot of the year. This is the same picture with two different crops. I posted the wider shot previously on Facebook and it got published in the Daily Herald but I wanted to post it here as well. As noted in yesterday's blog, these are Sandhill Cranes that I took at Jasper-Pulaski State Park in Indiana. I rented a 600mm lens for the weekend which takes tack-sharp shots at a distance. Amazing lens that sells for over $10,000 but is an excellent rental from Calumet Photo.

I like the wider shot with the deer faintly in the background with the green grass and dark trees but the tigher shot of the 5 lead birds is also a nice composition. I am not sure which composition is the better one? The great thing about this lens is that if you nail the focus, you can zoom in and the quality remains amazing.

Yesterday's shot was under the water so I thought for today's shot of the day I should go up and grab a shot I took this fall of some migrating Sandhill Cranes in Indiana. These are very large, loud birds making their way from parts north on their way to Florida. Who can blame them? Got lucky with this shot of four that seem to stack up as they came overhead.

Snuba in Blue

Yesterday's shot was very red, so I thought of posting a very blue shot today. While in Maui I got to try a new form of diving called Snuba. It is scuba diving with the air tank floating on the surface. Much quicker to learn and safer as you can only dive to the length of your air hose, in this case 30 feet. Very cool. This is a shot with a rented water camera of one of the other participants in the Snuba class.

Blood Red Maui Sunset

Caught a work trip to Maui earlier this year and a beautiful sunset to boot. I think there might have been dust in the air from recent volcanic activity on a nearby island since all three of the sunsets I was able to see were quite spectacular. That's the island of Lanai below the clouds in the distance taken from the Kaanapail side of Maui.

Restarting the Blog

I had one, count em, one fan request that I restart this site and that was enough to spur me on (thanks Eric). However, if I am going to continue to post a shot every day I can, I have to post shots that I am currently shooting so I am going to have to include some grandkid and family shots, besides the locations that I travel to for work. The best of these shots can also be found at https://mdshotoftheday.smugmug.com. Anyway, here is a rare shot of William and Clio together. They really don't hang much at this point but I caught them together--ok, we staged it--what can I say. Love the grandkids.