February Snow Storm

The “fun” wasn’t trying to get down to Florida, but back from Florida, when a giant snow storm crippled the east coast. I was able to get home but mom and dad had to stay in Florida one extra day. The difference? My flight left an hour and a half later than theirs. When we did make it back to Rochester we were greeted with over a foot of heavy wet snow that remained in the trees for a few days after. It made for fun photography, and quite a change from the 80 degree weather of Key Largo.

snowy tree
Snow in the Trees

snowy yard
Snowy Backyard

deer snow
Deer in the snow

deer snow
Deer family in the snow

deer snow
Deer in the snow

Florida 2013 – Key Largo

First post of 2013, it’s been a busy month. The first week of February my mom, dad, and I traveled to Key largo for vacation. We stayed at the Key Lime sailing club, which had a ton of fun stuff for us to do out on the bay, yes, including sailing. We went snorkeling twice which was awesome both times. We also went to the Florida Everglades where we saw tons of neat birds and alligators. It was a really great trip. There are a ton of pictures in my flickr gallery, and here are but a few of them.

blue heron
Blue Heron in a tree, Florida Everglades.

florida alligator
Alligators? Yeah, we saw those, Florida Everglades.

great egret
Great Egret with a catfish.

green heron
Green Heron.

sunset
Sunset at Key Largo.

pelicans
The pelican dance.

purple gallinule
Purple Gallinule

Geneseo Air Show 2010

After going to the indy race on July 4th, the next weekend it was time to go to Geneseo for the Geneseo Air Show. I hadn’t been to this air show in years, and its a pretty unique air show because of the historic old planes you get to see. There is far less acrobatics, and a lot more older planes to see. Again it was really HOT. But a perfect sunny day. Highlights of the show included a replica B-17 Memphis Belle, the F-16 Viper Demonstration Team, and the Soaring of Manfred Radius. He put on an amazing show in his glider, from about 5,000 feet he spiraled down to the crowd doing loops and turns to the tune of classical music. Then at ground level he flew upside down and cut a rope with the tail of his plane, before turning back over and landing. It was really great, and made you feel like you were back in older times. I posted a few photos here, and more of them are in my flickr gallery.

B-17 Memphis Belle
B-17 Memphis Belle

F-16 Viper Demo Team
F-16 Viper Demo Team

Canadian Harvards
Canadian Harvards

Lysander
Lysander

Manfred Radius
Manfred Radius

Many more images of many more planes are available in my flickr gallery.

Wegmans LPGA Championship 2010

I took the day off last week to go to the LPGA Championship practice round and use my camera to see what kind of photos I could get of the golfers. I took a lot of photos, some came out really good. Since this year the tournament was a major, a lot of the older golfers came out. It was neat to see the likes of nancy Lopez, Pat Hurst, Julie Inkster, and Se Ri Pak, playing with Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, and Michelle Wie. I took a ton of photos, and most of the nicer ones are posted in my flickr gallery. Here’s a few here too.

Azahara Munoz
Azahara Munoz

Marianne Skarpnord
Marianne Skarpnord

Michelle Wie
Michelle Wie

Paula Creamer
Paula Creamer

As always, you can see all the photos in in my flickr gallery.

Vacation Mode

Well August is traditionally a vacation month, and so far this month I’ve been to Saratoga twice and spent a week in the Adirondack Mountains near Tupper Lake. Too many photos to handle. For now I will direct those interested in seeing Horse Photos from Saratoga to view them in my Flickr Gallery.

Kensai Saratoga
Kensai Saratoga

I have added a few photos to the Infrared Photo Gallery as well, including this image of a snake sunning itself on a dock in the Adirondacks.

Snake IR
Snake IR

A Wonderful Day at Winterthur

We went to Winterthur Gardens and Mansion this Spring as part of the Celebration of Life for Jay Powell. It was a beautiful day, and the gardens were spectacular. The Azaleas were in full bloom, and the grounds around the estate were beautiful. It was a wonderful day, a fitting way to remember Jay, and a day I hope not to forget.

Pink Azaleas
Pink Azaleas
White Azalea
White Azalea
Purple Azalea
Purple Azalea
More Azaleas
More Azaleas
Salmon Azaleas and Mansion
Salmon Azaleas and Mansion
Brick Work at Winterthur
Brick Work at Winterthur
Chipmunk
Chipmunk
More Azaleas
More Azaleas
Row of Azaleas
Row of Azaleas
Stairs and Azaleas
Stairs and Azaleas
Tons of Azaleas
Tons of Azaleas
Walking Path
Walking Path
Koi Pond
Koi Pond
Anne looking for a prince
Anne looking for a prince
Sundial
Sundial
Winterthur Mansion and Sunroom
Winterthur Mansion and Sunroom
The Mansion
The Mansion
Azaleas Everywhere
Azaleas Everywhere

Cigar Mile 2008

I’d been looking forward to this race for a few months, as my wife and I were going to be in Philadelphia for Thanks giving, and I knew it wouldn’t be too much trouble to go to New York City from there, rather than driving the 6 hours from Western NY. I was really surprised to see Harlem Rocker as the morning line 15-1 long shot. But I felt good because I knew there was money to be made. I met some friends in NY for the day and saw a couple other HR fans there too.

Took a lot of photos in the paddock area, and generally had a good time. The race was incredible. We were able to get right on the rail and watch Harlem Rocker go by. We were ecstatic and screaming like crazy. Did he win? Who won? And then when he was posted winner we were all yelling and high-fiving and running around like idiots. It was awesome. Then they took it all away. And we were sore losers. We called bullshit and called out Prado a bit.

From the replays at the track it really looked like Harlem Rocker had a half length lead when he cut over. Now that I watch the replay again, I can see Prado pull up a little. But still, like Pletcher said, he had every opportunity to run, and HR went past him. It begs the question, how much room do you need to give before taking the lane? I thought he had a half length at least. If these were two cars, and the white car had passed the brown car and pulled in front of him, then the brown car decided to speed up and go past the white car, would we have said someone got cut off here? Unlikely. Harlem Rocker had the speed, took the position, and then if Tale of Ekati wanted it back, he needed to move and take it.

My friend Mark’s brother John summed it up best, he said: “I’ve seen horses lose after doing less, I’ve seen them win after doing a lot worse, but not in a graded stakes race.”.

The most disappointing thing to me, is that at Aqueduct they have a wall where they post the winning silks for the last 5 years, and all the photos of last winners, and HR will not be up there, and probably nobody will remember how close it was, except us.

Harlem Rocker is quite a fine animal, and he has a lot more white than earlier this year. He’s a fine horse.

It was disappointing to see both Springside injured and Wanderin Boy breakdown.

We all made some money, with Harlem Rocker as such a long shot, and Tale of Ekati too. My friend Mark and I would have each been at least $200 richer had he won, and if I had boxed my trifecta instead of wheeling it, I would have hit that one too. Enjoy these photos of my day at The Big A. The photos are a bit “noisey” but with the time of the year and the time of the race, it was basically twilight and my digital elph doesn’t really do that well in low light situations. I am extremely happy with the photos I got, but you can see my Harlem Rocker photos from the summer time are much crisper.

Springside
Springside
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker Paddock
Harlem Rocker Paddock
Harlem Rocker Warmup
Harlem Rocker Warmup
Tale of Ekati Warmup
Tale of Ekati Warmup
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Visionaire
Visionaire
Tale of Ekati
Tale of Ekati
Bribon
Bribon
Arson Squad
Arson Squad
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Paddock
Paddock
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker
Pletcher, Coa and Harlem Rocker
Pletcher, Coa and Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker and Eibar Coa
Harlem Rocker and Eibar Coa
Gomez and Coa
Gomez and Coa
Coa on Harlem Rocker
Coa on Harlem Rocker
Harlem Rocker and Arson Squad
Harlem Rocker and Arson Squad
Cornellio Velazquez on Storm Play
Cornellio Velazquez on Storm Play
Ramon Dominguez on Kodiak Kowboy
Ramon Dominguez on Kodiak Kowboy
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Eibar Coa on Harlem Rocker
Edgar Prado on Tale of Ekati
Edgar Prado on Tale of Ekati
Cornelio Velazquez on Storm Play
Cornelio Velazquez on Storm Play
John Velazquez on Wanderin Boy
John Velazquez on Wanderin Boy
Ramon Dominguez on Kodiak Kowboy
Ramon Dominguez on Kodiak Kowboy
Twilight at the Big A
Twilight at the Big A
Harlem Rocker leads the pack to the Finish
Harlem Rocker leads the pack to the Finish
Tale of Ekati battling Harlem Rocker
Tale of Ekati battling Harlem Rocker
Closing in on the finish
Closing in on the finish
Closing in on the finish
Closing in on the finish

Some wide angle shots.

Stretch Run
Stretch Run
Stretch Run
Stretch Run

Photos shot with a Canon SD850IS.