Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Happy Holidays to All




Please check back on New Year's Day for the first Linda's Lens Photo Blog post of 2010. My goal for this first year of a new decade is to post a photo-a-day — including tips on digital photography. Until then, I wish you and your families the happiest of holidays!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Tokyo area commuter trains…

I changed the layout of the blog to accomodate a large sized photo. I haven't finished customizing it yet, so for now the blog background is white. If the photos are cut off on the right side, expand your browser window until you see the full image.


One afternoon during our Japan visit we boarded a local commuter train for a shopping trip to Machida, two stops awayOne of the first things we noticed about the train station was the cleanliness. The Japanese people do not littler — in fact I don't think they create trash, because there are no trash cans on the street.


Thursday, October 29, 2009

Traffic…

Note:  Blogger has made some changes in how pictures are handled. Now, when I publish a landscape orientation photo in the largest size, the photo is cut off on right side. Something I need to work on, but not tonight!


The streets in Japan, at least in the area around Tokyo, are very narrow. With all the bicyclists around, we were amazed that we did not see any accidents. Here are a few fun photos of local traffic. 

Neither Eddie or I got behind the wheel, which is on the right side of the car, but I did ride in the front seat when my daughter-in-law drove, and I took some pictures through the windshield.
In two-way traffic it really did not look like two cars could fit on the roadway.



Approaching a turn, it really seemed as though a head on collision was about imminent.


In one of the above photos, you can see a figure just behind a car.


Enlarge the image and you see one of the ubiquitous citizens out in public with a protective mask.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

More Japan — Pedal Power…


We spent most of our time in Japan with family and in the local are where they live, about 25 miles outside Tokyo. It was amazing to see people of all ages riding bicycles as their primary mode of transpotation. The bicycles in the above photo were parked on a busy shopping street, and the cyclist in the remainder of the photos were taken in the same general area. I especially liked the lady with an umbrella, and the elegant looking lady waiting for a train.





Monday, October 26, 2009

After a month's break…

It has been over a month since I last posted any photos on my blog, and almost three weeks since we got home from our trip to Japan. It was wonderful spending time with our son's family — especially with little Brianna, who is a joy, an we did get to see some of the local color. And of course, I took lots and lots of photos. I have finally sorted through them, and for the next week or so I am going to try and post a few photos everyday.

I had two camera with me, my trusty Nikon D90 DSLR and my new, pocket size Panasonic Lumix. The Panasonic has a variety of modes for taking photos — including 25 different scene modes. One of them is Ariel Photo, designed to take photos through airplane windows. Naturally, I had to try it out! This first photo was taken shortly after we took off from JFK.



Expand the post for a few more photos from the flight.

Monday, September 21, 2009

How Cute is Brianna?


I finally get to post a photo of Brianna that I took. Eddie and I are in Japan visiting with Brian, Vanessa and Brianna. What a joy to be with them all! While we are here I'll be posting about the trip at quinnrv.blogspot.com, and if I get some good fine art style photos, I'll post them here on Linda's Lens. We are in Japan until October 1, and then we are planning a few days in LA before flying home.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Another opening of another show…

Sunday was the official opening of a month-long showing of my photography, printed on canvas, at the Northport Tasting Room and Wine Cellar. It is a pretty terrific venue. A sincere thank-you to the Northport Arts Coalition for sponsoring the show, to Kate Kelly for curating, and to Matthew Spirn, proprietor. I also want to thank everyone came to the opening. It was wonderful to see you all, and you made the day special.If you haven't had a chance to see the show yet, it will be up until October 8, and the Tasting Room is a nice place to relax while sipping a glass of wine and nibbling on some excellent cheese. I also plan to update my website with the images in the show — this week, I hope!


Putting up an art exhibit can be a challenging experience. The Friday before the opening my husband Eddie and stepson Matt worked long and hard hanging the show — with assistance from my good friend Marie. I could say that they helped me hang my show, but in reality they did all the hard work —











Robby and Molly were the youngest visitor to the show — I think they enjoyed themselves!

Thanks to my friend Pam Waldroup for sending me a few photos from Sunday. I really like her wide angle lens!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Only in New York…

Here is a photo I just came across while getting ready for my upcoming art show (invitations to the opening will be going out soon). Last week Eddie and I spent a day wandering around in New York City, something we really enjoy doing. We stopped at Washington Square Park to listen to a jazz combo, and on our way out of the park we came upon a wedding party posing for a unique photo. A crowd had gathered around the group, and the wedding photographers were not the only ones taking pictures. It was truely a New York moment!




As we enjoyed the music of the jazz combo playing on the west side of the park, Eddie thought the trumpeter was the same one we heard on the east side of the same park on Memorial Day weekend. Sure enough, when I check my photos from last May, there was the same musician with a different backup group.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Long Island Photo Walk — Old Westbury Garndens

Anita Welden, one of the participants in the Northport (and later in the day, Jones Beach) Photo Walk on July 18, is sponsoring another Long Island PhotoWalk next Sunday at Old Westbury Gardens. Information below:

LI Photowalk


Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009 (Aug 30, Rain date) - 2:00-5:00PM

Old Westbury Gardens

71 Old Westbury Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568-1603

Directions: http://www.oldwestburygardens.org/directions.htm

Meet at: TBD. When I get the map of the grounds I will scan it and mark the meeting location.

Family and friends welcome.

Additional info:

- Tripods are not allowed, monopods are OK. No photography is allowed inside the Westbury House at all.

- Large bags or backpacks are not allowed inside the Westbury House.

- Bring water and food, since there's an 'iffy' source of refreshment. There is a 'Cafe in the Woods' and a picnic area. The Cafe closes down at 3:00, and is not in operation during inclement weather.

- Admission Fees:

$10.00 - General admission for House and garden

$8.00 - Seniors (62+)

$5.00 - Children 7-12 (under 7 free)

Planning to join us? Questions?
Send email to Anita (Anitahug7@aol.com) or Ann (ann@AnnParryPhotography.com) that includes "Photowalk" in subject.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

You are invited…

Today we hung my show at the Wilkes Gallery (91 Main Street, Northport). This is the second year I have had the opportunity to display my photos at the gallery, and it is alway exciting to see my canvases displayed on a gallery wall. It it wouldn't look the way it does, which I think is really good, without my husband Eddie. Beside doing the heavy lifting and hanging the peices, he has such a good eye for hanging the photos - and I literally stood by while he decided what should go where. I also want to thank my good friend Marie for coming down to help us out.



The show will be on display through August 18. I hope those of you in the area will get a chance to visit the gallery and see the show. I'll be at the Gallery on Saturday, August 15 from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M., so if you are in the area, please stop by and say hello!




Monday, August 10, 2009

I highly recommend…

Food is not a usual subject of my photography, but these shots were taken at the Northport Farmers' Market during last month's Photo Walk, and I thought they would be appropriate after seeing the movie Julie & Julia yesterday. It was wonderful. If you like a good film, or you like to cook, or eat, or all three, then see it as soon as possible. Eddie and I saw it yesterday and I just had to share my enthusiasm — and a few photographs of food.

The fish and lobster both relate to the movie…especially the lobster. A scene in the movie revolves around a lobster, and we read an article that said that the humane society had to be on the set to make sure that no lobsters were harmed in the making of the film. How weird is that!



Tuesday, August 4, 2009

How it was done…

To see how Joe Nuzzo produced his winning HDR photograph, visit the Flickr page he set up. On the page he features the five photos used to composite the image, with an explanation of what he did for each step.

And the winner is…

The selection for best photo from the Northport Photo Walk was this photo by Joseph Nuzzo. The photo uses the very popular High Dynamic Range Technique — better know has HDR. With HDR, there is strong detail in the highlights and shadow, and often the colors are intensified. True HDR photographs are made by combining a series of pictures of the same subject, each exposed with different settings. To create the effect, Joe used Photomatrix Pro (http://www.hdrsoft.com/), software designed for HDR photography, and he used Lightroom 2.4 for finishing. While he often uses Photoshop CS4 for touching up his HDR work, he did not use it for this photo.

If you would like to find out more about how Joe achieves the HDR effect you can contact him through his website, shutterspeak.net. A good source for HDR tutorials can be found at http://tutorialblog.org/hdr-tutorials-roundup/ and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals also features some HDR tutorials for members.

As the participants in the Photo Walk already know, I did not make the choice for the winner myself — I chose five finalist and put it to a vote (most of the finalists voted for themselves, so their votes did not count). I am not usually reticent to make a choice, but I did have a problem with this contest. The photo I would have chosen as the winner was taken by a good friend, and to avoid possible bad feelings, I decided to let the walk participants cast their vote. The other four finalist photographs appear below.



Thursday, July 23, 2009

Art in the Park this Saturday…

If you are in the Northport Area on Saturday, come down to the park and say hello. I'll be setting up a booth at the Northport Arts Coalition Saturday in the Park. It is my only show of this type this summer. Hope to see you. Linda

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Worldwide Photo Walk—Northport Version…

Yesterday was the World Wide Photo Walk, and over thirty photography enthusiasts spent the late morning hours in the Village of Northport, taking photos, exchanging ideas, and generally having a great time. I am really glad I decided to volunteer to lead a walk in Northport. The photographers who signed up couldn't have been nicer, the weather was perfect, and everyone had the opportunity to shoot some really good photogaphs.

We met at the gazebo in the park and before heading out we posed for a group photo. Thanks to Leon for suggesting the vantage point for the photograph!

The stroller at the top right of the photograph belongs to Hunter, our youngest PhotoWalker.
First stop, Northport Harbor, the docks, and the Saturday morning, Farmers' Market. Here Anthony gets up close and personal with the harbor.

The owners of Seymour's Boat Yard, a Northport Landmark, were gracious enough to allow PhotoWalkers to enter their property and document Northport's maritime roots.
The walk continued along Bayview Avenue and included a stop at the home of friends of mine who were kind enough to offer their beautiful garden and harbor view to the PhotoWalkers. More than a few photographers did not want to leave the beauty of the backyard.
Next to last stop on PhotoWalk was Main street.
After meandering up and down Main Street, we met at Copenhagen Bakery for a bit of relaxation and lunch. When Fleming Hansen, the owner of Copenhagen, heard about the PhotoWalk, he immediately offered a discount to group members who stopped for lunch after the walk. Thanks so much, Fleming. Everyone loved the food!
Thanks to everyone who participated for a wonderful day. We have started a Flickr group — to view photos taken by some of the other PhotoWalkers, visit www.flickr.com/groups/northport_photowalk.


Thursday, July 16, 2009

How to get to Northpot…


Did you know that the original name for Northport Village was Cow Harbor?

Above is a map showing the layout of Nothport Village. For directions, use the map below, which links to Google Maps. Click on the A in the marker and use the link to find directions, or click on the words VIEW LARGER MAP underneath the map. The link will take you directly to Google Maps. Entering your starting point will give you directions to the harbor area of Northport Village (I used the address for Hengstenberg's Florist, which is the Main Street store closest to the Park).


View Larger Map


Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Northport PhotoWalk Saturday…

This Saturday, July 18, is the WorldWide Photo Walk, and I am thrilled to be leading a walk in Northport Village. I thought I'd share a few Northport photos to set the mood.

The Northport PhotoWalk participants are meeting at the Gazebo at 9:30 A.M.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Someone Else's Peonies…



Last Sunday we were in Connecticuit for a family party at my sister-in-law's. Carol's peonies were in full bloom, and I couldn't resist taking a few photos.




With all the shade at our house, our peonies always bloom late, and as of last week they were just about ready to pop. And then came all the rain. Only a very few of my flowers made it to full bloom. So disappointing!