Theme # 148 "Historic Lighthouse"

Well Julie guessed it. The first comment on the image below was from Julie and she asked if I was going to show off the Lighthouse. Well here it is and here is a little trivia about this Historic Land Mark. By the time I got here late last Sunday afternoon it was past 6pm. and we could not tour the Lighthouse but I got a good shot of it from the main parking lot across the street.

It was Authorized by the Second congress in 1792, under President George Washington and
Construction began on June 7, 1796 and was completed on November 5, 1796. It was the First lighthouse in New York State and Fourth oldest active lighthouse in the United States. The
Foundation is 13'deep and 9' thick and Constructed of sandstone blocks from Connecticut, 8" high and varying in length front 18" high to 44". The walls are 6' thick at the base tapering to 3' thick at the top. The height of the tower is 110' 6" with 137 iron steps to the top of the tower.
The light flashes every 5 seconds and can be seen a distance of 19 nautical miles. My first visit to this place was probably in 1945 or 1946 when I was a young boy. I remember going here on a Sunday afternoon ride with my family. My how time flies by when you are having fun. Here is a good link for this lighthouse if you are interested.

http://www.montauklighthouse.com/

Nikon D90 2009/04/26 18:03:28

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 52mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/160 sec - F/8

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 354 "Water's Edge "

This beautiful scene was taken at "Camp Hero" State Park, Montauk, NY. This is the first time I have been here and it was quite the treat. The Light house you see in the top left corner is the famous Montauk Point Lighthouse located at the eastern most tip of Long Island. Needless to say as you look east you are looking at the Atlantic Ocean towards our friends in Europe. As you can see the coast line here is hilly and rocky. No where else on the Atlantic coast of Long Island is this true. Just a few miles west of this spot the shoreline is beautiful, with sandy beaches famous word wide like the Hampton's where the pompous rich and famous live and have their summer compounds (who cares) with the like of the Kennedys, Speilberg, Billy Joel etc, etc. Camp Hero a former military base was originally a coastal defense installation during WW-II. During the cold war it served as a Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) training site through the 1950's. It also served as a Revolutionary War Canon site during that era. The Park itself consists of over 400 acres with miles of heavily wooded trails, picnic areas and the historic military buildings. It is a beautiful place to take a long hike on Long Island.

Nikon D90 2009/04/26 17:30:13

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 17mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/30 sec - F/20

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 174 "Local Landmark"

The "Old Hook Mill" is located in East Hampton, NY right on Main Street.

The owners of a post mill at the north end of town commissioned Nathaniel Dominy V to build a new smock mill with two pairs of millstones. The mill was built in 1806 and incorporated the main post of the 1736 Hook Mill. Nathaniel Dominy VII's "Register of Wind, Weather R Doings" documented the mill as being surprisingly active from I887 through I908 when it ceased operation. The Village of East Hampton bought the mill and the lot in 1922 and restored the mill to working order in 1939. It operated seasonally into the 1950's The village made additional repairs in 1984-1985. It is open during the summer months for a short tour.

Nikon D90 2009/04/26 16:41:14

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 20mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/100 sec - F/11

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 55 "Closely Cropped"

On Thursday evenings, in the nice weather, they have a car rally in the local King Kullen parking lot. This has been going on for years and I know some people who display their restored automobiles at these get together's. Yesterday when I took this shot of the 1965 Black Ford Mustang, the 6PM late afternoon sun was burning directly, straight on into my lens. I told my wife "no go", the light is not right, all I will get is burned out highlights and bad reflections with a lot of lens flare. Well she said take a few shots and see what you get because it will probably be raining next Thursday. So I took about ten clicks and and true to my expectations there was a lot of very over exposed highlights. So I went off to the Police Museum to get some other photos(see below). When the sun is a little higher in the sky in late June/July I will go back. Last evening I was playing around with these shots to see what I could salvage and use for the Blog Monster. I'm so far behind I figured what the heck post it. I kinda like it, it's different. The extreme close crop (IMHO) adds to the mystery of what this auto looks like in full view. I'll keep going back on Thursdays and get a good full shot of some of these autos. The original un-cropped version had the sky blown out with pure white pixels and a lot of lens flare off the fenders. I'm getting good look at the shutter speed (1/13 sec.)hand held non-VR lens.

Nikon D90 2009/04/23 17:47:55

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 15mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/13 sec - F/22

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 191 "Museum"

This is the first in a series of images I took at the Police Museum in Yaphank, NY. As you can see it is an old Shell Gas Station dating back to the early 1940's. The Police Wrecker (tow truck) is a 1942 Dodge. The price of gas as seen on the pump was 15 9/10 cents per gallon. The two posts below show one of the gas pumps and the restrooms (little bldg. on right side).

Nikon D90 2009/04/19 13:00:14

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 14mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/320 sec - F/11

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 213 "Orange"

This old orange Shell gas pump dates back to the 1940's. It is part of the Police museum mentioned in the post below. The price of gas at that time was 15 9/10 cents per gallon. What a bargain. But remember that ones salary was much less. I know that in 1951 I worked in a drug store in Sayville, NY and made a whooping 57 1/2 cents per hour.

Nikon D90 2009/04/23 18:29:09

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 19mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/25 sec - F/18

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 79 "Doors"

Well this pair of "Doors" belong to a restored Old Shell Gas Station from the early 1940's. It is located in Yaphank, NY and is part of the Long Island Police Museum. It's really a very interesting Museum to tour which I did quite a few years ago. One of these days I will go back and get more pictures. I took this one today as it is outside and not in the museum which was closed today.

Nikon D90 2009/04/23 18:37:08

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 20mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/60 sec - F/11

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 357 "What's for Dinner"

Well looking at this image I guess you can easily guess what is on the menu.

In 1896 the original restaurant and bar opened for business in the well-known J.J. Sullivan Hotel at its present location on East Main in Riverhead. It is believed to be the oldest continuing restaurant, bar and hotel in the town of Riverhead and the North Fork. Tweed's even continued to operate through the Prohibition by imaginative use of secret doors and dumbwaiters. The mahogany and marble bar originally constructed for the 1893 Exposition in Chicago still stands.

Today named "Tweeds Restaurant and Buffalo Bar" has been totally restored to it's original charm, featuring Victorian chandeliers, stained glass, the original stamped tin ceiling and a beautifully mantled oak fire place. And what Buffalo Bar could be complete without a trophy head of the last bison hunted by Teddy Roosevelt in the Dakota "Badlands." I personally have never eaten here but I here it is excellent and will make a point to visit this establishment. That said the Buffalo you see in the picture are raised on the owners Buffalo farm a few miles north of this restaurant. I have heard and read conflicting reports about whether the Bison at the farm are indeed used for food at the restaurant. Some reports indicated that the Buffalo's at the farm are for breding purposes only while other articles I read claim that the Buffalo are raised for food at the Restaurant. Here is the link for Tweeds and as you can see this place has quite the history. http://www.tweedsrestaurant.com/index.html

Nikon D90 2009/04/18 17:50:40

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 240mm

Exposure Mode: Manual

Metering Mode: Spot

1/400 sec - F/5.6

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 54 "Closed"

This my friends is the infamous Shoreham/Wading River Nuclear Power Plant. The plant itself is located in Shoreham on the edge of the Wading River which you can see in the foreground. It never opened but fuel was loaded for low power testing. The building of this monstrosity was a never ending effort with cost overruns and delays. This is where I live and all the locals voted against this plant but the politicians and Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) new better. The opposition grew real stiff after the Three Mile Island incident and Chernobyl disaster. Finally because NY Governor Mario Cuomo would not sign off on an Emergency Evacuation Plan the new plant could not get the AOK from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In the end it cost us tax payers over 6 Billion Dollars which we local tax payers are still paying. Here's a good link for the history of this beloved place.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoreham_Nuclear_Power_Plant The setting sun was off to my right as you can see from the magic colors.

Nikon D90 2009/04/16 18:47:12

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 18mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/25 sec - F/16

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 400

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 360 "Who Put That There?"

This is a crazy fun shot. I went looking for a specific image and it did not work out. So I took a little ride and went down to the docks to see what I could find. There was not a boat in the Patchogue town Marina and it was around 7PM and I could tell with the dark grey clouds no sunset was in the coming. So I made a U-turn and on my way out I spotted this owl on the vertical pole. While I was in the car I thought it was real. So I silently and quickly got my camera and put the tele-zoom on and stepped out of the car. It was then I realized that it was a carving. Pretty neat, I've been here many times and never saw it before. These VR lens are great, look at the exposure 1/25Th sec @ 170mm with the ISO cranked up to 640. Hand held.

Nikon D90 2009/04/13 19:10:25

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 170mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/25 sec - F/11

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 640

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 56 "Clouds"

Today was a beautiful spring day with high winds and lots of big puffy clouds. I was up on Bald Hill taking the pictures of the Vietnam War Memorial ( posted below) and figured I would use this one for the theme title. When I took one of the picture of the Memorial I was facing directly into the sun. So I made a left turn (90degrees) put my polarizer filter on and took one shot. The filter really added to the depth of the clouds and color of the sky. I rotated my filter for maximum effect and then just backed off a bit. I find that this gives a more even effect all over the image.

Nikon D90 2009/04/07 12:36:49

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 40mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/80 sec - F/22

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 228 "Patriotic #2"

OK, so you saw the image below that is the Vietnam War Memorial here on LI, NY. When I took the image of the Memorial and was putting my camera gear away I turned around and saw these flags waving in the stiff breeze so I figured why not take a few shots. They are directly behind the Memorial. Easier said then done. It seemed that exactly when I pressed the shutter button the wind stopped for a second and the flag decided to drape downwards and the image did not look very good. So after about 20 shots I finally got a few that looked good. The Lower flag is the MIA/POW flag for the Vietnam War era.

Nikon D90 2009/04/07 12:50:10

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: VR 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 G

Focal Length: 280mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/200 sec - F/22

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 640

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Theme # 228 "Patriotic"

"Suffolk County Vietnam War Memorial", Farmingville, NY.

Situated on top of Bald Hill, one of the highest points on Long Island, this monument was constructed under the guidance of the Suffolk County Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee in 1991. The monument, a sharply sloping pyramid, painted boldly in the colors of our nation's flag, acknowledges the service and sacrifice of all Vietnam Veterans - those who died, those who were wounded, and the men and women who served. It is hoped the memorial will help heal the trauma of those war years in a spirit of reconciliation and remembrance. This site affords a spectacular and inspirational, unobstructed view of Suffolk County for miles in all directions.

I made about four trips here to capture this image but the light just was not what I wanted. Usually it was later in the afternoon around sunset. Today I happened to be in the area and saw those extremely large, puffy cumulus clouds and I knew that I better hurry. I got there at around noon time and by the time I got my camera gear and walked to the Memorial site I suddenly realized that I will be facing directly into the high noon sun. I took about thirty or so shots and tried to be exact in aligning up my camera and be centered properly. That said it was a hit and miss deal as the wind was blowing probably in the 30-40 mph range and the clouds were zooming by. The sun is shining through the dark clouds just to the right of the top of the memorial. Believe it or not I did not blow out the highlights because of the sun being behind the cloud so I lucked out and IMHO this is a keeper. Other shots I took where the clouds were white and not dark were over-exposed with hot spots. I use Lightroom for my PP and I did use the gradient filter on the top and left side to reduce my exposure. It acts the same as if I used a neutral density filter but to me its much better as I could use it on the left side also. I kept just a smidgen of the four ground trees on the bottom so that the Memorial did not appear to just emerge from the granite walk way. The Memorial is surrounded by heavy guard rails because I believe it was in 1997 that a couple of teenagers were painting there Graffiti art on the sides of the granite walls of the Memorial. They were caught and apprehended by the local police.

Nikon D90 2009/04/07 12:23:05

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 20mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/250 sec - F/22

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A

Hand Held

Theme # 137 "Halls of Justice"

Riverhead, Long Island, NY is the County seat and this is where the old Supreme Court Building resides. The original wooden structure was built in the mid 1800's and damaged by fire and rebuilt in 1928. The County has since built a new court building behind this structure and is attached to the nineteenth century complex by bridges. The whole area is roped off and is undergoing a major face lift.

Nikon D90 2009/04/05 14:47:45

RAW (12-bit)

Lens: 12-24mm F/4 G

Focal Length: 14mm

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority

Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern

1/80 sec - F/14

Exposure Comp.: 0 EV

Sensitivity: ISO 200

White Balance: Auto

AF Mode: AF-A