Newport, Rhode Island

Just returned from a relaxing vacation in Newport, Rhode Island. These are some pictures taken just after sunset from the grounds of the hotel.

Lido Beach, Long Island

Red Mammatus Clouds Over NYC

Last week there was a very unusual cloud formation over New York City. These pouch-like clouds, known as mammatus clouds, looked very ominous. Evidently, they sometimes appear after a thunderstorm has passed. This picture was taken from my apartment window around sunset.

Daniel's Christening

A few weeks ago, I photographed Daniel's baptism into the Romanian Orthodox Church. Here is Daniel with his proud parents.

The ceremony took place in a small church in Manhattan.


The Godfather and Godmother hold the baby during most of the ceremony.




Daniel's very calm just before he is placed in the water, . . .


. . . and not so calm once he entered the water.






One of Daniel's grandmothers watching intently.


The priest cuts a lock of Daniel's hair.


The priest delivers some final words to the audience.


Daniel was the star of the after-party.


Daniel with one of his grandfathers.

Sunday at Citi Field

My brother and I went to today's New York Mets game. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The Mets beat the Florida Marlins 3-2. This is a picture from our upper deck seats.

My Niece's Picnic Table

Storm Clouds Approaching

A Leaf in the Wind

Green Leaves

Leaves Backlit by the Sun

Dogwood Tree

When I was growing up in Brooklyn, my family lived in a house. My father, my brother and I spent alot of time tending to the plants and flowers around our house. Last weekend, I saw a dogwood tree and it reminded me of the large dogwood tree we had in our back yard.

Treetops

Flowers From the Backyard

Pink Flowers

Camden Yards and its Progeny

With the opening of the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field this year, I was reminded of a trip to Camden Yards that I took a few years ago. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Construction of the ballpark was completed in 1992.

When Camden Yards opened, I remember thinking that it was the most beautiful ballpark I had ever seen. While it had a "retro" feel, Camden Yards felt fresh. It reminded me of the more traditional ballparks that were designed for baseball only. Up until Camden Yards, the design trend of baseball stadiums seemed to be geared toward round, symmetrical, dual-purpose stadiums like the Astrodome in Houston, RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. and Shea Stadium in New York. Camden Yards broke away from that trend and started a new trend toward retro style, baseball only ballparks, with modern amenities.

About two years after Camden Yards was completed, the Cleveland Indians opened up Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field). Jacobs Field continued with the "retro" style, baseball only, ballpark. It seems that every baseball venue that has been built since has followed this style, including Turner Field in Atlanta, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Comerica Park in Detroit, and more recently, Nationals Park in Washington D.C. and Citi Field.

This is a picture I took at Camden Yards during our trip a few years ago.

Back to Yankee Stadium

I went to another Yankee game at their new stadium on Monday night. Unfortunately, because of a steady rain, the start of the game was delayed over two hours.


Once the rain lessened, the Yankee Stadium grounds crew worked quickly to get the field in playing shape.



At the start of every game at Yankee Stadium, the fans in the bleachers chant the name of each Yankee player on the field. Here is Yankee left fielder Johnny Damon acknowledging the bleacher chants.



Phil Hughes made his second start of the season for the Yankees.



Hughes struggled with his command over his pitches and lasted only 4 innings.



Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano has had a good start to his season. However, this night he went hitless including this fly out to center field.


This is Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, last year's American League Most Valuable Player.



Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira has started the year slowly with a batting average under .200. Monday night he hit two home runs. This was his second one.



Yankee righthander Edwar Ramirez pitched in relief.



Another picture of Edwar Ramirez. This is my favorite picture of the night. In the end, the Yankees lost to Boston by a score of 6-4. The game ended after 1:00 a.m.

Gate 6 at Yankee Stadium

My First Game at the New Yankee Stadium

The best baseball stadium I have ever visited is, hands down, the new Yankee Stadium. Last night was my first game there. The Yankees beat the L.A. Angels 7-4.

The New York Yankees have a rich team history. They've won 26 World Championships, more than any other major league team. They began as the "Highlanders" in 1903 and their home field was "Hilltop Park". The Highlanders were renamed the "Yankees" in 1913 after moving to the Polo Grounds. In 1923, the first Yankee Stadium opened. From 1974-1975, the Yankees played at Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium underwent a major renovation. Yankee Stadium reopened in 1976. The new Yankee Stadium was built next door to the old Yankee Stadium and opened this year.

The new Yankee Stadium does a great job of celebrating their team history. My favorite aspect is the dozens of large photographs above the concession stands that surround the field level concourse. These photographs include action shots from memorable games and snapshots of players in non-game situations. In my opinion, these photographs, more than anything else, connect the stadium to the team.

I really like the New York Mets new stadium, Citi Field, too. However, I hope the Mets use the new Yankee Stadium as inspiration and do more at Citi Field to celebrate the history of the Mets. The 1969 and 1986 championship Mets teams created incredible memories. The Mets fans, who have supported their team over the years, deserve to be able to bask in those memories when they go to Citi Field.


Here is a panoramic shot from my first game at the new Yankee Stadium. I'll post more pics later.

Canon 5D with 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, 1/160 sec., f/5.6, ISO 800

Bad Day at Citi Field

I was at today's Mets game. They got blown out 8-1 by the team with the worst record in baseball, the Washington Nationals. It was the Nationals' first road win of the year. Oliver Perez was ineffective, giving up 7 earned runs in 4.1 innings.


This is Mets' lefty, Pedro Feliciano, pitching in relief in the 8th inning.


Nick Johnson is out at second base in the top of the 8th inning.


Carlos Beltran trying to beat the throw to first in the bottom of the 8th inning. He was out.

Plants in My Sister-In-Law's Backyard

I love shooting with a shallow depth of field. There are some pictures taken with an aperture of f/1.2. The area in focus is only a few centimeters deep.

Canon 5D with 85mm f/1.2L II lens, 1/1000 sec., f/1.2, ISO 100
Canon 5D with 85mm f/1.2L II lens, 1/1250 sec., f/1.2, ISO 100

Canon 5D with 85mm f/1.2L II lens, 1/400 sec., f/1.2, ISO 100

Canon 5D with 85mm f/1.2L II lens, 1/400 sec., f/1.2, ISO 100