Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Let us wish you a joyful new year. Let's hope that this coming year will be better than 2009 and that it will grant you all you want. Thanks for visiting. We hope to bring you more interesting photos in 2010. Happy New Year / Buom Capodanno,

The view from pur hotel window, the Palazzo Ravizzi, in Siena. The Tuscan hills in early afternoon bathed by that Italian sun. The Nikon D200 with the 18-85 3.5-4.5 Nikkor. It was April of 2007. The views were great but the food was even greater.

Shot in late summer of 2008 with the Canon 1DII and the 16-35 f2.8 L. Midtown Manhattan from Queens.

This is "Combat," one of my cats. My son Mike found him under a dumpster outside a Chinese Restaurant in Jackon Height Queens. He was almost dead but with love, medical care and good food he is now a real gem. Shot with the Canon 1D II in July of 2007.

There nothing like a winter trip to a great botanic garden's green house. This was shot in February of 2008 at the Planting Fields Arboretum in Long Island. The Canon 5D with the Sigma 50mm 2.8 Macro lens.

Another one from December of 2007 with the Canon IDII and the 16-35 2,8 L.

Shot in December of 2007 with the Canon 1DII and the 16-38 f2.8 L. Merry Christmas to one and all. Thank you for visiting. Rocco Galatioto

A rainy day in April 2005 in Piazza San Marco with the Nikon D2H and the Sigma 18-135.

With winter here can spring be far behind. Shot with the Olympus E 300 and the 14-45 lens. It was a wonderful early June day in 2006 at the rose garden of the Brooklyn Botanic garden.

The 20D was and still is a great camera. Paired with the 24-85 3.5-4.5 EF lens it makes for a great travel kit. This was shot in late September of 2007.

The winter solstice. The only good thing about it is that from now on the days wioll get longer. I return to this spot on the Delaware River. This is shot from the Pennsylvania side looking south and taking in a bridge by Roebling. Beautiful spot. Shoy in the Middle od October 2007 with the canon 1D II and the 16-35 2.8 L.

Because it's really snowing in NYC, my thoughts turn to summer. I hate the winter, the snow and anything wintry. This is an old school house in northern NJ. Up to a few years ago, it was run by a local group that kept it open for people to visit and enjoy. It was then turned over to the Federal Government that now keeps it closed all the time and allows no visitors anymore. It makes my anarchical genes rise. At any rate, it was shot in late August of 2007 with the Canon 5D and the EF 35mm 2.8 lens.

There's something about the color of the D1X that makes me return to the many images I shot with them. Great color. Just 5.6 mega pixels nut what image quality! This was shot in 2006 during the winter and the geraniums are from one of my flower pots. Just fooling around with the D1X and the 60mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor.

Winter is not even here but I'm dreaming spring. This was shot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in early April of 2009 with the D700 and the 14mm 2.8 Nikkor.

The old rail road station in Mystic Connecticut. The D 300 with the 18-70 3.5-4.5 Nikkor.

It's the same venue as yesterday's photo with the same camera and lens. I just love the reflected hands of the maestro.

Shot yesterday at the Alive in Hope Foundation's Bishop's Luncheon. The foundation raises funds so that poor children can attend Catholic schools. Shot with the D700 and the 29-105 3.5-4.5 Nikkor.

The summer solstice of 2007 with the Nikon D2H and the 18-70 3.5-5.5 Nikkor. The same bridge as yesterday.

The ides of June of 2006. The Throghs Neck Bridge connecting The Bronx with Queens in NYC. Shot with the Canon 30d and the 16-35 f 2.8 L.

June 2004 with the Canon 10D and the 24-85 3.5-4.5 EF lens. Lower Manhattan street scene.

Over the Atlantic with the Canon A 620 P&S. Not bad for such a small camera. Sometimes a little camera is all you need.

April 2006 in Florence. The Canon 5D with the Canon 24-65 3.5-4.5 EF lens. Nice travel lens. All those who believe that older lenses cannot do justice to new sensors are full of it. They do not know what they are talking about. They are full of techno BS and are basically full of it.

Coney Island in early April of 2007 with the Nikon D200 and the 17-55 f2.8 Nikkor G lens. Somewhat cliche but who cares.

The bridge at Mystic Connecticut shot on early June of 2008 with the G9. Somewhat noisy at higher ISO settings but once the highlights are controlled, the camera was capable of great results.

Shot at a recent event with the Nikon D700 and the 28-105 3.5-4.5 at ISO 1250 and the SB800 flash.

Just shot with the Panasonic LX3. Scene of early winter. The location is north eastern PA. I cannot wait for spring.

I cannot help it but occasionally I must post a photo of Charlie, my Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog. Shot in May of 2009 with the Canon 5D and the 24-105 2F4 L.

May 2005 at the Queens Botanic Garden. The Nikon D1Xh the Micro Nikkor 60mm 2.8. I'm already dreaming of spring.

November 2003, in northeastern PA. The Canon Id with the 16-35 2.8 L. Not bad for 4 mega pixels.

November, 2004 with the Canon 20D and the 16-35 2.8 L. Shot at an event by the Family and Children's Association.

Shot with the Nikon D2H and the Micro Nikkor 60mm 2.8. great combination. The date is May of 2006.

I believe that in the end it will be high ISO and improved DR that will separate the great cameras from the more mundane ones. First we must get away from the higher mega pixel race. There's a point where resolution will actually become problematic. We already have reasonably high resolution so we must insist now that camera makers continue to improve on ISO and DR performance. This will free us from all our attachments to the film days. We can use digital cameras in new ways and finally take advantage of their strengths. This opens up new ways of taking pictures both useful for professional applications and for creative ones. We can shed all our film mannerisms. Not that film mannerisms are bad; they apply to film. This is not a film Vs digital debate as both have their strengths and weaknesses. This is a plea that we begin to use our digital cameras in ways that we could never do before with film and push the creative envelope further. I hope that the camera maker's are...

Again thr great LX3. On the shores of the Delaware River this past October. I cannot say enough nice things about this little gem of a camera.

Stay tuned for great pizza in Brooklyn. This is Paul Giannone, stoking the fire in his outdoor pizza oven in his house in NJ. He invited us to a pizza tasting as he embarks on a great culinary adventure, namely a new pizzeria. This is not your typical corner pizzeria with the so called pizza cheese and gas oven. Instead this is one of the new breeds of pizzerie artigianiali that use all authentic products like mozzarella di bufala, San Marzano tomatoes and flour all from Italy, not to mention a wood burning oven built in Naples. The restaurant that will honor the great Neapolitan pizza traditions, is about to open in late December 2009 or early January of 2010. From what we tasted, the pizza will be excellent and true to the art. We wish him well. The restaurant will be located at Franklin Street and Greenpoint Anenue. We can hardly wait to go there. I want to thank Paul for the invite. We had a great time. Good food and good company is an unbeatable combination. BUONA FORTUNA PUL, E...

The Arno river in Florence. April 2007. Dusk, looking south. The Nikon D200 with the 18-85 3.5-4.5 Nikkor. A great travel lens. Nothing fancy but capable of doing the job.

Spring of 2003 at Juniper Valley Park in Queens. The city built these fancy baseball fields but they are not open to the general public. They also keep them in great shape. Very strange but not surprising in view of the usual corruption in NYC. These fields are used by parochial schools. Apparently the city politicians have never heard of the separation of church and state. The camera was the superb Minolta 404 with a great lens and a nice 4 mega pixel sensor.

Spring of 2004 with the Canon 10D and the superb Canon 70-200 f4 L. The Location is the Brooklyn Botanic garden. The little girl was part of a wedding party. The garden is a favorite location for weddings. I just saw her and took the photo. BTW, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL

Fruits in Sicily from this past summer. Shot with the LX3. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Shot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on an unforgettable Saturday afternoon The lack of direct sunlight gave the colors great saturation. The E399 with the 14-85 lens.

The camera is the Canon 5D but other than the date which is February of 2005, flower shop bought tulips shot at home, I recall no lens information. I may be the Sigma 50mm macro f 2.8.

The D1X again. At the Queens Botanic Garden. April or 2006. I forgot about the lens I used. It may have been the 60mm f2.8 Micro Nikkor.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Again it's May 2005 with the superlative Nikon D1X.

May of 2005 with the Nikon DIX, I don't remember the lens. The only thing I can say is that it was one of the most phenomenal camera when it came to color. I really miss it.

Shot in the summer of 1969 in Sicily with the Canon Ft, the Canon 50mm f1.4 FL on good old Kodachrome II. Yes it had an ASA [ISO] of 25. That was sufficient then to take photos in day time. Now we expect cameras to take shots at ridiculously high ISO settings. How times change.

The spring of 1975 with the Nikon F and the 35mm 2.8 Nikkor. Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn at sunset. The film was Kodachrome 25.

Shot in Ravenna. These mosaics are absolutely superb. The Nikon D200 with the 18-85 3.6-4.5 Nikkor; a great travel lens.

Littly Italy of Manhattan at dusk in May of 2008 with the Canon 9D.

Way back in September of 1972 with the Canon Ft and the 50mm 1.4 FL lens. The film was Kodachrome II; yes ASA or ISO 25! Those were the days when you had to have steady hands. Th1s was an Amish children in Pennsylvania. We are spoiled today with our new sensors and their high ISA performance. I really miss that old Kodachrome. It is no longer available, alas.

Recently shot at Old Lafayette, NJ with the Canon G9. The overcast day created a wintry mood.

Good fences make good neighbors as they say. This hot of white fences was shot yesterday in Milford Pa. The camera was the Canon G9.

June of 2008. The Nikon D2h with the 18-55 3.5.4.5 Nikkor.