Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

I want to assure all of those of you who were concerned about the whole San Gennaro affair that despite the fact that the Holy See has decided that he was never a real saint, the miracle of the liquefaction of his relic blood has occurred. Even the new Mayor of Naples, De Magistris, as a good politician, embraced the miracle and stated that it was a sign that he will be successful in his chimerical attempt to revitalize Naples. Good luck. As we speak, the San Gennaro Feast is going strong in NY. It all shows that the true mission of religion is making money. There's no higher calling. The lens I u sed when I shot this Ektachrome was the superb Nikkor 105 F 2.5.

I absolutely love the simple, no nonsense architecture in New England. It has that Protestant ethic of sorts. Nothing unnecessary is added, no frills, nothing that doesn't have a function is present. They embraced the bauhaus idea that "form follows funtions" way before the movement championed it. " It's all is very different from the architecture found in Italy generally. These shots were made in Noank, Connecticut.

This shot is a tight shot of a flower box in Greenport, Long Island. I love this place and what makes it more appealing is it's location. It is at the end of long Island's wine country. Great wines. I really do not drink any others most of the time.

Once again, I want to express my thanks to those of you who follow this blog. It's a labor of love and it's not easy finding appropriate photos. What I would appreciate is a comment occasionally. Please let me know what you think. I'm not looking for compliments only constructive criticism and if some polemic were to start, I would really love it. Again thank you.

While walking around Castellammare at night, I went to Petrolo an area where there were the so called bancarelle or street vendors. Here was potter who was showing his wares. Next to the bancarella I saw the lone spinner that he used up to make his pots. The artigiano was busy with a shopper so I took this shot at ISO 3200. I was impressed with the general lack of noise in the image.

On a wintry February day your thoughts go to making tests. This impatience is one that I bring in in the fall and keeps on flowering. I used the Olympus kit lens, the 9-18 Zuiko. A very nice lens that defies it's plastic appearance. The close up ability is actually quite good.

With the advent of digital imaging, the problem of saving and archiving images has become a real pain in the you know where. When we had negatives, we had concrete items that with proper care would keep for many years when processed and stored according to archival standards. Even if not processed or stored archivally, the negatives would last for many years. This was especially true with black and white negativrs. Of course, as time marched on, there was a slow but inexorable loss of quality. With slides one saw this degradation after a decade pr so. Kodachome was the exception but it too deteriorated albeit at a slower pace. Color negatives, a relatively new items [introduced in the early sixties] the situation is a;so precarious but lessso than with color slides. With digital, we do not have any tangible item, only a string of one and zeroes plus instructions. If we shoot RAW, the problem becomes even more pronounced as each camera model produces different RAW images and new softw...

The The small, walled city of Lucca, famous for it's olive oil and fine cuisine as well as a trove of art, is a must visit if one visits Tuscany. I used the 17-85 F 3.5-4.5 Nikkor for this shot that captures the fine colors of the afternoon.

The Japanese Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic is a true gem; It's really like being in Japan. The 5D II requisitioned by my daughter shows its incredible image quality. The lens was the superb 24-104 F4 L.

I took the 5D to Italy last April but it was too heavy and too obtrusive. I have taken lighter cameras ever since. This is a shot of the little hamlet of Scopello that has a wonderful view of the sea. This is an interior courtyard. The lens was the superb 24-105 F4 L, one of the most versatile lenses I have ever used.