Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

There's no time better than Christmas time in New York. The city becomes magical when it's all decorated with lights and other ornaments. This is the tree at Washington Square Park, under the arch that denotes the start of Fifth Avenue. Just beautiful. The camera was the Panasonic LX-7.

Oskar Barnack, who started it all Happy Birthday Leica, there's still nothing like you. Leica Turns 99 and Celebrates with a Look at it's  Glorious Past Way back in 1913 the great Oskar Barnack came out with the camera that began a 99 year legacy. Since then, Leica has been iconic in the photography world and the company's cameras have been used to capture some tremendous images. The company is celebrating that history on its 99th birthday. Leica has also released a limited edition book called "Ninety Nine Years Leica," which not only highlights  the moments that Leica cameras helped immortalize throughout the years, but also the human emotions experienced by Leica creators. There are only 1,500 English versions of these books in production currently, and they're only available from Leica stores. Why print so few? They will be gone in a flash.

There's no place more exciting than Manhattan and this is especially true at night time. These were shot on a rainy evening with the Panasonic Lumix LX-7.

The word cute doesn't go far enough to explain these wonderful children who acted out a Nativity play as part of the Catholic Foundation fund drive for scholarships for Catholic education. These children are all from Our Lady Queen of Heaven School in Queens. The camera was the Canon 1D III with the  Canon 24 to 105 F 4 L lens,

Yes indeed, these are my surviving plants after Sandy struck. They are doing their very best to last as long as possible; that is until the real cold weather hits and then it's wait until next year.

Piazza Pretoria in Palermo is called la Piazza della Vergogna or the square of shame because of its lewd statues. Only the Italians can put such a lascivious show close to a church. It is worth a visit when in Palermo.

This shot was taken in Taormina, Sicily in 1972 early morning. The woman is clutching a wine glass and is probably going to her hoyel after an interesting night.

What can I say, I'm always thinking of spring. My favorite  New York  place in springtime is the glorious Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It always satisfies me. These photos are all from early spring in 2012 when all flowers came out early as a result of the warm winter.

Forest Park in queens is a true forest smack in the center of Queens. The damage of Hurricane Sandy can be seen on some branches that are precariously hanging on. It's a  great place to walk my dog. A true escape from city life.