Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

There's something magical about the Tuscan countryside in the springtime. Although as a Sicilian I hate to admit it, Tuscany also has it's charms. These photos are from the Chianti wine region between Florence to the north and Siena to the south.

As for myself, I am no longer really interested on the latest and greatest camera down the pike only to be replaced with another latest and better model. But many who visit may find this of interest. Nikon's new D-series dSLR: the D7100 Hold presses; Nikon have just unveiled the inevitable successor to their popular D7000 ,  the new D7100 . Progress marches in. This is a "mid-range" dSLR, with improved performance and image quality if it's compared to their entry-level models ( like the D5200 ); nevertheless, it still has an APS-C -1.5X- sized image sensor. The D7100 has  some features  that appear in their professional-level models (like the D300s), like moisture and dust resistance. Other features  of note include a 24.1-megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor, EXPEED 3 processor, 6fps burst shooting, full 1080 (30p) HD video recording, a  nice 3.2-inch display, and a new 51-point AF system. There are other features so a visit to Nikon's site is recomm...

I was just having some fun on a rainy spring day with my Canon 1D III and the Sigma 50mm F2.6 Macro. Just in my back yard. Sometimes you do not have to roam very far.

Just a walk in the old center city in search for a place to eat and these are two of the resulting images.

One Canon Park To Become The New Home Of Canon U.S.A. In Melville, New York MELVILLE, N.Y., February 18, 2013 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce the new address of its new Americas headquarters. One Canon Park, located in Melville, New York will consolidate nearly 1,400 Canon employees into one central location. Nearly half of all Canon U.S.A. employees have relocated to the Melville headquarters while the remaining employees will complete the move in March. The new headquarters will serve all North and South American countries and will be one of Canon's three worldwide headquarters, with the other two located in London and Japan. "We are so proud to be moving to our brand new, state-of-the-art headquarters at One Canon Park," said Seymour Liebman, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel, Canon U.S.A. "One Canon Park will be a symbol of not only our ded...

It looks like another polemical dust issue just like when the Canon  5-D was released, I never had one with my 5-D's but there are those who expect the impossible or just like to nit pick. The latter are usually not photographers but boring techies. Nikon has  just released a service advisory for its D600 digital SLR, it deals with dust and dirt accumulation  issues on the camera's sensor. This in response to  user complaints, Nikon has  acknowledged that dust removal 'may be difficult using normal measures' and advises customers to contact their nearest Nikon service center if they experience this problem. Service centers will examine and service such cameras 'as needed.' Go to the Nikon website for details.

As the sun sets in  Piazza San Marco in Venice, tourists begin to leave and the place become less hectic so the pigeons have it for themselves. This tranquility doesn't last long because the evening is close at hand and new throngs will once again descend upon on it to attend the smart shops and expensive bars and restaurants. But it's Venice, a place unlike anywhere else on Earth.

This little girl is surely enjoying her gelato. Shot in Genoa, Italy with the Olynpus E PL-2.

Finally, a nice size dish of pasta con sarde, pasta with sardines Ferdinando's restaurant located at 151 Union Street Brooklyn, is perhaps one of the best places for Sicilian cuisine in New York. A place where we occasionally go to when it becomes too hard to stay outside of our beloved Sicily. One eventually craves for this comfort food so to Ferdinando one must go. These shots are all taken by my daughter Jennifer, a professional photographer of note who commandeered my LX-3 and took these photos one summer evening when we all went there to enjoy the delicious fare. I am the one enjoying the food while the owner is outside the store. A visit to this place is highly recommended. No nouvelle cuisine here with it's tiny dishes. This is real food. I hope that you allow me a little of self indulgence occasionally.

The Sicilian Cuisine Blog: "Panelle & Kitchen qb": Sicilian street food introduced by our first guest of the year http://galatiotophoto.blogspot.com

The way the Catholic religion is usually practiced borders on superstition and on idolatry, Of course, at least officially, the  Church disavows such practices but in practice it welcomes and even encourages them. All the feasts that are usually held in neighborhoods on US cities and in towns and cities all over Italy and most other European and Latin American countries, involve statue worshiping of one sort or another.  These shots are of the  "simulacrum", or statue of  La Madonna del Soccorso. She is the patron saint of my beloved Castellammare del Golfo whose towns feast is celebrated from the 19th to the 21st of August. The paesani in Queens, however, celebrate her in early September. This involves a procession and a street fair. What we see here is the complete devotion in preparing the statue for the parade. The reverence is palpable. It's as these men were dealing with the actual Madonna. BTW, the lens used was the Nikkor 16-24 F 2.8.

Olympus has gone through a difficult financial  period but it appears that although still not totally out of the woods it is fighting back. The welcome announcement of this high performance small camera is a good sign that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Olympus Announces the XZ-10 iHS Olympus has just announced a third "XZ"   model,   the  all new XZ-10 iHS . Although it shares similar looks and features with models (the XZ-1 and XZ-2 ), the XZ-10 is much smaller by circa 40%  according to Olympus. They had to do away with a key feature common with ut the XZ line to allow the size reduction of the XZ-10, the using of a smaller 1/2.3" image sensor; as opposed to the larger 1/1/7" unit used on the XZ-2.   However, it  does add  a longer zoom lens and their newer iHS technology.

Castellammare del Golfo, I have infinite love for thee.

This is an out of camera JPEG from the S 1-Pro shot in June of 2001. I still cannot believe the image quality of that camera. Naturally progressed marched on and the body was anything but pro. Yet it had probably the best color ever. These children ware part of an after school program run by Family and Children Association, my client at the time.

The D-2H was one of the cameras that used the most. I had two and loved them because of their great, battery live, ergonomics and all around handling. They were indestructible. Here is a young athlete at a soft ball contest way back in 2005. The lens was the 70-200 F 2.8 Nikkor .

This is one of my favorite places to visit and enjoy. The wineries make exceptional wines and the whole atmosphere is peaceful and and pleasant. We visit here as many times as we can especially if we run out of wine. This shot is with the Canon 5-D and the 24-104 F 4 L.

There's nothing like the big apple. This was shot at the South Street Seaport, Per 17 to be exact with the Canon 16-35 F 2.8 L.

The 5-D has become one of my all time favorite digital camera. I do not use it much when I travel as smaller cameras are to my liking now. Nevertheless those 12 mega pixels sure put out image wise. The lens was the 24-105 F 4 L Canon.

Shot on a gorgeous day in April  at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, quite a few years ago with the Olympus E-20. Just 4 Mega bytes. that's all; but what colors.

   This shot of Florence  was taken when I still traveled laden with heavy cameras. I travel very light now.         

Charlie, my  Louisiana Catahula Leopard dog Just walking my dog early in the morning and just wanted to try the dynamic monochrome setting on the camera. Just a test really, nothing earth shattering. Interesting results nevertheless.