Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Interesting contraption RayFlash has released a new universal ringflash adapter for DSLRs. Designed to clamp on to your own hotshoe flash, it uses the light from your existing flash unit and bends it through the circular structure around the lens of a DSLR. It's offered in two sizes - one fits most DSLRs (and the Olympus E-M5 O-MD) and another is configured with a longer neck for cameras with a higher body. It replaces the original adapter which could only accommodate a few Nikon and Canon flash units.

The Egadi islands off Sicily are known for their beauty and lovely beaches. A few days ago durig the feast, they paid a visit singing and dancing to traditional Sicilian folk songs. We see them coming down Corso Garibaldi and stopping at the corner with Corso Mattarella , or the Quattro Canti , the four corners or the town's main square. They were lovely and danced ans sang splendidly.

La processione per la Madonna del Soccorso. The procession on the night of August 21st, closes the three days feast to the Bedda Matri di L'assucirsu, as we say in Sicilian . It i an incredibly long procession with parallel rows of marchers with candles precede the simulacrum that for all intents and purposes assumes the persona of the real Madonna.  A super act of substantiation. Needless to say, it's very impressive.

Canon Unveils a New EF-S 55-250mm IS STM Telephoto Zoom Len s Canon's STM series will have  another lens next month. The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM telephoto zoom lens is specifically designed to work with Canon's newer APS-C sized image sensor DSLR cameras like the EOS 70D, EOS Rebel SL1, and EOS Rebel T5i. The 0ther lenses in the series are the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM, EF-M 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 STM and EF-M 22mm f/2.0. STM, or Stepping Motor, technology was introduced last year with the  EOS Rebel T4i and, when combined with Canon's EOS Movie Servo AF (Auto Focus), virtually eliminates focus motor noise when recording HD video. Full time manual focus is available in AF mode. The front lens element does not rotate when focuses, which will be great for all polarizing filter fans. Finally, the new lens' minimum focusing distancs is 2.79 feet or 0.85 meters The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM telephoto z...

Bancarella is the name of a table of sorts  or space used by street vendors. It is the site where they sell their wares at feasts or fairs. In the States you see them in Italian feasts in larger cities. This bancarella featured a maker of almond candy. Made with Sicilian almonds that are renowned for their intense flavor, they are placed in a large frying pan with sugar. Before the sugar hardens, they are placed on a platform mixed with a large flat knife, then flattened and finally cut up into rectangular pieces for vending. This man was totally involved in the finishing process. The Canon G-11 was used. Shot at ISO 800. Not bad. Much better than the G-9 in this respect.

This balcony  practically around the corner from my house  in Castellammare fascinates  me. It's a  in a rather beaten down building  as it's apparent in the photo but it has a satellite dish and AC. Not too shabby as it has all the comforts  needed for a modern existence these days. .

These photos  are of Scopello's tonnara or tuna fishery. Up until the seventies, large boats with intricate nets would go out in early summer to fish the schools of tuna that entered from the Atlantic Ocean. What is left today are the buildings that housed the boats and the anchors.

We just love Venice and hope to return in the spring .

The feast has begun. Tonight the simulacrum of the Madona del Soccorso will be put aboard a large fishing boat and a procession on the sea will take place. Upon her return, fireworks will welcome her. A larger and more protracted fireworks show, accompanied by music, will take place at midnight of August 21, after the procession has ended. It marks the closing of the feast.

Located  East of Palermo on Sicily's northern coast, this town is famous for it's Duomo with exquisite mosaics. It's very touristy and I tried to off the beaten track to shoot some photos of the real place not the theme park version that some street have sadly become.

Yes indeed, a masterpiece. Not the photo but the location, the site, the castle, the water, the total experience.

Just a few odd photos from Manhattan near the Fricks's collection shot this spring. Wow! They may soon deliver to Queens