Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Some shots of Manhattan's East Side from Queens shot on an early spring evening a few years ago with the Panasonic LX-3

I'm so tired of looking at all this monotonous snow, with it's blandness. Summer dreaming has begun.

Phase One has just unveiled the 'world's first CMOS-based digital camera back' - the 50MP IQ250.  The others all used CCD's. It sports a 44x33mm sensor - 68% larger in area than 35mm full frame but still smaller than film MF of 6X6 CM.It promises the widest ISO range of any medium format camera system yet (100-6400). It sports a high-resolution 3.2" touchscreen for live view, playback and changing settings.It  also has built-in Wi-Fi. The IQ250 is available now, with prices starting at €24,990 / $34,990.Ouch!

Going through the archives, I found these images made by my talented wife March whose photos have graced this blog on previous occasions. They were taken in Puerto Rico back in January of 2003 with an <Olympus point and shoot. What can I say. I only wish that she would take more photos.

More leaked images of the new Fuji X type mirrorless camera that should be unveiled on January 28.  All you equipment fanatics should be very happy. That is until another "new and improved" model comes around making this all of a sudden "useless." The perfect vicious circle.

In my many years in this business, I have come to meet many interesting people. Horace Hagedorn, the founder of Miracle Grow is one of them. Among his many positive qualities, he was a philanthropist and in my many years of association with Family and Children's  Association on Long Island, my client, I came to appreciate Horace qualities. Here he is at the Hagedorn Family  Resources Center - whose super generous financial contribution made possible  - while he is being interviewed by a New York Times reporter who had tagged along a photographer. At the time, September of 2000, I had just purchased my very first digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 990 and while Horace was being posed by the other photographer, I caught this image that is one of my all time best. I just love it. Modesty aside, it was better than any of the ones that the New York Times published. It's amazing what could be accomplished by a mere three mega pixels camera.

I have a great sentimental attachment to this wonderful city. Many happy and romantic memories; many great eating experiences; many great friends and wonderful family members, have created this love affair with this historic city. Here I photographed it from Granarolo, a small hamlet on a mountain above the city. The camera at the time was the Nikon D2-H.

Here are two archival shots dating to circa 1974 of the Feast of St. Anthony on Sullivan Street in Manhattan. They were shot on Kodak Tri-X with the Leica M-4 and the sublime Summicron F 2 35mm lens. I developed in Kodak D-76 in 1:1 dilution for 8 minutes at 20 degrees Celsius. Oh yes...I remember it well!

This was the sunrise  this morning here in Queens. Soon after, it started to snow and it's still coming down. This winter really sucks.

Naturally, the park can only mean Central Park. Having visited parks on disparate parts of the world and having seen some that are absolutely gorgeous from an aesthetic landscaping point of view, I must assert that Central park in Manhattan beats all of them on a human scale. No place in the world has it's diversity, craziness, it's pure theatricality. On any Sunday afternoon it becomes a magical place where the stars are it's visitors and those who want to put on a show for them. The whole experience is ineffable. One must experience it.

For all your equipment fanatics out there, Fuji has released some tantalizing but scant information on what they plan to unveil om the 28th  of this month. It looks like an interesting camera aimed at serious shooters Stay tuned

These photo date back to June of 2009 and are of an end of school year event co sponsored by Catholic Charities, my client. The camera was the Nikon D1-X. Children are such naturals and with patience, nice photos can be taken of them.

The Ponte Rialto or Rialto Bridge, is one of Venice's most famous sites probably second only to Piazza San Marco. I am always fascinated by the awnings that take practically the entire interior of the bridge on which the stores have their entrances and of the resultant pedestrian walkway  that is naturally shaded from the sun and always crowded. These shots are from April of 2011 and the camera was the Olympus E PL-2.