Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

A few more from my lovely and talented wife Marcy who puts me to shame at times. She captured the late afternoon light falling on the Eiffel Tower perfectly; simply using the G-9.

These images are from the Chelsey Market a phenomenal and typically New York venue located on the West Side of Manhattan. It teems with people of all types and offers a variety of unique stores. The food marts are of most interest to me but there are all sorts of sellers. I just love its diverse aromas, noises, accents, tastes and high human density. It's a microcosm of New York. 

These date from December of 2001and were shot with one of the best small digital cameras I have ever used. The mere four mega pixels that are practically laughed at today, were capable to produce great images also due to the superb Rokkor lens that was made for the sensor. Minolta doesn't make cameras anymore as it was never able to compete with the big guys. It is of interest to note tat Minolta was the first camera company to bring out auto focus and make it standard. I frankly hate auto focus but this is a personal view.

The Empire State Building has long been the symbol of New York. Along with the statue of Liberty that is really the emblematic image of America, these are what people in foreign countries associate with the big apple and the USA. These shots from the Brooklyn Bridge in winter sun, shot at almost the same time, underscore what is easily possible with digital. By changing the color balance setting one can get different results. With film, this required adding color balance filters in front of the lens. This usually resulted in loss of sharpness. Naturally, a little Photoshop can resolve this issue in a more elegant way and it will not affect the original.

This time I want to share a few images shot with the soft focus filter on the Olympus EPL-2. I creates lovely and dreamy images that enhance the feeling of euphoria I felt on this long awaited spring day.

I just love Mexican people. Haw can I not love people with  whom we share national colors? They are very hard working and at times exploited just as the Italians immigrants were exploited years ago. These photos are from a Catholic Charities  event a few years ago. Besides the great music and dancing, I enjoyed real home made Mexican food that as we say in Italian: mi ho leccato le unghia, finger liking good.

These were just shot at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, one of my favorites places in the city with the Olympus EPL-2, still one of ma favorite cameras. It was, finally, a wonderful spring day.