Rocco Galatioto, nice photos and good food

Some scenes call for black and white. This is especially true of woods with birch trees. This image was shot 0n  Tri-X Pan 120 film with a Rolleiflex.

The SAMSUNG EVO Plus 256 GB Micro SD card is here. Below is the Samsung press release: Samsung Electronics, an expert provider of advanced memory solutions, today unveiled its newest memory card globally – the EVO Plus 256GB microSD card. The EVO Plus 256GB offers the highest capacity for a microSD card in its class, delivering fast speeds and an expanded memory storage for use in premium smartphones and tablets, 360-degree video recorders, action cameras, and drones. Consumers can now record up to 12 hours of 4K UHD video or 33 hours of Full HD video on their mobile device or action camera without needing to change or replace the memory card, allowing them to experience more and worry less about running out of memory. The EVO Plus 256GB raises the bar for capacity and performance of microSD cards thanks to Samsung’s advanced V-NAND technology, offering high read and write speeds of up to 95MB/s and 90MB/s, respectively. This level of performance will provide ...

This is the view we had from our room at the Palazzo Ravizza Hotel in Siena. These were shot in late afternoon. After a brief shower, the sun came out. These photos were shot from an iPhone and it can be painfully clear that the digital zoom features kills resolution. Nevertheless, the image was pleasant.

There's no building in this amazing city that is more New York that the Flat Iron Building. I cannot stop photographing it. These are some scans from slides I shot in 1975.

These two images were made at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and they depict the way foliage is at this time of the year- I used the soft focus filter to enhance this feeling of rebirth. .

Like many of you, I have become fascinated with what smart phones can do photographically. Many gadgets especially the selfie stick come to mind when thinking of accessories. What Pictar is trying to do is a game changer. I will state that so far, the smart phones lag behind in image quality even to a decent point and shoot but they are so handy that they are beginning to replace cameras in many areas. I find the iPhone perfect when traveling and the HD feature although detail sacrificing is  great when contrast is very high. BTW, this item is available for the  Apple 6S and  the large 6S phones. I cannot wait for this item to become available.

Bicycles are very popular in Cremona as they are in Ravenna. The fact that these cities are flat helps make bikes so popular and useful. These images are from Cremona, the birthplace of string instruments. The Museo del Violino is a phenomenal place to visit. It has a collection of Stradivari, Amati, Guarnieri and other famous makers. Cremona is full of violin makers who basically work independently. It must be mentioned that this place is famous for it's risotti . The food is incredibly good and the people super friendly. What did you expect; it's Italy after all.

The blog just passed 200,000 page views. When I started this blog I would never have imagined this. I am delighted and very thankful. This remains a place where one can stop, relax and not be confronted with controversial issues that populate the web. Please keep on visiting, I promise not to disappoint you.

Most streets in this amazing place are narrow and ancient. There are a few piazze but the rest are small and in many cases with steps. It is, after all, a hilltop town. These photos were shot with the Nikon P 7000 a so called point and shoot camera. I have no need for the bulky cameras of yore. They are really show off pieces these days. Too heavy and too intrusive, they are not worth the bother anymore.

Here's something for your Sunday brunch. Caprese done surprisingly without basil in Genoa, the basil/pesto capital of the world and stuffed cuttlefish. The location was the Naval League restaurant in the port of Genoa. Very nice.