Happy Sunday / Buona domenica

Fuji S-1 Pro

Just a few steps from home / Ad appena quattro passi da casa

Photo ops are easy to find  and at times you find them close to home.  One must notice them. I'm lucky to live near Juniper Valley Park, a large green space that is quite lovely. These images are some of my first digital ones.

Le cosi' dette "photo ops" sono a volte vicini a casa. Bisogna conoscerle. Sono fortunato d'abitare vicino il Juniper Valley Park,  una grande estensione verde che e' molto bella. Queste immagini sono delle prime fatte con il digitale.

Have a great Saturday / Abbiate un bel sabato

Canon D-30

People / Gente - Olympus E-300

An afternoon at the park or at my favorite park that as you all know, is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. These are candids archival shots that go back to the spring of 2006.

Un piacevole pomeriggio al mio parco favorito, che come tutti sappiate, e' LOrto Botanico di Brooklyn. Queste foto dagli archivi risalgono alla primavera del 2006.

Have a wonderful Friday / Abbiate un meraviglioso venerdi'

 Shot at the Brooklyn Botanic garden
Scattata al'Orto Botanico di Brooklyn

Children / Bambini

I have always loved to photograph children. These archival photos go back to 2003 and were shot with the Canon 10-D. They were all for Family and Children Association, my client.

Mi e' sempre piaciuto fotografare bambini. Queste photo dagli archivi risalgono al 2003 e sono  state scattate con la canon D-10. Il cliente era la Family and Children Association.

Adobe News / Novita' d'Adobe

I have always loved ELEMENTS and most of my posts are made using version II. I have up to version IX but I hardly use it preferring the more intuitive earlier version. We now have version XI and it looks really nice.
ELEMENTS mi e' sempre piaciuto e per la maggior parte dei miei post uso la veccchia versione II. Mi piace la semplicita' e l'utilita' di questa versione gia' trapassata. Ho sino a versione IX ma la uso di rado. Ora Adobe annunzia la versione XI che sembra che sia  piu' utile.

Adobe Announces Photoshop Elements 11

Adobe has just announced that Photoshop Elements 11. This layestt version of the entry-level program has a completely redesigned interface that's designed to make finding what you want easy. You can switch between Quick, Guided and Expert layouts so you can manipulate as much as you like.

The program also has new filters, new Guided Edits that give you a simple way to create photo effects, and new organizational tools. Photoshop Elements 11 also includes improvements to video editing, which also benefits from the new user interface. This is really good news for video enthusiasts

Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 will be in stores soon at a retail price of $149. Go for it.

Have a beautiful Thursday / Abbiate un giovedi' bellissimo

Florence [third part] the hassle with crowds / Firenze [parte terza] il casino delle folle

 Florence, the undisputed capital of Italian culture is not a quiet and peaceful place. It is often awash with throngs of tourists that crowd the streets and make attending events difficult. It's a real hassle.

Firenze, l'indiscussa capitale culturale italiana non e' un posto tranquillo. Di solito e' inondata di folle di turisti che si accalcano nelle strade e creano tante difficolta' per visitare mostre e per participare ai tanti eventi. E' un vero casino.

Have a splendid Wednesday / Abbiate un mercoledi splendido

Florence [second part] / Firenze [parte seconda] - Canon 5-D

 There's always Florence to bring back happy memories.

C'e' sempre Firenze per rallegrare la memoria.

Incredible / Incredibile

The 570-Megapixel Dark Energy Camera Taken for a spin

Cool stuff. The Dark Energy Survey is a  scientific collaboration of  institutions from across the globe created to help us understand  what's causing the universe to expand. They're helped by the use of a brand new 570-megapixel camera that captured its first image last week. Calling this a camera is just silly.
It's  the camera together with the massive Victor M. Blanco telescope on which it's mounted  along with accessories.  Specifically, the Dark Energy Camera uses five different filters, each of which is the size of a car tire. Each of the filters is a different shade of blue, green or red, and there's an infrared one  to pick up   things that the human eye cannot. AWESOME.

Click the photo above for a larger view.

Have a wonderful Tuesday / Abbiate un martedi meraviglioso

Florence / Firenze Canon 5-D

These photos were shot in April of 2008, with the Canon 5-D and the 24-85 lens that is called a kit lens. Not a very expensive optic but a great lens for travel.

Queste foto  scattate con la Canon 5-D. risalgano ad aprile 2008. L'obiettivo e' il Canon 24-85 che e' chiamato un "kit lens," perche non e' consideerato di alta prestazione. Ma come si vede, e' buonissimo per viaggiare.

What a beauty / Che bellezza

Leica has announced a new 25 MP full frame camera, the model M, along with a 18 MP Leica M-E. Just wondeful.

La Leica introduce una  nuova camera di 24 MP "full frame," il modello M, ed anche una camera di 18 MP, modelloM-E.  Che meraviglia.



The Leica M is the first in a long line of Leica rangefinder cameras to feature a completely new development in sensor technology; featuring a 24MP full frame (35mm format) sensor that was designed and constructed especially for this camera, optimized for use with Leica M and R lenses. The M mount started in 1954 is still alive and well.
Read more about the new Leica M here.

Have a beautiful week / Abbiate una bellissima settimana

View of the Grand Canal from the Scalzi Bridge
Veduta del Canal grande dal Ponte Scalzi

Super wide angle photography / Fotografia con super grandi angolari

Extra wide angle lenses are fun to use but one must be careful not to create photos that have ridiculous converging verticals. Extra care is needed otherwise, the results can be very phony and trite. It's OK if one wants to make an occasional super distorted photo but I find the results not to my personal likings. 
The lens used here is the Sigma 12-24mm a very wide lens.

L'uso dei super grandi angolari e divertente ma c'e. bisogno d'usarli con  cautela e cura per non creare foto che  hanno verticali trcppo convergenti che sono francamente ridicole. Da tanto in tanto si possano scattare foto con una perspettiva distursa, ma  le ritengo noiose e artificiose.
L'obiettivo usato in queste foto e' il Sigma 12-24mm, un super grande angolare.

Fast and faster all the time / Sempre rapido e piu' rapido

SanDisk announces CFast 2.0 Memory Card Development is Underway. Preparing for 4K Video

  SanDisk are looking  forward into the future with the new memory cards they're developing. CFast 2.0 memory cards were just announced by the Compact Flash Association and SanDisk is right  up there on top of their development. And exciting development it is.

The new CFast 2.0 standard is capable of up to four times the speed of existing CF cards, making them capable to handle 2K and 4K video.  Nothing  to have to worry about yet, but with more TVs and projectors adopting 4K Ultra-High Definition,  and before  we know it HDSLRs  will become UHDSLRS.

SanDisk is allowing camera manufacturers  to sample their products now as to make sure that both the card and camera are designed in a way  so that   the full capability of CFast 2.0 can be reached.