Do we really care at this point?

Will Nikon's New Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Be Announced This Month?

Soon cameras will become obsolete. Better smart phones will kill them. Big heavy cameras will only be needed for niche type assignments. I travel a lot and although I recently took my superb Lumix DC-GX9. I took most of my photos with my iPhone. Suddenly cameras feel big, heavy and intrusive. The smart phone is always with you. Just my educated opinion.

You have to love this city

It's hard to describe the beauty of Paris. I hope that the photos do it justice.

Enjoy your weekend

Old mill

This lovely old mill is located in Sandwich, Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. This old  town is a very special place to visit, As a matter of fact, Cape Cod is truly a delightful place to spend some relaxing time. The clam chowder alone is to die for. The fish sandwiches are out of this world.

Il Lago D'Orta

The Lago D'Orta in Piedmont, Italy, is the smallest of the three most famous Italian Lakes : Lago di Como, Lago di Garda and Lago Maggiore. Nevertheless it's a very beautiful lake with a superb Lungo lago or lake shore. There is also the lovely town of Orta with it's narrow streets and alleys. There's also a plethora of wonderful places to eat. 

The end of photography as a profession is near. It's inevitable

 The Daily News is cutting all photographers

Now they have to remove the camera from their logo

The NY Daily News just got rid of all ten of its remaining staff photographers and two of the remaining photo editors after the newspaper experienced massive layoffs last week. 

There's not a single photographer that's currently employed by the Daily News. This is a big deal. The Daily News has been around for 99 years, and in the time frame has become not only a staple of the city but led the way for daily tabloid journalism. 

The NY Daily News just got rid of all ten of its remaining staff photographers and two of the remaining photo editors after the newspaper experienced massive layoffs last week. 

There's not a single photographer that's currently employed by the Daily News. This is a big deal. The Daily News has been around for 99 years, and in the time frame has become not only a staple of the city but led the way for daily tabloid journalism. 

For a paper that was so known for photography and its ways of enticing buyers with its sensational front page images, this is quite a shock. 

Il mercato della frutta e verdura

A mercato della frutta e verdura, is not necessarily a farmers market it can be a regular fruit and vegetables store. In the case of lu scaru, Sicilian for an outlet, the name takes a whole different meaning. In Italy such markets offer items picked very early in the day and are sold at great prices. This is unlike many of the so called farmers markets in the States that cater mostly to yuppies and hipsters and sell items at very high prices that are allegedly local but whose provenance remains always in doubt. I realize that I'm exaggerating and there are real ones away from the large cities. At any rate, this market is my favorite place to buy fruit and produce in Castellammare del Golfo. The produce at the super markets is not too bad if one knows how to shop. Italians take food very seriously and not tolerate inferior food products. Eating is after all a fine art. There's another reason. In Europe one is not allowed to touch fruits or vegetables. Store owners wearing plastic gloves pick them for you and usually chose what they want to get rid of so there are always arguments. This is another of the many annoying regulations imposed by the European Union. In my favorite market, I'm allowed to touch, feel and even smell what I buy and I decide what to buy. In super markets one must wear disposable plastic gloves, BTW. Another regulation ignored here is the use of required bio degradable bags. These are so weak that when buying liquids one must be very careful. Buying olive oil or wine in super markets can be a problem, In this case the heavy store bought bags are necessary. They are very cheap and durable. In this outlet the bags are very strong. After all this is Sicily where all rules are mere suggestions and may be ignored at will. Another attempt to defy a government that doesn't give a damn about it's citizens. Viva gli italiani, viva la Sicilia. 

Card game

These  are two of my neighbors in Sicily. Super wonderful people. They are actually brother in laws and live bear each other and use this landing ti sit, shoot the breeze, have meals and play cards among other activities al fresco. This evening they were playing a lively game of scopa. Their wives who are sisters were busy preparing refreshments.

Aerial view

Aerial views are somewhat trite and I seldom use them but I like this one. We had just taken off from Palermo and were flying over the gulf of Castellammare. I wanted to shoot my beloved home town but the angle was off and the sun was right over the window. I had to settle for the western end of the gulf and a shot of San Vito lo Capo. Beyond the north west tip of Sicily can be seen. 

Have a lovely week

It costs more than a Nissan Versa

Leica News

The new 75mm F 1.25 Noctilux

from Leica costs about 13,000 dollars. The M-10 on which it's mounted will set you back another 8,000.  Ridiculous, perhaps but Leica is really another world.

 

I miss it already

It's really too bad but this brief visit must had to come to an end. I had to return to New York which is not too shabby of a place. I missed my animals too much.