Playing around again for this month's photo assignment (High-Key/Low-Key). I'm not so sure whether I like that Jiminy's right hand is not visible, I might have to play around some more with this one.

I was out playing around with my new 100mm lens at Locust Grove. I'm finding it more difficult to use than I thought, mostly because I was being stubborn and refused to take a tripod with me.

I took this shot from a Boston Duck Tour vehicle as it went under a bridge on the Charles River. It came in handy as my entry for a photo assignment ("Patterns") in a local photography club.

We decided to check out the new Luna Park at Coney Island. It was probably not the best time to visit, since it was a holiday weekend, plus it was the new park's very first opening weekend. As I wandered through the crowds, I found myself drawn more to the classic attractions rather than the brand new rides. We didn't get a chance to ride the Cyclone, though - a thunderstorm rolled through and chased us away.

I was lucky enough to arrive in Epcot in time to see Atlantis blast off on its final flight. Its path is seen here passing behind the curved spire of the Mission:Space pavilion.

I found Captain Morgan in a geocache a couple of weeks ago. The Captain is a travel bug whose mission is to travel the world. What better way to start than to visit a world-class city?

Now that the Captain can check NYC off his list, it's time for me to find another cache in which to drop him off.

The tulips at Locust Grove are just about ready to bloom.

The Infant of Prague - this plaster figure always stood on my Mom's dresser. It is looking a bit battered these days, thanks to my Mom's curious cat, who I'm sure knocked it over more than once over the past few years.

The Crucifix - this wooden cross hung in the hallway of the house in which I grew up, and later in the bedroom of the home to which my parents retired. It is in near perfect condition, likely because it was out of reach of just about anyone or anything that could do damage to it.

The Sacred Heart Jesus - this plastic statue always graced one of our vehicles. A magnet in the base kept it mounted to the old metal dashboards; once they switched to vinyl, the statue was relegated to the ash tray. It accompanied me to school in the car my father loaned me, and became affectionately known by my college friends as the Sacred Heart Amputee due to its missing right hand. I think I'll be putting it back in my car, for old times' sake.

A beautiful Spring day in NYC, taken from the pedestrian mall on Broadway. You know, after all these years, I still haven't seen The Lion King!

Back in Seattle for another conference. The weather was much nicer than it looks, especially for Seattle - rather mild temperatures and fairly dry days, for the most part. We arrived early on Sunday and had some time to explore the city. We even managed to work in a little geocaching.

I'm a little late with a photo for last week, was having a little bit of trouble finding some inspiration. I finally went out during a lull in the snowstorm we had yesterday and explored the woods near my apartment. Most of the view was stark white or dark brown, but then I discovered these leaves, which added a splash of color to the scene.

Saturday's project - deconstructing my old box spring so that I could dispose of it without needing a truck. It took much longer than I thought it would. It was easy to get the boards apart, but I wanted to remove all of the staples so that my brother-in-law could use the wood for kindling. That part took over 2 hours, and my wrist still hurts from twisting the pliers dozens of times trying to extract the extra-long staples.

We came across this ceramic drum bank while cleaning out my folks' closets. I remember it from when I was a child, when we used it to store away the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters that made up our life savings. I had assumed it had been tossed away at some point, never realizing that my parents had kept it all these years. It was one of the few pleasant finds in an otherwise somber task.

I was in Orlando last weekend to cheer on the WDW Marathoners. My trip was unfortunately timed with some record cold weather that was hitting the Southeast. They do what they can to protect the tropical vegetation from frost, but it is often a very undignified look.

I finally got to see the newly-installed plaque on my Mom's grave. It has been 6 months already, but seeing her name there etched in cold metal is a harsh reminder.

My kind-hearted sister and her family spotted a pair of feral kittens whose mother had abandoned them near her house, and decided to take them in. It took a few days, but they seem to have adjusted to indoor life. Diablo is definitely the more serious of the two, and he had no idea what to make of my camera.

Today was our last chance to do any sort of leaf peeping, since the trees in the Mid-Hudson Valley are nearing their peak colors. Our wanderings took us down to Garrison (although $15/person to wander around Boscobel was a bit too much for our tastes), Cold Spring (where we enjoyed walking up and down the main street and exploring the various shops), and Beacon (where we wandered around the waterfront until the next train arrived). I spotted this vine growing on the side of a brick building in Cold Spring, and liked the variety of leaf colors as well as the contrasting berries.

I haven't had much chance to use a camera over the last week, so I took one with me to a department picnic on Wednesday. I was looking for signs that my favorite time of the year was on its way. There certainly were a few signs around, with touches of Fall color here and there among the green. We still have a way to go before the colors peak; hopefully when that happens, I'll have time to capture them photographically!

We tried out a new Thai restaurant in Poughkeepsie this weekend. A little pricey, but the food was very good. I'm still impatiently waiting for Bonsai to open, a Japanese sushi restaurant that will be within walking distance from my apartment!

I picked up my new car on Wednesday, a 2008 Nissan Rogue, just in time for a weekend road trip to NJ to visit my Mom. I am very pleased with it so far - the Rogue handles well, and is certainly getting better gas mileage than my Xterra ever did!

I made an important decision Monday night - it's time to get a new car. My 8-year old Nissan Xterra, although running well, is starting to show its age. I want to replace it before I start having to sink a lot of money into repairs. I thought this would be an easy thing to do; I can't believe that I'm actually feeling sad and guilty about this decision, like I am betraying a faithful friend.

I headed to San Jose, California this weekend to attend a conference. The weather in San Jose is perfect - sunny and not too warm. And there seems to be a lot of nice restaurants in the area where we are staying. Too bad I'm going to have to spend the next 6 days inside the Convention Center!

I've owned my dSLR for over two years now, and up until this point I have never used its RAW image format. Today I finally got the courage to give it a try. I headed to the Hudson River with my camera, but Mother Nature wasn't very cooperative - right at the point where I wanted to start taking pictures, the skies opened up. I tried to wait out the storm, but after 20 minutes, I decided to give up and just head home. Of course, as I was driving, the rain stopped. So I pulled into Locust Grove and spent some time photographing its flower garden, then headed home, eager to start using Canon's Digital Photo Professional to perfect my photos. I quickly learned that I really have no idea what I'm doing. I think the problem is that I have no confidence in knowing what looks right or good. I'm going to have to find a tutorial or two that can guide me. Any suggestions?

I didn't get to see a parade or real fireworks this 4th of July weekend, but I wanted to do something patriotic, so I took a ride over to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY. Both Franklin and Eleanor are buried in this rose garden. Keeping them company is a scottish terrier named Fala, FDR's favorite pet. Fala is buried under the sundial.

With a stormy day in the forecast, we decided to do an indoor activity that we hadn't tried in a while: bowling. I hadn't bowled in at least two years, and it really showed - I only broke 100 once in 3 games. At least it was better than getting drenched and being struck by lightning!

Pirates Golf at the Ocean City NJ boardwalk was looking nice and spiffy, all set for the onslaught of summer crowds.

I was down in NJ visiting my Mom for the long weekend. We decided to stop by Ocean City after lunch at the Crab Trap. The weather at the boardwalk was beautiful - sunny but cool with a light breeze. We walked the boardwalk, and then found a bench and sat for a half hour or so, people-watching. We were happy to have had such a perfect afternoon, especially with the horrendous heat wave that followed!

We decided to take a day trip on Sunday to go visit my Mom in South Jersey. We took her out to lunch, wandered the mall, and then stopped by the veteran's cemetery where my Dad is buried. Each grave was decorated with a single US flag. Seeing the flag at my Dad's grave brought a feeling of pride and the pain of absence; seeing hundreds of those flags fluttering in the breeze was simply awesome.

My friend Christine plays in the Mid-Hudson Community Orchestra, and had a concert this past Friday evening. I try to attend to support her and the orchestra, and to enjoy some classical music. The evening also gave me a chance to try out my new Sigma lens, the 18-200mm OS. Overall, I was pleased with both the orchestra and the lens' performances!

I got to meet someone very special this weekend - my very first great niece, Brianna. She's just a little over two weeks old, and very cute! I didn't actually hold her - I'm very nervous about someone so young, and probably won't hold her until she gets that wobbly head-thing under control. Besides, she'll be much more fun once she gets a bit older and can interact more!

I've been procrastinating for weeks, and finally sat down and worked through my taxes. The news was not good. Besides owing the Federal government, I also owe New York State a sizable amount. I'm not exactly sure how this happened. From my W2, it looks like my withheld taxes dropped even though my income went up slightly. I'll have to watch this more carefully in 2008.

My Mom's Daffodils are out in abundance. She is so proud of them, even though she doesn't have to lift a finger for them - they pop up on their own in her backyard year after year. I for one was happy just to see a sign that Spring is on its way. I had to drive 200 miles in order to see it, but it was worth it!

This photo was taken for a photo challenge in the Aperture Science Group over on Flickr - Collections. Back in the late 80's/early 90's, I collected PVC figures of characters from animation and movies. I only stopped because the collection grew so big that it was difficult to display, and even worse, to dust. This photo shows only a handful of them. I'm not sure of the final count, but I know that it is well over 100. The one that started it all? The Mighty Mouse figure just to the right of dead center.

After a long week of conference sessions, the work was over, and I finally got a chance to play. Hit all WDW 4 parks over 5 days, plus had some wonderful meals at 50's Prime Time Cafe, Boma, and Concourse Steakhouse. The weather was perfect - high 70s/low 80s, with few clouds up until my final day there. It sure beat being back in Poughkeepsie!

And I just noticed, this is my 100th photo here in my Photo-A-Week gallery!!!

We had dinner at my friend Greg's house on Sunday. He served a wonderful pasta dinner, with sauce, meatballs, and sausage. For dessert, he made a very tasty Italian fruit and custard dish called zabaglione. The raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries were so colorful together I just had to get a picture of it. I wish the fruit was in better focus, but I was in a hurry and rushed the shot as usual.

I visited my Mom in NJ this weekend, and took her to Atlantic City to have lunch with my sister and brother-in-law. It was actually warm enough for us to wander outside on the Boardwalk a bit. I took this picture from the top floor of The Pier at Caesars, through a tinted window directly into the setting sun. It's not the greatest shot - it looks a bit fuzzy - but I liked the textures and the reflections from the water and the wet sand. It reminds me a bit of an antique B&W photo.

I drive past this barn all the time on my way to my sister's house. Today I decided to stop and take a photo of it. It seemed like a pretty scene, the white snow, the brown grass, the blue sky and puffy clouds. Except for one thing - the stupid high-voltage power lines cutting through the field. There's just no way to get rid of them - zooming in closer eliminates the nice blue sky, and there are just too many lines to try to use Photoshop. So much for progress!

I usually photograph the Mid-Hudson Bridge from the North, and decided that I should try shooting from the South today. It was a challenge trying to find a location - apartments and condos line the river along the South on the East bank. I finally found a spot, but had to trudge through a snow-covered parking lot in order to get there. All this snow and ice will probably be gone within a few days, as temperatures are expected to be above freezing for most of the week.

Back from a wonderful 10-day trip to WDW!

We found this funky sleeping bag at my Mom's house this week. My Mom had bought two of these for my two oldest sisters back in the late 60's. They're still in great shape today. Don't you love the neat-o Laugh-In style sayings and symbols?

We saw this on Saturday. I went into it not really expecting much - the title seemed silly, and I really didn't know anything about the show. It turned out to be the funniest couple of hours I'd spent in a Broadway theater in a long time.

I really like this lamp, with its brushed metal finish and clean, simple lines.

My new GPS came in today - a Garmin nuvi 350. On its maiden voyage, it made a few unusual road choices, but otherwise is pretty cool. I think I'll keep it!

Taken from my hotel room, 15 stories above the tennis courts.

San Diego, CA

Busy Saturday in Manhattan - Chinatown, the Seaport, Chelsea, then finally Hudson River Park to watch the sunset.

It was finally starting to cool off Sunday evening, so I headed over to Waryas Park for a bit. Lots of picnickers enjoying the park and the views, and the Clearwater Sloop was docked for the day.

Had a department picnic up at the Mountain House. Great food, nice afternoon hanging out there.

Playing around with my new Canon S3 IS...

These goslings were out feeding near the pond where I live. I managed to take a few shots without ticking off Mom and Dad.

From an early morning walk to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.

Dinner with a friend in New Paltz, NY

We spent the weekend visiting Morristown NJ. Morristown has a wonderful town square, with lots of shops and restaurants to visit. We stopped at George Washington's Headquarters for a quick visit - that's the headquarters house in the background.

My Mom's flowers are starting to bloom.

Taken with the Canon A710IS Color Accent scene mode.

Nature has been teasing us, hitting us with this nasty storm after the warm weather we've had.

Mom's shed

Mays Landing, NJ

Garden Statue

Vanderbilt Estate

Hyde Park

I spent the morning at a photography workshop at the F. D Roosevelt home in Hyde Park, and then took a drive up to the Vanderbilt Estate. A dreary day, but it could always be worse!

Happy New Year to all!

I found this ornament at Epcot's Canada Pavilion, gave it to my Mom as a Christmas gift. I spent a quiet New Year's eve with her in NJ, we barely managed to stay awake to see the ball drop.

Just returned from a week in Orlando, enjoying the holiday activities at Walt Disney World.

Poughkeepsie, NY

We had a wonderful Italian lunch at Umberto's for Daniel's birthday.

Say hello to my latest friend!

Lunch with friends at Max Brenner before seeing "Running With Scissors"

On my way back to the train station after a windy weekend in NYC.

Remind you of "A Christmas Story" ?

Disney's All-Star Movies Resort

Orlando, FL

These guys were having a great time. They were on their second bottle of what appeared to be brandy, and feeling no pain.

Triple Z Chinese Restaurant

Avenue U

Brooklyn

Dutchess County Fair

Rhinebeck, NY

Baltimore MD

Hyde Park, NY

Wappingers Falls

Vietnamese restaurant

Poughkeepsie

Sprout Creek Farm, Poughkeepsie

More photos here: http://www.pbase.com/tominpok/mhbf2006

Atlantic County Veteran's Cemetery

Mays Landing

Vassar College

Poughkeepsie

Hyde Park, NY

Not today!

I came across this while passing through the cemetery. The coffee and bagel were just sitting there, no one in sight.

Poughkeepsie, NY

Poughkeepsie

Rhinebeck