Taken recently while out cycling

…as long as I don’t get hit by a vehicle while out on the road, but I digress.

I have to say this year has been one of the most stressful years of my life, which most of you know.  But for those who don’t here is the 50,000 foot explanation.  March 20^th of this year, the day before I started a new job doing some project management consulting work, my wife Caroline was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I immediately found myself looking for ways to support her as she goes through the pain of cancer treatments, while at the same time learning the ins and outs of my new work situation.  One of the things I decided to do to support Caroline was to participate in the LIVESTONG Challenge in Philly to raise money for cancer treatments & survivorship; basically because I couldn’t take Caroline’s place in her treatments and I couldn’t just stand around and watch.  So I started riding my bike after work to train for the event.

Another thing that started to happen to me during this period is that I stopped taking photographs, not completely but MUCH less then I use to.  Part of it was having less time but more than that I found the stress of what was going on in our lives was killing my creativity.  My thoughts focused around 2 things; Caroline’s health and the normal trials of starting a new job, with one exception, when was I going to get to ride my bike next?

I started to notice that other than sleeping, cycling provided me an opportunity to escape the stress I was feeling.  My normal cycling route is a 30 mile loop, which takes me about 2 hours to complete.  That gave me 2 hours to clear my head, to be free of distractions of life, no radio, TV, cancer, job, everything.  Just me and my thoughts (oh yea and NJ drivers but again I digress).  Being alone without distractions for that long of time is something that is pretty much unheard of these days in our fast paced, electronic gadget, 30 seconds attention span filled lives.  I also noticed I started to come up with ideas while out cycling, (2 hours alone leads to some interesting reflection) that is where I decided to give away my boat to help raise money for my LIVESTRONG ride.  However I still wasn’t finding inspiration to photograph.  So on one of my recent rides I decided I needed to carry a camera with me on the bike.  Perhaps I’d find inspiration again in photographing the things I was experiencing while out on the bike.  I knew I didn’t want to carry my Nikon D700 and my iPhone just didn’t give me the manual control I wanted.  So I picked-up a Fujifilm X10 camera, it has the technical specs I was looking for plus it fits nicely in my cycling jersey pocket.

So that brings me to where we are today.  Caroline is halfway through her chemo treatments and doing as well as can be expected and the prognosis is very good.  I have learned the nuances of the job it is less stressful than it once was. I am out cycling 4-5 days a week training for my LIVESTRONG ride and trying to raise money for the cause.  However now when I’m out on the bike, I always have my camera with me hoping that in the process I’ll find my muse…

There goes the boat...

Well this past week I finally did what I’ve been talking about for the past few months, I gave away my boat, to anyone who donated $20 or more to my LIVESTRONG charity ride.  It was nice to know that the winner was a family from Indian Lake, the community in which I live, so I’ll get to see it being enjoyed from time to time.  I want to send a heartfelt “Thank You!” to everyone who donated.  With just under 2 months until the event I am just shy of raising $5,000 for the cause.

I’m also thankful for all the well wishes Caroline & I have received over the past few months and inquiries on how she is doing.  Let me take a minute to update you all.  Since her diagnosis of breast cancer, she has had 2 surgeries to remove the tumor, which she has since recovered.  Based on the pathology of the cancer, protocol dictates she will be undergoing 6 chemotherapy treatments followed by radiation and additional medications.  Right now she has completed 2 of the 6 chemo treatments which I believe will be the worst part of it.  Some days the effects of the treatment beat her up and others she feels fine.  She is a trooper and never complains, just sucks it up.  As for me, I do what I can to make her comfortable, train for my century ride and continue to raise awareness for LIVESTRONG programs and services that help people face the challenges of cancer, head on, and live life on their own terms. Learn more at LIVESTRONG.org/GetHelp.

Thanks Again, you all rock…

So, here is how it will work.  For every donation I receive on my LIVESTRONG event donation page, in increments of $20 will equal one chance to win the boat.  For example, a $20 donation = 1 chance, a $60 donation = 3 chances and so on.  I will assign a sequential number for each donation, as I receive them, and use a random number generator to pick the winner.  All donations I receive up to noon EDT on June 15 will be eligible (including those who have already donated).  When you make the donation please make sure you include your email address so I can contact you to thank you for being so generous and also to let you know if you won.   On the evening of June 15 I will pick and announce the winner.  The winner of the boat must be able to come to Northern NJ to pick it up (sorry I cannot deliver it), oh yes and it comes with a trailer too!

Here is a little about the boat (keep in mind, it is a used boat).  It is a 17’ Campion Explorer that I paid over $16,000 for it new and it is in good condition, with only some cosmetic scratches stains on the hull.  The cosmetic issues are from being docked in a lake for 2 seasons and do not detract from the performance of the boat at all.  The engine has just over 35 hours of use; I can show you the Engine history Report if you’d like.  I also replaced the bilge pump at the end of last season, so it is brand new. The boat has a bait-well for those who would like to use it for fishing.  On the lake I’ve used it mostly for pulling my son and our friends around on a tube, which I’m also giving away to the winner (the tube, not my son & friends). What am I going to do with a tube and no boat??

So why not take a chance and help me to raise money to support LIVESTRONG‘s programs and services that help people face the challenges of cancer, head on, and live life on their own terms. Learn more at LIVESTRONG.org/GetHelp.

When I answered the phone and hearing my wife’s doctor tell me that it was important that I have her contact him right away, I knew she had cancer.  I quickly called her office and sent her a text when I received no answer telling her to call him; we had both been waiting for his call. What started out with what we thought was a simple cyst was now something that could change our lives forever.  For about a minute my thoughts went to a very dark place however I pulled myself out of there and found myself saying out loud, “She is going to beat this!”

45 minutes later we were both sitting in her doctor’s office listening to the results of her biopsy and formulating a plan for her next steps; more test, surgery & then treatments.  Knowing we are going to fight this together yet with me not being able to go through the medical process for her, even though I’d be with her the whole time, I felt that I had to do more; I had to join the fight against cancer.  So, on August 18 & 19 I will be participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Philly by running a 5K on Saturday & cycling 100 miles on Sunday. I’m doing this to raise awareness & money to support LIVESTRONG‘s programs and services that help people face the challenges of cancer, head on, and live life on their own terms.

I would be extremely grateful if you could support me in reaching my goal by making a donation of any amount on my LIVESTRONG page.  However, if a financial donation is something you are not able to do I am also accepting donations of good thoughts, karma and prayers.

Next week we will be meeting with Caroline’s surgeon to discuss the results of all of her test and to schedule surgery. From there we will continue to fight this along with the other 28 million cancer survivors worldwide…

To learn more visit LIVESTRONG.org/GetHelp.

I Love the pop that the Orange Neon strings have against the guitar...

Yesterday I got to spend the day with my friends down at DR Strings photographing the 25th anniversary edition of the Ibanez S series guitar which is being released in neon and fitted with DR Strings neon strings.  I love the pop that the orange neon strings have against the guitar.

It was great to see everyone and we need to get together again but next time we’ll make it a BBQ at my house.

Nick @ a Pub in Kinsale, Ireland

This photograph is hanging on the wall in my home and it is one of my favorite portraits I’ve taken of my son Nick.  It was taken at a pub in Kinsale, Ireland a few years ago while we were waiting for our lunch to arrive.  The light coming in thru the window on that overcast day was perfect; so I sat there and clicked away while he waited patiently for me to stop, praying for at least my pint of Guinness to arrive so I would have something beside him to focus on (the price of being the son of a photographer).

Anyway I was looking at this photograph the other day and I realized something, he doesn’t look like this anymore.  Don’t get me wrong it does look like him but it is the ‘him’ of three and a half years ago, not the ‘him’ of today.  It is amazing how quickly children change and grow-up.  When I see this I am reminded of his personality and his sense of humor, back then.  Today, if I told him jokes that use to make him laugh back then, he would just role his eyes at me.  Time passes too quickly.

I think it is time to take him out to lunch again, I’ll make sure I’ll bring my camera and ask for a seat next to the window…

Amanda

“She will never be this small again…” that is something my wife would say all the time about our son (except she said he) and she was right.  When I look back at photographs I took of him growing up it is amazing how much he changed over the years and how fast!

I am glad I had the opportunity to photograph the precious Amanda for her parents because she will never be this small again.

Mia & Amanda

Yesterday I got to start the year off photographing the completely adorable Mia and her sister Amanda.  Mia, who is the older of the two sisters, is a bundle of energy.  Trying to keep her still was nearly impossible, so I decided not to.  I wanted her to be herself and I’ll photograph the interactions between the two sisters.  Later in the shoot I was able to get some traditional family portraits but the photographs I LOVE the most are of the kids being kids.  Days like this I’m reminded of the joy of photographing children.  Their energy and playfulness is contagious.  Look for more children and family photography coming from me in 2012.

Happy New Year…

Nick ~ Christmas 2011

I want to wish everyone of you and your families a wonderful holiday season and joyful and prosperous New Year.

~ Peace ~

'Across The Universe' ~ Acadia National Park, Maine

This week one of my photographs is featured on Craft & Vision’s community blog, where photographers discuss (not critique) a photograph. David DuChemin describes it as “What we’re hoping for is a growing sense of literacy where photographs are concerned. If you were an author wanting to better understand how to write, understanding how people read would be a non-negotiable. It’s the same with photographs. If you want to create better photographs, you have to understand how people will read them.”

So one of the things asked about the image was how was it taken and I’d thought I’d share that information with you here as well.  The photograph above is not the same one being discussed (it already appeared here) but this was taken the same evening and the techniques used are the same.

First and most importantly is what are you trying to ‘say’ with the photograph?  For this photograph I wanted to capture the STARS! I live in the suburbs of New York City and I never see stars like this. The night sky was my main focus and for me the rest of the landscape was playing a supporting role.

Some people questioned whether it was a composite image or not, it is not. It is a single 73 second exposure, however there was post processing done to create what you see here. I shot this in RAW file format at 200 ISO, which was done purposely to reduce the digital noise giving me room in Lightroom to dodge (lighten) everything from the foreground down by about 2 stops. I also shot it wide open (f/2.8) to give me the shortest exposer time (since I was using such a slow ISO) to help reduce the movement of the stars in the sky.  I then brought it into Lightroom 3 where I enabled lens correction to adjust the distortion caused by using such a wide angle. I used Lightroom to decrease the noise that was created in the image when I dodge in the foreground. It would have been worse if I had used a faster ISO. Lastly, I selected a medium contrast point curve and kicked up the clarity and the vibrance sliders.

That’s it.

I really can’t believe that we are down to less than 2 weeks left in the year!  Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season…