The View From My Window

What do you do, when you enter the subway after leaving your favorite bank, and you are the only person on the platform?

With only the echoing sounds of the station, the distant rumble of an approaching train and the visual emptiness of the platform stretching out before you? You take out your cell phone out of your pocket and begin taking pictures, of course.

This may be one of those rare instances when you enter the subway, and the Philadelphia subway platform is empty. Since I am always looking for new opportunities to find objects to photograph, it was easy to notice the converging lines creating a perspective effect for my composition to add depth and interest to this particular image. I love it! 😀

Getting Together For Lunch

Had a conversation yesterday with a former co-worker trying to arrange a day to get together at the health center for lunch.

After exchanging pleasantries, and talking about the job, we agreed to meetup next Monday at 12:30pm for lunch. The phone rang, and it was her to remind me that next Monday is Labor Day, and the health center is closed. Now that I am retired, I don't pay attention to holidays much. We agreed to meetup Friday of next week. But I digress.

To keep my favorite hobby and passion alive, went out for a photo walk last night. It was a beautiful night outside. Was the first time picking up my digital camera in quite some time.

For no particular reason, I chose Broad Street facing City Hall in Center City, which is a favorite wedding photography location for Philadelphia couples. A group of young ladies approached me, said they needed to book a photographer, and inquire my price for a wedding photoshoot. I don't shoot weddings, but have a friend who does so I gave them my friend's contact information.

It felt great to go out on a photo walk. It is a great exercise, it gets me connected to my surroundings, and it gives me something to occupy my mind and stimulate my brain.

Philadelphia City Skyline

For months, I was very unsuccessful trying to photograph the Philadelphia city skyline from the 33rd floor of the Loews Hotel. Twice, on different occasions, security staff asked me to leave the premises; only hotel guests are allowed up on that floor.

Months later, on a pleasant and sunny Fathers Day, I decided to go out on a photo walk to find places in downtown Philadelphia to photograph. I was having breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market not far from the Loews Hotel, so I decided to try to go up to the 33rd floor one more time.

Once I reached the 33rd floor and the elevator doors opened, I was surprised that this time I had the whole place to myself. The city skyline looks spectacular from the hotel upper floors, it is by far the best view of the city.

The glass windows were all shut, so I had to photograph the city skyline thru glass. I set up my tripod and took a few test shots to test the lens sharpness. I took a series of five different exposures of the same image, and I was in and out of the hotel in less than five minutes.

All in all, although the results are mixed for me, I am happy with the final result.

Foto Friday - Behind The Scenes

One warm summer, a few years ago, we were getting drenched every weekend. So there was no motivation to ride my motorcycle.

So instead of riding, I went out on a photo walk with my camera in tow. That particular evening I decided to first visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Afterwards, I walked a few blocks near the Schuylkill River and tried to shoot one of the locations I always have a hard time photographing, the Philadelphia Boathouse Row. Even if my life depended on it, I can't get a decent photograph of this place.

- Boathouse Row is a historic site which is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River just north of the Fairmount Water Works and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It consists of a row of fifteen boathouses housing social and rowing clubs and their racing shells. - wikipedia

It didn't help that the cloudy overcast made for a dull and gray sky. But hey, I figured I got nothing to lose so I might as well take a couple of pictures. Who knows, I may just get lucky.

It seemed as if it was going to rain again, so I hurried setting up my camera underneath the Fairmount Water Works gazebo used for wedding ceremonies.

I was so put off by the lousy weather, that only took 5 or 6 pictures of the Boathouse Row, including a couple of them behind the scene images. The timing couldn't be more perfect. By the time I packed my camera gear, it started to drizzle and the SEPTA bus arrived.

Another photo shoot, another lousy Boathouse Row picture.

I Noticed Your Crack Is Showing A Bit

Do you know that the wide crack in the Liberty Bell was actually caused by the repair job? Several years ago I visited the Liberty Bell at the Independence National Historic Park right after a doctor’s appointment. The place was completely empty; any other time will mean huge crowds and long lines at the security scanner. 

The Independence Hall area is always too crowded, especially at the Liberty Bell, with all sorts of tourists from all over the world trying to snap selfies. I guess the impending rain and chance of potential snow kept most people away on this particular day.

After I passed the scanner and security checkpoint, I headed straight over to the Liberty Bell area. I am always trying to do the right thing, so I asked the security guard if I could use my tripod. Of course she said no, “no tripods allowed”. 

I looked around, there was only me, two other people and the security guard in the area. There was no way my tripod would get in the way and would constitute a tripping hazard.

But she said no, so I tried to make the best of it and tried shooting handheld. As expected, most of my pictures at the Liberty Bell came out blurry and out of focus. Most times I have to use a tripod because my right hand trembles when least expected and my poor eyesight doesn’t help either. Oh well, the joys of getting old. 

Foto Fridays - Freezing My Butt Off

This is one of the first pictures I took back in 2015 when I purchased my Nikon DSLR. Geno’s Steaks in Philadelphia have the reputation of having the best steaks in the city, for that reason the restaurant is always crowded. Some people have called the place a tourist trap, and I tend to agree. This was my first and only time to this place, and I only went to take this picture.

To avoid the crowds, I visited the restaurant on a December cold chilly night. Temperature at 3:00am was around 10 degrees Fahrenheit. I walked to the restaurant from the subway station; the street was deserted and quiet. Traffic was essentially nonexistent. Despite the cold weather, I noticed one customer sitting on a bench outside the restaurant eating his steak.

I took my time to setup the composition, and took about a dozen pictures from different angles. This image was the best of the bunch. I froze my butt off taking this picture that morning, but I was really happy with the final result. Enjoy! 

Phillies Headed To World Series Against Houston

Last night the Philly fans turned into the streets despite the cold rain, to celebrate the Phillies victory against the San Diego Padres in the NLCS.

For the first time in who knows how long, the Phillies are heading to the World Series against the Houston Astros. Bryce Harper, the guy who this year signed a 13 year/$330 million dollars contract, took the team to the promise land with a bunch of home runs. He was also named the Most Valuable Player.

As is typical with Philadelphia teams, they usually choke once they reach the championship series. In Spanish we have an expression, “tanto nadar para morir en la orilla”. Literally it means “so much swimming to die on the shore”. Go Yankees!

A Recipe For Disaster

When Ed Rendell was elected as governor of Pennsylvania in the early 2000’s, he began a campaign to shut down hospitals for the mentally ill, and shelters for the homeless in Pennsylvania. The skeptics argued that it was a recipe for disaster.

Rendell claimed that community programs were less expensive than residential treatment hospitals. His goal was for residents to end up in privately run group homes, public housing or with family members.

At that time, my employer offered medical services and outreach to one of the city  biggest shelters. Our health center provided in-house two fulltime social workers and two medical providers embedded in the shelter. When the shelter closed down, we lost over1,000 patients.

Now 20 years later, the city of Philadelphia in conjunction with SEPTA is in the process of implementing outreach services to people dealing with homelessness, addiction, and is planning to arrange for shelters to those in need. One of the reasons why SEPTA (the city public transportation services) is getting involved, is because almost daily someone using drugs or suffering from mental illness jumps or falls onto the train tracks. 

In my opinion, the main reason they are getting involved is because ridership for SEPTA is down pre-pandemic levels. Less people are using public transportation than ever, people feel unsafe when they see open drug use and behavior like that. In my opinion, it is too little and too late for them to take action now. 

As you are probably aware, Philadelphia has the nation's worst opiod crisis and probably homelessness in the United States. If you look at the posted images, they were taken by me recently in the Kensington-Allegheny area infamously known as the Badlands. 

The homeless guy on the first picture was so high on drugs at the train platform, that he stepped on his shoelaces and dropped the cardboard full of dozens of needles in front of me. The second picture is of a bus bench being used by homeless drug addicted individuals to get high and sleep all day, everyday. The third image is of a young man so high on drugs, that he decided to sleep in front of the entrance door of the local pharmacy.

Twenty years ago the skeptics were proven right, it was a recipe for disaster.

I am guessing that since we have elections in less than 30 days, the local politicians are now desperate fishing for votes to stay in power. It is the typical wash, rinse and repeat survival mode of our useless politicians.

COVID Cases Up In Philadelphia, City Officials Will Reinstate Mask Mandate

Every time I read that the government is lifting COVID mandates, I cringe. For the past two years it has been proven time and time again that when the mandates are removed, the COVID numbers go up. 

How does anyone expects this virus to go away, when as soon as the numbers begin to normalize these people cave to pressure and start easing up sanctions?

On Monday, Philadelphia health officials will announce whether the city will reinstate its mask mandate inside of public places. The health commissioner lifted the indoor mask mandate just over a month ago, and right now, COVID-19 cases are back on the rise. 

At this pace, in my opinion, COVID may never go away. 

Perfect Instagram Photograph

I noticed this mural of the American Revolution in one of Philadelphia's most dangerous neighborhoods, and was surprised there was no graffiti damage. I was unsure how to safely approach the mural to use it as a backdrop, with my motorcycle in the foreground. It is a great photo to share in social media.

Decided to shoot the image early on a Sunday morning. I figured at that time the drug dealers are in bed, and there is less car traffic on the road, no pun intended. I guess that is why police arrest people in the early morning, criminals are not anticipating a visit from the police or the FBI. Besides, a lot of criminal activity takes place at night.

Arrived early one Sunday morning and took several images without any unexpected trouble. Perfect Instagram photograph! 

We Have Seen This Movie Before

It has been proven that COVID infections and hospitalization numbers go up after restrictions are lifted. 

Denmark is the latest example. They lifted restrictions and mandates earlier this month.  “This marks the transition to a new era for all of us, because Denmark will once again be an open society, completely open,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. “We dare to believe that we are now through the critical phase."

Since then, they are now recording more COVID cases per capita than anywhere else in the world. And hospitalizations and deaths have also gone up. 

It was announced today that Philadelphia is ending indoor mandates, including vaccinations,  thanks to the declining cases. 

In my opinion, we're going to deal with COVID for the next five to 10 years, or in the worst case scenario, maybe for the rest of our lives. 

2022 New Years Eve Fireworks

Photographing fireworks has always been a challenge for me, despite watching dozens of YouTube videos for the past five years and trying different suggestions by the "experts". 

On New Years eve, I decided to give fireworks photography one more try. I had nothing else to lose, everything I've tried in the past didn't work. Surprisingly, the planets aligned for me this time and I captured several good images. 

I arrived early to the Camden boardwalk next to the New Jersey Adventure Aquarium, across from Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. The camera was setup in Bulb mode, and it was held in the tripod in vertical position. This time I was able to capture the most keepers, great pictures from a fireworks show. All in all, I am very satisfied by how the pictures look. Enjoy the pics!

Composite Photography

As a fairly newbie at creating composite images, I am amazed as to why I didn't tried this method before. For the first time, I am having a lot of fun digging deep into my portfolio to find some of my old dull images, replacing the boring sky background and adding a more dramatic sky. Combining some of my old images with a new background, its giving these images a new lease of life, so to speak. 

According to the internet, composite photography is the use or combination of two or more different images to create a new one. Composite imagery is photography, computer-generated images, and/or stock photos that are blended together to create hyper-realistic or fantastical results. 

It all started with my recent trip to Biloxi, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana at the end of October.

Realizing that I am my own worst critic, I was very disappointed with the final version of the New Orleans picture. I'll spare you the details, but I went through a lot of trouble to get that picture of New Orleans skyline from Algiers Point Historic District. After all the hassle, to come home with a boring and dull image and knowing that there is a high probability I would never visit New Orleans again, I finally decided to try to combine two images to create the one I was looking for. I was so impressed with the final result, that I am now doing the same with a few pictures taken years ago. 

The first image was taken from Algiers Point Historic District in New Orleans at the end of October. I wasn't happy with the sky, so I just added the dramatic clouds background. This picture has become very popular on my Flickr account. The second picture, of the Philadelphia skyline, was taken three years ago from the South Street Bridge. I simply added the lightning background for dramatic effect.  The Boston Harbor image was also taken three years ago, but I found the original sky to be too boring. And finally, the One World Trade Center was taken from Jersey City in 2018. As the other images, I thought they were great pictures, with a cloudless sky.

I am very happy with the final results, especially when some of us don't have the time or finances to return to a location several times expecting to capture the perfect photograph under excellent weather conditions. In my opinion, the sky replacement looks great and it gives the photographs a whole new meaning.  

Discuss. 

What Do Single People Call Valentine's Day?

City indoor dining will resume February 14 in Philadelphia, officials announced today, after rolling back Covid-19 restrictions.

The city is lifting restrictions earlier for museums. It's about time. 

Once again it is time for Valentine's Day on February 14, are you ready? How do you celebrate Valentine's Day with the one you love?

What do single people call Valentine's Day? Happy Independence Day!!!

Any hilarious weird dating story you would like to share?

Discuss! 

Meeting Offline Can Be A Minefield

What do you do when your date looks nothing like his or her pictures? Personally, I think using deceptive photos online is manipulative and a huge waste of people's time, so I don't have any sympathy for people who do that.

Earlier this week, I read an article about men sharing stories of the times they've walked out of dates. If a person is out there dating, I am sure at some point they've been in a situation where they wish they could just walk out.

Reading this article, reminded me of a date I had about 15 years ago at Hard Rock Cafe. I had been in touch over the phone a couple of times with a woman I met on a dating site. She sounded nice; she also had several pictures on her profile. I invited her for brunch at Hard Rock Cafe.

I tend to invite to meet face-to-face, usually a week or two after connecting with someone.

She arrived and didn't look like her pictures, I had a hard time recognizing her. Within 5 minutes of meeting her, and before I could said anything about the pictures discrepancy, she berated and belittled the waitress for being too slow taking her order. As I later learned, she was in a rush; had arranged another date with someone else for after our brunch.

Meeting offline can be a minefield. That day I realized pictures in a profile mean nothing. While appearance can tell us certain things about people, it doesn’t tell us everything. Looks matter, but personality matters so much more.

[ The top picture was taken in 2010, The Hard Rock Cafe guitar image was taken in 2017. ]

I Alone Can Fix It, I Will Restore Law and Order

While campaigning for the presidency in 2016, the Stable Genius didn't ask Americans to place their trust in each other or in God, but rather in him. He said and I quote: "I am your voice,  I alone can fix it. I will restore law and order".

This morning I was unable to get to work, the riots and looting paralyzed the entire city of Philadelphia. Public transportation (SEPTA) was shutdown. Taxis weren't operating. The city is enforcing a curfew until 6:00 am tomorrow morning.

While waiting for the bus this morning,  ( the bus never arrived, and trains weren't working )  I noticed looters still ransacking the local stores. Overnight, they broke into every ATM in my neighborhood. Businesses have been reduced to rubble, destroyed completely. I called my supervisor and told her I wasn't going to able to make it to the clinic today.

This is the first time, in my lifetime, that I witness anything like this. The entire nation has turned violent, cities are burning. The United States have turned into, to paraphrase the Stable Genius,  a "shithole country".

[ More than one hundred thousand Americans have died of COVID-19. Forty million Americans are unemployed. Now the United States is burning. ]

How does our Consoler-In-Chief fix it? He threatens to unleash "vicious dogs" and gunfire on protesters, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts." Today, he berated governors, called them weak and encouraged more violence. In addition, Trump shared during a press conference that he plans to use the military against American citizens in order to squash protests.

Thank you Mr. Trump, for making America great again.

Discuss.

Today Is A Great Day, It's My Birthday

What a difference a day makes. Just the other day I was talking about my retirement, (12 months, 1 hours, 18 minutes, 50 seconds until I retire). Now I'm worried whether this time next week I would still have a job. Yesterday, my employer announced another round of temporary furloughs. A move that will affect healthcare services to our community. Looking on the bright side, I still have a job.

For my 64th birthday, I thought I would be spending my special day in a weekend mini vacation getaway somewhere; attending a Phillies game at Citizens Park, in Brooklyn Bridge Park taking pictures of the New York City's skyline, spending time with a small group of close friends.

As luck would have it, thanks to the Coronavirus, this morning I ended up sitting in front of the computer talking with family and friends over the phone. The main conversation revolved around what to do on my first week of retirement. I had a friend ask me if I was scared. I answered that I am frightened, and excited at the same time. There is an inspirational quote that says, "As you embark on the exciting journey into retirement, you will experience a transition that will be both thrilling and terrifying.” Only time will tell.

Happy birthday to me!!!

It Only Takes One Fart, And We All Stink

They say that everyone farts between 10 and 20 times a day. Sometimes it may be loud and odorless, or smelly. Sometimes it's really smelly, sometimes it's silent but deadly.

One of the great inconveniences of riding public transportation is that you are at the mercy of people. Sometimes you take the bus or the train and its so crowded that it feels like a pack of sardines.

I'm not always late for work, but in this particular day last week, I was running late for a meeting at another health center. I hopped on the crowded Market Frankford Line, politely made my way toward the middle of the train and grabbed the overhead grab rail to keep myself from bumping into people. There was no room to move.

And then it hit me. A well dressed elegant woman standing in front of me farted, the foul smell was so intense that the stench burned my nostrils. I looked the other way to try to get away from her, to prevent myself from fainting. Remember, the train was so packed with commuters that there was no room to move anywhere. I thought her silent deadly fart was peeling the paint off the walls. Interestingly, people around us totally ignored the rotten smell and no one seemed to notice. It was the longest most uncomfortable train ride of my life.

For some reason, that smelly episode reminded me of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song titled - That Smell. "Oooh that smell. Can't you smell that smell? Oooh that smell. The smell of death surrounds you."

Yet another adventure riding the infamous Philadelphia Market Frankford Line.

Speed Racer

First of all, I want to include a disclaimer. I stopped watching TV in 2006, and truth be told, my life didn't end from not watching TV. One day I decided I had enough dealing with Comcast and Verizon cable lousy service in my area, I took a break from TV and I guess that break never really ended. I don't even miss it a little bit. But I digress.

I didn't realize how out of touch with television, Anime/Manga animation and automobile racing I am until I posted the above image on Facebook and a relative mention Speed Racer. To be honest, I had no idea what he was talking about so I did a google search.

The name Speed Racer fits perfectly because the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 is one of the fastest production motorcycles in the world, the epitome of speed in a nutshell.

I was returning from having dinner with friends when I remember seeing this graffiti wall mural next to an auto detailing shop in Philadelphia. I've seen it before during a commute on public transportation.

It was a grey day with an overcast sky, weather was typical of this time of the year. If I had waited another hour, and I had with me the Neewer CN-160 Led Video Light with a diffuser mini softbox, it could've been a great opportunity for another motorcycle light painted image. Unfortunately, I was only carrying my Nikon D7000 with a 28-80mm lens. It is a deserted neighborhood, rarely any traffic goes by, so I hurried and took several photographs.

Now I have another reason to return to this location to try to capture a motorcycle light painted image.

Behind The Scenes Photography

It's getting warmer in Philadelphia, but we're getting drenched every weekend. So there is no motivation to ride my motorcycle, at least not yet.

Last night I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Afterwards, I decided to walk a few blocks and try to shoot one of the locations I always have a hard time photographing, the Philadelphia Boathouse Row. Even if my life depended on it, I can't get a decent photograph of this place.

It didn't help that the cloudy overcast makes the sky look dull and gray. But hey, I've got nothing to lose so I might as well take a couple of pictures. Who knows, I might just get lucky.

It seemed as if it was going to rain again, so I hurried setting up my camera underneath the Fairmount Water Works gazebo used for wedding ceremonies.

I was so put off by the lousy weather, that only took 5 or 6 pictures of Boathouse Row, including a couple of behind the scene images. The timing couldn't be more perfect. By the time I packed my camera gear, it started to drizzle and the SEPTA bus arrived.

Another photo shoot, another lousy Boathouse Row picture.