Behind The Scenes: Smartphone on a Platypod eXtreme

For weeks, I've been planning to visit the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. It is one of the most beautiful cathedrals I've ever seen. I was hoping to capture a couple of low-angle pictures inside the cathedral using the Platypod eXtreme. 

As expected, this cathedral is very crowded. Catholics and tourists from all over the world come to Philadelphia to admire the sacred art, the cathedral stunning architecture and the significant religious and historical importance.

To avoid the crowds, I arrived at 9:00 am sharp. It was ideal to take photos, only the maintenance cleaning man and I were the only ones there. I had the cathedral all by myself. I noticed that most of the lights inside the cathedral were off, so I sat in a cathedral pew to kill time. 

At some point the maintenance man was cleaning in my area. I asked what time the cathedral lights usually are turned on since I was hoping to take a few pictures. He noticed I was holding my camera and asked me how long it would take me to take the photos. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes, I replied. The gentleman was so kind, that he turned on the lights of the entire cathedral. His kind gesture surprised me. 

On my way home I realized I forgot to take "behind the scenes" pictures". I didn't see the maintenance gentleman again either; to thank him for turning on the lights. 

I think the Platypod eXtreme has been of the best photography tools that I have added to my camera gear.

Platypod eXtreme at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul

Esta mañana visite la Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul en Filadelfia. Llevo semanas planeando como fotografiar dentro de la catedral usando el Platypod eXtreme. 

Esta catedral es muy concurrida, turistas de todas partes del mundo vienen a Filadelfia a visitarla. Estuve el jueves pasado, pero habia una boda programada y no pude tomar fotos. 

Hoy llegue antes de la 9:00 de la mañana y estaba ideal para tomar fotos, el hombre de mantenimiento haciendo limpieza y yo eramos los unicos alli. Me di cuenta que las luces dentro de la catedral estaban apagadas, solo estaban encendidas las luces mas minimas. Me sente en un banco de la iglesia a matar el tiempo. 

Al preguntar a que hora prendian las luces, el hombre de mantenimiento al verme con las camaras en la mano, me pregunto cuanto tardaria en tomar las fotos. Solamente de 5 a 10 minutos le respondi. Fue tan amable que el caballero encendio las luces de toda la catedral para que yo tomara las fotos; ese gesto tan amable me sorprendio. 

De camino a casa me di cuenta que se me olvido tomar fotos de "detras de la escena". Tampoco vi mas a el empleado de mantenimiento para darle las gracias por encender las luces. Asi es esto, en cuestion de fotografia no todo sale siempre 100% perfecto. Gracias a Dios no todo fue una perdida, me gusto como quedo la foto del celular Samsung con el Platypod eXtreme dentro de la catedral. 

Pienso que el Platypod eXtreme ha sido una de las mejores herramientas de fotografia que he añadido en mi arsenal.

BREAKING NEWS: Bad Bunny May Be Releasing New Album During Super Bowl

BREAKING NEWS: 

I hear that Bad Bunny will be releasing a new album during the halftime show. 

Bad Bunny new album is called "Release The Epstein Files". 

Typepad Had Decided To Call It Quits

I am not totally upset that my favorite blogging site decided to shut down. After all, it was the main site I've used since 2009, and learned all the tricks of what blogging is all about. 

Even though I've been blogging in one way or another since 2004 in other venues, during my early Typepad blogging days, something told me to start saving my blog posts on an external hard drive. I am glad I did. In hindsight, backing up my content was a very wise decision on my part. It would be a herculean job to save all the blog posts and pictures I included on all those posts, after so many years. 

Yes, Typepad was an excellent paid, subscription blogging service, but reality is that they ceased operations last night (September 30, 2025) and permanently deleted all user content.  I don't plan to dwell too much on it, life moves on. Blogspot has been a great blogging outlet for me, so far. And best of all, it is free. 

Typepad blogging platform is dead, long live Blogspot.

Part 2: Restoration of my 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 LTD

The motorcycle title finally arrived two days ago in the mail. It has been officially transferred to my name. It only took three weeks to come in the mail. This motorcycle has been sitting in storage since 2010. 

The next step is to put the bike together; find a used wooden pallet from my local dealership, and ship it to Puerto Rico. Once the bike restoration is completed, the ugly LTD look will be gone, and it should look very similar to the one shown in the picture. I am really looking forward to getting things started. 

Part 1: Restoration

I Back Up My Files Religiously

The other day, I spent a couple of hours backing up my hundreds of favorite photos. I need to remember to back up my files more often. I keep three copies of my data, to protect myself against data loss.

Acabo de pasar un par de horas haciendo copias de cientos de mis fotos favoritas. Necesito recordar hacer copias de mis fotos con mas frecuencia. Para protegerme contra la perdida de datos, mantengo tres copias en diferentes lugares. 

Remembering 9/11

Remembering 9/11

Picture taken on July 2001