Monza Photography

Flowers from my parent's house

2009-04-19T22:37:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip today to my parents' house.

Jer and Hannah's Wedding (Part 2)

2009-04-19T10:16:00.000-04:00

Jer and Hannah's Wedding

2009-04-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we had the honor of attending Jeremy and Hannah's wedding. Here a couple of pictures from the wedding. God bless to both of them.

More backyard fun and a challenge

2009-03-31T21:32:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the flowers in my backyard. I'm not sure how much I like them, but it's something. Honestly - I think the bird pictures turned out better. Alas... *sigh*

Anyway... regarding this challenge. Here's the challenge - take a couple of pictures each week for a month from the same location. By that I mean the same general area - like a park or your backyard or something like that. Post them during the month and leave the URL in the comments. I think that doing something like this forces you to expand your creativity and explore new ways of looking at things. Who knows, maybe I'll build a blind so that I can get really close to my new bird-brained friends. The cats would be so jealous.

Even more birds in the backyard

2009-03-31T08:24:00.000-04:00

With all these birds, is it any wonder our cats are always looking out the back door mornfully?

More birds

2009-03-31T08:23:00.000-04:00

Does anyone know what type of bird this is? Let me know in the comments.

Bird pictures from the back yard

2009-03-31T08:22:00.000-04:00

So we finally filled the birdfeeder this past weekend. Here are a couple of pictures of the birds that came to visit as a result.

Scenes from the backyard continued

2009-03-28T19:52:00.000-04:00

More scenes from the backyard

2009-03-28T19:42:00.001-04:00

Scenes from the backyard

2009-03-28T19:42:00.000-04:00

Backyard Flowers

2009-03-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

More pictures from Nic's concert

2009-03-28T19:38:00.000-04:00

Pictures from Nic's Concert

2009-03-28T19:35:00.000-04:00

Here's some pictures that I took of Nic's concert. I was really happy with how they turned out.

This one, of the drummer and drums, is one of my favorite.

Sledding 3

2009-03-05T23:22:00.001-05:00

Here are some random sledding pictures of some of the kids at the park. Jessie was kind enough to supply the snarky comments.

"Wait, wait... Which end is down again?"

"Flight attendents, please prepare for takeoff..."

As Han Solo says... "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Whump!"

Sledding

2009-03-05T23:18:00.002-05:00

Ngaire and Liam got to go down the hill together. Too cute.

Chris got to go down too...

Sledding 2

2009-03-05T23:16:00.000-05:00

Me: "Look up Ngaire"
Ngaire: "Hi, Mr. Adrian"

Poor Liam. The Longs came over to sled and his snowsuit didn't fit. The obvious solution (since not going out isn't an acceptable solution): chuck him in Lindsay's snow suit. Poor guy... purple is not his color.

He and Chris don't seem to mind though.

Snow day 3

2009-03-04T21:07:00.000-05:00

So this is Lindsay here. I may not be able to talk a lot, but I can type. Daddy said that since these are my pictures, I could introduce them.

Here I am looking around trying to find someone at which to throw my snowball. It's hard when you haven't figured out how to walk in the snow. You just have to kinda wait for someone to come close.

Oh look! Maybe I can throw it at Daddy! I dunno... he looks awfully big.

Snow day 2

2009-03-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

Lindsay to daddy "Umm... what's this cold white stuff? What can I do with it? Can I eat it?"

The neighbors and us playing in the snow.

Snow Day!

2009-03-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

One nice thing about my job is that I can work from home when during inclement weather (thank you VPN and Fios). Now I have a wonderful job that I tremendously enjoy, but I do have to say that it can't hold a candle to a small little voice saying "Daddy, can you come outside and play (in the snow) with me?" What self-respecting daddy could hold out when your oldest daughter (Erica, age 3) comes upstairs to the office and asks so nicely?? Anyway... as I told my boss, I'm not working 8 hours today. So here are a couple of pictures from the not 8 hours part of my day.

Long way down

2009-03-02T23:12:00.002-05:00

You know... when you're as small as Lindsay... it IS a long way down.

Lindsay

2009-03-02T23:08:00.005-05:00

Lindsay... when I told you that was an ear of corn, that's a unit of measure, not an idea for what you should do with it!

That's better...

Now you've got it. Now all you need is a little butter, maybe a little salt...

Oops... More Munchkin

2009-03-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

Final Munchkin

2009-03-02T22:56:00.000-05:00

Here's another one of Tom. He's got a great smile and the picture would be great, except for that dang light in the background! Next game, before everyone comes over, I'm moving the lights!

Jordana enjoying a moment of deep self-satisfaction. She's probably just done something very Munkinly to someone else... And yes, she was winning when they had to leave.

Here's Chris

Here's Chris and Jordana....

More Munchkin... now in Black and White

2009-03-02T22:53:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple more pictures that I took during our Munchkin game on Saturday night. Here's my friend Tom in color and black and white. I really like the first black and white. On the second I was trying to darken everything in the picture except his hand and his wedding ring, but I'm not sure it worked. What do you think?

I'm a little Teapot

2009-03-02T22:50:00.000-05:00

So... We had the Long's over to play Munchkin (www.sjgames.com if you're interested). Chris... well Chris played a card that required him to sing a little song and Chris... well... his song choice wasn't Ave Marie. It wasn't Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring... no, it was "I'm a little teapot." Without further ado then, here is Chris singing "I'm a little teapot" (acapella no less)

More pictures from Quiet Waters

2009-02-15T22:25:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple more pictures from Quiet Waters.

I like this portrait of Jessie, but I do think that maybe I was a little heavy handed in the post processing. What do you think?

Erica looks like she's 3 going on 15 in this picture. Alak, alas... well... at least it's a good thing that I'm taking the Muay Thai and Brazillian Juijitsu lessons now for when she does turn 15. I'm sure I'll have more than my fair share of young gentlemen circling.

What can I say... slides are cool... (and staticky (sp??) [i.e. full of static or causing static]). My poor daughter... the world is her Van de Graff generator...

Pictures from Quiet Waters

2009-02-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from Quiet Waters. Jessie and I took the kids to the playground and they had an absolute ball.

First Light

2009-02-15T22:12:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the first pictures that I shot with my new 17-55 F2.8 IS lens. Thanks sweetie!!

Color or Black and White?

2009-02-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

Which do you like better: color or black and white?

Erica comes to visit Erica

2009-02-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

Recently (like around New Year's) Erica W. came up to visit. She lives in TX now, (Houston area), so we don't get to see here too often. In case you're wondering, yes, she is the person from whom we got the idea of naming our Erica, Erica. Both Jessie and I knew Erica W. well in college and throught (still think) the world of her, so when we were thinking of girls names, her's naturally came along with a bunch of pleasant memories. Our hope for our Erica is that she turns out every bit as caring and kind as Erica.

Austin Trip 2

2009-02-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

More pictures from Austin

Even the door hinges are stylized.

Here's the view from the plane after we took off.

Pictures from Austin Trip

2009-02-15T08:55:00.000-05:00

I've been completely remiss in blogging for a while. I'm trying to get back into it. Anyway... I went to Austin on business for a week back in December. I didn't get to do much sightseeing, but I did manage to sneak in a trip to the Texas Capital after dropping my co-worker off at the airport and before I needed to catch my flight.

Patabsco Park Pictures

2009-02-14T14:05:00.000-05:00

Patabsco Park

2009-02-14T13:52:00.001-05:00

Patabsco Park is a gem of a state park, located close to Baltimore. The other day, since the weather was so nice, I decided to go hiking in the park. I've attached a couple of pictures from my travels.

Pictures from Karin and Amy coming to visit

2009-02-14T13:32:00.002-05:00

I'm still working on getting better at portraits. As you can see from these, I still need to work on it. I'm getting better though.

More Pictures from Aunt Mary's

2008-12-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

2008-12-05T12:42:00.000-05:00

Here's a cute picture of Erica from Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at Aunt Mary's

2008-12-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

Several pictures from Aunt Mary's

Reactions to many people on Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T11:51:00.000-05:00

Everyone has a different reaction to having so many people over for Thanksgiving. Aunt Camille is having a great time...

Others... well, they have other reactions....

In fairness. It's only sparkling Apple Cider, the bottle was empty, and this was so posed for the camera. Nonetheless... the camera never lies... does it?

Minna at Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T11:43:00.000-05:00

Which one do you like better - B&W or Color?

More Monza Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T11:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of portraits from Thanksgiving

Aww...

I really like this portrait of Aunt Terri. I think it's probably one of my better portraits.

Yes, Lindsay was thrilled with all of the people being around... So many people to hold her and dote on her. Oh yes, there was much dotage.

Thanksgiving at the Monza's

2008-12-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

So... we went up to the Monza's for Thanksgiving. As usual, there were many, many, many people around the table this year. For them, anything below about 25 is a small year. So, as is my want, I was running around taking pictures.

Uncle Scott

Aunt Jackie (and yes, you do look nice in pictures)

Uncle Matt... He's so happy when he's planning future ligitation isn't he?

Brian, he's just Brian.

Linehan Pets

2008-12-02T11:43:00.001-05:00

Here are some random pet pictures (and their owners) that I took at the Linehans this past Thanksgiving. As always, snarky comments are definitely required.

(Charity - in an Italian accent) "Are you sure you want to take my picture? I think you might be better off taking someone else's picture, if you know what I mean."

Aww.. how cute.

"Daddy... I wanna dog too."

Turkey Cookies at the Linehan's

2008-12-01T11:40:00.001-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our adventure last weekend making turkey cookies at the Linehan's.

Here's the clan (plus assorted random other people) hard at work. I'm more on the consumption/quality control side of things rather than manufacturing.

Here's Mrs. Leydorf with an example of her quality workmanship.

Erica and Jessie hard at work.

Dad in a more contemplative moment.

Abstract

2008-10-21T21:46:00.003-04:00

If you've been reading this blog, you know that I don't typically do abstract photography. Nonetheless, while walking in the nature preserve by my house, well... I couldn't resist.

Let me know which one you like better.

Also - Karin from the comments - send me an email at Adrian.Monza -at- MarylandSportsPhotography -dot- com with your address and I'll mail you and 8x10 of your selected picture. You were indeed the only commenter, but since no one else commented, you get it!

Roses - Vote and win!

2008-10-10T07:19:00.002-04:00

Here are a series of pictures of a rose in my garden. Please do my a favor and look at them closely. I'm going to get one of them printed for my office, but I don't know which one.

So, with that in mind, I'm going to leave it up to you. I'll label each picture. Leave a comment letting me know which picture you like best. At then end of the week (Friday the 17th), I'll tally the votes and the one that gets the most votes will appear on my office wall.

However as an incentive for everyone that votes: If you leave your email address, when I tally the votes, I will pick one person at random from all the people that voted. That person will receive a free 8x10 (or other size) of the picture for which they voted.

Image 9716: 50mm f/5.6 ISO 100 1/250 sec.

Image 9719: 50mm f/16 ISO 100 1/25 sec.

Image 9723: 50mm f/8.0 ISO 100 1/100 sec.

Image 9725 50mm f/4.0 ISO 100 1/400 sec.

Image 9727: 50mm f/2.8 ISO 100 1/1000 sec.

Image 9730: 50mm f/4.0 1/250 sec.

Image 9736: 50mm f/22 ISO 100 1/10 sec.

Image 9742: 50mm f/2.8 ISO 100 1/400 sec.

Flowers and depth of field

2008-10-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

I had a great time on Saturday morning taking some pictures of a rose in my garden. As I was taking them one of the things that I was experimenting with, was depth of field, specifically the aperture. Aperture is the size of the hole the opens in the lens to let in light. The larger the hole, the more light gets let in. The aperture is measured in f-stops, which relate to the area of the hole. Each "stop" lets in half the light as the previous one, but because of how it is calculated, the numbers aren't as simple as 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 etc... Instead it's 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8.0, 11, and 16

Anyway... larger apertures have some good things associated with them - more light, faster shutter speed, or lower ISO. However, as with all things, there is a downside. The larger the aperture (smaller number) the smaller the depth of field. In other words, less of the picture is in focus. Look at the two pictures below.

This first picture was taken at f/16, 1/25th of a second shutter speed. As you can see, the flower is sharply in focus, but the fence is also in fairly sharp focus too.

This picture is f/5.6 - 3 stops "faster". As you can see, the fence isn't nearly as in focus. It's much more blurred and, I think visually appealing.

This one is f/2.8. Notice how blurred the fence is - you can hardly tell what it is exactly. But also notice the flower. If you look closely, you'll notice that the depth of field is so shallow, that not even all of the flower is in focus.

Broadneck versus GORC Baseball

2008-10-08T23:32:00.000-04:00

More Broadneck versus GORC baseball. Yeah... I know... baseball in the fall... sacrilege.

Here's the GORC coach. One of the things I appreciate about baseball and the baseball coaches is that they're not yelling all the time. Maybe it's because it's fall ball, not the spring season, but everyone was pretty laid back; having a good time, which I appreciate. Too often we take youth sports way, way too seriously. I'm adamant that my kids will work hard, play hard, be well coached, but also enjoy themselves. The point of sports isn't to get a scholarship to pay for school, it's to teach the kids about teamwork and for them to enjoy the thrill of playing the game.

Well... there's always next pitch.

Walking to the plate.

The pitcher, with the classic Nolan Ryan leg kick...

The only thing that would make this picture better would be if I could have gotten the umpire making a signal. So what do you think - safe or out?

Baseball too!

2008-10-08T11:23:00.000-04:00

In addition to taking pictures of the football game, I went and took pictures of the GORC versus Broadneck baseball game. I initially thought that it was a scrimmage, but the parents told me that, actually Anne Arundel County does have a fall baseball league. Anyway...

The classic picture of the batter swinging through the pitch.

Here is the catcher waiting for the pitch.

A Broadneck player swinging at a pitch.

The shortstop getting ready to throw to first.

Andover vs GORC, continued

2008-10-07T11:08:00.000-04:00

Here are some additional pictures from the Andover versus GORC game. In case you're wondering, GORC won. In all the time that I've taken pictures at GORC park, I've actually only seen a GORC team lose once.

Here are two pictures of number 52 from Andover. As I mentioned yesterday, he had many tackles and here is another one of them. I am interested in your feedback. Which picture do you think is better? Why?

This is the only touchdown Andover scored, on an inside run. This is the beginning of the run.

And here is a little later on the same run. He's just running away from GORC.

Football

2008-10-06T10:00:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to go a take pictures of the Andover versus GORC youth football game on Sunday.

Here we have GORC number 10 (unfortunately I don't know his name) confronted by a wall of Andover tacklers. Sorry to say, but I don't think the attempt at a stiff arm is going to help much.

This picture is part of my on-going series entitled "Linemen have mom's too." Seriously, as a photographer, you're typically trying to follow the ball, so receivers, quarterbacks, and running backs get all the good pictures, but linemen get the shaft. However, sometimes by happenstance, I still get a good picture. So here's to linemen.

Number 52 for Andover was all over the field on defense. This is just one of the many pictures that I have of him flying in on a tackle. I don't think that he was one of the biggest kids on the team, but he just liked hitting people. For a defender, that's a good quality to have.

Will he tackle him or now? Survey says...

Nope.

Many, many photos this week

2008-10-05T22:32:00.002-04:00

This week is going to be fun week of blogging. I have many pictures to share with you - all 2 of you ;-). Anyway... I have football pictures, baseball pictures, and even some flower pictures of a rose from my garden.

I'm looking forward to sharing them all with you and getting your feedback. If you like them, let me know in the comments.

Fine Art - Birds IV

2008-10-03T14:39:00.000-04:00

This owl has a little bit of a sad story. Apparently, his mother didn't know that owls don't nest in pine trees. Besides the sap getting in their feathers, it got in the eyes of this poor bird and permanently damaged them, so he can't see. Fortunately, a raptor rescue foundation found him and is taking care of him, but it's still a little sad. He is a cute little fellow though.

Fine Art - Birds III

2008-10-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

Fine Art - Birds II

2008-10-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

Without further interruption... more birds.

Fine Art - Birds

2008-09-30T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a series of posts of animal pictures I've taken. Here is the first

GORC I vs GORC II 80 Lbs Football

2008-09-28T13:57:00.000-04:00

Well... the weather outside today is frightful, so I thought I would post some pictures from a recent outing taking pictures of the youth football games at GORC park.

Dropping back for a pass, reading the defense...

Will he get it off before the sack?

Coach is thinking... run, run, RUN!!

Many years ago, I played rugby. As I remember my playing days, I see pictures like this in my mind. I'm running in the open field... and there is a whole crowd out to get me. That's why I typically ran like a scared rabbit, because yes, number 28, they are all out to get you.

Running with the ball...check

Defenders scattered in wake...check

Open field in front...check

Flag on the play...check

DRAT!

Community Forum at Piney Orchard

2008-09-27T13:30:00.003-04:00

I recently attended a community forum at Piney Orchard Community Center. I was heartened that a number of people actually turned out. Jamie Benoit, my local councilmen, was particularly impressive and I think he has a bright future ahead of him, if he desires to move up and pursue higher offices.

I particularly liked that he had a firm command of the local issues and a depth of knowledge that's uncommon among elected officials. Interestingly, and I think an excellent testament to his character, I talked to one of the people that ran against him in the last election. I don't remember the name, but his opponent had nothing but good things to say about him and said that now he and Jamie are good friends. I think that says more about his character than anything else.

Anyway... this is a photoblog, so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures I took at the forum. The lighting was terrible, so that results aren't what I wanted. Oh well... perhaps another day my wife will buy me the Cannon EF-S 18-55mm 2.8 IS lens... Christmas perhaps? :-)

Anne Arundel Councilmen Jamie Benoit address constituents at a recent community forum in Piney Orchard.

Benoit listens as members of the 21st district delegation address constituents at the Piney Orchard Community Forum

Youth Football Season

2008-09-06T12:34:00.004-04:00

Over at my business http://www.MarylandSportsPhotography.com/ (okay, so it is a blatant plug) it's youth football season. In keeping with the season, I thought that I'd post some of the pictures that I took at some recent games

Actually, the coach is very nice, albeit a little intense. I just happened to catch him yelling at someone to get on the field.
There's a quality stiff arm there...
Bursting through the hole like Jerome Bettis (yes.. I'm a Steelers fan)

And no, he did not put a knee down. Actually, he went in for a touchdown, I believe.

Running for daylight. I love how much smaller they are relative to the refs. Just imagine that in a couple of years, these same kids are going to be dwarfing the ref.

I think this one is my favorite. I kind of followed the running back through the frame and I like how he is in pretty sharp focus, especially relative to everyone else.

Lindsay has a new skill and Erica demonstrates an old one

2008-09-06T12:26:00.004-04:00

So... life around the Monza household has been pretty interesting lately. Seems that Lindsay has a new skill. I'll let her introduce it:

So yeah... I can pull myself up to standing now. Not long before I'll ditch this crawling thing and go right to walking. Oh yeah, and I'm only 7 mo old too. Boy aren't Mommy and Daddy going to be excited

So... yes... Daddy is excited.... Mommy is - well - terrified! 7 month olds aren't supposed to do this. She's also quite an accomplished crawler

Anyway... I did start out the post by noting that Erica was also demonstrating an old skill; one that all first-borns have. That would be doing whatever is necessary to take the attention away from your sister and put it back on you where it belongs:

Did I mention that she's quite good at it?

Puzzlemasters hard at work

2008-09-06T12:22:00.002-04:00

Here's Erica and Jessie, both hard at work on their respective puzzles.

I've seen a couple of pictures lately that used depth of field to make the picture look more artistic. I think this would have come out much better if I'd had a tripod, but you can't get everything I suppose. The fact that I was shooting on available (not much) light at ISO 800, might have something to do with the graininess of the photo - ya think?

Same deal here, except that it's horizontal as opposed to a vertical composition. It's not going to win any awards, but I like it and it gives me some ideas on what to do next time to make it better.

Allen Pond Skateboarding

2008-08-30T12:33:00.000-04:00

Thought that I would put up a couple of pictures I took recently of skateboarders at Allen Pond Park. Go to my sports photography website at http://marylandsportsphotography.com for more pictures.

Rail grind... This kid was simply outstanding.

Doing it like Travolta...
<cue music> "I believe I can fly...."

This is an outstanding kick-flip. Believe it or not, he actually landed this. I thought that there would be no way that he'd be able to pull it off, but some of these kids are legitimately very, very good.

Family Pictures (and these ones include Daddy!)

2008-08-23T11:07:00.000-04:00

One of the frustrations my wife has, is that I am remarkably photophobic. I'm very comfortable behind the camera, not in front of it. Well... this time she caught me and made me sit still and smile - at least for 1/250th of a second. The results... well the kids are cute at least, but I'm as ugly as ever... At least I didn't break the lens this time.

Perpetual Motion Machines - I mean Toddlers... well actually there's no difference

2008-08-23T10:58:00.000-04:00

So... after you get all wet, the sun always seems to go behind a cloud. Isn't that just always the way it is? Well.. The only way to fix the problem of getting really, really cold is too... run more. Fortunately two-year-olds and perpetual motions machines have a lot in common.

So, first we had fun bear crawling...

Then Erica got chased by Godzilla....
Then Erica chased Godzilla....

Summer, Sprinklers, and Kids getting wet

2008-08-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

Ah yes, it's summer. That time of year when you run through the sprinkler, get wet, muddy, and Mommy doesn't even yell at you for it! How cool.

So... I came home early and Erica said "Daddy can we play with the hose?" Now, I don't know about you, but when your two year old says that to you in that most adorable tone, I certainly can't argue. Especially when she has such a good time running through the sprinkler.

Of course, I forgot that since we don't own a sprinkler, it's Daddy's job to work the hose. I forgot how much fun it is to have the hose in a water fight.

Not now Daddy, I'm getting ready for my closeup.

Karin, Dan, and Amy

2008-08-20T21:59:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple of other pictures from when Karin, Dan, and Amy came to visit. Karin - nice smile!

The beauty of black and white

2008-08-20T21:55:00.000-04:00

As I've said before, black and white makes everything look better. Our friends from Philly, Karin and Dan came down two weekends ago and I snapped a couple of pictures right before they left. I love the picture below because of the looks they're giving each other. It's just so sweet.

And here's Karin being Karin. Hair in the middle of her face - required.

Nic's portraits

2008-08-20T21:50:00.000-04:00

My friend Nic - http://www.petersen-photo.com/ is just outstanding at taking portraits. When it comes to people, he just has the innate ability to capture only what is needed, nothing else. I don't know how else to put it. Even if I could crop my photo to capture what he does, I still can't see what he does. Anyway... took these with my camera when we were out in Annapolis.

Lesson learned:
1) Nic: Bring your camera!!
2) If you want great portraits, hire Nic.

Fun in Annapolis

2008-08-20T21:40:00.000-04:00

Week before last, we went down to Annapolis with our friends Nic and Shannyn. Before leaving though, I got a couple of cute pictures, including this one of Lindsay.

This is a picture of Erica down at the Annapolis City Dock. I love how she's looking back up at the statue, like she's talking with them.

Erica and Lindsay on Vacation

2008-07-28T21:07:00.000-04:00

Here's a couple of pictures of Erica and Lindsay on our recent vacation to NY.

As you can see, we went to Niagara Falls with Mom and Dad. Lindsay's strapped to me, so she didn't get a chance to get in the picture.

As you can see, Mommy really appreciates getting the cold lake water poured on her.

Lindsay, is in her favorite spot in the house. She spent a lot of time playing on the carpet trying to crawl. It turns out it's pretty good practice. She's definitely crawling now.

Night pictures from vacation

2008-07-24T22:24:00.000-04:00

One of the things I tried to do this vacation was to do some night photography. For me, at least, night photography is fiendishly difficult. For one... I am absolutely hopeless at exposure calculations. Just start with the assumption that I have no idea of the correct exposure and go from there. At least during the day, you can either experiment or (more likely) the camera can help you calculate the correct exposure. At night, if the exposure length is longer than 30 seconds... you're on your own, buddy!

I really like this picture because it's so peaceful. It's just two people canoeing across the lake at night, lit by moonlight. I love how they're backlite by the moonlight, so we can't see their faces, or really any detail in their features - just their ourlines in the light.

This is a picture of a koi pond at the house. I love long shutter speeds and running water. It gives the water this ethereal look that I really enjoy. I've included three variations on the same basic picture. Enjoy.

Family at vacation

2008-07-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

Here's a picture of my in-laws returning from a canoe ride.

Mr. Leydorf emerging from his swim. Now, I know (don't try this at home kids) that what everybody needs after a swim is a nice cold beer. See, he even has it right at the dock when he gets out.

Ummmmm.... Beer....

Collection of Art Images from vacation

2008-07-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

The following are two pictures from the yard of the house we stayed at on our vacation. I loved the texture of the sundial in the yard. Remarkably enough, not only does it look cool, it also told the time (more or less) correctly.

Here, in this picture, I was trying to emphasize a strong foreground element to add some interest to the picture. Absent the sundial, the church is pretty, but it doesn't make for a compelling picture (though I assure you the scene was quite picturesque.

Here, again I was trying to emphasize a strong foreground element - in this case some of the leaves from the pergula (sp???). Again, as in the first picture, I'm trying to make the church the central element, but I'm experminting with the composition to draw the viewer into the frame. I'm not sure I succeeded, but it looks better than my usual fare, so I'm happy.

Vacation Pictures

2008-07-24T21:52:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures from our recent vacation.

The first is of my wife, her sister, and Erica - our oldest. Ye olde average family shot.

The next two are my favorites. Erica was playing in the lake, using her watering can to water... well... her. This was quite a shock to her parents - this coming from the girl who complains about us pouring water over her head in the tub to wash out the shampoo. I think we'll start having her pour the water over her head in the bathtub... maybe that'll work....

"Why yes Daddy, I do look like a semi-drowned rat... Why do you ask?"

Beak and Skiff Winery

2008-07-20T22:10:00.000-04:00

Thought that I would blog a couple of pictures from our recent vacation. These are from the Beak and Skiff winery,about 20 minutes away from where we were staying in NY. I'm particularly pleased with the flower pictures. The still life... we'll I think it lacks life. Let me know what you think.

July 4th is coming

2008-07-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

In honor of July 4th, I thought that I'd post a couple of fireworks pictures I took about 2 years ago in Annapolis. Let me know which ones you like.

Pictures from my cousin's wedding (continued)

2008-07-01T07:58:00.001-04:00

Here are two more pictures.

This one below was my idea. I've seen this done elsewhere (and probably a lot better at that), but it's my first attempt at getting a picture of just the wedding rings on their hands. I'll have to show it to them and see what they say.

Now I know you're asking yourself... "Self, why did he take all of these pictures in black and white, doesn't he like color?!" The answer is that, of course I like color and all that (though I do admit that black and white almost always makes everything look more artistic), but I did not gel my flash and the lighting in the church was terrible. It had a mixture of tungsten, fluorescents, and ambient outside lighting, all quite dim. The color pictures reflect this mix, so people have blue faces, or everything is very yellow and orange, depending on how the color temperature is set.

Changing everything to black and white kind of sidesteps this, so that's why everything is black and white.

Pictures from my cousin's wedding

2008-07-01T07:50:00.000-04:00

In keeping with the fact that this is a photoblog, I thought that I'd include a couple pictures I took at my cousin's wedding recently.

Here's the happy couple. I love how this turned out in the light sepia, with a little vignetting. It looks really timeless.

Here's another black and white.

Unfortunately, Kristin isn't looking at me, so she kind of looks a little out of it. Oh well... I tried to rush and see what happens?

Still Life

2008-06-25T06:03:00.000-04:00

These are two still lifes that I took at a winery in Virginia recently. Let me know which you like best.

Or perhaps this?

Photo Blog 101

2008-06-25T06:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Monza Photography Photo Blog, hosted by your friendly guide, Adrian. I'll be using this blog to host my photography. Always feel free to comment on the pictures and give comments and critiques.