The Wedding Portrait

                               

Kathy and I went to the presentation at the Sea Cliff Library last Friday.  When we left and were driving home we drove down Sea Cliff avenue, which is the main street, toward Memorial Park, which overlooks the sound.  We saw these people getting out of cars and they were blocking one of the lanes so there was no room to get by.  We expected them to move out of the street and then they arranged themselves all across both lanes, while the driver on the right held up his hand to stop traffic, which was only us.  So we sat there for a bit while the photographer, seen in the distance, just to the right of the bride, arranged everyone and then had them walk down the street while he photographed them.  So we sat and watched him work and eventually he got the shots he needed and the crowd moved into the park for more photographs.  Just your average day in the life of a wedding photographer!

NEAF

So this is it!  The Big Daddy of all astronomy and telescope shows.  The Northeast Astronomy Forum.  It is the show we wait for all year long.  Any kind of telescope or mount or eyepiece or accessory can be found here. and you can see it, touch it, pick it up, and look through it!  It doesn't get any better than that when you are trying to decide whether or not to buy a new piece of equipment.  BE SURE AND CLICK ON THIS PANORAMA to see in in a larger size.

It is a "candy store" on overload for those of us in the hobby of Astronomy.

Seven telescopes in a row!  Which one do you want?

There are also lectures going on both days, and they include astronauts, and scientists and NASA administrators.  This gentleman gave a great talk about exploring the different geological features of the Moon.

Oh look!  More telescopes, and dedicated astronomy cameras to put on the back.

The amount of equipment and accessories on display is unimaginable, until you come here and see everything in person!  This is the event that charges are batteries and makes us want to get observing now that the nicer weather is here.

 

The Bridge

I drove up to Rockland county today for a giant Astronomy convention.  And of course I have to cross the Hudson river, and I did that by driving over the new Tappan Zee Bridge.  I have to tell you, each time I cross this bridge I am stunned by how spectacular it is!  I have to say, that with all his faults, which came to light after the bridge was finished, Andrew Cuomo did an outstanding job willing this bridge into existence, and picking a spectacular design for it.  

I like the first photograph best, when I was headed west across the Hudson.  But on the way home, headed east across the Hudson, this image is not bad either.

 

Meet The Author

Today Kathy and I went over to the Sea Cliff Library to hear Bill Bleyer, a former work colleague, give a talk about one of the books he has written.  After leaving Newsday, he started writing books about Long Island history and he has been very successful.  The book he was talking about today is called "Long Island and the Sea: A Maritime History."  His talk was riveting as he described some of the worst shipwrecks on Long Island going way back in history.   He is a great speaker and has so much detail about these events that we were all transfixed with the stories.

His next book due out on May 1st is "The Sinking of the Steamboat Lexington on Long Island Sound."

He has also written books on the Fire Island Lighthouse,  George Washington's Long Island Spy Ring,  Sagamore Hill, (Which was Teddy Roosevelt's home),  and his first book, written with another author, "Long Island and the Civil War."  These are all such interesting topics that I need to start reading!

Black Hawk Over Sea Cliff

I went by the post office today to mail some letters.  After putting them in the mailbox, I went back to my car and heard this helicopter.  So I looked up and saw this huge helicopter, flying slowly, down low.  So as I watched it get closed I grabbed my toy camera on my belt, and started photographing.  This is a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. I think it is flying at about 500 feet, which is low, but not low for a helicopter.  Fixed wing aircraft are limited to 1000 feet above populated areas, but there is no limit to helicopters.  This is one of my first photographs, and the helo continued past me and then did a slow turn around downtown Sea Cliff and then headed back to the west.  It was so cool to see this helo down low.  I am guessing that the pilot or one of the crew members perhaps had lived here.  They were just sightseeing!

 

The Golf Course

I was on my way to the astronomy club meeting tonight, and enjoying the fact that it is now still light out for my drive.  Which also means I can look for photograph for the blog late in the day because the sun is still up.  I flashed by this scene and what caught my attention was the thin darker snake-like landform in the middle of the photograph.  It went by so fast I was down the road by the time I realized that I should stop, so I turned around and went back.  So glad I did.  This scene has such subtle coloration, which is one reason I like this photograph so much.

 

The Hostas Rise

Kathy has been cleaning out the garden next to the house.  There have been a lot of changes in the week that we were gone.  These Hostas didn't even show a hint of green when we left.  But the warmer weather while we were gone has brought them to this point. What a joy to see all this green!

These purple and green sprouts of the Hostas are such interesting things that I decided to put a macro lens on my camera to show them in great detail.