Rex Corp Plaza (aka EAB Plaza, Citibank Plaza) - 12/12/09

After taking in the sights at Santacon last Saturday, that eveing, I went out with friends and family to visit the Christmas Tree at Rex Corp Plaza, located in Uniondale, NY. They put up a Christmas Tree every year, and it is the largest on Long Island, outside of NYC. There is even an ice skating rink to one side, just like at Rockefeller Center in NYC.

Santacon NYC 2009 - Part 1

On Saturday, Dec. 12th, I attended the Santacon NYC 2009 event. There were five gathering points for the Santas, with Queens being the most convenient one for me. So, another photographer and I headed out to Queens early Satuday. It was a nice 31 degrees out this morning, which we hoped woud not dampen the attendance factor.

Well, when we first arrived, there were only a handful of Santas, maybe 10- 15. Within about 15 minutes, there had to have been over 300. The shot below, is a good overview shot, but it does not even begin to show how many Santas there really where. There were even more Santas to the left and right of the frame. 

For readers not sure what Santacon is, just google it, but the resulting link is NSFW (language wise).

At one point, the Santas took to the swings, but they quickly realized that these were no replacement for a proper sleigh.

The pic below is of all the Santas trying to make their way into a "refreshment" venue. The venue probably held a 100 or so, because there were approximately 200+ Santas left out in the cold.

By this time, the curiosity factor had brought a lot of onlookers and with them, the NYPD. The NYPD was great, they did not try to disperse the crowd, as the crowd was very well behaved (Santas gotta be nice!). They were there mainly for directing traffic, and making sure the Santas didn't spill out into the streets.

Santas celebrating their Christmas cheer at the Bohemian Beer Garden!

This officer was having a great day, as he was one of the youngest in attendance, so all the girls posed with him, I'm sure the other officers felt neglected.

The NYPD was also on hand, to make sure this guy below didn't try to steal Christmas.

Some Santas had themes going on, below is Mr. T santa.

Some happy elves.

Santacon NYC 2009 - Part 2

These next set of pics are random people we met during the event. Everyone was great and friendly, with most people happily posing for shots. 

The woman below was dressed as a Christmas Tree.

For all of the vertical pics, only a low resolution version posts to blogspot, you can check out a higher quality version on my flickr site, just right-click on the pic and open in a new window.

Pimp Santa or Flavor-Flav Santa. He was one of the first "theme" Santas I met that morning.

There were a few presents along the way, here is one of them.

Where would Santa be without his elves of course.

This Mrs. Santa was a little cold.

A small group of Santas walking down the street.

NYC Photo Walk - 11/29/2009

Knowing that the Empire State Building was lit up with a special Red, Orange & Yellow color scheme for Thanksgiving, I planned on taking some shots that Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans as it rained insted. I finally ended up going in on Sunday, as we had high winds on Friday & Saturday. The following are shots taken that night.

The shot below, is of the tower on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower located not too far from the Flat Iron building.

The Shake Shack is located in Madison Square park. I liked how the combination of the chrome lettering and the vine covered roof.

Below is a shot of the Empire State building on the left, and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company building on the right. Sandwiched betwen the two, is the recently completed One Madison. I wish I had a shot without the One Madison building, but I can see getting some great reflection shots off that building in the future.

The shot below, and the setup, with the deep blue sky, will never get old for me. There is just something about the way the colors of the Empire State Building look against a deep blue sky. This is my favorite shot of the night.

Blast from the past - Jamaican Sunset

Every so often, I post a photo I took back before I started using the Nikon D80. This shot was taken with my old Sony Cybershot (3.2 megapixels, circa 2001). This just goes to show you that you can get amazing photos from any camera.

Taken on the resort of Half Moon in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Thanksgiving pictures 2009

Here are a few shots from our Thanksgiving holiday. We visited some family, and they had setup their Christmas Tree, so I took a few shots, I really liked the reflection off the piano.

NYC Photo Walk - 10/21/2009

I had taken my camera in this day to take some shots around Herald Square, however, I had forgotten about these pics after taking them. Blame the trip to Mexico for that. Well, here are two of the best shots of that night.

On the first one below, I really liked the contrast of the bright red lights of the ESB against the deep blue sky of dusk.

Eisenhower Park - Sunset 11/15/2009

After taking a look at the sky, and the weather forecast, and following the rainy Saturday; I decided to head out on Sunday to capture some sunset shots. The shoot turned out really well, as evidenced by the shots below. The sky reminded me of some of the sunsets I witnessed in Florida this past summer.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Around Cabo

The famous "arch" at lands end in Cabo San Lucas.

Taken along the marina, at one of the bars that are all over the place.

Taken from a side street, as we were walking to grab lunch.

Lands end framed by two palm trees, taken on the grounds of the Villa del Palmar.

Taken one morning as I walked along the beach. This is the detail of one of the other hotels that line the main beach.

There were a ton of water activities, including Para-sailing, as a single rider and as doubles.

Taken on a side street not far from the restaurant "Casanova."

Boats in the marina. As you walk along the marina edge, people ask if you want "glass bottom boat, lover's beach, water taxi, fishing trips, etc."

This was the view "down the beach" from our resort.

Another Cabo landmark, the "fake" lighthouse in the Marina area.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Villa del Palmar, Villa La Estancia, & Villa del Arco

A morning shot of the main tower at the Villa del Palmar. Our building was on the right hand side, but is not seen in this picture. The main pool has a slide in the shape of a whale.

Interior lobby of the Villa del Palmar. 

Fire pit and left hand side building of the Villa del Palmar.

Main building at night. I really liked how the pool looked in this shot. The area in the middle of this shot, with the cave like structure, held a hot tub.

Villa del Arco - Main building on left, with the secondary building on the right. This was the pool closest to the lobby.

The Villa del Arco had a Pirate ship as it's main pool item. There was a ledge that went around the pool, so you could sit in the water while having your drink close at hand.

The aft of the pirate ship. I really like how the windows are lit up in this shot.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Villa del Palmar, Villa La Estancia, & Villa del Arco

We stayed at the Villa del Palmar on this trip. It is part of a complex of three timeshare resorts located just on the outside of Cabo San Lucas.

This is the ceiling over the entrance way to the Villa del Arco.

Architecture detail of the Villa La Estancia.

Outside of the spa at the Villa del Arco is a great view. This trellis was a great way to frame the view.

There were lots of cacti on the grounds of the resorts.

The entrance sign for Villa La Estancia was the most eye-catching of the three.

Night shot of one of the seating areas along the main pool at the Villa del Palmar.