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Speaking candidly

unposed shots of people at work, rest, and play
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John Mello
925 / 1310

John Mello

John's carvings were absolutely marvelous, really really superbly done.

wood carvingsRhode IslandSmithfieldAudubon Society

  • I was off this entire week so I could , amongst other things get lots of nice images of the fall colors. But it was Wednesday and the dull fall thus far led to very few pictures. <br /> <br /> With a short weekend trip to Rhode Island up coming in 3 days I needed to purchase an over night bag for the trip. So I came into the city to buy one, and since I had extra time on my hands I decided to bring my camera and take a leisurely stroll up Battery Park City before heading onto the subway uptown, hoping that I might run into something interesting worth photographing.
  • DSC_7630 tomorrow's dance stars
  • DSC_7636 tomorrow's dance stars
  • DSC_8027 Wood carving at the Audubon society
  • John Mello
  • DSC_8088 Mike McCarthy
  • Mike took an opposite approach to bird carving from his fellow artists. Instead of making them super real, he chose to create the essence of each bird. And it was cool how you could identify each bird just by spotting the signature features Mike chose to focus on, which is one of the things true art is all about.
  • Tagging along on a trip to Rhode Island (my first time here ever) with my friend Ricia, she took me to a wood carving exhibit held by the Audubon Society in Smithtown. It was just a 2 day trip, and I brought one small overnight bag, and one of my smaller camera bags, and that was it.<br /> <br /> I made an extensive check list so I wouldn't forget anything, as there was no going back once we hit the road, so late (10:00 in the evening Friday night). And it was a smart decision on my part, as I had every thing I needed for each situation on the trip, except when we got here at the exhibit. <br /> <br /> As I grabbed my camera out of my camera bag I looked inside it everywhere and slowly came to the dumbfounding conclusion that despite my thorough checklist I still managed to somehow forget to pack one of my many camera straps to put around my neck. And it was going to be a pain, lugging this camera lens combo around the exhibit for 2 hours of so. But what are you going to do but make the best of it anyway.<br /> <br /> But as fortune would have it, as I followed Ricia into the retail section of the exhibit I looked around at the different bags of bird seed she was purchasing to take back with her. As I did I looked around at the different knick knacks they were selling and noticed a rather frail looking neck strap made of what looked like a long set of shoe laces. The package said it was good for binoculars and and other various things you'd hang around your neck, including DSLR's.<br /> <br /> Now I highly doubted it could work with a combo as heavy as my D300 / 17-70mm combo, but it was only $11 and I was just barely desperate enough to try it. So following the picture instructions I slipped into it and hooked my camera into it, and to my surprise, it held my rig without feeling like it was going to snap at any second and send the whole thing crashing to the floor. <br /> <br /> On top of that it was very comfortable, and after over an hour and a half. my neck felt great , and freed from fatigue I was able to get lots of shots I might not have without it. Now I have to say the way it is designed makes taking vertically composed shots, a bit of a nuisance, sometimes I had to unhook one of the straps for my freedom of movement. But by and large it was a godsend, and I was very happy with it, and it can fit into the tiniest of spots in your most packed camera bag. And I must say it made walking around the exhibit taking pictures an absolute joy.
  • Looking out the back window of at the exhibit, I noticed the nice large field of tall grass, and the wonderful fall colors behind it, and Ricia said we could go out and tour it after she was done touring the various wood carving artists.<br /> <br /> I liked this pathway cut into the tall grass, but as nice as it was these roads tend to look rather empty when none is in it, but as Ricia and I continued to chat a pair of bird watchers happened by to fill in the scene nicely.
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  • Late afternoon at the Mall
  • DSC_0717 waiting by the tracks
  • Tea time chat
  • Well there's at least one person who's not upset with how the election turned out.
  • DSC_0797 getting in touch with nature
  • DSC_0789 getting in touch with nature
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