mermaid…

Well, here’s a change of pace.  I usually photograph things, places, and my cats…but….omigosh!  Its a person!!!  My sister and I were having a bit of fun in Playa del Carmen, Mexico a couple of years ago by staging a teensy “America’s Next Top Model”-esque photo shoot out in the water.  Naturally, she looked gorgeous.  And she’s ready for her close-up now…or at least to have her photo on my blog!  You go, pretty sister!

Taken with an Olympus Stylus 820.  The photo was played with a bit in Adobe Photoshop CS3 to add a glow, fix contrast, and create a sepia tone.  It was then converted into an HDR photo.  Enjoy!!!!

hasta luego, mexico…

Well, I do believe that this is the last photo I’ll be posting from Mexico…time to move on (until it is the dark, cold, middle of winter and I find it imperative to post something warm and sunny).  This photo is a shot of Playa Norte’s crystal clear water at sunset (hence the yummy pink cast on the sand!).  Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico is such a gorgeous place–truly what comes to my mind when I picture a tropical paradise.  I hope you have enjoyed traveling to Mexico with me through my photos.  Stay tuned!

Why, of course it was taken with the Canon Powershot G7.  Contrast was fixed using Adobe Photoshop CS3.

tempting tranquility…

So this little slice of heaven was taken at Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.  Have I mentioned how much I loooooove Isla??  I did?  Oh, yes.  That’s right.  I found it impossible to drink in all of the serene shades of blue so I snapped tons of photos to help me in that quest at a later time.

I love the blue gradient in this photo…from the turquoise of the water all the way up to the sky’s blue hue, with an interspersing of fluffy white clouds!

To help you slip into this tranquil moment, picture the breeze gently blowing, waves softly crashing on the soft white sand, and the bathtub-temperature water enveloping your increasingly relaxed body.  Ah, there you go.  Now you’re there.

Yup.  Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7.

radiance…

Alright.  I’m not going to say much about this photo, except that it is one of my favorite shots from my trip to Mexico this summer.  It was sunrise at our hotel (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) and the sheer serenity of the world in front of me was breathtaking.  Luckily, the (amazing) Canon G7 has a fun little feature that lets you select only one color in your photo to show through the black and white.  Well, I found the perfect shade of sunrise and photographed away!!!  This shot is pretty much straight from the camera!!!  Only needed a smidge of contrast fixing.  I recommend using this picture for a 5 minute mental vacation…it definitely works for me!!  Enjoy and bon voyage!!

bunches of boats…

“Twelve little boats, sitting in a row

Each colorful one with a rope in tow.

Docked for the day and dark starry night

Ready to depart at dawn’s first golden light.”

Okay, okay, perhaps its a cheesy little poem, but whatever.  I’m in an artsy mood.  I even arranged “Streets of Philadelphia” for SATB a cappella on Sunday with the boyfriend.  Photos and poems and songs, oh my!!

Anyhoo, this photo was taken with the amazing Canon G7 next to the fishing pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico (right in front of the old lighthouse).  All of the boats were moored for the night and I was stunned by how much colorful character they all had.  That translated to a boat photoshoot!  To help you create  a better mental image of the Puerto Morelos fishing pier, if you faced the pier (looking out to the ocean), these boats were to the left and the previously-posted pelican was to the right!  Alright, here’s the pier:

The boat photo was cropped to remove the gargantuan dead fish that was on the beach and was then post-processed to an HDR photo!  Enjoy!!!!!!

Who can? PELI-CAN!!!…

This little photo was taken from the Puerto Morelos (Mexico) pier.  Apparently there is ALWAYS a pelican on that specific pole.  Seriously.  I’ve heard this mentioned on numerous travel blogs…he (she?) even shows up in lots of pictures in Google!!  My theory is that he’s (she’s?) just a bird trying to catch his (her?) big beak…er…break… in these hard times.  You know, just trying to get his (her?) picture out there and hopefully be scouted by a top bird modeling agency.  I mean, look at those wings!!  And that arch in his (her?) neck!  So perfect!

Now, in all seriousness…oh, heck.  How can one be serious when making a post devoted to pelicans?  Is it just me, or do you find yourself a bit giggly when you think about those birds?  Okay, maybe its just me.  Anyhoo, I played around with the tint in Photoshop and decided that sepia (rather than color) suited the photo quite well.  Precisely the feel I was aiming for.  And I think it brings out his (her?) features wonderfully and thus increases his (her?) chances of getting that big break.  C’mon America’s Next Top Pelican, this is your bird.  Oh…yes…of course it was taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7!!

tequila sunrise…

This seaside sunrise panoramic was the fruit of my efforts to arise before sunrise after a week of fun in the sun in Mexico (no small feat, especially when bedtime was 2am!!!  Darn DeGrassi reruns in Mexico that hooked my entire family!!).  I can’t truly convey with words how tranquil and silent the sunrise was…no vacationers on the beach yet, no playing in the pool…just the sun, sea, and the lapping waves.  Simply stunning.

This photo was taken at the beach of the Ocean Coral and Turquesa Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  I merged two sequential photos into one panoramic image using Adobe Photoshop CS3.  The panel was originally 7 photos long, but that caused a large curvature in the image…plus one of the images contained a gentleman strolling the beach in a Speedo, with all his glory bathed in morning rays.  Yup.  The panorama was reduced to the two panels that I thought came the closest to doing the sunrise justice.  Obviously, taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast and color saturation enhanced in Photoshop to make the photos look as much like the original sunrise as possible!!  Enjoy!!

on a distant sandy shore…

Ahhh…yes.  You can almost hear the gentle waves lapping on the sand.    The beach in front of our resort (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) was simply gorgeous.  The only bad thing about the beach was that the red flag was flying everyday…i.e. swim at your own risk.  I came, I swam, I learned why the flag was red.  There was…stuff…in the water.  The bits of seaweed?  Nah, I could look past those.  The biting, stinging things in the seaweed?  OUCH.  Lets just say that I don’t particularly enjoy the simultaneous feelings of fire and tiny knives in my legs.  Naturally, this was a very unfortunate situation for this self-proclaimed beach bum/water baby.  This was precisely the reason for repeat treks to the idyllic waters of Isla Mujeres.   No problems there, other than it being so gorgeous that I never wanted to leave.

Water complaints aside, the beach was still beautiful.  The palapas provided ample shade and the chaise lounges were oh-so-comfy.  It pays to upgrade to VIP status at this place.  Did I mention that this stretch of beach was completely reserved for VIP guests only?  Oh, I didn’t?  It was heaven.  The beach was the perfect setting for water-gazing, people watching, and sunrise photography.  So, stay tuned for more photos of my trip to Mexico!

Almost forgot!  Taken with the handy-dandy Canon Powershot G7.  But you already guessed that, didn’t you?  I used the awesome color-select setting on the camera to capture a bit of the sand color to add some interest to the black and white.  Contrast fixed and enhanced using a touch of pseudo-HDR in the Dynamic-Photo HDR program.

sailing…

“…Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

It’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

Sailing
Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free”

Yup, couldn’t resist.  Just had to throw in those lyrics with this picture!   So, this sunset shot was taken, well, at sunset, on Isla Mujeres, Mexico.  Have I mentioned before how gorgeous that island is?  Yes?  Oh, ok.

Sunsets from Playa Norte are simply stunning.  One of the few places in the Mayan Riviera that you can see the sun set over the ocean.  Beautiful.

Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7!  Stay tuned for more glimpses of Mexico (just bear with me with this period of scanty posting…med school’s a bit crazy!)

colorful cemetery…

Death never looked so…colorful!  People are just dying to get into this place!  Ok, ok, I rest my case.  This cemetery was undoubtedly one seriously full house and had a lot of…character.   And there’s nothing quite like a massive set of transformers to top off a cemetery skyline!

Just posting this picture since I was describing this place so much in the previous post.  The picture isn’t particularly pretty, but the place sure is unique, so I figured I’d share…until you’re able to visit it yourself!

Taken with the G7.  Duh.

heaven on earth…

Okay, folks!  Back again!  I have to apologize for my scanty postings…second year of med school is crazy!!!   But, I’m ready to make up for lost time.

This photo is from my trip to Mexico this summer.  My family and I visited Isla Mujeres (everyone must go there!  GORGEOUS!) mainly for the white sand beaches (will post beach shots soon!), but we found the town was simply amazing to wander around in.  A cemetery on Calle Lopez Mateos was particularly eye-catching.  I can’t even begin to describe the intense colors of the monuments and how densely they were packed in there (hmmm…perhaps I’ll just have to post visual evidence).  However, there was one monument that towered above many others and that was this particular angel.  To my luck, when I looked at the photo I had taken, I noticed that the flare of the sun combined with the angel looked just like a tiny glimpse of heaven!  How…divine!

As usual, the picture was taken with the Canon Powershot G7 (oh, what fun we had in Mexico!).  I then cross-balanced the image in Photoshop CS3.  Enjoy and stay tuned!  More photos to come, I promise!

from my point of view…

Okay, folks!  I know you have been waiting with bated breath, but alas!  The wait is over!  Here is one of my photos from my trip to Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  It is a small, sleepy fishing village nestled on the Mayan Riviera coast of the Yucatan Peninsula between Cancun and Playa del Carmen.  It hasn’t been overrun or completely adulterated by tourists yet and retains its cultural charm.  It sure made for one amazing trip to Mexico!

The hotel my family and I stayed at was the Ocean Coral and Turquesa Resort…basically a small slice of heaven on the shore.  This picture was the result of me enjoying being both sneaky and creative while taking pictures on my last day.  It really is fun taking snapshots from angles and places that you don’t necessarily notice at first.  I can tell you that I only saw the “pool view” through this tiny arch on my last day…after 7 days of countless trips past it!   This was taken shortly after sunrise (hence the perfect lighting and strange lack of pool-goers).  I just love the yellow of the wall contrasted against the blue water and hotel (& reflection).  More sunrise photos and Mexico photos to come!  And, obviously, taken with the G7!

And feel free to ask any questions you may have about Puerto Morelos (or Playa del Carmen or Isla Mujeres, for that matter)…I’d be more than happy to answer them (especially if you think you want to visit yourself!).

new york city, we have lift-off…

Okay, okay.  I know I promised photos of Mexico soon, but I realized that I haven’t finished my New York City series yet.  That and the fact that I just started my second year of med school last week and holy cow!  Second year is crazy already!  Thus, not much time for uploading and perfecting my week-long photoshoot down the Mayan Riviera coast.

So, here we have a heron in Central Park taking off for what I can only imagine is a giant birdfeeder in the sky.  The funny thing about this heron was that as soon as he made his entrance in the pond, people with cameras flocked out of places that I didn’t know existed to snap pictures of him (her?).  Everyone was acting as if they had never seen a bird before, let alone a heron.  This seriously must now be the best-documented heron in history.  Yes, I was one of those shutterbugs, but at least I had already been taking pictures of the adorable bridge and the pond…and the 3 cute turtles on a rock.  Then the bird arrived, and I merely shifted my attention to it.  I didn’t run to it.

Then again, why am I poking fun at all the people  who kept snapping bird pictures?  I may not have many bird pictures, but I have about 35 of turtles.  Hmm.  I’ve never seen turtles before.  That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.

Taken, of course, with the fabulous G7.  And at this time I am proud to announce that I have converted my sister and she just purchased a…G7 after months of ogling mine!!!

quick update…

Hello all!  It has been a while since my last post…and that would be for a very good reason:  I just returned home from MEXICO!!!  Yay!!!  Once my gazillions of photos from my trip have been uploaded from the marvelous G7 (which thoroughly enjoyed its foreign escapades) to my trusty laptop, I’ll get to posting some shots of Mexico!

Stay tuned!

New York City: Part 3

Third in the series!  Now our little travel troupe had made it over to Brooklyn…and was enjoying some much-needed ice cream.  Of course, there was a post-ice cream photo op.  So, here we have it.  The pylon of the Brooklyn Bridge that is actually in…well, Brooklyn!

Taken with the Canon G7, naturally.  Contrast fixed in Photoshop, image transformed into HDR.

New York City: Part 2

Second photo in the series!  I decided to have a little fun with this one.  I wanted to take a panoramic shot encompassing all of times square.  Thing is, the only thing tall enough to see over the heads of most people (tripod didn’t quite cut it) was Jay (the boyfriend).  So, I kindly asked him to stand super-still in the middle of times square while I put my camera on his head and carefully rotated around, snapping shots.  12 photos and many strange looks later (oh, what one will do in the name of photography!) I had my prize.  I stitched the photos together with the G7’s provided computer software when I returned to Philly…only to find that my rotating was not quite as good as a tripod’s, hence the funky curve in the image.  But, with the magic of Photoshop, a funky curve can be transformed into a “bowl” of sorts for a funky title.  So, this picture isn’t pure photography, but I think its fun nonetheless!

As usual, taken with the Canon Powershot G7.  As not-usual (unusual?), taken with the help of  Jay’s noggin (I always knew that head was good for more than just pharmacy and remembering anniversaries!)

New York City: Part 1

I finally made it to the Big Apple!  About time, considering I’ve been living a mere 2 hours away from it for an entire year now!  The wonderful future Dr. Heather served as one of our guides…and certainly showed us some impressive sights.  My next few posts will be shots that I took in NYC.

This photo was taken from on the Brooklyn Bridge, back to Brooklyn, facing Manhattan.  A much longer bridge than I thought…nearly 1.2 miles.  Guess I’m just used to Pittsburgh’s myriad bridges (446 to be exact) which happen to be a fraction of the length of this puppy.

Anyhoo, I couldn’t resist taking this classic shot of the Brooklyn Bridge.  Another classic shot that I couldn’t resist taking was what I call my “chick flick pic”.  The boyfriend and me stealing a quick kiss on the bridge with a backdrop of NYC, complete with a popped leg.  And no.  I’m not posting it.  A lady has to leave something to the imagination.

So, enjoy the Bridge.  Taken with the fabulous Canon G7 and post-processed into and HDR image.  And keep checking back for more city shots!

busy as a bee…

I’ve been as busy as this little bee lately…hence the severe lack of new posts in the past couple of weeks!!  I’m in between my first and second years of medical school (read:  last summer EVER) and I have the most amazing job honing my clinical skills in the Temple ER!  That said, I’m pulling insane hours at the hospital/preparing my body for the sleep-deprived years to come and simply haven’t had the time to really sit down with my photos and put together a decent post.  So, for all of you anxiously awaiting a post, I apologize for the delay and present you with…A BEE!

I snapped this little bugger on my brother’s porch over the Memorial Day weekend.  A wee bit of cropping was done, as it is pretty darn hard to properly compose a shot when your subject is a centimeter long and constantly moving.  A little bit of contrast fixing was also done, as yellow flowers + yellow bee stripes + super sunny day = totally washed out color/contrast levels.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot…this was taken with the fabulous Canon G7!!

put a lime in the coconut…

Now for a brief mental vacation!!  This stately palm tree (complete with coconuts!!) was gently swaying in the breeze on one of Playa del Carmen’s beaches.  Now for a little news update:  I will be visiting Mexico once more this August, so stay tuned for new photos!  WOOHOO!!!

The photo was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 and was turned into a high dynamic range photograph when I got back to Pittsburgh .  Can’t you  just feel that Caribbean tradewind by looking at this picture?

have i told you lately that…

This one goes out to the one I love (sorry for the REM quote).  Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think this one says precisely three.  THE three little words.  My wonderful boyfriend (of over 3 years!) and I embarked on an adventure out to the Jersey Shore on Friday.  I love the beach.  I love my boyfriend.  I was ridiculously happy.    Anyhoo, the water was wonderful, particularly for body surfing, and lounging in the sunshine was simply delightful.  He fried to a wonderful lobster-red shade, I turned a lovely golden brown.  Ah, the wonders of sunblock.  Towards the end of the day, I noticed that the clouds were simply beautiful overhead and I got an idea.  I had seen silhouette “writing” somewhere and I thought it would be a cute surprise for the aforementioned man in my life (who will willingly watch the Bachelorette with me while enjoying Chinese take-out and ice cream)  if I did a little sky writing myself.  The people behind me on the beach obviously thought I was nuts as I kept making contorted hand shapes in the air and then snapping pictures of them, but oh, what one will do for love.

So, now for the specs:  Six pictures taken against a beachy sky with the Canon Powershot G7.  Compiled and contrast-enhanced in Photoshop to really make my hand-letters pop.  Size of final image reduced in Photoshop because the original compilation was over 3oo inches long and my computer was visibly having trouble handling and touching up such a massive photo.  Enjoy.

glutamine, shmutamine…

Its been a while since I put up a hardcore nerd photo.  And, well, there’s no time like the present!  I made a solution (at my old lab, of course) of the amino acid glutamine.  When a drop of the solution is placed on a microscope slide and allowed to dry out, crystals of glutamine form.  I tossed those puppies under the microscope (Olympus BX51) and took a picture at 10x.  Gotta love the ice-like quality of the crystals and the rainbow refractions!

Gosh, I sure do miss the good ol’ lab days sometimes!  I was always able to do the most unique microscopic photography there!!!

through the drinking glass…

Allow me to fill you in on the birth of this photograph.  I was studying for my Block 6 Pharmacology/Pathology/Immunology final (fun, right?).  At the same time, I was enjoying a nice cold glass of grape juice.  Drinking the grape juice was infinitely better than studying, so I sat there and finished it in one shot.   Placing the glass down on my desk and looking inside of it to waste yet more time, I noticed that, “Heck, this could be a cool photo.”  Translation:  anything, including photographing grape juice residue, is better than studying for this darn final.  Grabbed the trusty Canon G7 and had a small photo shoot with my glass.  Then I popped the picture into Photoshop for some contrast adjustment and bleaching effects…and there you go!  Amazing timewaster…I mean, piece of photographic art!

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, yes, I did pass that final and successfully completed my first year of medical school.  Yay!

young love…

A sweet romantic moment captured at Cherry Springs Park!  Everyone together now:  “Awwwwwww.”

Taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 with an insanely long exposure time.  Contrast was adjusted in Photoshop.  Enjoy!

divine dahlia: part three…

All good things must come to an end…including the Divine Dahlia mini-series!    Hope you have been enjoying the photos!  Now, I know that this flower was beautiful in all of its colored glory, but I really wanted to try some good ol’ black-and-white to bring out the details in the petals…and I think it worked!

As usual, the photo was taken with the Canon G7.  Post-processed in Photoshop to select the color of the black-and-white filter.  Enjoy and stay tuned for more pictures!

divine dahlia: part two…

Part two in the mini-series!!  Again, taken with the Canon G7.  This photo had its contrast fixed a tiny bit in Photoshop.  Enjoy one of the bloomin’  beauties of spring!

divine dahlia: part one…

Ok.  I’m in love with this flower.  It is one of the gorgeous dahlia plants that my mother has at home…and it was so beautifully colored and flawless that I simply couldn’t resist making it the star of its very own photo shoot.  This photo is number one of a 3 photograph mini-series.

As usual, the amazing Canon Powershot G7 was used.  I think it was definitely more fortuitous than planned that the detail in this bloom showed up so well…who knew dahlias have tiny hair-like things on their petals (look at the center petals up close).  And, I’m happy to announce that the sunlight was so perfect that absolutely nothing was “fixed” on this photo…straight from the memory card!  Yay!

one of these things is not like the other…

Can you find it?  The one thing that’s not quite like the others?  Yes, okay, that was pretty easy.  The open window.  So much for that bit of fun.  This photo was taken out in Old City in Philadelphia…near Shirt Shop Corner!  I simply fell in love with the old worn brick and weathered blue wood around the windows…it felt like that building just had so much history in it.  Perhaps Betsy Ross or Ben Franklin visited friends in that building at one point?  Who knows, but its fun to imagine the happenings in old historical places!

Anyhoo, the photograph was taken with the lovely Canon Powershot G7 (of course!) and just had a smidge of contrast adjustment done to produce the final product!  Enjoy!

there’s always a silver lining…

Well, if this photo doesn’t convince you, then let me have a try:  SUNSETS FROM PRESQUE ISLE ON LAKE ERIE ARE GORGEOUS.  If you live in Pennsylvania (or not!), you simply must venture up to Erie for the solar show of your life.  Grab that special someone and settle into one of the numerous jumbo lifeguard chairs on one of the many beaches to watch a dazzling display of colorful light dance across the rippling water.

Photo was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 and the contrast was fixed in Photoshop (because it seems that basic point-and-shoot cameras can never properly capture sunset colors and dynamics…but that little bugger of a camera was water resistant and quite nice for a day at the beach).  Enjoy!

a stroll down a sunny street…

This photo was taken on that wonderfully sunny day when the amazing future Dr. Heather gave me a tour of South Philly and the Italian Market.  There was just something about that sleepy, sunny street with the bicycles leaning against the stoops that was screaming, “Take a picture of me!!!”  So, here we have it.  Taken with the amazing G7 and softened to create the pretty glow and muted colors in Photoshop.  Enjoy!

22,000 and counting!

Woohoo!  I’d like to thank all the people that have visited my photoblog in the past year…I just hit 22,000 visits today!  I suppose that in the world of Google and Facebook, 22K is mere pocket-change, but heck, it makes me happy!

To help celebrate and make it easier for people to stay updated, I’ve added a widget so that you can receive an email subscription/update to my photoblog.  Just direct your gaze to the upper right portion of your screen and you shall see it!

So keep on clickin’ and enjoying photos!

when life gives you lemons…

Ah, yes.  My first foray into the wide world of still life!  These were the lemons that I purchased at the Philadelphia Italian Market…10 Meyer lemons (the really yummy kind) the size of grapefruits (no joke…I have a photo to prove it) for $2.  Yes, you read that right.  10 for 2!  So, I used the lemon rinds to make some homemade limoncello.  If you are interested in trying to make the stuff, just check out Michael Chiarello’s recipe on FoodNetwork.  Its much simpler than most online…perfect for someone who has never made liqueurs before.  So, the limoncello left me with 10 naked lemons.  As mother always said, “when life gives you NAKED lemons, make lemonade.”  I did just that…with the whopping 3 cups of juice I got from these gargantuan lemons.

Now down to business.  I plopped the lemons into a lovely large blue bowl that I have, hung my afghan over a bookshelf, placed the subject on my ottoman, and went shutter-happy.  I know…I’m working with such high-quality props, right?  I used my amazing Canon G7 to capture the lemons and did a smidge of post-processing in Photoshop (namely a “bleached” effect).  So, pucker up and enjoy some lemons!

verdant fern…

This shot is of a rather interesting fern that happened to catch my eye during a stroll through Pittsburgh’s Phipp’s Conservatory.  It was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera and colorized in Adobe CS3 to make the leaves really pop!  Enjoy!!

teratoma…tera…tera…teraWHAT??

Image description:  Human teratoma, 60x magnification, immunofluorescent confocal microscopy on Olympus IX81 with a Fluoview 1000 confocal head.  Note the simple columnar epithelium with goblet cells (reminiscent of intestinal epithelium) and extensive vasculature.  Image taken at the Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI).  The tumor specimen is, in fact, my own.  I had a softball-sized mature cystic teratoma on my ovary and it was removed during emergency surgery.  See the comments section if you’d like the whole (fun!) story.  Remember…I worked in an imaging lab…that’s why I was able to take the specimen with me and image it at the lab.  What scientist could resist the chance to image something so cool and uncommon???  Not me, that’s for sure!  And don’t worry…the lab thought it was cool, not gross.

P.S.  They mention a teratoma in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”  Don’t believe me?  Watch the dinner scene towards the end where the parents meet each other.  The aunt talks about her friend who had one on her neck.  Dead serious about that.

Philadelphia Phood Phun…

Mamma mia!  This Italian girl just found her heaven on earth!  Fresh produce, spices, cheeses, pasta, and meat as far as the eye can see!  All for pocket change!  Oh Marone a mi!!!!!!  Many thanks to the awesome future Dr. Heather for showing me the things that truly make this town great!  Oh…and many thanks to her for watching my back so that I wouldn’t get run over as I stood in the middle of the street to take this picture!

As usual, this image was taken with my beloved Canon G7.  Post-processing was done to bring out the vibrance in the photograph that I could see on the street in person, but the sun drowned out a bit on camera!  The photo was also done in HDR-style.  Enjoy!  Eat, drink, and be merry!!

sakura!!!

It is that wonderful cherry blossom (sakura in Japanese) time of year!  This little gem was growing, of all places, on a lovely little tree in East Falls underneath the Roosevelt Expressway!  I used my shutterbug syndrome enabler, the G7, to snap the flower.  Post-processing was done to transform the photo into HDR-style and to bring out the details in the petals!

happy birthday, dear photoblog!

Just realized that my photoblog has been active for a bit over a year now!  Hooray for that.

So, dear photoblog, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks for giving a forum in which to share my photographs with the whole wide world for an entire year!  Happy Birthday, dear photoblog!  And here’s to the next!

note:  yes, I totally cheaped-out on this one…its Clip-Art.

just add flower and water…

So I went out to my car this morning to start the daily commute to good ol’ med school and it just so happened to be pretty much the one day that I had my camera with me, as I wanted to take some pics of our acapella group (shout out to the Transplantations!!).  And, as luck would have it, my windshield presented me with the perfect subject to shoot in the morning light!  So, I quickly chose to get on the road a bit late in favor of a bit o’ photography.  Thus came this shot.  The flower is actually the underside of some flower that had fallen off of a tree and drifted onto my car.  The water was courtesy of the veritable 10 minute monsoon that we had the night before.  So, here’s the recipe for a photograph:

Add flower to water.  Marinate overnight.  Capture in the morning light.

steel…er…spring magnolias!

These gorgeous magnolias were in full bloom right in front of my apartment.  Endless flowers that seemingly touch the sky–what a wonderful way to bring in spring.  The image was taken with a Canon Powershot G7.  The photo was then post-processed in Photoshop to fix the coloration and then transformed into a high-dynamic range image.  Enjoy!

a morning silhouette…

This beautiful tree is on the University of Pittsburgh campus between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel.  I took the photo at approximately 5am during the 1st annual Relay For Life at Pitt, just as the morning sun was starting to come up!  An Olympus Stylus 820 was used to capture this delicate silhouette.

On distant shores…

This photograph was taken during a lovely trip to Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania last May.  The slight glow of early sunset was truly gorgeous as it cast a rosy hue across the island…and I just had to capture it!  I used an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera and color balanced the photo in Adobe Photoshop CS3.  Additionally, the image is an HDR (high dynamic range) image.  If you have a free summer day, get thee to Erie!!

green with envy…

This little bugger was snapped with my new lover…er…Canon G7.  I just can’t get enough of that little gem!  The tiny tree sprouting on a wall by the Schyulkill River (in Philadelphia)  looked ever so lonely, stuck between essentially a rock and a hard place.  I used the color selection capability on the camera, coupled it with the macro setting and just went to town.  I also post-processed the image into an HDR photograph.

A little something green to tide everyone over until spring!

Shameless video advertising…

Okay, okay.  I know this is a PHOTOblog, but perhaps for this one post it can be a VIDEOblog as well?  Take a gander at my adorable kitten, Izzie.  Her tail is one of her favorite toys, as this video, which was filmed when she was about 5 months old, clearly shows!  She especially loves her tail when its wet…apparently she sees it as a whole new and improved version of her ol’ fave!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsFVe-OJbW4

Alright, alright.  I’ll get this post back to its photograph roots.  Here’s a little snapshot of my darling fuzzball:

In this shot, she’s about 5 months old (she’s currently 9 months).  Such an adorable little sweetheart!  And yes, that is her wearing a tiny sombrero on the computer screen.  And please ignore the plethora of cables surrounding the laptop…it is the carnage of attempting to set up every electronic item that I own in one afternoon, in a new apartment, one day before I started medical school.  Oh, and if you were wondering, Izzie is a Siberian cat.

It seems a little ERIE…

This picture was taken at Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie.  The sunsets viewed from Lake Erie’s shore are rather well-known for being nothing short of stunning.  The photograph was taken using an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera.

Pretty in Pink #3

This lovely pink zinnia was grown by the green thumb of my brother.  I have to say that I love the contrast between the pink flower and the blue glass behind it   The picture was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera.  Enjoy the third image in my “Pretty in Pink” series!

Pretty in Pink #2

These beautiful magnolias were captured on a lovely spring day using and Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera.  Believe it or not, the white background for the flowers is indeed the sky…just the right combination of sunlight and angling the camera up at the magnolia tree, while using the sky as a background!  One of those serendipitous right-place-right-time deals.  The image was then processed using HDR software.  Keep checking back for a small “Pretty in Pink” series that I am currently posting!

Pretty in Pink #1

This image was taken of a lovely pink flower in a bouquet that I bought to help chase the gray winter days away.  A Canon Powershot G7 (new camera!  yay!) on the macro setting.  I would just like to comment on this camera:  AMAZING!!  Its nearly a full-fledged dSLR, but in a wonderfully compact size and with the ability to attach extra lenses.  Its newer cousin, the G9 is currently available (this shoots in the RAW format), but I’m currently enjoying my little affair the G7 and don’t have eyes for any other camera

la playa bella…

Esta fotografia fue sacada en Playa del Carmen este verano pasado con un Olympus Stylus 820 camera digital (no me gusta escribir sin los simbolos del acento!!).

   Just trying to keep with the theme of the photo a little bit.  This picture was taken  this past summer while I was in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for one blissful week.  I used an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera.  This church was in the town square (as is traditional in Mexico…and Latin American in general) and with the palms framing it and the bird on the cross, it was just begging to have its photo taken!  I also absolutely love the color of the glass in the church…its remarkably similar to the hue of the Caribbean that was just a few feet away on the other side of the plaza.

And, for those interested in visiting Playa del Carmen (highly recommended…absolutely fantastic!), you must try the fruit from the “fruit ladies” in this plaza.  It is some of the tastiest and freshest fruit you’ll find, and it provides a much-needed reprieve from the hot sun and humidity.  My favorite is the mango.  You get about 2 mangoes worth of deliciousness jammed into a plastic cup for the unbeatable price of 15 pesos (~$1.50).

So, since I’ve already wandered from the description of this photo, I’d like to make one more suggestion to anyone who plans to visit Playa.  If you know Spanish, speak it.  I ended up being my family’s translator for the duration of the trip.  Not only is it terrific fun to be immersed more completely in another culture, but you are certain to get better deals if you can bargain in the native tongue.  If you talk the talk, you’re less likely to pay too much for something.  And the vendors live to bargain with you.  The sheer quantity of bargaining I did was incredible and so much fun…and as a result I was able to purchase an obscene amount of goods on a very limited budget.  If the extent of your Spanish is “si” “gracias” or just “Spanglish”, use what you know.  A tiny “gracias” is much appreciated and will usually draw warm smiles from the kind folks of Playa.

I’ll be posting many more images from Playa del Carmen, so stay tuned.  And if you are inspired to venture there on your own, feel free to post any questions you may have!

Its Always Sunny in…Milton…

This photo was taken near Milton, PA on the way to a wonderful surprise from my boyfriend…a horseback ride in the foothills of the mountains.  I was shocked this picture even came out, considering I took it from the window of a car moving at approximately 45mph.  Pure luck, I suppose!

Anyhow, the photo was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera.  Take a moment from your cold, dreary winter day to enjoy the sunny sky, green grass, and other lovely things that are non-existent right now!

Crystal that just won’t hold any bubbly…

So, 2009 has arrived…and so have I!  Its been months (literally) since I’ve posted to my photoblog.  But, this is not for lack of good reasons:  I had the opportunity  to visit Mexico once more (stay tuned for photos) and I’ve started medical school (which, not surprisingly keeps me ridiculously busy…ALL THE TIME).  But, I’m back now, and it is my New Year’s resolution to keep up with the blog a bit more faithfully!

So, with that said, on to today’s New Year’s image.  Inspired by the champagne that flowed into crystal fluted glasses at midnight, I’ve decided to post a picture of…CRYSTAL!  This is a 10x microscopic image taken with an Olympus BX51 light microscope at the Center for Biologic Imaging, with a blue filter applied.  The subject matter is crystallized PBS (phosphate buffered saline, a buffer used in the laboratory to, for lack of a better term, keep cells happy).  Enjoy, and let’s make 2009  the best yet!

Beauty and the Beach

This shot was taken on a beach of Lake Erie in Presque Isle State Park, Erie, Pennsylvania. Can you find the sailboat (hint: look at the horizon and zoom in)? It was taken using an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera. The digital image was then processed in Photoshop to adjust color and contrast levels, apply a slight “glow” to the edges, and finally processed with Dynamic HDR software into an HDR image. Isn’t Erie simply gorgeous?