Another version of A CO Railfan’s Dream

There’s something about my mixture of film and digital photography, A CO Railfan’s Dream, that keeps bringing me back to new versions and creations. I originally printed one gigantic artwork with a mirrored background … and it turned out nicely. For sure. But I wanted to improve on the image. I’m one of those people…

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How to create my “Ran Out of Firewood” photo

A couple of years ago, I created this illusion photo, Ran Out of Firewood, which won an award or two at Competition Season time (and was later accepted in the Capital District Photo Regionals). This year, I decided to re-create the illusion, and also share with you a way you can make this image work…

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The Buena Vista Panorama Harness Race Winner

A few weeks ago, I tried a panoramic shot at the Saratoga Race Course (the “thoroughbred” track), and got a nice double image of some fast-galloping horses superimposed upon the panoramic home stretch. This photo, to be precise. Trust me, this is good enough. But I can’t settle for “good enough.” So back I go.…

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Returning to the Corinth Reservoir, 2025 Edition

This was a complicated confluence. But somehow, some way … I still achieved great things from it. Let me explain. I adore astrophotography – Milky way, meteors, eclipses, star trails, all of that. And the original plan was to travel to Brown Tract Pond in Raquette Lake, New York – New York’s darkest night sky…

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Sometimes it takes a rainy day just to let you know everything’s going to be all right. -Cris Williamson

Today’s headline is the first lyric of singer-songwriter Cris Williamson’s song Waterfall, from her legendary album The Changer and the Changed. Fifty years later, it still holds up today. And it’s kind of an inspiration for today’s blog, as I get back into making my cameras work for me. I need to make sure all…

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Junior Enters a New Race

The harness horse known as Pay Me To Knight, also known around his stables as Junior, has won me a fair chunk of change over the years. He’s a decorated trotter at Saratoga Harness, and I’ve been known to put $20 on his nose every time I know he’s on the track. Hey, you’ve got…

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The Petzval Mod on a HELIOS 44-2 lens

In modern photography, the “Petzval Mod” is a camera lens hack that will turn a dull, run-of-the-mill Soviet camera lens into a dreamy, kaleidoscopic master shooter. The modification will provide a surreal, swirly background field, or bokeh, that envelops the center subject. To put it in basic terms, you need a HELIOS 44-2 common 35mm…

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