Merry Christmas

D90_DSC8690, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

As we reach the end of this tumultuous year, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

Highlands Pond

D90_DSC8592, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A pond along Horse Cove Road, outside of Highlands, NC. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 DX AT-X Pro lens.

Old House

D5K_DSC5883 - B&W Version, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

An old house just outside of Highlands, NC. Shot with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5G lens. The B&W conversion was done with Apple Aperture.

Late Fall Still Life

D5K_DSC5862, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Pumpkins and gourds on display outside of Zollar's Hardware Store in Cashiers NC. Shot with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5G lens.

Abandoned Projects

D5K_DSC5924, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Discarded ceramics projects outside of The Bascom, an arts studio in Highlands NC.  Shot with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 50mm f1.8D lens.

Unicoi Lake

D5K_DSC5551, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Fall colors along the shore of Unicoi Lake, Unicoi State Park, near Helen, GA. Fall is a different experience in the South compared to New England, where I grew up. The colors are softer and we don't get the deep reds and browns associated with oak and maple trees. Shot with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5 DX lens.

Ghost Gulls

D90_DSC6998, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Ghost Gulls. Sea Gulls on the beach at near the Tybee Island Light House

Sunrise over Romerly Marsh

D90_DSC7429, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Sunrise over Romerly Marsh, Skidaway Island, near Savannah, Georgia. Shot with a tripod-mounted Nikon D90, a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens and a two-stop graduated neutral-density filter.

Duck

D90_DSC6303, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Duck, a rare A class sail boat at a mooring in the Groton Long Point Lagoon. These boats are also known as "Fishers Island One Designs". There are fourteen of these boats known to be in existence and they're all at GLP. You can read more about the history of these boats here.

A rock cairn below Mohegan Bluffs

D5K_DSC4582, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A rock cairn on the beach below Mohegan Bluffs on Block Island. The beach faces the open Atlantic Ocean is is strewn with large rocks. People have built these rock sculptures all over the beach and along the bottom of the bluffs. Shot with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5G lens.

The lagoon at Groton Long Point

D90_DSC6220, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Groton Long Point is a borough of Groton, Connecticut. My parents purchased a house in GLP many years ago and it's become the "home port" or our family. Shooting this photo has become an annual summer rite. I have at least four or five versions of this photo, one for every recent summer trip to GLP. interestingly, they're all shot at roughly the same time of the morning, just after sunrise.

Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

Artist at Goose Neck Cove

D90_DSC6326, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A local artist works on a painting at Goose Neck Cove, along Ocean Drive in Newport RI. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200 f2.8D ED lens.

Sunflowers at Buttonwood Farms

D90_DSC5977, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Sunflowers in the evening sun at Buttonwood Farms in Griswald, CT. The farm plants fourteen acres of sunflowers as a fund raiser for the Make A Wish Foundation of Connecticut. They've raised over $300,000 through the sale of sunflower bouquets since 2004. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

D90_DSC5459

D90_DSC5459, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Via Flickr:
Jeremy Finton of Vandalia, OH heads for the finish line after making the turn onto 10th Street during the 2011 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

Pikes Peak Summit

_DSC7865, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Via Flickr:
The summit of Pikes Peak. We experienced perfectly clear weather all the way up the mountain. We arrived a the summit to find it completely enshrouded by clouds. This was the extent of the view. I thought it was very ironic to find a no parking sign a the summit of a 14'er. However, it's possible to drive to the summit of the mountain. The route was driven with an automobile for the first time in 1901. The vehicle was a Locomobile Steamer. This steam-driven automobile burned naptha to power a super-heated 500 psi boiler and had a range of about 20 miles. The building in the background houses communications and weather and one of two structures on the summit.

Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

Garden of The Gods

_DSC7952, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Garden of The Gods with Pikes Peak in the background. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200,, f2.8D ED lens

Pack of Porsches

_DSC6734, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A pack of Porsche Caymans in Turn Ten on the Road Atlanta course during the 2011 Mitty Speedfest, Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens equipped with a Kenko 1.4X Teleplus Pro teleconverter.

1969 Datsun 2000

_DSC0803, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Don Herman's 1969 Datsun 2000 approaches Turn 7 on the Road Atlanta Course just after sunset during the 2011 Mitty.

I chose this photo to post for several reasons. I really like this car. The 2000 was replaced by the Datsun 240Z. The photo also demonstrates what can be done with consumer-grade gear. I shot this photo with a Nikon D5000 and a Nikon 18-55mm f3.5G lens. This is an inexpensive kit lens that ships with lower-end Nikon DSLRs. However, I think it yields great results.

Solitary Woman

_DSC4453, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A solitary woman on the beach at Keewaydin Island, near Naples, FL. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

49 Chevy

_DSC4061, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A 1949 Chevy pick up truck sits in front of an abandoned cabin in Weston, GA. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 DC AT-X Pro lens.

Florida Osprey

_DSC4369, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

An osprey makes a landing on a nest in Naples Bay, near Naples, FL USA. Shot with a Nikon D90, a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens, a Kenko Pro 1.4 teleconverter and a Nikon SB600 flash.

Overlook Garden

_DSC5572, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

The Overlook Garden in full bloom at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 AT-X Pro lens.

Street Performer

DSC_3212, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A street performer on Broadway in Nashville, TN USA.

Sprock

DSC_3820, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Sprock greets Suzanne Hickman, a volunteer handler for the Canine Assistants Program, at the bottom of a playground slide as Karen Casto, one of the lead trainers looks on. Dogs are taught to use the slide as part of their agility training and to accustom them to new experiences. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 28-70mm f3.5D lens.

Brasstown Bald Summit

DSC_3491, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A lone pine near the summit of Brasstown Bald is sillioetted against the surrounding mountains in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The Chattahoochee National Forest is comprised of 750,000 acres of land in the Southern Appalachian mountain range, all within boundaries of the State of Georgia. Shot with a tripod-mounted Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

1952 Diamond

DSC_3640, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A 1952 Diamond T 2.5 Ton truck sits idle next to a defunct saw mill below Brasstown Bald in the Chattahoochee National Forest. I've photographed this truck on three separate trips. It's a terrific subject. I don't think it's been moved since 2007, the first time I shot it. You can see the original photo from December, 2007 here. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

Toomer's Oaks

DSC_3659, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A memorial takes hold around the Toomer's Oaks on the campus of Auburn University. The oak trees were poisoned with a lethal quantity of herbicide in January by an angry Alabama fan, after Auburn won the 2010 National Football Championship. Efforts are underway to save the trees and protect against the spread of the herbicide to the surrounding gardens. The incident has triggered a truce to the intense rivalry between Auburn and Alabama. BAMA students have raised several thousand dollars to contribute to the effort to save the trees.

The Toomer's Oaks are estimated to be at least 135 years old and have been the center of campus celebrations for most of the school's history.

UT 3, 4 & The Milky Way [video]

UT 3, 4 & The Milky Way [video]
Originally uploaded by josefrancisco.salgado

This is an absolutely remarkable video shot by Jose' Francisco Salgado of the Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile. The video was shot with a Nikon D700 in August, 2009. This video is comprised of 1,159 images shot over a 10.5 hour period. Salgado is combines his interest in astronomy and art to produce these amazing videos. You can read more about Jose Francisco Salgado's convergence of art and science here: http://josefrancisco.org/bio/

Mohawk Valley

DSC_3398, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Mohawk Valley. A decommissioned B52G Stratofortress on display at the Griffiss Air Force Base Industrial Park in Rome, NY. It entered service in 1960 and was decommissioned in May, 1991. Mohawk Valley's missions spanned Vietnam to the first Persian Gulf War. The aircraft now sits on a concrete pad outside of the former Strategic Air Command base. The base itself was deactivated in the mid-1990's as part of the United States's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission's efforts to restructure the US Military infrastructure in the aftermath of the Cold War. In one of History's ironies, Griffiss was the site of the second effort to revive the Woodstock Music Festival in 1999.

I am intensely interested in twentieth century history. Scenes like this are iconic of the enormous changes that have impacted our lives since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This is a 15 second exposure. I shot this image with a tripod-mounted Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens during a raging snow storm. A local cop stopped to see if I was alright. I suspect that he thought I was nuts when I explained that I was shooting pictures of the bomber in those conditions.

The Bluebird Cafe

DSC_3344, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, TN. The photo is unremarkable. However, the venue is significant. This little night club has become one of the most important showcases of up-and-coming country music performers and song witers. Performers discovered at the BlueBird include Garth Brookes, Carry Underwood, LeAnn Rymes, Kathy Mattea and Taylor Swift. It's located in a nondiscript strip shopping center away from the downtown entertainment and bar scene. You would never notice it if you were just driving by.

Nashville Bar Band

DSC_3273, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Whiskey Blues performs at the Big Shotz bar in Nashville. I think the women in the lower right corner of the photo is great. These guys were performing on a Saturday afternoon just off of Broadway in downtown Nashville. It was a rather hardcore crowd. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Tokina 16-50mm f2.8 DX AT-X Pro lens.

Whiskey Barrel

DSC_3376, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

An old whiskey barrel in a corner of an office at the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, TN.

Kevin

DSC_2794, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

Kevin Mara at the 2010 Army Navy Game in Philadelphia PA. I rarely post photos of people here. I feel like it's an intrusion. However, it it's interesting to note how people's photographic interests evolve. There is a whole gang of people who started together in the critique forums on Flickr. We all started by posting landscapes. We've become more adventurous and are shooting, and posting, more photos of people, experimenting with lighting, etc. Take a look at the evolution Fiona Brim's photography on Flickr. Fiona lives in central Scotland and has plenty of interesting subjects. It's also worth looking at Tom Kaszuba's photoblog. Tom lives and shoots in the Norwich CT area and is well regarded for his atmospheric landscapes along the Connecticut shore. However, he has an equally interesting portfolio of portraits. (http://www.tomkaszuba.com)

I've grown a lot more interested in environmental portraits. This is a portrait of my son Kevin, taken on a cold winter afternoon at the 2010 Army Navy Game in Philadelphia, PA USA. While he might argue differently, I think it's a great photo of Kevin. I think it's technically good and there's also the element of a little parental pride involved. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.

Snow Day

DSC_3124, originally uploaded by frank.mara.

A rare snowfall in Johns Creek, Georgia. Several inches of snow and freezing rain has brought everything in the Atlanta area to a halt. Shot with a Nikon D90 and a Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D ED lens.