Category Archives: Photography

Travel Theme: Up

Posted on January 18, 2013 by | 24 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Up.

Looking up, trees and, above them, clouds…

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A second “Up” post is here.

24 Comments

Posted in Nature, Photography

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond

Posted on January 18, 2013 by | 111 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Beyond.

When paddling counterclockwise around Manhattan, or down the Hudson River back to the city, there comes that breathtaking moment when the distant vista of Midtown Manhattan comes into view beyond the George Washington Bridge.

I always take a photo at that point. By now I have many, in rain and sunshine, day and night… Here are a few of them.

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More photos from these trips are here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

111 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, New York City, Photography

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Travel Theme: Glass

Posted on January 12, 2013 by | 26 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Glass.

But I didn’t have to travel very far for these glasses…

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26 Comments

Posted in Photography

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination

Posted on January 11, 2013 by | 45 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Illumination.

Christmas 2011—

In bright light, the Christmas tree looks pretty enough… but somehow still awaiting its true moment.

Candlelight works its magic. The whole tree glows with a soft radiance. The light picks out the glitter of ornaments from the pools of darkness deep among the branches. The candles burn silently, yet flicker perceptibly from moment to moment. The rising air sets strands of tinsel subtly in motion, shimmering in the light. The tree is alive.

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More photos from Christmas 2011 are here, and from Christmas 2012 here.

45 Comments

Posted in Life, Photography

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Our 2013 Calendar

Posted on January 9, 2013 by | 107 comments

By Vladimir Brezina and Johna Till Johnson

We have a recent tradition: This year and last, we’ve created a wall calendar based on Vlad’s photos. It’s an enormous amount of fun to look through the photos and select the thirteen (including cover) that best capture our themes for the month, and the year.

We print the calendar using  Shutterfly, which overall does a fine job for a reasonable price. The calendars are printed on heavy, glossy paper stock (they’re hanging on the walls now) and we’re able to customize each day of the year, adding holidays, birthdays, phases of the moon, and, of course, the times of tidal current change in Hell Gate! (Hell Gate is a good proxy for the current everywhere in the New York harbor—it basically tells us whether we’ll be kayaking north or south on a particular day).

We decided to share our 2013 photos with you. Please let us know your favorite shots. (There are some months that we’re already impatient for, because we like the photos so much!)

Cover

IMGP5494 cropped small(Story is here.)

What are days for?
Days are where we live.
They come, they wake us
Time and time over.
They are to be happy in:
Where can we live but days?

Philip Larkin, Days

January

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February

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March

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April

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May

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June

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July

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August

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September

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October

DSC_0097 cropped small 3(More photos are here.)

November

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December

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Happy 2013!

107 Comments

Posted in Life, Literature, Photography

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A Word A Week Photo Challenge — Cloud, Take Two

Posted on January 8, 2013 by | 31 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

On A Word In Your Ear , Skinnywench’s photo challenge this week is Cloud.

As I said in my first response to the challenge, I particularly remember two recent days on which a dramatic, constantly changing cloudscape absolutely dominated the scene. The first response showed the first day. Here is the second.

On Day 5 of our Long Island kayak circumnavigation last summer, we were approaching the eastern tip of Long Island when the clouds began to get interesting. The spectacular thunderstorm hit just as were rounding Montauk Point, the easternmost, most exposed point of our journey—

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The full story of that day is here.

31 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Nature, Photography

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A Word A Week Photo Challenge — Cloud

Posted on January 7, 2013 by | 46 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

On A Word In Your Ear , Skinnywench’s photo challenge this week is Cloud. Since I have so many photos of clouds—it’s hard to avoid clouds, just as it is hard to avoid water, in kayaking photos—I thought I would join in.

But, although I have many photos of clouds, the clouds of two special days stand out particularly in my memory. On those days, a dramatic, constantly changing cloudscape dominated the scene. We stared upward, mesmerized.

Here’s the first of those days.

At Pier 40Dark clouds over Coney IslandReturning to Manhattan
Spectacular skies...
... in the Upper BayCrepuscular raysSinister cloud over ManhattanEngulfed in the rain cloudRain easingClouds at sunset

The story of the day is here, more photos are here, and larger versions of some of the photos are here. And the second of the two spectacularly Cloudy days is here.

46 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Nature, New York City, Photography

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Resolved

Posted on January 5, 2013 by | 49 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

This week’s Photo Challenge is Resolved.

Cape Cod Bay, July 2011. We are Resolved!

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Resolved to reach the water, no matter how long it may take

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and to set out over the turquoise sea

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to “fresh woods, and pastures new.”

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And that makes a fine resolution for this New Year as well!

(The story of that day on Cape Cod Bay is here; more photos are here.)

49 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Photography

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Travel Theme: Multiples

Posted on January 4, 2013 by | 42 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

Ailsa’s travel-themed photo challenge this week is Multiples.

I seem to recall that it was Couples just a few short weeks ago. And now it’s Multiples already? To be sure, it’s quite natural—

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42 Comments

Posted in Nature, Photography

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Three More Paddling Photo Winners

Posted on January 3, 2013 by | 54 comments

By Vladimir Brezina

The popular paddling site Paddling.net runs a Photo of the Week contest. Over the past couple of years, I’ve submitted a few of my photos. The first three photos that were successful were here. Now here are three more winners.

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Sailing my kayak with Balogh Batwing sail and BOSS outriggers on Long Island Sound. Sail is double-reefed in a 25-kt wind. Photo was taken by camera mounted at the top of the mast.

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Paddling down the Hudson River (NY) along the West Side of Manhattan at sunset

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Landed at sunset on the North Shore of Long Island, NY, during a kayak circumnavigation of Long Island in the summer of 2012

(see here, here, and here on the Paddling.net site)

54 Comments

Posted in Kayaking, Photography

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