A manger bed

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And, lo, there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round abut them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:6-11

The world has not been the same since.

On to Bethlehem

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. Luke 2:1-5

Tomorrow, the rest of the story that transformed the world.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Well not really, but this is where I sit each night waiting for that glimmer of "blogspiration." I could stare at the poinsettia that our friend Nora sends us each year to alert us that Christmas is approaching. She is one of those "one-in-every-class" kinds of people that has everything bought, wrapped and shipped by the first of December. You know the type, the first one to turn in their term paper, and usually the day after it was assigned. They always won the school spelling bees, and in her case the state spelling bees. As for me, I'm usually late with Christmas stuff, my term papers were never done on time and was never allowed to even attend a spelling bee.

I could also stare at the fire for hours, but I know nothing will happen until I open the computer and put my fingers into action on the keyboard. It's the looming presence of Nora's poinsettia reminding me that she would have all of January's blogs already written by now, that is if she had a blog . . . hmmmm, maybe I'm one up on her, finally. But then in her humble ambitious way, she's probably relieved that we moved ahead of her in something.

Yes, everyone could use a "Nora" in their life and no, you can't have ours. Merry Christmas Nora. We love you and thank you for all that you have done for us.

The "big" snow

The forecasts were in, all the TV weathermen agreed we were going to get hit by a monster snowstorm that would break records galore throughout the North Atlantic and New England states. Usually that includes us, but not this time. Yet, people still rushed to the store to buy milk, bread, meat, batteries, fire starter and all the comfort survival stuff.

We waited inside all day Saturday for the snow to start, but nothing came down until I went out to grill on the deck about 8 o'clock, but even then, I had to imagine what a real snowfall looked like. Cancellations were streaming across the bottom of the TV screen all evening in anticipation. Finally by 11 o'clock it looked like a normal snowstorm.

Long Island and the Connecticut coast took the brunt of the accumulation for us and we only got about 9 inches. It was too much to shovel but a good challenge for the snow blower. Together we broke the surface making our own tracks as we trudged up and down the driveway for a couple of hours clearing our way to civilization should the town plow come by to let us out.

We are tucked away on a cul-de-sac along with about 20 other houses. Not a high priority thoroughfare, but then that's one of the reasons we moved here. The simple beauty of the tracks in the snow say so much and is why we carry a camera with us now whenever we go out. While the top couple of inches have since either settled or evaporated, we still have enough for a white Christmas. Who knows, maybe God will even top it off for us Christmas Eve to give us another simply beautiful morning.

The ultimate burrito - cheesecake!

Yup, really, a cheesecake burrito. My kids will tell you that I'm not exactly a burrito connoisseur, but I couldn't help trying this challenge - a money-back guarantee on a cheesecake burrito at Nardelli's. I must admit the money back guarantee was perhaps the biggest incentive as I couldn't think of a worse thing to do to a cheesecake, but wow, was I ever wrong. And, just to be sure, I have tried several in the past couple of weeks in order to get a statistically reliable sample.

I stayed real honest and didn't return it just to get my money back, either. Besides, I haven't found them anywhere else, and I didn't want to risk being cut off, especially since I've already become hopelessly addicted to them.

(Did I mention I have since added dark chocolate sauce? YUM!)

Peace, wish, hope and of course, Starbucks.

Mocha, decaf, regular, brulee, latte, extra hot, whole milk, whipped cream, no matter what boxes are checked for your Starbucks Coffee drink at this time of the year, the message is the same - peace, wish, and hope. But why just have it at Christmas? Get rid of the snowflakes and other seasonal stuff and keep the message going all year.

Somewhere on W. 34th Street in Manhattan

Next time you're in a cab in New York City, take pictures out the cap window. Some people will wonder what you're looking at, but to them, they are just living their lives. In fact, you will remember them longer than they will remember you. It's especially fun on a cold windy day when the wind chill freezes your socks off, like this one was, and you can shoot from the warmth of a taxi. Some people will notice you, like this lady did, and others will not, but either way there is all kinds of communication going on.

It's the gesture in the image that's important. It's just one of those key elements that many photographers ignore, but it's the one that makes you look deeper and longer at the picture.

Thank you folks whoever you are for giving me that extra character dimension.

Search for the perfect Christmas tree

So here I am, saw in hand traipsing into the sunset looking for the perfect Christmas tree. It has to be straight and the needles, ironically, soft.

I still have scars from the brutal needles on last year's killer Christmas tree. Yes, last year we actually went to a local tree farm to buy the tree because it would be fresh, but we saw one standing by the fence that had "recently been cut." We assumed it had been cut in his field that past week only to be told after we paid for it that it had been cut in Pennsylvania in October. Little did we know that the trunk was bent like an old dog's leg, the needles were like raccoon teeth and, as I said yesterday, we finally had to tie it to the rafter to keep it from going over, again.

This year we went to a nearby Christmas tree farm in Southbury, Connecticut, that had just reopened and had been especially kind to us a few years ago. We remembered it had a hill full of fraser firs with those wonderful soft needles that take all the puncture pain out of hanging ornaments. I must admit, though, I was wondering if cutting down a young fir for Christmas was more "green" than buying a plastic artificial tree made with petroleum by-products. I'm sure someone is working on the carbon credit tradeoff between artificial and real Christmas trees.

Christmas decorations

Ok, we've had our first snow, we've started our Christmas shopping, and today we are in New York at Rockefeller Plaza. It's time to climb over the stuff we've been pushing into the attic all year to get to the Christmas decorations in the back.

It's sort of like a refrigerator where all the most recent leftovers are in front and all the science projects are growing in the back. But unlike the refrigerator, the back of the attic is full of forgotten treasures that we haven't seen for a year. It's the old lights, the ornaments, nativity sets, candles, tree trinkets and the Christmas tree stand, that is if it didn't rust through like ours did last year.

Yes, this year we got a new tree stand but a plastic one that hopefully won't rust. Now our only question, will it really only hold an eight foot tree or can I push it to eleven or twelve feet without tying it to the rafter like I did last year? I don't recall having a height specification on a Christmas tree stand before. Think about it, If the tree is straight as an arrow, what difference does it make how tall it is, and if it's crooked, who cares what the specs say, it's going over or it gets tied to the rafter.

Red, white and cold all over

There's something warm and cozy about red cottages on a sunny day in three feet of freshly fallen snow. At least that's what we keep telling ourselves as we brace for the winter ahead. I know it's a mental thing because subzero is still subzero no matter what color the cottages are, but it helps.

Actually, these are the summer staff cabins at Camp Berea near Hebron, New Hampshire, during one of its appropriately named "Deep Freeze" winter weekends. They are cute and look cozy, but they are not winterized like the rest of the cabins. Maybe it's time to replace them with something that will expand the camp's summer and winter capacity. Something newer, bigger and most importantly, warm.

First day of snow

Ok, the 11 o'clock news said we would get an inch or two of snow after midnight which would turn into rain about 4 a.m. In my usual independent four-wheel-drive I-can-do-it mindset, I would have no trouble making my 7 a.m. breakfast meeting an hour away, that is until I got up and looked outside at six inches of snow and no rain.

Just to be sure, I turned on the TV to check the traffic conditions. Interstate 84 was down to one lane to the east of us, but I wasn't going that direction. Next they said there were three accidents to the west, my direction.

While I was up for the challenge to head up the twenty percent grade of our nearly 200 foot unplowed driveway, I was not up for the challenge of highway whackos on the first day of real snow. My only other challenge was to shovel my way to the grill to cook hot dogs for lunch, but then I've had lots of practice doing that and no one gets in my way.

The art of seeing or not

Sometimes when we stop and look at something we've passed over and over again, we see it in a way that we never saw it before. Is it a wall or is it a fence? Are we looking through it or at it? What about its "eyes?" Is it a mirror with blue panels, or are there open spaces between the panels? Is it the face of a comic book monster watching us as we drive by?

Next time you go somewhere, carry a camera and start looking at things you've looked at everyday but in a new way. For example, the back of your favorite diner. You know, the one with all the chrome trim, the genuine naugahyde upholstered booths with those authentic Formica table tops, the counter with the swivel stools, and the mouthwatering displays of every kind of dessert known to mankind.

Our favorite blast-from-the-past is the Blue Colony Diner-Restaurant just off Exit 10 on I-84 in Newtown, Connecticut. Stop in sometime and see for yourself. (The food is really good, too!)

Ed, the incredible illustrator

Here's my friend Ed at Starbucks yesterday morning with The Lady's Home Journal magazine cover he designed and illustrated in retro for August, 1926, featuring American English Channel swimmer, Trudy Ederle. The whole illustration really is incredible, right down to the aged mailing label.

There's a certain sense of irony in our weekly meetings as photographers and illustrators constantly vie to out create and out bid each other, sometimes for the same assignment. Our disciplines are very competitive, yet we admire each other's skills, hold each other accountable, and just as "iron sharpens iron," so we sharpen each other. So, today I photographed Ed, the incredible illustrator with one of his incredible illustrations.

To learn more about Ed, go to my May 9, 2009, blog, visit his website, or go to his blog.

The salesman

I'm sure if you asked him, he would tell you that these same scarves sell for ten times as much on Fifth Avenue. Yes, he was having a really good sales day at the flea market. It was windy and cool. It was kind of like selling umbrellas to people on their way home from work on a day that started sunny and ended up rainy. But then, how could you turn anyone down with a smile like this. Okay, so maybe I wouldn't buy a used car from him, but I would buy a scarf.

Platon smoker

Platon is one of my favorite portrait photographers. He started with Rolling Stones magazine and his wide angle style quickly became his signature. Most recently, his full faced image of Edward Kennedy graced the cover of Newsweek right after the senator died. He simply moves in close, uses one light and a very wide angle lens to overemphasize one characteristic of his subject.

I've used that style for a number of studio portraits and it is really cool, but I also like to use it for some of my street portraits. People think it's a little strange to take their picture looking up from the ground, but it tells a whole different story about a person. It's a whole new perspective that in some way identifies them.

It was a slow day at the flea market and this vendor decided to take a smoke break. He was relaxed and totally preoccupied with his habit. It's a habit he likes and it helps identify him. It's a habit that helped him relax as I just kept shooting. Once the cigarette was done, so was I.