Boston Yoga Instructor

When I was living in the Boston area, one of the most rewarding assignments I had received was to document the work of a team of doctors and health care professionals that provided health care to Boston's homeless. I literally followed the team around the city as they made their rounds in parks, alley ways and on the streets of Boston caring for their homeless patients.  One of the team members I had photographed often was Jill Roncararti, a Nurse Practitioner who has an amazing relationship with her often tough and sometimes troubled patients.  In this line of work, trust is everything and I quickly gained the support of both the staff and the patients that I photographed.  It has been years since I have done the rounds in Boston but Jill and I still stay in touch.  Recently she contacted me to see about photographing her involved in one of her other passions, Yoga.  We have been planning this shoot for about two months.  Today with perfect weather in Boston we spent a few hours on Boston's waterfront capturing images of Jill demonstrating her yoga talents for promotional materials she will use to promote private yoga lessons she will be offering in Boston.  With an amazing model and perfect Spring conditions we had blast taking pictures.  Here are a few selects from the shoot.

Cycling Season

With the huge piles of snow now history my focus has once again turned to my favorite of all sports, cycling.  I have had a good start to the season with some descent base miles on the road bike and and few days in the woods.  Spring is very much here today and I am looking forward to getting on my bike at least four days a week from here on out.  As with all sports there is always new gear to buy to get ready for the season and I have been on the look out for new mountain bike shoes.  My Sidi Dominators have been the go to shoe for quite some time but they are showing some wear and tear.  The other day I found a great looking pair of Mavic Razors at Back Bay Bikes in Portland.  I have never owned shoes by this French Company but have seen a lot racers wearing them on the Cyclocross Circuit.  I brought my Super Feet insoles with me to try them on and it was an immediate match.  The shoes are nice and light, have a grippy Contragrip outsole for scrambling and from what I have read are quite durable.  As soon as mount my Shimano SPD cleats I will be in business.  For MTN bike shoes they are pretty styling so I had to photograph them.  This photo was shot at ISO 100 with a Canon 5DMK2 with a Canon 70-300 F/4-5.6IS L Lens.  Light is from a Quantum QFlash 5DR and a Canon 580 EX shot through a Lastolite EZ Box.

Preparing for the Maine Boat Builders Show

This morning I stopped in for a quick visit with Boat Builder Clint Chase at his Portland shop to see the progress on his latest boat project.  I asked him to describe the boat for me.  It is an Australian designed sailing skiff made for classic looks but with modern performance. She can plane at 12 knots or be easily rowed, light as a feather. My version is a modified one to include the mizzen. We call it the GIS yawl.  She is 15'6 LOA, 5' Beam, 105 SF Lug, 118 with Mizzen and 128 lbs hull weight.

He was prepping it for the Maine Boat Builders Show which starts on Friday at Portland Yacht Services.  The arrival of this Boat Show is always a sign that Spring and warmer weather are not that far behind.  I am looking forward to seeing what some of the best custom boat builders on the East Coast have been working on over the winter. Once again I will be working with Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Magazine to provide them with photographic coverage of the show.

Seabrook Station Nuclear Reactor Control Room

This past November I was hired by Florida Light and Power / Next Era Energy to photograph one of their Nuclear Control Room operators at Seabrook Station in NH.  The photo(s) would be used for a marketing campaign they were putting together.  This shoot was part of a collection of photographs that were being captured at Next Era Energy facilities around the country.  The shoot took place early in the morning on what was a training day for the operators. We utilized the Control Room Simulator which is an exact replica of the actual Nuclear Reactor Control Room.  Seabrook Station has only one Nuclear Reactor.  According to David Barr, my contact at the plant, the reactor control room operators go through emergency preparedness training every six weeks.  After the portrait session of the photo shoot I spent some time documenting the training. The instructor using his laptop to control the board set off alarms and situations that the reactor operators would have to respond to and in the end be graded on.  I was allowed limited access during the training as this is obviously serious business.  None of this could be more true given the disaster that is currently unfolding at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant in Northeastern Japan.  Even in the simulator you could feel the tension where room for error is not an option.  I can only imagine what the operators at Seabrook Station must be feeling for their brothers in Japan who are battling and risking their lives to avert a total disaster from happening.  My thoughts are with those Japanese operators working night and day in the most brutal conditions battling fire and high doses of radiation to keep the situation from becoming a complete catastrophe. 

Littlejohn Island, Yarmouth

Photos from today's visit to Littlejohn Island in Yarmouth, Maine.  Misty rain and overcast skies made for a pleasant and seasonal walk on this treat of an island.  The views are gorgeous and the hilly and winding roads with homes fitting into the landscape create a nice community feeling that is happily remote.  We parked Sam's truck on the other side of the bridge that connect Cousins Island to Littlejohn Island and had a great hour long walk.  I read recently that their is a bird sanctuary on the island, but did not have to time to explore where it is.  Next trip I will check that out.  I also now have a great destination loop for my road bike.  With the heavy rain falling the snow is finally starting to melt away, good thing as Spring officially starts in a few weeks.