I thought this sculpture by Berndt Notke was pretty cool from the above angle as it looks like Saint George is actually riding a dragon, Harry Potter style. Actually he is on a horse slaying the dragon as you can see from a different angle below.

This sculpture is mentioned at the beginning of The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye.

The church in Stockholm, Sweden in which you can find this work of art and the description photographed above goes by many names including Sankt Nikolai Kyrka (Church of St. Nicholas), Storkyrkan (The Great Church), and Stockholms Domkyrka (Stockholm Cathedral). Not many actually go to church in Sweden anymore for their original purposes as less than 20% of the population believes in god and far fewer attend a church. Most churches are mere museums and historical curiosities at this point. I wonder how long it will take for that to be true in the USA?

Posted on November 14th, 2012 under Other. Tags: Nikon 18-200mm VR II, nikon d7000, stockholm, sweden. Comments Off on St. George and the Dragon – Storkyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden

Watching all of the images of New York on the news during and after Hurricane Sandy brought back memories of the rain, thunder, and lightning that we experienced there this past summer. However, that storm was nothing compared to Sandy.

I took today’s photo on Times Square in the rain.

Posted on October 30th, 2012 under Other. Tags: new york, night photography, nikon d7000, rain, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Wet Times Square

Born a mere seven days after I was, Death Angel’s main man continues to write fantastic music. The first time I saw Death Angel live was just over 25 years ago. Looking forward to another 25 years of Death Angel…

Posted on October 29th, 2012 under Other. Tags: death angel, metal, nikon d7000, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Happy Birthday, Rob Cavestany!

Lots of images of San Francisco on the TV the past couple nights thanks to the Giants making it into the 2012 World Series. Today’s photo is from my trip to the “City by the Bay” back in April. Even though I love San Francisco, I have never been able to like the Giants. Even when I was a kid, going to games at Candlestick Park, I found myself cheering for the Cardinals, Expos, Phillies, Mets, or whoever it was the Giants were playing. Go Tigers!

Posted on October 26th, 2012 under Other. Tags: nikon d7000, san francisco, sunrise, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on View from Nob Hill in San Francisco

I said before that I wanted one of the new, Nikon D600 cameras. However, I’m glad I waited. It seems all of them have a problem with attracting dust and/or oil on the sensor. At a price more than 2X that of the D7000, the D600 simply isn’t worth the money. Hopefully Nikon will get their problems fixed, and at some point in the serial numbers the dust and oil problems on the sensor will disappear or at least decrease. Until then, I will wait for a lower price and a fix in the design which is causing this oil and dust problem. If it were only happening above f/14 or something I could live with it, but to be visible in shots taken below f/8 just a dozen or so shutter usages after cleaning in basically all samples is unacceptable.

Here are some of the stories and accounts on the D600 problems:
Spots on D600
Nikon D600 has sensor dust issues

Posted on October 22nd, 2012 under Other. Tags: Nikon D600, photography. Comments Off on Nikon D600 oil spots and dust problems