Cruising the Gulf of Finland

The first post in a long time, I know, and not the start of a new series. It is 11:00 PM here, and about 3:00 in the afternoon at home, as I cruise in the Gulf of Finland and approach Russia. We land in St. Petersburg tomorrow morning for two long days of sightseeing. The regular posting on Rick Beato Photo will begin late this month, after I have returned home and sorted some of the most phenomenal photos I have ever taken. No major stats, just one point: in Stockholm the other day, I shot over 800 images. This adventure through the capitals of Europe is truly amazing.

Look for the first post around the 26th or the 27th. I hope to show you some of the wonders of the northern European world. Meanwhile this photo of the spires atop Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in incredible Tallinn, Estonia, will have to represent the photo collection I am working on. Just one of the hundreds of wonderful sights I have seen already -- the night before I land in Russia!

Leaving Boston; Headed to Europe

Nice timing -- my 150th post, just as I shut down my computers to fly to London and begin the longest and largest travel adventure in my 62 1/2 years. Posts will come when I find access to WiFi or when I break down and buy some Internet aboard the Eurodam next Friday.

Meanwhile, one more pair of photos from the recent Boston trip. We had the fun of watching Carolyn play tee ball and perform in a season-ending gymnastics show (the sidelong glance was what made the photo for me!) and we had the chance to hold our newest angel, Bobby, before heading home. Nice to know that Boston is less than two hours away -- once we have boarding passes and clear airline security.

Special Guest Photographer

For the first time since I began this blog, I am pleased to host the work of a special guest photographer. Out for a Saturday evening dinner and a pleasant walk along a marina, I was able to collect several interesting images of boats, buildings, sky, sunset. But none of mine are as wonderful to me as the pair we see here.

At six years old, it is no surprise that my granddaughter Carolyn would be able to snap a photo or two. And since her mother has been a professional photographer, we could assume that some talent is part of her heritage. But I think most six-year olds would find an average Nikon DSLR equipped with a 28-300 mm zoom lens to be pretty heavy to hold and shoot. Not for Carolyn!

The first shot, a shot of her dad with the skyline in the distance, was shot while I stood with her and reminded her how to handle the camera. Once she was able to capture that first image, I went to stand with my son. The result? One of my favorite images of me! With a little bit of levels adjustment to account for the fading light, and a touch of straightening, I think she did an excellent job.

Thanks for being my first guest photographer, Carolyn Beato.

Silhouette Collage

One more souvenir of the recent Boston trip is actually also a pre-souvenir of the game in August which Bobby will attend at Wrigley Field. It will be his first Cub game at the age of three months.

Last winter Bobby's sister Carolyn and his cousins Gianna and Joey got silhouette collage pictures from me, so here is Bobby's. The base image, of course, is the Wrigley Field scoreboard, and the multi-crossing pattern is that of the well-manicured outfield grass at Wrigley.

Looking forward to our game, Bobby!

Alphabet Bobby

On March 12, this blog introduced my first project in Alphabet Art, with the name of a grandchild spelled in letters collected from signs, storefronts, and anywhere else a particular letter caught my eye. At that time, my fourth grandchild was on the way. Previous posts have mentioned my first visit with my son's son, and now the Alphabet Art set is complete.

Well, at least it is up to date!

Boston Sights

Our visit to Boston centered around the suburb of Quincy, just south of Boston proper, so no Old North Church or Cheers photos will be seen. But on our first day, we walked around Hough's Neck, the home of our son and daughter-in-law and of two grandchildren, and we saw several pictorial sights.

The world in the puddle is pretty, but my favorite is the old-fashioned hopscotch board, which would have been a good image without the child. But this one is lots better than that!

Boston Memories

Well, July opens with me having a few days to share some of the photos I brought home from our recent trip to Boston. As the major event for us was meeting our youngest grandchild, my favorite photo from trip has been posted on this site for a while. Just scroll down and see the new photo of Grandma & Poppa's Hall of Fame has been changed to reflect the new member.

I have a chance to add a few more images, starting with a photo of Carolyn and one of Bobby, both taken on the day we arrived. We had a chance to take several images, but how could pass up the baseball uniform of Bobby or the vibrant smile of Carolyn?

Next post will have more images from the Boston trip during the rest of this week. On Saturday we head out on the adventure of a lifetime from our standpoint, flying to London to begin by adding eight new countries to our travel collection. Clearly, the blog will carry a nice collection of images from all eight countries, but I am not at all certain of how much Internet access I will have. No promises, then, about any postings until July 23.

But don't be too surprised if I find a WiFi or buy some Internet minutes along with way and get a couple of sneak previews in.