The "For The Love Of Photography! - Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Aren't they all ordinary as we tend to age?  If you have been following my stories over the past few years, you know that every time I visit an exotic location, I post some of my favorite photos.  Well, recently Carol and I visited Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos island chain.  Only problem was that my DSLR wasn't functioning half the time.  Not sure if it was the humidity, sand or the fact that it too was on vacation and didn't want to work some times.  Anyway, I still had a chance to take photos with my iPhone and between the two camera, did manage to get a few favorites.  So, I hope you enjoy my latest collection of photography.  Since I couldn't help myself, and selected way too many favorites, I have divided them into a few days to make it easier for you to absorb the magnitude of the beauty of the T&C Islands.  Enjoy!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on images to enlarge.

The "The Amazing Photography Of Dave Newcomer: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at some of the most beautiful photography imaginable taken by David Newcomer who happens to be one of my wife's medical doctors.  Met Dave for the first time this past April when Carol made an emergency visit to Lancaster Regional Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania due to appendicitis.  It was close to 8:00 pm when he found his way to Carol's bedside dressed in his blue scrubs.  Final outcome from that meeting was treating her appendicitis with antibiotics due to the fact that her white blood count was near normal and treating her malady with antibiotics has been the successful method of treatment in Europe for years.  That, and we were scheduled to leave on vacation in a few days to the the island of St. Martin and Dr. Newcomer felt she would be fine without removing her appendix.  He made the correct call and we both enjoyed our time on the beach.  That was until over six months later on her birthday, October 27, when the appendicitis returned in full force ... while vacationing once again on the island of Providenciales in the Turks & Caicos Islands.  Well, her appendix was so inflamed that it was removed later that evening and we spent half of our vacation in the hospital and resort room.  Upon returning home we made a visit to see Dr. Newcomer to make sure the surgeon on the island had suitably performed the surgery.  Dr. Newcomer was impressed and gave his approval which made Carol feel more at ease with her decision of surgery.  While in his office I noticed a few calendars which featured both land and aerial photographs.  Beautiful photographs which captured both landscapes and seascapes as well as wildlife.  Then I noticed that the photographs had all been taken by Dr. Newcomer.  Wow, what a talent!  I now have my own collection of over a dozen calendars that tell of the travels of this talented man.  I emailed him asking if he would mind if I shared his photographic talent with the world through my blog and I now have close to 100 files which he has graciously sent to me to share.  Most of the photos have accompanying information telling where the photo was taken, and in some cases his camera settings.  I plan to share some of his work in three different posts so you will get to see a variety of his photographs without flooding you with too many images all at one time and marginalizing his tremendous body of work.  Hope you enjoy his work which has been taken over his lifetime.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on the photographs to enlarge them.

Florida Keys --- as you know, 10,000 years ago when the oceans were 350' below their present levels, the keys were just a peninsular extension of the state of FL.  There were no islands. 

​This is an aqueduct near Lancaster, CA.  I love this pic b/c you never see aqueducts east of the

Mississippi.

This is an interesting photo I took at the Penn State - Iowa game a couple of weeks ago.  There is a flight restriction over college stadiums to 3,000' above ground level...we were about 5,000' AGL for this photo.  I took about 70 photos and 4 of them came out in focus.  That is par for shooting night photos from a moving airplane.  You shoot a ton of photos and expect to get 3% to 5% good pics.  The stadium was packed with over 106,000 people that night.

This moon shots is fairly good quality considering that the lens was not intended for astrophotography.

Here's a night shot of uptown NYC and the Empire State Bldg.  I really like the airplane wing in this photo.  I have the same photo without the wing and it isn't as good.  I have thousands of night photos from the air …. mostly from the east coast.

​Tangier Island, VA.​

​Zebra swallowtail.  I have an extensive insect collection from college … but I no longer collect

anything but photos.

​Sunglare and Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  I have over 2,000 aerial photos of this bridge.​

​Okracoke and the outer banks looking northeast.  The Atlantic Oc. is on the right and Pamlico

Sound on the left.

Virginia Beach, VA, at night --- waves clearly visible.  I  love this photo.

Great blue heron --- alpha predator on the Susq. River

​Downtown Phila. --- can you find the Billy Penn Statue on top of city hall??  It's a little to left of and 

above center.

Portrait of a female golden eagle --- these are magnificent birds.

Lake Powell about 30 miles north of Glen Canyon Dam.

Great egret.

The "Cubbies Hero From Pennsylvania Dutchland" Story

Plaque in Galtfelter Field.  Click to enlarge.

It was an ordinary day.  Grandson's final game of the fall baseball season and Carol and I made the trip to nearby Galtfelter Field in Columbia, PA to support Caden and his team members.  As we left the game after the final out, I noticed a monument near the ball field and walked toward it to see what it might contain.  On the granite stone was what appeared to be a bronze plaque bearing the photo of Jimmy Sheckard.  Stone and plaque were dedicated May 4, 2013 as an inspiration to the youth of Columbia, PA.  Samuel James Tilden Sheckard, Jimmy to everyone, was born nearby in Chanceford, York County, PA on November 23, 1878.  Ten years later the Sheckards moved across the mighty Susquehanna River to Columbia where Jimmy learned how to play baseball.  

Early card with Jimmy's name spelled wrong.

He learned so well that when he was called upon, six years later, to fill in for an injured player on his team, he hit a triple.  In 1896 he began his professional career when he played outfield for four minor-league clubs, appearing in a combined 76 games and batting .310.  The following year he moved to shortstop and led the New England League with a .373 batting average and 53 stolen bases.  The change to shortstop didn't work though, since he committed 19 errors in 11 games at that position before switching back to the outfield.  Then in 1898, he ended up in Brooklyn where he batted .277 before being sent to the Baltimore Orioles where he played for John McGraw.  

Jimmy's Chicago Cub Baseball Card.

Then in 1905 he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for four players and $2,000.  The trade tilted the balance of power in the National League from the New York Giants to the Chicago Cubs.  In 1906 the Cubs, lead by Jimmy, played in the World Series for the first time as the Cubs.  As the Chicago White Stockings, the team played in the World Series twice in the mid-1880s, but never winning it.  They lost the 1906 World Series, but won the Fall Classic in 1907 and 1908.  Sheckard was the left-fielder in all those games.  He was one of the few men of Pennsylvania Dutch heritage to play in the major leagues.  According to the plaque, famous sportswriter Ring Lardner said: "Jimmy Sheckard is the greatest ball player in the world."  

Neat pin featuring Jimmy.

Legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice said, "Jimmy Sheckard deserves a place among the game's greatest outfielders."  Jimmy was called the finest defensive left fielder of his era and an outstanding all-around player known for his speed, arm, and heads-up style of team play.  His stats show: He reached base 3,311 time, led the National League 18 times in 12 different offensive and defensive categories: Home Runs (1903), Stolen Bases (1899, 1903), Outfield Assists (1903, 1911, 1912), Outfield Double Plays (1899, 1911), Walks (1911, 1912), Sacrifices (1906, 1909), On-Base Pct. (1911), Runs (1911), Triples (1901), Putouts (1902), Fielding Avg. (1906), and Slugging Avg. (1901).  He also had or played in: 2,122 Games, 2,084 Hits, 1,135 Walks, .375 On-Base Pct., .274 Avg., 1,296 Runs, 465 Stolen Bases, 4,203 Outfield Putouts, 80 Outfield Double Plays, 136 Triples, and Stole Home 18 Times.  

Rounding third and heading home.

With all his records and superlative statistics, he never made it into the Baseball Hall Of Fame.  He ended his career playing for the St. Louis/Cincinnati teams in 1913.  What a great influence he must have been to all who knew him.  After retiring at age 34,  he moved back to Columbia where he spent some time in the U.S. Navy as the Great Lakes Naval Training Station athletic director during WWI as well as helping coach the Cubs for a few years.  In 1929 he lost everything in the stock market crash and ended up working at a job hauling giant milk containers for farmers around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  He eventually got a job at a gas station near Lancaster's minor league baseball ballpark, Stumpf Field.  He served as baseball coach at Franklin & Marshall College and managed the Lancaster Red Roses for a season at Stumpf Field.

Old uniform for Chicago.

He did turn down an offer from Connie Mack to manage the Philadelphia A's farm team in the Eastern Shore League.  Then in January of 1947, while walking to his job at the gas station near Stumpf Field, he was hit by a car from behind and died three days later at he age of 68.  He was buried in a cemetery in Columbia, PA with a headstone that doesn't even mention his time as a major league baseball player.  For years and years he played on the Cubs team that had won only two World Series in their lifetime.  Recently the Cubbies once again won the Fall Classic and the baseball world is alive with stories from the past.  This is my contribution to those stories.  A young boy in love with the sport of baseball who makes it big and ends up winning the World Series two years in a row.  And finally, after all those years, the town of Columbia saw fit to place a plaque on a monument in honor of one of their favorite sons.  A true hometown hero. Glad I stopped to read that plaque after watching my grandson beat the hometown team.  Well done, Columbia.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "'Big Al's Slider Challenge' In Turks & Caicos" Story

"Frantastic" our waiter

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with our waiter, Frantastic, as he tells us his friends call him, about the eating challenge that is offered at Big Al's Island Grill in Salt Mills Plaza in Provo, Turks & Caicos. Name for the restaurant came about as a tribute to the owner's father, Al Camozzi, a restaurateur whose family immigrated to San Francisco in the early 1930s.  Carol and I, along with friends Jerry and Just Sue, stopped in the restaurant for lunch today and stepped back in time to the 50s era.  Old-time lunch counter with chrome bar stools and high-back, padded cushioned seats in the wall booths brought memories from days gone by.  We seated ourselves and shortly a young man  brought us menus along with a big smile and greeting to Big Al's.

Interior decor of the restaurant.

 Asked him his name and he replies, "My friends call me Frantastic."  All his friends have nicknames and after one of his customers told him he was a fantastic waiter, Fran, as we assume his name must be, began to be called Frantastic.  Good with me!  Menu featured a large selection of burgers and salads and we all made our choices.  

Those who won the challenge.

Then while heading to the restroom, Sue noticed a wall featuring photos of customers who conquered "Big Al's Slider Challenge".  Asked our waiter what's up with the slider challenge and he told us that if we can eat 12 hamburger sliders with a big batch of onion rings and sauce in 30 muntes you would win a t-shirt and get your meal for free.  

What you must eat.

They even take your photo to post on the wall by the restroom.  Wall featured photos of more than a dozen who had won the challenge as well as a "Wall of Shame" which featured close to 100 patrons who lost the challenge.  We all passed on the challenge, opting for other choices more reasonable.  My Smashed Onion Burger was a real treat especially since I love onions.  Our time at the restaurant was thoroughly enjoyable and our waiter,  Frantastic, was a super guy who made our visit fun as well as filling.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Wall of Shame

Big Al's Logo

The "The Turks & Caicos Islands: Part II - The Sea" Story

Sting Ray glides across the living coral reef in T&C (Tom McDowell)

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting with Tom, talking about the photo- graphs he is loading onto my flash drive from the many dives he has taken since his arrival on Providenciales two months ago.  I met Tom and his friend Randy, who owns a beachfront condo on Grace Bay Beach, three years ago when we stayed at Ocean Club Resorts.  The two good friends dive almost daily, either off the beach at Ocean Club, or off the coast of any of the many islands that make up the Turks & Caicos chain of islands.  The islands offer some of the best world-class diving that feature an abundance of underwater flora and vibrantly colored fish and other marine life.  

One of many sharks that inhabit the reef. (Tom McDowell)

The reef system which surrounds the islands is 250 miles long which is the third longest in the world and is one of the top ten diving destinations in the world.  At one point on the islands, the reef wall drops off 7,000 feet.  Off Salt Cay is the wreck of the HMS Endymion which went down in a storm in 1790.  Off the shore of Middle Caicos is a reef which has a depression known as the "Blue Hole" which is an almost perfectly round depression that is home to sharks, stingrays, giant groupers and sea turtles.  Right along Grace Bay Beach are a few great snorkeling trails where you can see many of the colorful fish which are less threatening than the large scary fish of the deep.  

Fish feeding on healthy reef. (Tom McDowell)

As Tom shows me photo after photo he has taken along the reef system, we talk about the health of the reef.  His photo- graphs feature many sharks which are vital to maintain the balance of marine life and keep the biodiversity of the reef intact.  Without the sharks controlling the food chain, algae would smother and kill the coral reefs.  Since shark populations have been declining all over the world, the Turks & Caicos Islands have begun a shark awareness program and are helping to protect the many species of sharks that inhabit the waters of the T&C Islands.  Then Tom showed me a few photos that featured beautifully colored coral reefs which feature thousands of tiny animals living in limestone homes.  

A Lion fish which came from the Indo-Pacific. (Tom McDowell)

These tiny animals, or microorganisms, are photo- synthetic and provide the color, but when water pollution occurs or the water becomes murky, the micro- organisms can be threatened and die, thus turning the once colorful coral a blanched white color.  Algae can also kill the microorganisms so the fish population is necessary to maintain the algae.  Another big factor in the health of the reef is climate change.  Climate change is causing sea temperatures to rise and corals are very sensitive to temperature changes.  The microorganisms leave the coral when the water temperatures rise too high, thus causing bleaching of the coral.  Overfishing also can do damage to the coral since many fish species eat the algae that can damage the coral and with the loss of certain fish to overfishing, the coral can die.  

Severe bleaching as seen in a reef that is dying.

The Turks and Caicos Islands have also been threatened by the invasion of lion fish which have arrived from the Indo-Pacific oceans.  The lion fish eat just about anything and everything and the Parrotfish is one of their favorites.  Seems the Parrotfish is one of the main fish that keep algae under control on the reef and if they become extinct, the coral will die.  New housing developments along the coast of the island also can cause pollution which is a threat to the coral reefs.  And, divers, snorkelers and boaters need to be careful that they don't damage the coral reefs.  I'm sure the seas and oceans of the world will not die during my lifetime, but without conservation methods, they may die and create a vast loss for all of mankind.  Here's hoping the peoples of the world take action before it's too late.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Turks & Caicos Islands: Part I - The Land" Story

It was an ordinary day.  That's if you consider sitting on a lounge chair under an orange umbrella on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world ordinary.  The azure waters drift slowly toward the strikingly white beach known as Grace Bay Beach.  This is the third trip for Carol and me with our friends Jerry and Just Sue to the Turks & Caicos Islands which are a British overseas territory comprised of 40 islands and cays (pronounced "key") which lie at the southeastern end of the Bahamas chain, 575 miles southeast of Miami and 90 miles north of the island of Hispaniola.  

The highest elevation on any of the islands is 250 feet at Blue Mountain on Providen- ciales (Provo) which is the island on which Grace Bay Beach is located. Those who live on Provo, known as Belongers, will tell you that the islands were named after the scarlet dome of the barrel-shaped Turks Head cactus, which reminds you of a Turkish fez or hat, and the Spanish word "cayos" for small islands.  The Turks and the Caicos are divided by a 22 mile wide, 7,000 foot deep passage known as the "Turks Island Passage."  

Christopher Columbus discovered the islands on his first voyage to the new world when he stepped on Grand Turk in 1492 and was greeted by the peaceful Lucayan Indians.  I can't imagine what he must have thought when he saw all these beautiful islands which are referred to as "Beautiful by Nature." After leaving Grand Turk he sailed along the coasts of South, East, Middle and North Caicos, stopping at Pine Cay to refresh his water supply, before continuing on to Providenciales to possibly sit on Grace Bay Beach on the chair next to me which happens to have CC scratched into the metal frame.  

He happened to leave for Cuba before my plane landed on the island.  Tourism provides the livelihood of just about every resident on this island. Only weather and health threats can slow the tourists from coming to the T&C islands, but over the years of travel to the island, I have noticed that they have grown tremendously from our first trip in 2009 when the main highway, that essentially travels from one end of the island to the other, was partially sand and stone to all blacktop this year.  More and more gorgeous houses have found a location along the shores and beaches of the island since our first trip.  The official language of the island is English with an island dialect that I have trouble with, but then I have trouble at times with regular English, especially if I forget to wear my hearing aides.  

Well, I must tell you that my lounge chair is so relaxing that the only reason I ever leave it is to walk across the pure white sand, which is so cool and feels like baby powder, to the alluring water which is perhaps the most beautiful I have ever seen.  Water today is 85 degrees, the exact same temperature as the air, and water visibility is said to be up to 200 feet down.  Remarkable!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.