photography | At Home with Tech

April 6, 2025

Raindrops Shouldn’t Make You Miss Spring’s First Colors

If you don’t mind getting caught in a rain shower, now’s the perfect time to snap some photos of early-spring flowers. Here’s what I saw.

Spring is always a magical time as nature’s colorful energies reemerge. But early spring in New England can be a cold and rainy period. This year in Connecticut is no different.

You can tell that the real spring surge is still at least a week away. But there are plenty signs that the big bloom is already underway. Early spring flowers have their date with destiny. As far as they’re concerned, it’s show time! Lots of rain? No problem.

But that’s not an enticing set up for a photographer to take the camara out for a walk in the neighborhood. That said, you’d be surprised with what you might see. Just don’t forget to wear your raincoat.

That’s exactly what I did, and here’s what I spotted shining through the dreary weather…

Get Close… Really Close
I like to position my camera up close to the spring colors.
(It’s never about zooming in on a flower. You’ve got to really press your lens in.)

Look for Daffodils
They’re among the first flowers to show up and always great to practice on.
To be fair, the sun did peak out to illuminate this moment.

Find the Raindrops
If the opportunity presents itself, I always enjoy composing my shots to include a raindrop or two.

Use your Narrow Depth of Field
I used my old Panasonic Lumix LX-10 in manual focus mode to help me narrow the focus and play with some blur. That’s fun, but also challenging, because flowers don’t exist on a flat plain. So, you need to choose your focus point carefully.

Join the Celebration
There’s nothing wrong with waiting a bit longer until spring is in full force to snap your photos. But I feel these moments of emergence are particularly special and shouldn’t be missed.

It’s been a long winter. Now’s the time to soak in some early color.

March 30, 2025

Searching for Silhouettes on a City Street at Sunrise

People walking in Baltimore's Harbor East neighborhood at sunrise

The orange glow of the sun that floods the landscape at sunrise or sunset is a great time to photograph silhouettes and shadows. Here’s how I maximize that opportunity.

If you’re lucky enough to be walking on a city street facing due east or west when the sun is low in the sky, it’s time to take out your camera. That’s when you can easily find magical silhouettes and the shadows of people bathed in sunlight.

Your eyes may only sense a blinding fog of bright orange. But your camera can likely peer through that optical interference and capture enough detail to be later optimized in post.

When editing these photos, I find it ideal to focus on deepening the silhouette effect in a targeted fashion. I accomplish that using Adobe Lightroom with the AI-powered Masking/Objects tool. That allows me to easily select the silhouetted images in the foreground to darken them further without affecting the rest of the photo.

Here are a few examples.

Baltimore, Maryland’s Harbor East (2025)
I snapped this sunrise shot as two men walked to work by the marina.

Facing East at Grand Central Terminal (2012)
Though not technically a street, the Main Concourse at Grand Central channeled the morning’s rays onto New York City commuters as they rushed to their jobs. (I think some of these folks may already be late, as you can tell from the clock.)

Facing West on a Street in Barcelona (2008)
These two women were enjoying their sunset stroll.

Morning Stretch in Hong Kong (2005)
I captured this quiet moment as I explored the neighborhood during a work trip. Even if the sun isn’t in the perfect position, a shaded space with a bright background can offer your camera a similar silhouette effect.

The Power of a Good Silhouette
Whether you have your smartphone or a mirrorless camera to compose your photo (I used my Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200D for my Baltimore pictures), sunrise and sunset are perfect times to capture the landscape.

If you can frame the bright sun in your shot, that’s great. But for me, I’m often more interested in the dark shadows.

March 16, 2025

4 Ways to Get the Most Value from your Final Morning on a Cruise

Nearing the end of our cruise on the Independence of the Seas

The last day of any cruise is arguably the worst. Your vacation is over, and now you’ve got to slog back home. That said, here are a few tips to squeeze the last drops of joy from those last hours on board your ship.

There would be no sleeping in on the last morning of our cruise. Indeed, the final day of our Royal Caribbean vacation wasn’t much of a day at all. It lasted a mere few hours. All passengers had to be off the Independence of the Seas by 10am. Breakfast in the Windjammer Café closed down at 8:30.

There was no option for a late check out. It was pretty much…buh-bye.

Or was it?

Here are four ways I was still able to extend the ‘vacation experience’ on that last morning for me and my family.

#1
Show Up for the Grand Finale
This may seem counterintuitive, but I actually woke up earlier than I needed to. Why? I didn’t want to miss the grand finale, which was arguably experiencing my ship’s triumphant return to PortMiami. (I know I’m being dramatic, but that’s how this traveler viewed the end of his glorious voyage.)

Plus, I was able to snap some cool photos! (Even in the pre-dawn dark, my iPhone did just fine capturing the Miami glow.)

#2
Experience the Moment
But the opportunity here is more than just taking photos. Watching my ship’s impressive maneuvering during this final leg of our journey was entirely worthwhile. As the massive Independence of the Seas approached PortMiami at 5:40am, I walked quickly up the stairs to the top deck at the bow to experience the moment.

A stiff wind was blowing. I had passed by a couple industrious joggers, but that was it. It was just me and the boat.

I watched the Independence of the Seas move through the narrow channel, passing by two other docked cruise ships on our port side.
Next, we entered a wider body of water. Then we did a 180-degree turn as easily as if I were on a toy boat.
We then headed back to the Royal Caribbean building on the immense cruise terminal.

As I witnessed this nautical dance by our floating city, I expect most other passengers were still sleeping… or at least unaware of this maneuver (their loss).

#3
Book a Later Shuttle to the Airport and Enjoy Breakfast
We were originally booked to depart our ship on a 7:30am shuttle bus to the airport. I reviewed our shuttle tickets when I received them, and my eyes squinted to confirm what I saw. And then I did the math…

We had a 2:30pm flight out of Miami. There was no need to leave that early. So, I went to the guest services desk on deck 5 and changed our shuttle time to 9:30am.

We hit breakfast in the Windjammer Café at 7:45am and had a leisurely meal till 8:30am, when the buffet officially closed.

But it wasn’t time to leave. No, not yet.

#4
Hang Out on the Pool Deck One Last Time
We planned to join the line to exit the ship at 9:10am for our 9:30 shuttle. And we had forty minutes to burn.

The ship was mostly closed up. We couldn’t return to our room, because we had been instructed to check out by 8am. (The ship’s crew needed to turn things around for its next group of several thousand cruisers.)

So, we walked out onto the empty pool deck and decided to sit down on three inviting lounge chairs. This spot was ordinarily packed with hundreds of people. Now, it was a ghost-town housing a few others with the same clever idea.

No crowds. No noise. Just the sun and the breeze.

It was as if I had rented the entire ship for half an hour. Serenity achieved.
I took it all in and exhaled… ahead of the hustle and bustle for our return trip home.

You Can Do a Lot before 9:30am
Before our vacation, I read lots of advice about how to maximize the first hours of a cruise before you can get into your room. But there isn’t a similar focus on the best exit strategy.

For me, it’s all about taking your time and not cutting corners. Enjoy those last minutes the same as your first hours.

Unless you’re taking an early flight back home, there’s absolutely no need to rush out and miss breakfast.

There’s no prize for being the first off the boat.

Would you rather be at your airport gate earlier than necessary with nowhere to sit… or soak in happiness on your ship’s pool deck in quiet solitude for the better part of an hour?

How was my last morning on the Independence of the Seas?

Perfect.

Category: photography

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