Valfal's photos

I found this rock in the shape of a duck's head at my local antique shop.

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Guy Falcioni was a WWII vet who spent over two years in the Philippines. He was a radio operator with the Signal Corp, the unit that was responsible for all radio communications, including Morse Code. He saw combat during his time served, and like many from his generation, kept most of those memories to himself. Only many years later as an ailing old man did he reveal some of those experiences. I was one of the lucky few who had a chance to listen to him as he told of those frightening, yet exciting moments of his life. He said his service in WWII was among the most important and gratifying experiences of his life. He knew he was doing something important for his country and fellow citizens. After he died, my sister-in-law went through his belongings, and discovered an old letter where he documented an important moment in history that he witnessed first-hand; the surrender of Japanese forces in Northern Luzon. The letter also documented a lot of how he spent his time there. It is a remarkable bit of WWII history told by someone who lived it. In remembrance of my father-in-law Guy and to all soldiers past and present, Happy Veterans Day.

I decided to play around with manual settings when I saw my Christmas cactus looking so pretty in the sunlight today. Other than minor cropping and a little bit of sharpening, this image is otherwise unretouched (original is in the note). I consider it a victory when I can snap an acceptable photo without need to process it, especially if I took it in manual mode ;-) Now to understand the technical reasons why these setting worked for this image; that's what happens when you "play around" without understanding what you are doing...

I love the effect a setting sun has on shadows!

Archive Airings....... AA 147......Doors

Thank you so much for your comments and faves everyone! They are all most appreciated :-))

A rather unusual perspective of Winterthur Museum... Original image in note.

A beautiful Gerbera daisy I discovered last last summer at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. Thank you so much everyone for your very kind comments and faves! they are very much appreciated! Have a wonderful weekend, my friends :-))

Antique lace trim that was hand tatted. This image was processed using PicMonkey's infrared effect. I was quite pleased that it accentuated all the fine detail of this amazing creation. The original image is in the note.

NTSC: Fabric A length of antique hand tatted lace I've had for years.

I had the pleasure of touring Winterthur Gardens near Wilmington, Delaware last week. I found this reflecting pool near the Estate house to be an ideal subject for "upside down" photography. Check out note to see another upside down view of the pool. :-)

An upside down shot of this beautiful reflecting pool at Winterthur Gardens near Wilmington, DE.

I'm in a New York state of mind with this gem by Billy Joel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol0dPJdzm1M

A few days ago, I spotted this dragonfly at the Longwood Gardens water lily pond in Kennett Square, PA. These insects start out life as nymphs living in the water before going through metamorphosis to emerge as mature dragonflies. I captured the image of this one just a few seconds before it flew away to live out the end stage of its life. Thank you all so very much for your kind words and faves, dear friends and visitors; they are most encouraging and appreciated! :-))

I was visiting my sister this weekend and discovered these beautiful little caterpillars on parsley she is growing in her garden. I later found out they are called "parsley worms", and eventually develop into beautiful Swallowtail Butterflies. :-)