Most of the skyline shots of NYC are from east to west since that clearly shows the breadth of the skyline.  This week I was lucky enough to get a great view looking south from 86th Street.  The night had a lot of clouds moving through and I would have loved to do a time lapse video - but this shot shows a dramatic view of the Hudson and NY and NJ.  Hopefully you can view on a good screen and see all the details you may recognize.

This week while walking around NYC I was struck by the light falling on the side of the wet trees in the rain.

The glistening blue was lit from above as the Empire State Bldg was off in the distance.

I knew there was a mist in the air so to illustrate what happens when you shoot with a flash in the rain - I shot a frame with the flash. 
Clearly not the right move for my tastes.

The non flash shot is dramatic in B&W as well.  The scene was perfect for a timeless NYC night scape.

A week in Vegas can certainly charge you up and wear you down.

With over 500 photos from the week to sort through - I tried to pick just a few classics to tell a tale.

The new City Center is a wild grouping of art and shopping worth seeing.  Ice sculptures, fountains, waterfalls and dramatic lines are everywhere.

Of course one thing we didn't expect is when we threw a party in the Terrace Suite at MGM (with an amazing view of the strip and a hot tub overlooking it all) that we'd end up with Hector in the tub with his mini rubber ducky. 

The technical side of this shot is that I had to shoot at ISO 800 1/13th of a second at f 1.8 with the fill flash to match the surprising foreground to the amazing background.

Last week I had a bit of the earthquake theme and this week I am shifting to the tsunami.

While on the pier shooting out to the horizon I turned to look to the coast and the light was breaking just right for this wave.  I can't imagine what a 26' or higher wave must be like for those on a ship or on land - but you can certainly get the feel.  The rumble and power of this little wave is impressive nonetheless.