Rounding third

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (28)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Here's Scotty coming around third base, but I don't think he made it home off the hit from his red-haired teammate (I forget her name, sorry). You can see the neon yellow ball flying through the air in the top left of the shot as the old dudes try to make a play on defense. Unfortunately, a sloppy inning by The Riot early on ended up costing them the game. Better luck next time, Riot. You still probably have the best cheering section around. So take that, old guys.

Big swing

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (23)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

So I'm a little early and didn't get any actual bat to ball contact but here Siler has the face that says, "I'm gonna kill this ball." He actually did get a hit on this swing. I wish I would have use some of that quality continuous shooting on my camera; It's about 1.5 frames per second at best. I'm trying for contact photos next time for sure.

Ready

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (6)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

All-Star 2nd baseman 'Koz' is focused and ready to make the big play for The Riot. He keeps it all in the family, too; his dad is also on the team. These guys are no joke.

Yeah, it's softball

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (5)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

They pitch underhanded. Starting pitcher and team captain Ryan Friggin' Stahl winding back and dropping bombs on the other team. He was later thrown out of the game for arguing with the ump, which really was a pre-mature ejection. That's right.
I'm not crazy about the framing of this shot but I wanted to get Scotty in the background. Maybe we'll see a crop somewhere down the road.

Fouled out

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (20)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Check out the concentration on Flynch's face as he makes this out on a fly ball that sails foul. The outfielders are already coming in because they know this guy is the man and there's no shot he's going to drop it. That's three up, three down... I think. Let's go Riot.

Bases juiced - wide shot

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (26)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I shot the whole day with my longer lens that ranges 70-300 mm but put on my standard zoom lense that came with my D70 and shot a nice wide shot while The Riot had the bases jammed. I stood on the small-ish spectator bleachers. Siler in the foreground rockin' the double zero.

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (24)

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (24)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

What a slacker. I promise the week of The Riot and then forget yesterday to post a photo from the softball game last weekend. Well, to make up for that, we're going to have THREE today! That's right folks, three photos taken by yours truely at the game.
He's 1B Scotty H holdin' it down with the quality Dragon shades and the mad sexy style.

Sandy V eyes it up

Riot softball sept 23 2006 (12)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This is the start of Riot Week on the Candy Captured By My Eye blog. All week long I'll feature a photo taken at my friends' softball game last weekend. Today we have my very good friend Chris getting ready to swing that fancy bat of his and whack one out of the park. ... or just pop out and walk back to the bench in tears. He's a wimp like that. Nah, we love him. Go git 'em, boyeeee!

Tree in courtyard

Tree in courtyard
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I have a 5x7 print of this framed in my room. On an overcast day I shot a bunch of pictures with my Coolpix in this little courtyard on the campus of MU. It's a cool place to just hang out. I like all the photos I took that day but this is among my favorites. Sweet tree.

Acura TL Type-S front wheel

Acura TL Type-S front wheel
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Acura makes some damn fine automobiles and the TL Type-S is among their finest in my opinion. It's like a super sweet Honda Accord, in a sense but this one is a beauty. Here's a nice angle of the front wheel as seen through my D70 at the 2006 Philadelphia International Auto Show.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I hope we've all had moments when we've just snapped a picture quickly with little regard to things like "framing" only to capture a moment perfectly. Well, this is one of my "accidentally awesome" pictures. MU Homecoming 2004, like I've said before, was a great day. Here, three of my best buds are tailgating and just plain keepin' it real for all the other homies. It was Halloween themed; that's not Todd's real hair. And he would never wear those sunglasses unless it was for comedic purposes. Rock on, bro.

View from Empire State Building

View from Empire State Building
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This one is pretty self explanatory. I shot it with my D70 last July. It was so hot and hazy. I wouldn't recommend New York City on a hot day. Not at all.
I've been slacking on the photo blog. If you've noticed I just want to say thanks and sorry. Thanks for checking back and looking for new posts; sorry for not keeping up with it as much as I should.

Fagers Island Aug. night

Fagers Island Aug. night
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

A little wild nighttime scene at Fagers Island in Ocean City, Maryland I shot in the Summer of '06. I like it.

Windex bottles

Windex bottles
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I set these bottles up and snapped a photo with my D70 while down in Sea Isle. I enjoy the colors and the message behind it: we have way too much Windex (but very clean windows).

Team Who's the Boss raining blows on Team Drama

Team Who's the Boss raining blows on Team Drama
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Photography is about timing. And I’m not talking about shutter speed (although it is very important as well). No, I’m talking about capturing a moment. To do so sometimes takes perfect timing. Well, here it is. You can die happily knowing you’ve witness a wonderful moment captured in time thanks to the power of photography. That’s right, here we have Team Who’s the Boss raining blows on Team Drama in what appears to be two dudes kicking the crap out of two helpless girls in the wreck room of my senior year college apartment. In reality, the guy on the right is trying to shake off the girl he appears to be stomping on and the other guy was really having trouble breaking away from his dark haired diva. I’m proud of this one because I think I got the angle right and the timing (with my Coolpix, mind you) is just perfect. Cheers to another comedic moment in photography history.

Disney 2005 (119)

Disney 2005 (119)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Shot from the small single (and very slow) boats in Disney World. I think it was the Polynesian Resort. Alessio and I went to the Boardwalk and then over to this hotel where we jumped aboard these little cruiser boats for a half hour and a small fee. Like I said, they were really slow but it was something different and I snapped some nice pictures with my Coolpix. The sky looks like this today so here’s a little blue sky loveliness for ya.

Red church in LB

red church
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I always enjoyed the aesthetics of this church on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch, NJ but I don’t really know much else about it. It’s red. This is one of the shots I took when I went camera happy just days after I started using my D70. The semi-wide angle of it works well with the tall portrait style of the photo, in my opinion. The sky is blown out but the red of the bricks comes through nicely.

roosters gone wild

roosters gone wild
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Shot with my D70 just on Sunday at my dad's house on the "outskirts" of my hometown, Marlton, NJ. I'm pretty sure this guy was not too happy with my sticking a camera all up in his grill, hence showing off the guns... I mean, uhh, wings.

bending light

bending light
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

The back roads to Long Beach Island in the middle of South Jersey. I happened to have my D70 in the car so I pulled over and thought it'd be nice to snap a few photos of this little lake in the Pine Barrens. A bee stung me on the face as I shot this one. Yeah... thanks bee. I shot a couple more than drove off thinking three things: a) it's a good thing I'm not allergic to bees. b) at least it'll make for a good caption and c) my face hurts.

tasty smirk

tasty smirk
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Duotone of my awesomely crazy brother eating corn nibblets with his hands while cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner.

Curving pillars

Curving pillars
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

A cloudy day provided great lighting for this magnificent piece of the Monmouth University landscape. Some great pictures came out that day. Shot with my old Coolpix.

Two good gals

Two good gals
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Sometimes you just know when you’ve snapped a winner. I knew I liked this picture the second I shot it back in January of 2005 in Long Branch, NJ. It snowed at least six inches the night before, forcing us to attempt to push each other along the snowy Cedar Avenue in a shopping cart. As far as the movement, there wasn’t much, except for Jim taking a dive into a pile of plowed snow. The moment created a priceless photo, maybe I’ll put it up here someday. Our intimate snow celebration that night was one of the best night’s we had in those apartments. The next day we did what all kids do… we went sledding. The only twist was the rocky banks of the Atlantic Ocean. No one made it all the way to the water because – surprisingly enough – sand doesn’t make for very good sledding, I don’t care if you’re “The Flying Tomato.” Jim stripped down to his PJs while standing on a covered lifeguard stand. Another great picture. It was a great couple days and I thank MU for being wimpy enough to cancel classes. This picture brings back all those memories, and more.

Lady Liberty

Lady Liberty
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This will be my last photo post until after the July 4 Holiday and what better way to recognize the celebration of our nation's Declaration of Independence than with a symbol of America. Lady Liberty stands an impressive 105 feet tall on a hazy July day in the New York Harbor nearly 120 years after she was dedicated as gift from the French. Visitors can get a decent view of her by riding the Staten Island Ferry out of the southern tip of Manhattan for free. That's how I got this one, but I used a fairly strong zoom lens.

This too shall pass

This too shall pass
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

There's nothing too fancy about this photo in my opinion. It's about as straightforward as could be. I stood looking east, the ocean is just ahead and the writing on the back of the building housing the world famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ says "This too shall pass." The phrase is open to interpretation and I think it was intended to comment on Asbury, a town that is just down on its luck in so many ways.
While other photos I've posted of Asbury have a fairly depressing tone, I thought it was time for some optimism. "This too shall pass" reminds me that even though stuff might suck right now, the tough days will be gone eventually. All we can hope is that they get easier before they get tougher; but I unfortunately doubt that.

Eeyor smokes?

Eeyor smokes?
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This one just cracks me up. Mark and Josh at MU's Homecoming back in Oct. 2004. Damn, that was a long time ago. It was a great day; we were just getting started as Eeyor was putting his "hands" back on after lighting up a delicious smoke. Josh, dressed as... umm, himself, looks on envying the nicotine goodness.

Hazy Hotel

Hazy Hotel
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

The Hilton in Hollywood, CA. While there last March I was served a quality dose of heat with a side of humidity. I was actually surprised at how warm it was that time of year. It was a great trip and the hotel was pretty nice. We had the most fun room. Frank beat up Josh one night then went in the hot tube. Good times.
I'm posting this today because we are starting to really get into those summer hazy days here in dirty Jers. I'm happy it's summer. But bump humidity.

Corner pocket

Corner pocket
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This guy making his second appearance on my photoblog. I shot this with my D70 last Halloween at a party.

10 dollar orchid

10 dollar orchid
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Cheapest orchid I ever bought. Last year I was given two orchid plants as a gift and they were like $35 a piece. Granted they didn't get the best care, they were both shot in about 6 months. It felt like a huge waste. This one was 10 bucks at Produce Junction and is great. One nice spring evening I moved them outside and shot a few close-ups with my D70. This is one of the best ones. Thumbnail does not do it justice.

View from shotgun of the plane

View from shotgun of the plane
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Do planes have shotguns? As in the front seat. I suppose they do. I sat next to the driver/flyer. This was the view for about an hour and half. Trees, water, trees, and guess what, water. It made me feel good that there are parts of the earth that still look like this. New Jersey is the Garden State, but we certainly don't have this much open green space. I couldn't live up there in Canada, but I'll go back anytime. You flyin'?
Shot this one with my awesome D70. It's one of my favs from the whole trip; I'm surprised I haven't posted it on this photo blog until now.

Smiling statue

Smiling
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Here's a nice little shot I took a while back with my Coolpix on the campus of Monmouth University. These statues are part of the whole Wilson Hall landscape. I like this one because it seems as though there should be a speech or thought bubble coming out of the statues face, don't you think?

Wrong Way

Wrong Way
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

The sky looks like this today: blue with a side of blue. It's warm. And I like it. I'm thankful I don't live in Asbury Park but I wouldn't mind going in the ocean on a day like today. I shot this with my D70 when I first got it last May. I went camera happy down in Asbury one afternoon. This is one of my favorites. Oh, the symbolism...

NYC park b&w

NYC park bw
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

A small park in midtown Manhattan, sorry I forget the name. It was a nice March afternoon, I'd wondered off with my Coolpix. I thought the shadows would make for a decent b&w shot, and I was right. It's nothing too fancy or great, but it's nice. New York has character. I'll be there tonight for a Radiohead show but I probably won't ever go outside in this great city because I'm arriving at Penn Station via train and MSG is directly above. It's okay, I've seen a lot of the city in my travels.

Larouche beach

Larouche beach
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

The thumbnail of this one does not do it justice at all. Make sure you click the photo. Then, if you want, click "All sizes" to see the whole thing. It was Bruce and Hank fishing off the dock that afternoon. That whole week the weather was beautiful. The rock serving as an ancor the boat is acting as the starting point for my photo. The puffy white clouds finish it off nicely with help from the crystal clear sky. Probably the most "artsy" shot I took all week. My only complaint is that I didn't pay attention to the horizon and it turned out lopsided.
I'm starting to really wish I'd jumped on board for this year's fishing trip to our neighbor of the north. Weeks spent fishing on a private lake in the middle of nowhere Canada are the most relaxing I've ever experienced. Maybe next year.

Cinderella's Castle

Castle
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

It's a real Disney World photo. I liked the angle of this one and how much headroom I left on it. The clouds were really cool looking. January is the best time to visit Florida. Don't go to Disney World in the summer; it's so damn hot and there are crazy people everywhere. Lots of 'em. Eat at the restaurant on the second floor called Cinderella's Royal Table ... and make a reservation.

rose in Disney

rose in Disney
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Just a nice flower for ya. It was growing in a garden in Epcot in Disney World. We'd stopped walking because someone yelled "Liza!?" Random people in Disney, a got a white rose shot out of it. This one shot with my Coolpix.

Homecoming 2004 - jdh (79)

Homecoming 2004 - jdh (79)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Can't go wrong with a pink car! I just don't like the reflections in this one. I snapped these really quick when walking to an opposite side of the parking lot during the Homecoming tailgate in late October, 2004. It was an awesome day, followed by a crazy night of spraying champagne and drinking from a gigantic trophy. Well, here's a pink car. Looks like a Chevy from the 50's, but I'm not positive.

Wilson Hall in Fall '04

Wilson Hall in fall '04
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I'm thinking I need some more color on this page; it's looking a little blah at the moment. Hopefully I'll put some more photos up on Flickr soon and then I'll have more of a pool to draw from if I wish. There are still a lot I would like to add to this blog, but I often forget which have been added and which ones have not yet. We're going to have a solid few days heading into the weekend. Sorry for the long lapse of no photos.
This is Wilson Hall, once summer home for President Woodrow Wilson and also the filming location for the famous musical Annie. Now it's part of Monmouth University's diverse and beautiful landscape. This angle of the mansion serves as the seal of the university. I think I should have taken a step or two to the right, but hey, close enough. This was a great fall afternoon for pictures. I love the shadows and the orange tree in the background.

Tim making crazy juice

bombs
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Jager in Redbull is a good combination if you feel like destroying your body in pretty much every way imaginable. But hey, we do what we can. As you can see, there were plenty of "bulls" out that night. This is a Sea Isle pic. I'll be there in less than 24 hrs, hopefully.

Waves crashing into rocks

Waves crashing into rocks
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I plan to spend plenty of quality time with the Atlantic Ocean this weekend. The water will probably be slightly chilly still, but I'm sure I'll make it in there a couple times. Weather should be beautiful and I'm really excited to just get down to the shore and relax. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, kids.

silver tower

silver tower
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I brought my camera to work one day because I thought this silver tower thing would make for a decent photo. While it didn't turn out quite like I'd pictured it, I guess it's okay. The weather was beautiful that day as spring turns into summer.

N. balcony view

N. balcony view
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

It's Monday morning and being here is what's keeping me going. Hopefully I'll be there Thursday night; Friday afternoon at the latest. Sitting on the deck with a nice vodka and a friggin' smile on my face. If I look to the right the waves will be rolling up to the shore line and people will be going down the ramp too fast. Wawa's only two blocks away and the "No shower happy hour" starts at four at the OD. I'm so there. PS-we love fat people.

Curvy green and purple benches

nyc green and purple park
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Here's a photo that captures more of the everyday, not-so-famous, character of New York City. Some say New York is the best city in the world, and it's tough to argue against that, but I haven't been too every city. And while London will always hold a special place in my heart, I love New York. I also love the colors green and purple together, it reminds me of Jack Nicholson in Batman.

Guarding the library

Guarding the library
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I'm going to New York tomorrow so it's a double dose of NYC pics today. Here's the first: one of the famous lions "guarding" the library. I believe this one is named Fortitude. His buddy, Patience, is on the other side of the entrance. The library opened in 1911, the same year all the candy corn in the world was made. I shot with my Coolpix while attending a college newspaper convention in March 2005 with my lovely ladies Bev and Jackie. I wondered off one day and took some pictures, what a surprise.

Abandoned

Abandoned
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Inside there were hundreds of volunteers cleaning, fixing, painting, decorating and working to make the Boys and Girls Club of Asbury Park a better place for the young kids to have fun. Look out the second story window and here's the view (in black and white). I took a lot of pictures that day to augment the story I was writing about the Big Event for The Outlook, unfortunately this is the best one, in my opinion. A view of an abandoned house, dissected by power lines, cluttered with discarded bulk waste.

Brown Caddy

Brown Caddy
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

This is big pimpin' to the max. This big brown Caddy is from the 50's era and pictured here fully restored, cleaned up and showing it's hot curves off as part of the Homecoming celebrations at MU. The only bummer about this one is the reflection of the minivan. Oh well. Still a cool car.

Pink lily

Pink lily
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

Yesterday was Mother's Day and a lot of flowers were passed around. These are "Easter Flowers" but I think they still fit with the whole give flowers to your mom because she likes them theme. Shot these in my backyard a couple weeks ago.

Joe plays Grassfest

Jenkinsons and Grassfest (57)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

I like to switch things up on this photo blog, if you haven't noticed. Like it says at the top: I try to keep things suspenseful.
Last night while uploading photos onto Flickr I looked at a lot of older pics from college that I hadn't seen in a while. Oh nostalgia! This one happened to be taken on one of my favorite days I ever had in college. And what's weird is that it was taken exactly one year ago today on May 11, 2005. I didn't realize that until just now. I could lie and say that I did that on purpose, but we're going for honesty here.
Anyway, we'd been drinking in the sun down in Pt. Pleasant at a senior week event and then I decided we needed a keg for our miniature front yard. Joe busted out the acoustic. What a fantastic day. One year ago.

Boston corner

Boston (13)
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Dean H..

In November of 2004 I went on a weekend trip to Boston and had a great time in an awesome city. I took a lot of pictures and this is one of my favorites for some reason. I think it's the angles and the blue sky that really do it for me. We'd just walked through this big outdoor market along the harbor and we re-grouping on this corner so I pulled out my Coolpix and shot this.

Smooth landing

These little, old Cessna planes are the only way to get to and from the small cabins on the lakes up in Canada where Caesars Outfitters provides fishing and hunting trips. We fish for northern pike and walleye. I've gone on these week-long excursions three times now and each year I appreciate the quiet time away from civilization more and more. Last August it was basically six of us alone on a lake for a week miles and miles away from anyone/thing. Really a fantastic trip. Not cheap, of course.
This is one of the best pictures I shot on the entire trip, I think. I love the way the water looks. He was coming to pick us up at the end of our week and the propeller was off; he was gliding in to dock this baby. We are always sad to leave.
More Canada pictures to come soon.

Faux ghost town?

Asbury Park used to be a vibrant hub of fun and excitement at the Jersey shore. Now it's a run down crap hole of abandoned buildings and poor people. I believe corruption was the cause for the demise of this once wonderful summertime getaway between New York and Atlantic City. The Garden State Parkway is also to blame, so I've heard. Folks traveling from the north down to places such as AC would have to pass through Asbury, so why not make a day (and night) out of it. There was a big boardwalk, a casino, restaurants, bars, amusement parks, carnival games etc. Not to mention, a pretty great beach. The Parkway allowed people to bypass all of it, apparently. Best road ever, huh? Ha!
I like this photo. It's the old abandoned casino towards the south end of this Jersey shore lost treasure. I shot it on a warm May afternoon. There might have been two or three other people on the boardwalk. Eerie in a way. It's like time stands still here; a ghost town of sorts.