THE LITTLE CAROLER
Tom Caruso of Smithtown snapped this photo while in Port Jefferson on Nov. 27. He writes, ‘It was nighttime and my wife and son were strolling down the streets in the village taking in the holiday sights. I spotted this doll in a shop window and the lighting perfectly painted the doll’s face against the darkened store’s interior. I couldn’t resist it.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]
AUTUMN FAWN
Tom Caruso snapped this photo of a young whitetail deer in a meadow at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in his hometown of Smithtown on Dec. 6. He writes, ‘I followed a small herd of deer for a while and was amazed by how comfortable they were with my presence. I snapped this picture of the smallest deer as it took a break from grazing to check me out. It was a great experience getting so close to them.’
Send your Photo of the Week to leisure@tbrnewspapers.com
PURE AUTUMN
Tom Caruso of Smithtown recently snapped this closeup of a pot of mums at Pantaleons Farmstand in East Setauket. He writes, ‘[The photo] captures my favorite fall colors. It was late afternoon when my wife and I stopped by the farmstand to buy some pumpkins, gourds and mums. The afternoon sun bathed these mums in a golden light that was too good to pass up.
Send your Photo of the Week to leisure@tbrnewspapers.com
THREE’S COMPANY
Tom Caruso of Smithtown visited the David Weld Nature Sanctuary in Nissequogue over Labor Day weekend and noticed several butterflies and bees clustering on thistles in the meadow. He snapped this beautiful photo showing two different butterflies and a small wasp (in center) all sharing one flower. He writes, ‘Nice way to bring summer to an end.’
Send your Photo of the Week to leisure@tbrnewspapers.com
SOCIAL DISTANCING FAUX PAS
Tom Caruso of Smithtown captured this exciting meeting at Mayor Jeanne Garant Harborfront Park in Port Jefferson on June 14. The village has been the place to be this week with families (and dogs) enjoying the beautiful weather and picturesque water views.
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]
Churches, mosques and synagogues can reopen as Suffolk County enters Phase Two of its reopening this Wednesday, albeit with only 25 percent capacity.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that these houses of worship could admit community members and that religious leaders were responsible for ensuring compliance with the public health guidelines designed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s an important time for our faith-based communities to be opened back up,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on his daily conference call with reporters. “Our faith-based communities are ready to this. They understand what needs to be done.”
Separately, as protests continue on Long Island and throughout the world after the killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd at the hands of a former police officer, who has been charged with his murder, public officials are engaging in ongoing conversations with community leaders bout ways to create greater equity and opportunity for everyone.
“There are areas for us to make progress,” Bellone said. “There is more work to be done.”
Bellone suggested the police department can look to make itself more diverse so that it “reflects in terms of its diversity the communities it serves across the county. That’s a priority for us.”
Bellone said conversations about equal opportunities occurred before the killing of Floyd and are moving into a “new phase” amid the protests and demonstrations.
Viral Numbers
The number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 rose by 39 to 40,239 over the last day.
The number of residents in the hospital due to the pandemic declined by 13 to 200, while the number of people in Intensive Care Unit beds declined by one to 53 through June 4th.
An additional 24 people left the hospital over the last day.
The number of people who died due to complications related to COVID-19 in the last day was five, bringing the total to 1,923.
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: Tom Caruso
Hometown: Smithtown
Day job: Professional Software Engineer/Development Manager, Broadridge Financial Solutions
Photographer: I developed an interest in photography at an early age, influenced by greats like Ansel Adams. My parents gave me my first 35mm camera in 1972 and my life was forever changed.
Favorite camera: The Nikon D850. I purchased it in December, 2018, and it’s an amazing camera with an incredible sensor.
Favorite lenses: I presently own two lenses for the D850. My walking around lens is an AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm 1:4 G ED and I found this to be a great workhorse giving me the flexibility I need for most shots. When I need tack-sharp images for macros or in dark settings I switch to my AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 G prime lens. Both lenses were refurbished by Nikon when I purchased them.
Favorite locations: I am fortunate to have several beautiful places near my Smithtown home and I visit them frequently to catch them at various times of day and different seasons. These places include Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, Long Beach, Short Beach, Blydenburgh County Park, The David Weld Sanctuary, Stony Brook Harbor, Stony Brook Duck Pond, Kings Park Psychiatric Center and Nissequogue River State Park.
Have you entered any photo contests? My first photo contest was the 2020 Friends of Caleb Smith State Park Preserve The Beauty of Caleb Smith State Park Preserve My image “Deer in Snowstorm” won Honorable Mention in the adult division. I also entered the 2020 Gurwin photo contest. The winners will be announced later this year.
Favorite aspect about taking photos: Landscape and nature photography gives me the opportunity to be outdoors. I love communing with nature and I am happiest when I am wandering in the woods with my camera in hand on a beautiful autumn day. Another aspect of photography I enjoy is knowing that my images bring happiness to others.
Best advice to get that perfect shot: There are a lot of photographic rules that we are told make a great photograph. I sometimes adhere to them but I shoot more on instinct. I know a great shot when I see it whether or not it follows the rules. Always keep your eyes wide open and moving when on a shoot. When in the wild with your camera you have to engage all your senses to find your next capture, not just sight. A faint sound of a crunching leaf turned out to be a snake which lead to one of the photos in this essay. The enormity of a forest can be intimidating but you have to see everything from the largest to the smallest subjects, from a mighty tree to a delicate spider web and all things in between. It is not enough to see the image for what it is but you have to visualize what it could become when post processing. If you do these things you don’t have to look for the perfect shot: it will find you.
See more of Tom’s photos at www.tomcarusophotography.com.
DIVING IN
Tom Caruso of Smithtown was in the right place at the right time when he snapped this photo on Nov. 23. He writes, ‘I was photographing the river at the Nissequogue River State Park when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned to see this deer jumping into the river to escape someone’s dog who had chased it out of the woods. I quickly snapped a few shots and was lucky to get this one just as the deer hit the water. He swam across the river and exited on Short Beach.’
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]
A TIME TO BE THANKFUL
Tom Caruso of Smithtown captured this spectacular sunset at Stony Brook Harbor on Oct. 13. He writes, ‘My wife and I were returning from the Shoppes at East Wind when I saw the sky turning beautiful colors as I turned toward the harbor. I was stunned by the sight and got my camera out of my bag and started snapping away. I was among at least eight people photographing it in the parking lot across from the Three Village Inn.’
CALLING IT A DAY
Tom Caruso of Smithtown captured this quintessential Long Island scene at Sunken Meadow State Park with a Nikon D850 on June 9 just before sunset. He writes, ‘This fisherman had waded a good distance out into the water at the base of the Kings Park Bluffs and was casting for a long time. As night fell around him, he threw his last cast, reeled in his line and returned to shore empty handed but was bathed in the beautiful colors of sunset.’
Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]
Prev
