The Observation Deck

Today we all are citizens of Paris. We are watching the decline of human civilization.

Alex,

How very sad this all is. I remember a friend of mine once telling me that the Devil just sits back and laughs because he doesn't have to do any work anymore. There are plenty of people out there doing his work for him. We should all pray for these people and pray for our own country as well.

I visited the Solstice Steps and took some fish-eye photos and panorama shots.


http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... tice-steps

11/16/15

Wow! the "light" that the "Bernie Burn" casts is bright and fervent!

I covered his appearance in Cleveland with Mike Deneen and Donna Kolis.


http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... -cleveland

An interesting video made about Lakewood's refugee children caught my attention


https://vimeo.com/130921651

11/23/15

I've been looking for a barbershop close to my house that I can walk to and has a barber who does exactly what I want done. So, I see there's a new barbershop within 3 blocks run by Arabs. As I'm getting my hair cut, I engage Al, who is an Iraqi refugee and has been here for 6 years. You know what's interesting about this?

When we engage with strangers, they don't stay so strange anymore. This whole nationwide paranoia/xenophobia in regard to refugees is sad to say the least. As we talked, I realized how much we were alike. I "caught the light" - the "light" of what it means to be a member of the human race with similar desires, wants, and needs. There but for the grace of God or chance, I could have been him and he could've been me. Yes, there are evil people out there in the guise of normalcy but that's the case for indigenous Americans also, maybe even more so?

Anyway, here's a picture of Al and a link to my "Faces of Lakewood" page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakewoodFaces/ ... tif_t=like

Alex-- One of the many attractions of Lakewood is the relative ease of starting up your own business-- storefront, service or whatever. This is a great example of that. In fact--- "those people" can easily set up shop and fit in. If they succeed after a couple of years people can't remember a time without their favorite barber!
Stan

Thanksgiving Day 2015 - my 1st as a Lakewood resident.

I did my 1st communal shoot with members of Cool Photo Ops and the Cleveland Photographic Society in Edgewater Park looking east toward Cleveland as a full moon rose above the downtown skyline.

The moon's "face" lit up a path westward toward Lakewood in this shot. And as I sit here imbibing in her beauty, I'm thankful for all my new Lakewood friends.

Who/What are you thankful for the Thanksgiving Day?

Alex (just being thankful for the "light in Lakewood"

Sometimes we see "faces" of people from our past or former neighborhoods and it makes one wonder how small this world is. This is the "face" of Chris DeVito whose parents lived in the same building complex I lived in, in the Bronx (NYC)

"Wow! you used to live in Co-op City!"

"Well, my parents moved there and we used to go there all the time and yell out the window at kids who got too close to my father's car. (laughing). We liked going to the bagel shop and I remember the barber shop nearby."

"Who would have thought I would meet someone, not only from NYC but the same neighborhood in NYC here in Lakewood!"

I wonder if he's related to Jim DeVito who's the moderator for the Deck?

I covered my 1st LHS Varsity Girls basketball home opener which they won against Avon Lake. I also managed to see the end of the JV game and was quite impressed. What I like about covering LHS events is the easy access I have and the hospitality offered to me by coaches and staff.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... basketball

12/4/15

Did my 1st basketball photo shoot at St. Ed's in their home opener vs. Bedford which they won.

As for "catching the light" this was the 1st time I had trouble with my white balance in a gym in Lakewood. When I spoke to another photographer, she had the same problem so I think it's an issue with all their pennants hanging from the ceiling and their shiny floor which is messing up the reflective lighting patterns?

Anyway, here's a link to my photo album: http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... ome-opener

12/5/15

My 1st "Light Up Lakewood"' event also pointing to my 1st Christmas in Lakewood and with that another technical "catching the light" camera issue of trying to use flash and still maintain an accurate white balance with the many different lighting setups on Detroit Ave. at night.

Anyway, I was very impressed with crowd numbers, nearly equalling NYC numbers. Ian Andrews brought this to my attention as I was photographing near their main stage and invited me up onto the stage to take pictures of these vast multitudes.

http://lakewoodobserver.com/photoblogs/ ... ewood-2015

I've decided to advertise my skill set with photography since "catching the light" includes beautiful music too, right?

Here's a link to my most recent work:


http://www.earthandairstringorchestra.com/

After learning of Lakewood's decision to close its hospital, I'm sure glad my wife broke her ankle as badly as she did before this decision was made. Must be that some people in this town don't expect to have a traumatic incident to ever occur to them?


But this is no different than NYC in the Bronx where Montefiore has everyone in their pocket. Here, it's Cleveland Clinic.

Alex Belisle wrote:After learning of Lakewood's decision to close its hospital, I'm sure glad my wife broke her ankle as badly as she did before this decision was made. Must be that some people in this town don't expect to have a traumatic incident to ever occur to them?


But this is no different than NYC in the Bronx where Montefiore has everyone in their pocket. Here, it's Cleveland Clinic.

I hope she is recovering well. Might I suggest one minor edit to your post: "... Lakewood's decision to close YOUR hospital ..."