Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Team Effort
zipline in the backyard

More fun at Grandma and Grandpa's in Ohio.... a zipline!
アメリカのおじいちゃんとおばあちゃんの裏庭にジップラインを作りました。

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 180 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cousin Grace
9 years old
グレーシいとこ

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cousin Luke
7 years old
ルックいとこ

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cousin Claire
4½ years old
クレアいとこ

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony
11¾ years old

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 110 — map & image data — nearby photos
Uncle Mikey
10,000 million years old ( or in other words, “adult” )
マイクおじちゃん（私の兄）

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Reset in Progress

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hanging Style

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lack of Style

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Crazy Style

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tarzan Style
though Luke called it “Pirate Style”

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — map & image data — nearby photos
Smile Style

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Discus(?) Style

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 125 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
Catch
someone had to be there to stop the kids from splattering against the tree

Continued here...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
With Silly Determination
or perhaps a determination to be silly
Rootstown Ohio

It's been almost five years since a boat ride at Grandma and Grandpa's, so we did it again yesterday along with two of Anthony's cousins.

アメリカのおじいちゃんとおばあちゃんの裏庭にボートを乗りました。

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cousin Luke
on his 7th birthday
ルックいとこ

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony and Grace
and their “beverages” of choice
( my soda and her bubble juice )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cousin Grace
9 years old
グレーシいとこ

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony and Luke

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
11¾ years old

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/320 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Grace and Luke
my brother Mike's older two of three

Continued here...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony and Arjun
Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

On Day Two of our short trip to visit my friends Ram and Julia, we woke up to a Julia's preparations for breakfast. I normally don't eat breakfast, and when I do I'm a bowl-of-cereal kind of guy, so this was a nice slice of class...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 140 — image data
Breakfast Preparations

Julia was about to start the eggs, but at our insistence let Anthony do them. In his school's home-ec class, Anthony had come up with a really great way to make scrambled eggs, so he put that to use for everyone.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 — image data
Eggs

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28mm — ¹/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250 — image data
Master Chef at Work

After breakfast we headed out to the local dog run to give their dog some exercise.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Brothers Being Cute
Shiv and Arjun

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Arriving at the Dog Run
Milwaukee River Greenway Dog Run

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38mm — ¹/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Playing Around

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Then we headed over to the Discovery World Museum to check out all the fun exhibits....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
at Milwaukee's Discovery World Museum

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Checking Out the Collective
of a helicopter

I could have spent hours here on my own, checking out things like a working auto transmission with half the casing cut away so you could see how the gears and such work inside.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 450 — map & image data — nearby photos
No Idea
what these mirrors were for, but they looked cool

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Silly Science

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Taking a Nap

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
As Comfy as a Bed of Nails

Julia tried the bed of nails, which gave Anthony the courage to try as well...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/4, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Looks Ouchy
but apparently isn't

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/4, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
That was Weird

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/4, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mattress

So “a nail in a bed of nails” is the answer to the A Pointy “What am I?” Quiz from the other day.

To be continued...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Midwestern Ocean
Anthony at Lake Michigan for the first time
Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

It's been ages since I've been able to visit my friend and best man at my wedding Ram Kulkarni and his wife Julia, so I took a long weekend to pop over to visit him at his house in suburban Milwaukee. (I had been scheduled to visit last January, but had that canceled by the “arctic freeze”.)

Popping over from Ohio involves an hour flight to Chicago, and then a 20-minute flight to Milwaukee...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm — ¹/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Changing Planes
Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1800 — image data
Snacks from Kyoto
Ram with his older son, Shiv

It was my first time to meet his boys Shiv (8) and Arjun (4), and for Ram and Julia to meet Anthony (11).

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Short Walk to the Beach

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Quick Friends
Arjun quickly latched on to Anthony

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Public Library
privately-owned publicly-available swap and share book boxes are popular there

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Wide, Shaded Streets
I really liked the feel of Whitefish Bay

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
First View of the Lake
Lake Michigan

The nearest shore is 75 miles away, which means that something there would need to be more than 1.15km tall before it would start to pop out above the horizon. Suffice to say that the view is essentially the same as of the open ocean.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Small Play Area

This was a small, secluded play area, but a mile or two to the south was a huge public park with big wide sandy beaches with dozens of packed volley-ball courts, families picnicking, and young people frolicking, just like most any beach in California. I wasn't expecting that.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Boys Love Skipping Rocks

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Boys Love Skipping Rocks

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Checkin' Stuff Out

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/640 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Photo Op
wondering what the camera will capture

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Being a Four-Year-Old Boy

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/1600 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Being Fussy
Anthony and Shiv still hadn't “clicked” as friends by this point,
and this was making Anthony impatient with me and the camera

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Unintentionally
mimicking the look of his great great grandfather

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pausing at the Park
Julia and Arjun

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 110 — map & image data — nearby photos
Soccer Star

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Soccer Star

Shiv and Anthony didn't click with soccer either, but upon return home, they found the means to drop all barriers and become buddies...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/160 sec, f/5, ISO 4000 — image data
Squirt-Gun Fight!

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27mm — ¹/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280 — image data
Hamming it Up While Refilling
as I shoot safely from behind a window

They were having such fun together that I had to put myself in harm's way and get among them with the camera...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — image data
Arjun About to Attack

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 280 — image data
“Action Shot”
nothing in focus

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — image data
The Look On Their Faces Say Everything

Anthony's says “You're not going to dump that helmet full of water on me, are you?” Shiv's says “Yes, oh yes, I most certainly am!”

Unfortunately for Shiv, his mom stopped him, and Anthony was able to escape. Personally, I was hoping to see Anthony get soaked. Anyway, again, you can see everything via the looks on their faces:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 44mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — image data
Reversal of Fortune

From then on they were all easy friends, and we spent three days there, so of course this is Continued here...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/4, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pointy
What (and Why) am I?

Time for another “What am I?” quiz. What, exactly, is in the photo above, and what's it for?