The Holidays Are Coming- You’re Gonna Need a Camera Let Us Help You Decide Which One Best Fits Your Needs

I’m going to give my recommendations based on several categories, but invite you our readers to ask questions and hope our other contributors who have other opinions than mine can chime in with their suggestions as well.  Please feel free to ask a question in the comment section if you would like more information about which camera is best for you.  Add your comments if you have other recommendations as well. We’re here to help!

Best Point and Shoot Sub $200-

Olympus XZ-1 Digital Camera

It has a super fast 1.8 lens and will allow you to capture great photos in low light.  This camera for this price is an excellent value.  It is limited by a not huge zoom but the picture quality is going to be better than anything else in its class for this price.  There are larger zoom cameras out there for this price but these cameras are usually used indoors for birthday parties and such and that fast 1.8 lens is going to capture those moments about 100 times better than a slow point and shoot with a long zoom. 

You can get it on Amazon No Tax Here

image

 

Best Point and Shoot Super Zoom-

Marty’s Canon SX40 HS 12.1MP Digital Camera with 35x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

What you get here is a very versatile camera that when you have decent amount of light will get you across the Harbor and into someone’s bedroom.  In low light the picture quality will fall apart but for those vacationers who want to zoom in on the action this is a great camera for the price-

Get the Canon SX40  for $349  here

image

Best All Around Value Sub $500-

Sony NEX-5N

Here is a Gallery of Photos I’ve Taken With Mine

The Camera I use is currently being offered for $478 with the kit lens.  I bought one for the Mrs I like mine so much.  It has a large sensor and a ton of cool features in a relatively small footprint.  You can fit it in a jacket pocket but not a jeans pocket.  I like it’s light weight compared to a full sized DSLR.  The lenses for it can be slightly more expensive compared to the full sized DSLR’s like father Matthew’s Sony A65 (an awesome camera in it’s own right).  More lenses are being announced for the NEX series it seems monthly and the prices have been coming down on them.

I would buy the Sony NEX-5N with the kit lens and if I had a little extra pocket change the Sony 35mm 1.8 lens for incredible low light performance in a light weight package.

I paid $689 for mine just a year ago and at the price it is being offered right now, I wouldn’t hesitate a second recommending it.

Buy it here no tax and no questions asked return policy from Amazon-Sony NEX-5N

 

image

 

image

Best Value DSLR-

Father Matthew’s Sony A65

Here is a Gallery of Photos Father Matthew Has taken With His

The Camera Fr Matthew uses takes pictures that speak for themselves.   It’s a beast and coupled with the 18-135mm lens you‘ll have an incredibly versatile piece of kit to take incredible photos or video.  If I didn’t care so much about keeping things lightweight I’d buy the camera he uses. 

You can buy this combo for $1198 at Amazon here or with the kit 18-55 for $998 (I’d suggest the 18-1356 for that much more versatility with that longer zoom.

image

There are a TON of lens options for this camera and as a second lens I’d buy the Sony 35mm 1.8 (Sony Alpha SAL35F18 A-mount Wide Angle Lens)  these small wide primes are soooo much fun to shoot with.  You don’t need it right away because the Sony A65 is so capable in low light to begin with, but once you shoot with a fast wide prime you’ll understand what I mean about fun.

image

Windmill Chatter

Paul Korn writes-

We are so proud of our city as it moves solidly into the 21st century.  Some may complain that it ruins the view.  Every morning, I see this glorious structure (the first of three) as I walk on Good Harbor Beach.  It  is a visible commitment to doing our part to create cleaner energy, not to mention making a statement that we care and will act on our values.  (And we will be saving money!)

Paul R. Korn

gloucester windmill


Loretta Ligor forwards anti Windmill Articles-

image

Ten years too late, it’s good riddance to wind farms – one of the most dangerous delusions of our age

Energy Minister John Hayes has announced no more wind farms are allowed to be built in the UK

The significance of yesterday’s shock announce-ment by our Energy Minister John Hayes that the Government plans to put a firm limit on the building of any more onshore windfarms is hard to exaggerate.

Video- A Ride With The Bean Part II

Part II Of The Conversation with The Bean on the way to The Lone Gull

Warning: It’s a little silly.

image

Video- A Fall Ride East Gloucester To The Fort

Filmed November 11th 2012

Shot with the $89 Kodak Zx3 and Kayalu nClamp

image

Community Photos 11/11/12

Stormy Weather from Kathy Chapman

Photo © Kathy Chapman 2012

http://www.kathychapman.com

ChapmanStorms

 


John Wright submits-

This house boat secure in safe harbor for the winter. Saturday morning 11/10.

IMG_7683IMG_7684

SSSSNAKE DAY AT TOODELOOS TODAY!!!

-Snake Day at Toodeloos!

The fun starts at 1 PM with

3 Guys With Cards-

Three awesome guys performing slight of hand and magical card tricks sure to bewilder even the most intelligent of humans!

and then……SNAKES!

Rick and The Vernal Pond Team will be here with exotic snakes for you to learn about, touch and hold (If you dare!)

Please join us for these two back-to-back exciting events. Ssssssssseee you Ssssssunday 🙂

142 Main St.                       
Gloucester MA 01930
978-281-2011

http://Toodeloos.com

Community Stuff 11/11/12

Tom Lattof Recipient of the Seacoast "Service to Seniors" 2012 Award

Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Community Breakfast took place on November 8.   The Seacoast "Service to Seniors" 2012 award was presented to Thomas "Tom" Lattof of Gloucester .

The dining room at Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was filled to capacity with community friends who attended to thank Tom for his many hours of dedicated hours in serving seniors of the Cape Ann community. left to right: Stephen Doyle, Seacoast Executive Director, Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello, Service to Senor award recipient Tom Lattof, Grace Lattof, State Senator Bruce Tarr, President and CEO Northeast Senior Health James Dunne.

Tom 001

FRIENDS OF SEACOAST MEETING

There is a meeting of the Friends of Seacoast on Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 6 PM.  Anyone wishing to come is welcome to see the projects in the works to help the residents of Seacoast stay connected to the community.

The meeting is on the top floor in the conference room at Seacoast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Tom Lattof

Chairman


YARD SALE TO BENEFIT CAPE ANN ANIMAL AID
Indoor yard sale to benefit Cape Ann Animal Aid. Saturday, November 10th from 10am-2pm and Sunday, November 11th from 11am-2pm at 260 Main Street, Gloucester. Great items including collectibles, crafts, puzzles, audio books, jewelry, gifts, luggage, decorations, snow people, pet supplies, house wares, etc. Buck-A-Bag on Sunday after 1:30pm!

image

Video- A Ride With The Bean Part I

The Bean Films Our Ride & Conversation On The Way To The Lone Gull

image

Chickity Check It!- Gloucester fishing boat washes up on Cohasset shores after storm Pics From Boston Harbor Beacon

Boston Harbor Beacon Writes-

Gloucester fishing boat washes up on Cohasset shores after storm

Posted on November 10, 2012 by admin

This week’s Nor’easter, packing wind gusts up to 50mph, swept a Gloucester fishing boat all the way across Massachusetts Bay. This morning, while driving down Jerusalem Road in Cohasset, I was surprised to see the boat was still there, so I took these pictures from the street (the vessel appears to be on private property, so I couldn’t get much closer). The location of this vessel is near the intersection of Jerusalem Road and Atlantic Ave. Evidently, the boat broke from its mooring in Gloucester’s Magnolia Harbor, which is just over 22 miles away!

Click photo below for full sized pics of The F/V David and Jenna from Boston Harbor Beacon

Photo Flipped Car On Main Street Gloucester MA

Roger Torre writes-

Hi Joey,
I came across this accident this afternoon in front of police headquarters on Main Street.  Like a scene out of a David Lynch movie.  Hopefully the woman is ok.
Roger

photo-3

Get There Early- Sure To Be a Packed House At Maritime Gloucester November 14th

UPCOMING PROGRAM AT MARITIME GLOUCESTER

On Wednesday, November 14th at Maritime Gloucester, join sailors Ben Eriksen and Teresa Carey as they describe their unique quest, aboard a British Channel Cutter, to sail north in search of an iceberg. Sailing more than 1600 miles in cramped quarters, they endured sleepless nights, thick fog, rough weather and icy northern waters. What they didn’t anticipate was they would find a piece of the biggest iceberg in the last six decades. One Simple Question has been described as a thrilling adventure, an exploration of the life cycle of ice-bergs and their connection to climate change, and a meditation on the joy of a deliberate life. See a trailer of their adventure at http://simplequestionmovie.com/. The presentation will kick off at 7pm in the Gorton’s Seafoods Gallery at Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop. Programs are free of charge so please arrive early as seating is limited. For further information, go to http://maritimegloucester.org/visit/events.php or like us on Facebook. This is the second presentation of Maritime Gloucester’s "Oceans of Discovery" series.

Father Green- Living the Dream!

A month ago gets the kick-ass Sony A65 awesome camera-

Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Fr Matthew Green

Another gargoyle shot from Notre Dame in Paris. Possibly my best photo from all this vacation.  Shot at max telephoto without a tripod, thanks to the great low-light capabilities of my new Sony a65 camera!  The only retouching I did was to crop the photo, slightly adjust the contrast on the moon’s face, and remove some color fringing. And add the discreet copyright notice on the top ledge.

Fr. Matthew Green

Last week spends the week In Paris France-

Memories of Paris

Posted on November 4, 2012 by Fr Matthew Green

More scrumptiousness from my recent vacation in Paris… the Eiffel Tower at night.

No tripod, zero retouching. Have I mentioned how much I love this camera?

Fr. Matthew Green

Today Loading up on Chocolate and Cheese at The Cave-

November 10, 2012

image

Uhmmmm, that whole priest thing, totally underrated apparently.

So I guess this begs the question- Would you give up sex to become a priest and travel the world with awesome cameras eating chocolate and drinking wine?

Ohana and Ryan and Wood Dinner November 15th

image

Here is a reminder to join us on Thursday, November 15th for a dinner with our friends from Ryan & Wood http://www.ryanandwood.com/-Gloucester’s own distillery, makers of Knockabout Gin, Beauport Vodka, Folly Cove Rum and Rye Whiskey.

We will have a talk by Bob Ryan on how he makes his products and then a three course dinner prepared by Chef Enx paired with cocktails featuring Ryan & Wood’s Rye Whiskey.

The event starts at 7:00.

Reservations requested.   Here is the menu to whet your appetite.

www.ohanacapeann.com

RYAN & WOOD and OHANA RESTAURANT

PRIX FIXE 3 COURSE MEAL WITH PAIRED COCKTAILS

$60

1st Course

Lemongrass Beef Satay

Wonton pepper salad, mango salsa vinaigrette & nampla thai curry

or

Rock Shrimp Tempura

Szechuan daikon sauce, papaya kim chee & miso sriracha aioli

2nd  Course

Mongolian Baby Back Grilled Pork Ribs

Lemon evoo mash potato, corn bread stuffing & papaya kim chee puree

or

Jamaikin Jerk Spiced Roasted Salmon

Cream crab crouquet, sweet pepper relish & lime beurre blanc

3rd Course

Chocolate Candied Pecan Apple Shortcake

Salted caramel ice cream & calvados strawberry coulis

or

Cranberry Leather “Sushi” Dessert

Marsmallow rice crispies, pumpkin mascarpone semi freddo & pumpkin spice crème anglaise

image

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Bakhi Quote of The Week From Greg Bover

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Bakhi (Rumi) (1207-1273)

image

Born in Persia, present day Iran, Rumi, as he is called in the West, is more often referred to in the Islamic world as Mawlana, or the Master. Beginning his adult life as a teacher and jurist, as his father had been, Rumi traveled to Damascus where he met and began studying under the dervish Shams-e Tabrizi. Turning his life toward philosophical pursuits, he became the poet, musician and mystic that he is remembered as today. He believed that love is the earthly manifestation of the Divine and that music, poetry and dance can be the means to draw closer to it. Although his spiritual explorations are based in the Sufi Moslem mystical tradition, they have been adopted into many other languages and religious teachings for their universal appeal to those seeking inner peace and harmonious living. From his book of collected poems Masnawi:

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.

Greg Bover

Sista Felicia & Crew Lined Up For The Mariposa Sale

image

The Filenes Basement Wedding Dress Sale Has Nothing On The Mariposa Annual Sale. Stand Clear Or Get Run Down By Some Professional Shoppers- You’ve Been Warned!

Community Stuff 11/10/12

Screen Shot 2012-11-04 at 3.43.51 PM


For more: www.LawAndWater.com.


Hi Joey and crew!

Just Love GMG!

Please post the following announcement. Many folks here on Cape Ann have lost someone to suicide. It is a most devastating loss.  There is a place and time to come together to be in the company of others who know this kind of pain. Please see info below.

Thanks for all the good you do to promote communication and strong community!

Best, Anita Pandolfe Ruchman

Rockport

If you have lost someone to suicide, you are not alone. There are millions of survivors who, like you, are trying to cope with this heartbreaking loss. More than 38,000 people take their lives every year in the Unites States, each leaving behind friends and loved ones who struggle with loss, grief and all of those questions that begin "Why…?"

On Saturday, November 17th, hundreds of simultaneous conferences for survivors of suicide loss will take place throughout the country and around the world. This unique network of healing conferences helps survivors connect with others who have survived the tragedy of suicide loss, and express and understand the powerful emotions they experience.

Please invite others who are on this journey to join us on November 17th.

IN GLOUCESTER:

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2012 12:30 – 3:30

BankGloucester 160 Main St.  Gloucester, Ma. 01966

$10 suggested donation

contact: Anita Pandolfe Ruchman NP

Survivor/ Holistic Nurse-Psychotherapist —- apr822@verizon.net

978 546 6599


5th Annual Lights of Love
Thursday, November 29, 2012, 5:30-6:30 p.m
.Addison Gilbert Hospital, 298 Washington Street, Gloucester

IMAGE

Enter for your chance to win this original, framed oil painting, New England Springtime, by acclaimed Cape Ann artist     Ken Knowles.  100% of your raffle ticket purchase directly benefits cancer care services for Cape Ann patients, supporting world-class cancer care close to home for those who need it most.

Lights of Love is an annual celebration of life and hope.  The highlight of our season-long benefit is the festive Tree Lighting Ceremony which commemorates all who have been touched by cancer.  Launched in 2008 by Cape Ann residents Sue Kyle and Shawn Wilson in gratitude for the care Sue continues to receive at AGH, Lights of Love has raised more than $50,000 to ensure access to top-notch cancer care for Cape Ann families and the 2,000 patients served each year at the Gorton’s Specialty and Cancer Care Center.

Save the Date and bring your family for the 5th Annual Lights of Love Benefit and Tree Lighting on November 29 Featuring Lights of Love Annual Tree Lighting * Art Raffle Drawing * Cape Ann Raffle Prizes * Caroling with the Gloucester High School Chorus * Tribute and Holiday Treats.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Tickets available in Administration and Community Relations at Addison Gilbert Hospital (inside Washington Street entrance).

Please contact Rebecca via email or by phone 978.236.1624 for further information.


Rockport Art Association Announces Fourth Annual

“Masterpieces in Miniature” Holiday Exhibition and Sale

The Rockport Art Association (RAA) announces its fourth annual “Masterpieces in Miniature” exhibition and sale, set to open on Friday evening, November 16, 2012. More than 75 of the RAA’s award-winning member artists will display a quartet of small works, which are all framed and sold individually. Based on the past success of this event, the RAA knows that these smaller pieces, which range in price from $250 to $1,000, allow more people to be able to purchase original works by our member artists for their own collections — or as gifts — and support the RAA in this important end-of-year fundraising event.

The exhibition will open with a reception on Friday, November 16th from 6pm to 8pm and will feature music, drinks and hors d’oeuvres. The opening reception will be the first opportunity to view and purchase these paintings – there will be absolutely no ‘early bird’ sales. Last year, buyers were lined up at the door, and flooded the galleries, intent on purchasing their favorite works.

As in past years, the exhibition will feature 6” by 8” works in many mediums, including oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings and sculpture. All are beautifully framed and ready to hang. Photographs of each piece will also be displayed on the RAA’s website, www.rockportartassn.org, soon after the opening so that art collectors outside the area will be able to view and purchase these small gems. New paintings will be hung to replenish the walls during the duration of the show, so the RAA encourages art collectors to revisit the exhibition more than once.

Another highlight of opening night is that the “Have You Seen the Mosher at the RAA” raffle winner will be drawn. The winner will receive a beautiful 26” x 32” original oil generously donated by one of the RAA’s most well-known and award-winning artists, Donald Allen Mosher. Raffle tickets are still available.

The RAA is the nation’s oldest continually operating art association and serves a region steeped in a rich and meaningful arts tradition. As a non-profit organization, it raises operating funds for its exhibitions and educational programs, which are all open to the public, from donations and fundraising events. Artists will be donating from 40% to 100% of the proceeds from sales of these “Masterpieces in Miniature” to the RAA. This is the RAA’s final exhibition of 2012, and the organization is relying on sales to help it meet its end-of-year operating expenses.

The RAA is located on Main Street in historic Rockport, Massachusetts, and is open to the public. Fall hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 am to 4pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sundays from noon until 5pm. “Masterpieces in Miniature” will be on display from November 16 to December 31, 2012.


eastgloucesterrooftopsWEB

Come by BankGloucester on Saturday, November 17, 2012 from 11am to 1pm for a public reception for artist Rod Peterson. The reception is a great opportunity to meet Rod and speak with him regarding his work. Light refreshments will be served.  A collection of his paintings are on display at the bank through January 11, 2013.

Rod Peterson, a native and resident of Malden, MA, started painting in the early 1970’s and studied painting with North Shore artist Eva Cincotta, South Shore artist Ros Farbush and the late artist/author David Millard. He has been involved with the Malden Sketch Group since its start back in 1996. Rod is an Artist Member of the North Shore Arts Association and he is currently represented by The Back Bay Framery at 227 Newbury St. in Boston.

The bank is located at 160 Main Street in Gloucester.


image


Rose Baker Happenings

Note: Rose Baker Senior Center is closed November 12th, Veteran’s Day.
Stockings for the homeless
The Social Day Care program at Rose Baker Senior Center has started their annual collection of personal care items for men and women living in shelters. The items are placed in stockings and delivered to ACTION Shelter and Grace Center at Christmas time. This is a wonderful use for those soaps and body products we all collect on our travels as well as the extra items we have around the house, such as small toothpastes, toothbrushes and dental floss. Please bring any items you would like to contribute to Rose Baker Center by December 14th.
Medicare Program
At 10am on Wednesday, November 14th, MassPro is presenting a program entitled “How the Medicare Program Protects You.” Among the topics that will be covered are:
·    Your rights under Medicare
·    Medicare and quality care
On Going
The memoir writing group meets the first and third Thursdays of every month. The next meeting is November 16th. The groups is putting their memories into words, creating wonderful personal and family histories. The group meets from 10 to noon and is always looking for new members.


image

Video- Loading and Unloading The Jupiter II

Shot with the Kodak Zx3 and Kayalu nClamp

image

Gloucester MA City Hall Weathervane Repairs Info From Maggie Rosa

Repairs to City Hall’s Weathervane

Maggie Rosa writes-

Weather permitting a crane will be brought to City Hall at 7:00am on Friday November 9th. The crane will be placed in the Administration side of the City Hall parking lot. Campbell Construction, contractors for the ongoing exterior restoration project, are donating their services to remove the weathervane, repair it and place it back on the tower. Rental costs for the crane are being donated by C.E. Cyr Construction Co., Inc. (Lawrence, MA) and Craig Herrmann Design (Gloucester, MA). Both companies are working on the Gorton’s addition project and are happy to contribute to the community.

If mother nature is not cooperative the repairs will be rescheduled most likely for Friday, November 16th.

The weathervane was donated to the City in 1989 by the Cape Ann Savings Bank and is modeled on the famed schooner “Elsie”.

Many thanks to all of these public spirited firms. We appreciate your generosity.

Maggie

We reported on the failing weathervane this past summer-

City Hall Weathervane in 1989 before She Was First Hoisted Atop City Hall From The Infamous Fred Buck

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Joey C

photo courtesy Cape Ann Museum

Fred writes-

joey – here’s the schooner with a broken mast on top of city hall.  the copper model was created by washburn on rt. 114 in 1989 and donated to the city by the cape ann savings bank.  this pic was taken just before she was hoisted up to her place of honor.  it is, of course, the elsie, built in 1910 by a.d. story in essex.  gordon thomas, in fast and able, called her "one of the greatest."  if anyone can help bring her down for repairs, step forward!  a model of the elsie by cape ann master craftsman erik ronnberg is on display at the cape ann museum.  it’s a beautiful thing…
infamous fred

copper model of sch. elsie made by washburn, rt. 114 as weathervane for city hall.  donated by cape ann savings bank.  1989.

This post is in response to our August 16th photos from David Cox showing the Elsie weathervane in serious peril below-

Sail on City Hall Schooner needs help–David B. Cox Photos

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Manuel Simoes

DSC_4545

DSC_4546

If you remember our David Cox Caught the

Video- Pounding Waves and Screaming Winds! From Skip Montello

Skip writes-

Hi Joey,

I enjoyed your storm video and stills, wicked nasty storm, nice work! Here are some of what I captured while ducking the wind driven rain,

Thanks Skip

Click below for video-

image

North Coast Angler www.northcoastangler.com

Skip Montello Photos www.skipmontellophotos.com