There came a time where January 2nd of the New Year provoked my celebration of the dreaded holiday season. The hustle and bustle combined with work and family commitments tests even the most patient people. There came a time where Christmas gave only a gift of misery.
Irony fills these pages of my ChadSorianoPhotoBlog. Misery is replaced with that ever so subtle faint of brighter things to come. It will be wrapped hundreds of layers thick with melancholy, you will need a "Call of Duty Black Ops" weapon upgrade to blast to the core of hope.
Time heals all wounds. Misery has no chance in my family, no more. When I see my kids decorate their personal miniature fake Christmas trees with decorations 10 layers thick, I know it is now Christmas time.
You can view more photos and videos shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T2i with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 lens. As well as the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L lens in my Christmas 2010 Gallery.
ChadSorianoPhotoBlog would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
"Every Good Boy Does Fine" as my music teacher from year's past would always tell me at my "forced against my will" piano lessons. As I reflect on my delinquent music days gone by with my fellow ChadSorianoPhotoBlog readers, the teacher lost me at "Every". Ironically, my ever so slightly more mature adulthood and my haste for classical composition manifested into a self inspired interest of piano by my very own daughter.
Visions of princess fairy tales and Nutcracker Suites became a precursor to many things to come. The crown and tutu interest waned and she moved on to more athletic pursuits.
Soccer was a blast for my daughter and for me as well. Running up and down the field kicking the ball gave her the exercise and teamwork skills while her father practiced his sports photography. She quickly learned into mid-season the fear of being kicked in the shins soon came to reality. One "Cheetah" season was enough for my daughter.
Nervous described my daughter as she walked past the audience filled with camera toting parents onto the stage under the intense theater lights. My anticipation to capture her first piano recital rested as she pushed through the keys of the holiday favorite "O Christmas Tree".
Only time will tell how long my daughter's piano pursuits will last. I captured this 1080p video moment with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS lens. I edited with iMovie'09 and used Quicktime at best qualtiy to compress a 369mb h264 video file. I recorded audio with the Sennheiser MKE400 shotgun microphone directly to the camera via mini jack.
The Conquistadors first brought disease and religion to the native people of northeast Florida. The British followed suit with even more pestilence and "Redcoat" rule. The United States brought a Super Walmart. Finally, ChadSorianoPhotoBlog arrived to this east coast community of St. Augustine, Florida with meat. Lots of carne. Raw muscle from almost every meat group for a holiday Thanksgiving.
Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon landed his trade ships near the same shores of our beach house rental. He journeyed long and far in search of gold and new land. My family had sandy pursuits and St. Augustine tourist traps.
The Spaniards had their own weapon of mass destruction to ward off hostile invaders at the Castillo de San Marcos. More potent than gunpowder was hormonal rage complete with Gucci purse and Coach sandals.
We trekked into the Old City via St. George street with eyes wide open. From the oldest wooden schoolhouse to the plethora of "Tourist Trains" encapsulated by Spanish Colonial architecture. I soon discovered the former Spanish buildings now housed a Kilwin's of St. Augustine with my favorite toasted coconut ice cream.
Off to Anastasia Island to see the St. Augustine Lighthouse with it's spectacular topside view. 219 steps later, we made it to the top.
With a quick view of the bay and the inner workings of the Fresnel lens, we descended the 219 steps again in search of lunch. I Googled "fried chicken" which pointed me in the direction of an Anastasia legend called O'Steen's Restaurant.
I ordered the signature Fried Chicken while my family ordered the Fried Catfish, Clams, Liver and Gizzards. Fantastic describes the experience. Topped off with their special "Datil" cocktail sauce and accompanied with their seasoned hush puppies, O'Steen's Restaurant is definitely on my "must do" list while in St. Augustine.
Christmas in November came upon us with ice skating and sledding along with an Elf Village with no elves at the St. Augustine Amphitheater. My kids blasted through the overpriced carnival games and their cousin ice skated for the very first time at the WinterWonderland.
Thanksgiving is behind us with more meat filled photos approaching the New Year. I used a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with an EF 35mm f/2, EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.
Chad Soriano brings more than 20 years of experience as a television news photojournalist and still camera photographer. Chad worked at Tampa’s Fox Television station, WTVT. His primary role there was in the special projects, consumer investigation unit. His assignments ranged from general news to consumer fraud. His skills in news gathering and camera-work combine to create a strong tool in developing and promoting a unique visual style.
