Douglas Shoop Photography

I won't be posting for several days so I'll leave you with this photo I took from the beautiful beach on Roatan, Honduras.  Enjoy.

While waiting in line for dinner one night in Ft. Lauderdale, the sunset in the west lit up these clouds on the eastern seaboard nicely.  It's unusual to get such a colorful sunset from the opposite side of the pond.  Enjoy.

Here I go again with lines and patterns.  You can see I'm fascinated with repetitive lines, perspectives, and beautiful details.  This is another photo of one of the restaurant details on the Celebrity Solstice cruise ship.  You just can't put down the Architect in me.  Enjoy.

I can guarantee you won't know what this is.  I thought it was very cool so I just had to take a photo.  Give up?  The circles look like the tops of batteries, but they are actually lighting devices.  This is a ground mounted exterior tree lighting device.  I believe this may be LED technology, but the array of lenses, capacitors, wires, circuit boards, and chipsets make it very techie.  Enjoy.

OK, so this wasn't a planned photo sunrise shoot.  We woke up from our cruise after docking in Ft. Lauderdale and bam, this was waiting for me.  I grabbed the camera, ran to the side of the boat, and after waiting for the lens to un-fog, started firing away.  Spectacular sunrise.  All I had to do was wait for the birds.  Enjoy.

I literally crawled in the sand for this photo.  I think the topless sunbather next to me was wondering if I was trying to get a shot of her "no tan lines" body.  It was all about framing the photograph.  In order to appreciate the beauty of the sand flowers ??, I wanted to get the sand crab perspective.  Taken on Roatan Island, Honduras.  Enjoy.

More patterns and rhythms here.  Can you guess what this is?  Making it black and white enhances the focus in my mind.  Here's a clue, it was taken at sea.  Still can't figure it out.  It's a photo of the sunlight patterns cast on a bench seat in the Bistro on Five on the Celebrity Solstice cruise ship.  The restaurant has these horizontal slats running everywhere, sort of a Japanese motif, but they made for some very interesting shots.  More to come later.  Enjoy.

I took this shot of Lake Winnipesaukee this past Columbus Day from the road to Castle in the Clouds. We didn't actually go see the castle, but did see the waterfalls (photo in later post) and got these great views of the lake from the road.  Enjoy.

I have always been fascinated with curves, rhythm, lines and repetitive things.  Perhaps that's the Architect in me, but when observed with a photographers eye, things take on a different perspective.  Pun intended.  I took this with a Kodak Playsport video camera, using it's 5MP built in camera.  OK quality, but your best camera is the one you have with you.  Enjoy.

I'm not sure exactly where I was on the Atlantic when I took this photo, but it was somewhere just south of the Florida Keys while we were heading towards Grand Cayman.  I didn't do anything to this photo, the sky was this vibrant.  Enjoy.

I should know more about flowers, I take so many photos of them.  When I see one that I like, I try and capture the beauty of it.  I have many more to post.  If you know what kind this is, please comment.  Enjoy.

I realize the Grand Tetons look more spectacular with a beautiful snowcap on them, but this is how they look in late August.  Relatively bare, but still quite beautiful.  I found this photo taking location by asking some of the locals.  The calm water is part of the snake river, but as an offshoot, it's perfect for reflections.  This is one of my favorite shots.  Enjoy.

Yellowstone National Park's Lower Falls.  One of the most photographed waterfalls in the world.  It's still spectacular, from any view.  You can see why the park is called Yellowstone from here.  The limestone is a beautiful hue of orange and yellow. Enjoy

I love classic cars.  Mostly 60's and 70's with a preference to muscle cars.  But who can deny the beauty of the 1950's tailfins.  Anyone who knows me is aware that my favorite classic car is a 1963-67 Corvette.  One of these days I'll own one.  Enjoy.

How many times have you thought your house was like Grand Central Station?  Fortunately, it's not, but it can feel like it when everyone is going every which way.  GSS is a difficult place to take a photo in because they have the tripod police not allowing you to set up a tripod, and they are suspicious of anyone w/ a nice camera.  I grabbed this long exposure shot while resting the camera on a railing.  The motion blur tells it all.  Enjoy.

All I can remember from this photo shoot is watching a family of coyote's cross the road right in front of me.  Fortunately, they weren't interested in me.  I was interested in catching the moon reflection in the lake as the sun rose in the east..  This is the Grand Tetons with Mt. Moran the big mountain in the background.  Enjoy.

There is so much crap that goes on in Washington DC, that it often overshadows how beautiful this city is both day and night.  The planners really got it right.  Taken from the Lincoln Memorial near the reflecting pond.  Enjoy.

It was unseasonably hot today in the upper 80's, so I thought I'd cool down and post up a winter time photo.  This is a photo of one of the entrances to Grace Episcopal Church here in Medford, MA.  This is one of the few buildings in Boston that was designed by famous Architect H. H. Richardson.  I believe I took this after the blizzard had passed and it was a beautiful night.  Enjoy.

I've heard ostrich meat is tasty.  Can't say I've ever had it.  Not the most attractive creature. In a wildlife mood again today.  I was able to get a good close up of this guy before I rode him in a race.  Not really, but got you thinking!   Enjoy.

Here's looking at you kid.  I caught this red tail hawk in a tree behind my parents house in Ohio.  This guy was surveying the field for mice or whatever he likes.  Enjoy.

Here is another sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean taken from a hotel room on Hilton Head, SC.  The kids were sleeping in the room, I went to the balcony, waited for the moisture to leave the camera lens and shot some pics.   Enjoy.

Ok, this is a fun pic of a couple of girls jammin at Fanuel Hall in Boston several years ago.  Love the hair and this really candid moment where they appear to be having the best of times.  The hair matches the guitar and the shirt. Enjoy.

Heading back in after tackling the Atlantic under full sail from an easterly wind, I captured this sailboat just outside of Rockport's harbor.  Motorboats are fun, sailboats are cool.  That's perhaps the funkiest lighthouse I've ever seen.  Enjoy!

This is a close up of a flower bud that captures its entire potential for growth and beauty.  Sometimes the bud is as beautiful as the flower itself.  This may be a zinnia.  Enjoy.

While I'm in the NYC posting mode, I thought I'd share a photo of the makeshift monument of a steel I-Beam cross erected on the World Trade Center construction site.  Crafted from the remains of the building, this is a solemn reminder of the tragic event.

Perhaps I should have posted this yesterday, on the anniversary of 9/11.  This is a photo taken on the New Jersey side of the Hudson river, looking towards downtown Manhattan.  This poignant statue is a proper framework for the lives lost when we were attacked by those cowards.

I know, it's been a while.  I was off the grid for a couple of weeks.  This is a photo of a very large anchor bolt that secured a cannon used to protect the US against possible attack.  Located on Georges Island in Boston Harbor.  The textures casting shadows on the concrete at this time of day were very rich.

This guy has been here for 85 years staring out at the Atlantic in somber memorial of all the fisherman who have lost their lives working hard to feed our country.  I'd say he looks pretty good for his age.  Located in Gloucester, MA on Stacy Esplanade, there is a nice memorial to take in.  Enjoy.

Waiting and waiting and and anticipating when this sailboat would pass in front of the view near the rocks where I wanted it.  Photo taken just off the coast at Rockport, MA.  Enjoy.

Not being much of a flower enthusiast, I know very little about species, etc, but I really enjoy taking photos of them. So many great colors, textures, etc. I've quite the collection of flower shots. Nature is pretty cool. Enjoy.

Believe it or not, this was taken a few weeks ago in Rockport, MA.  These "old" summer basket weave style folding lawn chairs sitting in a semi-circle sitting behind this cottage caught my eye.  It reminded me of when I was a kid and the family would sit outside in the summer and just chat.  Giving it a grainy black and white look just felt right.  Enjoy.

During our frequent trips to Hilton Head, we often ate at the Salty Dog.  Famous place, but this one evening the sky was looking very cool during a sunset on the harbor.  Enjoy.

Most of the photos you see of the iconic Chrysler Building in New York City are taken from other buildings and high up, but this was a unique opportunity as I caught this beautiful building in sunlight from the shade of nearby buildings.  Enjoy.

While visiting Rockport, MA last weekend, I ventured out over the break water rocks (rock climbing with camera dangling involved) and found this very vibrant algae encrusted tidal pool that made for some nice rock reflections, while capturing a beautiful yacht just off the coast in the background.  I'll have a few more from this location in later posts.  Enjoy!

Look very close and you'll see the quarter moon up there glowing in the beautiful night in the tropics.  This photo was taken in Aruba at the Hyatt during one of their daily spectacular evenings.  Enjoy.

Don't you stick your tongue out at me.  Like one of my kids, this elk was hamming it up for the photo.  I captured this in Yellowstone while on the way to Old Faithful.  Enjoy.

Medford's upper Mystic Lake was the setting for this beautiful sunset as two friends lazily passed the time away.  Enjoy.

After 3 continuous weeks of 90+ degrees, the humidity has finally dropped and it's supposed to cool down tonight.  I thought I'd post this photo taken off the patio at my office in Medford Square showing a recent snowstorm that left it's fall on the treetops.  This should make you feel cooler.  I'll wait the 4 months till we see the snow again.  Enjoy!

I just can't get enough of Wyoming mountains.  This is Mt. Moran as seen from between the trees on a crazy road leading to a lookout on the opposite side of the valley.  I precariously pulled the car to the edge and shot this one.  Enjoy!

It won't be long before the squirrel's begin to stock up for the winter.  I took this guy on the top of a ski mountain (during summer) in Teton Village in Jackson, WY.  Enjoy.

This heat wave we're having this summer makes me yearn for those hot and humid days in Hilton Head on our summer vacations.  Oh the humidity!  This is one of those ominous sunrises over Hilton Head, SC that was the prelude to an impending hurricane coming up the coast.  Enjoy.

As New York fans mourn the passing of George Steinbrenner, I thought I'd post one of my shots of a cityside view found in Central Park, NYC.  Enjoy.

The new improvements the State has made to the Mystic Lake Dam and surrounding area has opened up the views to the lake.  I went to grab this photo the other night as I thought I'd get more color in the sky during a sunset.  This was equally impressive.  Enjoy.

This is the bridge where the Russian spies were swapped.  Truth is, I can't remember what town this was in.  I am sure it's in lower NH.  It's a beautiful example of how wooden structure railroad bridges were built.  Enjoy.

It's so hot out here, I bet this guy would think it's downright cool.  I caught this guy while vacationing in Aruba.  Love the colors.  Enjoy.

If it weren't for Ellis Island and the immigrants from the early 1900's, our country wouldn't be where it is today.  Most of us owe a great debt to our ancestors who risked their lives to come to this country to make a better life for themselves and their families.  God bless America for making being "proud to be an American" mean something.  Enjoy.

As I sit here posting this hearing lots of fireworks going off around me, I just came back from the upper Mystic Lake in Medford, MA where the sky was putting on a fireworks display of it's own.  The reflection off the lake was phenomenal.  Enjoy.

In recognition of the long fourth of July weekend, here is a fun photo of a flag with some flowers in the background.  I took this shot while on a photo "safari" with famous photographer Rick Sammon.  It's taken at 1/15 of a second while rotating the camera.  The American flag gives it a nice contrast of color.  Enjoy.