Douglas Shoop Photography

Winter Blizzard of 2010.  It was a huge storm, but we only got about 16" here in Medford, MA.  This photo begged to get the old fashioned treatment.  Enjoy.

Christmas tree ornaments backlit.  A sign of the season on the high seas.  These ornaments were neatly arranged in a display I found on the cruise we took this past summer.  One of the shops on the ship was selling these hand blown beauties.  Enjoy.

There are just never enough waterfalls to photograph.  This one is at Castle in the Clouds in NH.  Here is a tip, if you want to capture the waterfalls with that smooth look, remember if you can, use a tripod and slow the shutter speed down to 1/15 of a second minimum.  1 second is even better.  If you don't have a tripod, use the timer and set the camera on something.  Enjoy

No, this is not a close up of a rose bush, but a photo of a type of tree found in Costa Maya.  I saw this next to the Mayan ruins, and thought the spikes on the outside of the tree were pretty awesome.  Nice defense against climbing animals.  Enjoy.

While it's pouring rain and 50 degrees out here in Boston, I know the midwest is preparing for a monster winter storm.  This is a photo of the Mystic River after a snowfall a few years back.  This is the John Hand Bridge, my office is on the ground floor of the red brick building.  Enjoy and stay warm.

Hard to believe this is another spectacular sunset at the upper mystic lake in Medford, MA.  This is looking towards Arlington, MA.  Not sure what this building is, but it's really old.  Enjoy.

These three old dock posts were jutting out of the water on this otherwise pristine beach in Roatan, Honduras.  Must have been an old shipping dock, but the tourists have killed it with their desire to keep the ships away from the beautiful beach.  Enjoy.

This photo is my first black and white image I ever took with a digital camera.  We were taking a family day in New England traveling up the coast near Gloucester, MA, and I saw this beautiful old anchor.  I framed the home in the background under it's massive arch.  Enjoy.

Perhaps it's just me, but I gravitate to the beauty of nature.  I think the extending vines and contrast in color between the plant and the tree are very appealing in this photo.  Enjoy.

This old volcano sure makes a beautiful island.  It's interesting volcanic rock plunges into the ocean and the vegetation grows out of the crevasses. This is Roatan, Honduras, with one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever been on.  More pics from here later.  Enjoy.

I believe this wild Turkey was saved from enjoyment by humans this year.  Actually, he was walking across the road in Rockport, MA, so unless he and his pals got hit by a car, he's safe for another year.  Enjoy!

As fall sets in on the Gervasi Vineyards, the swans get their last feedings in the distance and two empty chairs await their admiring visitors.   Enjoy!

This guy is really aging well.  Looking good after a million years or so I suppose.  Tyrannosaurus Rex looks as menacing as a skeleton as he does with flesh.  Taken in Cozumel, in a museum in a mall.  Enjoy.

I saw this lone, giant leaf resting on the steps of the Mayan temple we visited this summer.  It was out of place, but wonderfully beautiful in its withering colors, juxtaposed on the ancient steps.  Enjoy.

When I took this photo, I was thinking black and white would be the best way of showing the texture and depth of the roots, leading up to the Mayan temple ruins in the background.  I'm not sure what kind of tree this is.  Taken in Costa Maya, Mexico next to the Mayan ruins at Chacchoben.  Enjoy.

How's this for irony.  I realized that this photo reveals the ship we sailed to the western Caribbean on this past August, was docked beside the infamous Carnival Cruise ship, as seen here in Costa Maya.  We heard bad things from the passengers on land about this ship months ago.  Today they finally got towed from peril at sea.  So glad we didn't go on Carnival.  We were on the Royal Caribbean's Celebrity Solstice, a truly remarkable ship.  Highly recommended.  Enjoy.

Well, the water was pretty cold, so I don't think she's going to jump in the lake in late October.  My daughter pondering life while looking out across Lake Winnipesaukee in NH.  Enjoy!

I saw a story on the news tonight of this mysterious orange vertical smoke plume in, of course California.  The military doesn't know what it was, nor does NORAD, nor does our defense department.  It looked like a rocket trail, but the mystery remains.  This photo I took off the deck of the Celebrity Solstice while heading into the western Caribbean looks eerily like that photo on the TV.  I think this is more like a weird cloud thing or jet contrails.  Definitely not a rocket.  Enjoy.

While vising my parents this past weekend, I was in amazement how in November, the roses were still in bloom in the front of their house.  On a cloudy day, they were grabbing their last day of live before the frost that would come the next night.  Enjoy.

"Fall Leaves Fall"  That was the name of a song we did in HS choir.  Well this is a real "Fall" photo, lots of colors.  Taken at Gervasi Vineyards in North Canton, OH.  What a place.  Fantastic restaurant, incredible grounds, gazebo, pond, swans, a gem in the middle of middle America.  I've got some more pics from here to share later.  Enjoy.

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.