Flickr once again

Flickr again, or never say “Never” Just a quick post. I have started using Flickr again to publish my photos in full size and resolution. I will continue to post them here on the photoblog as well, but storing the full sized files can get quite painful. Come on over and take a look! I […]

WordPress Updates and New Look!

Website Redesign Wordpress Themes Header

I spent a few days of this COVID-19 crisis sitting in front of the computer and rebuilding a lot of this blog’s WordPress front end. The prior theme was nice looking but I was starting to find issues with its speed. Ultimately, it was just easier to gut and redo it than fix. I also […]

Bear Creek Falls Pennsylvania – Photography & Lesson Learned

Bear Creek Falls - ©2018 John P. Hoke

Bear Creek Falls Waterfall I like to ride my motorcycle through the Poconos, and I regularly pass the Bear Creek Falls on my ride around the Francis Lewis Dam. It is usually a trickle of water falling down the step like rocks, but we have been deluged with rain for a couple of weeks and […]

Image Optimization – ShortPixel for WordPress

ShortPixel: Of course size matters - nobody wants a small cup of coffee (or large images)

ShortPixel – (Image) Size Does Matter The majority of this website is related to my photography obsession hobby. I’ve always walked a fine line on image optimization – trying to get the smallest images with the best quality and retain the EXIF/Metadata of the images. Until recently, I have been using a mix of  EWWW Image Optimizer […]

Testing New Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Half Speed Ahead by RyanRenaissance - Used with permission Creative Commons License http://ryanrenaissance.deviantart.com/art/Half-Speed-Ahead-128867293

CDN (Content Delivery Network) and the Need for Speed So, I host my blog and other websites with Hosting Matters, the folks have been great to me over the past decade and prices I have locked in are absolutely phenomenal (seriously – they are great). As with anyone who is on a shared hosting plan, […]

Westminster Abbey – Black and White HDR

Westminster Abbey Black and White HDR-20160123-John P. Hoke

Westminster Abbey Another image of Westminster Abbey from my trip to London in January. This one was captured using a Sigma 12-24mm lens at about 17mm on my Nikon d610. The HDR was created from two sets of three exposures (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2)  merged in AuroraHDR Pro and then tweaked about until I was happy […]

Backyard Buck

White tail buck in the backyard, autumn 2015

Just “Bucking” around in the backyard This pretty boy was hanging out in the backyard the other afternoon trying to get the attention of a couple doe in the trees on our empty lot. Luckily he was too busy watching his girlfriends to notice the dumb human with the camera. If this boy knows whats […]

Barcelona: Park Güell

A shot of the entrance of Park Güell in Barcelona - a park designed by Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain

Gaudi’s Park Güell – Barcelona While in Barcelona, we tried to visit a couple different Gaudi landmarks, and were hoping to walk around Park Güell and take some photos. Unfortunately, we made a critical mistake – not buying tickets in advance. We were able to walk around the outside of the park, and a small open area, […]

Buda Castle: Public Art and Sculptures

A bronze statue at the Buda Castle Hill Area

Buda Castle – Sculptures and Artwork Walking around on my last day in Budapest, within the Buda Castle District, there are dozens of outdoor bronze statues and sculptures. I never did find out the name of this one, but it appears to be Saint/King Matthias based on the other artworks in the general area. I need […]

Budapest: Guarding the Entrance

Lion Statue guarding the entranceway to the Budapest Museum of Art and History courtyard.

None shall pass I’ve been home about a week from my last business trip, and I am still going through thousands of photos I took on my downtime in Barcelona and Budapest. This is one from Budapest, as you enter the courtyard to the Budapest History Museum. I visited the museum on my last trip, but […]