The Best of 2011

2011 was quite a year for picture taking. For the New Year, here's what were the best...

 Fireworks as seen from my back yard.

Turning Point Park outside of Rochester, NY.

Tillman Wildlife Preserve in Clarence, NY

Boston Hills in the Autumn (Boston, NY)

Waterport Falls, near Lake Ontario, west of Rochester, NY.

Thirty Mile Point lighthouse, between Niagara Falls and Rochester.

High school football. Williamsville South vs. Williamsville East. Trent Ferguson of South passes.

Sabres training camp: Ruff gives instruction to his players during second day of camp.

 Chittenango Falls, just outside of Syracuse, is one of the tallest waterfalls in New York State.

 Ron Paul speaks in East Aurora

Our Lady of Victory Bisilica, Buffalo, NY

Christmas lights

It's always fun to drive around the neighborhood and see all the Christmas light decorations on houses. Took a drive Christmas evening and captured a few of these scenes:

 

Tillman Wildlife one more time!

Took a lot of pictures at the Tillman Wildlife Preserve and am sharing some more...

Junior Sabres hockey

I went to a Junior Sabres hockey game at the former Pepsi Center, now the Northtown Center. They played the Hamilton Red Wings. While the Sabres jumped to a 3-1 lead, they couldn't hold it, and eventually lost 6-3. The Junior Sabres provide some great hockey entertainment and I would recommend taking in a couple of their games.

Tillman Wildlife revisited

A couple weeks after my first pictures of the Tillman Wildlife Preserve, I went back there and took some more pics. All the leaves were off the trees, so there was quite a difference.

The first picture below is with some of the trees with yellow leaves.

Junior Sabres hockey

Decided to go to a Junior Sabres game as they were playing the Hamilton Red Wings. It was a pretty fast-paced game with plenty of scoring and hits. There were even a couple fights, one especially a hot one as a Sabre started mixing it up with the Hamilton goalie. There was a huge brawl on the ice, and it spilled over on the benches as the coaches had a lot of words for each other.

It's a great time and the price is much more reasonable than the NHL Sabres. Check it out sometime...

Canisus ties Lake Superior in college hockey

I went to a very entertaining college hockey game on Saturday at Buffalo State College. That's where the Canisus Golden Griffins play their home hockey games. They took on powerhouse Lake Superior and gave a gritty effort. Canisus played to a 2-2 tie, and they outplayed the Lakers at even strength. It was two powerplay goals by Lake Superior that foiled Canisus.

The college game has all the elements of the NHL, plenty of hitting, big saves by the goalies and highlight reel goals.

Tony Capobianco makes big save on breakaway.

The Golden Griffs really husteled in this one and played a much better game than the Sabres did at home against Phoenix.

The bitter end of the Joe Paterno era

Try as he may to stay in control, Joe Paterno was forced to step down from his Penn State head coaching job.

As it is, the sex scandal will forever tarnish his once proud image. I have uploaded 2 more pics I took of JoePa from the game I went to last year at Penn State.

Everyone knew it would play out like this. Joe Paterno didn't want to leave. He was forced to turn in his resignation...effective after the season. But that was not enough and the Penn State Board of Trustees knew it. They had to take the final step and did so late Wednesday night. They showed old Joe the door.

Here are some pictures I took at the Penn State-Temple game last season. Got a few good shots of Joe and one with him along side Mike McQueary, who saw the incident.

Joe Paterno stands along side Assistant Coach Mike McQueary (to the left), who witnessed one of the sexual abuses. Both failed to contact the legal authorities.

Tillman Road Wildlife preserve

In Clarence, N.Y., there's a nature preserve and hiking trails at the Tillman Road Wildlife Management Area. There are miles of trails and lakes, including a marsh area where birds migrate to.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillman_Road_Wildlife_Management_Area

On a sunny and relatively warm early November Sunday, I hiked these trails and took my Canon camera along. Here's some pictures that I took...