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About Robert Gillis
We specialize in nature, travel, ocean, and seasonal photography, with an emphasis on the sights of beautiful New England -- Boston, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. We also feature New York, Niagara Falls, fireworks and fire, holidays, and more.
We are family friendly (no nudes, no objectionable content).
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Due to be replaced in mid-2008 with a new-style LED sign; this is one of the venerable train information boards at Boston’s South Station. Also called a railway flap sign, these saw many years of service and the sound of the “flapping” caused everyone to look at the board to check their train’s status. [Source: RG]
These signs were built by Solari di Udine of Italy. Founded in 1948 in Udine (Italy) by the Solari family, Solari di Udine rapidly earned a reputation for technological excellence in industrial clocks and, later, in information display systems (IDS). Solari's innovative "flap" technology for the direct reading of time and information was Patented in 1950. In the following year, Solari manufactured the first clock using flap technology. In 1956, Solari designed, manufactured and installed the world's first train information display system at Liege Railway Station, in Belgium. A similar installation at Vienna Airport, three years later, constituted the world's first passenger flight information system. In the following years, Solari installed thousands of systems all over the world. [source: Solari di Udine web site]
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The crowd on the ferry was all in good spirits and as we approached the Statue of Liberty, the cameras started flashing and so many people just stared and you could hear the “oohs” and “ahs.” Lady Liberty is iconic, and everyone has seen images, but to actually see her “in person,” – well, it gives you Goosebumps. It IS America. It is THE symbol of our nation, as much as the American flag.
The immaculately manicured park on Liberty Island has a restaurant, souvenir ship and many perfect spots to view the statue.
There’s also a view of Manhattan and a sign indicating where the World Trade Center used to be. It’s not a memorial, but feels like one. Six years later, the skyline still looks wrong, incomplete.
To enter the Statue of Liberty you have to not only go through a second metal detector but a sort of air-tunnel that scans you for bombs and other chemicals. Entering the statue’s base, the first thing you see is a big torch – and I realized that this is the ORIGINAL torch, removed in 1986 as part of the refurbishing and renovating of the statue. It is still lit, and quite lovely.
Our ranger, Bill, filled us in on many of the amazing details about Lady Liberty. For example, its shell is only as thick as two quarters pressed together! The green color was caused by the copper oxidation process. There was confusion about what the Statue of Liberty was intended to be: A lighthouse, perhaps? The Statue of Liberty was America’s first skyscraper. The crown spikes represent the seven continents or the seven oceans. The
torch represents the light of freedom. The statue’s full name is "Liberty Enlightening the World." The chains on her feet are the broken shackles of oppression and tyranny.
Sue took this poignant moment to wonder out loud, “wouldn't it be great if the Statue of Liberty came to life?” and I commented that she’s obviously never seen, “Ghostbusters II.”
Interestingly, sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address structural issues associated with designing such a colossal copper sculpture, and Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower, was commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework.
And on a slightly bizarre note, the face of the statue is apparently modeled after Bartholdi’s mother – the sculptor had lived with his mother all of his life. Our guide made a humorous comment: “This is what happens when you live with your mother your entire life.”
To be honest, the observation desk at Liberty’s feet is not the most perfect view of the statue but still damned impressive. Angela was particularly thrilled; she told us that the statue is famous worldwide, of course, but whenever a European visits America one of the first destinations is the Statue of Liberty, and she was delighted to experience it up-close.
And it was then I realized it was time to put the camera down and just be in the moment.
The structure may be a copper statue but it is so much more than that. For perhaps 20 minutes, I just stood looking at this majestic icon, this universally recognized symbol of democracy, freedom, America, and hope. I thought of the countless immigrants who saw this statue as they arrived at Ellis Island and what seeing it represented. New life. A fresh start. Freedom.
It’s amazing to stand there.
It was honestly humbling.
We saw a lot more of New York that day, but those are stories for another time. For me, the highlight was seeing the Statue of Liberty – a beautiful symbol with so much history, so much importance, and for so many millions, a symbol of hope. And on that day, I honestly felt that hope. Standing in the shadow of that grand lady, you can’t help but believe, and feel that swelling pride of being free, and seeing one of America’s purest symbols of all that we are and aspire to be.
Poetic and sentimental, to be sure, but very real. May Lady Liberty continue to shine her light on us and remind us of that spirit of hope for centuries to come.

Hill Bridge Gallery at GillisPhotos.com
The Hood Milk Bottle is 40 feet (12 m) tall, 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter and, if it were a real milk bottle, would hold 50,000 gallons (190,000 L) of milk. It was constructed in 1933 by Arthur Gagner on the banks of the Three Mile River on Winthrop Street in Taunton, Massachusetts. It was built as an ice cream stand beside his store that sold home made ice cream.
renovated bottle was put back in place on Museum Wharf and officially re-dedicated by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino on April 29, 2007, thirty years to the day after it was moved to Museum Wharf.






ot like this!









by Robert GillisBut I am an astronomy buff, always have been. And lunar eclipses -- the Moon's appearance changing to orange, blood red, and brown as the Earth moves between the sun and Moon, casting its shadow on the lunar surface -- are very rare events. Not to mention that this part of the country has been unlucky with its eclipses this year; the evening lunar eclipse back on March 2nd was obscured perfectly by low clouds and the Moon only appeared after the eclipse had ended, and this morning’s eclipse would be visible only for a very short time, as the Moon would be setting at 6:08 (just 16 minutes after totality) and sunrise was 6:06.
Despite the brevity of the event, it was worth the trip.
In the western sky, the setting Moon hung low, and the Earth’s shadow rapidly covered it from the top down, casting a dark and then orange glow on the lunar disk. A few stray clouds passing through the spectacle only added beauty to the phenomenon as they were lit up in yellow-white by the orange-white disk behind them.
It was very pretty, made more so by the absolute silence around me of a day that had not yet started. The sky had a purple color rather than black, and although the stars were still out and it felt like “night,” a warm, orange-yellow light was appearing softly in the east. A new day was being born. I know that’s overly poetic but dawn is like that – there IS a feeling in the air of newness and anticipation.
Although the Moon vanished below the horizon when it was only half covered, it was still impressive. The Moon is a little mysterious anyway, and a lunar eclipse makes the Moon a little spookier, but also more beautiful.
Although the show was brief, it was well worth rising early to see.



high-tech cool and a little creepy in a sci-fi sort of way.










The Falls are just so beautiful – but what’s really interesting about this visit is that there was so much familiarity with them – even though I’ve only made this trip once before, Niagara felt as familiar as home.
The Falls look spectacular at night, when they are lit with various combinations of colored lights. I learned that a total of 21 Xenon lights are used to illuminate the Falls. Each Xenon spotlight illuminating the Falls at night has a brilliance of 250,000,000 candlepower.
And the fireworks – wow! Every Sunday and Friday, there is a spectacular free fireworks display over the Horseshoe Falls, across from Queen Victoria Place. A large crowd had gathered to watch these pyrotechnics. The fireworks looked to be just over the basin of the Canadian Falls, and were constant, boom, boom, boom, with an impressive finale. What a treat to see this lightshow over the falls! To be at the Falls is impressive enough; to see fireworks over Niagara was awe-inspiring. I snapped a few shots but wanted to enjoy the moment with Sue.
Monday, July 11,
2005: Our first destination was the top of the falls, so we walked the distance from Clifton hill to the top of Niagara. The weather was excellent and not a cloud to be seen in the sky. I took a lot of pictures today – over 200!
Because of the perfect weather, we’d decided to do the “wet” rides today – Maid of the Mist, and Journey behind the Falls. We got the seven of us to the dock, donned our lovely souvenir rain coats (now cheap plastic rather than heavy oilcloth coats), and boarded the diesel-engine boats that take visitors to the base of the American Falls and then on to the basin of the magnificent Canadian Horseshoe Falls. (On June 9th 1960, the Maid of the Mist II was instrumental in the rescue of seven year old Roger Woodward who had accidentally gone over the Horseshoe Falls. And the passengers and crew of Maid of the Mist IV, of course, witnessed Superman’s rescue of a young boy who fell over the falls in July, 1979).
Man, you get soaked riding this trip but it is SO worth it. I wisely brought the older (read: cheaper) of the two digital cameras for the ride – there’s so much foam and steam near the horseshoe falls that it’s impossible to get any kind of picture – but the excitement and thrill of the voyage is absolutely exhilarating.
Journey Behind The Falls was next. What a rush! You emerge far below the rim of the gorge. “..You’ve journeyed deep within to touch the heart of Niagara. Before you, the mighty river explodes after free-falling more than thirteen stories…” The sound is deafening, the sight, awe-inspiring. Seeing the falls from this completely different perspective is beyond exhilarating. The Journey Behind The Falls attraction, located in the Table Rock House Plaza beside the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, starts with a long line where you get your group picture taken. I amused Mom and others by wearing my raincoat like a cape. We took the quaint old elevator 250 feet down to table rock. The observation platform at the base of the falls is reached through the Creepy Slippery Ghostly Tunnels ™ (very wet, yellow light, and everyone looks all gray). One of the many things I had forgotten about Niagara is how awesome this view of the falls is. You can’t help but laugh like a kid as you get soaked and pounded by the falls. After snapping some photos I just stood there and let the full brunt of the falls hit me – the closest you can get to Niagara without getting killed. It was breath-taking, it was awe-inspiring! We were all like squealing children at Table Rock. Just in-credible.
Late in the afternoon we once walked up a STEEP, San Francisco type hill and again traveled back in time to the Imax theater to see Niagara—Miracles, Myths & Magic. I had forgotten a lot about this film, but I remember the striking image of Lelawala and the implication tha
t she saved Roger Woodwood, the boy who went over the falls. As before, the most interesting scenes occur in the final segments, which showcase humans trying to conquer Niagara. First-person shots of the steamship "Lelawala" traversing the rough waters are well done, while the tightrope walker is clearly a (poor) special effects shot. And I LOVED the recreation of 63 year old schoolteacher Annie Taylor climb into a barrel and ride it over the Niagara's edge. What a Looney.
(No one has ever dared to conquer the American Falls in a barrel. All daredevil activities have always concentrated on the Canadian Horseshoe Falls because it has a larger water flow and fewer rocks at its basin. )
It’s a great film,
typical of the Imax genre, but good nonetheless. I bought the DVD of the film.
Many of the daredevil crafts that actually went over the falls are now displayed at the Imax theater, including the Ray Weaver crafts seen at the Gorge in “Superman II.”
Over 150 of the images I took of Niagara Falls are available at www.GillisPhotos.com