Kindness

Kathy sent me this short text the other day, which she received from a client.  I don't know when it came about, but a number of years ago I came to the realization that the MOST important thing I could as I went through my day, every day, was to be kind to everyone I met.  More important than doing my work well.  And since then I have tried to follow that rule each day.  So when I saw this, I thought that I should post it because it gave some reasons why we should behave in this way.  I never thought of these details but the minute I read them they made absolute sense.  So I pass this along to all of you, knowing that so many of you are kind as well, perhaps without thinking why, and here is the answer.  If you click on this image you will be able to read it much easier.

 

The Park Avenue Armory

This is the Park Avenue Armory, also known as the 7th Regiment Armory.  It was completed in 1880 for the U.S. Army National Guard.  What a stunning building!  How have I never been here before?  That's crazy that I didn't know about this building.  This building takes up an entire city block. In 2000, the state awarded the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy the responsibility of overhauling the building, restoring the dilapidated interior spaces, and transforming it into an arts venue. 

In the 21st century, the armory is largely used as an event, exhibit, and performance space, and this is where the Diane Arbus exhibit was held.  You are NOT going to believe the inside!

I was stunned at the sight of this hall that you see after you enter the front door and look to the right.  i just was not expecting this!  There are a number of rooms in the front of the building, some by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Sanford White and others.

This is a view of the entrance hall after you walk about 75 feet and turn and look back at the front door.  Would you ever have believed that this was what the interior of the building would look like?

At my back is the entrance to the exhibition space.  That space is called the Wade Thompson Drill Hall and it is 200 feet wide and 300 feet deep and the curved ceiling is 100 feet high!  That's where the exhibit was but only a small part of the hall was used for the exhibit. and so the ceiling was not lit and it was difficult to see the ceiling.  Here is a wide-angle photograph of the exhibit.  Astounding, right?  I will talk more about this tomorrow.  There is a trick done here by the designers that is not obvious.  Please click on this photgraph to see it much larger.

 

The Look

This is hysterical!  This was not the photograph I was going to show today.  I was going to show you photographs of the Park Avenue Armory where the photo exhibit was on display. But when starting to edit the photographs I shot, this one jumped out right away, so it is my post for today. I will talk about the armory tomorrow.  Photographs were hung on a metal framework and every now and then there was a plastic mirror instead of a framed photograph.  So I stopped to photograph myself, and was concentrating on where I was in the mirror when this woman walked past on the other side of the framework and by instinct I clicked the shutter but had no idea if I got the shot.  I did, and it is so funny, seeing the woman glancing at me.  I think she could see that I was not pointing the camera at her - I think she was just curious about what I was photographing.  Thanks for making my day!

 

Rush Hour

I had an amazing day today.  Went to the city to see a huge photographic exhibition by Diane Arbus, who died in 1971.  It was at the Park Avenue Armory which I have never been in.  So I am doing this backwards - this is rush hour on my ride home and man, was Jamaica station packed.  That's where I change trains - from electric to diesel to get back home.  I left the city on a 4:25 train and I couldn't believe the crowd.  Everything ran well and I was back in Sea Cliff by 5:30.  So I will be doing this backwards, and show you some photographs of the Armory, a historic building in Manhattan.  Then some photographs of the exhibition.

 

Same Tree, Different Direction

This is so funny.  Two days before I took this photograph, I took another one, of the same tree, but from a different direction.   I posted that one yesterday!  I worked on this photograph just now, and was getting ready to put it on the blog when I suddenly realized that it was the same tree, only from a different direction!  I have photographed this scene so many tines in so many seasons, but what struck me was that I have never seen so many people standing there before.  That's because it was sunday and the park was full of people enjoying the afternoon. And I love the dark gray clouds overhead.

 

Two People, Six Geese

You have seen this scene many times before.  It is a view from where we have our Dunkin' coffee and donuts when it is not too hot or cold to sit on the beach.  After I left the pool after taking photographs of Vivian swimming I walked about 50 feet and saw this scene.  I couldn't believe my eyes, seeing four geese walking from left to right into my photograph!  They are not evenly spaced, but close enough which is what makes this photograph work.  Quite a day of photography!

 

Edward Albee, My Favorite Photograph

When Edward Albee died in September of 2016 at age 88, I remembered that I had taken this photograph of him on the beach in Montauk, down below his home.  I quickly looked everywhere but had no luck because my files of 41 years of my work are not well organized.  I was going through some color transparencies more recently and found a color portrait of him with a background of trees that was taken after this assignment.  So I posted that portrait on the blog on March 27, 2025.  Then recently I found a print of THIS portrait, the one I had been looking for all these years!  I was thrilled beyond belief!  The portrait is all that I remember it to be, with him surrounded by the sea and the sky and grasses, leaning on a fence with the driftwood in the foreground!  I think this is a perfect portrait of him!  I did mention that he couldn't have been nicer both times that I photographed him, in spite of him looking like this for the portrait.  It is the face he wanted to present to the public and I let him do that.  Please click on this image because I posted it in a much larger size.