Nature, Not in Nature

I saw this photograph when I was leaving the shopping center in Garden City.  It is seeing nature in a way that we don't normally see it - the shapes of the trees and their shadows are in stark relief against the painted concrete wall.  Usually the forms would be lost against that of other trees and confusing backgrounds of the forest.  It's kind of fun to try and see which of these dark lines are the trees, and which are the shadows.

I Am Published Again!

Back in January, on the blog, I told the story of getting to photograph Russell Munson, the pilot and photographer, whose work I have known of for years.  So today the story ran in Newsday, and it was really a kick to see my photos with my byline, in the newspaper again.  Here are four of the photographs from my shoot that they used in the paper.  This assignment was really a thrill!

Keeping The Clouds Out

They have recently remodeled the Roosevelt Field Shopping Center in Garden City.  When I first came to Long Island in 1966,  the offices of Newsday were just across the street from Roosevelt Field.  Boy, have things changed!  I used to go there a couple of times a week, and now I haven't been there more then once or twice in six months.  I went there the other day to see the new Nieman Marcus store, and to see the facelift.  One of the surprising things was that I had never heard of half the stores that are there now.  I did like this greenhouse roof, though.

Brooklyn, and Home!

There isn't another city like New York City.  I am reminded of that every time I arrive home by commercial airline.  It is more obvious when flying into LaGuardia airport, because some of the approaches to LaGuardia, like this one, involve flying from south to north just east of Manhattan.  I am on the right hand side of the airplane and I got to see Brooklyn spread out before me.  It is a stunning sight, and never fails to astound me, as many times as I have seen it.  If you are curious, the bright spot in the upper right if the photo is John F. Kennedy Airport.

The Old Cemetery

Our friend Rush told us of an old cemetery in Albuquerque that was quite neglected, and I immediately said that I would like a chance to photograph it.  We found badly neglected headstones and other ironwork that surrounded graves.  The  graves had probably been neglected because they were so old, many from the 1800's.  There were also really nicely kept gravesites that had fresh white paint on the fencing, and colored decorations and fresh flowers.  I didn't go near those sites because I didn't want to offend any of the families that took care of them.

Leaving Albuquerque

Leaving Albuquerque, I was glued to the airplane window, of course, with my camera at the ready.  Slowly this scene came into view.  It is a mesa that has been eroding for, I am guessing, millions of years.  The gray layer on the top of the mesa was the last layer to be added, and as it is eroded over time, it reveals the orange and red layers beneath it.  It is such an organic looking thing that it looks unearthly.

The Photographer

I can't remember exactly how this picture came about.  I think that Stan might have said something about the window and the light and how the two benches were silhouetted against the light.  Then I think I said "Hey, can you go over and stand there, and turn to your right and look through your camera?"  The second he did, I thought I had a really good shot.  So this is a group effort, and I really love the result.