By The Seashore

Guess where I was.  Right.  Walking along by the harbor.  The tide was almost all the way out and the sun was low in the sky.  What was happening was that some fresh water from underground springs on the uphill side of the road, drains out of a pipe that runs under the road and out to the beach.  It's that water running down the beach that leaves these interesting patterns and shapes that reflect the sun.  This makes a landscape that looks more like I had photographed it from an airplane.  Oh, and I love the seagull right at the edge of the waves!  Please click on this image to see some really interesting detail.

This is Beautiful, Right?

I have talked about the monster condominium construction project that has been under construction in Glen Cove down by the water.  It is so huge and so out of scale it is not even funny.  Well, here is another condo project in the middle of downtown Glen Cove, being constructed by the same company.  So these buildings are beautiful, right?  No, they are not!  I cannot believe that the architect who designed these couldn't make something more pleasing to the eye.

I think what they have tried to do is to mimic some designs from European cities.  Guess what?  They haven't even come close!  What a random jumble of shapes and designs and colors all jammed into one structure.  Welcome to the future.

The Leaning Tree

I have walked this path a billion times.  I think I have photographed everything along this walk every which way.  At least I thought so.  Then today when walking back towards home, I noticed this one Sycamore tree, bent and leaning out towards the water.  I don't know why it caught my eye, or why I hadn't seen it before, but there was something about the tree leaning away that reached out to me.  I thought it was worth a photograph.  I love that there was a person in a red jacket way in the distance.

A Berry Nice Walk...

Oh man, tell me I didn't just write that title!  Help!  That is so lame.  But I was desperate for some kind of interesting title.  I saw these berried on my walk.  They are wild and are growing on a chain link fence along my route.  I was really looking hard for something to photograph on my very familiar route, when I spotted this tiny bit of color.  Everything is so gray and brown, that seeing these bright berries made my day!  Sorry for my pun...

Remembrance Day

After I got my observing permit at Sunken Meadow State Park, I got my camera and walked out to the boardwalk which runs along the beach.  It is a wonderful place to walk, that runs for three-quarters of a mile right along the shoreline,   I saw this plastic poppy fastened to one of the benches on the boardwalk.  A song by Mark Knopfler came to mind, and it is called "Remembrance Day" and he sings about all the young men lost in the war, and the refrain is "We will remember them, remember them remember them..."  So this is what Remembrance Day is:  It is sometimes known informally as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of the remembrance poppy, is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of First World War on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month", in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the British and the French.  In the United States it’s called Veteran’s Day.

The First Quarter Moon

The first quarter Moon is such a lovely thing to see.  And I am not sure exactly why, when you see it with the unaided eye.  But through a telescope it is an absolutely spectacular sight!  The reason is because during the first quarter Moon, the Sun is illuminating only half the moon, and the sunlight is raking across the surface.  What that does is show the craters and mountains is strong relief!  The surface of the Moon is so rugged and smashed by all the rocky debris left over from the formation of the solar system.  I guess I should take a close-up photograph of the surface of the Moon, one of these days.

A Butterfly in Winter

The other day I drove to Sunken Meadow State Park on the north shore of Long Island.  I was there to purchase a Stargazing Permit, which I do each year.  It allows a person to enter some of the state parks on Long Island after dark to do observing.  You must have a telescope or binoculars with you to be legit.  Anyhow, I passed this butterfly, which is painted metal, on the way into the office.  I have no idea why it is here, but it was bright and pretty and incongruous so I thought it would make a picture!

Snow Shovel on the Back Porch?

Why is there a snow shovel on your back porch?  It hasn't snowed for nearly two months.  Well, to tell the truth, it is my talisman.  Or my good luck charm.  If you look up the meaning of "talisman" you will find that they are typically an inscribed ring or stone.  That doesn't describe a snow shovel, does it?  OK, so the shovel is my good luck charm.  I got this shovel out two months ago when we had a couple of inches of snow.  I left it here in case we have some more.  But we haven't.  So I am afraid to take it away because then we could have a blizzard!

City Textures

I was walking through Chelsea on the way to the Warhol exhibits,  when  I saw these tree branches between me and the apartment complex in the distance.  I am always looking for little details in the city that I can photograph.  Sometimes the things I see are very subtle, as this is.  I just love the contrast between nature and the work of man.  Not sure what that means, but it was fun to see.

The Guard

I saw this scene at the Rubin Museum last week and quickly took three frames, all slightly different.  In the first one, I was in a hurry and cut his feet off.  Duh!  This is the second frame.  I realized that I want a picture that shows the guard in full length.  I want that because what struck me about the guard was how nicely he was dressed and how elegantly he was standing.  This photograph is all about how the guard was standing.

Eye in the Sky

This is the usual.  Walk along the harbor.  Look for stuff.  See a strange cloud formation in the sky.  Take a picture of it.  Then come back home and try and decide whether or not I like the color version, or the black and white version.  I chose black and white.  A normal day...   :-)  Black and white is lovely some times, isn't it?

Meet the Candidate

We were invited on Sunday by our long tine friends, Nancy and Larry, to attend a brunch at their home, so that we could meet a new political candidate.  This is Melanie D'Arrigo, and she is a Democrat running in a primary against Tom Suozzi, our current representative in Congress.

I had never heard of her before, so Kathy and I were interested in meeting her and seeing what she has to say.  She spoke of how she will never accept donations from corporations, that health care is a human right, she will fight to transition to a green economy, and to create a fair tax system that doesn't just cater to the ultra-rich.

It was so impressive to hear her talk and to see her intelligence and feel her energy.  In short, she is awesome!  It was a pleasure to meet her.

A Gift From the New Neighbors!

We have a new family living next door - they are renting the house for six months.  They are from California and have three young children.  So in January, Kathy and I went over to introduce ourselves and welcome them to the neighborhood.  Kathy bought a nice batch of freshly baked cookies and they were thrilled.  End of story.  Except the other day we found this cute homemade fabric bag with a bow on it, on our front doorstep.  How cute is this!  When we opened it up, we found three Valentine cookies that were baked by the children!  How sweet is that!  And the best thing might be the note that they sent with the cookies - if you click on this picture, I think you should be able to read the note.  This made our day!  Oh, and the cookies were delicious!

Something Magical

I went for my walk today down along the harbor.  The light was direct but soft, and the water was calm.  I saw the waves and the light surrounding this rock, and the scene was magical!  It appeared that the rock was glowing.  Some photographs have a very special quality about them - they contain an "extra something" about them - something deeper, something more spiritual.  This is one of them.

A LOT of Photographs!

While walking from one of the first exhibits that we saw, to a different exhibit, we passed this gallery and happened to look into the window.  We were stunned to see all the small photographs covering all the walls of the gallery!  I have never seen so many photographs in one place!  I couldn't imagine what the subjects of the photographs were.  Doors.  The photographer Roy Colmer did a series "Doors, NYC (1975-76)"  He would walk down a street and photograph every door on the street, and then mount all the small photographs in a long frame.  He did this on hundreds of streets that he passed through.  The finished monumental project included 3,000 photographs.  OK, one more really interesting thing.  Do you see the steel beam on the right side of the photo.  Believe it or not, it is one of the supports for the High Line!  There are four of these beams that go through the gallery! They obviously built the gallery under the High Line.  The beams are really old, fastened together with rivets which is the old way to do it.  They are beautiful all by themselves.

Sourdough Success!!!

Kathy has been struggling recently with making the perfect sourdough loaf.  Perhaps it is the Winter season or the weather.  Who knows.  Because she has had great success in the past, and I have posted photographs of those loaves of bread.    Recently, it wouldn't rise enough or it wouldn't have a dark and crunchy crust.  She tried so many things.  Well, it turns out that Liz has a friend in Los Angeles who makes several loaves of this every week, and the other day, Liz sent us a photo of a loaf that Liz made, and it was just what Kathy was looking for.  So, following the directions that Liz used, this is the first try that Kathy did, and it is out of this world!

So one of the secrets is, that the loaf is baked in a "Dutch Oven" and the secret is, at some point as the baking is nearly done, the loaf is removed from the Dutch Oven and baked all by itself!  There were other issues of giving the bread a longer time to "proof" and also a rest period after the dough was deflated.  I cannot tell you how great it is to have fresh bread like THIS!  This is breakfast tomorrow!

"Untitled" (Placebo)

So this is probably my best photograph in a long time!  When I looked in the viewfinder and saw this I got a tingle.  I went to the Rubin Museum with Stan and Ann today.  This is part of an exhibit called "Measure Your Existence" with exhibits by six artists.  This artwork is titled "Untitled" (Placebo)  by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, first created in 1991. The explanation: “In this manifestation of "Untitled" (Placebo), silver-wrapped hard candies are arranged as a large carpet on the floor.  Visitors can choose to take individual pieces of candy, making them active participants in the changing physical form of the work.  As the pile dwindles, the Museum can replenish and regenerate the supply of candy as it sees fit.  The work has an ideal weight of 1,000 to 1,200 pounds, and the candies can be configured in different ways each time it is exhibited.  The gesture of taking a candy from the piece can be understood as a means of registering the transitory nature of each moment and the poetic boundaries between public and private, art and life.” The candy I took was lemon flavored.

Tired of Overcast and Rain

I am a bit tired of overcast skies and rain.  Gray, gray, gray...  So I found this picture that I took several weeks ago.  Look, blue sky!  And the remains of sunshine.  What more could I ask for?  A reminder that some day the weather will get better.

"...You Lookin' At?" Part 2

This is Grace, giving me "the look!"  Look at her intensity!  Why is she looking at me like this?  I know perfectly well why...  When I sit in my easy chair in the living room which I only do to read, she comes and sits like this looking at me.  Want to know why?  Because she is hoping I will reach over and get my red laser pointer, and run it around the floor of the living room and dining room so Grace, and Sam, and even BeBe can run around and chase it.  They LOVE doing this.  And the interesting thing is, they take turns, depending on if I quickly put the red dot in front of another cat, the others will wait until it is there turn.  Cats are fun!   :-)

A Different Beachscape

You have seen so many photographs I have taken of the beach and the harbor, but I have not shot something like this before.  As I was on my walk along the harbor I noticed all these rocks stretched along in a row.  I don't remember noticing this before - I guess the tide had to be right, and the light had to be right as well.  It was funny how all of a sudden I became aware of this scene.  Nice design - the curving beach.

Which Way Do I Go?

I have been taking photographs of these two turn arrows down at the entrance to Tappan Beach.  I have shot them from different directions, in differnent weather, and at different times of day,  None of the pictures seemed to quite work, but I kept trying.  Yesterday I tried shooting them late in the afternoon from all directions, in the late afternoon sun.  When I got to this spot, there was my shadow in the middle!  That's the shot!  And here it is for you to enjoy.

"...You Lookin' At?"

The cats are so funny!  I walked into the back room and the cats immediately turned to look at me!  They are so funny, right?  Look at Sam, in the foreground, and the look he has on his face!  You noticed the title on this blog?  There is a story about where I first heard that phrase.  I was doing an assignment at a high school in Queens some years ago.  There was a young black student sitting on the steps in front of the school, and as I watched, another student stopped and looked at the sitting student.  So the sitting student says "...you lookin' at?"  So ever since that day, I love using that phrase just for fun!

St. George's Church

I went down to a tool store in Hempstead, NY today.  When I came out, the sky was a dark dark gray, and a church spire and  a cupola with a clock were illuminated by the sun against the dark sky.  I walked toward a spot to photograph that view, but then I saw this beautiful, historic church. Here is what the signs say:  St. George’s Church, Episcopan-Anglican 1735.  "George II by the grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland King, defender of the faith to all to whom these presents shall come.  Greeting!  Wherea’s we have been informed that Saint George’s church has been erected dedicated to Almighty God."  Wow, this church has been around for a while, and it is just beautiful.

Grounded Seagulls

With the rain and low clouds all the seagulls were grounded today.  I haven't seen so many gulls in one place before.  I used a long telephoto lens to take this picture, and what you are seeing behind the gulls is Hempstead Harbor and Long Island Sound, and in the far distance, New Rochelle, NY on the north side of the sound.

Nap Time in the Spencer Household...

I walked into the living room after being downstairs in the basement working on something, and saw this scene!  How cute is this!  This is Bebe, the 20 year old cat, and she likes to be around Kathy as much as she can.  This has happened before, if Kathy falls asleep while reading, then Bebe may curl up on Kathy's legs or stomach.  But here she has gotten as close as possible, before falling asleep.  Is this precious, or what!

The Seasoned Reporter & The Cub Photographer

So this photograph is from a long time ago!  I had just graduated from R.I.T in May of 1964 and went to work for the Rochester Times Union on the photo staff.  One day when I showed up to work, dressed appropriately as a photographer should, the reporter I was sent on assignment with, was dressed exactly the same!  Someone suggested we have our picture taken.  So the reporter borrowed a camera bag, and I borrowed Ivan Conklin's black rimmed eyeglasses, and we walked down the street next to the Gannett building!  What a fun photograph to discover after all these years!

On Golden Pond

I am having fun with my 400mm telephoto lens on my afternoon walks!  Of course, this was not on golden pond, this was Hempstead Harbor.  It was perfect light with the sun near the horizon, which gave this golden color to the light reflecting on the water.  As some Mallards were swimming by, I followed them as they swam into the light, which was actually a narrow band of reflection.  So I followed them along as they trailed diamonds in the water, until I got this shot.

Out of Gas...

This gas station, that doesn't sell any gas, has been here forever.  I did the math, and he apparently opened in 1971, the year we bought our house in Sea Cliff.  I moved here in November of 1966.  This business has always been here, and there has always been a beat up, rusted out Chevrolet El Camino parked there.  There might have been gas pumps here years and years ago, but I can't remember that long ago.

This is a good overall shot of the garage, and truthfully, I am not sure I would have ever wanted to bring my car here for service.  But this certainly has been a Sea Cliff institution.

The Colors of Sunset

Oh no, he's showing us another sunset!  Yeah, well, but this is an absolutely beautiful one with all the colors in the sky and reflected in the water.  There were a couple of cloud layers, and the lower clouds were out of the sun, but the higher clouds were still illuminated by the setting sun.  I love that there are so many subtle colors in this photograph.