Down by the Water

I went down to the water today to see what I could find. It was low tide, so I looked around the rocks and found this interesting composition, with rocks and seaweed and barnacles. I think it is more about abstract design, and I think it lacks the emotional quality which I think makes some photos "something else."

Why We Can't See The Stars

I went to a nearby town where the high school is thinking of building an observatory for students to use for astronomy programs. We looked around to see where the building might be located. I took some long exposure photographs of the sky to see how badly the light pollution from nearby communities would affect the ability to see faint stars. As you can see in this photo, the "sky glow" from lights in the distance is so bright that no stars are visible near the horizon. The bright object in the upper right is the moon. But that is not the cause of the light pollution. It is a shame that light pollution from man made sources so prevalent that so few people have seen the Milky Way.

The Scent of Spring

In early spring there is a lovely scent around here from two different Lilac trees. This, one, the lighter of the two, is not as aromatic as the darker purple one. I photographed this one because the color is more subtle. This is also the tree that I was photographing when I nearly stepped on the dandelion! You remember the dandelion photo, right? But this is a nice photo as well, so I am posting this also. I think the photo is more interesting because this particular view has the green in the background. In some images, I excluded the background and the photographs are not as interesting.

Mother's Day

At the end of masses at church on Mother's Day all the mothers present are invited up to the front of the church, and parishioners raise their hands during a prayer for the moms. And each mom receives a small flower in a pot as well. During the prayer I was looking around and saw this mom and her baby, who were close to me. I was taken by her expression during prayer, while holding her baby, and with some of the other parishioners with their hands raised. It felt like the right photograph for the day.

Rainy Days

I love photographing on days of rain and mist. Without the harsh shadows of the sun, you can see details in everything, and the colors are almost super saturated. I had been out nearly all day on Friday, running errands and on the way home, late in the afternoon, I drove past Cedarmere, the home of William Cullen Bryant, in Roslyn. Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. His most famous poem was Thanatopsis, which you will recognize, at least in name. I have always loved this particular building on the property for a number of reasons. It was, I believe, the Grist Mill, which was water powered, appears abandoned - which it is not - it is awaiting restoration, but most of all, because it is always seen reflected in the pond between it and the roadway I drive along. I actually overcame inertia to take this photo. I had passed it and wrestled with whether or not to turn around and go back to it, which I ultimately did. I spent about forty minutes, lost in the joys of composition, looking for the best photograph of the scene, which is always fun when you loose track of time.

When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth

Now that I am retired, I can join the monthly "Dinosaur Breakfast" which was started by my colleague and fellow photographer Dick Kraus about 4 or 5 years ago when he retired. He wanted a way for retired colleagues to stay in touch at a monthly gathering. He came up with the term "Dinosaurs" to describe those of us photographers who have been working in this business for a long time. I am not exactly sure of the implication of the term "dinosaur", other than our ages. I think it may have something to do with our work ethic or something. I will have to ask Dick. Anyhow, there were thirteen of us around the table in the diner - photographers from Newsday, and the News and the Post and the NY Times, and some people from the art department and a writer, and our former department secretary. I was thinking of the length of time each of us has worked for newspapers, and decided to add up the total number of years we have collectively spent in the newspaper business. The total? Four hundred and ninety three years! For thirteen people! I kid you not. 493 years! Wow! (From left to right: Phil Dionisio, Lee Levine, and Dick Kraus.)

Intersections in Our Lives

So there I was, crouching in the gutter in the street. I had my toy camera with me, and was trying to photograph the thousands of beautiful pink cherry blossoms which were drifting down from the tree branches. Suddenly a car pulled up at the corner, and I heard: "Ken! Is that you?" "Whaaaat?" I am thinking! I am nowhere near where I live in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and someone here knows me? I looked up to see Srischua, the college student who with her classmate interviewed me two weeks ago! She had come to this neighborhood to pick up some film she had left at a nearby camera shop. I had come to the same shop to buy a new case for my toy camera. I hadn't been to this shop in six months! And someone I have met exactly once, comes by at exactly the same moment! So I had her take a photo of me photographing the blossoms on the lawn, thinking I would put it on the blog. But then she was showing me about the macro setting on my toy camera, and I took my Nikon and realized that my shots of just the blossoms alone were not enough - the photo needed SOMETHING else - it needed a person in it. So here she is, and the photograph is far more interesting because of her.