People – Photography, Images and Cameras

A visit to upstate New York and Vermont – Back in Westchester County, NY The morning after our dinner at Roots we had breakfast, let Juno run around for a while and then, since my friends had offered to drive me back home, we headed off back towards the lower Hudson valley where I live. On the way we stopped at Chuang Yen monastery (above), near Putnam Valley where I ...
A visit to upstate New York and Vermont – Star Trek Original Series Set Tour When I mentioned to a colleague that we would be visiting Ticonderoga, NY she suggested that we might want to check out the Star Trek Original Series Set Tour. I’ve been watching Star Trek since I was kid, and my friend’s husband was an even more devoted fan than I am (he seems to be ...
A visit to upstate New York and Vermont – Lunch at Eddie F’s New England Seafood Restaurant in Saratoga Springs We’d spent most of the day at the Saratoga National Historical Park and we didn’t get back to Saratoga Springs until late afternoon. We were hungry and there were lots of restaurants to choose from. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult to find parking. Thankfully, my friends remembered a restaurant that someone had ...
Encounter at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery The weekend before last I was in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow. They were well into their preparations for Hallowe’en. Of course, Hallowe’en is a big event in Sleepy Hollow because of the connection with Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. I walked through Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and was waiting for my ride when I came across ...
Self Portait I like black and white photography. In many ways I see things in black and white. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a time before color photography became important. Most of the photographs and movies I saw when I was young were in black and white. Yes, I know that ...
Hallowe’en’s coming After my lunch at Susuru (See: A Ramen restaurant in Tarrytown) I walked through Tarrytown and into Sleepy Hollow, where the Hallowe’en preparations were well underway. Of course, Hallowe’en is a big deal around here because of the connection between the village and Washington Irving’s short story: “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, which is set there. ...
A Ramen restaurant in Tarrytown While searching for something else on the Internet I bumped into a listing for this Ramen restaurant in nearby Tarrytown. I’m very fond of Ramen so off I went to try it. It’s called to Susuru Ramen. It’s quite small and when I walked in it was completely full. I was lucky to get a seat ...
Alexander My grandson Alexander at the Eileen O’Connor Weber Historical Center, home of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. Taken with an iPhone SE II
An Ice Cream Van I used to see lots of these when I was growing up in England. They played music, and when we heard them coming, we would rush in to our parents to get money to buy something. I don’t recall seeing many of them nowadays, possibly because there are no children in the immediate vicinity, and there ...
In New York City with Jasmine – In Chinatown My feet were no longer hurting (much). I wasn’t thirsty, but I was starting to get hungry. Luckily Jasmine appeared with a couple of her friends. We had a drink (or in my case another drink) and after a while one of her friends left. We went to Chinatown with the ...
In New York City with Jasmine – Around The Frederick Jasmine had a few things to do so I walked around for a while taking pictures in the area around the Frederick Hotel. I saw the picture above from the window of my room at the Frederick (See: In New York City with Jasmine – Our next hotel, The Frederick) and had to go down ...
In New York City with Jasmine – 9/11 Memorial I’d been to the memorial before, back in October 2013: (See: New York 9/11 Memorial). According to Sowing Seeds of Faith: The 9/11 Memorial is no ordinary tourist attraction. We were enjoying the sights and sounds of New York City but once we stepped on “Ground Zero” the laughter and chatter ceased. We were fellow mourners paying ...
In New York City with Jasmine – DJango As mentioned in an earlier post, the reason we stayed at The Roxy was because we were going to spend the evening at, Django, a jazz club on the lower level of the hotel. Django’s website describes the club as follows: Descend into The Django and you’ll feel like you’ve entered another world. The subterranean jazz club, ...
A visit from Alexander Alexander is my grandson. He’s the only male (among seven females in my immediate family). He recently graduated from University in the UK and has come here, I imagine, to explore his American Roots (his mother was born in the USA). I went into New York City (Manhattan) to see him. We had ...
A Walk through Peekskill – Ice Cream As I mentioned earlier it was a very hot and humid day. As I left Ramenesque I noticed this group of people eating ice cream. A wonderful opportunity for a bit of street photography, I thought. Pity the guy on the far left was not a foot or two away from the ...
Bar in Fishkill, NY Love the dog. Taken with a Sony RX100 M1
Self Portrait with hat The hat says it all! Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 24mm f2.8 G.
Children in a bouncy castle It’s that time of year again. School’s out and the Briarcliff Manor Recreation Department organizes a variety of different summer camps. That means that there are swarms of excited children all around the village. As I was walking into the village to have some lunch, I spotted a “bouncy castle” in the distance. I ...
Lunch in Mount Kisco I went with my friend, Gustavo to lunch in Mount Kisco, NY the other day. He wanted to go to a particular place, but unfortunately it was not open that day. So instead, we went to Stonefire. Anyone who reads this blog will know of my interest in cemeteries. Stonefire is directly opposite ...
Good friends These are long time, good friends. The pictures were taken about a year ago on the occasion of one of them celebrating both retirement and a birthday. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Man on a motorcycle Just about a year ago I found myself in Woodstock, NY. The pictures I took will be posted shortly (I’d forgotten that I’d taken them), but in the meantime, I wanted to share this picture of a man on his motorcycle. With the cigarette in his right hand, and the coffee cup in his ...
Karen’s Birthday Yesterday was the Executive Director of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society and my friend Karen’s Birthday. So, we had a little celebration. I had earlier invited the Historical Society’s Board members. In that invitation I had asked if one of them would volunteer to pick up something to eat. Unfortunately, I must not ...
Black and White or Color Trying a bit of street photography in New York City (Manhattan). I generally like to do my street photography in Black and White. But there’s something I like about the bright colors in this one that makes me want to leave it in color. What to you think? Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Sigma 18-50mm f2.8
An oldie – Eirah My late wife, Eirah in the Philippines in 2000. Taken with a Canon Powershot S10
From Rockwood Hall to Sleepy Hollow – Lunch at the Bridgeview Tavern It was a rather warm day and after walking for some time I was tired; my feet were sore, and I was thirsty and very hungry. My walk had taken me to the bottom of Beekman Ave. in Sleepy Hollow just a block or two from one of my favorite hangouts: The Bridge View ...
Eirah’s Roses I thought I had already posted about this, but after checking I believe I didn’t. The “Eirah” in the title was my wife. She enjoyed gardening of all kinds, but her first love was growing roses. She was particularly fond of old roses, especially those from the English grower, David Austin. She also participated actively in ...
Kensico Dam – Contemplating the Reservoir I wanted to take a picture of the reservoir but needed to something in the foreground to stop it from looking totally boring. I saw this guy leaning on the wall and asked him if I could take a picture with him in it. He was initially reluctant, but I explained that it ...
Happy Birthday Today would have been my late wife, Eirah’s 77th birthday. Here she is seen with granddaughter, Savannah at Roaring Brook Lake in 2016. Happy Birthday, Love. Miss you! Taken with a Sony A500 DSLR
Mr. Law, we need a church – Participants Some of the 40 or so participants. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 75mm f1.8 FE
Mr. Law, we need a church – Important figures in the later history of the church Clockwise from left to right Dr. Ion Jackson whose music ministry burned brightly from 1914-1926; Ruth Stanley Farnam (aka the Baroness de Luz) who raised funds to support relief efforts during and after WWI; Rev. Richard Beebe after whom the current Parish Hall is named; Julia Stimson, a distinguished military nurse. Taken with a Sony A7IV ...
Mr. Law, we need a church – Friedrich ‘Fritz’ Brockelmann Pastor Farnsworth spoke at some length about Friedrich Brockelmann and included words from a particularly touching dedication delivered by his pastor, the first pastor here at BCC, Rev. Alexander Mac Coll (text in bold) I’d like to show you a picture of Friederick Brockelmann. You may not have heard of him before, he lived a long ...
Mr. Law, we need a church – Some early luminaries Some of the key players in the early development of the Congregational movement, and the creation of the Briarcliff Congregational Church. Clockwise from left to right: Mr. Robert Raikes (instrumental in establishing the Sunday School movement in the UK); a map of Whitson’s Corners which later became Briarcliff Manor; Friedrich Brockelmann’s wedding to Walter Law’s ...
A mystery I haven’t a clue what this is! It was standing outside a church, and it’s certainly different. That’s why I took a picture of it. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Sigma 18-50mm f2.8
A Soccer Match As I was returning home from one of my walks I noticed this soccer match taking place at a local high school. Of course, I’m British and I have to call it soccer rather than what the rest of the world calls it: football. This is because in the US they have a very popular ...
Where did he go? This was taken on Third Avenue around 51st Street. I saw two elderly people approaching: a man using a walker and a woman. The woman stopped for some reason, (maybe to look in a store window?) and without her noticing the man continued on down Third Avenue. After a while she looked ...
Lunch in New York City – Returning home On the train back home. Judging from their animated conversation my fellow passengers seem to have had a good time in the city…as did I! Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Lunch in New York City – Grand Central Terminal Part 2 – Down to the platform While waiting for my train to arrive I had a little time to take a few more pictures. Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Lunch in New York City – Grand Central Terminal Part 2 – Back at Grand Central Entrance to Grand Central Terminal with the famous clock in the background. There were lots of people. New York City seems to have largely recovered from the Pandemic. I think I liked it more during COVID when there were fewer people on the streets. Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Lunch in New York City – Returning to Grand Central Terminal Getting darker. More Christmas lights on Grand Central Terminal. In the foreground one of the brass plaques mentioned earlier. Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Lunch in New York City – Men at Work Seen while walking along Park Avenue. I didn’t know that I was so scary. Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Lunch in New York City – Man Outside Grand Central Terminal As I left Grand Central Terminal two street people were in the middle of a loud argument. I think it’s cruel to take pictures of street people, so I don’t often do it. In this case they both seemed so angry and aggressive that I didn’t want to risk the consequences if they ...
Lunch in New York City – Grand Central Terminal Part 1 I didn’t want to be late for my lunch appointment, so I only had time to take a couple of pictures, just before I reached the exit to 42nd Street – opposite the Pershing Square Café. Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sony E 16mm f2.8
Christmas at Karen’s Karen is my friend, and boss at the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society (BMSHS). She was kind enough to invite me to spend Christmas with her and her son, Robert. I had a great time. The table awaits. Festive Munchies. Red Tulips. Karen. Christmas meal. I made a chicken, bacon, mushroom, peas and leek pie. Christmas wreaths. Taken with ...
Happy New Year Happy New Year to everyone. Taken with an iPhone SE II
Some of my favorite pictures of 2023 – Black and White Foggy Law Park. Briarcliff Manor, NY. March 2. Cornelia Cotton in her store/gallery. Croton-on-Hudson. March 4. Tomb, Old Dutch Burying Ground. Sleepy Hollow, NY. February 14. Taking a Break. Boston MA. July 22. Abstract Composition. Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ. August 16. Gnarly Tree. Briarcliff Manor, NY. October 15. Figure on Third Avenue, Manhattan. ...
A Walk through Ossining – A couple of guys ‘chillin’ out I struggled with a title for this image and I’m still not happy with the one chose. I was walking around looking for a picture, when I came across these two guys sitting in front of the Smith Robinson House. It looked as if they were on their lunch break. They were certainly eating ...
Walter W. Law Portrait Walter W. Law (November 13, 1837 – January 17, 1924), the Founder of Briarcliff Manor. Painted by Howard Russell Butler. (1856 – 1934) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_W._Law. “The first president and founder of the American Fine Arts Society, Howard Russell Butler was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1902. He was especially known for his paintings of ...
A Visit to Boston – Day Three – A budding photographer Back in Back Bay Station I was waiting for my train to leave when I heard a voice asking me if I was a photographer. I turned towards the voice and saw this woman sitting next to me. I replied that I was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, but not a professional (as if ...
A Visit to Boston – Day Three – Pigeonman It was time for me to head back to Back Bay Station. Directly across from the station I came across this man feeding the pigeons. He seems to be having a great time and encouraged me to take pictures. Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS
A Visit to Boston – Day Three – Boston Public Library As I arrived in Copley Square this was the first building I encountered: The wonderful Boston Public Library. The library’s website provides the following information: Established in 1848 by an act of the General Court of Massachusetts, the Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first large free municipal library in the United States. In 1839, French ventriloquist ...
A Visit to Boston – Day Two – Dinner at Filippos Walking back to the Hotel at the end of the first day we bumped into an interesting looking restaurant and decided that, since we’d already had dinner we’d have dessert there (that’s when the first picture was taken). At the end of the second day, we decided to have dinner there (unfortunately we didn’t ...
A Visit to Boston – Day Two – Back to Quincy Market After the bicycle riding show we were hungry and went back to Quincy Market for something to eat: lobster rolls. Yummy. Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS
A Visit to Boston – Day Two – A Street Entertainer I must say that he was very entertaining. And I don’t think that I’ve ever seen anyone juggling two (I think it was two. Might have been three) knives while riding a 10-foot-tall unicycle and playing bagpipes. He could probably do it in his sleep, but managed to give the impression that he might ...
A Visit to Boston – Day One – Around the North End Some time ago I took the train up to Boston to meet up with some Canadian friends who were visiting there. The hotel we were staying in was in the North End. None of us got there until late afternoon so these pictures were taken in the North End and along the Charles ...
All Saints-Day Service at All-Saints Episcopal Church, Briarcliff Manor This pleasant old church stands about two blocks away from my house. All Saints’ Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church in Briarcliff Manor, New York. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. John David Ogilby, whose summer estate and family home in Ireland were the namesakes of Briarcliff Manor, founded ...
An Evening at Rinis A friend recently invited me to go to a place called Rini’s in Elmsford. It’s an Italian restaurant that on certain nights has entertainment. On this night the entertainment consisted of a trio: one guy singing; one guy on drums; and another on keyboards who was clearly the leader of the group. It seems ...
Figures by a mill pond I came across these two women, engrossed in conversation by the mill pond at Philipsburg Manor. Judging by the Nikon camera (I can’t tell whether it’s a DSLR or mirrorless) at least one of them is a photographer. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Sigma 18-50mm f2.8
A man and his motorcycle During a recent visit to a nearby cemetery I spotted a motorcycle by the side of the road. The owner had apparently gone into the woods to find something to weigh down the banner hanging from the pole. After a couple of minutes, he returned. I walked over and asked him if could take ...
Me and my barong My niece got married yesterday. She looked gorgeous in her traditional Filipino dress, called a “Terno”. I couldn’t attend the wedding, but coincidentally I’d come across the male version of a traditional Filipino dress a few days ago while looking through a closet. It’s called a “Barong” and here I am wearing it. ...
Gran and Grandad A cousin in the UK recently sent me this picture. She’s into genealogy and has been building a family tree for us. She informed me that this is my grandmother (Mary Emily Poole) and grandfather (George Dale). As you’ve probably guessed it was taken on their Wedding Day. I knew my ...
A Visit to Philipsburg Manor – Re-enactors Costumed interpreters re-enact life in pre-Revolutionary times, doing chores, milking the cows, and grinding grain in the grist mill. They also act as guides. The current tour was in the manor house, and they were waiting for them to emerge. This gave me a chance to go over and chat with them. I work with ...
Grounds for Sculpture – Figures on a Bridge Continuing the Impressionist theme: My friend Karen on the “Monet Bridge” Sorry couldn’t resist this one. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
Kids in the Garden I recently had a visitor who brought his children over. It was nice to see young people in the garden. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG DN OS Sports Lens
Some oldies I was going through some boxes and I came across these old pictures. So I quickly scanned them. Above: Tübingen, Germany where I studied in the early 1970s. Geneva, Switzerland. My first visit also in the early 1970s. Little did I know that I would end up living/working there for 9 years in the 1990s. View ...
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Three Firemen I’m not usually very good at asking people if I can take their picture. But in this case I just couldn’t miss the wonderful beard. And having asked, I felt I had to ask his two companions too. They were all very gracious and allowed me to take the picture. Taken with a ...
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – A Bandsman After the ceremony concluded I spotted this guy with his trumpet. He had played Taps during the ceremony. As a former trumpet player myself, I couldn’t resist taking his picture. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 F
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Police Representatives of the Police Department salute. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 F
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – BMSHS Wreath The wreath from the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society is presented by the Society’s Executive Director, Karen Smith. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – More from the Fire Department The Fire Department salutes. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Some words Some words from the Fire Department. Unfortunately, I was a long way away and couldn’t hear what he was saying. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – The Wreaths At the beginning of the ceremony the wreaths were off to the side. As the ceremony progressed they would be moved, one by one, by a representative of the organization providing the wreath to a position next to the war memorial. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Veterans observe the ceremony After a long walk during the parade the veterans sit down, take a break, get a well deserved rest and watch the ceremony. The rest of us had to stand. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Boy Scouts Boy Scouts on Parade. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – The Ceremony begins After the parade we moved to our town park: Law Park, where a formal ceremony and wreath laying was to take place. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – The Fire Department A fine turnout from the Fire Department. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Town Officials I recognize the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and Town Manager. I’ll find out who the other two people are and update the post. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – An Old Fire Truck A magnificent, 1940s Fire Truck. I must go by the Fire Department and see if I can find out any additional information on this incredible vehicle. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Veterans A few of the veteran’s march. I imagine there are fewer and fewer each years. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Leading the Parade A couple of flag bearers and a single, lonely motorcycle led the parade. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
Memorial Day in Briarcliff Manor 2023 – Waiting for the parade to arrive We knew that the parade would be passing my friend’s house so she invited me to come over and watch the parade from there. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
In New York City – Korean Food Neither of us knew the area. There were lots of Korean restaurants around, but we didn’t know which ones were good and which were not. So we selected one pretty much at random. I don’t remember its name. The food was very good, but the service less so: we had to ask ...
In New York City – My granddaughter arrives As mentioned in the previous post I waited at the Skylight Diner until my granddaughter arrived. After a short chat while I finished my coffee, I asked her if she was hungry. She replied that she was. I asked her if she liked Korean Food and she answered that she did. So off we ...
In New York City – New York City Street Scene What more is there to say? Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
In New York City – Overview My granddaughter was passing through New York en route to Alaska so we agree to meet in New York City (Manhattan). We would be meeting around noon so I decided to go in early, walk around and take some pictures. The picture above was one of the last I took. It was taken at ...
In search of cave where The Leatherman died The Leatherman (c. 1839–1889 (aged 49–50)) was a vagabond famous for his handmade leather suit of clothes who traveled through the northeastern United States on a regular circuit between the Connecticut River and the Hudson River from roughly 1857 to 1889. Of unknown origin, his identity remains unknown, and controversial. He walked a repeating 365-mile ...
John Kelvin Koelsch – Briarcliff Manor’s own medal of honor winner If you live in, or near my village (Briarcliff Manor, N) and if you frequent the village Park, Law Park you’ve probably seen the monument above. You may also have read the text on the plaque below. For those who haven’t, It briefly tells the story of Lt. John Kelvin Koelsch, a son of Briarcliff Manor ...
A little bit of excitement We had a little bit of excitement at the Historical Society (BMSHS) the other day. The BMSHS shares a building with the Briarcliff Manor Library, The Vescio Community Center and the Briarcliff Manor Recreation Department. I was sitting in the Historical Center when there was a loud bang and all the fire alarms went off. ...
A spooky picture This picture stands outside the door of the Eileen O’Connor Weber Historical Center, which houses the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. We don’t quite know what to do with it. I imagine it was given to the Society at some point. I have no idea who the children are, but I find the ...
Another photobook Last August I posted some pictures I had taken of a friend’s granddaughter’s Quinceañera (See: Elena’s Quinceañera). I decided to to turn the pictures into a photobook that I could give to them. Above: Elena and the book; Below the book cover.
Walking Empanadas An oldie, made almost twenty years ago in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Taken with a Canon Powershot S50.
Croton Aqueduct in Art In an earlier post I mentioned Cornela Cotton and her book store/gallery (See: Cornelia). I also mentioned that she was going to give a presentation organized by the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society on “The Croton Aqueduct in Art”. She gave the presentation to an almost full house at Briarcliff Manor’s Vescio Community Center. It ...
A long walk home – A Shadow of my former self I’d now been walking for around three and a half hours. My feet hurt, and my legs and back were aching. I sat down for a rest (one of many by this point in the walk) on a wall by the side of the road. While sitting there I noticed my shadow. And ...
A long walk home – A Fellow Walker Walking along the Pocantico River Trail I came across this guy trudging along in front of me. He seemed to be struggling a bit. Maybe he’d been walking for some time and was feeling the effects? Later in my own walk I was get a better idea of what he was probably feeling. I ...
A long walk home – Out for a walk It was a lovely day and many people had had the same as I did: to go for a walk. Here a family of four enjoys the gorgeous, sunny weather. Taken in early April 2023 with a Sony R1 and fixed Sony 24-120 f2.8-4.8
At Yonkers station Taken on one platform at Yonkers Metro North Station looking towards another. Although the man is prominent I liked the view of the Palisades in the background and the colony (yes that’s the right word – I looked it up) of gulls swirling around in the background. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 ...
The Trial of Major John André Yesterday I attended an interesting (for those who are interested in US Revolutionary War History, of course) presentation (actually more of a re-enactment) of The Trial of Major John André. It was organized by Revolutionary Westchester 250 as one of the many events and programs commemorating the American Revolution in Westchester County, in the ...
Cornelia This is Cornelia Cotton. She opened an art gallery in Croton-on-Hudson in 1979. One of the earliest gallery shows was called “Croton Water” – the first time that prints, maps, and ephemera of the Old Croton Aqueduct were shown as an art exhibit. Cornelia was active on behalf of the Aqueduct early on, ...
Happy Birthday Yesterday was my late wife’s Birthday. Happy Birthday love. Miss you!
Iphone Pictures In an earlier post (See: A Rant) I took exception to what a photographer I follow on his blog and on YouTube was saying about phone cameras not being “real cameras” and people who use them not being “real photographers. In that post I said: I love cameras. I collect them and have all kinds: ...
A visit to Sterling Forest – Karen and Charlie inside the visitors center My companions, Karen and Charlie. Charlie was kind enough to drive us there. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
A visit to Merestead – Charlie My friend Charlie in full Indiana Jones mode. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
A wealthy man I’ve been thinking about posting this for a while and today seemed to be an appropriate day to get it out. To understand why read on to the end of the post. If you live near where I live I imagine you’re probably familiar with the name “Chilmark”, but I wonder how many know where it ...
Karen and George From left to right – The Executive Director and the President of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
A visit to Storm King Art Center with Family – Family Fun Approaching the elevator to the mansion Granddaughter running. Father and daughter planning the tour. Granddaughter resting on Butterfly Chair by Johnny Swing. Mother and daughters by Three Legged Buddha by Zhang Huan. Three Legged Buddha, this time showing scale. Mirror Fence by Alyson Shotz. Both granddaughters loved this one. Mirror Fence Again. Both granddaughters running. Running towards Bitter Sky by Anthony Caro. (I ...
Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society – Presentation on “The Chain that Saved the Colonies” In earlier posts I’ve mentioned that I am volunteering at the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society. The BMSHS organized a presentation last Sunday (January 15, 2023) on “The Chain that Saved the Colonies.” To stop the British invasion of the New England Colonies during the American Revolution, Peter Townsend manufactured a Great Chain at Sterling Forest ...
Some of my favorite pictures of 2022 – Black and White Queen Anne’s Lace. 25 January. Triple Arch Bridge, Rockefeller State Park. 17 February. Statuette in a friend’s house. August 16th. View from my bedroom. March 12. Spanish American War Memorial, Yonkers, NY. March 23. Tree across from my house. January 17. Feeding pigeons in Washington Square Park. June 3. Dandelion seeds. July 1, Chrysler Building by night. September 13. Skull light ...
Some of my favorite pictures of 2022 – Color Elena Jumping. June 24. Wasps fighting. May 27. Pocantico River passing under the Old Croton Aqueduct. October 23. Hardscrabble Wilderness Area. September 21 Fish in Law Park. August 26 I don’t think he/she appreciated me taking a picture. February 22. Hoverfly Macro. September 2. MOMA Red. September 13. A Lightshade. September 2. Lucas relaxing. November 24
Thanksgiving 2022 My friends/neighbors kindly invited me to spend time with them and their family for Thanksgiving. The festivities were to take place at their son’s house, which is only a short drive away from where they (and I live). Above: a view of the Hudson River from their house. I’d recently had some quite severe ...
Goose This is my friend’s daughter’s new dog, Goose. Incredibly Goose is still only a puppy. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Samyang 45mm f1.8
Picture of a Shop Window Spooky, somewhat surreal picture taken of a shop window in Kingston, NY. Taken with a Sony A7IV and Rokinon/Samyang AF 24-70 f2.8 FE
A Walk at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve The Rockefeller State Park Preserve is a state park in Mount Pleasant, New York in the eastern foothills of the Hudson River in Westchester County. Common activities in the park include horse-riding, walking, jogging, running, bird-watching, and fishing. The park has a rich history and was donated to the State of New York over time ...
A Walk in Sleepy Hollow – Lunch at the Bridge View Tavern After all of the walking documented in the previous few posts I was tired and hungry so I stopped at the Bridge View Tavern for something to eat. While there is still a view of the bridge it’s gradually narrowing as more and more buildings (condos, co-ops, apartments – I don’t know what they ...
A walk around Dobbs Ferry – Waterfront Park In an earlier post (See: A walk around Dobbs Ferry – A Restaurant by the river) I mentioned that there was a small park next to the river on the other side of the parking lot. This photograph was taken there. It’s simply called “Waterfront Park”. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 ...
A friend and his dog My friend Antonio and his dog Henry during a recent walk. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
Some new frames In the preceding post mentioned some problems I had with framed pictures at the Museum of Modern Art. I recently went with some friends to Ikea and came across some useful and inexpensive frames. So I bought two in different styles to see how they would look with my pictures in them. I’ll probably print some ...
A memorial garden From 2012 to late 2021 we owned a house on Roaring Brook Lake in Putnam County, NY. My late wife was a very active member of the community’s garden club (she loved gardening). The garden club maintains a small garden by the entrance to the lake and a few years ago they decided to place ...
Elena’s Quinceañera I while back my friends/neighbors asked me to take some pictures at their granddaughter’s Quinceañera. I didn’t know what a Quinceañera was so they explained it to me. Apparently it’s the celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday, marking her passage from girlhood to womanhood. She was actually sixteen, but for some reason it ...
Look out dog coming through! It was a very hot, humid day and my neighbor’s son’s dog, Reina was having a great time diving into the water and swimming around. Unfortunately, here she came perilously close to landing on my granddaughter. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
Reading “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”…in Sleepy Hollow I recently had some family visitors: two adults and two children. The parents had to go into New York City for business meetings. I got to look after the two children. I decided to read “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” to them. I’ve always loved this story and I thought they might ...
A walk around Hastings-on-Hudson. Busier than I thought I went to Hastings on a sunny, but quite hot Sunday morning thinking that I could have a nice quiet walk around. That was not to be, however, as it seemed that that was the very day that a Village Fair was taking place and the downtown area was teeming with people. C’est la ...
In Manhattan. Some street photography In Manhattan. Some street photography. Phones galore! Above: Sneaky glance. Don’t tell the wife/girlfriend On the phone Cyclist. Again on the phone Woman on phone in front of a Black Lives Matter mural Union Square Park. More people on phones. Couldn’t resist this one. This guy is not only not browsing on his phone, he’s actually reading a – gasp…book, ...
UEFA Champions League Final The other day I went into New York City to meet and old friend and former colleague for lunch and to watch the UEFA Champions League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Real Madrid won despite Liverpool dominating the game. For example Liverpool had nine shots on goal where Madrid, I believe only had one. ...
The Tree Man Cometh The tree man cometh. Actually there were two of them (three today) and they’ve been here every day this week. They’ve cut down and removed three large trees and still have two more to go. Taken with a Sony A7IV, Sony FE 28-75 f3.5-5.6 OSS and Tamron Di III VXD A056SF 70-180mm f2.8.
To the Rockefeller State Park Preserve and back. Part 1: The Park. It was a glorious, sunny when I woke up so I decided to get out of the house and take a walk. Unfortunately the good weather didn’t last long. Pretty soon it clouded over and got quite dark and gloomy. The weather forecast even suggested rain. Still I’d decided to go ...
An Unhappy Day It was my late wife Eirah’s birthday yesterday, the second since we lost her. I miss her so much.
In New York City – Woman on a Train Seen on the The 42nd Street Shuttle, a New York City Subway shuttle train service that operates in Manhattan. The shuttle is sometimes referred to as the Grand Central/Times Square Shuttle, since these are the only two stations it serves. The shuttle runs at all times except late nights, with trains running on two tracks ...
2021 Favorites – Black and White Pocantico Falls, Rockefeller State Park Preserve, NY. Two Trees at Scarborough Station Park, Briarcliff Manor/Scarborough, NY. The Bar at P.J. Clarkes, Manhattan, New York City. Lonesome Pine, Rockefeller State Park Preserve, NY. Icicles, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Strange Creature at Times Square Station, Manhattan, NY. Pigeons bathing on Park Avenue and 51st Street, Manhattan, NY. Woman in Starbucks, Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, NY. Fabulous ...
2021 Favorites – Color Building on Water Street, Ossining, NY. Grasses in the snow, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Outside “The Perfect Pint” in New York City. Birds, Tarrytown, NY. Ice on Peekskill Bay, Peekskill, NY. Nearby woodland, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Woman with a red bag, Grand Central Terminal, NY. A scary visitor, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Ants on a thistle, Briarcliff Manor, NY. Deer in the meadow, Briarcliff Manor, NY.
On the water in New York City – Staten Island Ferry Terminal After lunch with a friend from Switzerland I decided to go down to the Southernmost tip (The Battery) of Manhattan and take the Staten Island ferry. Back in the 1970s I used to live on Staten Island. The easiest way for me to get to work was to take the ferry. I ...
Girl by a Fountain An oldie taken at Ridge Hill, an outdoor mall in Yonkers, NY, February 2014. Taken with a Sony RX100 M1
Around the Neighborhood – All Saints Episcopal Church. Bee Keeping. It appears that the church also produces its own honey. Above the rector’s wife (on the left) and an unnamed fried (on the right). I don’t usually ask people if I can take their picture, but in this case I couldn’t miss the opportunity. I asked and they were kind enough to ...
Still more New York City pictures A few pictures taken while walking from one destination in New York City to Another. Above: Blue bicycles. Skyscrapers. I liked all the different shapes and lines. Abstract composition in an iron girder? Street people. I don’t usually take pictures of street people, but there were so many of them along this one block near St. Patrick’s Cathedral. ...
Inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral It’s been almost 10 years since I was at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. At that time I was using a newly acquired Sony NEX-5N (which I still have) and an adapted vintage manual focus lens: a Canon FD f1.4. I was unfamiliar with the camera, particularly some of the features (e.g. focus zoom and focus ...
In and around Rockefeller Center I’ve been going into New York City a lot of late. Here are a few pictures from one of my recent trips. I went to meet up with friends for a few drinks one evening. I decided to go in early so I could take a few pictures before we got together. ...
Food Vendor, New York City Taken at 51st Street and Lexington Ave, New York City. I liked the bright colors and all the clutter (brown paper, cones, garbage can, cardboard boxes, crates etc.) scattered around. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 35mm f1.4 R
Around the Neighborhood – Ají Limo With friends and family at Aji Limo, an excellent Peruvian restaurant in Ossining, NY which describes itself as follows: Ají Limo is a tribute to the most traditional Peruvian cuisine,that of our houses, markets, carts, picanterías, huariques and cevicherías. But also a meeting of ways to fill with the Spanish,Italian, African, Chinese and Japanese influences that ...
A Man and his dog The park at Scarborough Metro-North Station, Briarcliff Manor/Scarborough. In the background the Hudson River and the Palisades. Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 R LM OIS
Me and my camera I recently made contact with a long lost niece (actually first cousin once removed but that’s too much of a mouthful). She’s been sending me old pictures that I’d never seen before. This is one that I particularly like. Yes that’s me. Look at the hair. And it’s taken my experience with cameras ...
Lunch in Manhattan Lunch with Shannon at P.J. Clarkes in Manhattan. “P. J. Clarke’s is a saloon, established 1884. It occupies a building located at 915 Third Avenue on the northeast corner of East 55th Street in Manhattan. It has a second location at 44 West 63rd Street on the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue…The bar was once ...
Goodbye my friend I was sad to learn recently that my friend, Paul Savior had passed away. I’ve posted pictures of him, his house and garden and even helped him do a photobook of old pictures for his children (See: Paul’s house; My friend Paul; One of Paul’s cats; and Paul and Family. A recent communication from the ...
Self Portrait Self portrait after a haircut. Lovely cool, sunny day in NY State. Having lunch outside at ‘The Patio’ in Briarcliff Manor. The plan is to walk the 45 minutes back to the house (done), have a short break and then take Harley out for a walk (done – walked for about one hour). I took ...
An unpleasant anniversary A year has gone by since that terrible day we lost my beloved wife of 43 years, Eirah Gorre-Dale. Incredibly this picture was taken only three weeks before she passed away. It communicates so much about how I remember her: big smile, big hat, everything blue and white, holding Harley, the lake. Miss ...
At the memorial garden at the lake Jasmine and my brother-in-law, Roy recently paid me a visit and September 16 we went up to the lake to see the memorial garden where two roses we donated had been planted and a stone laid bearing Eirah’s name. We were pleasantly surprised to see that one of the roses was blooming. Various camera and ...
Encounter at Times Square After one of my recent trips into New York City I was returning to Grand Central via Times Square when I came across this strange creature. Sony RX100 III.
The last kosher deli in The Bronx My visiting friend George and I went for lunch at Liebman’s Deli in The Bronx, apparently the last (there were once around 100) Kosher deli in The Bronx. “Manhattan, with its towering temples of cured meat and pickles, is the spiritual home of the Jewish delicatessen. At places like the Second Avenue Deli, Katz’s and ...
Lunch in Hastings-on-Hudson Back in early August I met up with my friend and former colleague Robert Cohen for lunch at Harvest on Hudson, a very pleasant restaurant right on the river in Hastings-on-Hudson. I arrived early and decided to have a coffee while waiting at “The Good Witch” right by the station in Hastings (in fact it ...
In the woods again This time with my friend George and his dog Charlie, visiting from South Carolina. We went to Brinton Brook Sanctuary in nearby Croton-on-Hudson. I persuaded him to go to there in the foolish hope that since it was a bird sanctuary I might actually have the opportunity to take some pictures of birds. ...
Another trip into Manhattan This time to meet up with my friend Robert Cohen. We met near where he lives, an area I’m not very familiar with. Above: Subway station at 96th Street and Broadway. Pigeons near the 96th Street subway station. Blue Marble Café where we met and picked up coffee. Robert in what he refers to as his secret ...
Up at the lake Jasmine and my brother-in-law, Roy were visiting. Roy had not been in the New York area for quite some time, and Jasmine had not been here since my wife, Eirah (her mother) passed away almost a year ago. In particular they wanted to see the memorial garden near the entrance to our ...
Labor Day in Cold Spring, NY It was the morning of Labor Day and I was at a bit of a loose end when I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from my friends Tony and Safiye. They were going to Cold Spring, NY and asked me if I would like to join them. Of course I jumped ...
My friend Paul Paul is an actor and in his day was well known for his work on TV. He’s also done quite a bit of stage work, as well as voice overs. It was his 90th birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday Paul!!! Taken with a Sony A6000 and 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 OSS.
An Antiques Barn – The cast These are some of the people who regularly meet on Sundays, an a very welcoming, erudite and funny group they were too. Taken with a Fuji X-E1 and Fuji XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OSS II
Around the Neighborhood – A Fisherman This pond is on the site of the former Briarcliff Lodge. Local legend has it that this pond was once the pool to the lodge. Be that as it may I was not aware the it had fish in it. But the angler reassured me that it does, specifically he mentioned bass. ...
In New York City – Social Distancing An innovative approach to social distancing: isolate the diners in individual glass cubicles. Indoor seating with protection. Taken with an Olympus OM-D EM-10 and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42 f3.5-4.6 II
In New York City – Heading North As I headed North for my appointment I noticed that there were plenty of people on the streets (all wearing masks), but that the small parks that are scattered around Manhattan were all closed. Taken with an Olympus OM-D EM-10 and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-42 f3.5-4.6 II
Around the Neighborhood – A Walk to Briarcliff Village – A Sign It’s good to see people are paying attention to the COVID regulations! Taken with a Sony A6000 and Canon 50mm f1.4 LTM (I think).
Happy Birthday Love Today is my wife’s birthday. Apart from perhaps a couple of occasions when one or the other of us was away on business it’s the first birthday in 43 years I can remember when she wasn’t around. She passed away last October and I miss her terribly. Taken with a Konica Minolta Maxxum 500 ...
Across the stepping stones This was taken at the Rockefeller State Park and Preserve. I’d seen an interesting composition with small stream and the round stretch of water in the foreground and the larger, Swan Lake in the middle-background. I even liked the way you can see a path winding up to the Overlook Trail on the far ...
On the Trail to Raven Rock – A hint of the past glory Most of the trails at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve are on former carriage trails from when the Rockefeller family still owned the property. The park is very popular, particularly at the moment as people deal with COVID and you usually see lots of people. Sometimes you see people riding horses, but you don’t often ...
2020 Favorites I think it’s fair to say that 2020 was not a good year. It started well enough with the final days of our trip to Switzerland (Geneva) and France (Paris) and then went downhill from there. In February I had some fairly serious surgery, which initially went well but later led to some complications, ...
Around the Neighborhood – Scarborough Station at Dusk It was getting dark, but I had to take the dog for a walk. Where to go? I decided to go down to Scarborough Station where I used to take the Metro North Train to go to work every day. I’d been there many times and felt that I’d probably exhausted the possibilities for ...
Another Walk at Rockwood Hall Rockwood Hall is close to the house in Briarcliff Manor. It’s a very pleasant walk along the Hudson River with some lovely old trees and great views. I’ve posted about it many times so I won’t say much about it in this post. Suffice it to say that it was the former ...
A walk at Graham Hills Park It was a Saturday and I had intended to go for another walk at Rockwood Hall, but it was teeming with people so I thought I’d try the Rockefeller State Park. It was the same story: the car park was full and the parked cars were backed up all the way down to Route ...
Election Day 2020 On election day 2020 I had to go up to the lake house. On the way I stopped at Flory’s convenience store on Secor Road. This was the scene that I saw across the road. The guy standing on top of the car is not a mannequin, rather he’s a real person wearing a ...
Happy Birthday Dad It’s Hallowe’en today and at least here in the United States everyone is celebrating – at least as much as they can while under the threat of COVID. However, to me October 31 will always be my father’s birthday. Had he lived he would have been 101 today. Here he is in his WWII army ...
Manhattan Street Scene Seen while walking around in Manhttan. Along Lexigton Avenue if I remember correctly. Taken with a Sony NEX 5N and 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens.
Carouge – Around the Place du Marché – The Balloon Maker A young girl watches a woman on stilts making balloons. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
The Worst Day of My Life Eirah, My beloved wife of more than 40 years passed away October 12 after a very brief (just over two weeks) illness. I’m devastated. Above Eirah in happier days, July 2019. Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.
Eirah walks the dog We (Eirah, Harley and myself) recently went for a walk at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-5.6
Taghkanic Chorale Performance: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Last December we went to a performance of the Taghkanic Chorale in Croton-on-Hudson. The performance featured American masterworks, Eric Whitacre’s stunning Five Hebrew Love Songs for Choir and Randall Thompson’s Frostiana, a choral setting of beloved poetry by Robert Frost. The second half of the program begins with shorter works by three renowned British composers: ...
Christmas in Geneva As both of our kids and all five grandchildren live in Switzerland we thought we would go for Christmas to Geneva. Fondue at the Cafe du Soleil Christmas decorations at the Parc des Bastions Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.
Tree Lighting We’ve had the lake house for about eight years now. Every year Christmas tree lights appear on a tree near the entrance to the community – a friend, and neighbor has always taken responsibility to make this happen. For the first time this year, however, someone has decided to make this an event. It ...
Wreath Making Every year in early December my wife gets together with other neighbors in our lakeside community to make Christmas wreaths. The wreaths are then sold by our local garden club. Take with a Sony RX100 M3
A Visit to the Rockefeller Preserve – A Walker, A Dog Walker and a Runner I usually bump into quite a few people too, particularly when the weather is good. I stopped and chatted with the guy in blue walking the dog. It turned out that, like me, he’s from the UK. We talked about our experiences as Brits living in the Hudson Valley. Taken with a Minolta ...
A Visit to the Rockefeller Preserve – Horse Riders I often see horses at the preserve. Harley doesn’t seem to know what to make of them. He doesn’t usually bark at them the way he does with deer. Maybe he’s just overwhelmed. From time to time I also see horse drawn carriages. This isn’t too surprising as many of these trails ...
A Visit to Mount Gulian – Baron Von Steuben These weekly excursions focus on visits to Revolutionary War Sites, and this gentleman was our reason for visiting Mount Gulian. In this badly faded painting we see Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben), a former Prussian officer who served as Inspector General and a Major General of the ...
An Evening at The Winery – Stephanie Purcell sings Even though the food was good and the ambivalence was great, we were mostly there to hear our friend Stephanie sing. As usual she was great. Below Stephanie and her accompanist. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
2019 Favorites – Black and White As we come to the end of another year it’s time for me to go through my annual ritual of picking a few (actually 12) of my favorite pictures from 2018, starting with black and white. This year 9 of the 12 pictures are from film cameras.
At Grand Central Terminal Taken at Grand Central Terminal during a trip into New York City. One is clearly a police officer, and the other (the woman) also seems to be some kind of official judging by the device attached to her belt. Obviously something is happening, but I have no idea what. Taken with a Sony RX-100 ...
RIP Vicente Gorre I was surprised and very sad to hear that my brother-in-law, Vicente Gorre passed away Christmas Eve in the Philippines after a long illness. He was a wonderful person who would go out of his way to help anyone he could. He was incredibly hard working and yet always had time for anyone who needed him. ...
On the waterfront in Ossining I went for dinner and drink (or two) with a friend on the waterfront in Ossining, NY. We chose 3 Westerley for the venue. Above boats on the river. Sunset over Hook Mountain State Park The Haverstraw Ferry arrives “Take me to the River” (the sculpture) after sundown Taken with a Sony RX-100-M3.
A visit to Fishkill – Lunch at the Dutchess Biercafe After our visit to the Fishkill Supply Depot we went into Fishkill proper and had lunch at the Dutchess Biercafe. My lunch: three different types of sausage, potatoes and sauerkraut. Amazingly I managed to get through all of it. Photo by Ken Cross Ken studies the maps while I study my flight of four different beers: Bosteels ...
At the flea market Above – A view of one of the aisles. There were several. Back in August we went with some friends to the Elephant Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, Connecticut. According to their web site: The Elephant’s Trunk Country Flea Market began in 1976. The first markets found aisles named after New York City streets ...
In search of Sybil Ludington – A haunted inn Our next stop would take us to Carmel, NY but first a break for lunch at Smalley’s Inn. Smalley’s Inn was opened in 1852 by James Smalley who was at various times the sheriff, coroner and treasurer of the town. His daughter, Elizabeth, was only a toddler when she died, and there’s the belief that a ...
A (very) short walk around Garrison’s Landing – Photographing the Photographer A lovely spot by the river. Clearly I’m not the only person who appreciates the beauty of the Hudson Valley and who tries to capture it in a photograph. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix GF1 and G vario 14-42 asph f3.5-5.6.
Taking a break Earlier this year our friends invited us over for a July 4th barbecue. Here’s the man of the house hard at work (above) and taking a well deserved break (below). Taken with a Sony Nex 5n and Sigma E 30mm f2.8.
Fat City Rockers at the Downtown Peekskill Music Series Every Saturday evening during Summer the town of Peekskill, NY closes a section of North Division Street and presents a band of some kind. This part of Division Street has a number of restaurants, which put tables and chairs outside so that you can eat while listening to the music. The whole thing has ...
Warming Up These players were performing at the large Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, Ct. Taken with a Pentax ZX-L, SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 and Tri-X 400.
A walk around Cold Spring, NY – At The Depot I’d been walking around for about three hours. It was a hot day and I was tired, hungry and thirsty so I decided to stop at one of our favorite hangouts (because they allow dogs in the outside area) for some refreshment. The Depot was a Hudson River line station from 1893 to 1954. ...
Hard at work on the computer Most Saturday’s after walking the dog I sit at at local cafe and have a coffee. I often see this young woman and she’s always working hard on her computer. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix GF-1 and Lumix G Vario 45-150mm f4.0-5.6.
Birthday Celebration at “The Falcon” A while back our friend Joan invited us to a celebration in honor of her birthday. It was to take place at ‘The Falcon‘ a live music venue on Route 9w in Marlboro, NY. From the road the falcon doesn’t look like much, but it’s actually rather interesting. It’s built on multiple, terraced ...
Summer’s here That’s her name. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Another Lifeguard on Duty In Summer all of the beaches around our lake have lifeguards. I recently posted a picture of another lifeguard (See: Lifeguard on duty). In that post the lifeguard is a man; in this one it’s a woman. In the earlier picture the lifeguard is on duty at a town pool. Here ...
Peekskill Summer Sounds We were hungry so we went for a meal first – outside at 12 Peekskill Lounge on Division Street, which was closed for the event. We were just around the corner from where the music was so we could hear, but not see the bands. After we’d finished our meal we went around the corner and ...
An Escalator We went into New York City to see a production of what turned out to be an extremely good production of “Kiss Me Kate”. I was waiting for my wife in Grand Central Terminal – leaning on a railing at the top of an escalator. As I looked down it occurred to me to take ...
Lifeguard on duty Lifeguard at the pool in Law Park, Brarcliff Manor, NY. Taken with an Olympus IS-3/3000 and Fujicolor Superia X-TRA400.
Glamour Girl 7 Another one in this series of old pictures. See also Glamour Girl, Glamour Girl 2,Glamour Girl 3, Glamour Girl 4, Glamour Girl 5, and Glamour Girl 6.
Concentration Our friend recently invited us to a July 4th barbeque. This hammock was hanging between two trees in the garden and at one point his daughter was lying in the hammock and decided to get up. I haven’t done well with hammocks in the past. I can’t get into them. On ...
Glamour Girl 6 Another one in this series of old pictures. See also Glamour Girl, Glamour Girl 2,Glamour Girl 3, Glamour Girl 4, and Glamour Girl 5.
Unusual sight on the lake today I had just finished the preceding post when I heard my wife shouting from the garden: “H come and look at this. You’ve got to take a picture”. Since I always do as I’m told I grabbed a camera and dashed into the the garden to do her bidding. Not a stunning picture but ...
Activity on the Lake This is the first time I’ve seen people on the lake this year. It was a warmish, sunny day yesterday but I was somewhat surprised to see someone actually in the water. I wouldn’t have thought it would be warm enough for swimming yet. Still each to his/her own. Taken with a Sony ...
Around the Neighborhood – Sparta Cemetery – The Ubiquitous HMS Vulture It seems that whenever I look into Revolutionary War history in the Hudson Valley I come across a reference the HMS Vulture. In this picture my friend, Ken stands next to a plaque in Sparta Cemetery, which reads: “This stone was pierced by a cannon shot fired from the British sloop-of-war Vulture commanded by Lieut. ...
Newburgh – Billie Joe’s Ribworks After wandering around a bit at the nursery we were starting to feel hungry, so we decided to go down to the waterfront for lunch. It was a glorious, warm, sunny day and we very much enjoyed eating our lunch outside. View north with the Newburgh-Beacon bridge in the background. View south with my wife in ...
Granddad I recently connected with some cousins back in the UK that I haven’t been in touch with for about 40 years. One of them has a daughter who is doing some genealogical research in the family. She shared with me the above picture of my paternal grandfather, George Dale (hence my middle name, George). ...
Glamour Girl 5 Another one in this series of old pictures. See also Glamour Girl, Glamour Girl 2,Glamour Girl 3 and Glamour Girl 4.
Maude’s Tavern Maude’s Tavern is located near the Metro North Station on the Hudson River in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. I went there with a friend for lunch a couple of weeks ago. When we’d decided to go there I hadn’t realized that I had in fact been there before – with another friend after a visit ...
Charli Latoven One of the many celebrations (this one quite a large group of her female friends) of my wife’s birthday took place at a nearby restaurant (The Stone Rose in Jefferson Valley), which featured entertainment. The evening’s performance featured the delightful Charli Latoven, a great singer. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Birthday Girl My wife recently had a birthday and it seems like the celebrations have been going on for the past two weeks or so. In fact they haven’t finished yet. A number of her friends want to take her out to lunch individually. It’s great that she has so many friends. Taken with a ...
A performance My wife frequents a nearby fitness club and has become friends with a number of fellow participants. One of them has two children who where performing at the club, so we went along to see and hear them. I must admit that my expectations were not high, but I was pleasantly surprised: they were very ...
Glamour Girl 4 Another one in this series of old pictures. See also Glamour Girl, Glamour Girl 2 and Glamour Girl 3.
A walk around Mount Kisco – Self portrait with church I’d been taking some pictures of the St. Francis African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and turned around to see if there were any photographic opportunities looking over/through the fence separating the road from the railroad tracks. I noticed this mirror… I like the “fisheye” effect. Taken with an Olympus Stylus Epic/Mju II and Kodak Tri-X 400.
A walk around Mount Kisco – A passing stranger I was initially attracted to the way the sign cast a shadow on the white wall, but as I was taking the picture this woman walked by…. Taken with an Olympus Stylus Epic/MjuII and Kodak Tri-X 400.
Glamour girl 3 Another one in this series of old pictures. See also Glamour Girl and Glamour Girl 2.
Glamour Girl 2 Another early attempt at glamour photography. I like this one more than the first (See Glamour Girl). What’s she wearing under the fur? I’m not telling. Taken about 40 years ago with either a Canon AE-1 or a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sii.
This is Murray’s Cheese Taken in the Market at Grand Central Terminal some time in 2012 Taken with a Sony NEX 5N an E 18-55mm f3.5-5.6.
In the UN Garden My wife in the garden at the United Nations (where we both worked) probably around 1979. The garden had a spectacular collection of cherry trees, I believe donated by the government of Japan. The United Nations recently went through a major renovation. While the building was being re-modeled a significant number of offices and ...
Sleeping Beauty Our younger daughter, who lives some distance away, asked us to look for some of her old albums, find some pictures of her friend, scan them and send them to her. This we dutifully did. On going through the albums we inevitably came across a number of pictures we’d forgotten, but which seemed worth scanning. ...
Glamour Girl Another picture scanned from our old photo albums – this one a very rare, early and not terribly successful attempt at glamour photography.
On the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail According to the New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation site: During the 1830s New York City was in dire need of a fresh water supply to combat the steady rise of disease and to fight numerous fires that often engulfed large tracts of businesses and homes. After numerous proposals and an abandoned plan two ...
New Year’s Eve Party 2018-019 – Group shot on the stroke of midnight This shot had a number of elements, which give me nightmares: Low Light People Moving On Camera Flash I’m not much good at any of the above and when I first saw this picture on the computer I didn’t much like it. However, on further consideration It’s grown on me. Some of its failings (e.g. the motion ...
New Year’s Eve Party 2018-019 – Carmen’s Mother The hostess’s mother also seemed to be having a great time even if she didn’t show it as much as her daughter. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
New Year’s Eve Party 2018-019 – Carmen Dancing The hostess had a great time. Taken with a Sony RX100 M3.
New Year’s Eve Party 2018-019 – A future Sally Mann? This young girl was charging around everywhere taking pictures of all and sundry. In one of my many photobooks (unfortunately I don’t remember which one) the author (a renowned photographer) said that one way of distinguishing a serious photographer from a “snap shooter” is that the “snap shooter” takes one picture and then moves on, while ...
New Years Eve Party 2018-2019 – Overview Every year for the past three years our friends Carmen and Tim Heady (that’s them above) have invited us to a New Year’s Eve party at their house. It’s always a spectacular event with wonderful decorations, great food and drink, and lots of friendly people. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
2018 Favorites – Color And now 10 favorites from 2017 in color.
2018 Favorites – Black and White As we come to the end of another year it’s time for me to go through my annual ritual of picking a few (actually 10) of my favorite pictures from 2018, starting with black and white.
Holiday Season Silliness A couple of pictures of my wife and myself (also our cat and dog in one of them). What can I say? The uniform robes (if you look carefully even the cat has a collar in the same pattern) were not my idea. Still I suppose no harm done. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Glynwood – The boat house I found the area around the boathouse to be particularly picturesque. The picture below illustrates a problem I had a number of times with this particular camera/lens combination: too narrow depth of field. With the other cameras I use the trees in the background would have been in focus. However, it seems that a ...
Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival – Contact This child was certainly trying hard to get this plane started. The aircraft is a Morane-Saulnier ‘N’ from the collection of the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Taken with a Sony A77M2 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival – Inside a hot air balloon One of the attractions was an opportunity to go inside a partially inflated hot air balloon. At one point I thought this was the only hot air balloon that we were going to see. Taken with a Sony A77M2 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival – Inside the music tent Reminded my a bit of American Gothic, or maybe something out of Robert Frank’s ‘The Americans‘. I didn’t get the impression that they were really listening to the music Rather they seemed to need somewhere to site f Taken with a Sony A77M2 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival – Listening to the band She was really enjoying the band. I don’t usually take pictures of people I don’t know but she looked so adorable. Taken with a Sony A77M2 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival – One of the bands A number of bands were featured in the music tent. This was one of them: Cloud Nyne. An information board described them as follows: The #1 band for non-stop dancing in the Hudson Valley. Always Live!!. Cloud Nyne plays the music you and your guests want to hear and dance to. Our danceable ...
Peekskill Harvest Festival – A band One of a number of bands performing at the festival. Unfortunately I don’t recall its name. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Peekskill Harvest Festival – Overview A shot of the crowds along Division Street. According to Peekskill Patch: Peekskill’s inaugural Harvest Festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 6, 2018, from 2 pm to 10 pm, rain or shine and will be held in Downtown Peekskill, near the Gazebo. The event is open to the public and will feature live stage music from top ...
A walk around brewster – Loading the car Or maybe he’s unloading the car. It’s certainly full to the brim. Taken with a Nikon N6006 and Nikon 50mm f1.8.
My wife and our dog, Harley At the Garrison Cafe on a gorgeous sunny day in August. While they both look as if they’re enjoying themselves Harley seems to be particularly happy. My but he has a long tongue. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3
Dancers A couple of friends dancing at the Washington Irving Boat Club on one of the few remaining Summer evenings of 2018. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Chuang Yen Monastery again – Monk I was taking some pictures when I noticed this monk approaching. At first I thought he was coming to chastise me for having the dog (I wasn’t sure whether or not dogs were allowed). Instead, it seems that he came up to pet the dog. This is one of my relatively few ...
Around Mahopac – I think I’ve been spotted I don’t usually take pictures of people I don’t know, but when I saw these two girls (sisters?) gazing out over the lake I just couldn’t resist. I think I was spotted though. Taken with a Tamron AF Aspherical LD 28-200mm f3.8-5.6
A View from Above. Man on a Phone. Taken in February 2014 at the Ridge Hill Mall in Yonkers, NY. I take most of my pictures at eye level; sometimes at a low angle; sometimes looking up – but rarely looking down. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M1.
An Oldie: Woman and Child Taken in Kathmandu, Nepal around 1999 most likely with a Canon AE-1. I don’t remember what lens was used, but it was probably either a Canon 50mm F/1.4 FD or a Vivitar 70-210mm. Strangely for that time period the negative had been scanned to Kodak Photo CD. I think this is the ...
A Day in Beacon – Strawberry Festival. More Musicians. By this time (it was late in the day) this group of enthusiastic musicians didn’t seem to be doing anything other than singing “This land is your land” over and over again. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
A Day in Beacon – Strawberry Festival. Musicians. They seemed to be having a great time. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
A Day in Beacon – Bannerman’s Island. A view from the Residence These kayaks organized themselves nicely for a group shot. Wider view looking south down the Hudson. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
A Day in Beacon – The Bannerman’s Island Tour The tour group listens. This was the second time I’d gone on this tour. Shortly before the first time I’d been to a presentation on Bannerman’s Island at our local library. So I was fairly well steeped in Bannerman lore and history. And that’s where a problem arises. The full tour takes about two ...
A Day in Beacon – Flea Market. Bric-a-Brac . Lots of “miscellaneous objects and ornaments of little value”. Among them this rather spectacular duck-faced umbrella caught my attention. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
A Day in Beacon – Flea Market. Browsing. It was a fairly small flea market, but there were quite a few people there – browsing the various wares. Unfortunately not much in the way of vintage cameras: just a couple of old, non-functioning no-name clunkers. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Symphony concert and picnic – The Maestro Maestro Russell Ger provides an introduction to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at the opening of the second part of the concert. He did a wonderful job of bringing the music alive through his fine, enthusiastic conducting and lucid, imaginative and often humorous descriptions. According to his website: His broad repertoire spans orchestral, operatic, and choral music, which he ...
Symphony concert and picnic – The orchestra performs Drums, horns, woodwinds, a trumpet and a trombone. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Symphony concert and picnic – Woman in a big hat This woman was sitting almost directly in front of us. I couldn’t help but be impressed by her magnificent hat. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Symphony concert and picnic – Enjoying the picnic Enjoying the wonderful music, the lovely weather and presumably great food. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Symphony concert and picnic – The crowd awaits The assembled multitude with the spectacular Hudson River view in the background. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Symphony concert and picnic – The maestro explains At the beginning of the concert The orchestra’s conductor, Russell Ger presents the evening’s programme: Jean Sibelius – Finlandia; Percy Grainger – Country Gardens; Johann Strauss – Blue Danube Waltzes; Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 5. Taken with a Sony A77II and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
Stuart’s Farm – Greenhouse Above – the interior of one of the numerous greenhouses at Stuart’s Farm. Below – my wife expresses her delight at having found the place. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Pictures at an exhibition – RFK Funeral Train. The People’s View This was the fourth and final exhibition I visited. According to the Center’s website: On June 8, 1968, thousands of people lined the train tracks from New York to Washington, DC, paying their last respects and expressing bewilderment and sorrow at the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. Photographer Paul Fusco documented the funeral train’s journey ...
Pictures at an exhibition – Pittsburgh 1950, Elliott Erwitt The second exhibit I visited was “Pittsburgh 1950” and the work of Elliott Erwitt. According to the Center’s website: In 1950 Elliott Erwitt, then just twenty-two years old, set out to capture Pittsburgh’s transformation from an industrial city into a modern metropolis. Commissioned by Roy Stryker, the mastermind behind the large-scale documentary photography projects launched ...
Pictures at an exhibition – The Decisive Moment, Henri Cartier-Bresson We went into New York City the other day and while my wife was shopping I went down to the International Center of Photography. The exhibitions used to shown in their location in midtown west, which was quite convenient when I was still working. I hadn’t been to this new location before, but ...
In our garden – Hard at Work My wife hard at work in the garden. She does pretty much all of the gardening – my role being largely restricted to carrying anything heavy, pulling out particularly recalcitrant weeds, digging holes etc. Taken with a Sony Alpha 500 with Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.
At the flea market A couple of weeks back we went to the Stormville Airport Antique Show and Flea Market. Although there were a lot of vendors I didn’t find much of interest: a few old cameras, but nothing special as well as being in bad shape and overpriced. My wife managed to find a few pieces ...
A walk around Ossining – Self Portrait with dog If you look carefully at the large sculpture in the preceding post (A walk around Ossining – Take Me to the River) you’ll see that the inside of the arch is reflective. I took advantage of this to take a self portrait with our dog, Harley. Kinda surreal? Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – A Portrait I thought at first that this figure was a mannequin i.e. part of the antique machinery display – that is until he spoke making it clear that he is a person, according to his nameplate one “Larry T”. I guess my eyesight must be worse than I thought. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – Holy Blacksmith! I came across this blacksmith just as he was finishing his demonstration. If I’d come another minute or so later I would have missed this picture. It seemed to me that it was full of religious symbolism. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – Man in a hat Howdy Pardner! Since I didn’t take this picture I wasn’t going to post it. However, I appear in very few pictures and the ones I am in don’t exactly flatter me. I quite like this one so I decided that on further reflection I’d include it. It was a very hot day so I decided ...
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – Woman in a hat My wife almost always wears hats. As we were approaching the fair I noticed that she (and our friends) were ‘tittering’ about something. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Sometime during out time in Rhinebeck, and unknown to me, my wife had picked up a new hat and ...
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – Lunch at Gigi After looking around the antiques stores we were starting to get a bit peckish so we went to Gigi, apparently a favorite with our friends when they lived up here. It was a nice day so were able to sit outside. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
An Excursion to the Dutchess County Fair – Overview Last August we went to the Dutchess County Fair with some friends. According to the fair’s website: The Dutchess County Agricultural Society was formed in 1842 on a $157.00 grant from the New York State Legislature. The Society’s purpose was “to continue the development of agriculture, household manufactured items, and domestic produce.” 1842 – The First Official Fair The ...
’76 House – The Spy and the Traitor On the mantel of the ’76 House’s lovely blue and white fireplace stand two paintings: one of John Andre (the spy, above) and the other of Benedict Arnold (the traitor, below). Arnold’s portrait is framed upside down! Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Self portrait in a Christmas ornament. I came across this very reflective Christmas ornament on a tree in Law Park, Briarcliff Manor in December, 2013. I posted it originally as part of a black and white set, but it looks much, much better in color. Taken with a Sony Nex 5N and 45mm f2 Minolta MD Rokkor-X.
Las Vegas – Violinist A member of the string quartet, which performed at both the wedding ceremony and the reception. Maybe not the sharpest picture I’ve ever taken, but I still like it. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Las Vegas – Little Brown Riding Hood In the preceding post I mentioned that I wasn’t, for the most part, going to post any pictures of people at the wedding. This one is the exception. When our younger daughter pointed her out, I just couldn’t resist taking a picture of this little girl in a hooded cape looking at her ...
Las Vegas – Flyboarding I spotted this spectacular water sport from our room. Unfortunately I didn’t know what it was called. After some browsing around on the internet I discovered that it’s called Flyboarding. It’s great to watch, but I don’t ever see myself doing it. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Las Vegas – Rowers The preceding post showed rowboats at rest. Here are a couple of them in action. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Server – Hudson House, Cold Spring, NY Taken in June 2002 (was it really almost 16 years ago!) during a pleasant lunch by the Hudson river at the Hudson House in Cold Spring with my friend Andres. If I’m not mistaken she’s taking away the remains of my Crème Brûlée. Taken with a Canon Powershot S10.
Déjeuner sur l’herbe Actually this would be more accurately described as “dîner” rather than “déjeuner” as it was taken during an evening picnic on the grounds of Boscobel while waiting for a play to start. Constitution Marsh and the Hudson River can be seen in background – one of the most spectacular Hudson Valley views I’ve come ...
Descent to the lower levels In this case to the ground floor of the Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, CT. I’m quite pleased with this picture. I dont’ often take pictures of people, nor do I take pictures of things that move. My reactions are not all that good and I need a certain amount of time ...
New York Street Scene Taken with an Olympus XA.
In remembrance My niece laying flowers on her great-grandfather’s grave. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M1.
A couple of portraits A couple of pictures of my wife taken in 2009. I suppose the first one is technically better. In the second I’ve missed the focus. It should have been on the eyes, but instead it’s on the nose. Still in many ways I prefer it. To me it captures more ...
Hudson Valley Ribfest – Boy an a bucking bull He didn’t last very long. Only seconds after I took this picture he was off. My wife and our friend Doreen look on to the right. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Hudson Valley Ribfest – Cooling off Well it was an exceedingly hot day! Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Hudson Valley Ribfest – Nikki Briar performs While we were there the performance on the main stage featured Nikki Briar and her band. Country music, which I’m afraid is not my favorite musical genre. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Hudson Valley Ribfest – Got pork? One of the food vendors – hard at work. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.
Hudson Valley Ribfest – Food Vendors Long lines of people waiting for the food vendors’ offerings. Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3
New England Air Museum – Volunteer This is one of a fairly small number of volunteers who assist visitors at the museum. Both he and his wife (also a volunteer) travel a long distance to do this. My deepest thanks to them for giving up a good chunk of time so that visitors like myself can have an enjoyable ...
2017 Favorites – Color And now 10 favorites from 2017 in color. Above Christmas tree in two bridges park near Childrens Beach on Roaring Brook Lake. Got pork? Taken at the Hudson Valley Ribfest, August 2017. Building on Chemin Vert, Pinchat, Geneva, Switzerland. Iris in my daughter’s garden, Geneva, Switzerland. Blue Angels, NY Airshow, Stewart Airport, July 2017. Your repetitive View by Olafur ...
2017 Favorites – Black and White As we come to the end of another year it’s time for me to go through my annual ritual of picking a few (actually 10) of my favorite pictures from 2017, starting with black and white. Above – Tides by Emil Alzamora. Taken at Peekskill River Park. A runs through it – the Croton Gorge that ...
Doorways I like the way the two doorways, the standing man, and the figures in background make a diagonal that leads your eye through the picture. Also the way the two doorways frame the standing man. I also like the textures of the door step, stepping stones and gravel. Taken at the Hammond Museum and ...
Thanksgiving at the Castle This year we decided to go out for Thankgiving and we chose to eat at Equus in the Tarrytown Castle. According to history section of the the castle’s website: Only thirty minutes north of Manhattan, Castle Hotel & Spa sits majestically atop one of the highest points in Westchester County overlooking the Hudson River (note: ...
Reclining Woman Taken sometime in the late 1970s to early 1980s. I don’t remember which camera I was using. Nor do I remember what film I used other than that it was some kind of slide film. And yes, I know that the white balance is way off. I’d seem some pictures in a ...
Catgirl Taken in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2017 with a Sony RX100 M3.
Woman on a Computer Taken during a cruise on the River Hudson almost one year ago (December 2016). See also: Hudson river cruise – Returning Hudson river cruise – Under the Tappan Zee Bridge Hudson river cruise – Dancers Hudson river cruise – The Band Hudson river cruise – Skydeck on the Hornblower Hybrid Hudson river cruise – Manhattan view Hudson river cruise – Leaving While ...
Peekskill Blues A while back we went with some friends to a kind of street festival in Peekskill, NY. North Division Street, with a number of restaurants had been closed to traffic. We went to one of these eateries: the 12 Grapes. Restaurant for a meal, making sure that we got a table outside ...
A Watercolor Exhibition In the middle of August we went to a water color exhibition at Muscoot Farm. Above, one of the artists with some of her work on the wall behind. She also happens to be one of my wife’s friends. We bought one of her paintings: a landscape featuring a lake scene. Taken with ...
Korean Food My wife is very good a discovering things to do and a couple of days ago she came across an event at our local library. It was a demonstration of Korean cooking followed by an actual Korean meal. We both like Korean food so off we went. The event was very well ...
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Around the Camp Fire I don’t really have much to say about these: Just a few portraits and some cooking implements. Taken with a Sony A77 II and Minolta Maxxum 50mm f1.7
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Blacksmith This guy really looked authentic! Right out of the history books. He was answering questions at the time and looking intently at the people asking. I love the expression on his face. Taken with a Sony A77 II and Minolta Maxxum 50mm f1.7
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Militia At one point I thought of giving this picture a sepia toned, distressed look to make it look old. But then it occurred to me that photography would not be invented until around 60 years after the Revolutionary War so I decided to leave it as it was. I seem to recall that this was ...
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Native American Exhibit This was one of the few occasions when I’ve asked someone if I could take their picture. I generally avoid taking pictures of people, and when I do I usually do it without their knowledge as I don’t like the look that I get when people know they are being photographed. In this ...
A friend visits Not too long ago a friend of ours came to visit. We had a very pleasant lunch outside on the patio overlooking the lake. I don’t recall why we came indoors (maybe it was getting cold? Maybe it was starting to rain?), but indoors we certainly came, and had our dessert in the ...
Independence Day 2017 Fireworks on the Ossining Waterfront Better late than never! I’d tried taking photographs of fireworks before, but I’d never really prepared properly (merely using whatever camera I had with me). Predictably the results were not particularly good. This time I took a bit more care, bringing along a tripod and a shutter release cord. I’m much happier with these. Picnic while waiting ...
On White Pond Although White Pond is quite close to our house, I wasn’t aware of its existence until yesterday. The walk starts by a small jetty (see above). As we passed by someone was fishing. Before the trail enters the woods there are some great views of the pond. After a while the trail goes away from the lake ...
A walk around Teatown – Fishing at Vernay Lake As mentioned in the previous post (See: A walk around Teatown – Shadow Lake) you pass Vernay lake at the beginning of the Twin Lakes Loop trail and then return to it at the end. As I passed it on the way out I noticed these two people, presumably a father and daughter, fishing. ...
Geneva – Old Town, Fondue at the Restaurant de l’Hotel de Ville I love cheese fondue! My preference is for the fondue at the Café du Soleil in Petit-Saconnex, near where I used to work (it was also a favorite after work watering hole for myself and my colleagues). Unfortunately, time was getting short during our visit and our daughter and her family were incredibly ...
Four Women on Hallowe’en From time to time I look back on old photographs. Sometimes I see possibilities in them that I didn’t see before. Over time Lightroom has become more sophisticated and my Lightroom skills have improved. So occasionally I end up with a photograph, which I didn’t think much of at the time but ...
Gustavo This my friend Gustavo. We’d arranged to meet at 3 Westerley (See: Sunset Drinks at 3 Westerley and Sunset Drinks at 3 Westerley part II) for drinks and a meal. For a variety of reasons I don’t take many pictures of people. And I don’t usually like using on camera flash, or ...
Geneva – Champel, Parc Bertrand According to the French version of Wikipedia (Translation from the original French): The park, as well as the property therein, was bequeathed to the City of Geneva by Alice Noerbel, the widow of Alfred Bertrand, representative of a large Geneve family in 1933 (for a part) and then in 1940 ( for the rest). In the park ...
Geneva – Augustins Augustins spreads out to the East of Rue de Carouge between Plainpalais and Carouge around the Place des Augustins. According to the website of the Republic and Canton of Geneva this square gets its name (translation from the original French): …from a monastery, founded in 1480 by the brothers of “Notre-Dame-des-Hermits”, of the Augustinian Order, ...
Geneva – Mont Salève, An international traveller I’m not referring to my wife (who’s been an international traveller for a good number of years), but instead to our dog Harley seen here (with my wife) on top of Mont Salève. He’s now on his third country: the US (his birth place, or at least I assume it is. He was ...
Geneva – Kermesse It’s now time for some more pictures from our May visit to our old stomping grounds in Geneva, Switzerland. When we lived in Geneva our daughter went to the International School (Ecolint). Every year they hold a “Kermesse”. According to Wikipedia: Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from ‘kerk’ (church) ...
Runner, Woodlands Legacy Field I’d taken the dog for a short walk in Granite Knolls Park in Yorktown, NY and was returning through Woodlands Legacy Park when I noticed this sports field. I initially thought to include the goals, the scoreboard, and the floodlights. But then this runner passed by…. Taken with a Sony RX100 M3
Geneva – Carouge, at the Café du Rondeau We’d been walking around for a while. I was hot, tired and my feet were hurting. So I decided to stop for a beer (or two). Luckily most Geneva cafés allow dogs. My chosen destination was the Café du Rondeau (Roundabout Café), which is located directly opposite the Reunification Statue. It was quite ...
Geneva – Carouge, Place du Temple The Place du Temple is smaller, and less busy than the Place du Marche and I tend to prefer it as a place to hang out. Most places are closed on Sunday in Geneva, and when we lived there we would often pick up a newspaper and go somewhere to sit, have breakfast and ...
Rickshaws, Kathmandu, 1999 Taken during a visit to Nepal in 1999 probably with a Canon AE-1 camera and I can’t recall what lens. I say Canon AE-1 because the only other camera I had at that time was a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sii. Some of the other pictures in this batch could not have been taken with ...
Garden Club Meeting My wife and I are members of our local garden club, which recently held a presentation on “Birds of the Hudson Valley”. Here two of the participants are watching the presentation. The garden club also has its own closed Facebook Group, but the club’s chairperson didn’t want this picture to be posted. I wonder ...
Croton Point – Fisherman on Teller’s Point As far south as you can get on Croton Point, this area is known as Teller’s Point. The viewpoint is to the south with Hook Mountain State Park on the right and in the distance the Tappan Zee bridge. I liked the lettering on the rocks: “Keep off the Rocks”. I imagine ...
A Hike. Part 1 We live in close proximity to Fahnestock State Park. In fact it has been possible to walk into the park, but only if you’re willing to dash across the Taconic State Parkway during a lull in the traffic. That, however, has now changed. The park has recently acquired some new land south ...
A treasured memory We recently received this picture from one of my wife’s relatives. The small child is my wife aged about 6 months, being held by her father. It’s was very low resolution scan, full of spots and other marks i.e. not a particularly good scan. I was able to eliminate many of the ...
Through the door of the slave house Dakar is situated on a peninsular and is the western most part of Africa. Consequently it’s a touch closer to The Americas than anywhere else in Africa. Perhaps this is why it was the main jumping off point for the slave trade. The slave trade was centered on Gorée Island, which is ...
Happy Traum at the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center I’d never heard of Happy Traum, but the events at the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center (TCCC) (see also: Tompkins Corners Cultural Center; Latino music festival at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center; David Amram Quintet at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center) are usually worth going do so when my wife mentioned that this was taking place we decided ...
Train arriving through the murk I took this picture in December, 2013 through the window of a moving train on the Hudson Line (the blank greyness in the background is where the Hudson River is supposed to be) – on the way back home from New York City. I like the general gloom accentuated by the dirty windows and way ...
New York’s place in the history of photography Although I’m interested in many different things, I suppose my two main interests are photography and history so I was pleased to find this informative article. I was not familiar with much of the information in it e.g. Samuel Morse’s role in introducing photography into the US. Morse’s early introduction to the daguerreotype was just ...
New York’s finest Taken on the occasion of the Pope’s visit to New York City in September, 2015, which we attended as did a lot of other people. They did a fantastic job of marshaling the teeming multitude up and down various avenues in Manhattan and into Central Park. Thankfully there were no incidents!
Performer, Myannmar, 2007 Taken during a visit to Myannmar in February, 2007. Of course the performer was impressive. I don’t know how people can twirl rings, kick balls etc. all at the same time, but I also liked the bright colors of the background.
Ballerina Mime Taken in the Times Square subway station on Christmas Eve, 2016. I had wanted to separate the subject from the background, but wasn’t able to with the only camera I had with me: a Sony RX100M1. At first this bothered me, but the more I looked at it the more I started to ...
Latino music festival at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center The stage awaits the opening of the Latino Music Festival. Honorando los Laborodores (honoring the workers) at the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center. Sunday, October 16, 2016 featuring performers from a variety of countries. I took the dog for a walk that day and ended up spending more time walking than I had anticipated. Consequently ...
Hair My wife in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I guess I must have been going through an ‘artsy’ phase at that time. Taken, I believe, with a Canon AE-1, which I bought second hand (and in lousy condition as I recall). I don’t think I ever had a prime lens for this camera. Instead I had ...
The potter This was taken during a trip to Nepal – some time in 1999. I seem to remember using a Canon AE-1 film SLR. I don’t recall what lens was used. I took quite a few pictures and I really like quite a number of them. Unfortunately they came from a Kodak ...
Girl with a phone My wife’s friend invited us over to their house for New Year’s Eve. They have a large house and there were a lot of people there. One of them was this lovely little girl. At one point in the evening, in spite of the noise (and there was quite a lot of it) she ...
Skier on the ice Our lake is now completely frozen. However, we’ve had a few ‘warmish’ days with temperatures well above freezing. Usually people don’t go onto the lake until we’ve had several days of below freezing temperatures. So I’d be a little concerned that the ice is not all that thick at the moment. My wife was ...
Hudson river cruise – Dancers As mentioned in an earlier post – I don’t dance. My wife loves to so I’m a severe disappointment to her. I really don’t like leaving her without a partner and I wish I could be a confident dancer, but I can’t. We even took some dance lessons at one point. I ...
Hudson river cruise – The Band Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. I didn’t really pay much attention to the band at the time. People were dancing (I don’t dance) and seemed to be having a good time and the band seemed to me to be doing a more than adequate job. It wasn’t until I ‘looked them up’ ...
Make America Great Again We went to see a play in a small theater on West 72nd Street NY city. A friend dropped us near the 72nd subway and while my wife was checking out a nearby Bloomingdales Outlet I walked around looking for photographic opportunities. I came across this guy sitting in Verdi Square and did something I ...
My grandmother As I came downstairs this morning I passed this picture in a frame on a shelving unit. The picture had slipped and was now crooked in the frame. So I decided to take it out and straighten it. Then it occurred to me that I should probably scan it and post it ...
By the roadside 19: Self portrait with trash pile My ‘By the roadside pictures’ have all so far been ‘pretty pictures’ of flowers and the like. However, I also come across things, which aren’t all that pretty. It was bulk pickup day on our lake when during a walk I came across this rather large mirror. I couldn’t resist taking a ...
A fisherman and his dog In the preceding post (Dog and fish) I described an encounter with two fisherman; two dogs and a fish while walking along the Hudson near Scarborough Station. One of the dogs (and the fish) appeared in that post. This is the other dog with his owner taking a break from the fishing. ...
Treasure hunter I came across this man with a metal detector early one morning in 2011 on the Connecticut shore. Apart from myself I think he was the only person on the beach. I liked the primarily horizontal bands of tone: the darker tone in the foreground; then the lighter tone of the sand; the brighter tones ...
Garden club meeting In earlier posts I’ve mentioned that my wife and I belong to the local garden club. It’s been great to be a member as we’ve met many incredible people who also belong to the club. Every year the club organizes two major events: the Christmas Party; and the Garden Tour where members visit ...
Seventy six trombones Well maybe not 76, but three or four at any rate. Taken at a Big Band concert at Boscobel near Cold Spring, NY in September, 2013.
Woman and child My wife and one of the grandchildren in our lake. I hope it conveys some of the love I feel for my family.
Girl on a tractor I tried to capture something of the joy and energy of this young girl playing on an old tractor.
Portrait of a woman 2 For time to time I go through boxes of negatives from long ago looking for candidates for scanning. I say negatives, but there are also a few (very few) slides – this is one of them. I no longer remember what camera it was (probably a Canon AE-1 or a Minolta 7sii rangefinder), ...
The magician Our older daughter, her husband, and their three children came for a visit and we went with them to a sort of children’s party at one of our beaches. One of the highlights was a magician. I loved the expressions on the kids’ faces.
Portrait of a woman A picture of my wife taken in February, 2009 with a Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D. I think it captures something of her cheerful, effervescent personality.
Horse and (dismounted) rider Taken at a nearby public garden. The horses (there were more than just this one) had just returned from a ride and were about to be groomed and fed. I can’t really articulate why I like this one.
Bathroom pictures 10: Legs Why did I take this picture? Well – “It seemed like a good idea at the time, yer honour”. Actually I was feeling a bit frustrated. I had nine pictures, but I couldn’t for the life of me see where another would come from (remember I needed ten pictures). I’d about resigned ...
Bathroom pictures 3: Self portrait The most difficult part of taking this picture was keeping the camera out of the frame! After that – trying to keep my expression from looking too demented (harder than you’d think. It took me a few attempts to get an expression that I was satisfied with).
Live from Trump HQ, Briarcliff Manor, NY A few days ago I was quite surprised to see our small village (Briarcliff Manor, less than 8,000 population) being referred to as “Trump HQ”. It seems that Mr. Trump was giving a speech at the Trump National Golf Course, a short walk from our house. We we informed by the village that ...
Myanma Dancers Taken in Myannmar (also called Burma by some) in February, 2007 with a Canon Powershot S-50 compact camera. The naming of this country is fraught with difficulty. It’s also caught up in politics so I’m by no means sure what adjective to use in the title. I could use “burmese”, but I’m not ...
Waiting for the bus on a hot sunny day You had to feel for this guy. It was a hot day today – about 81F and it had obviously taken its toll on him. Maybe he’d just come off work? Perhaps he’d had some sleepless nights? Who knows?
Inside the market at Grand Central Terminal Taken May 30, 2012 with a Sony Nex 5N and 18-55mm kit lens. This was about a month after I retired and I think I went into NY City to meet up with some former colleagues for a drink. I think this captures a little of the hustle and bustle that you usually encounter ...
Birthday boy Yesterday was my birthday and we went out to dinner and a fine performance of “Man of La Mancha” at the Westchester Broadway Theater. My wife had earlier asked me to scan this old picture so that she could post it on Facebook and of course I neglected to do it. So on our return ...
Campers around the camp fire Taken in November, 2013. I started from near Pelton Pond in Fahnestock State Park and didn’t want to walk along busy route 301 to the trail. Instead, I set out through the woods to see if I could find another way. I managed to make it and on the way came across a fairly large ...
The Kiss Taken in a small park somewhere on the east side of Manhattan, around 47th-49th Street and 2nd Avenue with a Panasonic Lumix Zs7, an inexpensive compact camera with a very long zoom – very useful in this case. An invasion of privacy – maybe? But this was a public place so there’s always the possibility ...
Boy and goat Taken in June 2013 with a Sony Nex 5N and its 18-55mm kit lens at Niese’s Maple Farm. Even though I made this photograph a while ago I still remember it well. The boy had been looking down and then he suddenly looked up, fortuitously right at the camera. At the same ...
A Recital After a visit to the West Point Foundry with my friend, Ken and some refreshments at The Depot in Cold Spring we went to The Chapel of our Lady Restoration. Inside a woman was playing on a grand piano and we discovered that this was preparation for a free recital to be given the following ...
The busiest and best breakfast in New York Taken across the street from Grand Central Terminal with a Sony Nex 5N and 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens outside what I believe is the Pershing Square Cafe. I think there’s something a little surrealistic about this picture with the disembodied head of the woman emerging from the chaos of the reflections. I’m not at ...
My wife and our visiting friend from Bangkok Our friend’s wife transferred to Bangkok, Thailand about a year ago and of course he went with her. But they retain a house here (presently rented) and return frequently to make sure everything is OK. He’s here at the moment and staying in our house in Briarcliff Manor (which is right next to ...
His other car’s a Mercedes It was a gorgeous, sunny day the other day and I was walking the dog around the lake when my friend Paul pulled up in his Jaguar – with the top down. He looked rather ‘cool’ and I was completely at a loss for words. And yes – his other car IS a ...
With dolphins Taken on my wife’s birthday in 2005 during a very pleasant vacation in Bermuda. This was during the period where I’d soured on photography and was basically just taking travel and family snaps. The camera I was using at that time was Canon Powershot S-50 – one of the few cameras I’ve ever ...
Eirah and Harley go for a walk Taken around 4:00 pm in November, 2015. The light was absolutely gorgeous.
On the phone Seen during a walk in Ossining, New York.
Hiker on the Appalachian Trail Went for a walk along Sunken Mine Road in Fahnestock State Park with side trips along the Old Mine Railroad Trail and a portion of the Appalachian Trail. All told we walked for about two hours. This picture was taken along the Appalachian Trail where we came across a rather picturesque waterfall. While I ...
Woman gazing What was she gazing at? She was walking up a flight of stairs (I was at the top) and hanging from the ceiling was an Alexander Calder mobile: Lobster Trap and Fish Tail, 1939. The picture was taken at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Ron When we bought our lake house a few years ago we decided to remodel the kitchen. This brought us into contact with a number of interesting contractors who actually did the work. Ron was one of them. He’s presently an electrician and he did pretty much all of the electrical work on the ...
On the streets of NY I don’t do much street photography. It usually involves people and I have something of aversion to taking pictures of people I don’t know. Once in a while I’ll give it a try though, just to see what kind of results I can get. This was taken somewhere (I don’t remember exactly ...
Woman in a big hat Even though it was taken back in June 2012 I can clearly remember taking this picture. We were going with some friends to an antique car show on the grounds of Maryknoll in Ossining, NY but first we went to eat in a great Peruvian restaurant (I think it was Actuario) in Portchester, NY. There ...
Andres Our friend, Andres was visiting from Geneva so we went into NY City to have lunch. We’ve known Andres for about 25 years, first meeting when we were both working in Geneva. We moved back Geneva and he moved back and forth between Geneva and NY a couple of times before we both ...
Smokers Taken just four days after I retired in 2012 with a Sony Nex-5N and a 55-210 mm lens that was purchased using a gift certificate given to me by my staff as a retirement present. It was taken on 44th Street between 2nd and 3rd Ave in New York City and as I recall it was ...
People in windows I was walking the dog in Briarcliff Manor when I noticed the geometric pattern of the bright windows against the darkness outside. The people seen through the windows add a human dimension to an otherwise abstract pattern.
Manhattan street scene The sign says “595 Fifth Avenue”, which would put this somewhere around 48th Street. What caught my attention was the size of mural, which you get a sense of from the much smaller figures passing by. At a quick glance it looks as if the picture is over-saturated – but it isn’t. ...
Dudoir anyone? There is a type of photography called Boudoir. Originally Boudoir refereed to a location in the house, usually the lady’s room, but this term has been borrowed for intimate female photography.“The most common manifestation of contemporary boudoir photography is to take variations of candid and posed photographs of the subject partly clothed or in lingerie. Nudity is ...
Skaters at Rockefeller Center This is another one of those pictures that I like without knowing exactly why. When I took it I remember that what impressed me was the movement of the skaters around the rink. Some were extremely graceful, others less so. I’ve never been on ice skates in my life and my occasional ...
Walking the Dog For once it’s not me walking the dog, but me taking a picture of someone walking the dog. This was taken with a NEX-5n and 18-55mm kit lens. It was soon after I got the camera and I wasn’t all that familiar with it. It was early in the morning in November ...
2015 Favorites – Color The British are coming. The previous post highlighted my favorite black and white pictures from 2015. This one deals with my favorite color pictures (again in no particular order). Inside Tompkins Corners Church. New York airshow. Kikuyu Statues. Jami and Peggy at play. River Hudson from the Ossining Boat and Canoe Club Hydra 70 rocket pods on Apache attack helicopter Moonrise Roaring ...
2015 Favorites – Black and White Lightbeams. Another year has passed and it’s time to post some of my favorite pictures from 2015 – starting with some black and whites. Like last year I’m presenting my ten favorites – in no particular order. I’ve been trying to find a focus for my photography, which at the moment is all over the place. ...
Traffic Policeman, New York City Taken during a walkaround in New York City in February, 2012 on Fifth Avenue around 50th Street (near St. Patrick’s Cathedral). The camera was a Sony Nex 5N and I believe the lens was a Canon 50mm f1.4 in Leica Thread Mount.
The Poughkeepsie Peeper: 1900 Nice to see an old picture from a nearby town, which I’ve visited in just the last couple of weeks: Bardavon Opera House Times Gone By Street Art Madonna and Child Statue Urban Decay A Couple of Buildings on Main Mall Row, Poughkeepsie, NY Redeemed Christian Fellowship – Church of God of Prophecy Colorful Mural
RIP Dandy Remembering the good old days, while mourning the loss of a dear friend. My wife playing the guitar on the left, Dandy singing on the right. God speed & Rest in Peace, Dandy. Thanks to his daughter Carissa for digging up this photo. Our thoughts go out to Dandy’s wife and our dear ...
Figure on an Escalator Taken in February, 2012 before I got serious with this blog (there are only three posts prior to February 2012). Shot inside Grand Central Terminal. For some reason I really like this picture. In fact I like it so much that I have a print of it on my wall. I’m ...
A Portrait Once upon a time many years ago I used to take lots of pictures of my wife. I really enjoyed taking pictures of her. Nowadays though she doesn’t like me taking her picture (at least other than the obligatory selfies and pictures with friends) saying that she doesn’t look good any more. I took ...
Thai Woodcarver Taken somewhere outside of Bangkok, Thailand sometime in the early 2000s. I don’t remember what camera I used or what film. I do remember being quite impressed by his abilities and his concentration. Even with lots of people (including myself) milling around him, making noise, shooting off flashes etc. he remained entirely focused ...
Photobook completed I have a number of ongoing projects few of which I’ve actually completed. In this case, however, I managed to finish one – probably because it had a very definite end point. Back in May 2015 our friend Paul expressed a wish to do something with his old negatives. Specifically he wanted ...
My Wife And Harley The Dog On A Bench Overlooking The Hudson Just a snapshot, but the light was nice and I liked the way they looked!
A Couple of Snakes A couple of snakes have recently made their way into my life. First, I was scanning some old negatives when I came across the picture above. It shows a younger me posing for the usual ‘cheesy’ tourist shot in a market outside of Bangkok, Thailand. I would guess that it was taken sometime in the ...
Boats – Thailand Film scan taken, I would guess about 15 years ago, from a bridge over a canal (khlong) outside of Bangkok, Thailand. Nice colors, nice repeating pattern of the fruits, I also liked the diagonal line of the boat on the left and, of course, the hats.
NY Air Show – Watching the Show I know that I said that this post would be the last one from the NY Air Show. It turns out that I was wrong – I’d forgotten this one because it’s quite different from the others. First it’s black and white, where the others were color. And second, all of the other posts ...
 Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore’. I’ve posted before about the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center: David Amram Quintet at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center Tompkins Corners Cultural Center Tonight’s event was a little different though: it was the first event to take place inside the old church, which is the core of the center. The center’s website described tonight’s event as: “MOURNFUL AND NEVER-ENDING REMEMBRANCE” ...
Pall Bearers I thought long and hard about posting this picture. A while back I posted about a niece of ours who had passed away (RIP Eve Borja). This was taken at the funeral and shows the pall bearers waiting to take the coffin. The problem was that part of me felt that posting ...
Leaning on a Lamp Post… I’m leaning on a lamp, maybe you think, I look a tramp, Or you may think I’m hanging ’round to steal a motor-car. But no I’m not a crook, And if you think, that’s what I look, I’ll tell you why I’m here, And what my motives are. I’m leaning on a lamp-post at the corner of the street, In ...
Reading in the Park This was taken during one of my periodic walks around New York City. I came across this woman reading in a small park (I don’t remember which park it was nor do I remember exactly where it was) somewhere on the east side of Manhattan. I do recall that she was completely immersed ...
Father and Daughter This is my friend Gustavo with his eldest daughter. It was taken in June, 2012 with a Sony NEX 5N and its 18-55mm kit lens. We’d been to an antique car show at Maryknoll in Ossining, NY and after the show we went for a walk around inside the rather spectacular oriental style ...
A Watcher Judging by the time stamp on the picture I was passing through Grand Central on my way to work. What caught my attention first was the bright sunlight streaming through the windows at the east end of the terminal. Then I started to pay more attention to the people busily rushing around inside ...
Papal Visit – Part 2 This is the second of two posts on the Pope Francis’s visit to New York City in September, 2015. Part 1 can be found here. So after four hours on line we finally got to security. I thought it would be something like airport security, but it was a bit simpler (e.g. didn’t have ...
A Good Spot to Watch the Airshow I mentioned earlier that I went with some friends to the The First Annual New York Air Show. August 29-30 2015 at Stewart International Airport. The show attracted quite a crowd. This guy found a great spot to see the show – on top of his C-130J Hercules – part of one of the static ...
Emi brings out the watermelon In an earlier post I mentioned that we had been invited to a get together at an apartment on Central Park West. This is the owner of the apartment bringing watermelon to some of the younger guests. I loved the way the children were jumping around. The one on the left seems ...
A Walk in the Fountains at the Palais des Nations, Geneva Taken in Geneva, Switzerland, August 2010 with a Panasonic Lumix ZS-3. This fountain is on the plaza in front of the Palais des Nations, the European HQ of the United Nations. It was a hot day so I knew that eventually someone would run through the water and sure enough someone did. ...
A Birthday Party My wife regularly (usually 4-5 times a week) takes dance/exercise classes. Once a year she and other friends celebrate her teacher’s birthday. Sometimes it’s at a restaurant, but this time she invited them to our house. Everyone brought food and a good time was had by all. Taking pictures at this ...
Man on a Boat Back in October, 2011 we went with some friends on a boat ride on the Hudson. This is one of the other passengers. He was wearing a straw hat and soon as I saw him I was taken by the magnificent beard and the expressive wrinkles around his eyes. This was taken ...
David Amram Quintet at Tompkins Corners Cultural Center I’ve posted earlier on the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center. Their latest event was a performance of the David Amran Quintet. The music was great and Mr. Amram, acting as host, was informative and amusing. The weather was good and on a clear, cool evening a great time was had by all. And yes ...
RIP Eve Borja Our family has recently been affected by tragedy. My wife’s niece Eve (seen above on the left with my wife and Eve’s son, now 11) passed away unexpectedly and rather mysteriously at her son’s baseball game. It seems that she suffered a severe allergic reaction to something, but nobody knows what. This ...
Harley goes for a swim It was quite hot the other day so I decided to go for a swim in the lake to cool off. Our previous dog, Jackson had loved swimming in the lake but we weren’t sure how Harley would react to the water. So I carried him in and let him swim back to ...
Cellphones Galore This was taken in the Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. So many beautiful things to look at yet many of the people were just sitting there attending to their cellphones. Although I’m a compulsive internet user myself, I find the way these devices intrude into every ...
A Woman and Her Dog Our friend and her dog. He’s a French Bulldog and every year she has an outdoor birthday party for him – last year with a band. Our previous dog, Jackson didn’t get on with him at all. Jackson was smaller, but extremely aggressive with other dogs (he was part Jack Russell terrier). ...
Musicians A group of musicians playing at a local community event. Above: John Cohen founder member of the New Lost City Ramblers and famous for his music, art, movies and photographs including iconic photographs of Bob Dylan. Cohen’s hands on his mandolin. Fiddler. It looks as if this shot was posed, but it wasn’t. He ...
Curiosity This was taken at my brother-in-law’s house in Rochester, NY – yes, the home of Kodak. On the left is another brother-in-law, and on the right one of my nieces’ daughters. Between them, and apparently fascinated by either me or what I was doing (i.e. taking pictures) is another daughter. I’m surprised ...
Underware Vendor This was taken with a Pansonic Lumix LX-3 at a flea market in Connecticut in October, 2011. It was early (around 8:00 a.m.) in the morning and the sun was low and very bright. The light was extremely contrasty. At first I’d thought it would make a good color photo (the garments ...
My first elephant ride My first, and so far only ride on an elephant – seen here in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthya (you can see some of the ruins in the background). It’s not much of a picture, but I can take solace in the fact that I clearly didn’t take it (that’s me on the left ...
Paul and Family I’ve recently started a small project with my friend, Paul. He’s an actor and former Soap Opera Star (General Hospital, Love of Life, The Edge of Night, and Days of our Lives). He also appeared in a number of other TV shows including Kojak, Police Woman, Good Times, The Blue Night etc. He ...
My Mother’s Birthday today Today is my mother’s Birthday. She would have been 89 had she not been carried away about 20 years ago by Emphysema caused by a lifetime of heavy smoking. She’s seen here with my father on their wedding day in August 1950. I wasn’t born until 1952 and so clearly could not ...
New Windsor Cantonment: Guide in period costume In this shot we’re inside the “Temple of Virtue” at the New Windsor Cantonement with another extremely friendly and knowledgeable guide who explained to us the history behind this building. She also suggested that we might want to look at the Revolutionary War period surgical kit and then explained all about it.
New Windsor Cantonment: Blacksmithing Demonstration The forge. In addition to giving a very thorough presentation on the New Windsor Cantonment our knowledgeable and versatile guide also provided a musketry demonstration as well as showing his prowess as a blacksmith. Specifically he explained/demonstrated how to make a nail. The blacksmith making a nail.
New Windsor Cantonment: The Bluecoats are coming Musketry demonstration at New Windsor Cantonment. To the rear a reconstruction of the “Temple of Virtue” where George Washington is reputed to have made one of his most impassioned speeches. He was speaking to his officers who were inclined to march on Congress to take, by force, the back pay owed to them. ...
New Windsor Cantonment: Revolutionary War Soldier Taken during a visit to the New Windsor Cantonment where the American army finished up the Revolutionary War while waiting for peace. This guide is in the uniform of a Massachusetts regiment. He also did the musket firing and blacksmithing demonstrations. As I was processing this picture I noticed that it was taking on ...
Turtle Fishing? We took our visiting friends to Kobu – a nice asian fusion restaurant on the lake in Mahopac, NY. They’ve recently added a pleasant covered patio area right next to the lake. After we’d finished eating we noticed a flurry of activity down by the lake so we went over to “check it ...
Another Picture of My Wife A couple of months ago I posted a picture of my wife scanned from some old slides I came across. Here’s another one from the same period i.e. around the early 1980s
Touching photographs of Horace Warner’s ‘Spitalfields Nippers’ Wikipedia describes Spitalfields in the late 19th century as follows: By the later 19th century inner Spitalfields had eclipsed rival claimants to the dubious distinction of being the worst criminal rookery of London with common lodging-houses in the Flower and Dean Street area being a focus for the activities of robbers and prostitutes. The latter street ...
Reading in the Park As I recall this was taken in a “pocket” park somewhere on Second Avenue in New York City with a Sony NEX 5N and Sigma E 30mm (45mm equivalent) f2.8. I tend to shy away from pictures of people I don’t know (and even people I DO know for that matter). However, at ...
Street Vendors in New York City I don’t remember much about this picture other than that it was taken somewhere in New York City (along 42nd street I think) in May 2012. I think they were selling posters of some kind. I liked the animated expression of the woman on the right (her eyes almost seem to twinkle) and the ...
A young me As I continued my scanning project I came across this old photo. It’s in pretty bad shape: creased, torn, stained etc. Once I’d scanned it I improved the appearance somewhat, but didn’t spend a lot of time on it (you can easily see some bits I missed up in the hair). Yes, that’s me! ...
People and Dogs on the Lake in a Snowstorm We had about six/seven inches of snow yesterday and were sitting in the living room reading when we noticed movement on the lake. Four people were walking their dogs on the lake. The falling snow did not seem to bother them very much and the dogs seemed to be loving it. By ...
Bali part IV: A few more pictures Kertha Gosa Pavilion. This is the last batch of pictures (I promise) derived from scanned negatives from a trip to Bali. The rest can be found at: Bali I: Batiks Bali II: Around Ubud Bali III: Temples Another Batik Devotions at the temple. Monkeys A performance. Statue Bali Landscape
My wife around 1980 Wasn’t she gorgeous. She still is! In addition to the constant snow it’s also gotten extremely cold. I also recently fell on the ice and hurt my back so I’m disinclined to go out at all at the moment. So instead I’ve turned to one of my outstanding projects: to scan my old ...
New Years Eve New Years Eve celebrations with our friends the Cross’s at the relatively new “Hudson Room” in Peekskill. “Over the Top” performed. The Sony RX100 does pretty well in low light and it’s so so easy to carry around.
RIP Bob Mawson Our friend Robert Mawson passed away on November 22. RIP Bob we’ll miss you. The text below is liberally paraphrased from his obituary. Born in County Durham in the northeast of England in August 1943 he became a boy soldier in the British Army to escape work in the coalmine. He was stationed in Menden, Germany ...
And the band played on Pictures from two bands playing at a farm where we went to get pumpkins about a year ago. The first and third are “Nashville Drive” (at least according to the sign). The second and fourth are from another band – I didn’t get the name.
Barbershop in Ossining, NY
Ghost Rider I was going along Peekskill Hollow road one day when I saw this skeleton sitting on an old motorcycle perched on a stone wall. I was in a hurry at this time and the light was bad but was determined to get a picture so back I came the next morning when, I guessed, ...
Self Portrait This was taken with a Panasonic Lumix LX3 on the train home from Grand Central Terminal to Scarborough. As I recall I’d had a few beers and I was playing with the camera – partly to get more familiar with it. More importantly perhaps I was trying to keep myself occupied so that ...
Waiting for the Train Taken June, 2012 around 10:00 pm at Grand Central while waiting for a Hudson Line Train. She’s certainly thinking very intently about something – I wonder what it was? One of my fairly rare ‘people’ pictures.
The man in the mirror I noticed these two blue and white vases at a local antiques fair and decided to take a picture. As I was taking it I spotted the mirror in the background and decided to wait until someone walked by behind me so I could get their reflection.
Planting Time We’re members of the local garden club and every year those who run it ask for volunteers to help plant at ‘Two bridges park’ near the beginning of Lake Shore Road and my wife volunteered. This year the girl scouts turned up in force to help with the planting. The two pictures below show some ...
Germaine This is Germaine Chandelier at the February meeting of our Garden club which co-incided with Germaine’s 92nd birthday. Germaine is a fascinating person as can been seen from this extract from the Alsace-New York Newsletter, Spring 2007 celebrating Germaine’s induction as ‘Chevalier dans l’Ordre du Merite’: Germain Schneider-Chandelier was born on the 22nd of February 1922, at ...
Happy Birthday Eirah Today is my wife’s birthday so we decided to celebrate by having dinner at the Hudson House River Inn in Cold Spring, NY. Its website states: Built in 1832 and operated as a hotel since then, the Hudson House River Inn is truly part of Hudson River history. The Hudson House is located on the serene ...
Copenhagen pictures Jeremy I often revisit old photographs – particularly when it’s very cold, snowy etc. and I don’t feel inclined to get out an take more. They were taken in May, 2011 during a school trip to a museum in Copenhagen . Friends Through a net Teachers
World’s first selfie Pioneering Photographer Robert Cornelius Credited With World’s First Selfie c. 1839 via Pioneering Photographer Robert Cornelius Credited With World's First Selfie c. 1839. As a number of blog posts have already pointed out: he might have at least combed his hair before taking the picture.
Roy This is my brother-in-law, Roy. He’s the one who sells the jewelry I talked about in an earlier post. I love this picture. It was taken sometime in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I don’t recall what camera I used, but it was probably either a Canon AE-1 or a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII.
Sony Alpha 500 Ken In an earlier post I noted that my first digital SLR was a Konica Minolta Maxxum 5d. I bought this camera because: a) I’d had a good experience with a minolta camera in the past. My first serious camera was a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sii. By that time I’d had film SLRs, but when I went to ...
Scanning Project Continued – Another Wedding This time it’s my parent’s wedding: 5 August 1950 (I think). I wasn’t born yet so clearly I didn’t take the pictures. Unfortunately I don’t know who did and the tattered and fading wedding album gives no clues. I recall that I loved to look at this album when I was a ...
Really old pictures During our recent garage cleanup we came across three apparently exposed films in a box that clearly had not been opened in years. I had them processed and scanned. Two of them were completely blank – I guess that somehow the leader had been wound back into the cartridge before they were exposed. The ...
More scans: Eirah By the window Continuing the scanning project – after the wedding album the next album that came to light had some old pictures of my wife, Eirah. Even though over 30 years has elapsed since these pictures were taken she still looks the same to me. Sitting on a cushion in the living room in our house ...
Wedding Pictures The invitation We recently had a water leak at our house in Westchester County. We rescued a number of old pictures; family albums etc., which luckily had not been damaged. It did make me realize, however, that I should do something about the pictures before they deteriorate any more (even though undamaged by the ...
Pictures by Divya These three pictures were taken by my granddaughter Divya. For the first two she used her father’s (that’s him in the second picture) Nikon D80 and the third one (of our cat, Gypsy) an iphone. She’s three years old! Having said that her paternal grandfather is a prominent architect and her aunt is ...
People Pictures Boules players – Bryant Park People (mostly friends and family) have pointed out that there aren’t many people in my pictures. This is true – up to a point. I’m much better at taking pictures of things that don’t move. Lakes, mountains buildings, stationary vehicles etc. People test my technique a bit, children in particular. I take pictures ...
Cleaning up Holbrook Road after Hurricane Sandy Some pictures of the situation on Holbrook Road right outside our house. A large pine tree had fallen across the road and onto power lines, bringing them down, hitting a utility pole and putting enough tension on the other utility poles to make them lean significantly. That’s our mailbox you see in the foreground. Here you ...

Photography, Images and Cameras

People
Home / People

Leave a Reply Cancel reply