Sunday March 1st, 2015
It was the annual Olcott Polar Bear Swim for Sight event. The whole town gathers on Olcott beach, they cut a huge hole in the ice and they all (and others from other towns) gather around to watch as few of the citizens, in their swimming trunks and what ever, dive into the frozen Lake Ontario water. As that can be dangerous all the Fire Rescue and underwater recovery teams in the area also gather. This really cute couple and their really cute little dog were part of the Fire Rescue group.
To see 150 more photos of the people involved in the Olcott Polar Bear Swim for Sight go to this link. ...
Thursday, October 23rd, 2014
Today I made some decisions that may take me around another bend in the road.
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014
Some days you just hit it right. These ladies were enjoying a pre-Zac Brown Band concert tailgate party at Darien Lake I was covering for Buffalo.Com. Their smiles and the light just turned out as it should have. Love these tailgate covers, so much really honest fun being had by most.
Sunday, February 23rd, 2014
The University at Buffalo Bulls' basketball team had a good week. It is one of the opportunities enjoyed with my freelance position with Buffalo.Com that I get to cover these kinds of events.
Here, in this image, Jarod Oldham goes up for 2 in a 96 - 90 win over Akron. As of now UB is #1 in MAC East.
Sunday, January 26th, 2014
In Buffalo the windchill dipped down way below Zero today. You know what we Buffalonians do when is gets chilly outside? We put an extra layer on and go play in the snow!
Friday, January 3rd, 2014
Grandma and Grandpa D had the privilege of spending some time with youngest grandchild, Philip. He really enjoyed the turkey soup his mom had left for grandma to prepare for his lunch.
Friday, December 21st, 2013
A cold winter rain filled the night around the Gallagher Center at Niagara University as the bi-partisan crowd made its way into the arena to enjoy what turned out to be a barn-burner of a Big 4 basketball game between the Niagara Purple Eagles and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
During the first half it appeared the Bonnies were bound to get the best of the Purple Eagles. The St. Bonaventure fan contingent inside the Gallagher Center were much more vociferous than the host crowd; at times, the din of the fan noise would have led you to believe the Bonnies were the home team.
The Purple Eagles, however, showed they were not laying down for the night as they closed an 11-point split, and the game became a seesaw battle until, with five seconds on the clock, after a missed shot by the Eagles’ leading scorer,Antoine Mason, Charlon Kloof a 6-3 senior guard for the Bonnies took the ball down court, busted between three Purple Eagle defenders and laid up the winning basket as the game clock showed 00:00. The Bonnies had won 74 to 72.
Friday, November 29th, 2013
The University of Buffalo Bulls football team played Bowling Green State University in a Division 1 Mid American Conference final game of the season to determine which school would face Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship on Friday, Dec 6th in Detroit. Well, UB lost, it was a beautiful sunny but very crisp late autumn day and the majority of the Bulls fans, about 20,000 of them, sat on the sunny side of Ralph Wilson Stadium (Buffalo Bills home field), however, a few individualists chose the shady side.
Friday, June 21st, 2013
My story behind St Adalbert's Sanctuary
The opportunity to be on the streets of Buffalo in mid afternoon on a Friday, with the sun shinning and enjoying beautiful Buffalo weather was offered and so I simply flat out took it. Much better than sitting in the cubical with my nose pushed against a computer monitor following up on the voluminous list of emails scrolling down the Outlook page in front of me.
The result of seizing that opportunity was I ended up standing outside my car on Stanislaus St on the East Side of Buffalo with my Canon 6D secured tightly to the mount on the top of my Manfrotto tripod directing the camera up towards the the twin spires of St Adalbert's Basilica. I was soaking it all in, the sun, the church, the neighborhood, the being free on a gorgeous Friday afternoon when a big shinny black pickup truck pulled up and blocked my view of the basilica. The passenger side window rolled down, a face on the driver's side of the truck turned toward me and asked, "why are you taking pictures of my church, who are you"?
I was informed the driver of the truck was a caretaker of the church. The church had recently been been deactivated and the "bishop" (said with a snarl) is after our cemetery". "Are you from downtown", he asked? Additional discussion ensued, I handed my card over to him through the rolled down passenger's side window and the driver seemed to relax. As we talked, a black man in muslim dress walked along the sidewalk in front of the basilica.
Jerry, as it turned out, treated me like a welcome guest and asked if I'd like to see the inside. "I have a key", he said with authority. He and his wife have lived on Sobieski Street for many years, they've been married 41 years and this church parish is very important to them. The new bishop is being difficult and doesn't care about the people only the money from the cemetery is what I gathered from our conversation to be the gist of the consternation with the "downtown" people.
What a beautiful sanctuary, with the stations of the cross and a magnificent marble alter. I didn't want to hold him up so I rushed forming the photographs, but I believe I captured some of the color, magnificence and glory of the inside of this basilica.
Jerry is a really good guy. You know, the salt of the earth, the kind of man, you know from the outset that he can be trusted. He wanted to get home, but didn't rush me, however I self imposed the hurriedness and the compositions are evidence. But as we walked out the front door, Jerry took time to shake my hand and mention to me "not to forget the Virgin Mary in the grotto". I got his address and promised to mail him some pictures.
Saturday, April 21st, 2012
Here's the story behind this photograph.
It was Saturday morning in Smethport PA. This Saturday would be the memorial service and internment of Ted's father. I hadn't seen Ted since 1991 and hadn't seen his father since 1966, however both are important to me. Ted, because we were high school buddies and Mr. “Quinten” Johnson because he and Mrs. “Betty” Johnson always made me feel part of the family (that wasn't unique to me, they made everyone feel that way). Mrs. Johnson had passed in December of 2010, two weeks before the 70th anniversary of her marriage to Mr. Johnson.
I had driven the 85 miles from East Aurora, NY the day before in a wonderful bath of bright spring sunshine and warm temperatures. I was anxious to see Ted yet somewhat pensive due to the circumstances that instigated the long overdue visit. Ted, I learned, had often come up to Smethport from his home in Tallahassee FL, but we’d not made a connection on those occasions other than a night at our 25th class reunion in 1991.
Our Friday night reunion at the funeral home in Mt. Jewett was emotional for all the reasons you might imagine, but I was comfortable to be with the Johnsons, again, and to have spent time remembering Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. Although the melancholy of the occasion was present, I felt comfortable; as I had always when with the Johnsons.
Our Friday night together ended with Ted, his brother, Roger and I gathered outside Ted’s room at the Smethport Motel smoking cigars and telling stories. We parted at about 10:30 and I went to my room, but couldn’t stay there on such a beautiful star filled warm spring night. I gathered my camera gear and wandered the streets of Smethport until the large digital clock on the main street read 12:32 AM and 62F.
Waking at about a quarter pass six on this particular Saturday morning my objective, before preparing for the 11:00 AM memorial service, was to get a good country breakfast and then experience some of the wonderful high hill landscape of this part of northern Pennsylvania. Mr. Johnson must have loved the countryside that is the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains. Except for his time in the Navy, he spent all his 93 years within about 60 miles of his childhood home in Hazel Hurst.
Upon opening the door of room #3 and stepping into the day that was to be this Saturday, a heavily overcast sky and cool temperatures greeted me. What a change six hours had brought.
I found Myra’s Restaurant and had the special. Myra’s was the typical diner you would anticipate finding in towns like Smethport, unpretentious and friendly; comfortable and serving the “unhealthy” food country folks live on all their lives.
As I left Myra’s and headed up the road toward Port Alleghany the message from the sky said rain any minute. Country music came through the speakers in a response to my request to play “My Country List” on my Droid plugged into the car’s stereo system. Up and down and around the hills was the ride. Up a hill, peek and down then around a tight corner and up another and as you peek a vista appears that opens before you the view of deep cultivated valleys surrounded by heavily wooded high rounded mountain tops. Even in gray skies it is an overwhelming sight. It was time for me to turn back toward Smethport and at the crest of I hill I found a turnaround. I remembered a view I had earlier passed and on this return stopped, pulled over and gathered my camera gear, tripod and all, and hiked over the guardrail down a small embankment into the field that opened to the scene viewed in this photograph. I was setting up the tripod and it began to sprinkle and by the time I had finished the shot and shouldered the tripod for the short walk up the slope to the car the rain began. It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Smethport to be remembering Quinten Carl Johnson and being with his family.
March 19th thru March 25th, 2012
The first week of spring brought summer weather to Western New York. Was up and out of bed Saturday morning about 4:00 AM after some morning chores took a little ride through the neighborhood and found the action around this farm in high gear. Cows were being milked, calves fed, barn cats running and dogs barking. One of the neighbors even approached me and asked if I had permission to take this picture. I said no, I hadn't that I really didn't want to bother the guys while they were working. He seemed still concerned so I gave him my card. While driving off I noticed he tore up the card and littered the road as he walked away. Interesting.
January 16th thru March 18th, 2012
Since mid August of last year I have been so very sporadic in posting to this blog. I think I just haven't had time to simply walk around with a camera and see what I see. Nearly all my photography has been with assignment to Buffalo.Com which takes most of my free photography time. I'm not complaining, mind you; just explaining. I stopped on the way home from work on a Friday night to take this shot. I didn't take the bumper to bumper route home instead went around the back way.