18-JUL-2015
Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
The “Maid of the Mist” was launched in 1846 as a ferry service between the Canadian and American sides of Niagara Falls. Eight years later, a bridge made the ferry obsolete, and turned it into a tourist attraction that has lasted more than 150 years. Today, the Maid of the Mist offers the only boat tours of the falls from the American side. (A Canadian company offers tours from the Canadian side.)
The ship takes 600 passengers for an hours ride through the mist of American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and Horseshoe Falls. I made this photo from high above the loading dock. A line of new passengers files into a tented structure at right, and when they emerge, each of them is wearing a blue poncho, which helps them stay relatively dry during the trip. This image embraces the entire embarkation process, and speaks of the massive numbers involved.
18-JUL-2015
The view, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
All three of the waterfalls that comprise one of America’s most iconic natural wonders are visible from an observation platform that looms high above the scene. In this image, my wideangle lens embraces the massive American Falls, at left, along with the more delicate Bridal Veil Falls just to the right of it. The enormous clouds of thundering water at their base draw the eye towards Horseshoe Falls in the far distance. In order to establish a sense of scale, I waited until a tour boat appeared in my frame, and then made this image. Additional scale is provided by a tiny line of poncho-clad tourists in the lower left corner of the frame.
18-JUL-2015
The plunge, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
I made this image while standing next to the railing of the Maid of the Mist tour boat as it moved past American Falls, the second highest of Niagara’s falls at 100 feet. My goal was to express the powerful energy of the water as it crashed into the rocks at the base of the falls. I used a very fast shutter speed of nearly 1/1000th of a second to catch a water bird soaring through the clouds of exploding water.
18-JUL-2015
Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
Horseshoe Falls is the most powerful waterfall in North America, as measured by its 188-foot vertical drop and its flow rate of five million cubic feet of water falling over its crest every minute. It is the largest of Niagara’s falls, a curving 2,600 foot-wide wall of falling water that is best seen, heard, and felt from the deck of a wet and rocking tourist boat. I did not want to make a picture of just the waterfall itself. I wanted to also express the awe-inspiring experience of viewing this iconic scene for the first time. Using a 24mm wideangle lens, and standing next to my daughter as she was explaining this incredible sight to my young granddaughter, I captured this silhouetted gesture as she eloquently pointed towards the scene. I saw this gesture as a symbol of wonder. It does justice to the sight before us.
18-JUL-2015
Soaked, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
I made this image to express the human side of my Niagara Falls experience. My four year old granddaughter, soaked from the constant mist that enveloped our tour boat, clutches her mother’s hand for reassurance after seeing and feeling the fearsome fury of the falls at first hand. We see in this image a child trying to come to grips with what must have been a scary sight, and using her mother’s hand as symbolic support.
18-JUL-2015
Man and nature, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
I fill the top half of the frame with the energy and fury of nature – the falls seem to explode at left, becoming a massive flow and then vanishing in the cloud of spray at right. The bottom half of the frame is entirely filled with foliage, beneficiary of the moisture descending from above. A tiny staircase winds through the trees, bearing a seemingly endless line of poncho-clad tourists. They are incongruously small in scale and seemingly at the mercy of nature’s power.
18-JUL-2015
Debris, Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
I express the force of the falling water by isolating man-made debris trapped amidst giant boulders and fallen trees. The churning flow makes it way through the image from top to bottom, carrying the stuff of man before it.
18-JUL-2015
Finale, Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
The Cave of the Winds is actually a series of staircases and platforms at the base of Bridal Veil Falls. In this image, a visitor is pummeled by a torrent of water exploding upon the rocks behind him. The yellow poncho and the rich moss upon the rocks offer a counter point to monochromatic boulders and flying water. It is very difficult to make photographs here – the mist soaks camera and lens instantly, making any image hazy. In this case, however, the slight haze on my lens helps to abstract the scene and thereby intensify the meaning of the picture.
18-JUL-2015
Symmetry, Sal Maglie Stadium, Niagara Falls, New York, 2015
This four thousand seat baseball park, built in 1939 and called Hyde Park Stadium, was renamed in 1983 for former major league pitcher Sal Maglie, who once played for here for the Niagara University Purple Eagles. The Eagles still play here, and so do the Niagara Power of the New York Collegiate baseball league. On the evening I made this picture, the Niagara Power drew less than 300 fans to the 4,000-seat stadium. Using a 24mm lens, I made this image from the first row, embracing not only the action on the field but also the lovely diagonal pink cloud that dominates the purple evening sky.
The diagonal thrust of the cloud complements the geometric symmetry formed by the baseball diamond and the long dirt path before the dugout. The batter, leaning forward to place a bunt, also echoes the thrust of the diagonal cloud. The scene is pure Americana, a quiet ending to our brief visit to Niagara Falls.
19-JUL-2015
Out of the past, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, Buffalo, New York, 2015
On September 14, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as president of the United States in Buffalo, following the assassination of his predecessor William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition. He was inaugurated in the home of his friend,
Buffalo lawyer Ansley Wilcox, which has now become a National Historic Site. There are many photographs of Roosevelt on the walls of this house, and I chose this one to best express the nature of this sad event. I moved in, eliminating its oval frame entirely. I exposed for the highlight on his face, making rest of the image fade into somber darkness. Roosevelt’s serious expression says a lot about this time and this place, and the darkness surrounding him symbolizes the mood of the moment. Yet his spectacles and the cord that dangles from them tell us he is ready to assume the job at hand. The sepia color expresses the photographic technique of the era.
19-JUL-2015
Translucence, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, Buffalo, New York, 2015
A day after President William McKinley died from an assassin’s bullet, a grieving Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th president of the United States in the opulent library of his friend, Ansley Wilcox. The ceremony took place at this bay window. Today, a vase of flowers marks the spot. I used spot metering mode to expose on the brightest part of the image – the sun, as it illuminated the flowers commemorating Roosevelt’s inauguration here 114 years ago. The blossoms become translucent, as do the drapes and curtain in the background. The window beyond casts its shadow on that curtain, which becomes an art deco abstraction symbolizing the event’s era. Color also plays a major role in this image. The red flowers dominate the scene, while the golden drapes add a rich tone worthy of the scene.
19-JUL-2015
Calming thoughts, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site, Buffalo, New York, 2015
After being sworn in as president following the assassination of president McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is a dreadful thing to come into the Presidency in this way, but it would be far worse to be morbid about it. Here is the task, and I have got to do it to the best of my ability; and that is all there is to it.” Among his first tasks as president was to send a message to the American people. His four-page draft still rests on the desk in the room where he took the oath. I photographed it from a close vantage point. The words are illegible, but the gilded pen and yellowed paper symbolize historical importance. Roosevelt’s message was intended to calm a grief-stricken nation, and promised to continue the policies of McKinley’s administration.
20-JUL-2015
Then and now, Allentown District, Buffalo, New York, 2015
Allentown is one of Buffalo’s most colorful neighborhoods. It his home to more than 700 historic buildings, and is known for its artists, shops, restaurants and nightlife. I photographed this 150-year-old Allentown wall, bearing but a single window and a decorated with a contemporary splash of graffiti. It is an exercise in color, texture, and contrasts – a scene bearing both the mark of time and a mark of self-expression.
20-JUL-2015
Nature at work, Allentown District, Buffalo, New York, 2015
This 19th century façade in Buffalo’s historic Allentown district seems virtually overwhelmed by a blanket of ivy. The ivy wall is flanked by a Victorian-era street lamp and brilliant blue Victorian window frame, creating an incongruous scene symbolizing both the passage of time, and nature’s continual assault on things built by man.
20-JUL-2015
Crumbling lion, Allentown District, Buffalo, New York, 2015
This huge wall advertisement featuring a slumbering lion is gradually vanishing. It is peeling away, revealing the brick façade of a 19th century building beneath it. My photograph draws on symbolism to tell its story. This lion, the ‘King of Beasts,” has lost its majesty. Time and weather have taken their toll, and incongruously doomed this most powerful of creatures.
20-JUL-2015
Celebration, Allentown District, Buffalo, New York, 2015
I was drawn to the vivid colors of this floral wreath displayed upon a neighborhood door. It was located behind a glass storm door, and as I moved closer to it, I noticed that a flag hanging next to the door was reflected diagonally across the wreath. I composed this image accordingly, expressing a celebratory mood.
21-JUL-2015
Entrance hall, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, 2015
This hall leads to the world’s leading collection of photography and film, as well as the mansion that Kodak founder George Eastman, the founder of modern photography, called home from 1905 to 1932.
I combine three elements to tell my story here, starting with a display containing a massive portrait of Eastman as a young man on the left hand side of my image. He contrasts in scale, gender, and era to a visitor at right who is about to walk past his photograph. Behind her head, a large projected photograph of a yellow dandelion explodes upon a screen, making it seem as if she may have photography on her mind. Eastman does not seem to see her, nor does she look at him. If he could see her, his eyes might well be drawn to her bright blue shoes that offer a touch of visual incongruity to this image.
21-JUL-2015
Elephant dead ahead, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, 2015
I made this image to shock the viewer. A huge elephant seems to be charging at us through the foliage. With fixed gaze and gleaming tusks, it seems bent on destruction. I slightly underexposed the edges of this photograph after I made it, giving the image a frightening, tunnel-like effect. The charging elephant is the most memorable object in Kodak founder George Eastman’s elegant 1905 mansion. After retiring as one of the wealthiest men in the world in 1925, Eastman pursued adventures in the American West and in the African jungle. In 1928, he shot this huge elephant while on safari in Uganda. He had its head mounted on the wall of his conservatory and used to eat his breakfast below it every morning. When the house was renovated in 1947, a replica of the head, re-crafted out of modern-day materials, was installed in its place. (And yes, the puns in my title were intentional.)
22-JUL-2015
Long forgotten, Cazenovia, New York, 2015
While visiting with family in Cazenovia, just outside of Syracuse, I discovered the remains of an old cemetery lost amidst an overgrown hilltop at the edge of a cornfield. Most of its headstones had toppled over time, vanishing beneath the heavy brush that covered the hill. Yet this headstone has somehow remained upright, although the weeds around had grown so high that much of it was obscured. I photograph it as an abstraction, a reminder that nature ultimately reclaims everything. We do not even who is buried here – all is left to our imagination
22-JUL-2015
The Library, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, Cazenovia, New York, 2015
Inspired by the relationship between art and nature, this art park covers 104 acres of conserved land overlooking the rural landscape around Cazenovia. At once both an art museum and a landscape, the more than 100 works of art displayed here are unsuited for preservation. Instead, the art is expected to change as nature demands, affected by weather, light, motion, color, and sounds. I photographed one of them – a weathered library shelf, filled with books that have been intentionally left to decay. I moved in to photograph the fascinating interplay of texture, color, and form. Both this work of art and my image of it comment on the accelerating deterioration of books, as we once knew them. As electronic readers replace ink on paper, one wonders how long the book will linger among us.
23-JUL-2015
Lamppost, Auburn, New York, 2015
Auburn’s historic downtown district is lined with ornate lampposts that are well over 100 years old. Most of them fly the American flag during the summer. The morning light was warm and rich, emphasizing the bright green paint on the metal post. The branches from two different trees enter the frame from both sides, rhythmically echoing the delicate twin light fixtures atop the post. The flag moves from the shadows into the light. Meanwhile, an oddly patterned wall of the building in the background ties everything together. It appears weathered and stained, as if it has been part of this scene for a century or more.
23-JUL-2015
Wall décor, Auburn, New York, 2015
I often compare and contrast elements that I find placed on opposing sides of the corner of a wall. In this case, I contrast a rusting black metal newspaper receptacle set into the entrance of a local business to the sculptured head of a cherub placed at right angles to it. The open black metal box seems frozen in time, while the cherub’s head flows into the soft light from within a floral frame. The wall itself is painted bright red, and richly textured. The objects on the opposing sides of this corner make an incongruous pairing – the rusting box symbolizes disuse and decay, while the cherub speaks of eternal classical beauty.
23-JUL-2015
Imitation of life, Auburn, New York, 2015
The Liberty Store Mural, by Anthony P. Clubine, covers the entire ground level façade of a local retail store. Six life-sized shoppers are painted into the scene. The warm morning light and its shadows reminded me of the mood of an Edward Hopper painting, as I waited for an actual pedestrian to move down the sidewalk in front of it. Eventually a woman entered the frame, and as she reached the faux door in the middle of the scene, I made this image. She seems to vanish into Clubine's mural because she is the nearly same size as most of the painted figures. Her presence in this photograph defines my purpose in making it – to express art as an imitation of life. Anthony Clubine leaves a comment below -- he says that the people depicted in this mural represent "famous Auburn residents." Both he and I are essentially expressing similar ideas. Clubine uses local celebrities to inhabit the mural and bring art to life. By using an actual city building as a canvas for his mural, Clubine is also using art to imitate life here.
23-JUL-2015
Façade, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
Light, shadow, and reflected light play against each other to create the illusion of depth in this architectural study of one of the most historic homes in the United States. Originally built in 1816, and expanded in 1848 and again in 1865, this was the Auburn home of William H. Seward from 1824 to 1872. Seward was one of the most important politicians of 19th century America. Known as Abraham Lincoln’s “Indispensable Man,” Seward served as a senator, governor and as Secretary of State under Presidents Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.
24-JUL-2015
Seward Park, Auburn, New York, 2015
This small park, adjacent to the Seward House, features a statue of William H. Seward. It was dedicated in 1888, on land donated by Seward’s family for use as a park. It shows Seward making a speech in the US Senate in 1850 against the Fugitive Slave Act, which was eventually passed by the Congress. It required all captured escaped slaves to be returned to their masters, even in “free “states. (Seward, who was an abolitionist, nicknamed it the “Bloodhound Law.”) Seward later, as Secretary of State, helped President Abraham Lincoln frame both the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. Seward was also an Auburn neighbor, supporter, and friend of escaped slave Harriet Tubman, who helped establish a network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. I photograph Seward’s statue from behind here, enabling the figure of Seward to speak directly to the flag symbolizing his nation.
24-JUL-2015
Remembering Seward, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
A larger than life sized bust of William H. Seward stands at one window of the library where more than a thousand volumes of 19th century books like the walls. The sculptor was Daniel Chester French, who also sculpted a matching bust of Abraham Lincoln on display in same room. (See following image.) French also created the huge seated figure of Lincoln that dominates the Lincoln Memorial. The window light defines Seward’s strength of character. I processed the image in sepia tones in order to age the photograph and to eliminate the vivid color of the books that drew attention away from the sculpted figure.
24-JUL-2015
Lincoln, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
This memorial draped bust of Abraham Lincoln stands opposite the bust of William Seward in Seward’s library. Both sculptures are by Daniel Chester French, creator of the seated Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial. The draped figure tells us that French made this bust following Lincoln’s assassination. While the Seward bust, depicted in the previous image, stares straight ahead, Lincoln seems turns his head away from us as light plays softly over his distinctive features. This pairing of busts in Seward’s library symbolizes a partnership that not only eventually abolished slavery, but also may have the saved the Union itself. Seward, even though he had lost the 1860 presidential nomination to Lincoln, ensured that Lincoln was elected president. As Lincoln’s Secretary of State, Seward’s diplomatic efforts kept England and France from entering the Civil War on behalf of the Confederacy. Seward was also worked behind the scenes with Lincoln on both the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment ending slavery. Once again, I chose to reproduce this image in sepia tones, eliminating the conflicting colors of the books arrayed behind him. The sepia tone also represents the era in which both Lincoln and Seward made history together.
24-JUL-2015
Cradle, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
The Seward House is now a museum as well. It is filled with the original furnishings and objects belonging to William H. Seward and his family. Due to the fragile nature of these objects and furnishings, visitors are not allowed to make photographs of them. However the museum staff kindly allowed me to have photographic access to everything in the house. I spent an entire day working in the house and also gave a special tutorial on historical photography during my stay. One of the poignant objects I photographed was a crib in the home’s nursery. Four generations of the family lived in this house, and this crib most likely held either children or grandchildren of William H. Seward. The interplay of light and shadow on the crib, the window, as well as on the adjoining chair, creates a rainbow of color to express the nature of a 19th century nursery.
24-JUL-2015
Faded dream, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
A doll, most likely cherished by more than one of William Seward’s children or grandchildren, lies abed in one of the home’s many small bedrooms. It wears a lace-trimmed dress, and rests upon handsome 19th century linen and an intricately made quilt. When rendered in sepia, the doll seems to be absorbed by its surroundings, a faded dream from another time.
24-JUL-2015
Victorian elegance, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
I combine a romantic marble sculpture, an ornate armchair, delicate lace curtains, and a swath of velvet drapery to express the elegant Victorian character of the “Drawing Room,” the most important room in the Seward House. This was where William Henry Seward greeted his guests, including government officials, generals, diplomats, and friends. The house and its furnishings reflects the essence of the British Empire’s Victorian era, which lasted from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century, and greatly influenced the decorative arts of the United States as well as Seward’s Auburn home.
24-JUL-2015
Frances Seward, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
Frances Miller married William Seward in 1824. Her father was retired judge Elijah Miller. Seward was a young lawyer in Judge Miller’s practice. The judge required the couple to live in his house, which became known as The Seward House after his death. Frances was deeply committed to the abolitionist movement. In the 1850s, she opened their home as a safe house to fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. Frances, whose health was fragile, stayed at home in Auburn during most of William Seward’s political career. She died in 1865, shortly after her husband was nearly assassinated in Washington on the night of Abraham Lincoln’s murder. This small sculpture of Frances Seward was commissioned as a memorial. It was placed next to her coffin in the Seward House Drawing Room just prior to her funeral. It is still in place, 150 years after her death. It depicts her reading a book, a favorite pastime. The sculptor based the work on a photograph. She was a diligent reader, and my close-up image emphasizes that point.
24-JUL-2015
Entrance, The Seward House, Auburn, New York, 2015
A bust of William H. Seward appears in ghostly form within a curved window over the main entrance of the Seward House. I photograph it from below and the side to stress the reflection of the deep blue sky in the window. The softly illuminated bust, which is white, becomes blue in my image. The window is framed in sweeping curves, which also are reflected on the glass. Seen together, these elements suggest that Seward’s spirit is very much a part of this historic place.
23-JUL-2015
Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York, 2015
This hilly cemetery was founded in 1851. It is only a short walk from The Seward House. The graves of William H. Seward, his wife Frances, and their children appear in middle of this image. The cemetery covers 83 acres of hilly land. Harriet Tubman, former slave and leader of the Underground Railroad is also buried here, as is Myles Keogh, who killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn. My image of Fort Hill Cemetery offers a sense of place – shaded and silent, hilly and verdant, the simple monuments speak for themselves.
23-JUL-2015
Seward graves, Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, New York, 2015
I photographed the ornate tombs of both William and Frances Seward just as the early morning sun brushed the ornate urns atop them. Seward commissioned Emanuel Leutze, who created the iconic painting “George Washington Crossing the Delaware,” to design the urn at right, honoring his wife. Leutze’s paintings also hang in the Seward House, including one that depicts Seward negotiating the purchase of Alaska in 1867.
25-JUL-2015
Gathering of the guards, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 2015
The Corning Museum of Glass cares for and displays the world’s best collection of art and historic glass. I made this image in the museum’s new contemporary art and design galleries, just as a group of museum guards was conferring within one of its doorways. The floors, walls, and ceilings of these galleries are white, designed to best display the glassworks within. The all-white environment gives this image its airy feeling, while my shutter suspends the casual interaction of the guards in a moment of time. Works of art at right and in the gallery beyond add context.
25-JUL-2015
Glass and art, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 2015
This is just one of many spectacular works of art on display in the contemporary art and design galleries of this museum, It uses color, shape, scale, and volume to express its meaning. A young museum visitor dashed into the gallery just as I was getting ready to make this photo. He did not see me, or the art. I caught him here just as he hastily departed through the doorway at right. This image not only tells us something about the nature of the works on display here -- it also says that some young museum visitors may come for the fun, rather than for the art.
25-JUL-2015
Seaform by Dale Chihuly, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York, 2015
This museum owns many Chihuly pieces, including this stunning example from his “Seaform” series. He started this series in the 1980s, creating transparent sculptures of thin glass, strengthened by ribbed strands of color. The glass fish nestled within this elegant bowl glow with a startling luminosity. I increase the luminosity by spot metering and underexposing the image, darkening the edges all around the frame to underscore my own interpretation of another artists work.
27-JUL-2015
Red carpet welcome, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
I concluded my journey through Western New York State with a weeklong sojourn at the Chautauqua Institute, enjoying lectures and performances in both the arts and social issues. We received a red carpet welcome at Chautauqua’s most historic hotel, The Athenaeum. I photographed its entrance with a wideangle lens just after dawn, just as a rising sun illuminated the hotel’s name on the entrance carpet.
27-JUL-2015
Living history, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The front desk at Chautauqua’s largest and oldest hotel is original, and so is the hotel’s nameplate set into its counter. I moved in on it to stress the hotel’s 1881 founding date. The materials in this image express the workmanship of the 19th century. The nameplate is brass, while the desk is made of solid oak or maple.
29-JUL-2015
Wood reigns, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The 160-room Athenaeum Hotel is said to be the largest wooden building in the Eastern United States. It is also said to be among the first hotels to install electric lights. At one point, Chautauqua boasted more than 20 full service resort hotels, but all of them are now gone except for the Athenaeum. I photographed its exterior just after dawn, as the morning light illuminated its famous front veranda. I framed the scene through the vertical trees on either side, which echo the upward thrust of the hotel’s Victorian architecture.
27-JUL-2015
Lobby, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Chautauqua, founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Vincent, was originally a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers. Framed photographs of these founders still hang in the Athenaeum’s lobby. I also included one of the lobby’s vintage couches in the image. Along with the ornate decoration provided by the lobby wallpaper, the softly textured couch symbolizes the hotel’s tradition of elegance, hospitality and comfort.
27-JUL-2015
Sweeper, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
On this morning, a heavy fog rolled in off Lake Chautauqua. It provides a magical background for this image of a hotel employee readying the hotel’s lovely veranda for the day’s activities.
30-JUL-2015
Morning coffee, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
One of the hotel’s original lobby fireplaces provides the backdrop for an early morning cup of coffee. This woman is one of several thousand participants that will be attending cultural and artistic programs on the 750-acre Chautauqua campus during the day to come.
30-JUL-2015
Planning the day, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The Chautauquan Daily is the official newspaper of the Chautauqua Institution. The newspaper began in 1876, two years after Chautauqua’s founding. It has continuously served Chautauqua with information about each day’s events. College interns work as its reporters, photographers, editors and designers, along with freelancers and retired journalists. Chautauqua attendees find the paper an essential guide to the vast range of events offered every day during the season. The participants in this photograph are literally burying themselves in the paper as they plan their day.
28-JUL-2015
Early risers, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The massive dining room, designed to serve hundreds of guests, dwarfs these early breakfasters. I use incongruity and atmospheric morning light to create a sense of both scale and atmosphere.
29-JUL-2015
Personal service, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The hotel’s restaurant staff must meet the challenge of satisfying huge numbers of diners within very short periods of time. The diners are usually on a tight time schedule as they attend cultural lectures every morning and afternoon, and musical, dance, theatre, and operatic performances every evening. In this image, I express the patience and diligence of a staffer as she takes an order from a program participant.
28-JUL-2015
Remembering the bats, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
When the Athenaeum Hotel was opened in 1881, there were more than 10,000 brown bats on Chautauqua’s grounds. They were so much part of Chautauqua’s culture that even the wooden fences around the hotel’s porches were decorated with cutouts shaped like bats. Today, only a few bats are left – usually only one is seen at a time, dipping and weaving over Chautauqua Lake in the evening. The reason: a disease called WNS – White Nose Syndrome, which has reduced New York state’s brown bat population by 90 per cent. Some bat populations are surviving, but extinction is a definite possibility. In any event, Chautauqua’s bats will always be remembered, as long as the Athenaeum’s porch fences remain. In this image I include three of those bat cutouts, their pointed wings rhythmically repeated by the yellow flower petals that rise towards them.
30-JUL-2015
Splashes, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The hotel’s 135-year old central fountain stands at the base of its veranda. Using a 1/950th of a second shutter speed, I was able to change its flow from a flow to a splash. The individual droplets become visible as they rise and fall, creating a view of the fountain that could never be seen in the late 19th or early 20th century.
27-JUL-2015
Restful spot, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015.
Along with its huge veranda, the Athenaeum offers numerous small porches, each furnished entirely in wicker. I made image shortly after dawn. The sun is just rising over Lake Chautauqua, its rays working their way through the surrounding trees. The hotel still slumbers. The only sound is the call of gulls in the distance. This photograph is all about the mood and atmosphere of another time.
28-JUL-2015
Reflection, The Athenaeum, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
A rising sun reflecting off the glass of a window on the top floor of the Athenaeum seems to wink at us as it’s glare draws the eye towards the great Victorian dome that stills rises over the hotel. This section of the hotel is the original structure. Over the years, additional wings have been added.
27-JUL-2015
Massey Memorial Organ, the Amphitheater, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The largest outdoor organ in the world fills Chautauqua’s 5,000 seat wooden Amphitheater with awe-inspiring sound. It was built into the Amphitheatre in 1907, and reconstructed over the years. This closely cropped image of its pipes composed itself. I moved in until the tensions and rhythms of the thrusting pipes merged perfectly within my horizontal frame.
27-JUL-2015
End of an era? The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The Amphitheater, built over a ravine 120 years ago, is one of the most historic buildings in the United States. Reconstructed over the years, the antiquated barn-like Amphitheatre seats 5,000 people on pew-like movable benches perched along a steep incline. Such diverse figures as William Jennings Brian, Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Barry Goldwater, and Bill and Hillary Clinton have lectured here. The Amp, as well as the entire Chautauqua Institution, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
These Chautauqua participants arriving for a morning lecture may be among the last to ever sit in the old place. The Chautauqua Institute wants to demolish the entire Amphitheater and replace it with a larger, modernized replica. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Chautauqua Amphitheatre is now one of “America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.” Preservationists are hoping the building can be once again renovated, without demolishing it. The fate of the “Amp” hangs in the balance.
28-JUL-2015
Q&A with Ava DuVernay, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015.
One of five lectures I attended in Chautauqua’s “Amp,” featured a lively question and answer session with Ava DuVernay, the director of “Selma,” a film about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights march. I found a seat in the front row, and from there I could make this unobstructed image of DuVernay as she responded to a question. The image not only captures DuVernay as she gestures and makes eye contact with thousands of Chautauqua participants. It places her amidst an array of geometric shapes, each symbolizing various and often opposing ideas.
30-JUL-2015
Illustrated lecture, Tom Toles, The Amphitheater, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Tom Toles is an editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post. He presented one of the five lectures I attended in Chautauqua’s historic Amphitheatre as part of a week long series of events focusing on the relationship of “Art and Politics.” Here Toles discusses his cartoon commenting on the January, 2015 terrorist attack that killed eleven people in the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly newspaper. I used a wideangle lens from the Amphitheater’s front row, layering the image by using the pair of floral displays at the base of the podium to echo the speaker as he brings both of his arms up at once to make a point. Another layer, comprising three rectangular overhead screens showing the cartoon in question, as well the backdrop of three green rectangular panels, adds context for meaning.
28-JUL-2015
Sound of silence, The Amphitheater, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
I made this image from the Amphitheater’s choir loft several hours before the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra offered an “Evening with Mozart.” It is an incongruous scene of chairs en mass, waiting for someone to use them. I use my wideangle lens to layer the image with the choir loft in the foreground, a stage waiting for an orchestra in the middle ground, and a vast array of empty spectator seats in the background. The sound of a symphony is nowhere to be heard. In fact, my image speaks only of silence.
28-JUL-2015
Waiting for the music, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Concertgoers eager to choose their favorite seats sometimes show up at Chautauqua’s venerable Amphitheater an hour or two before the music begins. These women fill the time by tapping on their electronic devices. I tell the story here by placing the subjects in the upper right hand corner of the fame, and echoing their presence with the diagonal wall moving into the frame from the left. I anchor the image with a softly focused floral display, which sits upon the concert stage itself. The entire image is tied together by the rhythmic flow of empty wooden benches. They will soon be filled to capacity.
28-JUL-2015
Cellist, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
A lone cellist practices for an evening concert at Chautauqua. I include just enough of the surrounding chairs and music stands to express a sense of isolation, yet I make him large enough in the frame to express a sense of commitment to his art.
28-JUL-2015
Camaraderie, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Three members of the local symphony orchestra arrive together for a final practice well before the evening’s concert begins. I lead the eye to them with a curving row of three empty chairs, and offer a sense of place by relating them to the rows of empty benches in the Amphitheater in the background. They seem to be relaxed and at ease with each other, veteran musicians who express an aura of camaraderie.
28-JUL-2015
Pyramid, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
More musicians arrive and the Chautauqua Amphitheater comes to life prior to a symphonic performance. I climbed into the choir loft to shoot down on this grouping of musicians. They form a perfect pyramid as they talk and practice, echoed by the repeated diagonal thrusts of musical instruments. A symphony orchestra is ultimately a cohesive team, and this image not only tells us that they care about their work – it shows us a symbolic geometric representation of a team in action.
28-JUL-2015
An evening of Mozart, The Amphitheater, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Shortly before the start of the concert, I shot over the shoulder of violinist as he arranged the evening’s music upon his stand. The scene tells us that one of the evening’s works will be music from Mozart’s opera, “The Marriage of Figaro.” A photo such as this abstracts the person in the picture instead of describing his appearance. It literally puts the viewer into the performers seat.
28-JUL-2015
Drumbeats, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Practice can sometimes be as intense as a performance. This timpanist listens intently to each beat as he practices before the concert. A multiple selection of timpani mallets lead the eye through this image. The choice of mallet is usually a matter of preference and the nature of the music itself. The timpanist uses a set of four drums to create the appropriate sounds.
28-JUL-2015
Reunion, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
I had just finished making the previous image of a timpanist at practice when suddenly another member of the orchestra rushed towards him with open arms. This spontaneous greeting characterizes the spirit inherent in an orchestra itself. The expressive gesture and enthusiastic expression seems to have caught the timpanist by surprise. He still holds on to his mallets.
27-JUL-2015
Tuning up and shutting down, The Amphitheatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
I photographed two orchestral tune-ups at Chautauqua. (I was not permitted to make any pictures during the actual performances, but the head usher kindly allowed me to make these images of practice prior to the concerts.) In most of my orchestral images, the performers were wearing their summer whites. But in this one, which I made on a different evening, the orchestra appears wearing traditional black. Four out of five of these performers are intently working on their art here, while the fifth incongruously takes a moment to check his cell phone. In a few moments, the house lights will dim, the conductor will enter, the music will begin, and I will reluctantly have to put away my camera for the rest of the evening.
30-JUL-2015
Not a techie, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Dr. Ori Soltes currently teaches theology, philosophy, and art history at Georgetown University. I spent a full seven and a half hours of my week at Chautauqua learning about the historical relationship of art to politics from Dr. Soltes. I was part of a 50 person “Road Scholar Adventure in Lifelong Learning” group that had him as a study leader. Dr. Soltes offered a dynamic presentation to launch each of our five lecture days at Chautauqua. While his mastery of visual art and political history was awe inspiring, he was humbled by the vagaries of audio-visual technology needed to supplement his teaching. In this image, Dr. Soltes finds only frustration as he tries to link a laptop to digital projector. Many of us can understand exactly how he feels at this moment.
30-JUL-2015
Connection, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Our Chautauqua study leader, Dr. Ori Soltes, who we met in the previous image as he struggled to link a computer to a projector, presents an entirely different side of his teaching skills in this image. More than just a lecturer, Dr. Soltes spent a considerable amount of time in individual dialog with his students before each talk, during breaks, and even afterwards, when some lingered to ask questions. I made this image of him going one-on-one with a fellow participant well after he had concluded his presentation. This image characterizes him as not only a dedicated and passionate teacher, but a good guy as well.
30-JUL-2015
Having fun, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
In this, the third in a sequence of images that I made of Dr. Ori Soltes, our group study leader at Chautauqua, I express the essence of his personality. He has a delightful sense of humor, and I caught it here as he responds to a witty question from his audience. When we add this image to the two previous photos of Dr. Soltes, we get a cumulative look at his strengths (and frustrations) as a teacher.
29-JUL-2015
Actress, Chautauqua Theatre Company, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
At first glance, this photograph offers a candid portrait of a person whose mind seems to be elsewhere at the moment. She also appears to be incongruously lost amidst a sea of leaves that fills the frame. Everything changes, however, when I add additional context. My image is actually a photograph of a photograph. The subject is an actress, featured on an advertising poster on the front porch of Chautauqua’s Bratton Theatre, where she performs. By obscuring much of the poster and photographing the subject out of its normal context, I am able to change meaning entirely, and open the image to further interpretation. I convert my photo to black and white, covering much of the poster with leaves. I also place the subject in the lower left hand corner, where she seems to be trying to turn away and flee from the frame.
29-JUL-2015
Bratton Theatre, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
This building, built in 1885, is one of the oldest structures at Chautauqua. Originally a schoolhouse, the building was called Normal Hall. Fifteen years ago, a major renovation created the new 269-seat Bratton Theatre within the original laminated beam structure of the old Normal Hall. The building is the home of the Chautauqua Theatre Company, the resident theatre of the Chautauqua Institution. I photograph this green painted theatre, surrounded by green foliage, from a corner. This angle produces the rhythmic repetition of the posters and pillars that carries the eye through the image. The varied emotional content of the posters express the range and personality of the Chautauqua Theatre Company’s eight week summer season.
29-JUL-2015
Silent house, Norton Memorial Hall, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
I made this photograph inside the Chautauqua Opera Company’s Norton Memorial Hall, home of the Chautauqua Opera Company since 1929. It is North America’s oldest continuously operating summer opera company. In this image, I contrast the flow of empty theatre seats to a stage waiting to host a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. An elegant chandelier hanging within a silent symbolic forest adds a touch of incongruity to the scene. The vertical thrust of my frame repeats the rhythms created by the vertical flow of receding armrests, delicate trees and the vertical frame of the stage itself.
29-JUL-2015
Turning day into night, Norton Memorial Hall, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Historic Norton Memorial Hall was a gift to Chautauqua from Lucy Norton as a memorial to her husband, Oliver, and her daughter, Ruth. It opened on July 19, 1929, with Henry Ford and Thomas Edison among the audience. (Mrs. Norton stipulated that all operas performed in the hall be in English.) She also told Chautauqua’s management that she “would build whatever you want, as long as it is beautiful.” Part of its beauty can be found in its architectural details and embellishments, such as this simple but elegant Art Deco lamppost, one of two that stand before the hall’s entrance. I made this image in the early evening, and used spot metering to turn day into night. By exposing for the glowing light bulb, the shadowy foliage in the background gradually fades into darkness.
30-JUL-2015
Lake Chautauqua, Chautauqua, New York, 2015.
When the Chautauqua Institute was founded in 1874, the only way to get there was to take a train to a town at either end of 17-mile long Lake Chautauqua, and then board a steamboat to get to the Institution’s grounds. Dozens of wooden steamboats carried thousands of visitors to and from Chautauqua into the 1930s, when automobile and bus service took over the task. The steamboats have passed into history – only one, a replica, survives as a tourist attraction. Yet this small wooden pier remains as a reminder of the days when the lake played a central role at Chautauqua. Today, visitors use this pier for recreation and relaxation. In this image, five Chautauquans are catching some sun and enjoying the waterfront atmosphere. I stress the horizontal thrust of the pier by placing it within a horizontal frame, and waited for an oncoming motorboat to roar past it. I incongruously stop the boats progress just as it reached the center of the frame.
29-JUL-2015
Finding their way, Chautauqua, New York, 20`5
Navigating the 700-acre Chautauqua campus can be a challenge for new visitors. Yet there are hundreds of old-timers on hand to help first-timers find their way around it. In this image, an experienced Chautauquan orients a pair of newcomers. She extends an arm and throws back her head emphatically. The newcomers seem tentative and somewhat vulnerable at this moment of decision. In the background, a row of empty rocking chairs on a porch add local context. Yet this image gives us the feeling that somehow everything will work out well in the end.
28-JUL-2015
Hall of Christ, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Dozens of lectures are open to all Chautauqua participants every day. They are given in venues of various sizes, ranging from Chautauqua’s 5,000-seat amphitheater to this elegant structure – a former church converted to a lecture hall. Known as the Hall of Christ, this church was built in 1909, and today it is used to host classes, workshops, and lectures. It is also used for Catholic services on Sundays. While its huge classical pillars were intended to inspire respect and awe, this Chautauqua participant incongruously uses one of them for casual foot support as she scans her cell phone prior to a lecture.
28-JUL-2015
Friendship, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Eleven religious denominations maintain houses at Chautauqua. They offer religious services, lectures, and low cost housing to participants during the nine-week season. Several of these houses feature large clay sculptures of celebratory figures in their front yards. I moved in on one of these figures to emphasize the texture and detail of its highlighted outstretched hand. I used spot metering to expose for the hand, causing a figure in the background to fall into shadow. The linked figures symbolize the nature of friendship and harmony.
29-JUL-2015
Twins, Bestor Plaza, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
This bronze fountain, featuring two young children at play with a sea creature, now stands in the very heart of Chautauqua – before the Visitors Center in Bestor Plaza. It was originally installed at Norton Memorial Hall in 1929, but was moved to Chautauqua’s central plaza in the 1940s. I was told that the children who modeled for the sculptor were twins. Officially known as the Norton Memorial Fountain, some locals simply refer to it as “The Twins.” I moved in on the figures to emphasize the strikingly incongruous effect of oxidation on their features.
27-JUL-2015
Central Fountain, Bestor Plaza, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Bestor Plaza honors the memory of Arthur Bestor, who served as the president of the Chautauqua Institute from 1915 to 1944. This fountain, which stands in the center of the plaza, was installed two years after his death. A four-sided column in the center of the fountain displays four bas-relief panels symbolizing the primary fields of study at Chautauqua: religion, knowledge, art, and music. I moved around the entire fountain to study the effect of light and shadow – photographing the panels individually and in pairings. This pairing, which compares the shadowy figure of “music”
to the powerfully defined symbol of “knowledge,” allowed me to make the most out of the play of light. I chose to render the image in black and white because it eliminates the distracting green foliage in the background, and allows us to concentrate on the idea I am expressing here – music as a subtle but essential component of knowledge itself.
30-JUL-2015
Frances Willard Cottage, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
In the summer of 1874, a group of woman came to Chautauqua to discuss the “scourge of alcohol.” They decided to form the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Among them was Frances E. Willard, an educator who served as WCTU president from 1879 to her death in 1898. She built it into the largest organization of women in 19th century America. Over the next nineteen years, Willard became one of the most famous women the country, gaining enough political clout to lead the fight for women’s rights, suffrage, prison reform, equal pay, federal aid to education, vocational training, and an eight-hour working day. Willard used the house in this photograph as her summer cottage at Chautauqua. The house, built in 1882, overlooks Lake Chautauqua. Preservation of Victorian houses such as this one has given Chautauqua much of its character. In 1924, the WCTU purchased it to mark its 50th anniversary. It is privately owned today. I photographed it in the early morning as the rising sun illuminated its elaborately carved main gable and the gingerbread rails on its balconies. I include the massive drinking water fountain in the foreground -- an appropriate symbol of the WCTU’s preference for water over liquor.
29-JUL-2015
Grant and Edison slept here (but not together); The Miller Cottage, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
This cottage was the summer residence of Chautauqua’s co-founder, Lewis Miller. The oldest permanent building at Chautauqua, the cottage was prefabricated in Akron, Ohio, and shipped to Chautauqua. It was reassembled just in time to host the President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant, in 1875. The rustic cottage overlooked the site of Chautauqua’s original amphitheater and tented campgrounds, now called Miller Park. For many summers it also housed famed inventor Thomas Edison and his wife, Mina – the daughter of Lewis Miller. Mina, who lived until 1947, became a Chautauqua trustee. In 1922, she renovated the home, opening its interior spaces to her expansive private gardens. It is still owned by the Miller family. This image features the Miller Cottage as the focal point of an atmospheric landscape. I use the early morning light to lead the eye from the illuminated trees at left towards the softly glowing balcony on the second floor of the cottage. I made this image to express a passage through time, carrying us back to Chautauqua’s origins.
30-JUL-2015
Easy Living, South Lake Drive, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
The wicker rocking chair is an enduring symbol of summer’s past. I found this one on the porch of a handsomely preserved Victorian home on South Lake Drive, overlooking Lake Chautauqua. This image goes beyond the chair itself. The plaque hanging on the shingles behind it tells us that this “cottage” has hosted visiting Chautauqua participants for 127 years. An arch at the entry to the porch casts its curving shadow on the wall as well, echoing the graceful curve at the top of the plaque. The early morning light enriches the color and adds warmth to this nostalgic image of easy living.
27-JUL-2015
And end and a beginning, Chautauqua, New York, 2015
Although I made this image just after dawn on my first morning at Chautauqua, I use it here as the final image of this gallery because it best symbolizes not only the end of my own journey to Chautauqua, but also the promise of a place rich in possibilities. The boats lying silently at dock on Lake Chautauqua have yet to set sail. I waited for a man taking his early morning walk to move into the small space between the boats and the large tree, and only then did I make this image. Caught in this spot, he walks alongside of glowing road. A rising sun gilds the sky and the water. The repeating vertical rhythms created by the masts and trees echo his own verticality. This incongruously small figure, juxtaposed against this vast landscape, symbolizes everyone who has enjoyed the pleasures of this place over the last 141 years.