the EMPIRE

View of the mighty Empire State from the much vaunted Rainbow Room, where I am shooting an upcoming wedding. Looking at this sweeping view of Midtown towards lower Manhattan, the outer boroughs, and Jersey -I can't help but think of 9/11 and what is so sadly missing from this photo....

This photo reminds of my friend Marty Lederhandler of the A.P., and his incredible photo taken on 9/11. Thanks Marty, hope you are well...

HEAD'S UP

EMERSON,NJ 09/24/07 HIGH SCHOOL BOYS SOCCER / EMERSON HS VS RIDGEFIELD HS: Ridgefield goalie Josh Morales grabs the ball to make a save, although it appears he is grabbing his head during game against Emerson.

I've shot a bunch of local high school sports lately. Nabbed this quirky pic during game between Ridgefield and Emerson. I like how the ball appears to have eyes, and the backlight gives it a studio look. Sports photos are often about the serendipity that occurs during action, often so quickly you never actually see the image come together until the editing phase -such as this one. This photo just happened, nothing planned.

EXPOSURE:

Lens (mm): 420mm (300mm lens with 1.2x extender)

ISO: 200

Aperture: 4.0

Shutter: 1/1000th

Farewell Picture This

This week was my final Picture This photo column in The Record.
Creation is a multimedia piece that takes a look back at four years and nearly 200 column's.
It was a great run.

Thanks to everyone who contributed, especially those who allowed me into your lives to tell our reader's your story. I met so many great people along the way. Cheers.

9/11: 6TH ANNIVERSARY

1992 "Sailing Past the WTC"

For me personally, the anniversary of September 11th is a time of extreme sadness and dread. September is a beautiful month -the weather in Northern New Jersey is often at its finest, as the humid hot summer days give way to endless clear skies, crisp mornings, and the NFL.

But for many of us who lived through that horrible day six years ago, the season of change has turned into a season sadness. A heaviness-of-heart permeates my soul, and six years later it has not become any easier. Last year -the 5th anniversary, was a particularly difficult day; covering three memorial events in two days was emotional and painful. For me, 9/11 related assignments have become increasingly more difficult to cover. On this subject, I have lost my ability to separate my job -often involving photographing the families of lost loved ones at remembrance services with tears in my eyes, from my personal feelings about that day.

This year I decided to take the day off -a personal day of reflection and rest. I believe, and I hope, it will soon become an official day of reflection. Perhaps a new "Memorial Day," where all businesses and institutions remain closed.

This is a photo of a sailboat on the Hudson sailing past the Twin Towers, taken from Jersey City or Hoboken in the early 1990's. It was shot on chrome film, just past sunset. It's one of my favorite images of the towers, with beautiful light and color, made at a time in my life when I spent all my free time doing what I love -making photographs. Here is a link to a portfolio of photos of the WTC -many of which I discovered in my personal archive sometime after 9/11.

The two vertical towers were not the most artful of architectural structures, they were plain in design, and the surrounding plaza was one of the coldest, soulless places imaginable. But they had presence. They were a favorite subject of mine -especially from the Jersey side, and I miss seeing those tall beams, often acting as a beacon or point of orientation from afar.

It sickens me when I think about all of those innocent lives lost so senselessly, and the national heartache September 11th has become. To me, they remain a proud symbol.

Goldman's Garden

This is an excerpt from this week's Picture This column.

As you drive down Crosby, one of the avenues that run the length of Paterson's Hillcrest section, you see rows of carefully maintained houses with tidy yards and meticulously manicured lawns. The mostly residential middle-class enclave is a bucolic oasis on the edge of a densely urban landscape. It is suburbia, full of order and sameness.

But James Goldman's house on the northwest corner of Elberon and Crosby stands in stark contrast to the neatness that surrounds it. Goldman's is a remarkably dense patch, jammed with flowers, herbs, plants and fruit and nut trees, hundreds of varieties -- many exotic and edible -- planted haphazardly about the 50- by 100-foot plot.

"It looks odd because there is no lawn," he admits. "People are into lawns."Goldman looks down his block at the green squares in front of his neighbors' homes, and he sees misplaced energy -- literally. He recites staggering statistics about the ills of lawn production in the U.S. in terms of energy waste, noise and air pollution. Read on.

I have to admit it, Goldman got me thinking about the need for a lush lawn. It really has become the suburban man's symbol of pride, hasn't it? A macho status symbol, at the detriment of the environment and our diminishing water supply.

But I have to confess...I love my lawn! I love taking care of it, manicuring it, making sure it's an emerald oasis. I take pride in it. I'm guilty as charged.

This week, as I put down some Scott's Turf builder in my battle against crabgrass and clover, I couldn't help but feel a little guilty about my contribution.

I set my Speedy Green spreader to lighter setting...