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...

NJ AQUARIUM, Camden, NJ



If you've never been, the New Jersey Aquarium down in Camden -just outside Philadelphia, is fantastic fun. Great place for kids. Even better place for taking pictures of sea life.
I had a speaking engagement down in Philly this week, so I packed up the family and spent the better part of Sunday at the aquarium and was pleasantly surprised. Get there early. Lot's to see; indoor/outdoor exhibits, IMAX theatre, even the food court had good eats! Family friendly.

the CHALK POET


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

Molly Fitzpatrick is a poetry enthusiast.

When she's got a lot on her mind, or a jumble of words clogging her brain, she often feels the need to write them down. Not on paper, or in a journal, but with chalk while on her hands and knees on the driveway.

It began with Walt Whitman. Read on.


INDEPENDENCE DAY


RIDGEWOOD,NJ 07/4/07 JULY 4TH CELEBRATION:
The July 4th fireworks show went on as scheduled, despite the hard and steady rain that fogged my lens and made for a miserable night for pictures. The annual show at Veterans Field in downtown Ridgewood, traditionally one of the most popular fireworks shows in North Jersey, had less turnout than usual -understandably. The show also began about 20 minutes early due to the rain.

As is often the case, some of the best photographs are made under the most arduous of circumstances. I've shot July 4th fireworks many many times -I usually volunteer to work July 4th, and the weather is usually terrific and the pictures not so much. But this photo is my best yet I think, and it certainly was the most difficult to execute.

The thing that makes shooting fireworks difficult is not the shutter setting, but finding a subject for the foreground that gives your exploding display some context.

Technically, you need a tripod and shoot with a slow shutter speed. Determining proper exposure is the key.
Exposure for this photo:
ISO =400
F-STOP =5.0
SHUTTER SPEED =1 SEC
under an umbrella, using a low-set tripod

Happy B-Day America!

PICTURE THIS / Beads-n-Me

Marcy Pryor's special-needs class at Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes has turned beaded necklace-making into a cottage industry. In the process, a unique learning opportunity has flourished.

Pryor teaches sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in a self-contained classroom, with the assistance of aides Joyce Moskal and Maureen Bergin. The class has 10 students with a wide array of learning disabilities. Some function quite well; others are barely able to clutch a pencil. In the project, called "Beads & Me," students created necklaces of plastic beads, often containing word phrases, that clip on to ID badges. The project began earlier this year as a creative way to replace traditional pen-and-paper lessons.


Read story: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTUmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcxNDY0MjkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5



This is a photo of me with the Bead's-n-Me Kids. Note: I am proudly wearing my Beaded Necklace given to me by them.

It reads, "Take a Moment...To Picture This." THANKS!

Sadness at Orchard Commons




ALLENDALE,NJ 06/03/07 TREE CLEARING AT ORCHARD COMMONS PROJECT: A drawing of a sad face shedding a tear was placed near the Orchard Commons project where hundreds of trees were cleared on Friday to make way for for a housing project. Many area residents are upset about the tree clearing. Allendale had been intrested in purchasing the tract for a passive parkland.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)