The Smithsonian Photography Initiative

Here’s an informative article in the New York Times about the Smithsonian Photography Initiative.

Of particular interest within the Smithsonian’s project is the series of articles called Click! Photography Changes Everything written by “one hundred experts in their fields to explore the ways photography has changed a broad spectrum of disciplines—from anthropology to astrophysics, from media to medicine, from philosophy to sports.”

Check it out! 

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Ten with Jenn

Jenn is my niece. She models for me when she’s home from college.  She’s here on spring break so I decided to interview her.

1 – Who is Jenn and what does she do?

I’m a 22-year old student at Lock Haven University double-majoring in Biology and Chemistry because I want to go to pharmacy school. I play basketball and run when I’m not studying. On breaks I model for my aunt, the photographer, and work in the pharmacy department of CVS.

Life is boring right now but when summer comes it’ll pick up.

2 – How often and how far do you run?

I try to run as much as I can during the week. Lately three days, but I’d like to run everyday. I can run further on treadmills because of the slow pace. When it’s nice out I run along the Susquehanna River.

3 – Name three great things about living in Lock Haven and three bad things.

Oh my goodness, I don’t think there is one great thing. (Laughs.) No, there are great things. Like the scenery. That’s it.

Three bad things: 1 – Small town. Nowhere to go and nothing to do.  That makes it sound terrible. (Laughs.)  2 -Wal-Mart is the only place to go for anything. Well not for anything, but…most things. I went to Wal-Mart one time and the guy that was ringing me up, I guess he was my age, he said hi and I said hi back, and I was just being polite, and he started going off on this tangent about how he plays this video game on the computer about dragons, and how you really gamble your money with it, and that’s what he uses his paychecks for. He went on for five minutes. It was crazy. 3 – The train goes through the town five times everyday, and the engineer feels the need to be louder at night with his whistle, or whatever it’s called.  It rattles everything!

4 – What’s on your iPod?

Lots of Beatles. I like to play “Good Day Sunshine” when I’m driving. Jay-Z, Counting Crows, The Doors, Paramore. I like upbeat things when I run. I also have Britney’s latest album, I think it’s called “Blackout,” and some Kelly Clarkson.

5 – Do you collect anything?

I picked up a bunch of seashells in Florida last summer. That’s it.

6 – Tell us about your trip to Florida last summer and what you did.

I went with my family and friends on a treasure hunt. I won’t reveal where. We had a picnic on the beach with three full coolers of food. We walked it all off with our metal detectors. I’m such a beach bum. I woke up early on the last day just so I could get a few extra hours of sun on the beach. The beach was very private and I’m used to the New Jersey beaches which are always packed. We’re going again this year and I’m really looking forward to it. 

One night we had dinner and played Sequence Dice and everyone was really competitive.  The teams were really funny – Mike & Neil were the best.

7 – What’s your oldest memory?

My friends and I would play with Barbie dolls and we would give them really high-pitched voices. When I went to preschool I was nervous because I thought girls should have really high-pitched voices and I thought my voice was too low. My mom stayed with me on the playground while the other kids started class.

8 – What’s your favorite meal?

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato fries, corn on the cob, cranberry sauce, cornbread, any kind of pickles, black cherry soda and pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream. And an omelet with mushrooms, bacon, spinach and salsa. I love to eat! (Laughs).

9 – Are you single?

I’m not married.

10 – The James Lipton rundown:

• Favorite word? Petunia.
• Least favorite word? A tie between “folks” and “y’all.”
• What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? The outdoors.
• What turns you off? Loud people in small places.
• Favorite curse word? Sh**.
• What sound or noise do you love? The swoosh of a basketball net.
• What sound or noise do you hate? Scraping metal of any kind. Like a colander in the sink.
• What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? A baker.
• What profession would you not like to do? Inspector at a conveyer belt.
• If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Finally!”

You can see more of Jenn at my photoblog, www.durhamtownship.com.  

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Oh, the Weather Outside is … Rightful!

I found this interesting chart about snowfall totals in the Philadelphia area. It seems the earlier we have our first snowfall, the higher the season snowfall total. 

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be working out this year.  Our first snowfall was in early December but we’ve barely seen an inch of snow since then. Today will help – we’re expecting five inches of snow in Upper Bucks County.  Schools are closed, roads are a mess – but it’s a sight for the sore eyes of this photographer!

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Thank you!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Palisades Gallery for my show opening last night – what a great time!  I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone because it was so well-attended, so if I missed you, please forgive me.   Send me a note and let’s catch up!

Special thanks to those who came from quite a distance – especially the Hofmann boys! – and to my good friend, Moe Telsichs, for the flowers.  

Hope you caught the full lunar eclipse on the way home – it was gorgeous.

Here’s the statement that accompanies the 24 images in my show:

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Between 1982 and 1997, America converted over 25 million acres of rural land — primarily farmland, pastures and ranches — into subdivisions, malls, workplaces, roads, parking lots, et al. That’s about equal to the combined land mass of Maine and New Hampshire.

We’ve been developing 2 million acres of rural land per year for the last 20 years.

If the trend continues, America will develop an additional 85 million acres of countryside by 2050. That’s about equal to the combined land mass of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Virginia.

WHAT DO WE GAIN AND WHAT DO WE LOSE?

We gain infrastructure, homes, roads, shops, schools, parking spaces, hotels, resorts and jobs.

We lose wetlands, woodlands, hundreds of species of plants and wildlife, clean water, the ability to grow our own food, and as recent studies have shown, our mental & physical health, and our sense of well-being.

I want my photographs to help Americans question the worth of our land above & beyond its monetary value.

How much is an open horizon worth to us?

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Back in the Saddle

Two weeks!  Yikes!  I can’t believe I’ve been away that long.

I took a break from writing to prepare for a show of my prints that opens Wednesday, February 20th (tomorrow!) from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Palisades High School Gallery.   I’m very honored to participate in the ongoing “Community Art Series” organized by Cathy Beck and Kim DeNato, the school’s art teachers.

The show features 24 images all taken within the last 18 months. Most appear on my photoblog at www.durhamtownship.com.  Even if you’ve seen the images on the web, it’s quite a different experience to view them in print — the level of detail really brings them to life!

Hope you’ll stop by and say hello!  

Palisades High School Gallery

Route 412 & Church Hill Road

Kintnersville, Pennsylvania 18930

February 20 – April 2, 2008

Opening reception:  Wednesday, February 20, 2008, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. 

(Gathering afterwards at the Ferndale Inn, Route 611 & Church Hill Road, Ferndale, PA)

Closing party: Wednesday, April 2, 2008, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

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The Power of One Photograph

Decades-Old Photograph Helps Solve Mystery of New York Man’s Drowning 15 Years Later

Saturday , February 02, 2008

by STEPHANIE REITZ, Associated Press Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. —

A treasured old photograph, a police investigator’s long-shot appeal to the public and a retiree’s sharp memory have combined to solve a 15-year-old drowning mystery.

State police in Somers, N.Y., tried for years to identify a body found in the Titicus Reservoir on June 13, 1993, carrying 38 pounds of rocks in a backpack. The man left no clues to his name and matched no local missing-persons reports.

The only lead was a black-and-white snapshot found on the body that showed a grandfatherly man holding a small boy in the crook of his arm, both wearing attire from the 1950s or early 1960s.

Police assumed the toddler was the drowning victim, but years of investigation produced only dead ends. Then, with a few remarkable coincidences last month, Andrew Bookless got back his name.

Bookless was eventually identified through dental records — though only after police seeking to identify the little boy wrongly guessed a vintage light fixture in the picture may have been in western Massachusetts.

When they circulated the photo in the Berkshires, retired teacher Terry Yacubich, who had moved to Pittsfield from Bellport, N.Y., recognized a building behind the man and little boy as one she had known from her days on Long Island.

Bookless’ family, it turned out, once lived in the very spot the picture was taken.

“I’m not psychic or anything like that, but I think maybe Andrew worked through me to finally get some closure,” Yacubich said.

Bookless disappeared from his family’s lives years before that June day when police found him dead at 31. The snapshot was intact in a glass frame and close to his heart under layers of winter clothing.

Troopers searched for years to find someone who recognized the older man or features in the photo’s background.

Investigator Joe Fiebich sent the picture to The Berkshire Eagle newspaper in January after learning the vintage street light in the background was similar to those installed throughout western Massachusetts decades ago.

It turned out they were common on Long Island’s south shore, too.

But it wasn’t the light fixture that grabbed Yacubich’s attention when she saw the newspaper last weekend. She spotted the church auditorium in the village where she’d lived for 47 years.

“The moment I saw that picture, I knew exactly where it was,” said Yacubich, 59, who had attended decades’ worth of first Communion parties, church socials and funerals there.

Yacubich contacted friend Donald Mullins, a retired Suffolk County, N.Y., police detective and code enforcement officer in Bellport, a village in the town of Brookhaven. He trekked to the church’s neighborhood and quickly found the spot: the front corner of a now-empty residential lot.

“I stood on that very spot and said, `This is it. This is exactly it,”‘ Mullins said.

He tracked the land’s ownership history in town deeds until he found that the Bookless family had a house there before it was destroyed in a fire.

The Westchester County, N.Y., medical examiner’s office confirmed Bookless’ identity Jan. 25, and it was released this week after his four older siblings were notified.

They told police the man in the picture was Bookless’ grandfather and that his parents, John and Marianna Bookless, had died in 1994 and 2004. Police said Bookless’ family had him declared dead after his mother’s death.

Fiebich traveled Thursday to Long Island to speak to Bookless’ family in hopes of determining whether the death was accidental or suicide. Investigators believe Bookless fell through the ice in the winter of 1992-93, months before his body was found with the rock-laden pack strapped on his back.

New York State Police Senior Investigator Patrick Bosley, one of several troopers who reviewed the case over the years, tried unsuccessfully in the mid-1990s to have it featured on television’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”

“It was obvious to us all along that the picture was the best piece of information we had,” Bosley said. “It was clear that evidently the older gentleman was someone very close to him — his father or grandfather, a favorite uncle, someone he cared a lot about.”

Bookless’ family said he often would disappear for months, part of the reason his mother did not report him missing until 1999 even though she had not heard from him in several years, police said.

They said Bookless’ body was buried in New York as an unidentified person, but that his siblings would be able to move it if they wish.

“For me, the best end of the story would be to see that Andrew rests in peace,” Yacubich said.

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Six Ways to Stay Warm Shooting Outdoors in February

Scandanavians say, “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

If you’re not out taking photos in the rain, snow, ice, wind and cold air, why?  More than likely it’s because of your clothing (or lack thereof).   Here are a few items I’ve put to the test for the last five years — and that have helped convince me winter is the most beautiful and fascinating season to take pictures.   

♦ A Great Down Parka – Preferably with a hood and plenty of pockets, and in bright red or orange so the hunters don’t get ya.

♦ High-Quality Layers – Staying warm is all about retaining body heat, and layers of silk or synthetic silk make all the difference, especially for your legs, because your parka isn’t that long.

♦ Socks – I’m crazy about Smart Wool hiking socks. They’re cozy as can be, not the least bit itchy and they last for years.

♦ Boots – I love my UGG Adirondacks so much I wish I could wear them in summer! I’ve walked through ankle-deep water in my UGGS and my feet stayed totally dry.  They’re pricey but worth every penny for their comfort, warmth and superb quality.

♦ Hat – 15% of your blood volume is in your head. 30% of your body heat is lost through your head when it’s bare.  Keep it warm! I’m partial to brims and ear flaps.

♦ Gloves – A photographer needs dexterity and it’s challenging to find gloves that are warm, waterproof and thin enough to work with. I’ve found that archery gloves are excellent for this purpose.

Now imagine all the winter gear that’s available for your camera!

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The Mason-Dixon Trail System

I’m now a card-carrying member of the Mason-Dixon Trail system.

The Mason-Dixon trail is 193 miles long and connects the Appalachian Trail to the Brandywine Trail.  It starts at Whiskey Springs, Cumberland County, PA, and follows the west bank of the Susquehanna to Havre de Grace, MD. Across the Susquehanna it continues through Elk Neck State Forest to the Christina River in Delaware, then White Clay Creek in Chester County, PA. It terminates at the Brandywine River in Chadds Ford, PA.

It’s not well-known — I grew up in Chadds Ford and never heard of it until two weeks ago!

For $15 you can become a member, too, and receive a very detailed set of 10 maps with specific instructions by the mile — plus a cool patch for your hat or jacket. Visit www.masondixontrail.org for more details.

The trail seems to follow a lot of back roads but there are sections along old logging roads, through fields and woods, too. I’m looking forward to hiking Map 3: “Wago Junction at the Susquehanna River to Trinity Church Road south of Wrightsville.”  Looks like unparalleled views of the Susquehanna River and the surrounding landscape. 

I’m imagining a foggy morning in June… 

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How You Use It

 

If you haven’t tired of the film vs. digital debate, I’m in awe of your forbearance.

As long as we have artists, new mediums will replace old mediums because of technological advances, safety reasons, costs, material availability and whims.   The old mediums don’t die; they simply fall out of mainstream favor.  But they remain revered by some, occasionally to the detriment of the spirit of art itself.

If you learn anything from art history, it’s that great artists transcend their mediums and make any debate about their materials or processes completely senseless.

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Waterfalls

I’m on a waterfall kick.  Since doing some research on the health benefits of negative ions, and visiting the falls at nearby Ringing Rocks Park last week, I’m off to find more.

This weekend I’m heading to Taughannock Falls State Park in Ulysses, New York.  It boasts a waterfall with a 215 foot drop, slightly higher than Niagara on the American side but with much smaller volume. It’s the highest drop east of the Rockies. The park’s Gorge Trail, open all year, puts you next to the spray of the falls. According to the Park Ranger I spoke with today, the falls are only partially frozen and water’s still coming over the top.

The falls and gorge create a natural amphitheater and the dense spray rising from the bottom of the falls creates a heavy mist — full of negative ions!

Negative ions are air molecules that have lost an electrical charge because they’ve been broken apart by things such as sunlight, moving air or moving water. They’re in abundance in places like waterfalls, the mountains and the beach. When we breath in large quantities of negative ions, it increases the flow of oxygen to the brain and reduces the amount of the mood chemical serotonin in the bloodstream, creating a feeling of mild euphoria.

At the base of Yosemite Falls in California, there are about 100,000 negative ions per cubic centimeter. (A cubic centimeter is the size of a sugar cube.)  In fresh country air, there are about 4,000 and on an L.A. freeway at rush hour, there are 100 negative ions per cubic centimeter.

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Favorite Shooting Locations

One of my favorite places to take photos is Turkey Point at Elk Neck State Park in Maryland.  Check out its location you’ll begin to see why. 

The tip of the park has a photogenic series of trails that run along a 100-200 foot bluff above the Chesapeake Bay and the Elk River.  There are no guard rails or fences to keep people away from the edge so you can get pretty daring if you have a mind for it.  On Saturday, 60mph winds and temperatures below 20F kept me from a long hike, but I managed a few shots before my face froze solid.  

The negative ions made the trip worthwhile!

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International Center of Photography

There’s a review by Holland Cotter in today’s New York Times about a new show at the International Center of Photography called “Archive Fever: Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art.”

Holland’s fascinating and glowing review has prompted me to see the show which runs from January 18 – May 4, 2008.  (I’m fortunate to live in such a beautiful, rural area with a 90-minute trip into Manhattan.) 

Holland writes: “Photography, with its extensions in film, video and the digital realm, is the main vehicle for these images. The time was, we thought of photographs as recorders of reality. Now we know they largely invent reality. At one stage or another, whether in shooting, developing, editing or placement, the pictures are manipulated, which means that we are manipulated. We are so used to this that we don’t see it; it’s just a fact of life.”

Of particular interest to me is this exhibit in the show:

“The thousands of images in a looping 36-hour slide projection by Jef Geys would seem to be linked by a firmer thread. They are a visual archive of Mr. Geys’s photographic output of 40 years. Whether they provide evidence of aesthetic development, though, or insight into the artist’s maturing mind and soul, will be known only to the most devoted of viewers.”

(Let’s see… the longest the museum is open on any single day is ten hours, and the longest anyone could realistically sit through a slide show might be three hours. So it’ll take at least 12 well-coordinated visits to see the whole thing!  With $12 admission, that’s $144, but an individual membership at $75 allows unlimited free visits.  Yay!)

Another exhibit in the show by Hans-Peter Feldmann sounds like a thoroughly intriguing study:  a room full of framed front pages of 100 international newspapers printed on Sept. 12, 2001.  To Feldman’s credit as an artist, and to Holland’s credit as a reviewer, both get past the fact that this event is still fresh to us and are able to raise all sorts of questions about image placement, text placement and the manipulation of content from country to country. 

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Fast and Cheap: 50mm Lenses

I recently recommended an inexpensive but excellent lens to Becky over at Moontree Arts:  the Canon 50mm f/1.4.  Becky’s just getting into the art of photography and it’s a superb starter lens.  But after talking with her, I realized I haven’t used my own 50mm lens since I bought the Canon 85mm f/1.2L (mmm, mmm good) in July 2006! So I put the 50mm back to work to rediscover its charms.

If you’ve sold your soul (and waistline) to zooms and wide angles over the years, or if you’re on a budget, a 50mm lens is worth thinking about. If you need a nudge, consider that Henri Cartier-Bresson used only his 50mm lens for everything from portraits to landscapes.  I think I understand why: the 50mm offers a highly personal view of what’s being photographed.

The great color photographer Ernst Haas said, “The best zoom lens is your legs.”  Why?  Because a fixed focal length lens like the 50mm gets you immediately involved:  you must be entirely conscious of your place and your angle because you can only zoom with your legs.  You must think about your composition with your mind and your body.  The result has a delicious and natural subjectivity, further enhanced at 50mm because that’s the focal length most similar to what we observe with our own eyes.  

A 50mm shot is a personal, physical view — the very voice of a photographer.  That seems like reason enough to use a 50mm lens, but its natural look gives the observer a direct experience as well, as if he or she was there when the image was taken.

Most 50mm lenses are pretty fast (f/1.4 – f/1.8) and relatively cheap.  The ability to shoot in low light with a gorgeous, addictive bokeh and a price tag under $300 make most 50mm lenses a great value for the money.

I should mention that if you’re shooting with a typical DSLR (the Canon Digital Rebel XT, for example) you’ll need a 35mm lens to get the effect of a 50mm lens because of the digital sensor’s 1.5x crop.  Using a 50mm on the Rebel will get you a 75mm view, which is the ideal focal length for portraits.

By the way, here’s a landscape and a dog portrait I shot with the 50mm on my Canon 5D last Sunday.  And the shot of Jakey’s gloves that accompanies this article was shot yesterday with the 50mm on the 5D.

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Inspirational Photography

I find it inspirational to study paintings and films.   I’m informed by the use of style, symbolism, craft, skill, history and light.  Ironically, I’m not often inspired by still photography.  It’s sometimes challenging to find enlightening work outside of the masters of photography, old and new. 

But as I found out this morning, a trip through The New York Times Photo Store is a real feast. You can see (and purchase!) an amazing array of images going back to the 1800s. Of particular interest is the “American Experience” category with riveting photos of American life over the last 150 years. If you’re looking for inspirational still photography, you’ve hit the jackpot.

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Some Days

I woke up refreshed and full of purpose.  I had memorized my to-do list, and knew the most efficient order.  My desk was organized and I was ready for business.

I got my son off to school and went for a four mile walk.   I was nearly home when one of the neighbors, a farmer, stopped to talk with me.  I met his new bull (Franz, 780 pounds when he was weaned) and the new puppy (Fritz, the Australian Cattle Dog, four months old).  I heard how 50 head of cattle is too much right now because the hay is running low.   I found out there are now 20 cats at the farm, but not a mouse or rat in sight even though the cats eat two bags of cat chow per week.  I learned that the farmer’s very bright son was accepted to agricultural college and starts next fall with a $7500 scholarship.  That’ll cover a small part of the $24,000 tuition.  

I know a lot about that farm and I love hearing all the news.  I got home an hour and a half later.

As I sat down to my desk, a call came in from another farmer.  I’ve been photographically documenting the process of building their new milking parlour for several months and learned that a new wall was being constructed today, and that I should get over there before the wall was finished.  I did, and it turned out the person building the wall was Mennonite, and as a rule they don’t like to be photographed.  I respect that, having grown up near Lancaster County where there’s a large Amish community. So the Mennonite man and I talked for about 45 minutes.  He was fascinated by my camera and asked many questions about it, and I was equally fascinated by his brick-laying abilities and asked him many questions.  Before he finished building the wall, he said I could take his photo as long as he was working rather than posing.

I got home an hour and a half later.

It’s 3:05 p.m. and I’ve just finished this post that should’ve been done by 10:00 a.m.  And I’ve remembered I need to buy a money order at the post office, from my good friend the Postmaster, Eileen.  I’ll make it home in time to meet the school bus at 4:00 and then start making dinner.

There’s always tomorrow.

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Lee Friedlander

I read a thought-provoking and lovely quote in the New York Times yesterday by the great photographer Lee Friedlander.  In his new book,  Lee Friedlander Photographs Frederick Law Olmsted Landscapes, Friedlander said of landscape photography: 

“The subject itself is simply perfect, and no matter how well you manage as a photographer, you will only ever give a hint as to how good the real thing is. We photographers don’t really make anything: we peck at the world and try to find something curious or wild or beautiful that might fit into what the medium of photography can hold.” 

Curious, wild or beautiful – that’s the mantra I’ll use as I press the shutter.

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Greetings from Durham Township, Pennsylvania

Happy New Year and welcome!

I’ve maintained a photoblog at www.durhamtownship.com for the last five years.  I’ve loved every minute of it and now I’m starting a second blog to polish my writing skills.

I’ll write about my work and my life, my influences and inspirations, and offer opinions about art, film, photography, literature, music, politics, American life and whatever seems worth scribbling about.

Hope you’ll drop by often!  Please join the discussion by leaving a comment.

— Kathleen

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