During tonight’s Jackals Game, I spotted these two little guys sitting a few rows above my shooting perch… they were totally absorbed in something….I just thought it was kinda cool!
What Hockey Game??? & In the last one, I can almost read his mind! “WTF?”
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The other day I saw some Facebook Friends & past Wedding Couple, post some shots of a new painting scheme that they have underway, and the bold butterscotch color they were applying. Yeah, it was a little brighter than most people would use, but then…..why have Zillions of colors of Paint if no one uses them? With that being said, before Wedding Season hits this spring, I had some spare time and just finished repainting my Equipment/Gear Storage & Framing Room….which remained in the Bright Pink color scheme of my previous Studio Partner Maria Strinni, even after she moved out of the area. Just didn’t have the time or desire to change it all up again. Well, times have changed….and this room is MINE Now! So what do you think? Purple Frenzy with Lime Burst! Bright Enough for you?? Even Purple Filing Cabinets!!!!
I LOVE IT!
On this February evening, with temperatures already plunging well below zero, let’s imagine a hot & humid August 2, 1941 afternoon a long, long time ago. It’s that lazy & carefree time, just months before the U.S. entered W.W.II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. We’re just across the busy main line of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad at Eldridge Park in Elmira, NY, on a Sunny Saturday afternoon enjoying our Annual Outing as an employee of the Elmira Knitting Mills, who’s former building was just burned to the ground in a massive, multiple alarm warehouse fire on January 31, 2016.
Here is my Photographic Composite & Photoshop rendering of the Official Outing Photograph, shot 75 years ago, by Personius Studio of Elmira, and the Photoshop re-rendering by me. The print is so wide that in order to capture all of the original detail I had to shoot it in 7 different sections, which I then had to seamlessly paste & blend together.
Take a close look at all of these ghostly faces. The Big Boss in his woolen three piece suit complete with pocket watch & chain, with all of his underling “Yes-Men” sitting close-by. Then, the ladies, with their bobby socks & saddle shoes, and those ’40’s dresses & hair styles (just like my mom wore!) Then there are the young men captured here. How many of these young boys would soon be fighting in Europe or the South Pacific? If any of these people are still alive, even the young children seen in this picture, they would be at least 80-85 years old today. And then look deeper into the park background…..after spending nearly every single Sunday afternoon at the park myself as a young boy growing up in the ’60’s I still vaguely remember those outing buildings, and that yellow, cinder block restroom building up on a hill, poised above the rest of the parks amusements. Then there are all of those long gone, mighty trees that covered this area of the park with a dark, cool blanket of shade on these brilliant afternoons. I can almost smell the steamed clams, hot dogs, and beers in the air!
Let me know if you recognize or know any of the faces seen here….I’d love to know! I already had a childhood friend identify his Mom as one of the ladies sewing in one of my earlier images of activity at the mill.
*Make certain that you click on the picture a couple of times to pop it open to full size, and then use the slider at the bottom of the page to view the entire length of this massive print! It’s over 72 INCHES LONG!!!
Last week I shot the images of the Elmira Knitting Mill as unforgiving fire roared through it’s long dormant shell.
Tonight, I shot these images of the very same location for the Heights Historical Society. Lets go back to the early 1940’s, while World War II was roaring, The Knitting Mill was humming with activity. How cool would it be, to go back in time and be able to walk though this place during it’s prime.
Employment Application
Sewing Department – Pants & Polo Shirts
Cloth Finishing Department
Sewing Department – Infants Wear
Spring Needle Knitting Department
Latch Needle Knitting Department
Order Filling Department
The Shipping Department
I’ve shot it many times….this Cold, Black Stone Sentinel of Solemn Honor. For men my age, it always takes our breath away. Because if not for the Grace of God and the lucky timing of the stroke of Nixon’s 1973 Vietnam War ending pen, my name could very easily now, have been etched on the inside of this wall, looking out at a life that could have been. So I wanted to do something different this time. So rather than trying to battle the crowds, the distractions, the sheer overwhelming number of endless names on each panel, as I have done in the past, I decided to simplify this shoot to it’s most basic form.
Alpha & Omega. The Beginning & The End.
I simply focused on the very first name on the Wall, and the very last name on the Wall. Each name placed there pretty much in the very order in which each soldier died during this God Awful Atrocity of War.
John H. Anderson Jr.
Jessie C. Alba
You made the Ultimate Sacrifice for Our Country – Thank You, & May You Rest In Peace.
Angela & Steve’s Wedding – October 17, 2015
Editing, deep into the night once again, and these couple of images just really caught my eye. I just love the softness of the colors, and how the daylight plays off the dress fabric and the oak lockers. All inside the friendly confines of the Elmira Country Club Women’s Locker Room. Magic can Happen Anywhere I guess!
Take it from Lindsey & Michael, my September 26th Wedding Couple, as they play here with their friends at the Abandon Brewery in Penn Yan, NY.
If you plan on doing pictures with Helium Filled Balloons….make sure you HOLD ON TO THEM!!! ALL OF THEM!!
Because if you don’t…and your “V” blows away & floats off……You’ll have to IMPROVISE!!!
But who said that can’t be fun in itself!!!!
OK Kids! Here’s my Personal Pick for BEST COSTUME IDEA @ Tonight’s Halloween Night Elmira Jackals Game……..I caught up with him before the game, but forgot to get his name, so we’ll just call him….what else….”PUCK HEAD!”…… lol
If anyone knows who he is let me know so I can give him all the Accolades & Praise that he truly deserves!!!
After all…..It’s a NO BRAINER! Boowahaaaaaaa
What a great way to get warmed up for my November 14th gig with 55 local Heroes, when we all fly down to Washington to take these boys on what most likely will be their last visit to the monuments honoring their heroic service to our country. Tonight’s fundraiser at the Horseheads Legion was highlighted by the incredible “American Bombshells” Singing Troupe out of Brooklyn, NYC. These three gals were a great treat to our senses of both sight & sound! They sure did make those nicely tailored ’40’s Military Costumes look mighty fine indeed, and their singing wasn’t bad either! But the thing that far surpassed both their visual and audio effect on everyone, was their genuine care for, respect and affection that they all showed while meeting and chatting with these grizzled old Veterans between their sets and after the show. They laughed, and chatted, and smiled with these guys, and I’m certain that by simply doing so, brought so many of these old boys back to life again tonight, when they felt once again like they did when they were young and in their prime, fighting for our country in some far away land! Prime Time!
