About this blog title

I cannot tell you how many times I have shown up at events with a couple of cameras around my neck, a gadget bag full of odds & ends and a lighting kit and have been asked that question. If it happened once every few years, that would be one thing. But it happens a LOT. It's like getting pulled over by the police and he's standing there with uniform, gun, flashing lights and asking him "Are you a cop?" I would love to come back with a witty reply, such as "No, I am Jesus. Don't you recognize my beard?" However, I cannot be that rude.


Monday, July 25, 2011

A Funeral & A Wedding





This past Saturday we had a funeral for my Aunt Juanita. She was my father's sister. She was buried in New Cedar Grove Cemetary in Chaumont, NY. In this photo my cousin Marty is placing the urn with here ashes into the ground. This is in the same plot where my Uncle Bill Fish is buried.
Later in the day I photographed a wedding in Sackets Harbor. The funeral was at 10:00AM, the wedding was at 4:00PM. So it made for an interesting day.




The guitarists here are Tim Martuzas, left, & Ian Brinson. The wedding was Ian's sister Abbie's.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Impatien With Rain Drops







IT has been hot and humid here in Chaumont. Last night it rained and when I stepped outside I spotted this Impatien speckled with water drops. So I did an about face and went back inside to get a camera & snap away. I used a Nikon D300 digital camera.






"You have to know the song so well, that while your playing, if sombody blows your head off with a double barrel shotgun, your body will keep playin'." Stefan Grossman

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Some Updates


So, we have not had so much rain in the past month or so. Thus, the grass is drying & turning brown. That has not heppened in the past 2 years. Basically I like that. We are having a dry spell. The fire wood I have stacked is seasoning nicely. Last Summer we had so much rain that mold & fungi grew on the fire wood. I never once mowed the lawn when it was dry.

Friday morning my aunt Jaunita died. She was my father's sister. She was 78 years old. She had cancer. However, prior to that she had some heart trouble. So, I am assuming a combination of the 2 maladies is what placed her in the hospital. Then, she decided she wanted no more treatment and she died within a few days. She was an unselfish woman with a HUGE heart who always saw the good in people.

The day after she died we got a call that a member from the Better Half's family died. He was here niece's husband. They have a 15 year old son that he leaves behind. They had gotten divorced a few years ago. He re-married and had a a second child with his new wife. Cancer claimed him too. He was 48 years old.

It makes one wonder. Though I knew him, I have not seen him since he divorced the BH's niece. Also, I never knew him well. However, his death strikes me as sadder than that of my Aunt, whom I have known my whole life. It's because of the age discrepency between the two. How much sadder it is to leave behind children under the age of 16 as opposed to one who leaves behind grown children that have families and children of their own.



On a different note, when we got home from the Adirondaks a couple nights ago, we pulled into our driveway to be greeted by a small sized Maple tree that had fallen across the driveway. Today I cut it up and added it to the wood pile for Winter's heat.

My garden this year is growing strong & lush. No deer or other vermin feeding on it. Also, appears to be no blight affecting the tomato plants.

I also painted the front porch floor & steps today. Red floor paint by Valspar. Really good paint.

After that one of BH's daughter's & family showed up & we went to the lake for a couple of hours & had a nice swim. We go to a place called Wilson's Bay in Lake Ontario at Cape Vincent, NY. About 10 miles from our house. It was well over 80 degrees F with a brisk wind blowing toward shore. Waves were probably 2 or 3 feet.

The photos presented here were taken on our recent drive to Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondak Mountains of NY State. Whiteface is the 5th tallest peak. It has a road that leads close to the summit. You then walk through a tunne (around 500 feet) to an elevator. The elevator takes about a minute & half to reach the weather station / observatory at the summit.

What I LOVE about tjis place is the man made structures. The weather station and the castle. There is a trail that leads from the summit station back down to the castle. This was constructed some time mprior to mthe Great Depression. I love it beacuse it reminds me of the Myst games. It's almost as if you were within the game Myst hiking about. Going along the trail with the old rusted irion railings. The views that make you feel as if you ar isolated in the world. I am anxious to go back there again.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

White Face Mountain

Today the Better Half & I tood a drive to Whte face Mountain in the Adirondacks with her daughter & family. So I had my picture snapped at the summit. This is another valid use of photography: documenting one's life. This is not great photo, nor does it have any artistic merit. It's scrapbook material. Now, the photo would have taken on a different significance had something tragic had happened to me shortly after, such as tumbling down a clif, or getting mauled by a bear. Or imagine if we noticed some odd artifact in the lake in the far background and began blowing it up, larger & larger, until we suddenly realize, "My God, it's the Loch Ness monster!" Well, then you would have something else indeed!





Anyhow, we had a lovely day. Left the house in Chaumont at 7:30 this morning, got back at 10:00pm. The weather was ideal. Sun & clouds, some breezy wind, cool temperatures. We also spent a few hours at the North Pole. Through it all I was never cold, but never broke a sweat. Nice.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Red Wine Bubbles



Simply put, I am burned out on a few things. Thus, the less frequent blog postings. Usually it is the morning that is best for me posting something. The next best time is late in the evening. The problem with that is I am tired enough to to say the Hell with it. I started this blog at the same time I started my facebook account a little more than a year ago. My goal was to post something every day for a year. I didn't make that goal, but came close. However, now that the year has been up I have been giving myself a break from it. But now I see that I had better get back in gear, especially with the Facebook thing. I have been getting some notice there. My goal is to keep people aware of the fact that I am a photographer for hire. To keep myself in the forefront of their minds when the topic of photography comes up. So, it all eventually turns into work or an obligation. That's not a bad thing. It keeps one on one's toes, always on the prowl, always ready to grab that next photo. Anyhow, today I was determined to post SOME THING. I didn't know what. So I am drinking some wine and getting ready to abandon posting anything because the photos I have taken recently have not really been that interesting too me. I am sitting here at this computer perusing facebook and notice the row of bubbles that have formed on the perimeter of the wine glass. This is really a job for a macro lens, but alas, I don't have one for this camera. So I snap it with a 17-55mm zoom lens on a Nikon D300. Then I crop in a bit closer. It's not what I truly want, but it's OK. So I present it here.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Crowd Photo

Got up & practiced guitar for about an hour & half. Mowed the lawn. Uncovered the pool (an Easy Set). Went to Clayton & played guitar for a good 2 hours at Teaism. Went to Target & bought a replacement pool. Same as the old one. Gave a guitar lesson. Collected a couple of rent checks. Went home. Worked on some wedding photos. Checked in with Facebook. Put this photo on this blog. Now going to bed. Good night.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Burning River Beer

The more I stay away from this blog the less likely I am to post anything new. It's 11:30 pm or so & I have just finished editing some wedding photos. The photo here was taken a couple of days ago at the Better Half's sister's home in Painseville, Ohio. It is me with a Burning River beer, a pale ale brewd by the Great Lakes bReweing Co. in Cleveland, OHio. An excellent brew. Bitter, citrusy, with a nice lingering after taste.





I spent 5 days in Ohio and had some good times. I could have been posting photos and commentary as I went along, but just said the Hell with it.
This is a self portrait made with a Sony point & shoot. It's a pretty good camera, but look at my fingers & you can see that the high lights are blown out.
 Tomorrow I play guitar during lunch at Teaism in Clayton, NY.
Should be good. My overall routine, including morning guitar practice has deteriorated. This afternoon I had gotten pretty well depressed about it.
However, that depression went away after a visit to Wilson's Bay on Lake Ontario for a nice swim.

Hope all is well in your World.
Gary