Self Portrait With Saranac Pumkin Ale

This is a self portrait I made with a Nikon D300, 17-55mm f2.8 lens, at my home in Chaumont, N.Y.

It wouldn't be Halloween at my house without Saranac Pumpkin Ale from the Matt Brewing Company in Utica, N.Y. Check out www.sranac.com Happy Hallowee everyone.

Self Portrait In Sunglasses

I was getting into my Dodge Caravan when I spotted my reflection in my sunglasses. Actually, they are safety glasses that also happen to be sunglasses. I purchased them to use as safety glasses for all of those do it yourself projects that I am always involved with. The smaller photo was cropped out of the full photo below.


Otherwise, how are things going? Well, I was pretty miserable this evening photographing Lights On The Lake at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool NY. It was raining cats and dogs. My feet got soaked. I hate wet feet. My waterproof boot were at home. I could go on and on, but I just want to get the evening wrapped up and be done with it. I do hope all is well in your world.

A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.
Frederick The Great

Self Portrait & Gardening

Taking time out for a quick post. It is warm, Sunny, humid here in Cahumont, NY. 70 degreesF. I am finally digging up my garden beds to put in some tomato plants. I will also plat some Kentucky Wonder pole beans and cucmbers. That's pretty much it. I don't have a lot of space in the backyard for a garden and what I do have is rather shady. Tomatoes like more Sun, I think. However, some years we have a LOT of tomatoes. Last years crop was disastrous because so many deer came in an ate everything. This year the back yard is all fenced in. That does not mean the dear cannot or will not jump the fence, but I suspect they will not bother. We will see.

Self portrait while waiting for something to happen at an NAACP banquet.

The photo here is a self portrait. It seems thah whenevewr I'm on a job and have some idled time to kill, and there is a mirror in the area, I snap a shot of my reflection. In this instance I was photographing and awards banquet for the NAACP in Syracuse, NY. I arrived early. I introduced myself, got an idea about the evenings events, and then  waited for people to arrive. So, with a bit of time on my hands, I experimented and ended up with this self portrait.

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"Music isn't just learning notes and playing them, You learn notes to play to the music of your soul." ~ Katie Greenwood

Day 317: Coca-Cola & Self Portrait

First of all, let me tell you that today is a real Winter day here in the North Country. I am in the village of Chaumont, NY, located on the shores of Lake Ontario in Jefferson County. About twelve miles from the Canadian border. It's cold enough, and windy enough to cause me to wear long underwear. The self portrait came about after I was done shovelling snow from the driveway, and carrying firewood indoors for the wood stove. I liked how the snow formed on the window panes of my garage. So i positioned myself there and made this portrait. I am also drinking a Coca-Cola while I make this entry. I prefer Coke to Pepsi any day. This Coca-Cola will be the first of probably no more than four I will drink the entire year. I simply do not drink soda, but on the rare occassion I do, it is Coke for me. There were some in the fridge left over from the Christmas season and it looked inviting. So I went for it. Now then, two observations about Coca-Cola: #1 there are 140 calories in a 12 ounce can. #2 Why is it spelled Coca-Cola with all letter C's, but when shortened to Coke it is spelled with a K? Pepsi-Cola doesn't have this problem.

photos by Gary Walts

Day 251: Self Portrait

Sort of chilly in Chaumont NY this morning. About 25 degrees. A couple of nights ago a tuning key on the G string of my guitar stripped, making it difficult to tune that string. I have a gig I'm playing at the Best Western hotel in Canton this Saturday so I need to replace it soon. I have another guitar but it has no pick up to plug into the sound system. I could use a microphone, but that never really works out too well. So, I ordered some new machines that appear to be identical to the original. With two day shipping from California i hope to have them by Wednesday. I'll change them out, put on fresh strings and I should be good to go.


I was walking through the galleries in downtown Syracuse and spotted my reflection in the mirrored walls. It was the light falling on my face that caugtht my attention. I simply wanted to see what it looked like, so I shot my reflection "from the hip." The lower photo is a detail cropped from the photo at top. After the crop I resized it larger and added the PhotoShop sharpen filter to it a couple of times. I am just experimenting, trying to satisfy my curiosity. Just another reason why I photograph. To see what something looks like photographed.