Day Seventythree: David Strathairn

Well today it was sunny and pleasant in Northern NY. I mowed the grass today at two properties. Last night I played guitar at the Muskie Lounge in Alex. Bay. That went quite well. There were a few people who were impressed. Now, if I can keep them coming back for more it might turn into something.


This is a photo of David Strathairn, the actor who portrayed Edward R. Murrow in the film Good Night and Good Luck. I made the photo for USA Today. It happened that he was in town doing a gig at Fort Drum. USA Today hired me because I live about twenty miles from Fort Drum. In this day and age when a national publication needs a photo shot they very often contact newspapers in the region where the photo shoot is to take place asking for reccomendations. It is because Fort Drum has gotten lots of national and international attention in recent years that I have gotten work for quite a list of publications. Now if something were to take place in Buffalo, a four hour drive for me, those publications would first try to locate a reliable photographer in Buffalo. The days of being a staffer for a national publication and travelling all over the country and the globe are pretty much over. There is a glut of photgraphers out ther, some obviously better than others, all looking for work. Plus, with todays technology, it's a lot easier for mediocre photographers to make technically usable photos. There are many out there working that really do not have an eye for some situations. The same goes for wedding photographers. They point and shoot with little or no thought about the light, the moment, the composition, the content. Those are the things that all come together to create a good photograph. At some point I will try to delve into those items one at a time in more detail.

Day Seventytwo: Lena Horne

Well, the day began at 6:00am with 45 degrees on the thermometer in Chaumont, NY. It's quite ovecast at the moment.

Lena Horne pased away May 9, 2010, 92 years old.

Lena Horne died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She was a jazz singer, actress and civil rights activist. She was 92.
She lived in a time when interracial marriages were illegal in California, so she went tp Paris and got married secretly Lennie Hayton, a musical director and composer. Click here: Lena Horne Biography for more about Lena's life.

On another note, I will be playing guitar this evening at 7:00pm at The Muskie Lounge in Alexandria Bay. It's more or less a trial thing to see how I fit with the place. I may play for only an hour, I'm quite sure it will be two hours at the most.

Day Seventyone: Front Porch Beer

For a long time now my favorite beer has been Labatt Blue. Darn good beer. Prior to that It was Old Vienna. When the store near me ran out of Old Vienna I would buy Labatt Blue. Over a period of some time there seemed to be less and less OV on the shelf and more and more Labatt's. Almost without realizing it I stopped buying OV, and I now no longer see it in any stores. That's fine. I love Labatt's. In fact, for years I figured if Labatt ceased production I probably wouldn't drink beer again. Well, that's not very realistic is it? Anyhow, my celebrity brother moved back to NY after many years in the South. He likes to try out different beers. Gradually through my exposure to him, I started getting interested in other beers too. My goodness, there are a lot of beers out there and darn good ones too. Well, a couple of weeks ago I was visiting family in Cleveland, Ohio area. They turned me on to the beer pictured above: Burning River Beer, a handcrafted pale ale made by the Great Lakes Brewing Co. It's named after the Cuyahoga River that caught fire in 1969. This brew has a strong flavor, reminiscent of Guiness. Some beers are working beers. That is, you keep one close by to sip on while working on the car, or splitting your fire wood. Burning River, however, is what I call a real front porch beer! In other words, you open a beer like this and you should get away from the TV, from facebook, from any distractions. It's a worldly beer so go sit out on the front porch and savor it in the outdoor ambiance. Out there the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing in the lilac bushes, and the neighbors lawn mower is humming in the distance down the street. Cars may pass by, and the sound of kids in the playground behind the school come whispering in now and then on the Summer breeze. I am describing what typically I hear from my front porch in Chaumont, NY. Your porch may be in a more urban setting where the sounds in the area are of kids kicking a can in the street, a distant firetruck siren, and the muffled flapping from a cloud of pigeons on the wing. Maybe your porch is an old farmhouse where the cows moo, the chickens cluck and the sputter of the neighbors tractor fades in and away as he plows the North Forty acres. My God, you go out into your own front porch atmosphere and these are your SOOTHING sounds. They are the sounds of life in YOUR neighborhood. What better place could there be to drink a front porch beer. Burning River beer: It may be brewed in Cleveland, but it's perfect for a front porch anywhere.

Day Seventy: Working In The Cold

This is a photo I took of my friend and fellow photographer Chuck Wainwright. This was taken yesterday at Herkimer Community College. The photo of the guy in the beard and yellow rain coat is ME! Chuck took that photo. It was Mother's Day and the weather was horrible. Cold, windy, snow off and on. Truly the worst weather we have had in two months. Chuck and I were at the college photographing the women's and men's lacrosse national championship games. He was working for Onondaga Community College, I for the Post-Standard. We were out there for a total of six hours. The weather explains why we were so bundled up. It was a long time to be out in that cold, but I was comfortable. There are two things I do, and tell others to do to endure the cold. Wear a hat. That's number one. Knitted toques are preferred. Notice that Chuck and I each have one on. The next biggie is to dress in layers. On this day the temperature never rose above 40 degrees. (Did it?) But it was WINDY. So, I wore a turtle neck shirt, then a work shirt over that, then a lightweight vest, then a heavier fleece over that. That equals four layers over my torso, three layers over my arms. Then, because of the wind and snow, I added the large, yellow raincoat. It's just a cheapie I keep in the car at all times. It makes a terrific wind breaker and also is big enough to keep my camera tucked under it should the rain begin. Thus, I have a total of five layers. With my back to the wind I was perfectly comfortable all day. I might add that another thing that helps me in the cold is the turtle neck. I must keep my neck covered. Thus, the vest I wear and the larger fleece both zip up high around the neck too, effectively making them turtle necks. Also, remember this: Your layers need to be loose enough so as not to restrict your mobility or their effectiveness against the cold. The photo of the lacrosse game was taken by me for the Post-Standard. It was Onondaga Community College vs. Monroe Community College. OCC lost, 8-7. The following link will (at least should) take you to more photos from that game as well as the men's game. The men's team from OCC handily defeated their opposition. I believe the final score was 17-1. Anyhow, don't let the weather get in the way of your next fun time at work.

See more of Gary's lacrosse photos by clicking the following:
Take Me To Lacrosse Photos

Day Sixtyeight: Flat Tire

Rainy, grey, chilly, windy, 45 degrees in Chaumont NY. Quite a contrast compared to what we have been getting accustomed to since March. The Sun came out briefly a couple of times, once when I photographed the flat tire.


So I go out to my driveway this morning and see I have a flat tire. That's not a real big problem because I have a couple of spare tires that are like new that came off another Dodge Caravan I was driving before this one. Thankfully I didn't need to get anywhere today so I was able to take my time with it. The other photo shows the piece of metal that was stuck in the tire tread, right on the edge of the sidewall. Remember that water valve that goes to my Maytag dishwasher? There's a photo of it in yesterday's post. Well, I went to an appliance repair store near here to see if they had one of those valves in stock. I think this piece of metal came from their parking lot.

From Sun Tzu in The Art Of War:

"Just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions."

Day Sixtyseven: Hustling, Hustling

So today I spent trying to keep up the hustle. I designed and printed this piece that hopefully will draw some bodies to the Muskie Lounge next Wednesday. I also designed a similar postcard which I will mail to other cafes and restaurants that I am interested in playing. That also entailed looking up the addresses of those venues. It all eats up time. And finally, I used the same photo and worked it into a bulletin board piece with tear off phone numbers to try and hustle up some guitar students. One must keep throwing stuff out there and hope something bounces back.



Incidentally, the photo is a self portrait taken by a window in the upstairs hallway of my home in Chaumont, NY.

Day Sixtysix: A Day In The Life

So today I nailed down a guitar gig at The Muskie Lounge in Alexandria Bay, N.Y. (referred to by the locals here as "the bay"). The photos presented here were snapped throughout the day. The scene above was on Route 180 somewhere around Lafargeville or Stone Mills. It just illustrates what a lovely day we had and some of the scenery that is typical here in the North Country. It was cool and breezy, but really my kind of weather.


So when I arrive at the Muskie Lounge the owner, Bruce Carhart, was involved with the NY ABC (alcoloic beverage control) board. Seems someone had a complaint about his business. Turns out it was unfounded. Anyway, while waiting for him to finish up that detail I had a Corona beer. It was perfectly chilled and tasted great. I hadn't had a Corona in a long time.

So I am enjoying this beer, Bruce is busy with the officials, and in come some guys to move out an old Coke refrigerator or cooler. Well, I just snapped a quick shot of that activity. If I were seriously interested in it I would have "worked" the activity. This is just another shot for my photographic diary. Now how does this jewelry fit in?


I'll tell you how. I went upstairs with Bruce to talk about playing guitar in his establishment. It turns out he has started importing jewelry from Indonesia and is marketing it. This was some of the items he was sorting for sales samples. It was laying about on a table and I grabbed a shot just to see what it would look like. So what's that thing in the next photo?


Well, I set up a guitar gig with Bruce. I will be playing there next Wednesday at 7:00pm. If it goes well, we might try it out for a couple of more weeks. So, that was productive. Then I get home and the last thing I really needed to get done was today was figure out why the dishwasher would not fill properly. I get on the net, do some research and find the culprit is the water inlet valve, pictured above. I had it removed in about fifteen minutes. It's a Maytag dishwasher. There are four screws that fasten the kick plate on the bottom. Easy to get to. Remove them and the water valve is mounted on the left side, easy to get at. There is a water hose attached with a clamp. Pinch the clamp with pliers, slide it back, and wiggle the hose off the valve. Slide off two wire connections. Unscrew two screws that mount the valve to the wall of the unit. Disconnect the water supply l;ine and it's all over. Easier done than said. Truly.



And the day ends watching TV: Survivor on CBS followed by The Office on AbC, accompanied with Gnarly Head old vine zinfandel wine. That is how my day went. That leaves me with two questions: Who could possibly ask for more?, and, How can one ever be bored in this life? I love it!

Day Sixtyfive: Cinqo de Mayo

Today I was on a mission to visit the owner of The Muskie Lounge in Alexandria Bay, NY. I was hoping to set up a guitar playing gig. However, sometimes we start out in one direction and it leads to another. While enroute to the bay I encountered this Amish horse and buggy tied up to a gas pump at a convenience store in Depauville. Well naturally I had to photograph it. Notice the Pegasus logo on the gas pump. When the Amish man came out of the store I snapped a few more shots of him as he drove away. The man had a great white beard, but I didn't want to ruin his day by letting him see me take his photo, so I waited until his back was turned and settled on the view you see here. Now this encounter siphoned away some of time. Not a lot, but enough that it might make a diference. Frome here I stopped to see Greg Lago at Winged Bull studio. Greg knows the owner of the Muskie Lounge and I got the phone number from him. I have to back up. The phone number I had for the Muski was not in service. I also saw somnething on the net about the lounge being closed. Closed for good or for the season? I don't know. But, Greg would probably know and his place is on the way to the bay. So I stop there. No one can chew the fat better than Greg. The conversation flows and leads to coffee at The Lyric Bistro. He gives me a phone number, but now, my time is shot becuase I need to get to my first guitar student by 1:30. I abandonb the plan to catch Bruce at the Muskie and head to the music store. I get there ten minutes late only to find my student stiffed me. A no show. Well, that's how it goes. But remember, had I not gone about my business the way I did I wouldn't have these photos of the horse at the gas pump. How can I complain?

Day Sixtyfour: RT 66 Sunset

I spent today in Syracuse. It rained hard, it quit raining, the Sun came out, it became overcast, the Sun returned. It did everything but snow today. On my way home I get off interstate Route 81 onto Jefferson County Route 66 and drive right into this Sunset. I pull off the road and make this photo.

Day Sixtytwo: Ladybug

I photographed this ladybug crawling on a screen door at the back entrance of my home. It's not too bad considering I did not have a macro lens. I shot it with a 17-55mm zoom that has NO macro setting. It never would have worked on film, but digital, is great. The file size was such that I cropped out a huge ammount of the image to prent what you see here. Film would have been far too grainy and soft. I have a macro lens, but it's for my Minolta film cameras. This photo was taken with a Nikon that does not belong to me. I need to get a Sony digital slr to be able to use my collection of Minolta lenses.


Now, that recipe I tried yesterday. It was pretty good, but I cannot rave about it. I'm not sure I would make it again. It was good, but seemed to be lacking something. There just may have been too much spinach. I have more that I will try again tonight. I will tell you one thing: the Red Stripe beer sure was good!

Day Sixtyone: Roasting Pepper

Sixty degrees at 7:00AM in Chaumont, NY. Sunshine, though the weatherman calls for rain later in the day. We shall see.
So this morning I started a small charcoal fire to roast a poblano pepper for a Mexican recipe I got from Rick Bayless. I could have done it in the broiler inside, but, I like to be outdoors. Anyhow, the pepper gets put into a food processor along with some cilantro and a Jalapeno. The recipe calls for a serrano pepper, but I didn't have one. The puree get mixed in with ground pork. Later the pork is fried with onions, spinach added with a little beer, then a pile of Jack cheese. There's obviously more to it so here is a link to Rick's recipe: Green Queso Fundido / Queso Fundido Verde I saw Rick prepare it on TV. It looked good, seemed simple, so thought I would try it today.
I am always ready to try a new recipe, any type of new food. Sometimes you get surprised with something great. Sometimes they are a bust. This one sounds good, but you never know until you bite in. I'll finish cooking & eating it later today when my celebrity brother comes over. I'll report the final verdict in the next post. Probably will not be today. One more thing, we'll be washing it down with Red Stripe beer. It's a good life no matter how many curve balls get pitched at you.

(It should go without saying the photos here were taken by yours truly, Gary Walts).

Day Sixty: Rt 481 Sunset

It's gonna be a terrific day in Chaumont, NY today, weatherwise anyway.
I was returning home from a magazine job and grabbed this sunset on Route 481 in Onondaga County, NY. I think it may have been in the Town of Clay. Not sure. I have some guitar playing events coming up, but still no regular gig. I suppose that's something I need to keep working on. That's the drudgery of business, at least a small one like mine, wearing all those "hats". Making, creating, placing ads. Making phone calls & e-mails. Returning calls & e-mails. Hopefully one puts stuff out there and one gets something back. Anyhow, catch you later. Gary