Thursday, December 31, 2009

Cornfield

Ansonia, Pennsylvania

This cornfield sits right at the corner of the two-lane state highway and the narrow lane that leads to a state park referred to by local tourism boosters as "The Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania." It really is quite an impressive stretch of river even if the comparison is, well, a bit of a stretch. The thick, hazy conditions early this summer morning didn't lead to any pictures of the canyon itself (except this) but on the way out those same conditions made for this lovely scene. Click to see a more legible version of the picture.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Church of God

West of Richmond, Virginia

The sign above the door was very faded but still legible. I've made photographs of many rural churches over the years. As with the drive-in theaters series, I find it fascinating how the church architecture, repeating themes and forms that are never twice exactly the same, relate to the surrounding landscape. Unlike the theaters, I've never gone out looking for the church buildings, they just turn up on other travels. This time, I was exploring a bit in Virginia with a photographer friend from Austria who had come over for the opening of a group exhibit in Richmond.

Monday, December 28, 2009

Swamp

Washington, Connecticut


Just click on the picture for a larger version. I'm not sure how well that will show the sense of detail and texture of this large format negative after passing through the intertubes, but thought I'd give it a try. As an aside, for a picture like this I will probably prefer a contact print (7x17 inches) in platinum/palladium, or maybe a modest amount of enlargement for a pigment ink print, rather than pushing the print size to the max.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Church on a Hill


Shamokin, Pennsylvania

This town lies in the heart of the eastern Pennsylvania coal country. The land is very hilly, with houses and other buildings perched precariously. The ridge line you see in the distance through the morning fog is almost literally made of coal. Click on the picture to get a better view.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Derelict Drive-in Theater

Uncasville, Connecticut

For a while now (1,243 posts, in fact) this blog has concentrated on recent color work I've been doing with digital capture. Over the past several years I've been doing much less large format black and white work than before, but I have been doing some. I've been scanning the best of these negatives over the past week, and I thought I'd stretch the sense of recent from a few months to a few years.

The picture above shows part of what's left at the Norwich-New London Twin Drive-in Theater. It's a fairly recent—that word again—addition to my long-term project on drive-in theaters. If you click on the picture you'll get a much more legible, larger version. Use your browser's back button to return.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Holiday Display

Washington, Connecticut

From the 1950s themed holiday exhibit at the Gunn Memorial Museum.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Sumac

Thomaston, Connecticut


There's a new series beginning at The WPII Blog, pictures from another town holiday celebration.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Storefront

Waterbury, Connecticut


The cutout figures in the window are holding archive copies of The Waterbury Observer, a monthly independent free newspaper for the Waterbury area.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Rolling Along

Torrington, Connecticut


Thomaston, Connecticut


More daily postings continue over at The WPII Blog.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Two Walking Figures

Torrington, Connecticut

This was once one of many parking lots for a major manufacturing company with home offices in Torrington, CT. There were large manufacturing facilities in town and scattered across the country. About twenty-five years ago I did the photography for several "capability brochures" for this very company. There don't seem to be any capabilities left to brag about now. Looks like a skeleton crew is around to maintain the buildings, or perhaps serve some warehouse functions.

The large storefront below has been empty and apparently untouched for years. It sits at the main intersection of downtown streets in the small city of Meriden.

Meriden, Connecticut

Tuesday, November 24, 2009