July 4th Parade: A Slice of American Pie

Sedgwick Machine, Poughkeepsie

As you drive south from Poughkeepsie along Route 9 you’ll see the abandoned Sedgwick Machine building near the Hudson River. Sedgwick used to make elevators. Though the train still passes faithfully at its feet dozens of times a day, the company—like so many other riverfront industries—closed long ago.

Gillibrand Territory

Kirsten Gillibrand was my representative in Congress before being appointed by Governor Paterson to take Hillary Clinton’s senate seat. The district is notoriously conservative, especially on issues surrounding gun control. Here’s a slice of the population. [For those who can't read the bumper sticker on the right, it reads, "Elect a Hero and a Hottie!! McCain/Palin '08."]

Insider's Look: Space Shuttle

Readers of my blog get the first look at my new home page photo every month. This is another in my Americana collection.

The space race was on at full tilt when I was in Mrs. Clark’s sixth grade class. I remember her wheeling in a television to watch one of the launches. So much promise, so much pride. Where has all that American ambition gone?

Be the first to buy a Space Shuttle print and get a 50% discount on the size of your choice.

Insider's Look: Super Hero Tank

Readers of my blog get the first look at my new home page photo every month. This is another in my Americana collection.

I shot this photo during the 1991 Desert Storm parade. A belated salute to
the men and women who served, the parade was a serious affair. That's what
puzzled me even then. What in the world is a super hero doing on the back of this
tank?

Be the first to buy a Super Hero Tank print and get a 50% discount on the size of your choice.

Insider’s Look: Karate 4th, May Americana Photo

July 4th is my favorite holiday. There are no presents to buy, no fancy turkey meals for dozens, no travel, no stress. I like to start the day at the Hyde Park parade on Route 9. Organizers annually decide on a theme for all the floats. They invite a nice mix of marchers—cub scouts, marching bands, fire trucks, veterans, politicians, dancers, clowns. Many throw candy to the kids lining the street. This one boy, Sonny Neville, took the responsibility of representing his karate club very seriously.

Be the first to buy a Karate 4th print online and get a 50% discount on the size of your choice.

Genessee Sunset

Beer is at least as old as the Egyptians. People take their beer seriously. Germans frown on French beer, Brits pooh pooh cold beer, not many but the Irish can stomach Guinness, and everyone makes fun of mass-mixed American beer. From PBR to Milwaukee’s Best, old-time American breweries are known for outputting quantity not quality. Gone are the days when a man worked a 10-hour shift and came home to a 12-pack of Schlitz and an episode of Archie Bunker. Microbreweries with clever names like Pete’s Wicked Ale, The Flying Dog, Gilded Otter and 21st Amendment are today’s rage. People want their meister to brew custom blends in quaint copper keg-lined shops, not windowless cinderblock factories. This Genessee brewery sits atop a bluff overlooking the Genessee River in Rochester, NY. The golden lager hues of the sun setting on its industrial façade are metaphor for its waning popularity; the beauty of the light a reminder of what once was. Bottoms up.

Genessee Sunset is my April home page photo and a new addition to my Americana collection. Be the first to buy a print online and get a 50% discount on the size of your choice.

Insider’s Look: McDonald’s, March Americana Photo

On a road trip to visit the University of Rochester with our niece, we overnighted in Utica, New York. This vintage McDonald’s made me remember how they used to look before 42 oz. Cokes and super-sizing. I remember the first golden arches opening near us in the early ‘60s. We didn’t go, mind you, my mother didn’t approve of fast food. But it was a novelty to look at and to watch the number of burgers sold swell to ‘over 1 million,’ a number beyond my comprehension at the time. The first McDonald’s opened in Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955. Ronald McDonald, played by Willard Scott, was born in 1963.

Be the first to buy a McDonald’s print online, one of my Americana Collection, and get a 50% discount on the print size of your choice.

Insider’s Look: February Americana Photo

Readers of my blog (that’s you) are going to get first look at all new photos I add to my web site. You’ll also get the story, if any, behind the finished product. The first one of you to send me an email saying you want to buy the new photo will get a 50% discount on buying the print size of your choice.

This month, I’m revealing the first in my Americana collection: George and Cecilia Boesch on their 80th (or 85th or 90th) birthday.

George and Cecilia Boesch were my maternal grandparents. Their proudest achievement was their family—7 kids, 23 grandkids, still counting great grandkids, who knows there might be great great grandkids. Nana expected me to be a contestant winner on the game show Concentration. If she could only see what's happened to my memory now. She loved jokes—especially if they involved priests—and playing cards. She and her sisters played bridge and giggled and persuaded me to join them occasionally. I was shocked to hear them reminisce about boys they'd dated. Couldn't envision them with smooth skin and straight backs. Papa liked to flirt. Confined to a motorized scooter in his 80s (or was it 90s) he'd ride the mile down to Mott's supermarket in Hartford and get the cutest checkout girl to help him shop. He was (in)famous for his Elks performance in a pink bikini. Born just a day apart, they made a big deal out of their birthdays. Every time I see it, this image makes me smile.