Images from Vermont

A few images from our recent trip to Vermont. The foliage was incredible. From the top: 1) more of the barns at Scott Farm in Putney; 2) the view from our condo at Killington; 3) my wife and mugging for the camera while riding the gondola to the top of Killington; 4) foliage along the ski lift at Pico.

Happy Mother's Day

I never post on the weekends, so here's a belated happy Mother's Day to my own mother and the moms among my readers. (The photo is my mother in 1951).

Opening Day

Saturday was "Opening Day" for Little League, and both boys were suited up and ready to go. Ben, a pitcher and catcher, spent two days battling on the field, catching a six-inning game and pitching for three innings in the second game. Sam, pictured here, made is his pitching and catching debut, striking out four batters in two innings of work. He also hit a double, triple, and a home run in his team's 13-1 opening victory. These photos of Sam were taken by my wife. I was at Ben's game, which was unfortunately scheduled at the same time. As you can tell from the coats, it was a blustery and cold Saturday - not ideal weather for baseball.

"American Standard"

After considerable effort with the scanner and photoshop, I got this to a somewhat acceptable point vis-a-vis how closely it matches the painting itself. Although it's not usually a problem when working with darker, more vivid images, the scanner doesn't like the rough texture of the paper when there's little pigment. I kept getting tiny shadows on the paper - like the shadows of minuscule moon craters.

I realize this may not be the most picturesque subject. Nevertheless, it falls nicely into my "ordinary objects" theme and reflects a fascination with industrial design, whether we're observing toasters or urinals. And admit it: It is a rather iconic fixture in the design landscape. Scan search results from google or flickr and you'll be amazed at the number of urinal photos - and the myriad designs pictured - from all over the world.

Here I really wanted to present the urinal in an appealing fashion - clean, polished, standing like a trophy or an idol on an altar. No doubt one could derive numerous conclusions from a painting of a urinal, from the Freudian to the political. The title alone - "American Standard" - says a great deal, I think, beyond standing as a specific brand moniker. In the end, enjoying art is about drawing one's own conclusions, fitting an image into a personal paradigm of experiences and opinions.

(The boys were intrigued by this one as I worked on it last week and over the weekend. They raised their eyebrows and even giggled. That's no surprise since "bathroom humor" is a focal point for schoolboy humor. My wife actually liked it from the start. I teased the boys that I was going to scan it and have it printed on t-shirts for each of them. At first they reacted with, "You're kidding," but eventually concluded that a t-shirt with a urinal on the front might be sufficiently weird to be cool. Hmmmmm, it may happen.) 5" x 7", watercolor, pen & ink, Fabriano 140 lb. paper.

Toast

I "inherited" a toaster similar to this when the estate items of a great uncle and aunt were parceled out to family members before sale of the house. The main thing I remember about this couple was their chihuahua, Ladybug, who spent most of her time in one lap or the other. (I also recall the perpetually plastic-covered furniture in their living room, a decorating touch doubtless inspired by the dog's presence.)

Ladybug was a friendly little dog, which proved a welcome contrast to the chihuahua - Princess - that belonged to the other dog-loving great aunt. Move a finger and Princess would emit a muffled growl. Move an arm or a leg and the growl would become louder and more menacing. Try to stand up and walk and Princess assaulted the offender with a cacophony of barking and growling, all emitted as she sat in my chain-smoking great aunt's lap. (Come to think of it, I believe all of my grandfather's younger sisters - two of them nurses! - smoked like chimneys at some point in their lives.) An evil little dog. This is an unusual admission on my part, because I tend to love all dogs and cats and believe that with patience (and lots of high-pitched baby talk), I can befriend any of them in Doctor Doolittle-esque fashion. Princess, however, seemed beyond salvation, the irredeemable dog sinner bound for doggy hell. She probably died with her face permanently frozen in a snarl. I remember our visits to Richmond involved lots of sitting and talking, with very little movement on our part, lest we invite the wrath of our aunt's lap demon.

But back to the toaster. I always liked the reflectiveness of the bright chrome and hated to see fingerprints on the surface. Still, I didn't enshrine it as a monument to Eisenhower-era toaster technology. I used that toaster regularly, despite the vagaries of its out-of-sync heating elements: One quickly learns which sides of the toast will blacken more readily. 9" x 12", watercolor, brush & ink, pen & ink, Fabriano 140 lb. paper.

Silhouettes

Three silhouette photos of the boys playing basketball at the playground.

More Photobooth Fun

Once again the boys and I couldn't resist the chance to make faces in a photobooth. I never did these as a child, so I'm making up for it as an adult. However, if the boys get much bigger, we're not going to fit in the frame! (I like Ben's finger-in-nose pose. Perfect for the occasion.)

Argus C3 Photos

I recently took these photos with an old Argus C3, usually known as "the brick" to camera enthusiasts because of its boxy shape and considerable weight. Not bad for an unexceptional 1955 camera that's entirely manual. (I used a Gossen Digisix for metering.) Film: Kodak 400CN.

Photo Booth Redux

Once again, we couldn't resist mugging for a photo booth camera. Here I am with Ben, making faces. I've always enjoyed photo booths - although wasn't allowed to spend the money on them as a child. If you're a fan of the movie Amelie - one of my absolute favorites - you'll also understand how that film underscored the retro and romantic appeals of the photo booth.

West Village Halloween

Last weekend we enjoyed a bit of Halloween fun with the West Village Halloween Festival, held annual at Bleecker Playground. Then the kids trick-or-treated along Hudson and Bleecker Streets, with businesses handing out generous amounts of candy. Tomorrow they'll have a big Halloween parade at their school and in the evening my boys will trick-or-treat in the neighborhood and in our building. I'm always amazed at the amount of candy they receive - far more than I ever got as a child! But like most parents we ration it out carefully and most of the time they lose interest in it after a week or two.

This year both of them - oddly - decided to dress up as Darth Vader. We're still not really sure why, but I suspect it was because of the light sabers. I suggested to Sam that he trade the saber for his guitar and go as "Garth" Vader - but I don't think many people would get the joke. By tomorrow evening we'll be locked away at home to avoid the hordes who flock to the neighborhood for the infamous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

Ben: Contrast

I took these shots of my older son Ben while we were at Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos earlier this week. At this point, after nearly three days of swimming and speeding through water slides, he was utterly exhausted. I included the color photo simply to provide an additional contrast with the sepia-toned images, which I prefer. Luckily he's accustomed to having me snap away with a camera. (Yes, he has red hair, like a new copper penny.)

Ben and Sam, Playground

Ca. 1950 German-made Praktica FX with a 50mm, f2.8 Zeiss Tessar lens, Kodak 400CN film.

Photo Booth

I love these old photo booth machines. We usually make a point of trying them - and use them as an opportunity to mug and make faces for the camera!

Playground

Over the last several years we've spent countless hours at the Bleecker Playground. That time, however, seems to be coming to an end. While the boys were once among the little ones toddling around and climbing tentatively on the equipment, they're now among the oldest, zipping around much smaller children and nervous parents. Still, on a hot day, it's a great place to cool off in the sprinklers, running through the water and pelting each other with water balloons. My favorite time at the playground is late afternoon/early evening, when the low sun shines across the Hudson and gives everything a warm glow. Even the wet detritus of play takes on a luminous quality as the sun begins to disappear behind the buildings of Hudson Street. We'll often picnic in the playground on pleasant summer evenings, grabbing take-out from the chinese restaurant next door, mixing bites of dumplings and fried rice with dashes through the water or a turn at kickball. I'll miss the playground when the boys finally abandon it as a favorite place.

Basketball Hall of Fame Visit

Last weekend we took the boys to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Not sure what to expect - static museum or a fun-for-the-family place? - we were happy to find it a nice combination of interactive displays and the expected exhibits of memorabilia. To be honest, I'm a bigger fan of the "stuff" - old uniforms and balls, vintage scoreboards, trophies, and even sneakers. The wool uniforms and long wool socks of the early players, illustrated by the Celtics jersey pictured below, were especially fun - and itch inducing. And the boys, big fans of the movie Hoosiers, enjoy basketball's historic fabric - to a point. Thankfully the Hall of Fame also offered a basketball court with baskets from Naismith's original peach basket (shown in the first photo below) to modern professional goals. (And let me tell you: making a shot into the peach basket, with no backboard, was no easy feat!) Other interactive exhibits allowed them to pretend they were broadcasters calling a game, dunk the ball on 5-foot high baskets, and measure their vertical jump. In the end, we still didn't see it all, even after four hours of running between the exhibits and the basketball court. And although many of the exhibits reminded me how short I am at 5'10", next time we're in the area we'll definitely return.