Landscape – Page 647 – Woody Campbell

Tuesday July 24, 2012

GLENS FALLS and SARATOGA SPRINGS NEW YORK – In Utah the 24th of July is a state holiday, celebrated sort of as a second Fourth of July. It commemorates the date on which Brigham Young arrived at the mouth of Immigration Canyon and said “This is the place”.

But we’re in upstate New York, not Utah, so no fireworks. We drove up to Glens Falls today to vist a lovely museum, the Hyde Collection. This is an excellent small collection of important European art assembled by two sisters in the early part of the 20th Century, and a terrific collection of Tiffany Glass. Apologies for the long post but this was an interesting day.

Here’s the central space in the collection captured with my Leica M9 and 24mm Summicron lens; two frames stitched in PTGui Pro.

The collection (which by itself was worth a drive up here) includes a current show by an artist named Stephen Knapp who does light painting creating colors with precisely shaped and oriented pieces of polarized glass. Taken with the same rig.

Back in Saratoga Springs I had some fun with my iPhone. Here’s a quilt in the Victorian pile of lumber that calls itself the Adelphi Hotel. It’s interesting because it is very similar to a quilt that we have in Connecticut – a quilt that we bought a church rummage sale and then spent a year and a fairly serious amount of money having restored. I’ll shoot it in Connecticut when we’re there next weekend and you’ll see the resemblance.

More fun with the iPhone in Saratoga:

Here’s a sculpture in Broadway (the main street) in Saratoga – I took this with my iPhone to be my screen backdrop in my iPhone – I got bored with gray.

As I said – this was a long day. Toward the end of the day I spent some time in Saratoga Spa State Park. In the 1930s the space facility was rebuilt on a grand scale (the scale of the complex reminds me of a Mayan temple complex at Monte Alban near Oaxaca). Good Depression era public works, but the scale is far larger than current demand so much of it appears to be in good condition but disused. Maria took a treatment, so I took some pictures with my ever-present Leica M9 and 24mm Summilux lens.

Moe of the same:

Enough of July 24 2012. On July 24, 2011: Hogmead. No kidding on the name. An inn in Nairobi.

Monday July 23, 2012

VISCHER FERRY and SARATOGA SPRINGS NEW YORK – We took a hike and picnicked in the Vischer Ferry area – 20 minutes’ drive south of Saratoga – today. There’s a very pleasant trail that follows a towpath of one of the extensions of the Erie Canal. It started to pour just as we got back to the car. By the time that we got back to Saratoga there was one of those post storm moments with amazing light. I captured some images that are the first that I’ve really liked in Saratoga.

Here’s to towpath with my Leica M9 and 24mm Summilux.

Amazing light with same setup.

On this day last year: Nancy has a travel day.

Tuesday July 17, 2012

BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS – I had a couple of hours fee this morning in Boston, and actually did pretty well with my Fuji Xpro-1 and an 18mm lens (28mm equivalent). In the evening we were guests of a client at their box at Fenway Park – I caught the Green Monster with my iPhone – five images stitched in photoshop. The Red Sox lost to the White Sox (who in Chicago actually follow this team – I’ve never met a Chicagoan who isn’t a Cubs fan), but we had the pleasure of watch balls carom off of the wall.

On this day last year: Centerfold.

Sunday July 15, 2012

WARREN CONNECTICUT – This is the one thousandth day in my one photo-a-day journey, which started on October 16, 2012. Actually I’ve made 1012 posts because on our trip to the Serengeti there were so many images that i put up more than one post a day.

I’ve learned a lot in a thousand days. Actually quite a bit about the innards of a blog because I maintain this site myself. I’ve had to learn about servers, WordPress, HTML and a lot of search engine optimization. The design is my own. It hasn’t changed much since I started – the original concept of a white background and dark gray and Leica red text has proven to be robust.

I hadn’t intended this as a diary but it inevitably is. Looking back brings floods of memories of the Serengeti, the Masai, the Swiss alps, Lyme disease, dinners with friends, grown children, family holidays, quiet moments at home, Italy and more Italy. And of course the icons of New York. Sometimes the accidents were the best, sometime carefully worked out compositions are. There are may themes – threads for real shows. The solo figure. The Chrysler Building. Litchfield County churches. Change on the street. The evolution of family members and close friends. Alexander is flecked with gray now, there was no gray when I started.

When I started this project in October 2009 I didn’t have a clear vision of its purpose or where it’s going. I still don’t steer it but in terms of purpose it seems to me that it simply is what it is. The important thing it to get out there and do it every day. I plan on continuing indefinitely. The work is the ensemble. I don’t have to print it or commercialize it. It will get interesting as I start to decline (a point not actually in sight but inevitable). I hope that I have the courage to continue it.

It’s clear that I’m a better photographer than when I started. The constant pressure to shoot and self-edit over a three-year period amounts to a graduate degree. My work feels more purposeful and muscular. A vision is emerging. With my previous experience I’m probably approaching the 10,000 hours level of experience – a level that Malcolm Gladwell believes brings competence.

Changing technology will make this obsolete in a few more years and unintelligible (except to specialists with legacy equipment and software) in a decade or two. So enjoy in now. This is like chalk painting on a sidewalk.

For today here are some trees captured with my Leica M9 and an 18mm Leica lens.

[Editorial Note: It turns out, on the basis of more careful calculation, that this was actually day 1,004.)

On this day last year: Chain link,

Saturday July 14, 2012

GOSHEN CONNECTICUT – We visited some friends, Henry and Celia McGee, in Goshen for lunch – Goshen is the site of a country county fair in August – we’ll be back. Taken with my Fuji X Pro-1 and a Fuji 35mm lens.

In this day last year: Moonrise over Manhattan. I probably won’t see this juxtaposition again. Ever.

Thursday July 12, 2012

NEW YORK NEW YORK – I took a walk today from the Flatiron Building to my office, with my Leica M9 and 18mm lens in hand. Some images came out well. Some not. Why should this day be any different than any other? I’m always moved by the display of ribbons on the fence at Marble Collegiate Church. They signify prayers that the congregation has dedicated to dead American service men and women in Central Asia. By the way, I’m converting a lot of images to black and white – this is the run up to the Leica Monochrom (sic), which I have on order. Here you go:

On this day last year: Native Roses.

Wednesday July 11, 2012

WASHINGTON DC – Ahem. Here we are in out nation’s capital, an expression that’s almost always used ironically these days. I flew down here for a conference and had a few minutes to spare to take a quick walk with my Fuji x Pro 1 and a 50mm equivalent lens. I do like this think which reminds me of a slightly larger (but more capable) Contax G2.

On this day one year ago: Scissors. Taken while I was bed-ridden, it turns out with Lyme disease.