…and a photograph or two.
I have been accepted to the Aegean Center for the Fine Arts for the spring 2010 semester. This is quite an honor and it will be an exhilarating and difficult three months, effectively finishing my BA in style. To celebrate this occasion, I have purchased a new film rangefinder, a Voigtlander R4M with a 35mm lens. This is a significant upgrade from the little Canon QL17 I have been using for a while. I leave for Greece at the beginning of March and will return at the beginning of June.
I have also set up a full darkroom in the house. I have a large extra room with an adjoining bathroom that I have blacked out with curtains–very dark indeed. I have great new, used Metro-shelf worktables. My good friend Bruce has sold me his Beseler 23C Series II enlarger with two lenses (50mm and 80mm) plus some other gear for about $100. A real deal, IMHO. I have been developing some film, but this weekend I will have all the supplies and stuff I need to start working with paper again. Now I do not have to drive to use the darkroom, nor sit in a cold barn, or have my good friend Carol pay for heat when she doesn’t need to. It’s a good thing all around.
Last week there was truck fire in the nearby town of Millerton, NY. Serendipity was on my side and I was able to capture some dramatic shots. Here is one them. I will post another tomorrow. I offered them to the local papers but they declined, using there own images instead. Oh well. Their loss. The editor asked for me to stay in touch with anything I might have. Right. Not a chance. This is not the first time they have given me the Bum’s Rush.
I went to Alex and Rebecca Norris Webb’s opening in NYC last week. It was a lovely show and left me wanting more. The Ricco Maresca Gallery highlighted their new, collaborative, book (a first for them) on Cuba called “Violet Isle.” I was able to spend the day walking the streets of Manhattan, visiting museums, and practicing the craft. A wonderful day.
JDCM
PS…Yes, I saw the Frank and Meyerowitz shows…Boffo!
Truck fire, Millerton, NY. November 2009