dyptich # 12 ~ truncated trunks

Tree trunks ~ Tawhaus, NY / Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 2390 ~ hot time in the old town tonight

Fire ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenYou may have read on the first page of my picture article in Adirondack Life (see below entry) that the village of Au Sable Forks has 559 residents. Assuming that figure to be accurate, I would venture a guess that all of them were on hand to witness this evening's majestic conflagration.

FYI, I managed to move, in stealth like fashion, beyond the line of fire trucks, ambulances, and rescue vehicles in order to make some close proximity pictures. Eventually someone took notice of a guy who was not in firefighting gear and I had to melt back into the spectator crowd.

Update on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 10:51AM by gravitas et nugalis

Aftermath ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

FYI ~ you see what you wanna see (and disregard the rest)

Spreads - Adirondack Life / Dec 2012 • click to embiggenAs previously mentioned, some of my The Forks ~ there's no place like home pictures were going to be published in a feature article in Adirondack Life magazine. I now have in hand the December 2012 issue of Adirondack Life which includes that article.

The layout/design of the article is quite visually pleasing. It looks more like that found in a photo book / magazine than it does like that most often seen in a general interest magazine layout - lots of white space and very nice typography. And, as an added bonus, one spread in the article is the center spread of the magazine.

The pictures in the article are prefaced by the Artist Statement from my gallery exhibition / body of work, The Forks ~ there's no place like home, and thereafter by quotes from a few Au Sable Forks residents. IMO, those quotes add a very personal / human overlay to the pictures. Each picture is also identified by its title.

a humorous and instructive (how people look at pictures wise) aside: I was showing the article to a neighbor - who also happens to be a town supervisor - and as he was viewing the Clouds / Stewarts picture on the first spread, he gave a little laugh and said "Until I read the title, I didn't even see the clouds ... I was looking to see who it was who was pumping gas."

Update on Wednesday, October 31, 2012 at 12:21PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: John Linn wrote: "Looks like they did a nice job. Did you participate in the layouts or art direction?"

my response: NO, I did not participate in any manner with layout / art direction. Although ... they do have a copy of my book, The Forks ~ there's no place like home, which has my "standard" wide white border layout/design. Don't know if that influenced them in any way ....

civilized ku # 2388-89 / ku # 1221-22 ~ a visit to a wayback machine

Ghost town ~ Adirondac / Tawhaus, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenMcIntrye Furnace ~ Tawhaus / Adirondac , NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenTangle ~ Tawhaus / Adirondac, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenTamarack bog ~ near Union Falls, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenSorry for the delay in posting this entry, but during my NYC friend's 5 day / 4 night visit, we were out an about everyday - together with an evening art event, dining out, and numerous sittings around with rye, bourbon, and wine - and I never found the time sit down at the google machine and make an entry. That written, now that I have some time on my hands as I and the wife sit about (a belated anniversary getaway) in our cabin (in front of a toasty fire, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to make its presence known), I can post this short and sweet entry.

That written, here's the short and sweet of it .... one of the places my friend and I visited was the abandoned Adirondack mining town of Tawhaus (or Adirondac, as it was formerly known). Much to my surprise, the old McIntrye Furnace - situated a few hundred feet down the road from the town and, until recently, nearly invisible due to being hidden by 160 years of forest and undergrowth - was dramatically on view. I have passed by the furnace on a number of occasions and taken notice of its upper reaches (it sits below the road level), inasmuch as it is located a mere 20 feet from the edge of the road albeit obscured by vegetation.

Needless to state, we stopped to investigate and, again to my surprise, found that not only had the furnace been cleared of vegetation but so had the 100 ft. slope down to the Hudson River beneath it. On that slope, much like an archeological dig (which, in fact, it is) was an incredible array of mill work mechanicals lying about in disarray just as they have been since the mill structure collapsed in 1856. Not to mention the remnants of an imposing 50-60ft. tall / 12 ft. thick granite block stone dam which dammed the Hudson River and diverted water to a flume which drove a large waterwheel which, in turn, turned a couple 20ft. gears which powered 4 large "piston" units which supplied blast air to the furnace which was heated to 2500 degrees.

All in all, the place was a truly interesting historic site. I'll have more pictures and more to tell when I get back home on Tuesday.

civilized ku # 2388 ~ more Autumn yellow with a sprinkling of red

Yellow leaves / red car ~ Port Henry, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenMy good friend from NYC is up for visit and we're spending most of the days out and abound just wandering around. The weather is very nice and there are lots of picturing opportunities. When I have time (tomorrow?), I'll post a bunch more pictures.

civilized ku # 2384-87 / ku # 1219-20 ~ Autumn yellows with a sprinkling of red

Yellow leaves / red barn ~ Jay, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen
Yellow crab apples / tree ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
Yellow leaves / red building ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
Yellow leaves / red leaves ~ Near Jay, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Yellow leaves / red leaves ~ Near Keeseville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Yellow chair / red ears ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Yellow trailer / red leaves ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Bodies of Work ~ a sampler

Click here to view this photo book in its entirety

I've spent the past few days putting together a POD book which is being sent (by request) to a couple curators / gallery directors. The book (81 pages) is titled, Bodies of Work ~ a sampler, and has 9 sections, each section comprised of a title page followed by 6 pictures examples from each body of work. The section title pages have a grouping of the 6 pictures which follow in that section - the purpose of the grouping is to illustrate how the pictures work together, visually, as a body of work.

The page sample pictures posted in this entry are (top - bottom): cover, title spread, section title page + the 6 pictures in that section, the remainder of the title pages. Even though, at the very top of the entry, there is a Shutterfly share book version in which you can view the entire book, I have included the sample page pictures so you can have a higher quality look at some of the pages.

While I stand by my many previously written endorsements, re: Shutterfly's excellent quality POD books, their shared book e-versions are seriously lacking in the visual quality department. They are better than nothing but only by a slim margin. The shared book allows a viewer to have a sense of a book's layout and flow but details (image and typography sharpness) are not good. However, keep in mind that shared books are free.

That written, if Shutterfly were to offer a true high quality e-book conversion service, I would be more than happy to pay a premium for that service.

civilized ku # 2383 / triptych # 4 / 5 (ku # 1216-18 / civilized ku # 2380-82) ~ thickets and pumpkins

Little Au Sable River ~ Peru, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenRoadside thicket ~ Peru, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenPrays pumpkins ~ Keeseville, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenIt is a beautiful October day on which to be out and about.