civilized ku # 1079 ~ in the frig

1/2 potato in the frig ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 1076-78 ~ it just suits my eye

Looking toward 15th green ~ Twisted Dunes GC - Egg Harbor Township, NJ • click to embiggen
on the 16th tee ~ Twisted Dunes GC - Egg Harbor Township, NJ • click to embiggen
on the 16th green ~ Twisted Dunes GC - Egg Harbor Township, NJ • click to embiggenI played golf yesterday, albeit in Lake Placid, not on the South Jersey course (Twisted Dunes) pictured here. Twisted Dunes is one of my favorite golf courses simply because, as the golf saying goes, it suits/fits my eye. I usually play it well - high 70s/low 80s - and I really enjoy the walk over swale and hummock, and by (hopefully not in) the fescue and sandy dunes.

I played yesterday's round with the pilot of a private jet owned by the family who also owns Camp Topridge, arguably the most opulent, eclectic, and expansive Adirondack Great Camp ever built.

Coincidentally, Adirondack Great Camp wise, last Saturday the wife and I attended the book release / photography show, ADIRONDACK STYLE ~ Great Camps and Rustic Lodges, where I met the photographer F-stop Fitzgerald. After visiting The Landscapist, F-stop has invited me to become a regular paid contributor to the photography website, Ultimate Photo Guide - a site for which he is an adviser/editor.

Maybe I will, maybe I won't - over and above the $ compensation, I'll just have to see what's in it for me.

civilized ku # 1075 ~ observe the observation platform

Observation deck structure ~ Stone Harbor, NJ • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 1074 ~ marine markers

Floating markers ~ Avalon, NJ • click to embiggen

civilized ku # 1073 ~ welcome home

Sunrise / The Flats ~ Wilmington, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenAt the end of my annual Jersey-Shore-from-Hell week, I always leave late Friday evening / very early Saturday morning (11PM-2AM) in order to avoid the Saturday traffic nightmare. This year I left at 11PM on Friday so I could get home very early on Saturday and get prepped for the wedding photography gig early that afternoon.

In addition to avoiding traffic, this year I was also rewarded by a 5:30AM passage by The Flats in Wilmington. The sunrise, which was filtered through a layer of mist and fog, bathed the landscape in a soft, warm, all-enveloping light. A light that created an ethereal "glow" upon the scene - no glaring highlights, no deep shadows, just a rich muted light.

I must confess that, in my mind and imagination, the scene and its visual allure and warmth was arranged and staged just for me as a welcome-home-from-the-scourge-named-New-Jersey Adirondack tableau. And, at that time of the morning, I did have it all to myself.

ku # 975-77 ~ out in the rain again

West Branch Au Sable River ~ near Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
Dead tree / brook ~ near Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Brook and grasses ~ between Jay and Wilmington, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenWe've had a couple days of socked-in weather which, as I've mentioned previously, is no reason to stay indoor and not make pictures.

beyond category, picture wise ~ a wedding

A wedding / sample wedding book spread ~ Elizabethtown, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenBack on the entry heaven and earth # 1-5, Colin Griffiths stated, "These are the first of your images that I can remember seeing on this blog that I would not immediately recognize as being your work."

Well, OK, but how about these pictures? At least the heaven and earth were square.

One thing I am not is a wedding photographer. I have made some pictures, none of which were of the standard wedding picture variety, at a few weddings of friends or family but never have I ever done a wedding for hire. However, and as the saying goes (never say "never"), I actually found myself doing a wedding for hire for an acquaintance. Although, "acquaintance" is perhaps too strong a word inasmuch as I know the groom because I purchased 2 new cars from him over the past 2 years. He's been good to me so, when he asked me to make pictures at his wedding, I decided to do good for him.

My normal response to such a request is to say "no". However, he immediately stipulated that he did not want all the standard wedding picture stuff. I stated that I could document the event with a few wedding party pictures thrown in for good measure and he said that would be great. So ....

I made about 330 pictures, 90% of which were made with the E-P1 / 20mm f1.7 lens combination - hardly the wedding photographer's camera of choice. And even though there were a number of wedding guests making pictures with their Canikon DSLRs, all the while looking at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears (why's he shooting with that little amateur camera?), the E-P1 performed flawlessly. No missed shots, no mis-focus, it just worked exceedingly well for the task at hand.

Were I to magically become a wedding photographer, I would be making wedding pictures with 2 E-P3s - 1 with the Lumix 20mm f1.7 + optical viewfinder, 1 with the Zuiko 45mm f1.8 - and, of course, a Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4 would also be in the bag.

civilized ku # 1067-71 ~ guys from Finland try to beat guys from the USA

USA Junior hockey ~ Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
USA Junior hockey ~ Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
USA Junior hockey ~ Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
USA Junior hockey ~ Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggenThis past Thursday was Hugo's birthday and one of things we did was watch the USA Hockey National Junior team (Juniors - under 20) play the National Junior team from Finland. For 10 days (ending on Friday), the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp has been conducted in Lake Placid. National Junior teams from Finland and Sweden were invited to participate in tournament (capitalists vs socialists?) play as part of the camp schedule.

The level of play was extremely high. Many of the junior players are very high - some in the top 10 - NHL draft picks. In addition, there were NHL head/assistant coaches and scouts all over the place. I managed to have a nice chat with NHL Hall of Fame inductee and North Carolina associate head coach Ron Francis. Francis stands second all-time in career assists behind Wayne Gretzky with 1,249, fourth in career points (1,798), and third in games played (1,731).

In a twist on the standard fan/autograph-hound/athlete procedure, I gave Francis a gift with my autograph on it. Although, it is worth pointing out that his autograph was on it as well - an autograph he signed 20 years ago.

The gift in question was a limited edition lithograph I produced (under license to the Pens), to include the pictures, to celebrate the Pittsburgh Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships. Ron Francis was a member of that team and under the terms of the license, some team members signed the lithos. Amongst the signers was Ron Francis, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Joey Mullen - 3 NHL Hall of Fame members and 1 in-waiting.

Ron Francis had never seen the print and was absolutely delighted to have it.

FYI, that's my autograph, on the lower right, under my little drawing of a camera.

Raising the Banners • click to embiggen