A Trip to NY City

Gary and Maude Rith invited us along for a day in NY City.  Since it's been 30 years since I've been there, I said let's go.  And go we did.

 Being a  a "Go with the Flow" type of guy, I really appreciate Gary planning the event, and his knowledge of the city.  Judy and I held on for the ride.

Our first race was to Grand Central Station to catch a subway south.  (Sorry about the blurry photo, I was crossing the street while taking the shot.)

I think I could spend several days just in Grand Central station taking photos.

After taking the 6 train we met one of Gary's customers, Julie, at the vegan restaurant Wild Ginger on Broom Street.  This was some of best vegan food I have ever eaten.

It was a good thing we stopped because we were just beginning, and needed the substance for the rest of the day.

Julie spent most of the day with us, and was a lot of fun to be around. 

Maude's sisters also live in NY, and joined us.  Wow, we had 4 tour guides for the two of us!

I could easily spend a life time in NY photographing buildings.  While people were finishing their deserts at a vegan bakery, I wondered the streets taking photographs of the interesting buildings.

I live in a very rural area.  Birds are very wary of people in this area, and it's difficult to take photos of them.  I'm always intrigued when we are in areas that have a lot of people, and birds respond in a much different way.  I spent some time photographing pigeons, and photographing people taking photographs of pigeons.  (I think that Gary also took photographs of me taking photographs of pigeons.)
These photos were from Sutton Park.  I think that is the Queensboro Bridge in the background. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Or course, I have to have at least one type of tourist photo.  Here's Radio City Music Hall.

I think one of the really neat things about traveling with Gary and Maude is that we were able to see a different part of the city that is not the typical tourist things to see.  Here we are outside a small shop that sells tens of thousands of all types of buttons. 

After a fun day of travel we stopped for dinner at Heartland Brewery on 6th ave.  We thought it best to sample the various hardy beverages, and we were not disappointed.  (The food was also great.)


So there you have my travel log of the trip.  I must return sooner than 30 years from now.  I may not be quite as quick at 80 as I am at 50.

May 14, 2010, Artist at Work

I think that Gary is a great model. He's always willing to pose in an interesting situation. He can be a little creepy if the photo calls for it, or whimsical as in this case.  Either way, I enjoy photographing him, his wife Maude, and his friends.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/125 sec, Aperture f/3.2, ISO 400, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 82mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, handheld.

Week 51, Day 352, April 16, 2010, Through a Window Dimly

One of the really fun things that has happened with this blog is that I have met a lot of fun people.  Friday nights many of them gather at a local pub called the Chapter House.

Tonight I tried an experiment and photographed from outside the pub looking inward.  I found the effect very interesting.

Lessons Learned:

• Gary makes a great subject for photography, and is always a willing participant.  Thank you Gary, and Tom.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/2000 sec, Aperture f/1.8, ISO 1600, Focal Length 50 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 82mm, Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, handheld.

Week 24, Day 171, October 11, 2009, Art Trail

It's been a great weekend.  We wandered out on the Greater Ithaca Art Trail, and found ourselves in Gary Rith's Studio, the locally famous potter with a huge web presence.

Gary is an excellent host.  If you're in the area next weekend, I highly recommend visiting his studio.  He has great pottery for sale, and gives incredible demonstrations of the creation of his work.

Here our children with their significant others display some of their great newly acquired pottery.  (Aren't they all beautiful?)

Another place that we visited is Nancy Boyce at the Thou Art Gallery in Groton, NY.  If you like bright colorful functional art, this is the place for you.  There's great wall switches, bowls, jewelry, and many other pieces of work.  In addition to her own work, Nancy also sells items from many other artist.  All of it is interesting, and you'll see new things every time you return.  I could spend hours there just looking at all the wonderful pieces of work.

Both of these artist have been great at encouraging me to pursue my interests in photograph.  They are great artist and great people.  Thank you Nancy and Gary for all your help.

Lessons Learned:

• Your own children make beautiful models.  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/80 sec, Aperture f/4, ISO 1600, Focal Length 22 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 35mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, handheld.

Week 13, Day 91, July 30, 2009 "Gary Rith at the Cornell Pot Shop" Winner of Week 13 Online Viewer Poll

I was very honored to be invited by The Gary Rith of the Gary Rith Pottery Blog to the Cornell Pot Shop. Gary demonstrated many aspects of his work. He made a pitcher, glazed some cups and piggy banks, loaded the kiln, and assembled a tea pot.

I'm amazed at all of the details, and all the techniques that he uses in his work. It seems that many forms of art require both the technical skills to complete the tasks as well as the artist touch for the beauty, and appeal. Gary processes these features with an incredible ability to teach others, and an excellent sense of hospitality and humor.

Thank you Gary for allowing me to photograph, watch, and listen, and learn more about the tip of the iceberg of your craft.

Lessons Learned:

• Many of today's lesson dealt with the seeing similarities between different art forms. To do it well, there is a depth that seems to come from both a vision, an ability, and a lot of work and experience in learning the craft.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/100 sec, Aperture f/4.0, ISO 800, Focal Length 19 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 31mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held.

This photo was the winner of the online viewer poll for week 13.