Reading in the Park

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This was taken during one of my periodic walks around New York City. I came across this woman reading in a small park (I don’t remember which park it was nor do I remember exactly where it was) somewhere on the east side of Manhattan. I do recall that she was completely immersed in her reading and seemed oblivious to anything going on around her. Must have been a good book! She also seemed to be completely comfortable in what seems to me to be a fairly uncomfortable pose. I know I would be uncomfortable, but each to his/her own.

NY Air Show – Mike Wiskus and the Lucas Oil Pitts

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In the photograph above the poles are being carried by four NY County Executives. If something had gone wrong the Executive Heads of these counties would have been wiped out. Hmmmmm.

The Lucas Oil Air Shows site describes Mike Wiskus as follows:

Like many of the show pilots, Mike’s passion for aviation started when he was very young. Mike’s Dad took him to his first air show at their hometown in Iowa at the age of 10. That show made an everlasting impression so deep that at 14, Mike rode his bike to the airport for two weeks straight and bugged the owner for a job washing airplanes and cleaning hangars just to be around airplanes. In school, Mike had a teacher tell him he would never be a pilot. His grades weren’t great and he got into trouble. Later that year a tutor gave him the book The Little Engine that Could, by Watty Piper. It changed his attitude and it helped Mike believe in himself. He traded his work of washing airplanes for flying lessons and received his Pilot’s License on his 17th birthday.

Thirty eight years later, Mike has accumulated more than 24,000 flight hours and has qualified in more than 40 aircraft. He keeps a very busy schedule flying for Corporate America as well as keeping a full time air show schedule flying the Lucas Oil stunt plane April through November. “It is incredible to be part of the Lucas Oil Team. Their products as well as their integrity make what I do even more rewarding.”

It wasn’t easy getting where he is today, and as Mike would attest, he fought battles every day. Things didn’t always turn out the way he planned, but with each year he believes that one of the biggest impacts in his life and the lives around him was his attitude.

With everything he has experienced as a Pilot, Businessman, Husband and Father, Mike still admits to making mistakes every day. But he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to pass on the same gift of encouragement and attitude that had been given to him by his Parents, Grandparents, 2nd Grade Tutor and all who believe in him and the dreams he still chases. That is why Mike started the “I Can” program in conjunction with his air show.

Mike’s air show career is a testimony of how dreams really can come true. As a 2002 U.S. National Aerobatic Champion, and a member of the 2004 U.S. Aerobatic Team, Mike has traveled the World with the same aircraft you will see him performing in at your air show. His excitement for aviation and willingness to share his experience with people around the country is nothing short of contagious in his attempt to help encourage kids of all ages, to not only dream, but to live their dreams and never give up!

The aircraft is a Pitts S-1-11b. For more information on the Pitts Special line of aircraft see here.

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The Audience Will Come

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The Audience Will Come from Doc League on Vimeo.

I just came across this documentary about Tod Papageorge. I’d heard the name before, and had seen some of his photographs, but I didn’t really know much about him. I really enjoyed the video (it’s largely him speaking to an unseen/unheard interviewer).

A couple of scenes caught my attention:

About 17 minutes in he tells a charming story about his encounter with a dapper man, who turns out to be French, in Central Park. He attempts to strike up a conversation and through a little trickery eventually manages to do so. Towards the end of the conversation he says (in French) to the man: “Because of you I’m a photographer”. It was Henri Cartier-Bresson who Papageorge clearly admires saying “But Cartier-Bresson was one of the supreme beings. A totally realized human being. He was beyond most people in his capabilities. So that’s the level he was operating at I believe.”

Papageorge says this right at the end of the documentary:

None of my pictures are in any sense about the viewer. I never think about the viewer. I don’t care about the viewer. I’m really only interested in myself exploring the process of making what I consider to be a challenging, complex or simply interesting photograph. There’s never an audience – never an audience, which may be why, one reason why my career was in the shadows for a couple of decades. Because I never had that concern. I know you don’t believe me, but its true. The audience will come.

Well said Mr. Papageorge!

The 50 most influential photographers of the past 10 years?

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Source: The 50 Most Influential Photographers of the Past 10 Years.

Without a doubt, photography has helped to shape our experience. It captures our joys, desires, accomplishments just as it does our problems, fears and failures. This list aims to mention many of the photographers affecting the way we see the world we live in—from the isolated forests of a far off land, to fashion models, to your kitchen sink. 

via The 50 Most Influential Photographers of the Past 10 Years | Complex UK.

Interesting list. I’d heard of only 10 or 11 of them – mostly amongst those in the top 20. This shows just how woeful my knowledge of contemporary photography is. I’ll have to do some more research, reading etc. My opinion on this list? I started to write something about my take on contemporary photography, but then realized that this contradicted my earlier comment saying I was not familiar with many of the photographers. I’d better keep my mouth shut until I have a better understanding than I do at the moment.

As final parting shot let me quote Maris at the Analog Photography Users Group (APUG) whose view echoes my own preliminary thoughts (although I’m not sure that I’d go along with the use use of the word ‘indictment’):

I’d suggest the list is an indictment of modern critical and curatorial thought that confuses photographs of great things (installation, tableaux, performance, assemblage, …) with great photographs of things.

Harley Enjoying Fall

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We’ve never let our dogs off-leash in our garden at the lake. Jackson was a bit unpredictable. If he heard a noise, particularly thunder, he’d chase off after it. Soon after we got the house we tried letting him out, but then one day – on an otherwise nice day – there was an almighty crack of thunder, the rain started pouring down and Jackson took off up Lake Shore Road. I chased after him just wearing sandals and got soaked myself. I finally trapped him in a garden about five houses away and we both returned, bedraggled, to the house. After that we always took him out on leash. When we got Harley we continued that practice – until recently. We’ve discovered that Harley is a quite different type of dog. He’s quite self-confident and rather calm. Things don’t bother him much, and he generally goes with the flow. He also likes to sit and observe and he can apparently do this for quite long periods of time. He’s a very ‘cat-like’ dog. So we’ve decided to take a chance on letting him into the garden by himself. Here he is on a lovely fall day in typical pose: sitting in a patch of sunlight and watching the lake.

Taken with a Sony Alpha 500 and Minolta 100-200mm f4.5. You’ve got to love those Minolta colors.