Lunch in Manhattan

October 25, 2021 by Howard Dale Posted in Black & White, People, Street Leave a comment

Lunch with Shannon at P.J. Clarkes in Manhattan. “P. J. Clarke’s is a saloon, established 1884. It occupies a building located at 915 Third Avenue on the northeast corner of East 55th Street in Manhattan. It has a second location at 44 West 63rd Street on the southeast corner of Columbus Avenue…The bar was once owned by a Patrick J. Clarke, an Irish immigrant who was hired in the early 1900s by a Mr. Duneen who ran the saloon. After about ten years working for him Clarke bought the bar and changed the name. The building is a holdout and is surrounded by 919 Third Avenue, a 47-story skyscraper…The building was originally a four-story structure. It lost the top two floors when the skyscraper went up in the late 1960s. On the second floor there is now a separate upstairs bar/restaurant called Sidecar, which offers a more formal dining experience.”

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 18mm f2 R

A blue flower

October 25, 2021 by Howard Dale Posted in Flowers, Nature Leave a comment

I came across this delicate blue flower growing on top of a stone gatepost belonging to one of my neighbors. I also liked the rusty old metal gate in the second picture.

Taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

Goodbye my friend

October 25, 2021 by Howard Dale Posted in Black & White, People, Vehicles Leave a comment

I was sad to learn recently that my friend, Paul Savior had passed away.

I’ve posted pictures of him, his house and garden and even helped him do a photobook of old pictures for his children (See: Paul’s house; My friend Paul; One of Paul’s cats; and Paul and Family.

A recent communication from the Roaring Brook Lake Garden Club described him as follows: “We wanted to share with you the very sad news that longtime Garden Club member Paul Savior passed away on Friday. Paul had just celebrated his 90th birthday on August 16. He is survived by daughters Valerie and Allison. His daughters said the Garden Club meant a lot to him. Paul had an acting career that spanned over six decades, with roles in shows like Kojak, Mannix, General Hospital, and The Young and The Restless. And of course, starring roles at Tompkins Corner and Garrison Depot Theatre.

I have many memories of Paul, but a couple stand out. The first is of a one man show that he performed at the Tompkins Corners Cultural Center. The show consisted of readings from Edgar Allan Poe, one of Paul’s favorite authors. I don’t think I’d realized just how good a performer he was until I saw this. The second is of him driving around the lake in his midnight blue, convertible Jaguar, which seemed to fit his personality so perfectly.

RIP Paul. I’ll miss you.

Photos taken with a Sony RX-100 M1.

A Mantis

October 25, 2021 by Howard Dale Posted in Around the Neighborhood, Wildlife & Animals Leave a comment

I was sitting outside on the balcony reading and enjoying the sunny day when I felt something fairly heavy fall onto my shoulder. Thinking it was a twig or something that had fallen from a nearby tree I got up to see what it was. I was surprised to find a large (3-4 inch long) praying mantis standing on my shoulder. As I stood up it jumped/flew off and landed on the arm of my chair. I quickly grabbed the nearest camera and took a few shots before it flew off the balcony and landed on a bush underneath. Thinking I might want to get some closer shots I picked up another camera with a macro lens and followed it down. It hung around for a while letting me take pictures. I even managed to see it catch and eat something (unfortunately it was deep inside the bush at the time and I couldn’t get the camera in without disturbing it). Fascinating creature. The way the head follows you as you move around is a little disturbing. Eventually it advanced towards me waving its large forelegs so I decided to leave it alone and beat a hasty retreat.

First taken with a Fuji X-E3 and Fuji XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 R LM OIS. Remainder with a Sony A77II and Minolta 50mm f2.8 Macro lens

And now for something completely different – At least for me.

October 25, 2021 by Howard Dale Posted in Abstracts, Around the Neighborhood, Landscapes, Woodland Leave a comment

Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) is a technique where you deliberately move the camera during exposure. I’ve tried it a couple of times in the past and didn’t much like the results. During one of my recent woodland walks I decided to try it again. I quite like some of these.