These players were performing at the large Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in New Milford, Ct.
Taken with a Pentax ZX-L, SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 and Tri-X 400.
Warming Up
Cigar Store Indian
This wooden figure stands outside Smalley’s Inn in Carmel, NY.
According to Wikipedia:
The cigar store Indian or wooden Indian is an advertisement figure, in the likeness of a Native American, used to represent tobacconists. The figures are often three-dimensional wooden sculptures several feet tall – up to life-sized. They are still occasionally used for their original advertising purpose, but are more often seen as decorations or advertising collectibles, with some pieces selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. People within the Native American community often view such likenesses as a caricature or as depictions that perpetuate stereotypes, drawing an analogy to the African-American lawn jockey.
Because of the general illiteracy of the populace, early store owners used descriptive emblems or figures to advertise their shops’ wares; for example, barber poles advertise barber shops, show globes advertised apothecaries and the three gold balls represent pawn shops. American Indians and tobacco had always been associated because American Indians introduced tobacco to Europeans, and the depiction of native people on smoke-shop signs was almost inevitable. As early as the 17th century, European tobacconists used figures of American Indians to advertise their shops.
Because European carvers had never seen a Native American, these early cigar-store “Indians” looked more like black slaves with feathered headdresses and other fanciful, exotic features. These carvings were called “Black Boys” or “Virginians” in the trade. Eventually, the European cigar-store figure began to take on a more “authentic” yet highly stylized native visage, and by the time the smoke-shop figure arrived in the Americas in the late 18th century, it had become thoroughly “Indian.”
Taken with a Pentax ZX-L, SMC Pentax-F 35-70mm f3.5-4.5 and Tri-X 400.
A walk around Cold Spring, NY – At The Depot
I’d been walking around for about three hours. It was a hot day and I was tired, hungry and thirsty so I decided to stop at one of our favorite hangouts (because they allow dogs in the outside area) for some refreshment.
The Depot was a Hudson River line station from 1893 to 1954. After spending 18 years as a car dealership, the Restaurant opened in 1972 and has been there ever since. Nowadays The old train station at the bottom of Main Street has two fireplaces for cozy indoor dining, a large outdoor garden area for drinks, dinner, or parties. It also has a large, inviting bar. Oh, and it’s also haunted:
According to legend, on Wednesday nights, the main dining room has one extra guest, who did not make a reservation. In 1898, a local woman learned that her husband planned to kill her. The unfortunate lady rushed to the train depot to catch the 10:15 train to Poughkeepsie, but was apprehended by her husband, who stabbed her on a bench in the waiting room two minutes before the train’s arrival. Today, the former waiting room serves as the restaurant’s main dining room and locals claim that at 10:13 on Wednesday nights, a cold draft wafts through the section of the room where she was killed. (USA Today)
Here three of the servers take a short, and well deserved break.
As an aside: when I bought this rather inexpensive lens the reviews said that it was not very sharp, especially at the long end. I can’t afford and have never tried Canon ‘L’ lenses so I wouldn’t know how this lens compares to them. But at 105mm you can easily make out individual hairs in this picture, so I’m more than satisfied.
Taken with a Canon 5D and Canon EF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM.
A walk around Cold Spring, NY – A couple of interesting buildings
Above the Old Homestead Club, formerly the site of a “gentleman’s club” now renovated and occupied by the Putnam County News & Recorder
Below the Old Veterans of Foreign Wars building.
Taken with a Canon 5D and Canon EF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM.
A walk around Cold Spring, NY – First Baptist Church of Cold Spring
According to Wikipedia:
The Church on the Hill is located just outside that village on Main Street (NY 301) in Nelsonville, New York, United States. It is the oldest church in the town of Philipstown, which includes both villages, and has been in use continually since its 1831 construction. Its white steeple, at the rise on the line between the villages, is a Nelsonville landmark. The parsonage located on Parsonage Street in Cold Spring is also owned by the church and on the National Historic Registry.
It is also the only frame church of any note within the Hudson Highlands. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and is situated next to Gothic Italianate home at 6 Parsonage Street.
Building
The church is a frame clapboard structure on a stone foundation. The projecting entrance bay frames the doorway with corner pilasters and a plain entablature. The doorway itself is also pilastered, with bracketed capitals and a modillioned cornice.
From this rises a tall pendented steeple, atop an octagonal cupola whose arched openings are filled with louvered panels. The roof is gabled with returns; the projecting eaves are likewise bracketed. All sides have rounded stained-glass windows and corner pilasters.
A later addition, on the rear, has a lower but similar roof and dentilled cornice. Two other additions are of similarly sympathetic styling.
History
The congregation was formed in 1799; it met in members’ homes until 1831, when it had grown big enough to afford a church of its own. Samuel and Mary Gouverneur, owners of a large estate that became much of present-day Nelsonville, donated the land in 1831. A man named Davenport (first name unknown) designed the church; William Bowne built it for $825 ($18.4 thousand in 2008 dollars).
It has been added on to several times since and partially rebuilt once. In 1854 the steeple and rear lecture hall were added. A baptistry was carved out of the interior 20 years later. Finally, a 1962 addition to the rear added classrooms, a kitchen and dining room. The interior was damaged by a fire in 1978; it was restored and reopened two years later.
In recent years, the church has left the American Baptists and reorganized as “A non-denominational Christian Community,” with the official mantle of “Church on the Hill” in place of “The Cold Spring Baptist Church.” The church’s pastors are Rev. Tim and Rev. Beth Greco. Pastor Beth Greco is also the CEO of the Hoving Home in Garrison NY, Oxford NJ, Pasadena CA and Las Vegas NV. Pastor Tim also serves as media leassion for the home. The Church is a Bible believing, Jesus loving, sin hating, devil chasing, Holy Spirit filled, water baptizing, congregation.
Taken with a Canon 5D and Canon EF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM.