Early December 2009

Walpack Bridge

It's been a long time since I updated this blog, but a lot of things have contributed to the delay - mostly falling under the heading of "getting old isn't for sissies".

In August, Linda and I took a three-day trip over to Stowe, Vt. We had a lot of fun taking the gondola to the top of Mount Mansfield, tasting wine, touring the Ben & Jerry factory, photographing the Round Church, visiting the Ethan Allen Homestead and Shelburne Farms. But the highlight had to be sighting a moose as we were driving north on Rt. 100 between Waterbury and Stowe. Linda has some pictures on her Flickr site.

September was devoted to preparing for my trip to Vancouver (for the Fellow Committee) and Houston (for the IAS Annual Meeting). I was invited to join the Fellow staff and Committee leadership for dinner on Thursday evening, so I made my reservations to arrive early in the day. I had a good combination of flights even through I had to leave Albany at 6am. The problem started Friday morning when I noticed that I had lost vision in my right eye. I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Fraterigo for the following Thursday afternoon at which he diagnosed the problem as a detached retina. He got an appointment with Dr. Mayron, the retina specialist, for the following morning. After a thorough examination, Dr. Mayron concluded that the answer was surgery - a scleral buckle vitrectomy - and made arrangements to have that done the following Monday afternoon.

It turned out that the best hypothesis for a cause for the detachment was the cold that I caught in California in July - I was coughing pretty viciously for several weeks, and shortly before our trip to Vermont, I noted an abnormal number of 'floaters' in my eye.

Linda and I had plans to go to New York that Saturday, and since there was nothing that we could do to prepare for the surgery, we went ahead with that trip. It was fun - we did a Chelsea gallery walk and also went shopping.

The surgery took about two hours and was done with minimal sedation. As a result, I was partly aware of what was happening. Not fun! The surgery consists of stitching a plastic band to the outside of the eye, removing the vitreous fluid from the eye and replacing it with a saline solution, using a cryogenic tool to repair the opening in the eye, and then injecting a gas into the eye to form a bubble. Then, I had to remain horizontal and face down for a week while the pneumatic pressure of the bubble forced the retina against the back of the eye. The surgery was very uncomfortable, and the recovery period required a lot of Tylenol to manage the pain.

There were several followup visits during the week, and then the following Tuesday, Dr. Mayron reported that the retina was reattaching and that he could proceed to 'spot weld' it in place using a laser. That was not too bad but there were a few instances where the laser did 'bite' a bit. That process was again repeated the following Tuesday.

Several weeks later, Dr. Mayron concluded that I needed to take the next step, and booked me for another procedure with Dr. Fraterigo - a YAG capsulotomy to address cloudiness in the pouch containing the interocular implant, sometimes called a 'secondary cataract'. That was a five-minute process and was totally painless.

At this point, I am not experiencing any significant discomfort, but I haven't regained much vision. I can see some lights, and can distinguish shapes. Hopefully, according to the material I have found on the internet, vision should gradually come back over several months - perhaps as much as a year - after which I will probably need a corrective lens to compensate for the fact that the plastic band has distorted the shape of the eye.

I am fairly comfortable driving during daylight, but I don't want to try at night - my vision just isn't clear enough. I can use the computer, watch TV, and can read (although I have to hold the material much closer than before - the cataract in my left eye is getting worse).

[Update: checkup this afternoon with Dr. Mayron concluded that I have a new detachment. More surgery is scheduled for Thursday.]

On the positive side, we were fortunate that a couple of Dave's friends decided to have their wedding in Virginia. That meant that he had a reason to plan a trip to the East Coast and was able to be with us on Labor Day.

The picture this time is from my stay at Peters Valley last year. Walpack Center is one of my favorite place in the Valley, and the bridge is especially nice early in the morning with deep fog. This was about 6:30am. This print is currently on display at the Saratoga County Arts Council as part of the Winter Solstice Show.

California, 2009

Blue Bottle

Linda and I had a fabulous time in California this year.
We had three very nice days with Dave. We did a wine tasting at Testarossa, photographed at Fort Point, toured the California Academy of Science, drank expresso at Blue Bottle Coffee, and even went to a 4th of July picnic at the home of his friends Kostados and Natasha. He took us to a Japanese Yakatori restaurant in Los Altos, and fabulous sandwich shop, back to a familiar Thai place in Mountain View, and to a very interesting Mediterranean place.

We also spend three wonderful days on the Monterey Peninsula. After roaming around Santa Cruz, we drove into Monterey where we watched (and heard - they are really noisy0 sea lions at the Monterey Fish Pier. After lunch, we walked around Cannery Row for a while, then visited the Point Pinos Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse on the west cost, and then concluded the day at the Presidio Chapel. That evening, we had dinner at Phil's Seafood, a famous eatery in Moss Landing that Bobby Flay challenged to a 'throwdown' and then lost when the judges determined that Phil's cioppino was better than Bobby's. I have never tried Bobby's, but I can attest that Phil's is pretty good! We started Tuesday photographing at Point Lobos State Reserve, then moved on to downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. We visited a number of galleries, then drove out to Carmel Valley for a tasting at Heller Winery, and then finished the day photographing the Carmel Mission. On Wednesday, we started the day at Colton Hall in Monterey, then proceded to the John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas. We detoured through Carmel to see the Ansel Adams portraiture show at the Center for Photographic Art before heading back to San Jose.

The only downer was that I came back with a cold. Linda says it was the chill at Fort Point. I think a better explanation was the crazy air conditioning at the Holiday Inn Express in San Jose. Regardless of the actual cause, it was miserable!

Here's a picture that Linda took of me setting up a photograph at China Cove at Point Lobos.

Summer is almost here

Gate, Chateau St. Jean

Summer is almost here. I'm having to mow the lawn every 5-6 days now. We have been fortunate that we've gotten enough rain to keep it from drying out completely, but there have been times when that was a close call. It's supposed to start raining in another few hours and may rain most of the day tomorrow.

Calgary was a good trip. Many of the usual attendees were not there (economy and the flu), but still a reasonably good conference thanks mainly to participation from local folks. Canadians do throw a good party.

Linda has another week or so of school, and then she will be out for the summer. Two weeks ago we drove out to Cooperstown for the day. It was fun photographing at the Farmer's Museum. Hopefully, we will be able to squeeze in some more short trips before she has to go back in September.

We started trapping chipmunks on Saturday. So far, we have five of the little guys, and one gray squirrel. I think the population is still down thanks to the major reduction we did two years ago. I've sealed off the obvious openings into the house, but we still have something scratching around in the walls/ceiling.

This image is from our trip to Napa/Sonoma last July. We got to Chateau St. Jean before the tasting room was open, so we wandered around in the garden for a while.

Cape Cod, 2009

Dorset Quarry

Linda and I had a wonderful week on Cape Cod. The weather was generally quite nice - we had one very rainy day, but the rest of the week was sunny, cool and a bit windy. But what else would you expect in mid-April.

We did our usual things - shopping in Chatham, strolling and shopping in Provincetown, galleries wherever we coudl find something open, fabulous food, etc. I was able to make a number of pictures that should be good when I get some darkroom time.

We made a point of going back to the Brewster Mill several times to see if the herring were running. One man told me that he had seen one fish in the fish ladder, but there wasn't enough traffic yet to attract the sea gulls. A couple of State Troopers walked through while we were there, and mentioned at the alewives were running at another spawning area near Mashpee, so I assume that by now the action has begun.

As I was processing film, I noticed a leak in the plumbing under the sink in the darkroom. That lead to a major project to rebuild the drain. The good news is that it now has a new, professional 'laundry tray' drain system. The bad news is that it took four trips to Allerdice to get all of the fittings necessary to make up the inlet and outlet plumbing.

Panel of Editors was also worthwhile, but once again mainly for the informal conversations about immediate concerns. The formal program for the most part focuses on strategic issues that really aren't of interest to EiCs.

The announcement came out yesterday that the 2009 Fellows Committee meeting will be in Vancouver the weekend before the IAS Annual Meeting in Houston. Getting from Maui to Edmonton last year was a piece of cake compared with what is involved in getting from Vancouver to Houston. I don't mind Vancouver - I just don't like Houston.

This is the quarry in Dorset, VT - the oldest marble quarry in the US. Long abandoned, it now serves as the town swimming hole. The place is mobbed in the summer. This negative was made in October when it was too cool to be swimming - also during the week when the kids should have been in school.

Early March

The Shellfish Lab

It's been a wicked winter - colder and snowier than usual. That has caused me to stay inside more than usual, and at this point, I'm ready to be out and about!

The snow is melting from the front lawn leaving evidence that the voles have been active this winter. Hopefully, that can be quickly corrected once the grass starts growing.

There is also a lot of winter debris that needs to be cleaned up. This morning I noticed some large sheets of plastic foam that I bundled up and put in the trash.

Linda and I looked very closely at a tour of England and Scotland, but then realized that there was only one time during the summer that she could fit it into her calendar, and that conflicted directly with my activities in planning the 2010 issues of the Magazine. So we have put that plan on hold until next year - by then, my replacement on the Magazine should be known and will be doing the 2011 planning, and Linda might even have retired, giving us even more options to work with.

So at this point, we have plans to go to Cape Cod in April, and to California in July. I want to do some day trips - Cooperstown and Utica - that Linda may not want to do, but I can fit those in before school ends. We will certainly do some things over the summer.

During Linda's February vacation we did a day trip to Williamstown. Really enjoyed the Clark again. Lunch at Water Street Cafe was ok - there must be a better place in Williamstown.

I'm scheduled to be in Atlanta in two weeks for the POE meeting. Also have to plan a trip to Cagary for I&CPS in early May - need to take care of that after returning from Atlanta.

This picture is from our 2007 trip to the Cape - the Shellfish Lab on the pier at Wynchmere Harbor in Harwichport. Nice place to visit - but it was nicer when Thompson's Clam Bar was still open.

It's cold - brrr!

No Parking

It's a new year! Linda and I had a delightful time at First Night. It was cold, and I think that kept the crowd down, but we bundled up, walked a bit faster, and still enjoyed it! Dinner at al Forno, then Hair of the Dog, Adirondack Baroque Consort, Parnas Sisters, Matt McCabe, Happy Balky, and ending the evening with the McKrells. We agreed that the McKrell's aren't as good as they used to be. Part of that may be the selection of music, but part of it also is that they are a smaller group now. Hair of the Dog was good, but the church was not the best setting for them. Our favorites were the Parnas Sisters and Happy Balky.

Over the holidays we made a couple of day trips - once to Great Barrington (fabulous luncheon at Napa), and once to Manchester. Linda and invited Steve Davidson to bring his kids over to sled on the hill, and decided that to have a party for our neighborhood on top of that would be too much. Unfortunately, Steve didn't get the e-mail until school resumed. She called Mugsie about getting together, but they were in the process of leaving for Florida. Perhaps when they get back - - - Last Friday she took her car in for its annual inspection. Only they didn't have any stickers. Of course, they found a couple of things (not safety related) that needed to be done, so she took it back last night and will pick it up this afternoon. Don't know what she has planned for the weekend - I have to get a haircut in the morning.

These images resulted from our visit to Shelburne Falls back in July. The first was down Baker Street toward the town parking lot. There's a lot going on here. The Kentmere Warmtone added a nice touch.

Baker Avenue
The second image, was the one that I was making when Robin Logan stopped to introduce herself.

My print of the Battenville Barn hung at the Arts Center during the December "Winter Solstice" show. It didn't seem to me that they had as much work this year, and they weren't using that horrible back hall. So my piece got a better showing than I expected. No buyers, of course.

Early November

Blacksmith's Barn

I've been running a little behind here. The trip to Maui for the Fellows Committee went well - every flight was full, but had an on-time departure and early arrival. Maui itself was OK - unfortunately, all I was able to see was the resort hotel and the airport, so I really can't tell what the island has to offer, if anything. Edmonton was OK - cold and wet the day I arrived, and cool and nice the rest of the week. The meetings all went very well. I've been trying to keep up with the leaves this Fall. So far, so good. This morning I blew the leaves on the front lawn, and then mowed everything. So by 1pm the lawn was almost completely clear of leaves. Not so any more - but the accumulation appears to be in the front more than in the back. I don't expect to have to mow again, but I may have to blow the leaves one more time. Need to get the porch furniture stored and install the driveway reflectors in preparation for winter.

The last few weeks have been hectic with Linda needing to go over to Albany at least once per week. Hopefully, that is over for a while. I have to get an entry ready for the Winter Solstice show at SCAC - I think it will be the Battenville Barn. Also need to do some photography - I've been so tied up with other things that photography has suffered. And of course, next week I have my 'adventure with fiber optics' again.

The lead-in image here is the old Blacksmith's Barn at Peters Valley. I exposed the negative about 6:15am, and when I first visualized the image the moon was in the sky over the trees behind the barn. But it was amazing how fast the moon fell - by the time I got the camera set up, the moon was entirely behind the trees.

The image itself required some manipulation. The background shadows were pretty deep, so I used the dye dodging technique to open those shadows and also hold back the curved roadway leading to Congelton and the Ceramics Studio. Both of the images shown here were made on Kentmere, which is a neutral-cold paper. For the Battenville Barn, I simply toned the print in selenium. For for the Blacksmith's Barn, gave it a brief immersion in sulfide toner followed by prolonged toning in selenium. That's an interesting technique - something that I first saw in some prints by Roman Lorenc in a gallery in Carmel last year. I think it is capable of more than I am current accomplishing with it.

In looking at these two images together, I note that I seem to have a thing about barns, and also about including foreground in front of the subject. Hmm.