mpls photo

views

2012-02-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

Pictures from the exhibition: A snowy scene

2012-02-07T04:53:00.000-08:00

This view from the 'less-photographed' side of Saltaire's historic church is only really possible in the winter, when the bare branches of the trees allow the detail of the lovely tower to be seen. Light reflected off the snow illuminates this Victorian gem, opened in 1859 and now a Grade 1 listed building.

Had I been able to get out last Sunday (sneezing and sniffles prevented me) this is more or less what you would have seen. We had about this amount of snow, but it has all disappeared again now. Had I been out on Sunday, I might also have tried to get the shot without the railing in the front... one can always improve things with hindsight.

Jim and Betsy said in the comments that they'd like a closer look at the prints in my exhibition, so I've decided I will take the opportunity to show them here. I hope that won't spoil it for anyone who intends to call in at the Half Moon Café but it will neatly get over the fact that I have very few 'new' photos stocked up at present - and little opportunity to get out and take some more. Most, though not all, of them have been on my blog before but some of them were featured quite some time ago.

Porto Moniz natural pool

2012-02-06T10:57:00.000-08:00

Hung!

2012-02-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

So here it is! My first solo exhibition of photographs was hung on Saturday, thanks to help from some good friends. Left to my own devices I would have struggled, as I have been overcome by a very heavy cold and have spent the entire weekend sneezing prodigiously and working my way through not one but two entire boxes of paper tissues! Bleurgh. Never mind, I shall soon bounce back, I'm sure, and will then pop along to the Half Moon Café in Roberts Park for a proper look. It will be interesting to watch and listen to what people have to say.... Thanks so much for all your good wishes.

We had a heavy snowfall on Saturday too, the first of this winter, which didn't exactly help matters. I would have gone out with my camera later but I really didn't feel up to that. The promised sunshine didn't happen so there isn't much sparkle and the snow is melting fast now. On the whole, I think I'm glad it's not staying.

Cabo Girão

2012-02-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Machico valley

2012-02-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

Flying solo

2012-02-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned the community-owned Half Moon Café in Roberts Park before; it was attractively refurbished a couple of years ago. Saltaire Cricket Club, who oversee the running of it, have built it up into quite a successful venture, with the help of a manager and a lot of volunteers. It has limited opening hours during the winter (Wed to Sun: 10am - 4pm) but seems to remain popular... you often see people sitting outside, even when it's quite cold, though it's very pleasant inside too.

For some time now, they have had a regular programme of exhibitions of work by local artists, which provides a point of interest along the long, curved wall inside. I'm pleased to announce that the exhibition during February and March will be some photographs of mine... my first solo exhibition. Sounds really grand, doesn't it? It helps that the organiser of the exhibition space is a good friend, but I do know she wouldn't have asked me if she hadn't thought my work was up to scratch. It's been quite a process trying to decide which photos to display (and due to the nature of the space I had to choose mostly 'portrait format' prints). In the end I decided to use my blog as the theme and to concentrate largely (though not exclusively) on photographs of Saltaire, as I think they will be interesting to most of the folk who drop into the Café. The prints are all prepared and framed - they will be hung this weekend (unless we get snowed in!)

If you live locally, do please drop in and see them and enjoy a coffee and a cake in the Café whilst you're there. All the photos have been shown on my blog at some point in the past, so if you're not local you're only missing the fun, not the pictures!

(This has blown my cover now, hasn't it? But it didn't seem quite right to use 'jennyfreckles', my blog identity, for an exhibition. In the beginning I was ultra cautious about blogging but I don't think I need to worry any more.)

Canhas viewpoint

2012-02-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

Textures

2012-02-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

Final photo in the series from Bingley Five Rise Locks when they were emptied for repair work. Another close study: stone, wood, metal, moss and weed - all provide interesting textures. Don't be fooled by the scale though... these are huge structures! The portion of the gate showing in the top photo is about ten feet (3m) high and the whole gate is something like 23 feet (7m) tall. The men in the photo below were both around 6 feet tall and only just reach the third horizontal beam.

yellow and green (Madalena do Mar)

2012-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

Detail of the lock gates

2012-02-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

It was an interesting climb down through Bingley's Five Rise locks. I was mostly looking out for the best way of capturing the scene as a whole - the height of the walls, the sheer size of the space inside those five lock basins and the steepness of the rise. In some ways you get more sense of the staircase from further away, down the canal, than you do when close up to it (or in it!) Along the way though, I also became enthralled by the textures and shapes. The new wood and metal of the gates was lovely - so solid and beautifully crafted. The moss and (sea?) weed on the stone walls, usually underwater, also provided some interesting colour and texture.

flowers in north coast

2012-02-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

Inside the locks

2012-01-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

It was quite hard to capture, in one photo, a sense of the sheer scale of the Bingley Five Rise locks staircase. This shot, taken from near the bottom looking back up, perhaps comes closest. You can see the 23 foot (7m) high stone walls of the lock chambers and one pair of the huge new lock gates, with beyond that another two pairs. There are four pairs of gates being replaced, out of the six. As part of the project, the stone walls are also being inspected and repaired, using traditional lime mortar to preserve the authenticity of the Grade 1 listed structure.

The new gates were made of solid oak at the Stanley Ferry Workshops in Wakefield, one of only two manufacturers in the UK. There's a photo here of one of the old gates being craned out of the locks; they are being recycled. It's all a massive undertaking, costing around £250,000 and involving the hire of a huge crane. In the old days they simply used ropes, an A frame, blocks and tackles and human strength!

I must compliment those responsible for enabling the public to enjoy this rare insight into our local heritage. Judging by the queues, there were thousands of people as curious as I to see what is normally hidden underwater. (The local press say 7148 people visited over two days.) I was surprised they didn't charge for entry - they could have recouped some of the cost of the project ... but instead there were collecting buckets for the 'Help For Heroes' charity, which aids our armed forces personnel wounded in recent conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan.

Faial church

2012-01-31T06:30:00.000-08:00

Excitement at the Five Rise Locks

2012-01-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's been well publicised, so lots of you knew.... This is the answer to yesterday's puzzle - the crowds flocked to Bingley's famous Five Rise Locks at the weekend to catch a rare sight of the locks drained of water. And not only to look... thanks to some carefully constructed scaffolding, you could actually walk right through the flight, from the top to the bottom. The locks have been drained in order to allow engineers to replace four of the six huge pairs of lock gates, which are made of solid oak but which inevitably over the years start to rot and leak. For further information, please take a look at the article put together by our local paper.

The spectacular staircase of five locks, built by John Longbotham, was completed in 1774, enabling boats to make the 60 foot ascent or descent of this stretch of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. It takes about an hour and a half for a boat to navigate through.

PS I'm still unable to comment on some blogs so if you haven't seen me lately, I'm sorry.

Ribeira Brava buildings

2012-01-30T11:06:00.000-08:00

Multitudes

2012-01-29T23:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a puzzle...... where are these people? And why are they here?

I'll give the answer tomorrow.......

Machico bay

2012-01-29T06:02:00.000-08:00

It's all downhill from here...

2012-01-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

Follow the 'yellow brick road' in yesterday's post far enough and you arrive at a viewpoint, from where you can see a vast panorama up and down the valley. The view down to Saltaire is largely hidden by trees but in the winter they are less dense and I managed to find this glimpse through. You can see Salts Mill in the foreground, with the houses of Baildon above it on the far side of the valley. The little hamlet in between is Baildon Green - see here for a photo I took there.

I took the above with my Nikon and at the moment I only have the kit lens 18-55mm, which can often be frustrating. Compare it with this photo that I took from more or less the same spot in 2010 with my Panasonic, which has a huge telephoto zoom (but a smaller sensor... a case of swings and roundabouts).

São Jorge lighthouse tower

2012-01-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yellow brick road... oh, OK, grey tarmac then...

2012-01-27T23:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I start to feel a little confined, hemmed in on the floor of the Aire valley where I live, work and conduct much of my life. Luckily, it doesn't take long to escape; a brisk up-hill walk on either side of the valley soon sees you crest a ridge and suddenly there's a marvellous view and a great feeling of space and light. The north side of the valley takes you up on to Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor, a large area of which still feels satisfyingly 'wild' and natural (even though it has been shaped by man's activities for centuries). The south side, rather more built up, nevertheless has a wonderful area of open parkland, thanks to a benefactor, Sir Norman Rae, who gifted the land to Shipley Council in 1920 for the benefit of the community. I always enjoy walking through this avenue of trees. Even though I know exactly where it goes, I still get a childish feeling of adventure, following a path that 'disappears' into the distance.

art in agriculture

2012-01-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

Fence post

2012-01-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

Another experiment in processing, this time a photo of a wooden fence post covered in frost. I liked the way the frost had formed circles along the growth rings of the wood ... though I don't know why it had. Close inspection revealed all sorts of subtle colour and texture. Amazing what beauty there is - not far away, just in the local allotments beside Salts Mill.

Faial mountains

2012-01-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

Santa (Porto Moniz)

2012-01-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

Saltaire's historic church

2012-01-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

The same frosty, misty morning as in the previous post supplied this photograph of Saltaire's URC church, from the towpath of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. I know I've posted pictures from roughly this spot before (see here and here ) but I really enjoy seeing familiar places in different lights and weathers. In the winter too, when the trees are bare, you can see much more of the church and fully appreciate its unusual design.

Véu da noiva viewpoint

2012-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

palms in Câmara de Lobos

2012-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

Saltaire mist

2012-01-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

A sharp frost one morning - and a line of black-headed gulls (in their winter plumage) seemed almost frozen to the spot on the riverbank. On the opposite bank you can see the Saltaire Boathouse - originally a Victorian boathouse but now a thriving pub/restaurant. Beyond that, the metal footbridge connects Roberts Park with the village of Saltaire and behind that the bulky shapes of Saltaire's mills rise through the mist.

Machico marina

2012-01-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Taking shape

2012-01-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

Teeth are big business these days. There was an article in the newspaper recently saying how many celebrities, including the Duchess of Cambridge, are having expensive cosmetic treatments on their teeth. And what, perhaps you're asking, has that got to do with a half-finished building in Shipley? Well, this is going to be the headquarters of an orthodontics firm, Ortho-Care (UK) Ltd. You may recall me showing the skeleton of the factory way back in the spring. From this to this to the above, in about eight months. The glazing is in and they are working on the interior now.

The factory has turned out to be much larger than it looked at first - unfortunately for the residents of the cottages behind it. Furthermore its modern, angular design bears little relationship to anything in the surrounding area, and certainly not to the historic, honey stone mill buildings of Saltaire, which are now hidden behind it. The wing that you can't see, at the back, is clad in dark grey metal sheeting. I'm a bit surprised that it got through the planning process - but maybe that shouldn't surprise me really! It is supposed to be a very eco-conscious construction, so perhaps that triumphed over aesthetics.

cultivation of lettuce

2012-01-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

Zigging and zagging

2012-01-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

When it's cold and dull outside, it feels more enticing to stay in playing with photo processing than it does to go out with my camera. This started off as a reflection of some houses/apartments and trees in the canal - 'nowt special', as they say in Yorkshire. (ie: Nothing special!) I took it because I liked the strong zig-zag line and I think this graphic treatment emphasises that. Perhaps it's still nowt special. I quite like it, though I'm sure it could be refined further. It's good to push the boundaries and try something different. I guess this qualifies as a 'Weekend Reflection' - though not my usual kind of entry into the theme day. Do click the link and explore some more of the entries. There are some great photos this week.

Fórum Machico

2012-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

Janescapes

2012-01-19T23:00:00.000-08:00

Painting © Jane Fielder and used with the artist's kind permission.

Isn't great when, even though you might have lived in an area a long time, you still discover something new? That happened to me the other day when I went to Bingley, the next little town up the Aire valley. I'd seen an ad in the local paper about a sale at an art gallery and thought it would be worth investigating. It certainly was! The gallery is owned by an artist called Jane Fielder, who displays her own work and that of other artists. She is currently (until 26 February) staging 'The Under-the-Bed Sale': "a sort of artistic jumble sale, things that artists have stashed away... work that hasn't had chance to be seen before." It was a treasure trove of work of all kinds, and all at really reasonable prices. There were several pieces I would have loved to bring home.... had to make do with some greetings cards, but they're delightful.

I haven't seen Jane's own work before either and was utterly captivated by it. She produces mainly 'quirky urban landscapes depicting Bingley and the surrounding areas in a humorous and original manner, which have become known as Janescapes.' They are charming, colourful and optimistic paintings - and it's fun to identify the local landmarks, recognisable even though they aren't necessarily shown exactly as they appear in reality. I had a quick chat with Jane and she seems exactly the kind of warm, friendly, generous person that her paintings would suggest. She trained initially as a teacher, and later studied art and she says she always dreamt of becoming an artist - a dream finally fully realised when she left teaching in 1999 to concentrate solely on painting. Her love and enthusiasm for her subject shines through. She says, "On a bright day I can look across the never ending rows of terraces with their chimneys casting black shadows, echoed by the vast mill chimneys, highlighted only by rows of billowing washing and bras the size of windows, and think it is the most wonderful place in the world". Well, I might not have been able to put it so eloquently but I totally agree!

The Bingley Gallery Open: Thurs-Fri 12-6; Sat-Sun 10-5 www.thebingleygallery.com
29A Park Road
Bingley
BD16 4BQ

waterfall (São Vicente)

2012-01-19T13:20:00.000-08:00

Aint nothin but a hound dog..

2012-01-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

Another 'looking up' find.... I have puzzled to discover the origins of this dog, perched high up on a building in Bradford's Northgate. I was pretty sure it was a pub sign and I think I've found the answer in 'Bradford's Timeline', which says in 1893 "The Greyhound Inn, Northgate - closed". I imagine this building was the Greyhound Inn and, although the inn closed almost 120 years ago, the faithful dog still sits waiting and watching. What a lot of change he must have seen.

Achadas da Cruz

2012-01-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

Masonic decay

2012-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Bradford is definitely one of those cities where 'looking up' beyond the contemporary or tatty shopfronts is worthwhile. This building on John Street was originally known as Unity Hall, and was leased by Bradford's German community. The stone head is the German poet, Friedrich Von Schiller. Later it became a Masonic Hall and later still was used by The Oddfellows. It is now empty and sadly decaying.

Campanário litoral

2012-01-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yorkshire Penny Bank

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

Although some of Bradford's city centre is looking quite run-down, and well-meaning modernisers in the 70s destroyed some of the lovely old Victorian buildings, many gems survive - none more attractive than the Yorkshire Penny Bank building in North Parade. Built in 1895, it is now a Grade 1 listed building, though it appears currently to be unused, having latterly functioned as a pub and restaurant.

The Yorkshire Penny Bank organisation still exists, although it is now called simply the Yorkshire Bank. It was founded in 1859 by Edward Akroyd, a Halifax mill-owner philanthropist in a similar vein to Sir Titus Salt. He too built housing for his workers around his mills and worked hard as a businessman and MP to improve the lot of ordinary working families. The Yorkshire Penny Bank was also the first school bank. I can remember taking my savings to school and giving them to my teacher, who wrote it all down in my own little bank book.

They say round here: "Where there's muck there's brass." So perhaps it's not surprising that a Yorkshire bank did well.

view to Penha D'Águia from Portela

2012-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

The Co-op

2012-01-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

It's very different from the heavy stone Victorian architecture in Bradford but somehow I've always quite liked this building, Sunwin House, opened in 1936 as The Co-operative Emporium, the flagship store of Bradford's Co-operative Society. It was designed by W A Johnson, the Co-operative Wholesale Society's chief architect, in the 'International Modernist' style. It's a Grade II listed building, owing to its intact survival both inside and out. When the Co-op pulled out in 2004, it briefly became a T J Hughes store. That also closed down recently and now it's another empty building. Let's hope it doesn't deteriorate and that someone else is visionary enough to take it over (John Lewis?? hint, hint...)

Generations of Bradford folk must have memories of the store. I recall in my student days buying my first ever small black and white TV from here, on an interest-free credit deal that I was scrupulous about paying off every month. I felt very grown-up! Lots of children must have been brought here to buy their 'best coats' and shoes and to whisper their hopes to Santa Claus in his grotto at Christmas.

(I'm having problems commenting on some blogs, so if that's yours - sorry! Let's hope Blogger sorts the problem out quickly. I suspect if you change the comments setting to 'pop-up' it might help.)

Ponta Delgada

2012-01-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

Copper Basin 300!!!

2012-01-15T00:17:00.000-08:00

The Hallé

2012-01-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

From 'hole' to 'Hallé'... It may not have lovely shops to entice me, but Bradford does have some excellent museums (including the National Media Museum), galleries, theatres to be proud of and a good concert hall, St George's Hall, designed by Saltaire's architects Lockwood and Mawson. It provides the Yorkshire venue for the world famous Hallé Orchestra, based at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester but who have played regular concerts in Bradford since 1865. And don't they travel in style? This is one of their smart vans, complete with its personalised numberplate - HA10 LLE!

Machico sand beach

2012-01-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

The Hole

2012-01-13T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is the famous 'hole' in Bradford's city centre. It used to be a concrete shopping centre, built in the 70s and functional rather than beautiful. That got pulled down and developers (Westfield) were going to build a smart new centre..... They started digging.... and then the recession came along and all work ceased, leaving this very large and ugly hole. The Council made a big fuss about turfing some of it over to make a 'People's Park' - huh? Which is not so much a park but more an area of ... well, turf really. Who knows whether we will ever see a shopping centre. But for that matter, who wants another one? There are all the usual chain stores further up in the city centre. Though actually there are more 'pound shops' and closed-down shops than decent stores.

Like it or not, most people with the means to do so go shopping in Leeds, which is a much bigger city and much more vibrant, and only 20 minutes away on the train. (A new shopping centre is under construction there.) I'd like to be loyal to Bradford, which was once a great city and could still have lots going for it... But the shopping area is terribly depressing. If a local councillor asked me (and none of them ever have!) I'd say the only thing that would entice me back to shopping in Bradford would be if John Lewis were to open a store here. They have such great shops and the nearest branch is in Sheffield or Manchester, far too far away for me. I shop online with them sometimes but it would be bliss to have a local store. How about it... is anyone listening?

The buildings on the left in this photo are Victorian buildings, part of Bradford's 'Little Germany' area, so-called because they were built by German merchants in the 19th century. You can also see the tower of Bradford Cathedral, a lovely church that at one time was at the heart of the old city. This area housed the slums that prompted Sir Titus Salt to build Saltaire, to remove his workers from the dreadful living conditions of the city in the early 19th century. I would have thought someone could usefully be exploring 'the hole' as an archeological dig whilst it's just empty.

One landscape, many views

2012-01-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

I was in Bradford recently and took the opportunity to reconnoitre the new City Park, which has been under construction for a while, around the lovely old City Hall... it's not yet finished enough for good photos, I decided. (I was wrong - check this out..) However, I did notice this interesting reflection in a nearby building.

Our local newspaper, The Telegraph and Argus, built an extension to its Victorian headquarters some years ago. This large glass-clad wing houses its printing presses. Look carefully and you can see some rolls of newsprint ready to be used. At present it has this huge banner: "Bradford - one landscape, many views" at the top of the window. I thought the reflection was a nice illustration of just that sentiment. The largest reflected building is one of the solid Victorian structures that are scattered about the city and houses the local council's finance department, among other businesses. The buildings to the left are what remains of some developments built in the 60s/70s, some of which have already been demolished(!)

If I can get round to linking it, this will be a 'Weekend Reflections' post... I haven't done one for a while.... (Later)... OK, I'm linked. Click here to get access to everyone else's gorgeous and imaginative reflections themed photos for this weekend.

In search of colour - 10

2012-01-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

Rainbow colours in Salts Mill's 1853 Gallery.

That's the end of the colour series for now... but it taught me the value of going out with my camera and holding some kind of 'theme' in mind. Must try a few more ideas...

In search of colour - 9

2012-01-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

Soft, muted shades... a grey door and pink blossom. I'm not sure if this is a winter-flowering variety or a tree that is severely confused by the recent mild weather. Either way, it's pretty and a pleasant sight on an otherwise grey day.

Link Of The Day

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

2011-12-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day

2011-12-26T01:12:00.000-08:00

ALASKA!!!

2011-12-23T23:56:00.000-08:00

ALASKA BOUND!

2011-11-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Flying into Anchorage on Dec. 19th. Stay tuned!!!

mpls photo

2011-10-20T21:43:00.001-07:00

welcome to my dear friends from all parts of the world

some randoms

2011-10-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

Vince

2011-10-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Isiah

2011-09-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

Raphael

2011-09-28T17:07:00.000-07:00

NYC with more to come

2011-01-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

December evening in VA

2010-12-22T20:52:00.000-08:00

Kitty :)

2010-12-14T08:39:00.000-08:00

From the West to the East

2010-12-12T19:11:00.000-08:00

Fellow photographer Max Otwell posted this on my facebook in response to my image. I thought it was a fun little comparison of photographer and location. Thanks Max!

Max Otwell

Toronto, Canada and Alexandria VA

2010-11-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

New images from a bunch of film I have been shooting lately, I just happen to like these two :)

Leaves and trees and trees and leaves

2010-11-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

A Change of Pace from the quiet nature photos, STEWART RALLY!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Froggie

2010-10-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

Images for the fab fabulous Madelynne Nehl :)

2010-10-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

the fantasy world of fashion

2010-09-29T05:01:00.000-07:00

And this is my favorite – She was beautiful I believe :)

collection of the most eccentric, bizarre funny hats

2010-09-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

A Bulgarian Folk Music Festival

2010-08-31T02:30:00.000-07:00

A few more, for a few more followers please :)

2010-08-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Im somewhere in this country, its all starting to blend together...

2010-08-18T20:39:00.000-07:00

More from The Hudson River...

2010-07-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

2010-07-20T22:55:00.000-07:00

Along the Hudson River.

Arizona-Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, other places...

2010-07-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Look of Death

2010-07-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

Seems like I've been doing a lot of cute kid photo assignments lately, but this one is a genuine moment. Sorry kid, I wouldn't like getting my picture taken 8 am while I'm trying to finish off my pancakes either. I know your mom said yes, but nobody asked you. Very uncool.

Hudson River

2010-07-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

Spent some time on a tugboat in the Hudson River for a project that never saw the light of day.

Group Photo

2010-06-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

Nathan Goldthwaite and Caitlin Tobies line up for a group photo for The Treble Chorus of New England after a long rehearsal at West Parish Church in Andover, MA.

More from my trip up the Tioga pass, in the high country of Yosemite

2010-06-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Tioga Road

2010-06-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

Soap Box Derby

2010-06-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

ANN HERMES/Staff Photo The Eagle-Tribune.
top:
Onlookers cheer as racers pass by during The Pentucket Kiwanis Club's Annual Soap Box Derby on Montvale Street in Haverhill.
bottom:
Colton Smith, 10, of Haverhill, prepares to race in The Pentucket Kiwanis Club's Annual Soap Box Derby in his Ford car.
06/12/10

Back in Yosemite!

2010-06-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

A Story in the Works...

2010-04-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Amateur boxer Roberta Pappas holds her 1 year-old daughter, Aleecia after her first fight back in the ring since a 5 year absence in which she spent three months in the Framingham jail and discovered she was pregnant with her only child. Pappas lost her first fight back to the second ranking amateur boxer in the country, but she plans to keep training with the hopes winning the Golden Gloves and entering the Olympics in 2012. More to come...

After a long blogging hiatus...

2010-04-26T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have been shooting, just not blogging. Currently working at The Eagle-Tribune:
http://www.eagletribune.com/
the paper covers a large area Northwest of Boston all the way up into New Hampshire.
Drop me a line and let me know what you guys are up to and where everyone's working at.
Hope you all are safe, secure and still-a-shootin'.

Good Friday Crucifixion

2010-04-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ann Hermes/Photo The Eagle-Tribune.
Members of The New Life Christian Assembly of God perform a live reenactment of the stations of the cross in honor of Good Friday at GAR Park in Haverhill.
04/02/10

Apparently I love double exposing film

2010-03-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Procession Isabel Marant - Autumn/winter 2010-2011

2010-03-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

Before working out its collection autumn/winter 2010-2011, it would not be astonishing that Isabel Marant occurred in loop the DVD from Grease. With their tails of horse and their broad earrings, its mannequins indeed seem to have wanted to pay homage to semi-sparkling Sandy Olsson, but also to the culture fifties, another heroin of film of Randal Kleiser…

For the next winter, Isabel Marant starts a new creative cycle, where boots studées and winks 80 ' S completely disappeared. With this intention, it invites the fashionista to be melted in the universe of the Fifties (when balls of promotion, cinemas in the open air and American football constituted the sap of the period high school), so as to propose a new icon to him - the actress Olivia Newton-John - who will be able to feed her cloakroom in retro innovations.
It is true that it is enough to evoke the fifties to see at once re-appearing the tempting image of this young girl of good family to the pace in turn ingenuous and teaser. Evolving/moving of the wise twinset pastel to the flamer combination of leather, its character, in perfect adequacy with the girl Isabel Marant, carried in it what to inspire with creative the broad outlines of its future cloakroom bankable…

Thus Freja Beha opened the procession in skinny roulotté on ankle, wind-breaker of biker skimped and escarpins pointed. With the wire of the passages, it is all the universe of the youth of the time which was seen revisited: sporting wind-breaker on skinny, sweat borrowed from the boyfriend football player, pantacourt, leggings 7/8, jacket as a Jean diluted… anything was not forgotten.
However, if Isabel Marant is inspired largely by Sandy Olsson to work out the looks of its models, that does not prevent it therefore from affixing its own key with the whole of its Grease collection. It organizes thus its wind-breakers of student Yankee by working them in duet carbon deer/leather, exchanges the sexy long-line bras of the time for pullovers loose hardly slipped into the belt of trousers capri and attenuates the glitter of a legging by a jacket boyish oversize or a check shirt.

In addition, by voting by plebiscite the duet escarpins indented/length 7/8, it puts forward the sensual dimension of ankle, well too often underestimated…
One will regret nevertheless that Isabel Marant entirely did not make clean slate of the past, by preserving some gimmicks his preceding collections. The shoulder pads in Balmain indeed start to be more than dated, while the military commercial starts of certain parts curl sometimes the inconsistency.
To finish, one notes that the skinny out of leather version biker in Capri will be undoubtedly one of the must cuts next season, without speaking about the small wind-breaker round collar…

Dior procession - Autumn/winter

2010-03-13T03:53:00.000-08:00

In spite to have been the angular stone of the last collection Dior Haute couture, equestrian art continues this season to fascinate John Galliano. However, if the topic remained the same one, the angle of incidence proves somewhat different, allowing to the Master places to affix with its rider one declads attractive, fault of being new…

With this collection (which it entitled “the seduction of the libertine”), the artistic director of Dior once more allows himself to develop the register of stripped the 1900. However, if it takes again the almost intrinsic laces, ribbons and other transparencies today with its style, it associates to them another of its topics of predilection: the wardrobe male of the 18th century. That thus enables him to constitute a cloakroom where the duality of the Dior woman more than was ever explored.
At the same time mischievous and sensual, dominating and delicate, the MUSE of John Galliano is moulted successively as a young stableman in jodhpur, as a courtesan in trench with Basque and suggestive combination, when it does not borrow from Gavroche its declads gouailleuse…
In practice, Galliano multiplies the variations around the leather - which wants to be either ultra boyish then, or thoroughly perforated - as well as creations in muslin draped, embroidered or interlaced wheels and laces, which often reveal a retro linen room.

If the creator had stopped there, the collection would probably have been considered to be disappointing, and this in spite of its extreme esthetism. It would have indeed been easy to regard it as redundant (because too near to the claw of John Galliano) and to show it to plagiarize the seam pâlement…
However, by enamelling its cloakroom of many attractive shoes and some parts of knittings impressed of languorous softness, Galliano makes it possible Dior to maintain the desire and to continue to fall under modernity.
Bathing in camaieux mahogany tree/caramel/tobacco/hazel nut, long the cuissardes semi-leather semi-deer, the low boots with the riding support and the back finely laced, the ankle boots equipped with a sheath taking again the principle of the gaiter or the boots needles more skinny that one second skin are as many models mixing with audacity spirit, tradition and seduction.

One notes in addition that the passion from which currently knitting profits seems to have found here an expression new and refined (but nevertheless cosy), in the shape of a full waistcoat ivory laced of broad turquoise ribbons which is likely to strongly mark the spirits.
Lastly, it seems that the twisted gaiters threaded on a pair of stiletto heels could well quickly make school on the Parisian paving stones…

Chloé procession - Autumn/winter 2010-2011

2010-03-13T03:39:00.000-08:00

One owes in Hannah Mac Gibbon the emergence of the camel as “a it” color, as well as the massive passion from which currently the 70 profit ' S. But, instead of trying to preserve his statute of leader by proposing an alternative to his own tendencies, the continuous DA of Chloé to embroider around his topics of predilection. With the risk to melt itself in the mass…

If it is inspired officially by the wardrobe male, the collection Chloé autumn/winter 2010-2011 seems nevertheless to expensive celebrate the American sportswear with Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. Hannah MacGibbon indeed delivers in vain some overcoats oversize and to fit some of its mannequins of polished moccasins, it is an young woman coming straight from the seventies which allured the assistance.
In trousers cuts high and blouse of satin or out of leather cognac and lavalli2ere caramel with butter, this young lady with the inflated blow-dry is registered in the middle of this néo minimalism where the codes seventies are used as a basis for a modest pace lately hype.
Thus, as in Marc Jacobs, Prada and Celine, the Chloé woman enjoys to marry elegance casual time, when Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein set up the sportswear in art of living.

With this intention, it adopts wind-breaker round collar, under-sweater in jersey, trousers flare and skirt with the knees. She also testifies to a total confidence towards camaieux of beige, rusts, ginger or copper, which plunged the public within an autumnal suave and desirable softness.
This softness was accentuated when Hannah MacGibbon called upon the one of the crushs moment, while declining some of its parts in knitting mode. It is discovered whereas, under its news less sport declads than smart, the bottom of wool jogging could make well capsize the heart of the girls…
Thereafter, the compositions of colors and matters proposed seemed exaucer the wishes stylistics of number of fashionistas present this day. Parka darkens Prince de Galles on flexible mesh like pink old overcoat on trousers camel and lines as a rough Jean proved indeed directly consumable…

Yes but here is, the camel being since one moment already considered as the color, this collection has all the chances not to be also attractive more in July, when it leaves finally in shop. It is a risk to consider when one chooses to compose a cloakroom in perfect osmosis with the air of time, without him to inject innovative twist…
Hannah MacGibbon however tried well to launch new tracks by associating some details cow-boy to his parts 70 ' S. Malheureusement, fringes and cuttings rodeo do not manage to make fly. Too much foreseeable?
By consolidating the modeuses ones in a tendency of which they control the codes better and better, the major part of this cloakroom is likely to unchain passions. Let us hope just that for the next summer, Hannah MacGibbon will be able to prove to us that the Chloé woman can exist beyond the seventies…

2010-03-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

2010-03-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

amazing Weird fashion

2010-02-28T04:53:00.000-08:00

Finally a bra that lifts and repels bullets

Another pink brick in the wall ?

Oh Christmas tree! This must be the worst case of seasonal affective disorder..ever

Cousin's It Psychedelic Sister. Such things happen if the Addam's Family went to Woodstock

The egg mata lembu isn't helping eh! Roll out of bed, forget to comb your hair, and you've got bed-head. Put a roll on your head, and you've got bread-head - - giving meaning to "loafing it."

Even the devil wouldn't wear this prada darling

Two hearts beat as one bad outfit

This is a wedding gown.Tolonglah! Listen here..How many times have you left the bathroom fearing that you're being followed by an entire roll of toilet paper?

Who needs to send a bouquet now ? Call Far East Flora for further details

Tupperware party anyone ? My place or yours ?

Talk about your stacked decks! You can have a lot of heart, and still no soul.

One or two is ok....but this ?Just where did the phrase "Cute as a Button" come from? It certainly doesn't apply here. Next time you want to send a message, try Federal Express.

Did this woman swallow a life preserver? I always hate when women ask, "Does this make my butt look bigger," but the answer if you're wearing this is, "Yes!"

Apa ni bang ?I don't know how you get that much fur on your body without the aid of modern science. It couldn't be a coat, could it?

What can i say ?What tube tops did for women (and that's not much) this confection might one day do for men.

Some people have gifted minds … others look like they're wearing a birthday present on their head. This is something that should be re-gifted.And yes,if i was wearing that too..i would be giving the same tongue out look

A gush of wind made Marilyn Monroe's dress flutter. This outfit needs no help to defy Newton's Law - - and that's a law fashion police like myself take very seriously. Yes girl, i would shoot myself too

Remember once upon a time..we all had that huge stupid fan our parents would decorate our livingrooms with..together with the huge wooden fork and spoon on the side....i rest my case

Just because Odysseus had a bad experience with a cyclops doesn't mean others won't find a one-eyed wonder attractive. Here's almost looking at you, kid.

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi! Fashion has turned to the Dark Side and this poor thing has turned to a certain Sith Lord. The Force is clearly not with her.

I can't stress the importance of not recycling enough, if it means wearing used wrappers. If you look like garbage, that's because it's what you're wearing.

Weird fashion

2010-02-28T04:49:00.000-08:00

Here is some of the weird fashion

autumn/winter

2010-02-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Black with neon

Between these two tendencies, the heart of the creators balances, so much so that some chose to begin their show with a succession of total looks liquorices, to finish by parts ultra bright. In other words, little manages to make a choice between the smart austerity of rigour and a vitaminized pallet carrying optimism. Blow, the extremes cohabit…

It carries the world on its shoulders…

So on the podiums the emanations 80/90' S tend to grow blurred, one of the strong points of the time remains more than ever of topicality: look of Stéphanie of Monaco in “Hurricane”. Indeed, the marked breadths are legion and seem to want to impose itself as a new aesthetic standard.
A thing is nevertheless certain: the fashion helps to feel stronger. Consequently, that it is out of cocktail dress version “the last of the Samurais”, into bikeuse SM or poncho army, all is good to seize the power on the sinistrose diffused 24:00 /24 on TF1.

However in stock

Eternal blue-chip stock, gold is the only able one to reassure the savers. Consequently, if the fashionistas do not have the means of acquiring some napoléons, they can always mitigate this lack of safety by the acquisition of clothing and accessories étincelants, which see their dimension going up out of arrow.

The color gold losing in New York any connotation disco music or R' B (with the profit of a smart register), it will be of good tone not to leave this kind parts sleep at the bank. One will then carry them either with black, or with white, and one will misera on elegant volumes and minimalists.

Abundance of furs

PETA did not finish taking Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld in influenza. Indeed, to judge of it by the plethoric presence of the fur at the time of the New Yorkean processions, it would be astonishing that the large magazines are not made the echo of it…

The next winter, the fur will thus remain a sure value. However, far from confining itself with the masterly parts, it squatte also collars and wrists, heating thus more and more the modeuses ones…

Shaker of printed papers form

With final, one retains that if one wants to mix overall, one avoids the matters disco music, one supports the harmonies of color and one does not hesitate to raise the whole by the means of a printed accessory.

2010 Winter Games - Troy Wayrynen

2010-02-15T11:39:00.000-08:00

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