Suburb of Rochester, New York

I spent the weekend at a friend’s cabin in Maine surrounded by several feet of fresh snow. A suggested theme was “light” for anyone who wanted to explore the idea with their camera. What we found, not surprisingly, is that everyone had their own take on the subject matter.

There was abstraction: a golden patch of light on a wooden floor, marked with a web of shadows from branches outside. Landscape: snow covered trees highlighted by light from the early morning sun. And more literal interpretations, like the flame from a candle.

In the end there was a good discussion about what the photos “should have been” and whether light should necessarily have been the focal point of the image, or simply an integral part of it. Personally, as a photographer I like this sort of exercise to get you thinking outside of the box and trying new things. And I especially like the idea of it being completely open to interpretation.

For a while now I’ve been in the habit of visiting www.newseum.org to see “today’s front pages.” Every day, hundreds of newspapers from around the world submit theirs to the Washington D.C. based organization, which then displays them on their site. It’s especially interesting to see how newspapers play the images on their front page at significant moments in history – Sept. 11, the 2000 Presidential election, US invasion of Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, President Obama’s election and inauguration…

Just last year, a new 250,000 square foot museum was constructed down the street from the U.S. Capitol, and I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to visiting it earlier this month! We spent a solid five hours there perusing those front pages in person, standing at arms length from the work of Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalists, studying newspapers a century old, and seeing some really insightful exhibits about the way the press has helped shape history, and vice versa. I was especially impressed with the number of artifacts on display – more than 80,000 pounds worth in fact, including, believe it or not, the Berlin Wall guard tower and a chunk of the wall itself.

Tough to describe all that lies within its walls. It’s truly a place worth visiting, be you a journalist or not.

A portion of the 800-some newspapers that submit their front pages electronically are displayed outside the Newseum each morning.

View from above

The “Harry Potter” like staircases!

The top winners and finalists in the 2009 FOTOBAMA international photography contest included work by a former colleague of mine at RIT. Jacquelyn Martin is based in D.C. where she is a photographer for the Associated Press.

Sept. 12, 2001 front pages

A section of the Berlin Wall

Thank you to everyone who made it out to my opening Thursday night! I couldn’t have asked for better weather, and it was just so nice to see everyone and relax after a busy couple of weeks. (I also got my fix of pizzas from the wood fired oven – thank you Alvah for playing chef!) Many thanks to Kim and Vinny for hosting and for inviting my work to hang upon your walls. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as I did.

I’ve spent the last few weeks preparing for a show titled “Have Camera, Will Travel” which is now on display at Billsboro Winery on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail in Geneva. The images, a few of which I’ve included here, are from various trips to Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean. Owners Kim and Vinny Aliperti were kind enough to offer me the space in their tasting room through August so if you’re in the area, stop by to check out the show and enjoy some great wine!­_­

Lago d’Orta, Italy

Brussels, Belgium

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Orta, Italy

Pisano, Italy

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

Pisano, Italy

Isla de Culebra, Puerto Rico