Peter
It has been a very long time since I have posted here. We have been getting ready to move Peter to DC and it has occupied me almost completely. He is there now. For those of you who know him, you would be so proud. For those of you who really know me, you understand how I am feeling.
Pirates v Dodgers
Peter and I had a nice visit to PNC Park last night. We usually sit in the same general area; sections 116 or 117 as the seats are really affordable. I have made a version of this photo on many occasions but it is always a captivating view. A great city and in our opinion the nicest park in the majors. Bucs lost 5-4 to the Dodgers but it was a good game and the fans were totally into it.
Sunday in PA and Ohio
Today, Peter and I drove from Meadville to Cleveland, mostly on Route 322. It was a cool gray morning and 322 is a road that I have ridden on and driven many times. The fields were so green and lush; soy beans and field corn grown mostly on small family farms. I had wanted to stop and photograph on our way to the Indians game, but I felt a bit of pressure to get to the stadium and park with plenty of time to spare. It was a great game for the many Sox fans that made the trip with Boston winning 14-1. Afterwards Peter and I had an amazing meal at Mallorca.
As we were driving back to Meadville I was again taken by the rural beauty of Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. The roads are in quite good shape and the farms are nicely kept. This shot is facing East on Ohio Route 167 not far from the PA line. There was so little traffic that I just stopped the car in the road to take it.
I stopped to photograph the fields on the way home and found myself thinking about the farmers in the midwest who are suffering through one of the worst droughts in recent history. Not four hundred miles west of here in Indiana the corn is dying for lack of rain. And yet the farmers in this part of the world seem to be in the midst of a bumper crop. I actually thought that if the Indiana farmers saw these fields they might cry.
And finally, our route back to Meadville took us through Linesville, PA. I got the chance to show Peter the famous spillway on Pymatuning Lake where the “ducks walk on the fishes backs”. I know it is really bizarre, but it is something I grew up with and it doesn’t seem that weird. We met a nice woman who is driving across the country visiting places like this. Here’s a link to her blog.
Pennsylvania Welcome Center
Peter and I drove to Meadville today. We’ll go to Cleveland for a ballgame tomorrow and then to Pittsburgh to see the Bucs on Monday evening. / I have always liked this view out the back of the PA welcome center just beyond the New York State border. Grapevines in the foreground and you can just barely see the lake off in the distance.
Fenway at Night
Peter, Cris, and I went to a Red Sox game last night. It was an absolutely perfect night for baseball; temperature in the mid-70s and a constant light breeze from the south. In the bottom of the first, Carl Crawford hit a double off the monster and was then picked off second when he wandered a bit too far from the base. That pretty much sums up the season. It has been a tough year for the club. But still, baseball on a beautiful summer’s evening. Can’t be beat (unlike the Sox who lost 6-3).
Pond Scum
When I was shooting film, I was a stickler for getting the best image quality out of a negative. I prided myself on shooting Tri-X and being able to make great prints. But I was always open to photographs that had real feeling to them and that might not have been perfectly sharp or in focus. / I have photographed this little pond before. The green algae that shows up in the late summer is such a beautiful color. I took a series of shots last week and since it has been so humid, the lens fogged up when I got out of the air conditioned car. I didn’t notice until I reviewed the image on the lcd screen on the back of the camera, so I wiped off the lens and waited to shoot more until the fog cleared. When selecting a photo to post here, this slightly foggy one looked the nicest. So even though it is a bit soft and diffused, I like it better than the non-fogged, sharp ones. / Also, some purple loosestrife again.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
4 comments