ElementalManhattan / Pieper
This is my friend Richard Pieper. I took this photograph in the elevator of his building in the East Village back in January. (I think he is wearing earmuffs!) Pieper is a great friend and a very interesting fellow. Click here to see his latest project. It is truly amazing.
Yankees v Rays
I went to the Yankee game yesterday with my friend Jeff Cohen. It was probably the fastest game I have attended in the last 20 years. Both Sabathia and Shields work quickly and it was all over in 2 hours 10 minutes. It was a wacky game; Shields tried to pick a runner off 3rd and threw it away for the Yankees only run. Both pitchers allowed only 4 hits. The photo is of the last out of the game. I hope to get to Fenway soon.
1546 Chestnut, Santa Ana, CA
John Kishel knows so much about the obscure history of Southern California. We were talking about guitars the other day and he mentioned that as a kid he would send in a coupon from Boy’s Life Magazine to the Fender Guitar Company to receive a free catalogue. The address on the coupon was 1546 Chestnut, Santa Ana, Calif. Fender guitars were made in Fullerton, but in 1958 the company opened up a sales and distribution center in Santa Ana. It is interesting to think about all the incredible guitars and amps that were shipped from this building. And it sits less than 3 miles from his house. We went out for a meal tonight and stopped by for a visit on our way home.
I like being in places where cool stuff happened. The building has something to do with Culligan water treatment now and the front entrance is obviously not in use. Love the light fixtures though. They look original to the building.
Watts Towers
John and Lynne took us on a mini tour of places of note in the LA area yesterday. It is amazing to watch John navigate around the area. He grew up out here and knows the streets very well. Lynne does the driving and John says things like “Why don’t you turn right here?” We always end up in amazing places. The Watts towers are a National Historic Landmark and worth a visit. Learn more about them here.
Whenever I think of Watts I am reminded of my great friend Alex’s tales of his time as a young man in the National Guard and being placed on a corner with live ammunition during the riots of 1965. Not having been given much in the way of guidance, he wasn’t sure what would happen, and fortunately for everyone around where he was stationed, not much did.
Peter Carroll
Peter Carroll and I are back on Tilghman’s Island to continue documenting Chesapeake Bay watermen. We were on the water by 5 this morning with Roy and Colleen Sadler.
Peter
I have really wanted to see Peter lately, so yesterday I drove out to Albany. He had class until 3.00, so on the way to Schenectady, I stopped in to visit my friend Peggy Ross. Had a great lunch with her and then Peter and I drove into Albany to have a meal at the Pump Station. For a thin guy, he can really put away the eats.
Thank you note
A while back, I photographed my friend Virginia Westbrook as she needed some resume shots and would be in Amherst visiting her son. It was great to see her after a long while of little contact. A few weeks ago she sent an email asking if I could send a print of one of the shots to her mom for her birthday, which I was happy to do. Today I received this note in the mail from Virginia’s mom with the enclosed “reward”. It made me very happy.
Outer Stylie
Last night my friend Tom’s band Outer Stylie was playing at the Elevens in Northampton. (See previous Tom post of August 2010) They came on last at about 12.30 and played a rousing set. The lighting looked promising during the opening acts, but when Tom came on stage the sound/lighting guy must have been going for some kind of mood thing. (Dark!) So Tom was mostly in shadow until the encore when we yelled at him to move into the light. I was shooting with the D3S at 12,800 ISO which is hardly believable, but the results are fantastic. It was a nice evening; had a Guinness, met Tom’s girlfriend, and at the end of the set I was introduced to Tom’s father and had the chance to tell him what a great guy his son is.
Peter Carroll
Here’s Peter shooting an interview for the Tilghman waterman’s project. Each time we go back to the island we meet new people, but it is always nice to visit some of the folks we spent time with on the earlier shoots. We got the chance to see some of our favorites which was really nice.
Looking South
We are shooting at a house on a part of the island called Bar Neck. This is the view out the back window. The platform in the water usually has ospreys nesting on it. Mary Kellogg says that the male usually shows up around St Patrick’s Day to establish territorial rights, and the female follows shortly thereafter.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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