Back at the Boston Public Library
I was back working in Boston yesterday and had a break between locations to go back to the amazing Boston Public Library. These lions are guarding the stairway to the reading room. Just after taking this photograph I noticed these 2 women on the far stairs.
They were happy to be photographed. I’m not really sure what was going on here, but they reminded me of the daffodils that all of us in New England are so desperate to see.
Tom
I am sitting in a local coffee shop working on email and while looking out the window to see how much time I have left on my parking meter, I noticed my pal Tom Schack making a radical 5 point turn in the middle of Amity Street. I grabbed my camera and took a quick photo before he went into the bank. That is the Outer Stylie van in the background.
Have a great week, everyone.
Bernie!
I had heard earlier today that Bernie Sanders would be in Amherst this evening and thought it would be interesting to go and check it out. I used to shoot a lot of political stuff when I was younger and have always liked the vibe of campaign gatherings.
There was a huge queue outside of the Mullins Center for the 6.00 PM event.
Here are Bill, Billy, and Elias who came over from Hudson, NY. Bill is a huge politics buff and was a fan of both Hillary and Bernie. Elias is going to Africa in a few months.
The event was supposed to start at 6.00, but there were still thousands of people outside at that time as security was pretty tight. TSA were checking bags and pockets, and the Secret Service was in full force.
I think this guy was serious!
There was quite a lot of positive energy in the building. And not just young folks. It was actually quite diverse in terms of age.
The only merchandise I saw for sale were these earrings, and I don’t think the woman selling them was an “official” part of the campaign. $10.00 a pair.
Just like old times for me; this guy was shooting 16mm film!
I love photographing events like this, as people are really open and happy for the attention.
Here is my Norwegian friend Björn, who seemed to find it all exotic and interesting. He said that given what Bernie had to say, he would probably be thought of as a center-right candidate in Norway.
I will say this; Bernie has a tremendous amount of energy and drive, and there is a very genuine quality about him. The crowd was completely with him the whole time.
It was a very interesting evening, and so much fun to be in the middle of this sort of event again.
Don’t forget to vote!
Block Island
We took the ferry to Block Island today. This evening we walked down to Mansion Beach. Cris has a knack for finding the most amazing things on beaches. She found an iPhone once in South Carolina.
Tonight she found this.
And then she found the box it came in.
It appears to be some kine of weather device that was attached to a balloon.
Here’s the code number.
It’s in the back of the car now.
Here’s a sand castle about to disappear.
Cris Loves Hammocks
She is either asleep or reading. It is hard to tell which, but the bugs are out and it is nice to be inside a bit of a cocoon.
Sebastian Lindstrom
I have always liked driving people to airports, train stations, and bus stations. I make it clear to friends that if my schedule allows, I am in. One of Cristine’s students is (was) Sebastian Lindstrom. He is leaving Amherst for good and we will miss him. It is always bittersweet to get to know the students, as we know they will eventually be gone. He is already doing interesting work with his organization What Took You So Long. Here he is standing in front of the MegaBus. Gone but not forgotten. Safe travels Sebastian.
Miscellaneous Stuff
It has seemed that for the past three weeks, my life has been consumed by the Kickstarter appeal. It has been a great, if not intense, experience. What I like most is that I am meeting such interesting people who are drawn to the project. Paul Mullins is a professor of anthropology at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, and he just posted a great piece on his wordpress site. Here is the link. I like how serious academics have taken to thinking and writing about the suitcases.
Last Wednesday I drove to Exeter, NH to photograph the poet Willie Perdomo for Poets & Writers Magazine. He is an amazing guy, and we had a tremendous dialogue about art, creativity, and life in general. The story will run in the May/June issue. I’ll post a link when it is online. He generously gave me a copy of his new book and I had fun reading it on the train back from New York on Saturday evening.
I was in the city for a memorial service for the husband of a good friend who I met through the suitcases project. I am reminded again and again how way beyond photography the cases are for me. The service was very moving, and as these events often do, it reinforced the idea that friendship, love and a simple appreciation of being alive and healthy are what it is all about. So thanks to all of you who are reaching out. The connections mean so much to me.
National Museum of Natural History / DC
Peter and I had a great visit to the Museum of Natural History this afternoon. I wanted to show him the Hope Diamond and some of the other gems.
The big diamond was ok, but we were drawn more to the emeralds and rubies. This necklace was pretty cool.
These two pieces of chalcedony (quartz) were so cool; especially the green one. Amazing that this stuff appears in nature only to be found, polished, and put on display.
Cool elephant in the main foyer.
Not being much in the way of scientists, we didn’t understand a lot of what was going on in the genome exhibit.
When we told Cris we were going to the Natural History Museum, she said “Ooooh, dioramas!”
The guy here looks like he is hailing a cab in New York City. I have actually seen guys who look pretty much like him doing just that. When I was taking this photograph, a dad beside me was photographing his two kids and one of them said, “Daddy, I want to be a caveman.”
We kept coming back to the elephant.
We had an early dinner reservation at Mon Ami Gabi to celebrate Peter’s birthday. It was great. The escalator at the Bethesda station is enormous.
Back home tomorrow.
Yale / The Cushing Center
I was at Yale today talking about the suitcases to Jessica Helfand’s freshman seminar class on visual biography. She was one of the first people to connect with the project and has been a huge supporter from the get-go. This is the third year I have spoken to the class and it always helpful to get feedback from the students on my work with the cases. / After the class I usually head over to the School of Medicine Library and visit The Cushing Center. It is one of the most amazing displays of someone’s life one can ever see. I have posted about it here and here, and if any of you are in New Haven, it is absolutely not to be missed. / Thanks to Jessica and her students for a great day.
Rowing
I used to shoot a lot of rowing. I started in Ithaca while shooting sports for Cornell and Ithaca College. And for many years I shot the annual Harvard/Yale Regatta on the Thames River in New London, CT. I have such a great respect for these athletes and their dedication to training and competing. This morning I was up way before first light to shoot some of the UMASS rowers as they were preparing for a competition this weekend.
Here is a shot of the coxswain in a 4+. It was barely light when I shot this and when we left the dock it was 39 degrees.
These women are on the water 6 days a week way before most people are out of bed. Title IX is the greatest!
Big thanks to Megan McHugh for piloting me around the Connecticut River. She was really nice and it was so great to have an opportunity to be on the water again.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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