Dog
I shot UMASS women’s lacrosse for my friend Thom Kendall on Sunday as he was tied up with the A10 track meet. It was fun and I even got this nice shot of a fan with his dog.
Pia and Flying Angel Seafarers Club
I spent a fantastic couple of hours with Pia Massie walking around the completely non-touristy parts of Vancouver. We started in Gastown and went to the area that is mostly inhabited by addicts and street people. She really knows her way around and it was fascinating. Her latest work is a documentary about Canadians of Japanese descent who were forcibly moved from the area just after Pearl Harbor. Everything was taken from them and they and have never returned as a community. There are still remnants of their lives if you know where to look, as in the name underneath a doormat at the entrance to this building.
We ended up at the Flying Angel Seafarers Club, which is as close as one can get to the port without encountering pretty heavy security. Unless you knew it was here, you might never find it. An amazingly beautiful building and since there was a sign on the front that said open, we went in. A volunteer named Frank gave us the grand tour and we learned a ton. Here is a link. I was especially taken by this book which is in a glass case at the front of the building.
Here is a description of its purpose.
Very touching. / We fly home tomorrow. Thanks Pia for the tour. It was great fun.
Stanley Park
It is grey and cool here today but the past three days have been sunny and pleasant. I’m just as happy with the grey as with the sun. Yesterday we walked around the perimeter of Stanley Park. The water in English Bay was clear and calm and loads of people were out enjoying the day.
Vancouver reminds me of San Francisco with all the water and bridges. / This morning I am going to meet up with Pia Massie whom I met through Kickstarter. Check out her project here. It is really interesting. She lives here and will give me a quick tour of the waterfront.
Home
Peter and I flew home yesterday. It was an amazing trip and has solidified his wish to live in London, which I really hope he can do someday. Saturday was a big day for us with lots of travel on the tube and walking. As we were heading into central London from Heathrow we had a lovely exchange with a very nice woman who seemed to be about my age. P and I were talking about where to stop off to wander around and get a bite to eat, and she was apparently over-hearing our discussion. As she was leaving the train at her stop she said, “English people aren’t meant to speak to people on trains, but Gloucester Road is a bit dire. You might want to go on to South Kensington”. England has changed a ton since I started going there, but I am occasionally reminded of why I love it so much.
Burton to Scunthorpe
I took this shot of the road atlas yesterday while Peter was speaking to the Safety Officer of the Burton Albion Football Club. I was looking at the map to see how to get up to Scunthorpe. It turned out to be pretty easy and only took about an hour and a half. Burton was nice and it was the first place in the UK where I heard someone use the word “nowt” (meaning “nothing”). I asked a woman in a teashop in Burton about Scunthorpe and she said Northerners weren’t as friendly. The difference between north and south here is much different that in the States. It is only a matter of about 65 miles. In my years of travel I have found that everyone who comes from somewhere other than the locals couldn’t possibly be as pleasant. For me, though they all seem pretty nice.
Pieper and Sarah
Every weekday morning Pieper walks his daughter Sarah to the subway for her trip to school. He then heads uptown to his office to begin his work day. / It was great to stay with him and Merrill and to see them interact with Aidan and Sarah. They are a great family.
GoPro
Cris dropped me off in Harrisburg where my good pal Peter Carroll picked me up on Friday morning. We drove down to DC to spend some time with his family. On our way we stopped in Dillsburg, PA at a great diner for a bite to eat. Peter and I have travelled together so many times, and it is always fun. He got this little GoPro video camera recently and has been goofing around with it. It also takes amazing stills.
Over the years we have taken so many goofy pictures of each other. Here’s another one. We didn’t try any of the cakes in the case, but I was sorely tempted.
Tommy
Sometimes I get a bit blocked up when I think about writing on this blog. Since the suitcases project has garnered so much attention, and with all the new subscribers, I sometimes feel a bit self-conscious. It is something I fight against, but in the last week I have been suffering from a bit of “Karma Congestion” as my friend Alex would call it. The easiest way for me to get back into it is to post something that makes me really happy.
When I was shooting the UMASS Fenway game last week, I was surprised and really glad to see my son Peter’s great friend Tommy. He and Pete have known each other since middle school and he is one of the nicest people around. This picture says just about all you need to know about him. Such a treat to run into him in such an unexpected place.
Earl’s Court Tube Station
I have taken this very same photograph multiple times. I was looking through my contact sheets for an earlier version and realized just how much has changed over the years in terms of photography. Shoot film>Develop>Dry>Cut>Put in sleeves>Contact sheets>Edit>Enlarge>Make some postcards>Mail to 3 friends. Digital is so much easier for me now. Shoot>Download>Edit>Upload>Write post>Get great response from loads of people I have never met. I understand why some still prefer film, but for me this is so much better.
John Wilson
I’m in the UK for a few days helping my friend John Wilson do some work on his house in Chiswick. We don’t get to see each other often enough, but when we do it is always a treat. We met when we were both living in Berlin in the 1980’s and became close immediately. I have always been fascinated by his personal history. He was born in Trinidad, went to boarding school in Barbados, moved to the UK when he was 16, and has lived and worked all over the world. His family had been in the Caribbean for generations, and his father’s father was the Postmaster General of Grenada. (Charles Livingstone Wilson) Today we were in his studio and he wanted to show me a suitcase that contained some family items. (Suitcases seem to be a theme for me lately.) The name tag above is sewn on to the tennis shorts that he wore while at the Lodge School in Barbados.
The Pan American tag was on the inside of the case. It was full of family items and lots of folders, including reports to his mother and father about his progress at school.
I really like looking at old documents. There is something about the typefaces and writing in ink from a fountain pen that appeals to me.
Above is his housemaster’s comment (turquoise ink). And he still is quite the gentleman.
The comment above from the headmaster is a true reflection of the times. This is from his last term at school. / I am constantly reminded of how amazing all of my close friends are, and am so lucky to be a part of their lives.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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