Spring in Bishop’s Park London
Peter and I are off to the Cottage for the match between Fulham and Swansea. He’ll be talking to supporters about his project and we’ll see the game. We will walk through Bishop’s park again to get to the ground. It is a bit rainy this morning and not quite as nice as on Thursday when I took this shot. Spring has come a bit early here this year and the trees are really coming out. Can anyone tell me to what tree these buds belong?
Bishop’s Park Gents
Only some of you might be interested in this, but I have always enjoyed older public restrooms, especially here in Britain. This is the gents in the middle of Bishop’s Park. Beautiful tile, the urinals are all porcelain, no graffiti and clean. I am always a bit nervous about taking pictures in public facilities, but fortunately no one walked in on me. It would be a bit difficult to explain what I was doing.
Basset Hound
Peter and I flew to London last night. He is here working on his Union College senior thesis. It has to do with how terraces disappeared from Premier League football grounds and the effect that change has had on supporters and organizations. So we are here for a few days and then off around the midlands and Lincolnshire to go to some clubs and interview as many people as we can. / We were eating lunch in a pub near Putney Bridge when we heard what I thought was someone imitating a basset hound. I looked over and saw this guy. Amazing; just sitting there with his mistress.
I just love it how dogs hang out in pubs. He was sweet.
Staff Boat
This is a silly photograph, but I like it because it is the only time I have ever taken a shot of the sky where a seagull and an airplane appear to be the same size. (Lower right corner, but maybe it’s too hard to see on a computer monitor. Oh well.)
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.
Hanley Road, Columbia County, NY
I couldn’t count the number of times that I have been on Interstate 90 in New York State. About 2 years ago, I started noticing this view from the Westbound lane just before the turnoff to Albany. There was something about the look of this rural road that always made me happy. About a year ago I knew that I wanted to photograph it, but stopping on the highway seemed a bit foolhardy. On Tuesday I was at the museum shooting suitcases and realized that I would have time to take a side trip on the way home. I have a New York State Atlas & Gazeteer in my car so I pulled it out an figured out where I could access this road. I am quite directionally challenged, but after some trial and error, I found the spot. The above view is taken from the bottom of Hanley Road where it forms a T with State Route 32. From where I took this picture it is Columbia County, but up the hill it becomes Rensselaer County. Coming from Albany, I went to the town of Nassau on Route 20, turned south on 203 and then left onto Hanley. It is really beautiful on the top part of the road; lovely farms with sizable ponds.
This view is looking West on SR 32. The semi is on the eastbound section of the 90. As I was heading home, I drove through the small town of Chatham and was happy to see a church that I had photographed for Craig Williams years ago.
Grand Central
Here’s another shot from Grand Central. I was a bit disorientated because I have been up on this balcony on the East side of the station many times. It always used to be just an open space with people milling around and taking pictures just like this one. It is an Apple Store now. As soon as you walk up the stairs, there is a greeter asking if you need help. Things change, I guess. A very long time ago Kodak used most of the wall behind me for a giant Kodachrome image. Now Kodak is bankrupt and Apple is in charge. Interesting.
Oyster Bar
Sorry, it’s been a while. / I took the Metro North train from New Haven to New York on Friday. I could have taken Amtrak from Springfield, but it goes into Penn Station and I prefer Grand Central. I arranged to arrive with time to spare, so I had some Cotuits and a pan roast at the Oyster Bar. / Just after my Kickstarter page went up, Zoe Crossland from Columbia University contacted me about coming down to give a seminar on the Willard suitcases project. She connected me with Brian Boyd who set it all up, and at 5.30 I was sitting in a room with a great group of faculty and students from the anthropology and archeology departments. I was hoping for lots of feedback and dialogue and wasn’t disappointed. I showed selected photos from what I have done so far and we had a great discussion. / Had a very productive day at the museum last Thursday and will be back shooting in the next few days.
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.
Waffle House (again)
When Cris and I drove to South Carolina this year we left home late in the day and drove through the night as we usually do. We always joke about the IHOP-Waffle House line and how it mostly mirrors the Mason-Dixon line. The Waffle House breakfasts can be a bit on the greasy side, but there isn’t much choice on I-95. We were amazed to find an IHOP near Florence, SC so we stopped and ate at around 6.oo am. We got back on the road and a bit later we stopped for gas. We laughed because it was the same exit where we ate at a Waffle House last year. The sun had just broken through the clouds and the building looked great in the morning light.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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