photography | At Home with Tech

December 31, 2017

12 Degrees, 5 Faces and a Central Park Wedding

Here’s my view earlier this week from Belvedere Castle in Manhattan. If you look closely, you can spot the warmth of a wedding in action. The cold can bring out the best in New Yorkers in more ways than one…

On what felt like one of the coldest days of the year in New York City, my wife, son and I walked about Central Park last Thursday with two other families… friends from the Boston area. The three boys ran about care-free in 12 degrees like it was a summer day. As for me, I wondered whether I was getting frost bite.

We eventually arrived at Belvedere Castle and walked to the top to experience the big Central Park view. I observed a small wedding ceremony in progress at the edge of the pavilion by Turtle Pond. Incredibly, the young bride and groom weren’t wearing coats! At the conclusion of the ceremony, a crowd that had spontaneously gathered around broke out in applause and began to hum Mendelssohn’s Wedding March.
(Now, that’s a New York moment!)

We moved on, but it was so cold, I think I began having some difficulty seeing clearly. Perhaps the molecular composition of my glasses began to change in the frigid conditions?
(I can only imagine how those newlyweds felt!)

Three Hats, One Scarf and a Hood in Zabar’s
Our little band eventually took a brief respite to warm up in Zabar’s Cafe on the Upper West Side. As you might imagine, it was packed with locals, sipping hot chocolate, tea and coffee.

As I looked about, I observed a crowd of faces.
Faces of experience that relayed different conditions… joy… angst… confidence… uncertainty… and enthusiasm.

If you want to find a certain cross section of life in New York City… there it was… right in front of me at Zabar’s.

On this day, the cold had brought out everyone’s winter wear.
It was quite a sight…
I zeroed in on three great hats, a massive hood and one vibrant scarf.
And I was immediately drawn to the faces underneath.

I had my Panasonic Lumix LX10 camera with me, and I asked these five customers if I could take their pictures for this post. They were all game to participate…
(Another New York moment)

Annette and Hope

Howard

Gerry

Judy

My New Year’s Resolution
I saw a spark in each of these faces. One of my friends called it an aura. It was this warm energy which compelled me to break out my camera.

I don’t really know their stories, but all five were interested in chatting and helping me out.
And I could see they all had a strong sense of self.
I was inspired.

As we enter 2018, these five friendly souls reminded me of the importance in nurturing and growing our own sparks… to feed who we really are.

There are any number of New Year’s resolutions out there.
But for me… I think it’s simply not forgetting to fuel the spark.

Everything else follows.

Thank you, Annette, Hope, Howard, Gerry and Judy.

Congratulations to those Belvedere Castle newlyweds, who I expect have warmed up by now…
…and Happy New Year!

December 24, 2017

Do You Have 29 Seconds to Spare?

Whoa!! It’s all gone by fast! Allow me a moment to wish you Happy Holidays!
I think that’s probably all that anyone has time to read right now.

Well, perhaps I could ask for another 29 seconds to watch a little video I edited together that captures a bit of my own experience…

I call it “Holiday Blur.”

Each photo is a moment that contributed to my holiday season’s overall whole.
At the end, it always feels like a blur, right?

In case you’re interested, here are the tools I worked with:
I used my trusty Panasonic Lumix LX10 for most of the photos, tweaked the images with Adobe Lightroom, edited the video with Final Cut Pro on my iMac and used music from freemusicarchive.org.

The locations:
Norwalk, CT and Westport, CT. In New York City: Bryant Park, Grand Central Terminal, Finnegan’s Wake Pub, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square

Fun.

(To watch more of my videos, check out my Vimeo channel.)

August 20, 2017

Are You Telling Your Story?

How’s it going telling the story of your life? What? Not doing that? How about your story over the past year? No? Well, then you might want to take some advice from my father. He’s got lots of stories to tell you. Like the time he went to the top of Machu Picchu.

My 84-year-old father is a great storyteller. He always loves the opportunity to share an exciting experience from years past. When he’s not telling me one of his stories, he sometimes says, “Barrett, these are your halcyon days. Things aren’t always going to be this good.”

I’m never quite sure what his point is other than life throws you curve balls. So, you should make sure to pay attention to the moments when you’re on a happy straightaway.

I suppose it’s a warning… and a compliment… all baked together.

I’ve been around the block a few times myself. So, I’m probably fooling myself if I don’t admit to knowing exactly what he’s talking about.

I think the lesson is to make darn sure to remember the good times, because they were indeed good. It’s easy to forget that with the murky complexities that the future inevitably brings.

The future often clouds the past in some way. Coloring it a new shade.

Digital Memories
Of course, one way to help keep the past straight is to take a photo or a video of a particular moment or series of moments. That’s not rocket science.

Organizing and keeping track of those digital memories over a period of years is something of a harder lift.
(You’ve seen me stress over this challenge before.)

But at the end of the day, your digital memories are mere fragments… not entire experiences. And they reflect a specific editorial point of view that led to their creation. They serve as ‘commercials’ for your life rather than objective and complete ‘documentaries.’

The Good Old Days
You’ve got to be deliberate and pay attention to your life as it unfolds. And acknowledge life’s many chapters in larger chunks of time. Nobody is going to do that for you.
(Unless someone is writing your biography.)

It’s your job to remember your story. So, do whatever it takes to recall it properly.
(Take some notes!)

And don’t forget to acknowledge all of the people who are on the journey with you.
(They share in your story, and you share in theirs.)

Tell Your Story Now!
Yes, it’s important to recognize the good times when they’re happening. But it’s equally essential to look back and give the past a proper nod, now and again.

And keep your ongoing narrative clear and strong as it spans the decades.

It’s your life… and your story. It’s your job to keep it straight.
And your responsibility to tell it.

Thanks, Dad.

Tag: photography

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