Lights of New England

I'M BACK!! I still have eleventy bazillion more negatives to scan, but for now, let's take a quick trip through New England. In 1998, we drove the coast from Connecticut to around York, Maine (skipping the Cape Cod area, which warrants its own trip), before turning inland. Here are some of the lighthouses we found along the way. Things were still pretty random, back then. Watch for later posts, in which the actual photography just gets better and better. Above: Jameston, RI proves that not all lighthouses are pretty (Beavertail Light).

New London, CT (guarded by police on horseback - they're afraid it will try to make a break for it).

Old Stonington Lighthouse - Stonington, CT. It's made of stone!

Point Judith, RI - as seen on TV, in a recent ad campaign by the US Marines.

Old Scituate Light - Scituate, CT. It has a cool story about little girls thwarting the British here, but we can't remember it right now.

Fort Pickering Light - Winter Island - Salem, MA. Gorgeous spot. Lighthouse and sailboat are just bonus.

Marblehead Range Light - Marblehead, MA.

Goat Island Light - Off Cape Porpoise, ME. This was shot, hand-held, through a 500mm mirror lens - no easy task. I'll just go ahead and say the "soft" focus was my idea. And [Maris] loves it.

Cape Neddick "Nubble" Light - Cape Neddick, ME. One of Maine's perfect lighthouses. More shots of this one are sure to come.

Portland Head Light, at Cape Elizabeth, is Maine's other perfect lighthouse. It's so over-photographed from the sides that I actually waited for a very cold hour for this people-free shot looking straight out to sea. That's Ram Island Ledge Light, off to the left. (More shots of these still to come - we went back in 2004.)

Jamestown, RI sunset.

Happy New Year, everyone. Thanks for encouraging my little hobby. See you in 2010...
-Joe

Love At First Sight: Key West

The title of this post says it all. Well, not all, since I'm still typing, but you get the idea. I visited Key West for the first time in January of 1991, long after its best years, but before it was too far gone down the path of mainstream development and commercialization. It's a wonderfully bizarre mix of natural beauty, kitsch, eclectic creative energy and pathos. With or without a camera, I couldn't help but fall for its charm. The sunset above is a scene witnessed by countless tourists just about every evening at Mallory Square. The ship is probably the Schooner Western Union on a sunset cruise.

Sloppy Joe's Bar - Duval Street. No, it's not the original location, but it's still very cool. I was just beginning to learn to shoot at night with only available light.

Two sides of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in late afternoon. Wires and a flagpole make this building difficult to shoot, but I just love these old photos. This church sparked in me a new interest in architecture photography, which persists to this day.