A Comparative History Look at Security

I was grateful for one puff of wind that fluttered the flag and added energy to this image of the Town Common in Greenfield, Massachusetts. One of my stock agency editors had requested images relating to the holidays. I stood on the trunk of my car for an angle to include maximum information.

History infuses the scene. Left to right: Mostly boarded up Bank Row, an American Flag, a Civil War memorial, a nativity scene, the Second Congregational church and Town Hall.

On recent day, I found this painting inside Town Hall. I figured the people living behind this tall fence were not worried about their 401k value plummeting or a broken down truck preventing them from getting to work. But what were they worried about? After leaving a message for Town Historian, Peter Miller, I later answered my phone and a somber voice tinged with mirth intoned, "I have been waiting for 300 hundred years to talk about that house..." Mr. Miller informed me this fortified house provided refuge for locals during the French and Indian War.

He speculated that the homestead site was in Fort Square, by Dillon Chevrolet. Again, I stood on my my car's trunk. This morning, a thin layer of ice made the footing tricky. Below is an imprint of my shoe's tread.

What is the true nature of security? A tall fence? Retirement savings? Cheap gas? Enjoying the moment?

What do you think?

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What is the First Thing that Comes to Mind When I Say the Word "Copyright"?

I started a recent class with this question and received responses such as: "Complicated." "Legal issues." "Infringement." "Damn." "Rights." "Confusing." "Orphan Works." "Paperwork."

I then demonstrated how registering your images online with the Electronic Copyright Office is relatively speedy and painless. (About 15 minutes if your files are prepared.) I am a member of Editorial Photographers. One of the organization's online forums educated me on the finer points of electronic registration.

I recently registered these images, as they will be placed with one of my online stock agencies.

The inside door of a bathroom, along with a light switch, in a motel.

A shadow falls on the the Hall Tavern Visitor Center at Old Deerfield, a classic New England village. Historic buildings, like this one built in 1760, line the main street, and serve as instructional reminders of the past.

Looking through the blur of a tree's branches at the sun rising over the Connecticut River on a November morning in Turners Falls, MA

Just before dawn, moonlight reflects on the Green River in Greenfield, MA. The photographer twisted his camera sideways during this 4 second exposure to create this wave like effect of the moonlight's reflection.

A 31-year-old Caucasian graphic designer.

Each stock image I send out has a caption written in the metadata. The generic graphic designer is actually Peter Chilton. He is a teaching colleague, punk rocker and designer extraordinaire. He designed the header for this blog. I photographed him to demonstrate to students the use of fill flash.

How would you answer my opening question?

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Institutional and Individual Memories

It was my first visit to Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, since reading William Martin's Harvard Yard. The inscription on the wall of Memorial Church stopped me in my tracks.

In Grateful Memory of
The Harvard Men who Died
In the World War
We Have Built this Church

University Church, 2009

My earliest published images, taken as a teenager, were shot in and around Harvard Yard. So while the setting was familiar, Martin's book - which chronicles a fictional family through Harvard's history - brought to life (and death) the impact of wars on the university and its students.

Just inside the church doors, these hangers waited patiently for visitor's coats.

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China on My Mind

Some of my first photographs taken as a boy were scenes of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a haircut, while waiting for my parents to pick me up, I composed this image outside a Chinese restaurant in "The Square."

We were on our way to Boston's Chinatown for dim sum at Hei La Moon Restuarant. Upon entering the establishment, the prospects for the food's authenticity looked promising as we were minorities in an ethnic restaurant.

The dim sum servers stamped our check with each delivered plate of food. A stray drop from refilling our water glasses lent a watercolor feel to stamp "38." The beauty of this functional item led to a discussion of Sol LeWitt's art. The food was delicious.

After lunch, we continued our exploration of new sights, smells and sounds. The visit filled my well of inspiration. Putting this post together, I noticed the red thread that ties the images together.

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