Erie Street - Americana in Bisbee, Arizona

I was born in Dublin in the sixties and spent the first twenty two years of my life there. It was a relatively simple world when I was a kid and we only had a couple of TV channels where I lived. Every Saturday afternoon, on the BBC, there would be an American movie playing that kept me glued to the screen. I found myself particularly drawn to stories of the Bogart and Hitchcock era, set in small-town America. Everything about them fired my imagination.

Americana, that optimistic era of the forties and fifties, full of ingenuity, has cast a spell on me ever since. Through my eyes it was a time when cars and architecture were more like works of art than mere machines and structures of utility.

The reality, of course, is that it probably wasn't quite as glamorous as nostalgia and Hollywood would suggest. Nonetheless, it left a beautiful legacy that can occasionally be seen off the highway, in small tucked-away towns.

One of those places is Bisbee in Arizona. It has a rich and colorful mining history and resembles a European town entwined in steep hills and narrow, winding roads. As fascinating as it is, I was much more attracted to one of its lesser-known attractions in the nearby community of Lowell.

Just down the road from the massive open pit of Queen Mine sits a '55 Ford station wagon. Parked in a vintage Shell gas station, completely devoid of people, it feels like stepping into an episode of the Twilight Zone. This was my first introduction to what is known as the Lowell Americana Project.

The project is the brainchild of Jay Allen, one of a handful of people who live on the curious and otherworldly Erie Street. Its mission is to showcase and preserve a time in the forties and fifties when the area thrived. Long term plans include rebuilding and repainting all the existing storefronts. They will then be populated with authentic merchandise to create an immersive time travel experience for visitors. Don't bring your credit card, though, the interiors will be for display purposes only.

Restoration has already begun and the Shell gas station and police station/jail have gotten recent makeovers. Other buildings, like the garage, are actually functional, although the pumps are only for show.

Each year, Lowell hosts a music festival that includes a car show and work from local artists. The funds raised go towards advancing the goals of the Lowell Americana Project. For more information on the event, click here.

Down Memory Lane
An old taxicab waits for a passenger as the sun rises over Erie Street.

Preserving Authenticity
Vintage cars, coupled with restored facades, create the quintessential atmosphere of Americana.

The Automobile as Art
In our modern world of generic cars, the designs of the past, especially these magnificent fins, are thrilling to see.

Realizing a Dream
Jay Allen's vision slowly takes shape. The "new" Lowell police station and jail breathes life into the old street.

Great care has been taken to maintain the integrity of Lowell's past. Signs are hand-painted to replicate the styles of the time.

While peering through the window of the dilapidated Sprouse Reitz store, I noticed some old broken mannequins stacked up. There was something almost human about them, like they were sadly staring out at the real world. Even the expressions and gestures felt a little unsettling to me.

What's most striking about this street is the sheer detail of everything in it. Posters look and feel authentic and I had a great appreciation for the character of each door and window frame. Even the gas pumps looked like something out of a science fiction novel. During the few days I spent there, I couldn't help feeling that this kind of workmanship is just not that prevalent anymore.

I've been to many auto shows in my life and seen all sorts of vintage cars but walking down Erie Street is an entirely different experience. For me, it's all about context. If you listen hard enough, you can almost hear the voices and footsteps of those who once shopped for bargains, lined up for the matinee or treated themselves to a milkshake.

Erie Street transcends its relatively small footprint. Although it's just over seven hundred feet in length, it's easy to imagine the scope of what it once was. With the efforts of people like Jay Allen and countless other volunteers, perhaps it truly can be resurrected to remind us of a time in our culture when life was simpler and full of optimism.

My Adobe Spark (formerly Slate) presentation of this post is available here

If you would like to keep up with my travels, sign up to be notified of new posts. Peace.

Read More

Visiting San Diego: The Land of Photo Opportunity.

My daughter Tara moved to San Diego to go to college about a year ago. It was time to catch up with her so I planned a two-week visit. Of course, I can't go anywhere without my trusty Fujifilm X-T1 camera and California is always an exciting place to photograph.

Back in 2001, I became seriously interested in capturing images. My first love was video and I was an active filmmaker for quite a while. Tara was my "test subject", as we called it and she would willingly model for me through the years. She has always been at ease in front of my lens and she is quite beautiful to boot. We planned on doing something together while I was there.

My daughter Tara. It's always a treat to photograph her.

In the Heat of the Day
The only place to escape the 90-degree heat while I was in San Diego was by the Pacific Ocean. Tara and I found a bench and enjoyed some people-watching for a little while. I've never seen such a variety of dogs and tattoos in my whole life :)

Stepping Out
We were sure to put down our iPads and phones for a while and witness the beauty that is a California sunset. There was something gratifying about sharing a natural wonder with others. In this modern age, it almost feels quaint to just drive somewhere and watch the spectacular colors of a dying day. Yet, countless people take and make the time and, in that brief moment, we are all one, brothers and sisters witnessing the same phenomenon.

Quality of Light
Each time I'm in this area, I notice the unique feel of the light. Maybe it has something to do with the sun's angle or maybe it's simply the fact that every day is cloudless and bright. Whatever it is, i have a compelling desire to capture it.

The historic Old Town district in San Diego with its Spanish-style architecture, is a real treat for the eyes. It's a total tourist trap, of course, but I went during a week day so it wasn't so busy. There are plenty of things to shoot there that are devoid of people. I am most interested in the broad variety of textured walls and odd-shaped structures. I say odd because I don't think I found a single building that was geometrically straight. No matter what way I held the camera, it still looked wrong. The X-T1 has a handy digital level so I had to put my trust in that.

San Diego is a feast for the photographic senses.

Something about this scene reminded me of South America, particularly the central figure.

The main thoroughfare through Old Town is abundant with antiques stores and restaurants. Each one adheres to a historic Spanish aesthetic. I was only there for a brief time one afternoon but I could quite literally spend days shooting photographs and all would have a unique look.

When I'm shooting architectural subjects, like the window below, it's really important for me to keep vertical lines straight. If they are converging in any way, the image is a failure in my mind. I'm aware of this at the moment of capture and find that the slightest bend of my knees can fix any flaw in the perspective.

The window of a quaint old store in Old Town.

The walls reminded me of white versions of the adobes I have seen in Sante Fe.

Tara is a busy young woman and I was in San Diego without a car. There were times when I had to fend for myself in her apartment but boredom is not a word that is ever in my vocabulary. I challenged myself to find interesting things to shoot. On this particular day, I chose one lens (35mm f1.4) and black and white as the medium.

The Fujifilm 35mm f1.4 is my favorite lens for creative shots.

Who doesn't like to take photographs of cats? I figure if I post a photo of a cute cat on Facebook it will yield a large amount of comments and likes, far more than I could ever get posting my "serious" work, lol :) Tara's cat Rocky is a wonderful specimen and I found her to be a most cooperative model.

Rocky looking regal.

Tara and I finally got around to doing a fun shoot with her friend Paige. In my new life on the road, I don't often have opportunities to photograph people. At one point, my main concentration was portraiture but I have now graduated, by necessity, to mostly landscape work.

I wanted to do something creative with the girls, something that would satisfy my need to experiment and their need to have fun fashion-style shots. They were both open to all my concepts so the resulting photos were really satisfying. The fact that they were so comfortable made my job easier and the ideas flowed more readily.

For this first shot, I wanted to do something with a mirror I saw in Tara's apartment. When I look at the finished photograph, I feel like I'm looking through the window of a Greyhound bus. These two strangers look like they are at the beginning of a journey with an uncertain future. Despite the fact that Paige's face is brighter, my eye is drawn to Tara's confrontational gaze in the middle of the frame. For me, the choice of black and white makes the story a timeless one.

For the remaining shots, I wanted to do a combination of intimate portraits, playful interaction between friends and whimsical fashion shots outside. My models loved the resulting images so, for me, it was a success.

Selections from a photoshoot with Tara and her friend Paige.

It was great to see Tara and we spent a lot of quality time just talking and experiencing the wonderful scenery in and around the Pacific Beach area. I was careful to keep my camera in its case most of the time but, when I was let loose with it, I was like a kid in a candy store.

My Adobe Spark (formerly Slate) presentation of this post is available here

If you would like to keep up with my travels, sign up to be notified of new posts. Peace.

Read More

Eye of the Beholder - Select Photographs

Without a doubt, photographers have the hardest time selecting their own best work. There is a number of factors, in my experience anyway, that lead to this dilemma...

When a viewer looks at a photograph, he or she sees a composition that is either compelling or not. Although, with so many images being produced these days, getting someone's attention is harder than ever.

So why is it so hard for a photographer to select a good shot? It starts with the process of capturing. Of all the senses that are alive while I press the shutter, the only one directly translated to the viewer is sight. There is no trace of the gentle breeze, no sounds of a distant fog horn, no feeling of the dampness in the air and no hint of what I was thinking. Some of these things can be represented visually, but mostly not when they're either subtle or intangible.

When I cull through my own photographs, the memories of what I felt in that frozen moment are very much alive. I am somewhat blind to what is technically good or visually interesting to someone else because I'm so emotionally involved. For this reason, it's occasionally surprising that some of my favorite shots are not greeted with the enthusiasm I initially imagined. Through my own insecurity, I may then feel compelled to explain why I like a particular shot. This is not preferable because a photograph, unless it's a faithful rendering of something, say for journalistic purposes, shouldn't need any explanation.

At some point, I've had to let go of the need for others to like my work. I've been capturing images for about fourteen years now and I'm just beginning to understand this concept. There is a real danger, in any kind of creative medium, of over-thinking what will be acceptable to the masses and that kind of approach only ever leads to mediocre results. I believe that, if I listen to my own voice and trust it, an appreciation of the work will naturally follow.

With that said, I'd like to share some of my recent photographs. Most have been chosen because I think they make good pictures, while others are a little more abstract and appeal to me on a deeper emotional level. Where I feel it's important, I've included a little context.

One of the massive ancient trees at the Hoh Rain Forest.

Hoh Rain Forest in Washington.

Lake Crescent in Washington.

At the water's edge on Benson Beach in Washington.

Tidal pools and gull on Benson Beach.

Drawn to the Ocean
Any kind of beach fires up my imagination. I feel insignificant in its grandeur and that is strangely comforting. I suppose it makes me feel like any problems I may have get sucked up in the wind and carried out to sea. Of course, none of that is true but it is for as long as I'm standing there.

A Childhood Memory
When I was young, my family would take a vacation each summer. It was usually to some coastal resort and nearly all of them had one of these viewers. It was such a thrill to see birds and ships close up. We never owned binoculars so the novelty was always new.

A Decisive Moment
I liked the look of this aquarium in Wesport in Washington. I lined up my composition and, as I pressed the shutter, this man walked out of the doorway. For me, it wound up making the shot really interesting. In particular, his visual connection with the camera at that moment was unexpected. While it wasn't technically decisive, it certainly was serendipitous.

The town of Westport.

Gulls at the harbor in Westport.

Dad jumps over tidal pools while Mom and daughter look on.

While in Astoria, Oregon, we toured a lightship. I'm partial to this kind of interior design.

This shallow depth of field in black and white, for me, creates a very distinctive mood.

Astoria Bridge in early morning light.

The wreck of the Peter Iredale ship at Fort Stevens State Park in Oregon.

Afterglow. The last glimmer of light at Salt Creek in Washington.

For those interested, all photographs were shot using a Fujifilm X-T1 camera with the following lenses: 35mm, 10-24mm, 56mm, 18-135mm.

My Adobe Spark (formerly Slate) presentation of this post is available here

If you would like to keep up with my travels, sign up to be notified of new posts. Peace.

Read More