Moonlight Through The Pines

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

Moonlight through the pines, Woodbury, CT © Steven Willard

I don’t know how many people today remember Hoagy Carmichael, and yet whenever I come across a scene like this I am immediately reminded of his songs. Though he did not write the lyrics (those were by Stuart Gorrell), that line, “Georgia on my mind“, or the line “moonlight through the pines“, it’s Hoagy’s melody that echoes in my head.

If you have seen, and can remember the movie, “To Have, and Have Not”, the movie where Humphrey Bogart meets Lauren Bacall (all you have to do is whistle), you might also remember Hoagy as the cigarette smoking piano player. Maybe too, you will remember that Hoagy composed one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. According to Wikipedia, “Stardust” has been recorded more that 1,500 times.

Odd how a stroll in the moonlight can have that effect on me.

Olympus OMD EM5 with 20mm f1.7 lens.

Please visit my blog at http://www.stevenwillardimages.wordpress.com.

The Back of the House

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

The back of the house, Bethlehem, Connecticut © Steven Willard

It must be the contrarian in me, but I found the back of the Bellamy-Ferriday House to be more interesting than the formal front that normally gets more attention. The front is where “company” would have been shown into the house; the work is done ’round back. Besides, at this time of day the light was much more interesting.

Of course this doesn’t mean that I might not photograph the front some other time; I’m leaving my options open. I think this would be good advice if I was in the advice business or if anyone ever asked me. “Don’t just look at the front, explore and keep your options open”. Not that anyone asked me.

The Bellamy-Ferriday House and Gardens is open to the public for a nominal fee and is located at 9 Main Street North, Bethlehem, CT 0675.

Please visit me here for more images of Northwest Connecticut.

Ezra Stoller It’s Not

Black And White Photography, Photography, Steven

Guggenheim Museum, NYC, 1972 © Steven Willard

I loved (love) Ezra Stolller’s architectural photographs, but on my first trip to New York City I had no illusions about the likelihood of coming anywhere close to his images of this famous Frank Lloyd Wright structure. All I had with me was the Pentax Spotmatic I had bought at the PX while I was in the Army, a cheap Soligar 28mm lens and a couple of rolls of Tri-X. How was I going to get anything with that combination on a bright contasty day with people milling around in the foreground? But as I walked, just like in the movies, I heard the voice of Robert Capa, “If your pictures aren’t good enough you aren’t close enough”. So, with the camera to my eye, I walked closer and closer, reframing every few steps until I had zeroed in on the “fold” of the façade where the “M”s come together. If you know the building those letters, and the sweeping arches above are enough.

It’s no Ezra Stoller, but I still like it.

Scanned from a gelatin print and reworked in Photoshop to more nearly match the original.

I invite you to visit my blog at – here.