Status Update

     Well my little girl was just born on Monday at 4:21 p.m. and we are now home from the hospital trying to adjust to having a baby again. Project 365 is sort of my last priority for a while, but I am still photographing each and every day. At the beginning of September I will be taking ten days off to get some work done which includes bringing Project 365 up to date. Oh by the way, her name is Isabella and she is beautiful.

Status Update

     Hello to all that are following along with me. I am managing to keep my head above water these days, but I just haven't had the time to get Project 365 updated and current. I am still slugging away with a photo every day without fail. Our baby girl will be arriving some time next week and all the preparations for her arrival have taken priority. Stay tuned and thanks for following along.

Project 365 d-217

Experimenting with a laser.

Project 365 d-216

Hold on to your hats..........Content and and many more images coming.

Project 365 d-215

     As I awoke the next day, I kept thinking about what I had seen the day before. In my mind were the vivid scenes of all those aged tombstones leaning against the trees waiting to be planted in the earth again. Of course finding out information about my family was also filling my mind. There was no reason for me to feel sad, but part of me still did knowing that just as suddenly as I discovered information about my family; just as suddenly had the trail gone cold. It bothered me to know that it would most likely have to stay cold for a long while since I don't have the time to dabble in genealogy right now. It would just have to remain a mystery until my life circumstances changed, or maybe till one day I can find out on a face to face basis. Anyway, there was another photo to be harvested today, and I knew exactly where to find it.

     As soon as my wife got home from work that evening; I immediately sought her company for a trip to the other cemetery Chris had told me about. The one that was hard to get to. As it turns out, he wasn't kidding in the least bit. My wife readily agreed and off we went in search of the hard to get to cemetery. At first we drove right by the entrance and kept going down a country road till we came to a stop sign. We had gone to far and turned around. As we did, I called my brother in hopes of getting some more directions. He half scolded me and said in a stern voice, "I told you it was down a narrow lane between two houses. He was still grumbling at me when we approached the lane that we had just driven by. "I think I've found it", I told him. "Now drive through the corn field a ways and you will see it" he said. "Got it, thanks bro", I said and we ended the call. As we proceeded down the lane between the two houses; I was quite sure that at any minute somebody would be running out of either house with a baseball bat screaming at me to get out of their field. Nothing like this happened and we slowly drove forward allowing the field to swallow us up in hopes of coming out safe on the other side.

     My wife and I just looked at each other as the corn was groping at the mirrors on either side of the vehicle. The terrain was hilly filled with big puddles of standing water leaving very little choice but to drive through them. The last thing I wanted to do was to get stuck in a place like this with a pregnant wife. After driving for about a minute I asked her if we should stop and back our way out. She just looked at me the way wives often look at husbands when stupid ideas tumble out of their word factories and past their lips. She followed up the look with sage advice, "We have come this far and you cannot back all the way out of this field", she chided. My feeling could best be described as being a little scared, and I was annoyed that I felt that way. It was a mixture of feeling like we had been chewed, swallowed and were now on our way to the stomach to be digested. Just ahead I could see that the corn rows were widening to each side and thankfully we approaching a clearing. The path we were on went up and to the right through a large stand of trees on either side. It didn't feel like being swallowed this time as I could see the entrance to the cemetery. Very slowly we approached the fenced gate, stopped, turned off the engine and stared. My wife informed me that she was not going out with me and that she would stay comfortably in the vehicle. Reaching behind me into the back seat; I grabbed my gear, opened the door and stepped out on the soft grass.

     If a horse and buggy had pulled up at that point; I would not have been surprised. The place looked like it was frozen from that period and just placed here by some benevolent being. My senses were tingling in anticipation of what I would find on the other side of that fence. My hand reached for the cool metal latch and I pushed the gate open to step inside. Up ahead about fifty yards a huge Owl winged off from some unknown perch into the trees that surrounded the cemetery. My heart was in my throat as I marveled at all of the old limestone monuments all sitting perfectly in place watching over the departed. It was clear that this man Chris had restored this place and it gave me hope to think of the cemetery I had visited the day before would one day look like this too. My camera was on my tripod and I began to walk around composing shots. There was a towering Oak tree in the middle with a white bench sitting under it and it became today's photo. The tree was at least one hundred years old by eying its girth. What a wonderful place for such a stoic old Oak tree to be still growing and watching over everything. Although, I had not seen this place before; I remembered Chris telling me about the transformation this place had taken. It was simply beautiful to behold, and I was glad to be there with my camera to witness the finished product. With the light beginning to drain from the sky; I closed up my tripod and headed back toward the entrance. Stopping just before I passed back through the gate; I ventured a glance back over my shoulder for another look. "Timeless, just timeless", I said out loud and headed toward the vehicle. My wife had fallen asleep and I let her be. As I drove back out I said to myself,  "There is a photo project here amongst these old stones and someday, Lord willing, I will be back to start telling its story with my lens".

Happy Shooting.

Project 365 d-214

     Coming back from the in-laws this weekend I received a phone call from my brother. He proceeded to tell me that he had made an interesting find in a newly discovered cemetery. It seems that a very old cemetery near his home had been brought to his attention and it was in the process of being restored. It seems that there is a local man donating his time to restore some of the old cemeteries around. He explained to me that he went exploring there and found a tombstone with my last name on it from the mid 1800's. We have the same mother but different fathers, so that is why it was not his last name too. It is also important to point out that my bro has quite the nose for finding old and interesting things. Some are worth money and some things are valuable for the knowledge they bring. My brother is usually not very chatty when talking on the phone unless he's excited about something, and today was just one of those days. "There is also a Civil War soldier buried there too", he continued excitedly. My brother proceeded to explain to me how to get to the cemetery, and encouraged me to go get some photos as soon I could. "I'm off the next two days, so I will get over on one of my days off", I assured him and we ended the call. "What was that all about", asked my wife? "Seems my bro has found a bit of family history and wanted to let me know", I told her. "Well, it sounds like it must be something special for him to call and talk for so long, and I intend to find out tomorrow", I said.

     The rest of the trip home I kept thinking about getting to that cemetery, and hoping that there would be photo opportunities. It was hard for me to sleep as I tried to imagine what lay waiting for me on this hallowed ground. Old cemeteries are special to me for the history that they hold and for the images I have been able to harvest from them. Sleep finally smothered out my spinning mind and I slept deeply. The next day, I went about my business like any other day off. Lots of photo editing and writing. I didn't have to supervise my girls because they were staying with my wife's parents. My wife and I decided to go find the cemetery after she got home from work, and  I was ready and waiting for her as she pulled into the drive. I pleaded with her to hurry, so there would still be some good light left. My father had stopped by and decided to tag along as well. Soon we were on the road and  following the directions my brother had given me. We ended up on a winding gravel road that sent waves of white, chalky dust rolling into the corn fields as we drove. Up ahead we could see a small entrance that looked like the one my brother had told me about. Turning in cautiously we saw the cemetery sitting up on top of a hill, but it didn't look safe to drive up due to the grading work that had recently been done. We parked the car and walked the steep hill up to where the cemetery started. There were a multitude of headstones that were leaning against various trees as there were with out a place to mark a grave. Over time, they had been knocked down my trampling livestock, or careless humans all the while the earth was determined to claim this sacred place and pull all references down into its depths.

     In spite of the disarray, it was quite beautiful to see all of that history skillfully carved out by skilled hands onto the cold stone markers. Peace washed over me as the setting sun bathed the landscape in glowing orange waves of light and the shadows danced at the approach of evening. Immediately we set out to find the special headstone with our family name on it. First, I found the head stone of the Civil war soldier that my brother had spoken about and this is the image that I used for today. Party because I want to honor the fallen from our country's wars, but also so I can stay super secret. My hope was that it would be one of them that was in the proper place. Not long into the search, I spied a headstone that had fallen backwards out of its base and was resting on the soft grass. Walking around to stand in front of it; I saw my surname etched out with perfection in marble laying before me. It was good to see that the head stone was not far from where it should be, and I knew I was standing near departed family. Her name was Charity and she was the wife of John who had my last name. She died on August 6th, 1867 at the young age of twenty four and we found her only four days from what would be here one hundred forty-third birthday. My father and I decided to lift up the stone and place it back into its base, so that it would be easier for me to photograph. Plus, I felt better seeing it standing erect where it was supposed to be. I was able to get some good shots of it, and I tried to make something artful out of the experience. Suddenly a white truck turned into the entrance and began to drive slowly over the bumpy ground right up to where we were all standing. Nobody spoke, but I was thinking to myself, "Great, we are going to be arrested for trespassing". Instead out of the truck came a kind and determined man walking over to us. He spoke as he came near. "Beautiful isn't it", he said. "Whew", I thought to myself and replied, "It sure is". He introduced himself as Chris and I stuck out my hand as I told him mine, my father's, and my wives. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he graciously began to share some information that he had about this cemetery and some other he had already completed. This was the man my brother was telling me about. For the short time we were there it was clear that he had his work cut out for him in attempting to restore this special place to what it once was years ago.  He was off to a good start, and I hoped to have time upon it's completion to return and get my lens around it.

     At some point I told him that my brother had informed about this place and how he had found a tombstone with my family name on it. Upon mentioning my brother he immediately knew of him. My brother is well known in these parts, actually he is well known all over, and for good reason. He is quite like something out of a story book, a man's man with a love for life, family, and the great outdoors. I'm quite happy to have an older brother like him, and he is one of my hero's. Anyway, the conversation turned to my family name and Chris began to explain to me that Charity was the grand-daughter of Charity Sortore who was also buried there as well. That didn't seem exciting until he told me when she was alive during the Revolutionary war, and how long she lived. Charity Sortore was born in Hopewell, NJ on May 20th, 1762 and lived to be ninety four years old. She was married to Hendrick (Henry) Sortore who fought in the war of independence and is buried in Friendship, NY. There is a picture of his tombstone online by cutting and pasting this link at the end of this blog into your browser. Here I was standing in this sacred place taking to a stranger about family I never knew I had, and there was a connection back to the birth of our country. Obviously, I understood that some of my relatives would have been around even farther back than the war for independence, but to suddenly learn their names and to be standing practically on the place where they were laid to rest was exciting. Chris proceeded to tell me that he had information from a genealogist that told of Charity Sorter talking about hearing George Washington's cannons at the battle of Princeton, and that his army camped in her father Nathanael Stout's field. All I could think was "WOW". I imagined the look on my oldest daughters face when I told her about this as she dearly loves history. Charity and Henry's youngest son Nathanael had a daughter named her charity after his mother. Charity then married John from my family and this is where our two families get tied into a genealogical knot. My mind was churning just trying to process all of this and wondering why Charity died so young, did John and Charity have any children and what happened to my John after she died. It felt like a good mystery, and I was so glad that I had made time to come and visit this place.

      The light was nearly gone when Chris and I exchanged phone numbers. He told me that he would see if he could find any more information about Charity and John and get back to me. He also encouraged me to visit another cemetery that he had already restored, but warned me it was hard to get to. We thanked him and walked back down the hill toward the car to leave. As I closed my door and waited for my passengers to board; I looked back up that hill and scanned the now silhouetted head stones once more. Funny how things can look different with just a bit more information. It still looked beautiful, but now a little sad as all of the unanswered questions bounced around in my mind. We drove back out of the small entrance and out once again onto the chalky gravel filled road. We decided to head into town to get some gas, and something to drink. Just as well pulled into the gas station my phone began to ring. "Hello this is Scott", I said. "Hey Scott, it's Chris and I have some information for you", he explained. "Really, already you found something out", I queried him. He proceeded to tell me that he looked through the information given to him by the genealogist, and read off what she had written for Charity the wife of John. "The broken tombstone of Charity Sortore lies near that of her grandmother Charity Stout Sortore. We wonder what happened to her young husband and any children they may have had". He promised to make some copies of and bring them by my home. "Thanks so much for your taking the time to relay that information to me", I told him. I offered my services as a photographer for free should he ever have need to show of his restoration works. We said goodbye and ended the call. Still a mystery I thought as the last of Chris' words still rang in my ears as we drove home. Genealogy was something that I had never been that interested in, but now a curiosity was growing inside my mind. I needed to know more. Not just about John and Charity, but all of the other faceless people who rest in the ground below a cold stone marker with scant details about their lives. Was a new idea for a photo project brewing in my mind? Perhaps, but for now the only thing I have time to pursue is a good nights sleep and pray for a full memory card tomorrow.

link: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9HA0_Henry_Sortore_Sortore_Cemetery_Friendship_NY

Happy Shooting.

Project 365 d-213

     One more day of photographic glory spent with my wife and family at her parents. This afternoon we traveled just out of town to a county park for some fun. I had been to this park many times and harvested many photos from it, but I cannot remember ever seeing so many wildflowers and butterflies before. They were simply everywhere! Lots of little ones that never seemed to want to hold still, but spent their entire day taunting me with acrobatics just of the reach of my lens. Still, there were plenty of Monarchs to get my lens on and this particular flower must have been extra loaded with nectar because they kept coming back to it again and again. At times there were three or more at once landing on this purple flower in a feeding frenzy. Try as I may; I was unable to get them all in a good composition or freeze them in flight. So I just concentrated on capturing this one, and he was more than accommodating to me and my lens. The sun was in a near perfect position in relation to this feasting Monarch and it was a treat to have it all to myself.

     Even though I had success in capturing this beautiful creature; I wished that I could have stayed there all day and just filled memory card after memory card. It was so full life buzzing and winging its way around the spectacular prairie filled with flowers, and one day was just not enough. Sadly, it won't be till next year till I can return to try again. Not because I don't want to go back to the my in-law's you understand, but the next time we visit these flowers will be gone with the approach of Fall. Hopefully next season will find me with my first photo book completed and working on one with looser time constraints. Never the less, I will be back to this wonderful little town where the most beautiful thing I've ever photographed kisses me every night as I close my eyes and whispers "I love you" in my ear.

Happy Shooting.

Project 365 d-212

     Headed out of town with my wife to spend the weekend at her parents today, and I was anticipating some  quality time to photograph. A lot of my early photographic exploration came from spending time here. There are many fantastic things to photograph especially when you are learning to be proficient with your camera. The weekend I got my first digital camera we headed there and that was sort of the unofficial start of my love for photography. Later that summer is when I really started my official journey into the art of photography near the Mississippi River and my life had been turned upside down since then. A good upside down that is.  I just couldn't get over how great it was to document your life with just a click of the shutter. No waiting to see what you had created, but instant gratification. I would be remiss if I didn't say that there is still a place for film and all of the disciplines it teaches in the world of photography. Upon returning to college for my degree it was one of the classed that I cherished. Watching your composition come to life before you as it sloshes around in the developer. Hopefully some day I will be able to spend some time pursuing film photography as well as digital.

     Once we got into town and unloaded, I got the green light from my CEO to hit the road and photograph. Within minutes I was roaring down the road with the windows open to let in the fresh country air. By the time on my watch I knew the sun would be setting soon, so I wasted no time in getting right to it. Immediately I drove to the water; I'm a Pieces remember? There is a really cool damn where the water glides so gracefully over the falls and down into swirling pools covered with mocha like foam. It is not uncommon to see fisherman standing out in the middle of the water like they were standing in a parking lot. Tonight was no exception and there were three of them wetting a line. Still, all my attention at the water was spent on the rushing water and the abstract reflections of the sky and riverbank on the other side of the damn.  There was too much to photograph and not enough daylight to do it in. I really wanted to try another location before all the light was gone, so I loaded my my gear and headed back out of town.

     When I got to the other location; I realized it was too dark to photograph, so I just turned around and headed back into town. As I drove in, the sun was now gone but it's footprints were still brushed across the darkening sky. As I drove, I saw this silhouetted windmill near a fueling station that looked amazing against the glowing horizon, so I pulled over to set up my tripod and camera. The road was completely deserted, and I drank in the isolated feeling I had. Over the next five minutes I took many exposures of this scene, and they just glowed on my LCD. One lone star could be seen up above me as night began to draw it's blanket about the sky. It felt good to be out of town and even greater to be out of town with my camera. No disrespect to my in law's you understand. Tonight I'm really glad that I'm a photographer in the middle of a time consuming project, or I might have missed the remains of this day painted out before my eyes.

Happy Shooting.

Status Update.

Still photographing everyday, but just really busy getting ready for the new little one who will be here in a couple of weeks. My guess is that she will arrive on d-234 of Project 365. Wonder what I can photograph on that day? Interesting find today at a hidden cemetery where some of my ancestors are laid to rest. There is a connection back to the Revolutionary War from a young lady who is buried there. More details to come as well as more photos and writing.