Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island 1993

In 1993 the Southeast Lighthouse was moved 300 feet back from the bluff. During the move the light, which floated in mercury, was replaced by a light from the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. This photograph was taken at dawn on the last night the old light was on and from the original place the light was built.

I was working at the Yellow Kittens that night. The staff and I cleaned up the bar and were relaxing when someone said that we should go the light because it was the last night. When we arrived, someone produced a key to the tower. There were about ten of us and we went up to the top and enjoyed the view. When the crew went off to another adventure I stayed behind. I went to my car and took out my camera. I did not have a tripod with me. This made shooting in the predawn light difficult. Most of the shots that night were a total failure. But I held steady for this one. When the sun broke the horizon the light from the tower was no longer visible. I went home to bed.

I did not know until months later when I returned to my mainland darkroom that the photo had worked. That is the way it was back then without the instantaneous digital technology. The printing process was a very different experience. There was much more excitement and discovery in the process. I still love the printing part of photography. These days it is quicker, more consistent and the results are better. Errors are fixable with Photoshop. But it does not have that sense of total satisfaction of bringing together multiple specialized skill sets to produce something that is totally unique and special. Progress!

Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island 1990

This iconic photograph was taken during the summer of 1990. It was late in the afternoon. I happen to be driving through town, looked up as I turned the corner at the Surf Hotel and the wires overhead were bright orange. I thought it was unusual that the color was so warm with the sun still so high in the sky. Then I thought that the lighthouse might be brilliant with this light. I rushed home to get my 4 x 5 camera and headed to the overlook. I had to setup the tripod and camera quickly as the light was beginning to fade. I took four shots. By the time I got to the last one the light was gone. This one is actually the first shot. Since this was taken the lighthouse has been move back away from the bluff. This view is left to memories and old photographs.

Point Lobos 1930 - 1999

Edward Weston 1930

When I began my photographic life, Edward Weston (American Photographer 1886 - 1958) was my idol. I read all the books on his life and knew most of the photographs he had taken or so I thought. I devoured everything about him and his work. In the late 70s I remember going to the Witkin Gallery in New York City with my photography class. There in a bin was a pile of Ed Weston prints just wrapped in plastic. They were for sale at $100. I remember picking them up and being mesmerized. I wanted to buy one. Of course that was impossible being broke college student.

In 1999, I went on a trip to California. We were staying with friends in Monterey. One morning I was able to set off by myself to go photographing. Weston had lived the last part of his life in Carmel. He spent much of his time photographing at Point Lobos. The preserve is quite large at about 400 acres. Naturally I headed to Point Lobos to photograph where Weston had photographed. I spent the day walking the cliffs and photographing the ocean, waves, trees, and rocks.

A couple of weeks later I bought a new book on Ed Weston called Forms of Passion. I had the film developed and started to print the photographs from my California trip. At the time printing was a long process. I would expose the paper in total darkness, then put it into a processing machine. It took four minutes before the print would come out. I had to do one at a time until the color was perfect. Sometimes it might take four or five adjustments. Once I was satisfied I would make a few copies of the image and then repeat the process with the next one. This meant I had quite a bit of time sitting there waiting to see the dry print. I would pass time by reading photo books.

On the night that I printed this photograph, I was reading my new Weston book. I printed the rock and set it aside. I continued working on other prints. A couple of hours later I turned the page and there was a photograph I had never seen before. Then I thought, “Hey, wait a minute! That looks like the one I printed earlier!” I pulled it out. I would not have been able to do this if I had tried. I had photographed the same one square foot in a 400 acres preserve 69 years later without knowing the image. Life sometimes delivers strange unexplained connections.

Saint Patrick's Church 1979

In 1979, I was in my fourth year as a student at Providence College. I was an art major with a concentration in photography and an Social Science major. I was invited to participate in a show at Rhode Island College. The theme of the show was The City. It was in conjunction with a photo exhibit of Roy DeCarava and others. I did not have much time, money or film. I had six sheets of 4x5 inch film and a weekend to produce three prints. Normally, I would shoot two sheets of every image. With 4x5 the was a high probability that something would go wrong with one of the shots. But in this case I decided that I could only shoot one sheet because I needed the selection of images and I would hope that there would be no mistakes.

My friend Isabel Taft and I set out on Saturday to find the six shots of the city. We went down to the industrial waterfront of Providence. I took two shots there. Then I took one of some backyards. The idea of coming up with three coherent shots to present was looking bleak. As we headed up the hill behind the state house there was quite a crowd at St Patrick’s church. I knew it was slated to be closed and torn down because of structural issues. We stopped and went in. They were selling off all the parts of the church. One could buy anything from the pews to the paintings on the wall. I knew that this was where I would make my city photos with my three remaining sheets of film.

It was dark inside and there was great contrast from the dark to the light. I figured the exposures carefully. I wanted sharpness from close to far away. The exposures were several seconds long. I went back to the school darkroom. Developed the negatives right away. Later in the middle of the night I printed the three photographs that I submitted. Forty years later I still enjoy looking at my ‘city’ project photos.

Rome Boy

In the spring of 1981, I was walking the streets of Rome. I had no particular plan that day. I was just wandering with my Mamiya C330. As I turn a corner, I heard the sound of an accordion. At one end of the street a movie was being made. There were bright lights shining down there. The music flowed from the other direction. There was a little boy sitting on some cardboard with a cat in his lap. I just began taking photos. Five altogether. I was transported to a different state of being. It was like the camera, music, the boy, and cat were all at once flowing through me.

When I am asked what my favorite photo that I ever took is, I point to this one. It is the one that changed the experience of taking a photograph. All the other times I went photographing after this I was looking for the feeling I had while taking this one. Often, I find this feeling of connection to all things at once. An art teacher suggested to me that this maybe what your photography is all about.

I have had it hanging on my wall everywhere I have lived since I took it. My son one day asked me who took that one. I said I did. He was surprised. He said he thought it was by somebody famous.