There should be good stuff coming soon. I am going over my gallery generator to make some improvements as the image quality is, to me, sub-par at the moment. Trouble spots have been isolated, and with any luck there will be a whole new set of lovely images soon - and the old ones should be much improved.

Also, as far as I can tell the Lebanon trip is off the table again. I just can’t afford the ticket with all this oil madness. If I could afford it, I’d go, rest assured.

By now you’ve all heard (I hope) that Lebanon has elected a new president and all is provisionally going well. There are tales of optimism and celebration, and the protesters have packed up and moved out of the downtown area.

Since the war with Israel in July of 2006 I have struggled with the notion of a return trip, and for a long time it seemed like I’d never get back there. But it is something I have to do.

For a variety of reasons it is something that I am going to have to pursue sooner rather than later if I am to do it at all. When I move to Buffalo in 2010 I will be financially shaky (moving is expensive!) and my new job will likely not be offering the kind of vacation time I have now until I’ve been there for a few years. It’s now or… a really long time from now for me and Lebanon.

One of the major reasons is what I see as unfinished business with the photography that I started there. Not only did my out-of-practice condition render a lot of good images unusable due to foolish mistakes, but I also started to feel a little twinge of ridiculousness when I put up all of my images and realized: I only had images from just two very tourist-y areas.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I have no intention of marching into Palestinian refugee camps and shooting indiscriminately.

But there are other possibilities - especially out in the countryside. I have never been much of a landscape photographer, but would still like to give it a try.

I also feel that I missed a few important images. I avoided the bullet-ridden and foreboding, of which there are less and less and less as they continue to improve and rebuild. This might have been a mistake. It seems the kind of thing that my style would mesh with quite well, if I stopped regarding them as unapproachable. Same goes for mosques - my host had offered to stop and shoot at a few of them, but not being entirely clear on the etiquette of such a shoot I backed away from the possibility.

One of the more interesting conversations that I had at the opening for Photographing Lebanon was with a Lebanese citizen who thought I was white-washing Lebanon, only focusing on the aesthetically interesting, dismissing the people, and ignoring the terrible recent history that they had been through. I did my best to explain that there are dozens of amazing photojournalists who have done some incredible work for a variety of news outlets. They are great at what they do and have documented the country’s difficulties - especially on a personal level - far better than I could. It is also very easy to find these kinds of images. They are all over the news media.

What I ended up with in the show was far different, however. I saw some amazing beauty when I was there and did my best to capture what was in front of me. The Lebanon that I never saw in the newspaper. Admittedly I now cast some doubt on my set of images that only shows progress and ancient history, ignoring the recent past, but perhaps this is something that I will find a solution for on a return trip via the shells of buildings that dot the landscape.

My time there was wonderful. The people were very nice to me and were very curious (in a good way) about what I was up to and why I was there. When I explained (either directly or through my host) that I was photographing everything that struck me as beautiful in their country, they were even more warm to me and wished me well in my travels. Once they realized that I was not there to yet again portray Lebanon the terrible, they were very supportive.

Politics did not come up. Ever.

Am I being shamelessly naïve and We-Are-The-World? Very possibly. But I can only go on what I saw and how people behaved towards me. Even the few raised eyebrows that I received because of the photography worked out in the end with no issues. Interestingly, after explaining my position at the opening reception I later found that my Lebanese detractor had taken the time to leave a comment in my guest book that amounted to: “thank you for showing the beauty of my homeland”. I suspect that many Lebanese are tired of everyone being scared away from their country by endless political issues.

So I’m going back. At the moment I am looking at October. Unfortunately it looks like airfares will be significantly higher than the last time I went, so there is always that end to sort out (and potentially pull the idea off the table, depending on the final cost - ugh).

Anyone know any good grants? Start one of your own! The “Send Jim To Lebanon Fund” has a nice ring to it.

p.s. I will have a post on Buffalo soon… no, really.

Last night I got back from Northampton. The trip to New York was amazing.

Early Saturday morning we got up and packed into a cab to Springfield. Being neurotically early (my fault) left us wandering a little, and I took the above shot near the bus station. Not bad.

Eventually we made our way up to the train platform and took a seat. I look demented because I typically try to remember to do something to prevent the fat chin in these kinds of pictures. Ah well, not as bad as it could have been.

 

I had not taken the train down through Connecticut since before I can remember, so it was interesting to see the path it took. Some familiar, some not so familiar. Above we got to wander around on the platform for a little bit as they swapped out the diesel locomotive for an electric one in New Haven.

 

 

There are some fairly large gaps in here between the images and what we were actually up to, so you’ll have to forgive that. Above is of course the Metropolitan Opera House. The performance of Philip Glass’ Satyagraha was completely amazing. I was in awe the entire time. The tough thing about Glass’ music is that it requires such precision - although they did a tremendous job, it is tough to stay on top of the music as written.

The visuals that went with the performance were remarkable as well. Glass leaves this end more or less up to the director based on the thrust of the scene in question and the libretto, so each new production is a thoroughly new interpretation. This is the only performance I’ve ever been aware of (besides one in Tehran a few years back - wha?), though, so this will likely be the only interpretation I ever see. If that’s the case, then I’m awfully happy it was this performance - it was stunning.

After that we swung by the hotel to get our room and drop our stuff. Sensing that we were going to run into timing issues if we tried to go for a big meal we stopped by the hotel bar and pounded down a few beers and quesadillas. The food was decent, the service not so much so. What can you do.

Then it was off to the Cherry Lane Theater for a double bill of Edward Albee’s The American Dream and The Sandbox. Both were wonderfully executed, directed by Mr. Albee himself. Rachel and I had a few minor quibbles, but overall it was a very handsomely mounted production.

 

 

Sunday morning we got up and tried to figure out what the Pope was up to. Our hotel was right next to ground zero, and we walked through all the preparations the night before on our way back from Greenwich Village.

Of course, there wasn’t much to see out the window. Only a tiny crowd of people on one street corner was at all visible, the rest obscured by our neighbor. I went down to get coffee and received very firm direction from the Secret Service about where I could go, when, how, etc. I am of the belief that Secret Service personnel should be posted at all points where lines are a problem. They were very effective at making sure everyone got through Starbucks promptly.

After a quick text message to Ethan to find an ideal lunch/beer spot, we ended up just blocks from MoMA for a quick bite. Rachel was very good and had a Caesar Salad, I was rather naughty and had the meat loaf paired with first an IPA, then the beer sampler.

 

 

After a stop at MoMA (too many people, though the exhibit was great), it was time to head out to the train. We loaded on and both plugged in to our music immediately. Neither of us had enough rest to chat too much.

Things were progressing nicely until we hit Windsor Locks, CT and were informed that there was a medical emergency on the southbound train that was preventing us from getting past to Springfield. Gee, eliminating the second track on these lines was a real good idea, wasn’t it?

Mercifully Mike was able to rescue us in no time flat.

A great trip and a wonderful time.

I took a quiet trip back home to Ellington for Easter weekend.

Here is my Dad solving the great problems of the universe, or at the very least trying to establish why his transition in Premiere isn’t working they way he anticipated. We solved a number of problems over the weekend, not the least of which was isolating a faulty optical cable as the reason for his temperamental 5.1 Surround Sound issues.

It was a quiet Easter - the Hayes were collectively ill so the backed out of the event. My cousin Christine was working, so that eliminated her as well. It was great to see Robin and Ray, though, so it was a splendid time.

The rest of the images from Easter are kind of mediocre, so I leave you with pie. Delicious.

Saturday Rachel and I are taking the train from Springfield, down through scenic Connecticut, and straight into downtown Manhattan. We have an opera and two Albee one-acts to see almost as soon as we arrive, and Sunday will be spent in museums and whatever other trouble we may care to find for ourselves. We are spending the evening down near World Trade Center, as Rachel was able to score a great Priceline deal on the Sheraton Manhattan. Livin’ large.

Want to keep up with our antics? We will likely be posting updates here.

From where I sit right now I am looking forward to the train trip(s) as much as anything else. With the way last week went it will be nice to climb aboard the train to Springfield tomorrow and just stare out the window for a change. It’s gotten to the point where I even fantasize about my morning commute bus never reaching its destination so that I can just sit there, listen to music, and watch the world.

So my mini-vacation will be a combination of great stuff to see and do and lots of train tranquility. This formula seems to be working pretty well for me. It won’t be long before I am back on the train to Buffalo in May. Twelve hours on the train may sound like pure hell to some, but I have a grand old time.

If the ill-fated Lebanon trip stays off the table for this year (when do I just give up? hmm), stay tuned for murmurings of another stab at the train trip. I have a much better idea how I’d do it this time (my tiny digital camera, less overnight stops in cities), and think I could pull it off quite successfully.

We’ll see.

This is not actually my last trip to New York, but the second to last. Me, Melissa, and Baha went down to see Christo’s The Gates, and Melissa bought herself a fancy new digital camera. This plus my usual web headshot both came from this trip. Nice shots of me! If that’s not an accomplishment…

One star: The whole track is a disaster and a new source record should probably be found
Two stars: Track too quiet and needs to be boosted.
Three stars: Excessive pops to fix up in Audition.
Four stars: Track too loud and distorting.
Five stars: Done, leave it alone.

As the eighties project came to a close this system fell by the wayside, but I’ve come to realize that iTunes Library / iPod maintenance is a daily struggle. For those of you who don’t know this (it isn’t very well documented), if you apply an EQ setting in iTunes it will carry over to your iPod - and if you leave the iPod EQ in the “off” setting, it will apply the setting that you specified back in iTunes. (used to be that “off” really meant off and “flat” acknowledged the track’s EQ setting, but at some point those swapped)

Of course, one EQ setting does not fit all and I am constantly adjusting tracks to get the best sound out of them. Decisions about putting tracks on playlists, new discoveries that I want to hear more often, and the most time-consuming activity ever: album art. How to keep track of this all?

One star: Track is old, tired, and needs to be removed from whatever playlist is causing it to be in such heavy rotation.
Two stars: Too bass-y. Change to a milder EQ setting.
Three stars: Album art needs to be addressed in some way.
Four stars: Not bass-y enough. Boost EQ.
Five stars: Needs to be added to one or more playlists.

You just can’t be too careful with the presentation of your music.

First up is a trip that Rachel and I are taking down to New York. It started with a production of Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story” and “The American Dream”, which we knew immediately we had to go see. Then the trip planning revealed that the best bet (since Rachel doesn’t drive and I don’t own a car) would be to take the train from Springfield to New York. You all know that I love the train, so this detail is certainly a highlight for me.

Then I discovered by chance that there is going to be a production of Philip Glass’ “Satyagraha” that same weekend - easily my favorite work of his (see “10 Albums”) - at the Metropolitan Opera House! I can’t stand it. Melissa and I went to see “Akhnaten” at the Boston Lyric Opera, now I’ll see “Satyagraha”, and the only thing left is for me to see a production of “Einstein on the Beach” - and I’ll have witnessed Glass’ entire portrait trilogy.

The rest of the trip will consists of eating, drinking, and being merry. There should be some good photos from that.

In May I’m heading out to Buffalo. Ethan and I had discussed seeing The Police in Toronto last fall, but the time/money/etc. commitment proved to be too much for me. But Ethan, good friend that he is, bought an extra ticket on spec for another show in Buffalo not knowing if I’d be into it or not - yeah, I’m in! Noting that the show is the weekend before my birthday, I decided that it would be a good time for another week-long vacation there. Is this becoming a tradition?

Then in July Dad, Nancy, and I are going to boat up from Chester (on the Connecticut River in CT) to Boston to witness the 4th of July fireworks! I had been floating this as a near-joke (with an underlying current of seriousness) since my Dad caught the boating bug, and this is the year! I spent a weekend with them on the boat last year and had a lot of fun, though it was hot as hell - shades of the eighties party.

That covers the first half of the year. I went through my image library last week in preparation for the class I taught on Saturday, and dammit 1) the Lebanon stuff is the best work I’ve ever done and 2) is nowhere near finished. I am not crazy enough to leap on a plane and go over now (not while their political situation is iffy at best), but geez, can’t you guys relax for a few months? I’ve got work to do!

So… I’d love to do it. But…

We’ll see.

FYI.