Peter J. Crowley

Fine Art Photographer

From Woodstock Nation to Freedom Fries See the USA in a Bailout ‘Vette

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The Other Side Franklin Ave Norwich Ct

From the Summer of Love to this summer of_____ there is a lot to reflect on, “and it appears to be a long time” echos from forty years gone. There were songs of peace, but not sung by Richard Nixon and Dr. Strangelove who lives in Ct.

Walter Cronkite dies “The most trusted man in America” who do you trust now? George Clooney, Robin Williams, Mickey Hart, CBS is such an embarrassment! Once a leading source of news now something you watch for laughs when Jon Stewart reruns won’t do. “And that’s the way it sells.”

Forty years after Woodstock and Barbie Couric lead story is Michael Vick a story Amerikans can sink their teeth into. But alas the last story on August 14th was about tour buses arriving in “Woodstock” NY full of  tie dye tourists who “have got to get themselves back to the garden” or who sells more Woodstock trinkets Woodstock where the Festival wasn’t or Bethal where the festival was enquiring minds want to know?

To be fair and balanced Amerikas media is trash giving “We the consumers” what we want, lies, plastic, pollution, violence, sex, collateral damage and PROFIT!!!! dAH SAY DO YA WUNT fREEEDOM fRYS WIT DAT?

Blog has been down for a while so this is a long reflection many won’t read this far there has been so much to reflect on this August. But all for now got to go watch Bill O’Reilly on my i-phone.

enjoy pjc

Artists Portraits and the soul of an artist.

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Choice Who’s?


Align Center

Choice. Say it ……. and let it linger there alone in the air. What’s it mean? Just hear the word alone. What comes to mind?
Choice and the creative process. The picture you just took involves choice, first, you liked what you saw so you chose to shoot it. Then there is film, fast-slow? B+W or color? Negs or transparencies? Exposure, shutter speed, aperture and their relationship to depth of field? Lens, wide, tele, normal, what’s that? Light, filters, angle of view to name a few.
The most important choice is to make all the choices! Every picture has been taken before, every lighting design, print process all done before, what separates your image is the imprint of your soul on the photograph. The more choices you make the more the photograph is you/yours!
In 1971 I chose to buy my first new Nikon F, two years later I chose to buy a 1969 F used. The 1971 I later sold in a slow period. The ‘ 69 I still use almost daily. What a concept that something would last a lifetime. I remember my first up-grade I was in New Hampshire on vacation with my parents and there it was on the side of the road. A sign saying up-grade so up the steep incline we went and the only cost was the extra gas {around .20$ a gal} that the old Studebaker used, and that was refunded on the down-grade as we coasted down the other side.
Up-grade doesn’t quite hang there in the air with the panache of “choice?” What’s it mean? Just hear the word alone. What comes to mind?

In another thread Tom just realized that old negatives and prints from 65years ago were of very high quality, as good as today maybe. Sixty five years without an upgrade wow. Now we have, in the last decade learned so much that every six months we have so much new technology that we have to upgrade and even more amazing all this new knowledge seems to coincide with Christmas and spring weddings and graduations. Choice who’s? Well it is time for me to flip the record on the turntable. enjoy pjcOriginally written for a column on Traditional Photographic Art about five years ago. In that time “You” have chosen to upgrade your diggie and software 3.33 times. Or was it Ashton Kutcher and all that TV cleavage that made your choice? enjoy pjc

Photographic Art