Colors of Fall

I thought seeing and spending time with the non-human living things of Manhattan in summer was amazing, but now the fall! Everywhere I turn there are colors and leaves creating piles and patterns and life preparing for winter.
Last night we had the pleasure of not only seeing at night the 30-odd-foot fish pond SwissScape built (with an abundance of sweat and a touch of tears) last year, we also got to spend time with the lovely and interesting people who live there and have names for every fish.
Then today we began to turn off irrigation systems. That means going to every client with a compressor to make sure all the water is out of every line and emitter to avoid frozen pipes. I had a great deal of fun, we took turns pushing the hand-truck and ate lunch watching the sea lions in Central Park. Here's want a Japanese Maple looks like as it gets ready to sleep.

I Can Get Some...Satisfaction

We finished the tree pit last week. The satisfaction I felt doing the job, hearing the comments of passersby (everyone in NY has an opinion) and looking at the finished product is surprising. I have felt the satisfaction that comes with a fabulous edit of a photo story, doing a great job on breaking news and several times being directly involved with images that later win a Pulitzer Prize. I would not have thought that there would be a comparable feeling as I walked away from that service to a client and this happier street tree!

Using Tools...

I thought it was all about computers; Mac, PC fluent in both. I am happy to know how to use the tools of photo journalism, I might well use them again in a professional setting at some point.
I love storytelling and have always been most comfortable telling them with pictures, taken by someone else, through stories about someone else. This blog gives me a chance to tell my story with my pictures. It's really fun!
Speaking of fun and tools, Oh My! This week I had the chance to use power tools, crowbars and an axe. Dug out cobblestones, shoveled dirt and rocks into bags (it's NYC you have to leave the street clean) while my partner worked for hours to remove a steel barricade that was put in years ago and the tree held tight with it's roots. I loved the work as well as they looks of passersby, there are still some jobs folks are not used to seeing women do, especially those with greying hair.
Stayed tuned, photo of the completed project to come...

Big Day (another one!)

John Lennon would have been 69-years-old today. I got to work on a building across the street from the Dakota where he lived and was killed.
So already singing some of his songs and thinking about life in general, I did my first solo job! Okay, it's not like I installed a whole system but I did have to replace a couple of light fixtures, we saw a couple of nights ago they were a bit harsh. I won't hang the photo on the wall, but those are MY tools with the Dakota as backdrop and the lights worked when I was finished, after 37 years of working in an office, damn! Then for the eye, I offer a view of the Dakota in memory and thanks for John.

Wonders and Possibilities

It is so hard for me to stay the same these days. I had a life all settled down, stressed and unhappy more time than is healthy but it was settled down. Then I chose, with the support of a great partner, to toss it all up in the air and my, how wonderful, scary and unsettling is all has become! I know we all are supposed to fear change, and I would not put myself above anyone in that regard but I have to say change really translates to fun for me. This is not the first major change in my life, I could write a book about a couple of those, but it is the first I am making with eyes wide open. In the last 24 hours those eyes have seen the skyline in a full moon over Central Park and little plants growing right out of the garbage can, used for composting on a rooftop!

Time to be, to breathe, to think - oh my!

I imagine that for many people it comes as no surprise, I am a late bloomer, that being busy, busy, working, chores, socializing, back to work is a great way not to know yourself. I struggle a bit with not being busy, I really want to do it, feel great when I do but the voices from the past that go on about idle hands, the devil etc. One wonderful trick to play on them is to work on my freehand needlepoint; it is the second one for me, I just use whatever color I want or jumps into my hand. So here mom, nanny, Sister Richard, my hands are not idle - the devil only gets what I give him!

A Beginner, again

I have been thinking about how many times I find myself as a beginner, historically I have not been so happy to be one, you see Native New Yawkers are not beginners and never need to ask a question! Ha!
I had several days off, which I used to tackle a number of crowded areas in my life. It felt great and gave me time to think. I can admit out loud that I love being a beginner, whether in pottery, needlepoint, as the lead photo editor of the UN General Assembly, as the manger of a large team, speaking in public, or splicing low voltage lights together on a windy terrace high above Central Park. Learning is just fun.
Some shots from my recent activities; the top is a combo, a rowboat going under a bridge then the pull out shot to the bridge (yes it's there) over the lake in Central Park. Then the bird's eye view of a green roof on a building next to the Trump Tower in Colombus Circle, and last but most fun the reaction of two ladies to the camera at a Greek festival on 17th St.