I loaded up the Leica M4, the Nikkormat FTn and the Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 521/16 for a six-day tour of Pennsylvania, my home state. I had dozens of rolls of film — 35 mm, 120 rollfilm, color, B&W (which got most of the work), you name it. But sometimes a shot is just a shot; this was taken on my phone. (2019)
“I would close the tailgate,” the old farmer said. “The cats’ll get in.” (2019)
My bride and I rent the same beach house every year, during the same week in September, on a spit of New Jersey barrier island I’ve been going to since before I could form sentences. At that time of year, we’ve cleared out most of the suckers. Entire beach for two? Right this way. (2016)
Berlin is a gritty place, both beautiful and ugly. Some of the older buildings are still pocked with bullet holes that reveal the angle and placement of their shooters. Hitler’s bunker is now a nondescript gravel parking area/dog run. The outline of the Berlin Wall is a bike path in spots. The Jews who were exterminated are remembered with little brass plaques outside those houses where they used to live and by this monstrous memorial near the Brandenburg Gate. Despite my usual reluctance toward nationalism, on this day I was glad I was born in the U.S. (2010)
Much like mine, the business end of some French weddings takes place in the town hall because of restrictions as to what constitutes legal marriage — it’s either real clergy or the mayor’s office. On Saturdays, this scene will be repeated throughout the day, with one wedding party exiting to exultation while another enters from the staging area. This one, between my bride’s cousin, from Lyon, and her man, a Corsican, was the last of the day, so there was time to blow bubbles. (2009)
(2009)
Presumably, one had no use for the other. (2009)
(2005)
We went out for a walk, Cécile and I, from her house in Les Marches. Down to the lake, with teens hanging out by the water fountain and families expanding their lives on the lawn. The vineyards encroach up onto the side of the mountains now, thanks to technology, but this slope seems more natural. (2008)
(2007)