Do you feel it?

Autumn is coming, slowly, quietly.
The sun sets a bit earlier, the nights have a cooler breeze and the very first hints of color change in the leaves of the maples.

Why art? What is its purpose and meaning? Why should you, or I for that matter, care?
Where does it come from? Where does it live, and why does it make you feel emotion?

 

It is a moonlight summer night, As you approach the entrance over the rough and loose stones, you see a yellow light emanating from the entrance. What lies within? A warm fire, wine and friendship - or the fires of destruction and conflict? There is only one way to find out.

The tiny red columbine grabs attention...

A friendly pup waits for welcome visitors, in the village of Taormina, on Sicily's east coast.

Catania has a bad rep - some calling it a colorless city - almost dingy. This has to do with its proximity to Mt Etna and the easy availability of black volcanic rock. Streets are paved with it, buildings are built with it, statues and arches are made with it, giving Catania, especially in cloudy, rainy days, a gloomy feel. 

But when the sun comes out, so do the colors in a riot of splendor. The most humble alley positively glows with the colors, reflective of the warm, friendly and very animated people of this city. 

Mt Etna smoulders and glistens in the bright sunshine of Sicily. It towers over Catania and the village of Taormina where this image was created. Sicily is blessed with some of the most beautiful scenery in the Mediterranean and yes, the largest volcano in all of Europe.

The image was created on a crisp January day from the Hotel Paridiso in the village of Taormina, perched on a cliff overlooking the sea. 

On a lazy late summer afternoon I took the steep stairs to the bottom of Fall Creek Gorge - just a few hundred feet from the bustle of the university with its many thousands of students and ever present buses. On the gorge floor I discovered a zen-like place of peace; water purposefully rushing to the falls and then to Cayuga Lake.

When portrait sessions become magical, the images take on a life of their own. These “Sunset Lovers” are more than an image, they are an emotion. The couple and their little Pom were delightful, and the sunset was very cooperative.  As was the duck which happened along at just the appropriate time.

Perched on the side of Cayuga Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes, the college and village exist in serenity and peace.

It was early November when I was moved to go to Aurora and photograph Wells from a spot I had noticed on the lake shore. Dramatic, fall colors, cool blue waves and bright blue sky, everything was perfect... but something was missing.

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Right here in Central New York is an authentic Japanese Garden. Built in 1906 at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua,

It is a place of peace, harmony and stability, in the center of the Finger Lake's frantic life. 

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Several years ago I took a walk through the Connecticut Hill Wildlife Management Area, intending to photograph the leaves, the colors, and the general feeling of the beautiful warm autumn day. The beauty and grandeur of the 11,000 plus acres...

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Sicily is ancient. We have explored settlements from 800BC, cities and temples from 400BC and cathedrals dating back into the 10'th century. Each place and time has its own character and feeling, owing to those who created it, those who lost their lives in the creation - or the explosions of Mt Etna.

I feel particularly drawn to the alleys - the tiny streets where people live and work with buildings crowded up impossibly close, yet the tiny cars so common throughout Sicily seem to have no problem navigating the labyrinth.

I decided to take a short drive his autumn in one of the few rare moments the sun came out. This was a jewel of an hour, when the sun and blue skies beckoned, and my camera was itching for some use. Playing hooky from my home chores, I rode with the camera at the ready in the seat beside me.

Autumn in Central New York is a riot of color - when the sun decides to show itself

In the North Sea - about 60 miles north of the upper reaches of Scotland are the Orkney Islands. Stark, rocky, mostly barren of trees and home to some of the kindest and most welcoming people on the planet. We took the ferry from Scrabster (I love Scottish names) past the Island of Hoy with it's 1,150' cliffs and eventually landed in the tiny village of Stromness.

The first rays of sunlight grace the peaceful zen-like scene in Moore State Park, Paxton, MA. 

It is a peaceful and magical place where the world of today fades to the background and the higher, softer powers hold sway. Feel yourself in the seats above, bathed in the first sunlight of morning, energized by the promise of the day, and calmed by the exquisite beauty surrounding you.

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