Results tagged “sunday news” from Bil's Eye View

Editor Jim McClure wrote about the history of Wildcat Falls in a recent blog entry. To read more about the history, click here.

This is what the falls look like today. The larger, main falls is in the background, partially hidden.

Sliding down the rocks along the Susquehanna River, Wildcat Run makes its entrance today behind a private residence, the hotel having burned down in the 1920s. Nothing remains of the old hotel, except for two carved rocks on the river side of the road. Steps that once led up the canyon are gone.

About a dozen people every month stop to ask permission to photograph the summer scene. A modern home hugs the canyon, to the side of Wildcat Run, and the current owner (who didn't want his name published), added wall-size glass windows to the front-- Susquehanna River-- side of the house.

Now, he goes to the back door to see Wildcat Falls, and the Susquehanna River from the front. Either direction, and he's a winner.

Schools administrations often wonder why newspapers don't print more positive news about students.

Good news doesn't have its police scanners and reports, which is generally how we get the bad news. So, we rely on teachers or other school personnel to tell us about the good news.

But sometimes, I call schools and ask if there is anything going on. "No," they say. "Just 300 kids jump-roping for a heart fund raiser". I'm usually at the school before they hang up the phone. That kind of news is terrific for pictures-- cute kids doing positive things in the community. It might not be a big story, but it's good for pictures. It's active, visual and shows our readers and viewers that not all kids are stealing cars and doing drugs.

Monday, I wandered into Devers Elementary in York, checked in at the office, talked with the principal, picked up a visitor's badge, checked with the school's privacy registrations. And then meandered up and down the halls until I found Cyncear Preston in music class.

She was 'into' Olivia Hartlaub's music class. They sang, banged on basic instruments, laughed and sang some more.

There much worse ways to spend a day off than watching good kids having fun -- and learning at the same time.

As long as Justin Teague had a fishing pole in his hand, he could get splashed all he wanted on the new fishing wharf at Conowingo Dam in Maryland. On these recent miserably hot days, who can blame him for being more interested in being splashed than catching a trophy fish?

Justin laid down his pole for a few minutes and security chased him off the pier. It's for fishing, the security man said, not for wading or swimming.

Tyler Brigham enjoys cooling off at the Graham Aquatic Center during a weekly swim trip by campers from Camp Pennwood. In operation since 1962, Camp Pennwood is sponsored by the Arc of York County, and hosts children with intellectual disabilities ages 6 to 21.

Tyler is one of my favorite people at camp. It's a joy watching these kids start camp at age six and see how they progress as teenagers.

When trying to capture an entire week in one picture -- it can be done-- you might want to stray from the obvious.

Duane is working on Prince Edward Island at a crab processing plant. His first impression upon visiting PEI was that of "a pasture in the middle of the ocean". Now, PEI isn't neccesarily known for its lavish beaches and constant fun in the sun like Florida's Key Largo or Fort Lauderdale. Vacationers land here and like PEI's relaxed atmosphere. And certainly, as is proved by this photo, crowds aren't a problem. And the beautiful reddish sand is fascinating.

Shelly and Frances Wright have collected hundreds of old farm vehicle wheels, and use them to decorate their beef farm. Together with the lupine, it makes for another tranquil scene that's typical of PEI-- but far from the more popular and touristy Anne of Green Gables house.

Whether shooting for the media or your family, there are some events you must record every week, month or year-- birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. The fireworks on the Fourth of July is one of those. But how do you capture a fresh look every time? You want something new, different and interesting, but not so unusual that the subject is obscured because of the picture's uniqueness.

At the same time, remember what one of my mentors once said -- "Excellence is always excellent." Meaning, of course, that's if it's a terrific picture, it'll be terrific again next time, and on and on...

Since Jason Plotkin was scheduled to photograph fireworks Saturday night, I was free to experiment, to look around for possibilities. And if nothing worked, it didn't matter. Jason's got it covered.

There was no one watching the fireworks from the overpass at Penn Street Street as I had seen once before (railroad tracks and silhouettes), so I moved to Kiwanis Lake, hoping for reflections. Trees there hid most of the color.

Rushing across the street was an intersection where the stream of car lights on the ground added color to the fireworks in the sky.

Don't think it worked-- too much of a stretch. Maybe shot from a higher vantage point would have shown the car lights better, and that would have helped. Jason's photo on C1 of the York Daily Record was excellent and that's good.

The next time I'm scheduled, I know three places from which NOT to shoot.

One of my many shortcomings is that I have the patience of a cocker spaniel puppy.

But sometimes, a photographer should just sit for a bit, enjoy the scenery, and wait for another element that makes a photo a lot stronger. It might hurt, but maybe it's worth the wait.

Either of these pictures would be OK without the seagulls, but the Confederation Bridge in Prince Edward Island would be just a bridge, and the sunset, well, just another beautiful sunset on Cape Cod.

For more travel information and tips, check Jen Vogelsong's travel blog.

Some of the students at Crispus Attucks Early Learning Center have spent this week studying bugs and butterflies, and they ended project by having their faces painted as bugs. From left, Osiaina Soto, Kydrese Reese, Josiah Dotts and Valencia Tatum.

Charu has done well for herself. And for those lucky enough to meet her, their lives have probably changed for the better as well.
It's been a bit more than 10 years now since Charu Newhouse, a Springettsbury Township woman, begged Yorkers for food and clothing, all to be sent to the refugee camp at which she was working, a world away. Yorkers responded with tons of goods, all of which she maneuvered to the Debrecen, Hungary, facility.
She plopped herself down in the middle of camp and proceeded to organize paperwork and the frayed lives of everyone she met there. Some wanted to go back home to Pakistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Bosnia or one of another 33 countries. Others wanted to go someplace new that they could call home.
Above are two photos from the camp. That's Charu on the left, speaking with a crowd of Pakistani men. At right is Abed, who would later become her husband. The other photo is of a young boy-- one of 1,000 people in the camp-- who tried to make the best of a very difficult situation.
Charu lives in Miami today, the state director of an immigration advocacy center. She married Abed Al-Sahli, the Palestinian refugee she met at the Debrecen camp and is now the proud mother of two young daughters. The oldest, Leila, is four years old, smart as could be, says grandma Debra Newhouse, and looks just like Charu-- blonde and beautiful. Yasmine is one year old, and the image of her handsome father, dark eyes and dark hair.
Charu's zeal for helping the underdog was, and is, remarkable. She could have graduated from college and settled into a comfy, suburban lifestyle. Instead, she traveled to Hungary, looking to help anyone who could use it. And she's still working for the underdog today.
The Daily Record's recording of her work was a fascinating study of many world cultures tossed into a mixing bowl of one broken-down former army camp. I almost felt sorry for the camp director who tried to defend her camp's poor conditions against Charu and YDR reporter Melissa Tyrrell's questioning.
Charu's fight for human rights continues today, and I thank her for the opportunity to record her work. The refugees thank her for the new direction in which she was able to point them.

Many thanks to York Dispatch ace photographer Bill Kalina, who sent this picture of me taking a splintered bat out of the protection screen. As I was taking wide angle pictures of the Revolution pitcher throwing to a teammate Tuesday, the bat shattered and came flying at me. Fortunately, I was focused (so to speak) on the pitcher, didn't see the bat and thought the sound I heard was a ball banging into the net (which is how it's supposed to work).

Only when assistant coach Jeff Barkdoll called my attention to the bat did I realize how close it came to my head and neck. 'Could have ruined my whole day. But, my gawd, I got the picture.

And that's not being cavalier about the dangers in shooting sports. It's just the way it is. Anyone who has done this for a while has been run down, knocked over, beat upon, bruised and battered by players, umps, referees, fans, or flying projectiles of one sort or another.

Many years ago, when I started in newspapers, I was a sports writer, working at a suburban Cleveland newspaper. We covered the Cleveland Indians,and the pitcher was a fast baller named Sudden Sam McDowell. This was maybe 1969, and photographers could shoot from anywhere. Access was better than in today's Central or Susquehanna League baseball games, and certainly better than high school. As long as you stayed off the field of play, you could take pictures. We even carried on conversations with first base umpires.

On this day, I lined up right behind the umpire and against the canvas padding on the old stadium wall. It was a beautiful photo, with Sudden Sam throwing the ball and the batter, catcher and ump in the foreground.

His fast ball smacked the canvas about two feet away from me, about eye level. Yes, you could stand anywhere, but McDowell made it clear he didn't want me there. I moved, and I remember a grin on his face as I shuffled off.

The moral? Be safe (for both you and the players) and be aware.

For future reference, if shooting Little League baseball, Pop Warner football, lacrosse, or whatever, remember these few (non-photography) tidbits learned over the years--

1. Watch the players, not the ball. The ball won't run you over. Players will show you where the ball is.
2. Don't take anything to the field that's going to reduce your mobility. You might have to move quickly. Big lenses are sexy and impressive, but if you don't need them, leave them in the car. Absolutely, do NOT take a tripod to the field.
3. Anticipate the game. That is, anticipate a foul ball leaving at least a bruise or welt, sooner or later.
4. Don't turn your back to the action. Be aware of the foul ball, errant pass, shanked golf shot or wild volleyball serve.
5. Forget #4. If you play it safe, you'll miss a lot of good pictures.

A friend is in the process of adopting another cat, and she mentioned it on Facebook. Cat lovers mobbed the Facebook entry, pleading that she adopt even more.

This photo was taken 23 years ago, promoting adoption of kittens at the York County SPCA, and also showing there more than just cats and dogs there. Without speaking, animals say plenty with their expression, eh? It's unlikely this picture would have had the same impact if they were just staring at each other.

Of course, the cat and dog population hasn't slowed, and the SPCA's new, more spacious buildng on the Susquehanna Trail is filled with lovable four-legged creatures.

Last year, the York SPCA adopted 1,300 cats and 1,100 dogs. For information about the York SPCA, click here. Also, check Rose Hayes' blog "YDR Pets".

Sunday, I was whining about our sky-high home heating bill for January. It's just about the only thing I don't love about winter. But while scanning through some old photos, I found this one. It reminded me that York winters aren't that tough to handle.

Taken on a four-month trip around the country while working on a 16-part series for the Record called States Of Youth, this photo shows caribou along the Alaska Highway that could have created a traffic jam-- if there was any traffic.

While January in York was cold, temps were mild compared to that trip. And although the Alaska Highway is now mostly a good paved road, winter presented unique obstacles-- and threats. To keep out of deep snow, animals used the highway as a path. On this entirely snow-covered road, I'd be buzzing around a curve and meet this--a herd of caribou. It made for some interesting emergency driving manuevers. When I finally slid to a stop, they just stood there and glared at me.

Temperatures started at -40 and climbed all the way up to -10, making driving with less than a half tank of gas dangerous. Slide off this road, and you'd need to keep warm until someone else showed up. That could be hours (or seasons?), depending on location. A few times, logging trucks forced me to the side of the road, and once into a ditch.

One of these days, I'll visit Alaska again in winter. It's starkly beautiful; it's absent of gawking tourists and clunky motor homes; it's cold; its people are extraordinarily kind. On the other hand, the long, dark arctic night smothers you like a dense black cloud and you pray for home and friends. At least, that's how it affected me. when you live there, it's called seasonal affective disorder. Tourists call it spooky.

Apparently, that's not something you get used to overnight. But next time, it won't be a solo trip, and that might make all the difference.

Winter isn't just a season in Alaska. It's a lifestyle. Someone once said that we can get used to anything but the stone in our shoe. Do you think you could become accustomed to Alaska winters?

Bucking the nation-wide trend, the York Daily Record's print circulation is holding steady, but the YDR is jumping into the digital and internet world as well with both feet. Our goal is to do one video that's posted at YDR.com daily.

I grew up with box cameras and large format film, and then to 35mm film (including recording film), eight-frame per second motor drives and lenses large enough to keep large boats at anchor. This change is admittedly rather intimidating and confusing, but certainly interesting, challenging and most of all, a whole lot of fun.

The biggest challenge in video is the time it takes to put a video together. In digital print, we can bang out a photo, from download to completion, in 10 minutes or less, and then move on to another assignment. Video sometimes takes hours. And hours. Much of what I do is sports related, or done on Excursions. When I go out of town, I shoot videos most often with my little point-and-shoot Luminex. It lacks the prime sound quality and versatility of our the big cameras, but it's handy and in a pinch, it'll do just fine.

So, when not working, I practice on off-hours in an attempt to grow in this medium. This is a video done on a New Year's visit to Quebec City, and the celebration there. It's not going to win any film awards, but capturing the French music and the dancing, smiles and fireworks certainly has advantages over still pictures.

We edit our work on Adobe Premiere. Hope you like it.

OK, it's State Farm Show time, and that means a few things. First, it's mid-January, and weather should be cold and snowy-- after all, it's January. But at the first snow flake, people will blame the 'storm' on the Farm Show, as if it had something to do with the weather, instead of the other way around. But actually, there's not been a terrible storm about this time in years. Hmmm.

Second, is my usual custom of downing at least three or four potato donuts in the food court. For those unfortunate few who haven't had the privilege of eating one, let alone a few, you're missing a treat. These culinary delights, either plain or sugared, are devoured because they are tasty and convenient, but also because they'll keep you from eating anything else in the food court for the next day and a half. They're heavy. They hit your stomach like a brick. Fishermen have been known to use them for sinkers.

They'll keep your stomach from growling for the other delicious state food associations' offerings--broccoli and cauliflower salads, pulled pork sandwiches, fried veggies, maple candy, ice cream, grilled fish, roast beef or chicken sandwiches. Only the Texas State Fair has more diverse and interesting food items (it once had armadillo eggs and fried Coke).

Once you wrestle your appetite away from the Food Court, the photo possibilities here are endless. Now, I've been in York and the Farm Show a long time, so finding something different, but still visually interesting, is tough. The photo above of eight year old Renee Svonavec of Somerset laying with her animals was done with another kid probably every year since the show opened. It's one of those 'aaaahhhhh' pictures. A cute kid and a farm animal-- it's tough to miss. It's been done-- a lot-- but does that mean we don't shoot it again? One of my mentors long ago, Bob Dorksen, said "Excellence is always excellent."

Being a local newspaper strongly committed to local coverage, the York Daily Record might not run this photo, because Renee is from Somerset, far out of our area. And that's the tough part about shooting the Farm Show. Some good pictures-- often the very best photos-- are of people from outside York and Adams.

This recent trip to Canada for skiing,(Mont Tremblant), touring and visiting (Quebec), celebrating (Quebec City), eating (raclette), exploring (Maine), eating (lobster), driving, and of course eating (unknown from the French menu) was nearly perfect. Met new friends, found new exciting places and took a lot of pictures, including many with my point-and-shoot digital.

On Bailey Island, Maine, I stopped to ask permission to take pictures of a portion of the rocky, icy coastline dotted with lobster traps that was obviously someone's property. George and Peg Johnson invited us inside like we were long lost friends, and we spent a good part of the day talking and laughing with the lobsterman and his new wife.

We learned that George is hoping to get one more year of lobstering under his belt next season, and then he could retire at 65. But that's not 65-years old, that's 65 years of lobstering on the southern Maine waters. George is 82 years old-- that's right, 82 years old!-- and he's still lobstering, fighting the waves, the frigid spring and fall temperatures and the summer heat.

Wrestling his more than 200 traps would exhaust men 60 years younger.

He and Peg are truly a love story. They had dated more than 55 years ago, and an old black and white picture of the two of them together sits on the television. But life took them in different directions, and they each married someone else. George's marriage lasted 45 years, but cancer took his wife. Peg's husband also passed away after 51 years of marriage, and she returned to the island with daughter Mandy Bello for a visit.

As it happened, Peg and George met again, and today are newlyweds of six years. Peg's gentle blue eyes smile when George says "Hey, I've got something here to show you." As he leaves the room, Peg knows what he's gone to find, and says quietly, "He's quite a talker".

He comes back with this month's Esquire magazine. The feature article is actually a series of articles--50 in all--and one man from each state's story is told. Clint Eastwood, Woody Harrelson and a list of other celebrities are the highlighted stars of their own state. For Maine, it's 82-year old George Johnson, and he's standing like a triumphant general next to a stack of lobster traps.

Of all the houses in Maine, I happened to knock on the back door of one of its biggest celebrities, at least for this month. And certainly among the most friendly.

The two are headed at the end of January for the warmer climate of Florida and Grand Cayman Islands. There, they'll recharge their batteries for another lobster season.

This trip demanded a fist full of pictures, and another storage card or two.

But none of the pictures were any more satisfying than this simple photograph of George Johnson. Sometimes, a simple picture tells the whole story.

FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL--

ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE MOST PERSISTENT BANDS WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW... SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AND WHITEOUTS FOR BRIEF PERIODS OF TIME.

Yep, it's winter, and in the Buffalo area that means blowing snow. The current storm is creating drifts that sometimes force making narrow paths--clearing entire surfaces come later. Even here, where snow storms are as common as pigeons, snowblowers and snow plows are having a hard time keep up.

That creates problems for photographers. Snow can 'fry' a digital camera in a minute, because if a flake or two melts into the wrong crevice, you'll spend the holidays learning to use a new camera.

Wipe the camera dry immediately, use a plastic bag to protect it if it's windy or snowing.

As for taking the pictures, stand with your back to the wind, expect a blue cast. Better yet, unless there's a good reason to be outside in the blizzard, wait until the storm is over. That's pretty obvious, but the snow will still be there tomorrow.

Longwood Gardens is known for its horticultural beauties, but this time of year, the lights of the holiday shine.

The Christmas lights are switched on there until January 11, and if you've never seen the display, it's a place you ought to visit. Weekends are jammed with crowds on weekends, so try to get free on a weekday. Visit the conservatory first to see the trees fountains and flowers--be sure to check the cranberry pond in the lower picture-- but once the sun goes down, just wander in wonder at the lights. And the nightly musical fountain concert.

No tripods are allowed except with special permission from the management, so for some of your shots, take along a bean bag and perch your camera on that for the time exposures you'll probably need. For more information about tripods and photography in the gardens, click here.

The picture at top was a 1.5 second exposure at about f11, flashed to light up Richard and Jennylynn Adleta of Kennett Square, Pa. As they walked under the arch of blue lights, the flash illuminated them, and I zoomed a 17-55 mm lens to create the 'motion'. It's tricky balancing the flash with the lights, and to zoom without creating blue tracks over their faces. I took dozens of shots, mostly because people went to great pains to get out of the picture-- and therefore ruined the picture.

They didn't understand that I wanted people in the photo. Understandable. 'Tis amazing how people are so considerate... Fortunately for me, some people didn't see me lurking in the dark until I blinded them with the flash.

Yep, it's a 'gimmicky' shot, but it's different, and worked. What do you think?

There are plenty of photographers who do tremendous work in landscapes without a Center of Interest, the 'I' in The Best Rice. But I'm certainly not one of them, and it's not that I haven't tried.

The Muench family and Michael Fatali, among my favorite landscape photograhers, keep turning out masterpieces, seemingly daily, that I just stare and marvel at. Many have no center of interest, but instead, let the eye wander from corner to corner, edge to edge, as I salivate at the colors, the textures and locations.

When I grow up, I hope to shoot as well...

I've never had good luck at shooting without a center of interest. In this photo, taken in either the Canadian Rockies or the Yukon (I forget), the moose immediately grabs the viewers eye and then wanders to the snowy mountains in the background.

Try to find a single center of interest in a photo. Make it stand out with contrasting light, like this moose against the reflected lake, or with color or size. By the way, the 'C' in The Best Rice stands for contrast.

THE BEST RICE, continued.

The B in The Best Rice is 'balance'. While this photo could have been cropped tighter (and maybe should be, what do you think?), the cat snoozing at top right balances out the action going on at the left.

Actually, there might be too much going on in this photo, and the 'S' in The Best Rice stands for 'simple'. Keep it simple, because the viewer's eye doesn't want to scramble from place to place. Let it anchor on a single subject, and then wander.

The cat's leg being licked clean by the calf is interesting (cute?), and the second adds balance, but it might be too much. In sports pictures especially, the fewer people in a picture the better. Usually.

The photo was taken at Leroy and Joyce Bupp's Seven Valleys-area farm. I can always find a photo worth taking home when visiting the dairy barns. One of my favorite places to search for photos-- and talk with old friends.

For more photos and stories about cats-- and dogs, fish, turtles, ferrets-- check out Rose Hayes' blog here.

Yep, winter's getting here in a hurry and my sister in Mentor, Ohio, shoveled about five inches of snow Monday. Mentor is just east of Cleveland in the famed snowbelt area on Lake Erie, so they have learned to expect it. We have no snow yet, but...

But the critters around my house and probably yours as well, are hitting the feeders with a fury. The birds are emptying the sunflowers seeds in half the time it usually takes, and the neighborhood squirrels, well, they'll eat anything that doesn't move. I keep a tin garbage can full of corn-on-the-cob so they'll stuff themselves with that and not the sunflower seeds, but they were even walking around on the can this afternoon, trying to find away inside.

For tips on feeding birds in winter, click here

For tips on how to keep squirrels off bird feeders, click here

Now, when that doesn 't work, be careful of leaving anything edible outside. While playing tennis, I left a bag of animals crackers on the court. Within minutes, this one decided it was his/hers.

Another good lesson-- keep a camera handy wherever you go.