Lots to Celebrate on the Mountain Top

Counting up money for the 50/50 at MTHS

Sunday saw two anniversary celebrations among the arts community on the Mountain Top. In Haines Falls, the Mountain Top Historical Society threw a party for its fortieth anniversary. Ice cream, cake, lemonade, and ice tea were offered for our enjoyment, and top-notch music from the fifties performed by the Rhythm and Blues Band ensured that it was great fun to “twist gain, like we did last summer” — or perhaps more summers ago than I care to count…. Earlier in the day, Larry Tompkins gave a presentation on historic Windham. Alas, other commitments meant I had to miss this, but MTHS President Cyndi LaPierre assured me that it was well attended.

The Rhythm and Blues Band does their thing

The MTHS has the friendliest, most dedicated, and most knowledgeable people you can imagine. Stop into their colorful headquarters the next time you’re driving along Route 23A — you can find details on their website — and while you’re there, check out my photography exhibition “Natural and Historic Landscapes,” open through Labor Day weekend!

Enjoying the festivities at the TAAC

The other celebration was taking place in Tannersville, where the Tannersville Antique and Artisan Center was celebrating the first anniversary of being in business. The place was alive with well-wishers, and I also met some of the regulars whose work is for sale there, including photographer Francis Driscoll and local historian/author John Ham. Rick Thomas has done a superb job of bringing together gifted regional artists and collectors to a bright, friendly venue where you’re sure to find something you’ll want to buy, for yourself or for a gift.

In Hunter I stopped into the Kaaterskill Fine Arts & Crafts Gallery for a preview of a truly

A glimpse of the new show in Hunter

eye-opening photography show that’s opening this weekend. Carolyn Bennett is always on the lookout for interesting artists to showcase, and this time she has managed to find three photographers whose work really pushes the envelope as to what can be done in the medium. Palenville’s Dan Burkholder I’ve been familiar with from Facebook and his website and was glad for this opportunity to see some of his fine work “in person.” While I was there I met Vincent Bilotta, also from Palenville, who was busy hanging his portion of the exhibit. The third photographer is Fawn Potash from Catskill and I look forward to being able to study her work more closely.

The opening reception for “Light Sensitive” is this Saturday August 16, 2 to 4 pm at the Kaaterskill Fine Arts & Crafts Gallery, Route 23A in Hunter. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday Mountain Top Historical Society

Aug8

First, something about the Mountain Top Historical Society in their own words: “The Mountain Top Historical Society is dedicated to discovering , preserving, interpreting and sharing the unique and rich history of the Mountain Top region in Greene County, NY. The Society is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1974 and engages in activities and programs that enrich understanding and foster appreciation of the Catskill High peaks. We encourage the study and preservation of the Mountain Top’s art, literature, history, culture, folklore, legends in a variety of ways.”

Local historian and author John M. Ham poses with his latest book. The quality of the B&W photos in this one is amazing.

Local historian and author John M. Ham poses with one of his books.

Now, the great news is that they’ve been doing this since 1974! This year the MTHS celebrates forty years of serving the northern Catskills. They’ve supported the work of historians such as John Ham, whose books are an invaluable and indispensable resource for the region’s history; sponsored the premiers of such filmmakers as Tobe Carey, whose visual documentaries are historical tours de force on such topics as the Ashokan Reservoir and the Catskill railroads; invited lecturers to share their knowledge of the history and culture of the region; provided entertainment steeped in the Catskills’ popular culture; and currently, for which I’m very grateful, are hosting my photography exhibition

“Ashokan Dreams”

“Natural and Historical Landscapes.” This is the first time the MTHS has ever hosted a photo exhibition and I’m privileged that they’ve decided to “take a chance” on me and am especially thankful to current MTHS President Cyndi LaPierre for her faith in my work.

On Sunday August 10 the MTHS invites us all to their official celebration of their fortieth birthday. Come and join in the fun if you can! On Route 23a in Haines Falls — you can’t miss the sign and the colorful headquarters. At 1 pm Larry Tompkins will present a lecture about beautiful, historic Windham. From 3 pm to 4.30 pm the Rhythm and Blues Band will entertain, and there will be free ice cream and cake for everyone. And while you’re at it, please stop into the Visitor Center to enjoy my photographs–you might find a print or some fine-art cards you’ll want to take home.

Bardavon Theater Presents Met Opera Treats

Mar30

One year ago I blogged about the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Parsifal, shown live in HD at the UPAC in Kingston (you can read that post here). Last week I attended the Encore HD performance of the Met’s new production of Massanet’s opera Werther, this time at the UPAC’s “sister theater” across the Hudson River, the historic Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie. “Encore” performances are the same as the “live” ones except that they’re not live but may be a day or a week later; as with the live ones, in the Encore performances you get the same intermission features, including the interviews with the cast that actually took place during the intermissions.

This was my first time ever seeing Werther, which is loosely based on a novel by Goethe, and except for the tenor arias that I have on recordings by the great Nicolai Gedda I was unfamiliar with any of the music. I can’t say I particularly liked the opera — but I did enjoy the performance immensely. Vocally and visually the cast couldn’t have been more perfect. Both onstage and off, tenor Jonas Kaufmann looks the epitome of the handsome, dashing romantic hero, and the title role was as if made for him. Surprising, really, how demanding the role is, and it’s hard to imagine a tenor today who could navigate its challenges more successfully than Kaufmann.

French mezzo soprano Sophie Koch in the role of Charlotte gave a virtuoso performance as the young woman torn between being united with her true love, on the one hand, and, on the other, dutifully fulfilling her mother’s deathbed wish that she marry Albert, to whom she is now engaged. Lisette Oropesa was delightfully sweet as Charlotte’s younger sister Sophie, and David Bižić a steady, solid, if somewhat boring Albert (I’m referring to the character, not to Bižić’s performance) who nonetheless exhibited hints of a hard side when he thought himself crossed.

Veteran singer Jonathan Summers played the Bailiff, Charlotte’s widowed father. Here’s where the beauty of the close-up camera work of the HD rendition really shines: At one point a telling expression of misgiving flashed across his face when Charlotte’s upcoming marriage to Albert was mentioned. which I doubt could have been visible to the audience in the enormous opera house itself.

In the intermission interview Kaufmann spoke of the challenge of interpreting Werther in such a way that the audience doesn’t lose sympathy with him. He certainly did his best, but I think the production was working against him here, and by Act III you wanted to tell him, “Just take some Zoloft and get over it.”

This was my first time seeing a performance in the Bardavon Theater. The Bardavon has an amazing history. It started life as the Collingwood Opera House in 1869, and

If you want to grab a quick and tasty bite to eat before a matinee at the Bardavon, this historic diner is just down the street.

during its heyday, which lasted into the 20th century, renowned artists such as John Philip Sousa, Edwin Booth, and Ignace Paderewski performed here. Converted in 1923 into a venue for vaudeville and silent movies, the theater eventually fell upon hard times and closed in 1975. It was actually slated for demolition, but a not-for-profit group was formed that worked for revitalization, the theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the very next season the theater began its new life as the Bardavon.

Whatever kind of entertainment you enjoy, the Bardavon and the Kingston UPAC are guaranteed to have something for you. Why not check out their website and see for yourself?

View my fine art photographs of Historic New York, including one of Poughkeepsie’s Main Street, here.

Happy Birthday, General Washington

Feb23

The New Windsor Cantonment has been one of my favorite places to photograph, but last Monday, Presidents’ Day, was actually the first time I had been there in a while. Of course, there was lots of snow, and this challenged me to look at the place with a new eye.

If you’re not familiar with the New Windsor Cantonment, it’s well worth a visit if you’re traveling through Orange County. It’s also known as “the last encampment,” because it was indeed the last encampment of General George Washington’s Continental Army before the end of the Revolutionary War. Today you can walk the grounds and see the (mostly reconstructed) buildings, and on special days, such as on Presidents’ and Memorial Day Weekends, reenactors offer demonstrations of military and camp life. Also on the site is the Purple Heart Hall of Honor. For further information on this historic site (including opening times), visit the website for NY State Parks.

Hudson River Painters: The Truth of Asher B. Durand

Oct1

Opposites attract, so they say. That could well apply to the two foremost painters of the 19th-century Hudson River School, Thomas Cole (1801-1848) and Asher B. Durand (1796-1886). Of course, they had much in common, most notably their incredible artistic gifts and their love for being outdoors in the open, away from the noise and bustle of the city. (If they complained about the noise and bustle then, can you imagine their reaction if they were to visit it today?)

But when it came to the details — to each man’s individual approach to their work — Cole and Durand were quite different. As a photographer, I like to put it this way: If they were landscape photographers working today, Cole would have been one of the first to own a digital camera and to take full advantage of all that Photoshop has to offer in the way of processing the photos. Durand, on the other hand, would still be using a film camera — one of those large-format ones, no doubt — and would make only the most minimal use, if at all, of photo processing software.

Durand painted what he saw. It’s as simple as that. He was one of the first in America to use the plein air technique, meaning that he actually painted outdoors, painted immediately what he saw. Some of his paintings are so exact that it’s possible even today to identify the spot from which he painted a particular scene.

Durand, Beacon Hills

One such painting is Beacon Hills on the Hudson River, Opposite Newburgh. Durand’s business was such that he had to live in New York City, but he took every opportunity, especially in the nice weather, to get out and travel, not only to paint but also to walk and fish (he was an avid sportsman). For a few years (roughly late 1840s–early 1850s) he owned a vacation home in or near Newburgh, in Orange County, from which one can look right across the Hudson River to Beacon, and it was there that he painted this picture (above).

Since I don’t live far from Newburgh, I decided to test it out. Armed with my camera and my intuition, I drove up Route 9W and parked along Water Street. On the side of the street opposite the riverfront a hill rises up, leading to some homes as well as to the city’s historic district. Since Durand painted his picture from a height, I walked up the hill with my camera and tripod. It was easy, instantaneously to see what Durand had painted. Compare the contours of the mountain peaks to see what I mean.

I didn’t aim either to replicate exactly the contents of Durand’s painting (impossible anyway–there’s now a railroad running through the scene, apparently one reason why he gave up the house after three years or so) or to process my photo to resemble the painting. Interestingly, Durand loved clouds–he was of one mind with the English painter John Constable in that–and may well have envied the sky I had that day.

Durand, Dover Plains

Another scene Durand painted that is claimed to be so exact that the spot can still be located is Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York. Dover Plains is near the Connecticut border and is, as I discovered, a challenging drive. I probably shouldn’t have trusted directions that say “When you pass the last house…” (last house where?), but I drove around and around and never found the spot. If anyone reading this can help me out, I’d be very grateful. Otherwise, one day I’ll conscript a volunteer into driving me there so I can watch out for the view.

This photograph isn’t in our new book, Historic Hudson Valley: A Photographic Tour, but plenty of other good photos are! Check it out here.

WKNY, a Good Local Radio Station

Jul30

Here I am with radio host Warren Lawrence after our interview.

Last week I drove up to Kingston to do a radio interview promoting our new book, Historic Hudson Valley: A Photographic Tour. While it would have been possible to do this by phone from home, I prefer face-to-face contact and getting actually to meet people. In this case, it was well worth the trip. Warren Lawrence, who is the Program Director for WKNY (1490 AM) and who invited me, is also the Morning Show host, and it was energizing to see him in action. It would be hard to find someone more dedicated to this work, and once we got talking, we were on a roll. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did!

Since WKNY is a local AM station whose signal doesn’t reach as far as

When Warren told me the radio station was next to the Big Bubble Laundromat, it proved very easy to find!

where I live, I listened to Warren’s morning program a couple of times streaming online to familiarize myself with the content and dynamics. It is definitely at least a notch or two in quality above some other local stations, including some FM stations whose signals reach much farther. Notably, neither the music nor the talk revolve around the latest celebrities. Another recent guest, for example, was a lady from the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall, Orange County. It’s gratifying to see this lovely museum being publicized as an alternative to water parks as a place to take children on a summer day. And as for the music–well, when Warren played Roberta Flack from 1972 singing “The first time ever I saw your face,” I knew I was far away from being beaten over the head with the Top 40.

If you’re driving north on the Thruway in the Hudson Valley and are looking for quality radio to keep you company, you should be able to pick up WKNY’s signal beginning around Exit 17 (Newburgh). When I left Kingston after this delightful experience, the signal stayed with me all the way to Rhinebeck, my next stop (more about that another time), across the Kingston-Rhinebeck Bridge to the east.

St. Mary’s of the Mountain Church, a Historical-Cultural Landmark

Jun18

I enjoy photographing historic buildings and have lately gone in search of the ones in and near the Mountaintop region of the Greene County Catskills. Some I’ve discovered simply by wandering around, some from the classic book Picturesque Catskills, and some have been suggested by Carolyn Bennett of the Catskill Mountain Foundation in Hunter. I’m particularly grateful to Carolyn for having put me on to Saint Mary’s of the Mountain Church, right down the road on Route 23A in Hunter. Built in 1839, Saint Mary’s of the Mountain is the oldest Catholic church in the Catskills. It served the Irish and German immigrants who settled in the Catskills to work in the tanning, cotton, and lumber industries.

The Diocese of Albany, in which Hunter is located, closed the church in 2002 and planned to demolish it. Fortunately, a group of local citizens banded together to save the church, and in 2011 the diocese transferred the title to the Village of Hunter. Saint Mary’s of the Mountain is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The unforgiving Catskill weather hasn’t been kind to this historic church and it is sorely in need of repair and restoration. The committee is actively raising funds to ensure that this beautiful historic landmark can be restored and preserved. I will be adding my own efforts to this project, but meanwhile I wanted to share with you a few of the photos I took during a recent visit. It was toward the end of May and fresh snow had been falling on the top of Hunter Mountain–real snow, not fabricated ski snow–a glorious day!

Please consider making a contribution, even a small one, to the church restoration project. Check out their Facebook page or send checks made out to “Village of Hunter St. Mary’s Fund” to PO Box 934, Hunter NY 12442. Every little amount adds up. Every little amount brings this historic church closer to the day of its former glory.

Also — great news! — our book Historic Hudson Valley: A Photographic Tour is now available!

Met Opera’s Parsifal a Treat at Kingston UPAC

Mar8

Last Saturday I had the amazing experience of enjoying the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Parsifal live in HD at the UPAC in Kingston. The production was not a traditional one but was set in the present–or, perhaps, a future–time. It certainly had a postapocalyptic feel to it. And it worked. The point: This is a timeless story, not something that could only have taken place in a mythical Middle Ages.

The cast was the best that could have been assembled for a Wagner opera in this day and age: it included Jonas Kaufmann (Parsifal), Katarina Dalayman (the sorceress Kundry), Peter Mattei (the wounded Grail Knight Amfortas), and Evgeny Nikitin (the evil magician Klingsor), led by the masterful conducting of Daniele Gatti, but for me the most memorable performance came from the great Wagnerian bass Rene Pape as an unusually youthful, deeply sensitive Gurnemanz.

Although I’ve been a professional opera critic in a precvious life, my purpose in this blog post is not to comment in detail on the performance but, rather, to highlight the venue–the UPAC in Kingston. For me, at least, this historic theater was an undiscovered treasure, since until I went looking for a place to see Parsifal I had never heard of it. Thus as a Wagner lover and a historian, it was a double treat to attend the performance here. Originally known as the Broadway Theater (it’s on Broadway in Kingston, a few minutes from I-587), this combination movie palace and vaudeville house first opened its doors in 1927. Twenty years later it was purchased by the Walter Reade Organization and became a first-run movie theater. In 1953 the theater got not only a major facelift but also a new name, the Community Theater.

In the 1970s Kingston began suffering from an all-too-common malady as businesses and entertainment venues forsook town centers for suburban mall areas, and by 1977 the theater was slated for demolition–until a group of concerned citizens got together, purchased it, and reopened it as the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC). In 1979 the theater went on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the last great show palaces in New York State. The UPAC is now merged into the corporate structure of the Bardavon, another historic theater across the river in Poughkeepsie, both of them premier performing arts venues in the Hudson Valley.

The variety of offerings at the UPAC is quite amazing, as you can see from the photo here. If you visit their website, you can learn about their performance schedule and also become a Friend, which entitles you to various “perks” depending on the level at which you join. The membership covers being a Friend both of the UPAC and the Bardavon, so you get two for the price of one.

It just goes to show that people living in the Hudson Valley don’t have to schlepp into New York City for top-notch performances. While operagoers watching HD live aren’t seeing the performances in person, the huge screen ensures that they have a better view than they would at the Met, plus–and this is a major bonus as far as I’m concerned–they get to see the live intermission interviews with the artists, something the Met audience misses out on.

Check out the UPAC and the Bardavon today. I guarantee you, there’s something at each of them for every taste–and you’ll be supporting a historic artistic presence in the Hudson Valley.

Burger Hill Park offers great “prospects”

Oct26

In 18th-century (and early 19th-century) England the word “prospect” was often used to mean “view,” and people enjoyed going out walking and hiking to find nice prospects. They would ascend high hills to enjoy the prospect; apparently, this is how one accessed the best view–oops, I mean prospect–of the university town of Oxford. Poets often waxed eloquent in praise of prospects (the well-known phrase “Distance lends enchantment” comes from one of these poems).

Those searching for an interesting “prospect” in the Hudson Valley might well consider a trip to Burger Hill Park near Rhinebeck. Burger Hill offers stunning views of the Hudson Valley and Catskills and of the surrounding, bucolic farmland, and is especially attractive during the foliage season, as you’ll see from my photos. I understand that it’s a great place for sledding during the winter, and during the spring and summer birdwatchers have plenty of opportunities for their favorite activity. In fact I noticed several nesting boxes built at various places and wondered what species they attract–possibly meadowlarks?

Burger Hill has an interesting history. In the early 18th century a man named Burkhardt, a Palatine German who settled in this region, became a tenant farmer of Henry Beekman (maybe you’re familiar with the fine Beekman Arms restaurant in Rhinebeck), who acquired the land in 1679. Ownership eventually passed to the original tenant’s descendants, whose name over the years evolved to Burger. The property passed on to a series of different owners until it was sold to Scenic Hudson in 1997. Currently it is managed by the Winnakee Land Trust.

To enjoy the views you need to climb the 550-foot-high hill. There are three ways to do so, two gradual ascents (of which the one to the right is the more scenic) and one direct, unrelentingly steep path, which I don’t recommend unless you are quite certain you’re in the best of shape. You’ll find benches here and there and, at the top, stones into which are carved the shapes and names of the mountains visible on the opposite side of the river to help you identify them.

Burger Hill is reached by driving south from Route 199. The turn-off, which is on the right, isn’t too far after the junction with Route 9G which leads into Rhinebeck. After you’ve scaled the hill and enjoyed the view, you might want to treat yourself to something at one of the nice cafes in town.

These and other photos of the Hudson Valley, Catskills, and my other favorite places can be viewed and purchased on my website.

Mountaintop Historical Society Holds Archives Day

Sep15

One of the older buildings on the MTHS campus in Haines Falls

The Balladeers were delightful to hear.

The weather for this year’s Mountaintop Historical Society’s Open House–called Archives Day this year–could hardly have been more different from 2011, when the lashing rains of Hurricane Irene arrived right in the middle of the events. Now, Saturday August 25 was bright and sunny, perfect weather for this annual outdoor event. The 77th New York Regimental Balladeers gave stirring and thoroughly enjoyable renditions of Civil War-era songs, the MTHS archives were on display in the Visitors Center for all to see, and well-known local geologist Dr.

Local historian and author John M. Ham poses with his latest book. The quality of the B&W photos in this one is amazing.

Robert Titus presented a highly informative (and illustrated) lecture on the geological aspects of Hurricane Irene. Far from being information for information’s sake, what Dr. Titus had to say was vital knowledge for town planners if similar disasters are to be avoided in future.

I encourage you to check out the MTHS by visiting their website. Located in Haines Falls along Route 23A, the MTHS campus is easy to find and a delight to visit. They frequently offer interesting programs, including hikes. If you live near the area or enjoy driving

Cheerful, dedicated volunteers serve food!

through Kaaterskill Clove (or up the scenic Route 214 to the west), I think you’ll enjoy the MTHS. Why not become a member?

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The Hudson Valley and the Catskills

Where Nature and History Meet

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