Tag Archives: photograph

Tower of Victory Needs Restoration

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Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site in Newburgh is one of the most scenic Hudson Valley sites related to the Revolutionary War. Here, at the stone house owned by Jonathan and Tryntje Hasbrouck, General George Washington and his wife,  together with officers and servants, lived between April 1782 and August 1783 while he reached decisions that were crucial to the shaping of the new republic after the war ended. Among other things, he rejected the notion that he should be made king, and he created the Badge of Military Merit — the forerunner of the Purple Heart.

Today this State Historic Site is open to the public, furnished as it would have been in Washington’s time, and holds reenactments and other events on historic dates such as Washington’s birthday. Located in Newburgh’s Historic District, it commands a magnificent view of the Beacon Hills on the Dutchess County side of the Hudson River.

DSC0034 ed sAlso on the site is the imposing Tower of Victory, a monument commissioned by Robert Todd Lincoln 125 years ago specifically to commemorate the peace that followed the end of the American Revolution. Designed by the renowned architect John Hemingway Duncan, the Tower of Victory houses a bronze statue of General Washington sculpted by William Rudolf O’Donovan that shows the General looking across the Hudson River toward the Beacon Hills.

Time and weather have taken their toll on the Tower of Victory, and the Palisades Park Conservancy must raise $1.5 million in order to restore the stone structure, replace the roof, and eliminate water penetration. Fundraising projects are in place and have already had good results, but more is needed. To learn more and/or to donate, visit the PPC’s website.

If you would like to own a fine art photographic print of the Tower of Victory, I am donating 10% of the profits from the sale of the photograph at the top of this post  to the Restoration Fund. Click on the photo, or here, to view the photo in a larger size and to get to my website.  I hope you’ll consider supporting the efforts to keep this important American monument alive and well for the next 125 years. Thanks so much!

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Nothing Is So Beautiful as Spring

What’s this? Am I channeling Gerard Manley Hopkins? Well, in thinking of an appropriate title for this blog post I didn’t think the great Jesuit poet would object if I borrowed the opening line of one of his best-loved poems. It seems appropriate if for no other reason than that the images I’m about to share with you illustrate the truth of that statement: “Nothing is so beautiful as spring.”

I was just sharing these pictures with the readers of my photo blog and describing how I processed the images. I’ll spare you those details — just thought you might enjoy seeing the beauty of the Northern Catskills in the second week of May, a time of year whose color to me is second only to fall. In fact my son, Anton, once referred to spring as “pre-fall.”

The first two images are actually completely separate photos and not two different versions of the same original. If you’d like to comment, I’d be interested in hearing which of the two you prefer.

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Hudson Valley Holidays and Favorites of 2012

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On a walk through Woodstock the day after Christmas I happened to have my Canon Powershot G15 with me and so I photographed some of the decorations in the shop windows and on the lawns. No great masterpieces (being in Woodstock on a weekday midday doesn’t lend itself to that, though it is lots of fun!), but here are two shots from my favorite window in all of Woodstock. For one thing, its position where the historic church can be seen reflected in the window makes it very interesting indeed; for another, the colorful items in the window, especially at Christmas time, tend to remind me in the scene near the beginning of the Alistair Sim version of A Christmas Carol where Tiny Tim is ogling the toys in the window of the toy shop. (Although — am I the only one who finds something slightly sinister in that scene?)

My favorite photos of 2012 are now posted in a special gallery on my website: an even dozen, of which some, of course, are from the Hudson Valley.  All photos in this gallery are my Prints of the Month for January. That means not one but twelve pictures available at the special Print of the Month prices. It’s a good time to purchase,  because all my prices will increase slightly in February.

Here’s a preview for you — two of the photos, one of Cooper Lake and one of an old barn in Spruceton Valley. Click on either of them or on this link to visit the gallery and see all twelve.

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Cold Spring Christmas

Here is another mini-collection of photos of Hudson Valley towns decked out for the holidays. This time it’s Cold Spring in Putnam County.

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The reflection of the decorated shops across the street in the window of one of Cold Spring’s wonderful antique shops gives a “two-for-the-price-of-one” image.

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This cheerful snowman greets passersby outside my favorite Cold Spring cafe.

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One of Cold Spring’s premier restaurants boasts not only a river view, as its name indicates, but also a stunning view of Storm King Mountain, as you can see, on the other side of the Hudson.