I rarely photograph flowers (that’s Eileen’s job,) but a friend once challenged me to prove that a black and white photograph of a flower could be appealing. Sometimes color isn’t the answer and that is why I gave up on color for many years….until Blogfinger.
In 1933, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in a film called “Flying Down to Rio.” Victor Youmans (“No,No Nanette”) wrote the music, and “Orchids in the Moonlight” became a hit, done as a tango. Many artists recorded this song, but this version is from the “Victor Youmans Song Book” with Rudy Vallee:
Henry Boschen (1922-2011) made this wonderful black and white image in 1960 on Blackwell Street in Dover, New Jersey, a blue collar town in Morris County which was founded in 1869. In 1960, before the Rockaway Townsquare Mall was built in 1977, Dover was the place to go for shopping. It was a diverse town, and many of the merchants were Jewish. A growing Hispanic population was beginning to change the personality of Dover. Spanish restaurants and credit unions were opening. Most of the immigrants were from a particular town in Puerto Rico.
Henry’s image captures the warmth of Christmas in 1960 when shoppers would flock to visit downtown Dover where an old-fashioned homespun style was found in the shops. You could buy a fine men’s suit at the Quality Shop and pick up fresh fish at Fred’s. The Walk-Well shoe store was a family business, as were many of the stores downtown.
Dover Photo was one of the few Leica dealerships in New Jersey, so aficionados like me would go there to buy lenses, superb cameras and darkroom gear. Murray and his sons would offer technical advice to visitors. They displayed original photos and they offered trade-ins on equipment. I was one of their best customers.
Dover General Hospital, known for its excellent nursing and physician care, was sixty years old that year and was within walking distance to downtown. It was founded by a group of Dover women who wanted to improve healthcare at the turn of the century.
My first medical office was on Blackwell Street. I chose Dover because they had no cardiologist and I wanted to work in the trenches instead of at some ivory tower. The National Community Bank downtown gave me a mortgage before I even saw my first patient. The town doctors told the banker that I was a good risk. My practice was busy from day one.
Henry Boschen, my patient and friend, gave me this print, and it is a great treasure.
Carl Hoffman was startled when he walked by the Quaker Inn on Main Avenue in Ocean Grove. There along the front railing was a row of blackbirds. So Carl tipped us off, and over we went to get some photos. Sure enough, there were 13 blackbirds sitting there unperturbed. I decided to interview one of them and to get a quote. He wasn’t shy — quoth the raven, “Nevermore.” After that there were no more quothes.
It seems one of the innkeepers at the Quaker found the birds and put them up for Halloween. While we were there perusing the blackbirds, a young man named Nick Scott, age 14, came flying out of the house trying to make a getaway on his bike. Nick, a personable 14-year-old student at St.Rose, is the son of Liz Scott, one of the innkeepers. She preferred not to be in the picture, but Nick agreed to pose with the birds; that’s not to say that he is for the birds — only with the birds. Not that there’s anything wrong with being for the birds.
Nick Scott, Ocean Grover who was fearless in posing with a fake flock of finely feathered flying blackbirds. PG photo
The Quaker Inn dates back to 1877, making it an old hotel. It’s terrific if you are from out of town and feel like packing up all your cares and woes. There are no woes at the Quaker. So, if no one seems to love or understand you, this is the place.
The Quaker Inn sans blackbirds. Website photo.
SOUNDTRACK: From the movie “Sleepless in Seattle,” by Joe Cocker (who sure sounds a lot like Ray Charles, but they cannot be brothers).
On a beautiful September 4 morning, there were just a few scattered walkers, joggers, bikers and dogs tugging on leashes. The beach was totally empty. Lifeguard stands were standing together in a bunch.
Vicky Redfern is in town to sign papers for her new OG year-round home. She was wondering if there is anything to do here in the winter. Anybody want to comment on that? There are 12 comments below which are of interest.
My suggestion would be to take tango lessons. Here’s Gato Barbieri from “The Last Tango in Paris:”
SOUNDTRACK: “Pachelbel’s Canon” from Pachelbel’s briefcase—also from the film” Ordinary People” which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1980.
Johann Pachelbel was a 17th century German Baroque composer. His Canon in D opened the film, and Robert Redford, the director, was responsible for making Johann famous once again and for having everyone who saw the film stay at the end to find out about the music. —Paul Goldfinger.
The recording below is by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (“RPO”) which is the most famous orchestra in England:
THE HAPPENINGS had the biggest hit with this song in 1966, but the first version in 1959 was by the Tempos, and it is their version that was in American Graffiti. Below are the Happenings because their recording is better.
W. Eugene Smith from the book “the Family of Man.”
By Paul Goldfinger, Photography Editor at Blogfnger.net Re-post from 2013, by popular request.
In 1955, a photography exhibit was mounted at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. It was curated by Edward Steichen, the Director of Photography at MOMA and a famous photographer in his own right. The Family of Man was the largest and most popular photographic exhibit in history. Steichen requested and received 2 million images from photographers all over the world. Eventually he chose 503 photos by 273 photographers (168 Americans) from 68 countries.
By the time the exhibit ended, it had been seen by over 250,000 people. It then went on a world tour, and by the time that ended in 1961, it had been viewed by 9 million people. The theme of the exhibit, according to Steichen, was to “prove visually the universality of human experience and photography’s role in its documentation.”
“Among the themes that were covered were birth, love, joy, war, privation, illness and death.” (Wikipedia)
Steichen published a book from the exhibit, and over 4 million copies have been sold (I have two of them.)
The image on the last page of the book showed two small children walking hand in hand through a canopy of trees. It was shot from the rear and was taken by the famous American photographer W. Eugene Smith. There was a quotation with the photograph which said, “..a world to be born under your footsteps.” That quote was by the French poet Saint-John Perse (1887-1975) who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1960.
W. Eugene Smith (1918-1978) was a photojournalist from Kansas who was famous for covering the brutal war (WWII) in the Pacific. Some years later he became better known for his photo essay about the fetal damage and deaths related to mercury contaminated water by local industry in the town of Minamata, Japan. For his award winning work, he was badly beaten by corporate goons.
“Migrant Mother” from the exhibit. by Dorothea Lange, 1936
From the Minamata exhibit by W. Eugene Smith.
SOUNDTRACK: Andrei’s Theme by Armand Amar. From the film “The Concert.”
Addendum: Not to compare myself to Smith, but one of my photographs reminds me of those two kids walking in the woods. All artists are influenced by those who preceded them. That image will post tomorrow morning.—PG
