Posted in Music from the movies, Photography: New York City Street Series, tagged Stayin' Alive the Bee Gees on November 12, 2019| 1 Comment »
Yorkville. NYC Street Series. By Paul Goldfinger. © Click to enlarge.
THE BEE GEES. From the original cast album of Saturday Night Fever.
“Whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother
You’re stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive
Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin’
I’m a-stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive”
Posted in Blogfinger News, Music from the movies, Postcards From Ocean Grove, tagged Ocean Grove post Labor Day, Toward winter in Ocean Grove on October 15, 2019| 12 Comments »
8:30 am. Vicky Redfern of Harrisburg, Pa. surveys the empty Ocean Grove beach. Click images to enlarge. Re-post from the autumn of 2013.
Bikers whiz by an empty Ocean Pathway
Paul Goldfinger photo Sept 4, 2013, 8:30 am ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
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:”
Posted in Music from the movies, tagged Photo: Dawn on October 3, 2019| 1 Comment »
Dawn, North Carolina. December 2012. By Paul Goldfinger. ©
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:
Posted in Florida connection, Music from the movies, Photographic Gallery, Color, tagged Open Season by the High Highs on September 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Fort Myers, Fla By Paul Goldfinger 2013
“Open Season” (It’s all in your mind) by the High Highs–from the film Pitch Perfect:
Posted in Music from the movies, tagged See you in September on September 1, 2019| 3 Comments »
From American Graffiti
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.
Posted in Music from the movies, Photography, tagged The Family of Man photography on August 28, 2019| 1 Comment »
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
Posted in Music from the movies, Photography Girls in their summer clothes, tagged Central Park New York, Daniel May on Blogfinger, Midnight in Paris music on August 18, 2019| 1 Comment »
Central Park, New York City. By Paul Goldfinger ©. Blogfinger.net. 2014 Click to enlarge. Re-post 2015.
DANIEL MAY. “I Love Penny Sue.” From Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris
Posted in Music from the movies, Photography at The Jersey Shore, Photography by Paul Goldfinger, tagged Autumn at Deal Lake on July 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Deal Lake branch. Wickipecko Road, Ocean Township/Asbury Park. By Paul Goldfinger, October 26, 2015 © Click to enlarge
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
I had a photography teacher who, in a course called “Finding Your Visual Voice,” told the class that if you look through your finder and see an image that you have done before, just walk away and find something else. But he was wrong. Many artists paint or photograph the same scene or model over and over again, because it is never the same.
There are certain places I like to photograph in all seasons, all year. One is the Faith Baptist Church on Wickipecko Road. For the last year there was a car parked in the lot, and it spoiled the view for me, but now the car is gone, and I look at that place every day to see if it feels just right for a photograph.
Another such place is the Deal Lake branch, also on Wickipecko Road where Ocean Township and Asbury Park meet. It is especially beautiful in the fall. Here are two views from two days ago, one above and one below.
Deal Lake branch. October 26, 2015. © By Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net
MARTHA WAINWRIGHT From the film The Aviator
Posted in Music from the movies, Photograph by Paul Goldfinger, Photographic Gallery France, Photography Gallery France, tagged Portrait of Eileen in Paris on July 3, 2019| 1 Comment »
Somewhere in Paris, on a rainy afternoon, a French chef speaks to Eileen. She is speechless. Paul Goldfinger photo © Re-post 2017.
MICHAEL GIACCHINO, composer of the “Main Theme” from the film Ratatouille
Posted in Music from the movies, Ocean Grove history, tagged Bridging the gap between Ocean Grove and Asbury Park on June 15, 2019| 6 Comments »
Image courtesy of Ted Bell’s book “Images of America–Ocean Grove.” This 1878 view is of the OG side of Wesley Lake. Two ferry boats carried people to and fro.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger Re-post now from April, 2013.
We have reported on a recent north-south clash where the Asbury Park Council would not initially support the Ocean Grove bid for a FEMA appeal to help pay for the Grove’s oceanfront renewal following the Sandy destruction . Later the Council changed its mind, but some lingering bitterness exists on both sides of the Casino, especially after a councilman called Ocean Grovers “riff raff.”
However, this clash has provided a small opportunity to consider the relationship between the two towns and it provoked some debate by Blogfinger commenters. The basics are that the two towns are geographically neighbors, but are not “sister cities” in the true sense of the word. Instead, the two towns are as opposite as you can get. Maybe “complimentary” would be a good adjective, but there is much at stake in this relationship, which we will cover later.
Ocean Grove, founded in 1869 by Methodist ministers from the Holiness movement, developed as a summer religious community. Asbury Park, founded in 1871, by James A Bradley, named their town after a Methodist bishop, but went on to become a very secular place with a gay community going back to 1950 and a popular summer boardwalk and music scene going back to the turn of the 20th century.
In 1888, James Bradley, recognizing the growing population in AP, entered into an agreement with the OG Camp Meeting Association to provide a way for large numbers of summer visitors to cross Wesley Lake and get to the campgrounds. Up to that point, there were ferries and boats which would carry people back and forth for one cent per ride.
The two towns agreed that two iron bridges would be constructed. One at the foot of New Jersey Avenue and the other at the foot of Pilgrim Pathway. Little toll houses at the OG side would collect the one cent toll, and a policeman would be stationed there. AP borrowed $10,000 from the CMA to help build the bridges, and the two communities shared the income. Interestingly, both sides agreed to post signs that said, “This bridge is private property and is not dedicated to the public.” The reason for that proviso is unclear. Maybe it is to justify the toll.
Two iron bridges were built in 1888. This is the view from the AP side. Click left for larger view. Courtesy Ted Bell.
In 1899, a group of Ocean Grove residents and business owners petitioned the CMA to construct a “drive bridge” across Wesley Lake and Fletcher Lake as a way to help the commercial interests in town drive their wagons back and forth. The goal was to have these bridges near the ocean. In retrospect, the CMA saved the day when they would not allow those bridges to be built—for religious reasons.
In 1932, the iron foot bridges were replaced by the two concrete structures that we see today. The bridges across Wesely Lake have provided a way to get across the water from one town to the other and have benefitted both sides for nearly 125 years. Asbury Park has especially enjoyed these bridges because their boardwalk scene has been hugely popular for years. In the late 1800’s, about 600,000 people visited AP each summer. Of course it went into decline for many years and is now making an impressive comeback.
About 15 years ago, a decision was made to lock those bridges on the OG side at midnight each evening as a crime-fighting measure. That is done at midnight by the Neptune Twp. Police Department. It was a big success in that regard, but some controversy has now surfaced regarding the continued locking practices. In Part II we will talk amongst ourselves about this issue. Stay tuned.
March, 2013. view of Wesley Lake from the OG side. By Moe Demby, Blogfinger.net. Click for larger view
SOUNDTRACK “THE BRIDGES OF MONMOUTH COUNTY.” Oh, sorry, The Bridges of Madison County. It’s Johnny Hartman whose voice is deeper than the water in Wesley Lake. Clint Eastwood did a fabulous job with the jazz soundtrack for that movie which starred Clint and Meryl. By the way, Clint and Meryl will be at the Blogfinger Film Festival, so get your tickets. Here is Johnny with “It Was Almost Like a Song.” (Is this about Springsteen?)
CREDITS:
WAYNE T. BELL (“TED”) gave us permission to publish the two top images from his book , one of the Images of America series, Ocean Grove. This is a wonderful history of the Grove which everyone who lives here should own. It is full of terrific photographs, magazine images, postcards, and documents. Ted’s book is still in print and can be purchased on line or at the Historical Society of Ocean Grove for $19.99. Ted also wrote a similar book with vintage postcards of the Grove—also available at the HSOG.
GIBBONS : History of Ocean Grove 1869-1939
MICHAEL GOLDFINGER, photographer: Lives in Tampa, but he used to live in the Grove and he visits here often. (He looks in on his parents in case he has to drive us to the home.) Michael is a former staff photographer at the Asbury Park Press. We have occasionally published his photos on BF (the family business.)
