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Ronald Naldi, tenor, poses in front of his Ocean Grove tent, a short walk to the Great Auditorium. Paul Goldfinger photo, Blogfinger.net. ©

Ronald Naldi, tenor, in front of his Ocean Grove tent, a short walk to the Great Auditorium. Paul Goldfinger photo, Blogfinger.net. ©

 

 

Q:  Where in the world can you meet a world famous opera singer, wearing a lavender sport jacket, emerging from his tent home, about to leave for his recital—one block away?

A. Ocean Grove, New Jersey, USA.    Only in America.

I was on my way by bike to Ronald Naldi’s Sunday afternoon recital, when I spotted the man himself, getting his wardrobe organized on his porch, having just emerged from his tent, i.e. his summer home in Ocean Grove.

I made a U turn and stopped in front of his abode.   Ron, a lyric tenor, artist-in-residence each summer in the Grove, was almost ready. For those of you who don’t know of him, he is a major star with the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.

I reminded him of who I was, but he was well aware of our Ocean Grove blog.   Actually I knew that from a prior telephone interview, but I wasn’t sure he would recognize me. He cheerfully and enthusiastically agreed when I asked to photograph him in front of his tent. His concert would start in about 15 minutes, so we didn’t chat much, but he did give me the Blogfinger quote of the year:

He said, “I love Blogfinger.…it is the best blog in the world.”

Holy mackerel!   “Thank you,”  I blurted out, “I promise a good review for your concert.”   Goodness—-what a lame thing to say.

He laughed. I jumped on my bike pedaling off towards the Youth Temple—visions of sugar plum fairies dancing in my head.

The next time I saw him was when he strode on stage  for what Shelley Brown of OG calls “The best concert of the year in Ocean Grove.”

Needless to say, the recital was superb.

—Paul Goldfinger, Editor @blogfinger

 

RONALD NALDI from his album of Neapolitan Songs.  “Rondine al Nido”

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AT the Police Memorial in the Great Auditorium. May, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photograph ©.

At the Police Memorial in the Great Auditorium. May, 2015. Paul Goldfinger photograph ©. Click to enlarge.

 

FIORELLO       Broadway cast

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Paul Goldfinger ©. July 4 parade in Ocean Grove.  Wesley Lake swan boats.  Main Avenue. 2016. Blogfinger.net

 

 

BRIAN WILSON:  From  Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

 

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Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo about to step onto the stage of the Great Auditorium. By Paul Goldfinger © 8/16/15. Blogfinger.net photo.

Rev. Dr. Tony Campolo about to step onto the stage of the Great Auditorium. He called the GA  “A spiritual, renewal place” and he said that “having love is most important….”     Photo by Paul Goldfinger, Blogfinger.net ©. 8/16/15. Ocean Grove, NJ

 

JOHN DENVER:

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Ocean Grove. Undated. By Paul Goldfinger ©

Ocean Grove. Undated. By Paul Goldfinger ©  

ANDY WILLIAMS

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Ocean Grove Fall Flea Market. Sept. 10, 2016. All photos by Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net ©

Ocean Grove Fall Flea Market. Sept. 10, 2016. All photos by Paul Goldfinger. Blogfinger.net ©

 

By Paul Goldfinger,  Editor@Blogfinger.net

September 10. 2016.  Ocean Pathway, Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

The ad said “rain or shine,” but today at the OG Giant Fall Flea Market, there was a bit too much shine. It was hot—nearly 90 degrees, but nevertheless, a large crowd showed up, and there were sea breezes.

The Boardwalk Pavilion was crowded as a group had assembled to enjoy the simple pleasures of the shade along with cool air from the ocean.

I like the ambience of flea and farmers markets, while Eileen is more of a shopper. I, on the other hand, could visit every one of the 385 vendors here today and I would find absolutely nothing that I would want. But the photo ops—that’s another story.

If you are a photographer you can sympathize with me. At noon, with the light changing at every step and with my automatic meter being unreliable, I had to figure out exposures from moment to moment, and it was annoying to manually keep changing the settings.

Noon is the worst time of day to get good photos due to the harsh high-contrast light. I much prefer to shoot in the shade whenever possible. And then there are the flea market throngs, with a giant person stepping in the way just as a Jennifer Lawrence look-alike enters my field of vision.

Some people ask me why I photograph women.   The answer is quite obvious—what is more beautiful?  Even women enjoy looking at pictures of women, especially those unique types whose dress and manner are so graceful, interesting, and enticing.

And especially at the famous flea market on Ocean Pathway in the Grove, by-the-sea, where a photographer cannot deny girls in their summer clothes.

Flea Market  Gallery: First turn on the music.  Then  click on one then follow the large arrows.   To return to this page, click on the small X on the left.

WILLIE NELSON AND LEON RUSSELL  From the album One For the Road

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Dave Shotwell emerges from the Atlantic after a Thanbksgiving dip. Ocean Grove, 2015. Blogfinger photo. © Click to enlarge and look for goosebumps.

Dave Shotwell emerges from the Atlantic after a Thanksgiving dip. Ocean Grove, 2015. Blogfinger photo. © Click to enlarge and look for goosebumps.

Chico and the man, Grover Moe Demby, enjoy some Thanksgiving games. © Blogfinger photo ©

Chico and the man, Grover Moe Demby, enjoy some Thanksgiving games. © Blogfinger photo ©

Quite a few folks in Ocean Grove were out today for a sunny nearly 70 degree Thanksgiving  day in the Grove.  This morning  there were a few people downtown on Main Avenue, walking around or having a coffee at the OG Bakery.

Two workers were operating heavy machinery at the 50 Main Avenue building site. That was an insensitive and disrespectful thing to do, especially when people were already downtown early on Thanksgiving, trying to enjoy small town America in the historic seaside village of Ocean Grove, a community with a unique personality and style that doesn’t normally include construction work on Thanksgiving morning.  Fortunately the workers  didn’t stay very long.

Downtown the OG Bakery was serving coffee and…..outside their tables were still set up.  Some people were on their feet watching the workers. The flower shop was open.

At the beachfront, folks were playing with their dogs by the water’s edge, and Dave Shotwell, a Grover, was taking a swim in the 50 degree frigid water. He didn’t spend much time in the surf, but he emerged refreshed, and he wasn’t even shivering. Evidently he has done this ritual in the past.  The boardwalkers were active, and we met some who were from out of town.

In Firemen’s Park, a spirited game of Wiffle ball was going on. (see below.)

 

ELLA FITZGERALD  with a big band:

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You can get a sticker like this at the recycling dump on Heck Avenue in Neptune, near the cemetery and the Middle School.

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

Grovers have small gardens, but somehow they produce sizable amounts of yard waste which is defined as leaves, garden plants, and weeds. And if you are pruning or picking up branches, those would also be picked up, unless the branches are too large for the containers.  In that case, you have “brush,” and that is collected once per month.

The yard waste is collected twice per month and must be put out in reusable containers from June -October.  No grass clippings are allowed. And no waste in plastic or biodegradable bags will be accepted.

There are 4 zones in Neptune.  Two are in Ocean Grove:   Zone B (north of Main Avenue) and Zone C (south of Main Avenue.)  Zone B pickup occurs on the 2nd and 4th full weeks of the month.  Zone C is the 1st and 3rd full week of the month.

You put the waste at the curb on Sunday night for collection by Friday of your collection week.  Extra pails and stickers are available at the recycling center.

If you are as flabbergasted as I am, then don’t despair, even though these instructions are more complicated than some medical procedures.

So the Neptune DPW has a solution to help us Grovers cope with the yard waste pick-up schedule. But you really should get a calendar girl:

THE COASTERS:   “YAKETY YAK.”

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Cruising along the western edge of Founders’ Park. Summer, 2018. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©

 

TONY BENNETT AND BILL EVANS:   “Waltz for Debby.”

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The Monmouth County Historical Association presents a major exhibition to mark the 5th  anniversary of the Storm in 2017.  Those involved in the exhibit spent much of the year collecting photographs and artifacts and conducting oral history interviews in order to allow all interested parties from our average Monmouth county  citizen, to scientists, to the Country Freeholeders, to recall the storm in their own words.  The exhibit will run through 2018. 

Click the text below to read:

 

Six contributing photographers listed at the bottom of the announcement include Paul Goldfinger of Blogfinger.net

 

photo two - Version 2

Paul Goldfinger ©. Ocean Grove boardwalk.  November 7, noon. 2012.  Volunteers at work.

TOOTS THIELEMANS:  “Manha de Carnaval.”  (Theme from Black Orpheus)

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