Our son Tim’s 22nd birthday today!
A big 7 celebrating on top of the Montauk, Long Island, New York Lighthouse.
Happy Birthday TJ!!!
Category New York Travel
People that knew my mom… 1939
An unusual topic, but since I had recently scanned these images from one of my mom’s photo albums I felt I should do something with them. I can’t bring myself to simply just throw pictures away – as a photographer it doesn’t seem right. But why was I using up valuable(?) storage space on my PC for strangers? Well for one they did know my mom and were her friends and were important in her life. So, why not share them with you all – like facebook only the 1939 version.
What strikes me the most is just how similar these images are from 78 years ago to the images you see posted on social media today. Young 20-somethings goofing around in front of a camera and having fun together. Photography is a universal language that we all speak and understand and the people captured in the images “live” forever on film and in our minds.
All images are taken in and around New York City – except for a few, my mom was the photographer and shooting with her Kodak.
One of my favorites… she looks just so bored!
My mom and her best friend (my mom on right). I just love this image!
My mom second from left.
5th Avenue Fashionistas! My mom is the lovely lady on the far right!
Thanks for stopping by!
Chris
Montauk Point Lighthouse, Long Island
The lighthouse at Montauk Point, Long Island, New York is one of my favorite spots to visit ever since I was a child growing up on Long Island. As a kid, the main attractions for me were – the ocean, the countless rocks in that ocean (big and small), the hills (Long Islanders are hill challenged) and finally the lighthouse itself. As I got older, the main attraction was the lighthouse with the other ‘likes’ fading into the background. When I earned my New York driver’s licence, Montauk was my first long drive from my home by myself. When I became a certified SCUBA diver, the waters near the lighthouse looked tempting for a dive but the great whites known to frequent the cold waters off Eastern Long Island kept me ashore – so I headed to Florida instead.
While going through some of my many mountains of slides from my collection, I came across these images of the lighthouse. The first set of photographs are from August 1972 and were shot with my Yashica TL Electro-X mostly using the normal Yashinon 50mm lens. The second set of images are from 2002 when I traveled to New York with my family for their first visit to Montauk. The 1972 images show how completely the original Kodak Ektachrome slides have degraded over the years.
August 1972. Yashica TL Electro-X with f/ 1.7 50mm Yashinon lens with 2x teleconverter on Ektachrome 64.
August 1972. The lighthouse in need of a serious restoration. I believe it was still under the control of the U.S. Coast Guard at that time. It’s obvious that 40+ year old Kodak Ektachrome didn’t hold up well – even when stored properly. Most of the vivid original colors have faded and the slide lacks depth.
July 2002. The lighthouse and grounds were looking much better after the restoration. Canon F-1 with FD24mm f/ 2.8 lens on Kodachrome. My son is the little one climbing up the hill (as I had done hundreds of times before).
July 2002. Canon F-1 with FD24mm f/ 2.8 lens on Kodachrome.
T.J. on the rocks… just like me in the 1950s.
The automated light of 2002. Wonderful view from up top too.
Captivating views from up top.
Gotta love the rocks!
If you ever get a chance to travel to Long Island, then the Montauk Point Lighthouse must be on your “to visit list”. It’s very photogenic and lends itself well to the digital age. There are images that a good camera phone today can capture that were a serious challenge to film photographers just 15 years ago. Happy shooting!
Chris
