Sunshine (#15)

Driving home from Kent Sunday afternoon, (after getting the chance to see the Speedbumps play) the sun was pouring through clouds breaking up after a slight rain. Beauty. And again confirms that trying to take pictures while driving is usually not a good idea.

New Additions - pt.2 (#14)

Two weeks ago today, my parents 6-month-old puggle puppy Cameron got loose from her collar, ran away and was killed by a car. While the family is still very sad about the loss, my parents decided that they wanted to look for a new puppy. They found a litter of Beagle/Puggle puppies on a rescue center website and went to see them last monday.

I received a call that evening from my mom telling me that she adopted not one, but two of the puppies. One boy and one girl. The boy, Jack, is more brown in color and is a little bigger. The girl, Lucy, is more black, but has brown spots on her legs and chest. She is smart and quicker.

New Addition - pt.1 (#13)

Friday June 27, at 5:37 p.m., my older sister Carrie gave birth to my first niece, my parent's first grandchild. Claire Vanessa weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches in length. She has blue eyes and a tuft of light-colored hair.

Army of Me (#12)

Alternative/Rock band Army of Me, originally from Washington D.C., opened for Switchfoot tonight at the Amphitheater at Chautauqua.

Switchfoot (#11)

Switchfoot @ the Amphitheater on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.

Chilren's School Olympics (#10)

The Children's School on the grounds held an "Olympic games" this morning (notice the "torch" in the top photo). 

Roger Goodell (#9)

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke as this morning's lecturer to a large Chautauqua crowd. Goodell actually grew up just a few miles from the Institution and spent his summers here. The lecture took on the format of an extended interview with Buffalo sportscaster John Murphy. The conversation spanned Goodell's experiences at Chautauqua to his rise from an intern to commissioner to the New England Patriot scandal to the future of football.

Sean McManus and Jim Roselle (#8)

Jim Roselle has been doing his morning radio show, broadcast from outside of the Refectory (a small eatery on the grounds) for the Chautauqua area for fifty-five years. This morning he interviewed Sean McManus, president of CBS news and CBS sports. A crowd gathered around the small setup as Roselle and McManus discussed the passing of McManus's father Jim McCay, competition between CBS and NBC, Tim Russert, and how McManus came to his current position.

Location, Location, Location (#7)

Yesterday took me to several new locations on the grounds. In the morning, I ventured into the industrial kitchen of the Athenaeum (the large hotel on the grounds) to shoot new head chef Scott Bova;

After lunch (and a roundabout walk), I ended up at what used to be the President's house overlooking the lake for a quick shot of Lowell Strohl, a long time Chautauqua resident and chairman of the Chautauqua Fund, but who is now stepping down from that position;

And finally, I toured the Logan Art Gallery with the curator of the current show on landscapes, Don Kimes:

The variety in locations and subjects has been making shooting here at Chautauqua interesting and fun. I'm being exposed to a lot of things and people I wouldn't normally get the chance to meet or spend time with.

And here is another one from the gallery that I just thought was a little different: 

Lemon Tarts (#6)

Recently, I worked with a reporter on a feature story about Dr. Herb Keyser, a Chautauqua resident who makes lemon tarts from scratch and sells them on the grounds, all profits going to the Chautauqua fund. Keyser has been making these specialty desserts for four years. He makes them every night, sometimes staying up until the early hours of the morning to finish the next days batch. He also bakes a chocolate (cookie) surprise and a summer pudding.

A poignant note: Keyser is diabetic and is not able to enjoy his own creations.

Frank DeFord (#5)

"Sports is the only area where popularity and excellence meet. The best music is not the most popular; the best movies do no make the big cineplexes; the best theatre doesn't sell tickets - it's not on Broadway, it's off off Broadway; but when you go to a major league baseball game, an NFL game, and NBA game... you're seeing the best."  ~Frank DeFord (paraphrase)

Sports Illustrated sports journalist and NPR commentator Frank DeFord spoke this morning in the Chautauqua Amphitheater. Each week at Chautauqua has a theme. The opening theme of 2008 is Sports in America.

DeFord spoke about his favorite story (a piece about the Cameroon soccer team), college sports and his experience meeting President Clinton.

Amphitheater (#4)

One of our responsibilities as photographers for the Daily is to cover evening entertainment in the Amphitheater on the grounds. The Amphitheater is one of the central places on the grounds, housing morning lectures, ballet and orchestra performances, evening entertainment, and song services on Sundays. Last Saturday, blues singer Boz Scaggs (of Canton, OH) opened the season as the first music performance of the summer. David Jacobs-Strain, a 24-year-old blues/folk singer from Oregon, opened for Scaggs.

David Jacobs-Strain -- boots and acoustic -- real country boy.

 Blues singer Boz Scaggs.

Dogs (#3)

The first week us interns were in Chautauqua was spent mostly orientating and getting used to the surroundings. After having a group taco night the night before, we gathered up towels, books and sunglasses and headed to one of Chautauqua's four "beaches" for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Minutes before it started raining, an elderly couple walked up to the water and threw tennis balls out in the lake. Two labradors came bounding after and swam right out to retrieve them. Being sucked in by the animal-cuteness opportunity, I grabbed my cameras and started shooting.

 

Take 2

Hi everyone. Blogging during the end of the school year didn't go so well, but I'm giving it another try now that I am in western New York for an internship. I'll be shooting a lot more and despite my lack of internet access at my humble abode... I will be able to post from the office.

This is what my roommates and I have affectionately nick-named "The Cabbage." We couldn't decide if it was a cabin or a cottage... ergo, cabbage. (Thanks to Megan for the photo)

Our cabbage is located in Chautauqua, New York, right outside the grounds of the Chautauqua institution. I live with 5 other interns for the Chautauquan Daily. Three are fellow Kent Staters and two are new friends.

The Chautauquan Daily covers everything happening on the grounds during the season. The 4 pillars of the community are art, education, religion and recreation. The institution is a gated community and the season runs annually from June through August. The website for the paper is http://daily.ciweb.org and can be read as a pdf.

So now you can look forward to plenty of posts (hopefully close to daily) and I would love comments/feedback.