Inside me is something that wants to write, to express myself clearly. That's why I started this blog in the first place. Photography is one means of self-expression, writing is another. They go together well. It is said that one photograph is worth a thousand words, but without words, photographs are ambiguous.

In the process of cleaning out moving boxes from our move two years ago I found a notebook with negatives and a few contact sheets from the early 1960s. Some, like the one below, were taken with a very simple box camera, others with something with a somewhat better lens. The box camera is long gone. I have other medium format cameras from that era but I don't recognize any as ones I used. Another of life's mysteries.

The old photos reminded me of how long I have been frequenting the New York State park system. Taughannock, Stonybrook, and Letchworth were frequent destinations for our family outings. We routinely spent a week camping at Moffit Beach or Piseco Lake in the Adirondacks. I spent a couple weeks each summer at Deerfoot Lodge, a wilderness Christian boys' camp that has a lot do do with who I am.

Corky and I have started to renew that acquaintance this summer with day trips to the Finger Lakes. The camera that has come along has been the Argus C3. I have a show coming up in November at Image City Photography Gallery that will be all photos from our summer jaunts, along with one from Durand Eastman Park just down the street from us, another old haunt. Next Summer I want to get back out in the woods with a tent.

The words and pictures will continue.

Taughannock Falls - 1963