21-22

Darkness falls over Prague. With a view from the 17th floor, lights throughout the city set the New Year’s scene.

Food on the table waits to be eaten while Bon Jovi reminds me to live my life my way. Guests arrive, the eating and drinking begins, and the mood intensifies as we commence our board game marathon.

Stories are exchanged and laughs are shared as the clock ticks towards midnight. With stomachs full and eyelids drooping, it’s time to clean our dishes and stay awake.

A moment later the clock strikes 12 as a torrent of fireworks light up the city- 2022 is here, and it’s time to sleep.

Top 10 Photos 2021

Regardless of corruption, greed, genocide, and a pandemic, freezing and framing the magnificent world around us brings me immeasurable hope.

Pond and house in the fog, Ujkovice, Czech Republic.

1/160, f5.6, 91mm

Lynch Family Skatepark, Boston, MA.

1/1000, f6.4, 29mm

Waiting for a tow at Cumberland Farms, Canton, MA.

1/640, f4, 29mm

Poster-board reflection, Prague, Czech Republic.

1/320, f4, 56mm

Onboard a water taxi, Lago Maggiore, Italy.

1/320, f8, 35mm

Kitchen reflection, Prattsville, NY.

1/160, f4, 120mm

Father and son playing catch, Kennebunkport, ME.

1/200, f6.4, 76mm

Windows on Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA.

1/400, f2.8, 210mm

Illuminated bridge arches, The Woodlands, TX.

.6, f4, 126mm

My grandpa the spy, The Woodlands, TX.

1/125, f1.4, 53mm

Tree. Lights. Love.

Christmas is a time to reflect on the past year- the bright days and the dark ones, the life that came into or left this world, and our greatest successes and deepest regrets.

You may feel lost or without direction, but have faith and hope and follow the light within your heart.

If there is something the world always needs more of, it is love.

Windows of Fall

Commonwealth Avenue remains quiet on an early Saturday morning. A few dogs are walking their owners while I blindly stumble across the grass next to the sidewalk, my right eye peering through the viewfinder and hunting for the windows of adjacent townhouses.

I catch some shades of crimson against brick and a stunning shade of yellow framed by elaborately designed metal balcony rails. A stoic gray building contrasts nicely with a splash of orange as gold becomes the dominant theme.

Leaves die their colorful death, but their short-lived beauty must not be taken in vain.

Flex

Flex the Falcon can do many things.

Flex can lounge on a couch.

Flex can scan your snack.

Flex can sit on a washing machine.

Flex can stand up to his reflection.

Flex can read to teddy bears.

Flex can appreciate a good textbook sale.

Flex can avoid looking at salad.

Flex can ride in an elevator alone.

What can’t Flex do??

Bentley is lucky to have Flex.

Maine Mirror

Kennebunkport, Maine is a bustling place on the weekends. The coastal town attracts visitors with its beaches, seafood, and a seemingly endless number of quaint shops. Those shops were my lens.

A young boy plays catch with his dad on the sidewalk, the crystal and ceramic vases inside the shop safe from the blue ball’s destructive potential.

Three women drink coffee at a local cafe, their peace disrupted by a loud blue truck.

An owner checks on the flowers in front of his store, as the glass on the right reveals a group of people who are about to pass by.

An older man sits quietly on a ledge as the reflection of a girl’s white sneaker appears to be his hat.

A stuffed husky in the window of Scalawags eagerly awaits potential customers while a real St. Bernard peers towards his fellow dog through reflection.

Even though the glitz and glamor of material goods may take over your attention, a door to nature always remains open.

Morning Glass

I’m standing on the porch on a late summer, upstate New York morning facing the glass door of the cabin. 

I see the lush, green stretch of field behind me. Red flowers are in full bloom in their flower box. Both lamps, one inside and one outside, stand dormant after their previous night’s duties.

Sierra stares at me, knowing well that it’s time for breakfast.

Amongst the trees the kitchen clock strikes 9:35, and the day has officially started.

Lago Maggiore

In July I was fortunate enough to visit an Italian friend and former tennis teammate who lives about an hour outside of Milan. After spending our first day in the fashion capital of the world, we decided to go see Lago Maggiore, a stunningly beautiful lake that divides Italy and Switzerland on the south side of the Alps.

We arrived in Stresa, a small town on the west bank of the lake, and bought boat tickets with which we’d be ferried to the nearby islands of Isola dei Pescatori and Isola Bella. The sky was clear save for a few stray clouds, and a gentle breeze beckoned us to go and explore.

We landed on Isola dei Pescatori first, which is the only island on Lago Maggiore inhabited year round. In addition to the hotels, gift boutiques, and restaurants that line the cobbled alleys of the island, the rising steeple of the church of San Vittore is instantly recognizable from a distance.

The true attraction was on Isola Bella where, in addition to a remodeled Baroque palace open to visitors, we entered the island’s elaborate Italian-style garden spread across ten terraces. The garden is full of exotic plants and flowers, as well as statues representing art and nature (including unicorns). Once in a while a white peacock would pop its head out from under a bush and walk along the garden’s lawns and rocky paths, marveling at the splendor of its own feathers and surroundings.

Looking back, Lago Maggiore and its islands seem like a fairytale, but the photos prove that indeed it was real.

Milan, Italy

In July I was fortunate enough to visit an Italian friend and former tennis teammate who lives about an hour outside of Milan. I landed at the airport and we immediately took a train into the fashion capital of the world armed with our fanciest t-shirts, shorts, and old sneakers.

After getting off at one of Milan’s three train stations we wandered the narrow streets near Parco Sempione, passing bright street art, cafes, and beautiful Renaissance architecture. As we made our way towards the Duomo di Milano, an enormous and iconic cathedral that took over 600 years to complete, we saw the main tower of the Castello Sforzesco, a medieval fortress, in the distance.

We then entered the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest shopping gallery housed within a glass-covered four story arcade. I tried my first Panzerotti, which is a fried pastry that resembles a mini calzone, and could’ve had five more.

After looping through the streets behind the Duomo di Milano where we encountered a blend of modern and Renaissance architecture, it was time to head back and have some home-cooked pasta. Unfortunately, we initially went to the wrong train station and had an hour to kill before the next train. While waiting we ate gelato in the financial district and everything turned out just right in the end.

Before... Once

The fading facade of an old farmhouse emerges from behind the leafy branches of trees. Rotting wooden planks of a door stand out against the washed out drywall. A single window, slightly ajar, separates the darkness within from the rest of the world.

To the right of the door is a rusting tank- a cylindrical giant that looms silently over the rest of the house. Flowers blooming below show that not all is decaying.

The front of the farmhouse is cold and barren, with streaks of black blemishing the pale canvas. Two second story windows resemble eyes- eyes that are empty, and can no longer see. Bricks are beginning to show near the house’s foundation as vines take their grip on man’s domestic edifice.

Although the farmhouse will continue to wither away, nature brings life to that which is abandoned.