The Endless End - Montauk Life

Happy Weekend Update: Finally, it’s Friday. It being the first one in August, accordingly, it’s super-crowded here in Montauk but there’s a good reason for that. This year we are experiencing a glorious season that is providing ample and welcome respite from the many current woes of the world. My jaunt last Sunday out to George’s Lighthouse Cafe to hear my friends @lynnblueband encapsulated this. Montauk Music gleefully entertained Montauk People (whether residents or visitors, whether young or old, or somewhere in between) under the protective presence of the Montauk Lighthouse as Montauk Surfed’n’Rolled below. I wish everyone could get a taste of this. There are many challenges ahead for all so let’s enjoy the good times when and wherever we can. Respectfully and responsibly, of course, but: Keep rockin’!

Road Chase on the Lost Highway

It was a long week.  There was the stress-filled prep to launch the new website; there was a weather-dependent commission to photo the lighthouse at dawn on a particular day (in two weeks of foul, wet weather THAT day turned into on the of the best ever); and, yes, there was the weather to contend with.  That light on that one way was so exceptional, however, that a little extra effort could not be denied.  So, I eased my old friend out early from winter hibernation and we went on a jaunt to chase down the sun on the Lost Highway.  It was a gem.

And if you have time today, please check out the new site -- it's not only about portfolios, etc. I've got a neat new ecommerce section "Hat Trick For Sale" where you can get an early start on your Holiday Shopping and save $$ doing so since I've got a New Site Celebration Discount going on.

Dawn Patrol on the Road

The term "Lost Highway" is one of those talismanic phrases that resonates mysteriously across our spread out culture.  This tiny stretch of road running through the marshes and little canals in the Napeague strip, with its vintage telephone poles and concrete road's edge markers, has always stuck me as one of those spots.  The Muse woke me up this morning at 5am & the call went out for me to be here.  I was still so asleep at the time that I barely remember pressing the shutter button.  But there it is.  On the Road.  Into the Dawn.  In a Dream.  Lost Highway Found.

Back to the Coffee Walk

It was a hectic week in the City with voice-over auditions, corporate portraits, Apple software workshops, a fantastic mini-reunion with old college friends AND, of course, a very nice dinner with my Valentine.  Additionally, there was molehill-turned-to-mountain car repair to manage that required my trusty old 4Runner to be auto transported to CT -- that informational little story-for-all will be worth it’s own post.  Such are some of the not-so-easy issues encountered when one lives on the East End of Long Island.  Yet it's good to return & walk to my favorite coffee shop.  It was a power walk today, though, as now it's time to return to the Hat Cave and my website remix!  Time's getting close for the launch.

Lost and Found in the Fog

To some who have seen my photos, this news may come as a shock but it is not always sunny in Montauk.  However, not unlike the fog I’ve often found myself in while assembling and arranging the ‘remix’ of my website, there is actually quite a lot of interest and beauty residing within all that sturm-&-drang

So it was Sunday.  Even as I was gaining clarity on the website with the help of a crack crew of experts I’d reached out to for the site’s beta review, while also rushing to pack up the car with all the studio gear for some corporate portraits in the City, I still found it a must to quickly cruise to the Lighthouse and document the Icon adrift in a sea of mist and fog.  

Working on a deep-channel update of a website is not for the faint of heart.  However, it can be done.  Indeed, the platforms available online these days offer a clear path as long as you stick to it & have faith while adrift in what at first appears to be a total whiteout of nothingness.  But that’s why lighthouses exist -- to help wayward sailors steer clear of rocky shoals. So it was that a select group of friends were able to help guide me in the right direction to the safe shores of website launch.  

It was in that spirit that I chose to squeeze in some adventure time out at the easternmost point of Long Island.  Was it comfy/cozy?  Absolutely not but it provided some beautiful contrasting imagery to the normal views and was totally worth the trip.  

You can see a few more images from this jaunt over on my Instagram gallery -- please 'follow' me while you're there.  And if you would like to see a few examples of the type of projects I’m working on this week in the City just click on over to my "Business Pros" gallery.

Meanwhile, the haze is lifting and the official launch of the site is coming into view.

ADVENTURES IN MONTAUK: Website ReMix Anxiety Incurs Forced March Dawn Patrol.

Montauk's Twin Towers

With the Website Remix beta-launched, remainig kinks being massaged; with resultant drama building and tension mounting . . . there was no better time for a photo mission.  A quick check of the forecast Thurs night informed me that it would be a clear sunrise on Friday.  Accordingly, I took the long way home to my favorite coffee shop.   The skies did not disappoint (they rarely do) and there was a true tequila sunrise as I edged down to Old Montauk Highway before heading east.  Though the real-feel temps were again in the slap-your-face teens, I still encountered others.  On the northern side, a young Japanese man with his sister and father (I’m guessing) thought it exciting that I was there to photograph (I would’ve photographed them but I was equipped for landscape only).  He was very enthusiastic to be there himself and I mentioned he should come again on New Year’s Day as he would have many fellow Japanese to celebrate with.  Meanwhile, on the other side of the lighthouse I arrived just ahead of a young photographer there to document the same setting as I.  And why not?  It was a stunning, crystaline sunrise with a red-fringed horizon.  In addition to this, I’d wanted to swing by the southern side in order to check the Montauk Totem People’s rock tower dwellings at waters edge -- their architecture is incredible and they added a fantastical textural and spatial contrast to the sea and sky.  After about 45 minutes it was time to head on to the coffee shop . . . and back to the grindstone.  Admittedly, it takes some effort to drag myself out of bed at 5am, but why it takes such effort remains a mystery: this particular dawn patrol resulted in the Twin Towers image shown here.  "But wait!  There's more!!"  To see this and the other six keeper images I'm really happy about please check out my gallery over at Instagram

Adventures in Montauk: Website ReMix Seeks Protection by Guardians

It was a morning of frosty temps this morning as I took a longer path than usual to the coffee shop.  The frigid air was fortifying and rejuvenating.  Long, slow rollers gently washed ashore on the beach below the bluffs.  It was necessary to stroll slowly as I am about to “go live” with the Website Remix.  Thus, I needed the mental time and space to review whether there were any remaining “i” that needed dotting, any wandering “t” that remained uncrossed.  There were no distractions other than one other solitary stroller with dog, who seemed as intent on solitary thoughts as I.  There was only the inspiring view from on top the ever-eroding bluff.  But I knew I need not be concerned.  Fortunately, I was under the gaze and protection of one of Montauk’s Ancient Temple of Guardians!