I’m…not QUITE a month behind on blogging, but it’s definitely getting close to that—so here is the first of many belated posts. I’ve already blogged the running of the cows and turkey herding; here are a few shots from hurricane prep and aftermath in other parts of the Island:
Herding turkeys was a piece of cake compared with trying to move (notice how deftly I sidestepped a pun there) a herd of cows from one end of the farm to another. They didn’t really want to leave their first pasture and it was, admittedly, a pretty decent haul to the corral near the barn. Also, most of them were pregnant.
But they eventually started moving (sidestepped again!), and were rewarded by lush, green grass (somebody at the farm called it “cow crack”) in the new pasture. I got to ride in the back of the pickup truck to take these, which was fun.
I’ve never actually been assigned to shoot fireworks; I always just photograph them for myself, and so I never want to drag a tripod with me to the beach or the docks or wherever they’re being held.
But I was on duty to photograph the annual August show in Oak Bluffs, so the tripod came along. I then spent most of the time trying to figure out the right exposure for fireworks + people silhouettes. I think I got it right for…maybe three total exposures. Definitely one of those days you’re grateful for digital.
I won a blue ribbon at the fair for a photo I took of the racing piggies last year (and an honorable mention for a draft horse photo. Because draft horses are the best)! Unfortunately, the piggies didn’t return this year; they were replaced by “jumping frogs,” which were, frankly, just not the same. Oh well.
There’s still lots of good things to photograph at the fair:
We all know the Lord of the Rings; this is the Lord of the Chickens.
Since this year marked the 150th anniversary of the fair here (read Remy’s fantastic article here), the Agricultural Society went all out with festivities. These are from the parade, which was held a few days before the fair began:
I photographed the Possible Dreams auction on Monday night, which is an event that raises money for Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. As opposed to most auctions, where you bid on things, this auction offers experiences–usually of the one-of-a-kind sort. The things that are offered are also one-of-a-kind. Possible Dreams raised $231,000 (give or take a few hundred dollars) this year.
But for me, the very best part of the assignment was walking outside of the tent afterwards to find this sky:
I mean, wow.
When the sky turned more pink, I took this photo [which I cropped afterwards] from the base of a fountain in the park:
Here are some photos from the auction itself:
Norman Bridwell (author/illustrator of the Clifford the Big Red Dog books), his wife Norma, and Marc Brown (author/illustrator of the Arthur books). Both authors are longtime donators of Dreams to the auction. Childhood books ftw!
This year Norman Bridwell donated a painting he made of Clifford reading an Arthur book on a Vineyard beach while the Island Home comes in. Aww!
Artist Meg Mercier works on the final item of the auction, a plein aire painting of Ocean Park with the Possible Dreams tent set up. Mercier began work on the painting at 3:15 p.m. on the day of Possible Dreams, and finished about a half-hour before the event ended. (I wish I had a lens wider than my 20mm, because I really wanted the tent itself to be more obvious in the background. Oh well.)
I’d never photographed a veteran coming home until this week (though I photographed one returning to work back in April, which remains one of my favorite assignments ever). Chris Brown, a Marine when he’s in combat and a special police officer when he’s back home on-Island, came back from his second tour on Tuesday. Every police department on the Vineyard came to meet him at the ferry docks, along with his family (of course) and many, many representatives of the veteran groups here.
Y’know when you get fantastic, amazing light?
Right before a massive thunderstorm. I can’t wait for the September nor’easters to get here.
Have you ever seen clouds like this before? I hadn’t. It was like a river in the sky—so pretty.
The clouds aren’t as defined in this one. But they’re still there, and still beautiful.
