The Centennial Gala for the Girl Scouts of Greater New York

Last week I had the privilege of attending and shooting the Girl Scout of Greater New York's Centennial Gala, which both celebrated the Girl Scouts and honored some of the business men and women who are leaders in their respective fields and helped to contribute to the organization.

The event was emceed by famed and Emmy winning journalist and former Girl Scout, Deborah Norville and took place at the beautiful 583 Park Avenue event venue in New York City.

 

Grey Towers

A little while back I, along with a friend visited a beautiful historic landmark located above the quaint town of Milford, Pennsylvania, the Gifford Pinchot Estate and Institute, otherwise known as Grey Towers.

Unlike many other historic mansions to the area the Gifford estate is modeled after that of a French chateau, which was done in honor of the family's French ancestry. Despite that tidbit of information, the main reason why Grey Towers is of historical importance has more to do with the mansion's inhabitants.

Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the United States Forest Preserve and Governor of Pennsylvania was raised there and eventually after getting married spent his summers at the estate, with clear views of the surrounding mountains the Delaware River.

 

 

 

To learn more about this beautiful historic site and how to get there click HERE.

Quickie Update

I've been bouncing around the last few months shooting for the Girl Scouts and for a few dance competitions, as well as, some fun stuff for me, so I figured I'd share a few of my favorite shots:

Happy Easter

TARDI-Card

I ended up turning one of my friends into a Whovian so I thought it befitting that for her birthday that I should create some Doctor Who themed item. So after being inspired from seeing a TARDIS card that someone posted to reddit, I decided to take a stab at making my own version. There are a few mess ups, as it has been quite sometime since I've done something like this, but I think it came out okay.

Untouristy Sightseeing Part 2

I'm not a religious person by any means, nor am I spiritual for that matter, but I can appreciate the artifacts of religion, especially when they are odd and quirky; in this case, the world's smallest church.

Welcome to Oneida, NY, a half hours drive from my hotel  through rolling farm land and wee townships that almost rival Disney's Main Street USA, it is also home to the world's smallest church. Not much can be said about this adorable oddity other than that it has become a must quickie attraction, for people passing through. The church was built in 1989 and has room for two people and preacher, I should also add that's only accessible by boat to boot.

Untouristy Sightseeing Part I

I've always been interested in the history of asylum keeping, especially since I grew up down the road from a relatively large facility, always passing it on family car rides and ever so intrigued by what those massive and domineering, yet beautiful buildings held inside. As I grew up, that fascination turned into a photography obsession as I joined the ranks of the urbex crowd who saw the beauty in decay. They also felt the need to document forgotten history, which would inevitably either fall in on itself or be bulldozed to the ground to make way for another strip mall or parking lot, instead of opting for historic preservation.

Eventually my urbex passion turned academic when I got the opportunity to turn the topic into a research paper for one of my favorite history courses. The paper was about woman, insanity and asylum keeping in nineteenth century New York State and debated whether asylum's deserved their formidable stereotype, so naturally my research began with the Utica State Hospital; New York State's first asylum.

So on a working trip out to Clinton, NY to shoot a dance competition, I found the perfect opportunity to visit the start of it all. Although many of the buildings have been torn down and some have been rehabbed into usable buildings, much of it remains forgotten and continually falling apart.

 

In 2005 the former Utica State Hospital was spruced up and for one brief day, tours were given of this once magnificent and albeit somewhat jaded facility. As evidence of the fencing around the perimeter and signs forewarning trespassers, the building has once again been been relegated to housing the forgotten; this time around it's files for the NYS Office of Mental Health.

Here's to hoping that one day all the remaining buildings on the grounds of the Utica State Hospital will be restored and possibly turned into something that the public can enjoy for more than one fleeting moment in time.