Oh the joys of summers's past! Photographed in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, NY in 2011.

You never can tell about subjects in photographs who look calm and collected―they may have just had the most colossal row.

Ways of Escape

In 1980, Graham Greene published a memoir called Ways of Escape. Much of the books consists of exciting incidents and encounters in his life, some of which led to his writing a book of fiction. Among the episodes he describes are life in West Africa in the service of MI6 (the British Secret Service) during World War II, his thoughts on and use of opium and his travels to Hanoi, Havana and the Middle East. In a number of these reports Mr. Greene was under fire or in danger of his life in other ways. To escape, it was action he was after.

Today, escape is only available through what you can find to do in isolation. No action, thank you, nobody wants danger through activity, there is enough danger by simply strolling about. My ways of escape are through Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert, P.G. Wodehouse and Raymond Chandler, writing and gardening.

I took this photograph of Graham Greene in his apartment in Antibe, France in the early1980s. The apartment had just been broken into, he thought by the police, lawyer and judge from Nice he had recently accused of being corrupt. He tells the story of this corruption in J'accuse.

For those who are not infected, is it this?

or is it this? The choice is often ours. Easy to slip into the former. The latter might be the way through today's peril. 

Francis Bacon

Penguin are using my picture of Francis Bacon for the jacket of their publication Francis Bacon by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan which will soon be on sale.

I took the picture in the mid 1970s in London. Bacon arrived at my studio with the mutual friend who had made the sitting possible, sat down in front of the camera, and after a few words of greeting, fell asleep.

We left him undisturbed for a few while and when he woke up he made us laugh with his usual liveliness and wit.

Sally, 1992

I have had to put aside my series People of Cold Spring until we can get near each other again. Here is one I did 28 years ago of Sally Murphy, then a child of four, who might well have set fire to your house so exuberant was her behavior, now a singer and mother.

When things have righted themselves I shall do the three or four people I had lined up before the troubles began. I will then have about ten people to show as samples of the twenty or so that I will finally do either for an outdoor exhibition in Cold Spring or monthly series for a local newspaper or magazine.   

Forthright

I took this photograph nine years ago on Main Street in Beacon, NY. In today's conditions the forthright attitude that this girl strikes is exactly what is required. It says, "We have to be alone to be safe. We do not know how long this state of life in isolation will last ― I will do it for as long as is necessary."

How the photograph came about: Our poster girl was with two of her friends. As soon as I saw the group I knew I only wanted to photograph her and would have to get rid of the others.  I did this by saying how wonderful they would look as a group. Then after I'd done the group, and they were all happy, I asked, "Could I just do one of you alone?".  I have used this subterfuge on a number of occasions and it has always worked.  

A real life conversation, banned until further notice

I have been saying how we should be talking to each other and not texting. Unhappily for the moment, this above, must stop or it will kill us. But, if you ask around, there is a thing that your phone does ― it makes telephone calls. These are audio conversations and they can be very enjoyable. Sometimes better than the real thing.

I think this photograph is of two guests at a wedding in Scotland, probably in the early 1970s. I wonder if these two were getting on, or were they breaking up? If they are still alive, and see this, I hope they will let me know.

Be alone

My only thought about it: All our attention must be paid to protecting ourselves, by so doing we protect others.

Before social distancing

                           Here is what we are now not allowed to do. Never mind, it will be
                           all the more fun to do it again when we are allowed to.

Lonely or happy to be alone

                   Many people may be feeling like this soon.
                   Photographed in a café in Devonshire, England in 1981.

Talking to people. A very pleasant pastime

                  Friends enjoying each other's company, Victoria station buffet, London, 1981

What to do when there is nothing to do? I have, like many people, shut down. There are four people I wanted to photograph but to reduce the chances of infecting or being infected, they will keep until the perils have past. There is no tennis as West Point, where I play regularly, is closed to visitors until further notice.

I have done our taxes and polished all my shoes. It is too early yet to tackle spring gardening.

I shall practice the piano more frequently than usual, read Chekhov's  My Life for the tenth time, and look for other works by him that I have not read. I will watch Polanski's films, make bread more often and sit behind the slit in our castle wall and shoot anybody with my bow and arrow coming up the drive. (Except for the plumber and carpenter who are working on keeping our castle from falling down.)

When I have read all of Chekhov I shall order a copy of William Boyd's latest novel and a mystery
by Sarah Caudwell from Split Rock Books in Cold Spring NY. For some reason there are a mass of English women who are very good at writing mysteries. From Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie and P.D. James in the early 20th century to a thousand and one others all the way to today's Ruth Ware who people say is terrific.

                       Conversation at Marlow and Sons, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, 2011

Caroline and I will not starve nor shall we overspend on take out because I shall be trying new recipes from my favourite cookery books: French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David,  
Great Dishes of the World by Robert Carrier, Ou est le Garlic? by Len Deighton and  
The New York Times 60 Minute Gourmet by Pierre Franey. If I do not get round to trying more than one or two recipes I shall anyway read the books because they are all written by exceptionally good writers.

What I will not be doing is twittering or texting, because I never have and it drains away from what we should all be doing—talking to people! If any body wants to ring me, please do. I like talking to people. It is a very good way of passing the time!

Let's hope the warm weather will soon return and we can clear up the winter mess in the garden and spread compost on the soil. I dislike walking (I say this with due respect to Caroline and our dogs who are truly good companions) and there is no tennis, so I shall welcome the bending and stretching and the toing and froing of gardening.
 

    

Joziah and Tink Longo

The musicians Joziah and Tink Longo are the founding members of the band The Slambovian Circus of Dreams. The band began life in the late 1990s in Sleepy Hollow, NY as an art school project. They have successfully managed their own careers and brought up five children while touring and recording.

They live in a small house in Cold Spring where a guitar or cello or cornet or accordion leans against a wall or lies on a table in every room. Tink often plays the cello, accordion, flute and theremin on tour and recordings. She also helps manage the band, keeps house and makes sure that Joziah's mustache is perfectly trimmed and waxed on all occasions.

Basquiat's Presence Continues To Loom Large in Modern Art

Jean-Michel Basquiat by Dmitri Kasterine, copyright. Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. 1986. Acquired through the generosity of Norman and Beverly Cox in honor of their daughter Cara.

Basquiat’s Presence Continues To Loom Large in Modern Art

“I don’t think about art while I work. I try to think about life.”—Jean-Michel Basquiat

In a prolific yet short-lived career, Jean-Michel Basquiat (Dec. 22, 1960–Aug. 12, 1988) became a leading figure in the 1980s art world.
He ran away from home as a teenager, initially supporting himself by selling homemade postcards and sweatshirts on the street. He emerged as an underground celebrity in 1978, when he and a friend began spray-painting cryptic social messages all over Lower Manhattan. Working in a graffiti style, he moved into producing artworks that combined expressively drawn elements like figures and skulls with incisive words and phrases. Soon he was exhibiting at major galleries and museums and collaborating with Andy Warhol.
As a black man in a predominantly white art scene, he found himself increasingly caught between a desire for fame and a fear of being exploited by that world. Like his heroes Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, Basquiat burned bright but died young of a drug overdose.
Made in the context of New York City in the ’80s, his artwork resonates just as strongly today, highly desired by collectors and the subject of exhibitions worldwide.
See one of Basquiat’s artworks on the Smithsonian American Art Museum's website and learn more about him, his contemporaries, influence and legacy at Smithsonian’s Learning Lab.
This photo of Basquiat is in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery; it is not on display.

Sachi Starbuck, artist

Sachi is the ten-year old daughter of Eliza Starbuck, co-owner of Flowercup Wine in Cold Spring, NY. For three years now Sachi has helped design and execute the chalk murals on one of the walls of the store. The mural is changed every six to eight months. Sachi and her mother do equal parts of the drawing. "After a little pre-drawing concept discussion Sachi directs the subject matter of the murals." her mother said.

Sachi was a good sitter. She allowed me to consider without interruption what I was to do. Her mother stood far off in a corner of the room silently observing. When I took a break and Sachi leaned against a pedestal, I said, “There, that’s the next shot.” Her mother, without hesitating, picked up the pedestal and positioned it where we had been shooting a few minutes earlier.  Help like that and vanishing into a corner during the photography is not always understood by those attending a shoot.

Eliza explained: "My mother was a photographer and I worked as her assistant on her shoots from age 12 through the end of high school. Thus I earned my ability to see where and when a pedestal is needed and when to melt into a corner."

Apart from drawing and painting Sachi loves clothes and has appeared in outstanding outfits on all the occasions I have seen her, ranging from fashion today to one of her grandmother's shawls.
 

Kat and Stephen Selman

Behind my destination lay a small wooden building where I was told Kat and Stephen Selman would be when I arrived to photograph them. This is their fully equipped recording studio, once a wreck of a place which they recently renovated themselves. It is now the coziest of places heated by a most efficient wood burning stove.

Kat and Stephen are musicians recently arrived from Brooklyn. They offer the studio as a musician's retreat, either to those who want a break or to those who want to record. You may stay nights and they will cook for you. The place is surrounded by woods and fields.

Mia, the baker at the Cold Spring Coffeehouse.

I have not much to say about this photograph. Mai, herself, I do not know except she has a dog and twice a day she leaves her bakery to take the dog for a walk. She works for a warmhearted and friendly man which must account for a good deal of the success of his café — the rest 
being Mai's baking.

Young man with advice for those who find a job in Newburgh, NY

Newburgh is much in my mind again—still as bad as ever for the black Americans living 
there. Violence, and unemployment prevail. The city government persists in making it 
difficult for black residents to apply for, train for, or compete for jobs for which they are 
willing and capable of doing. Our friend above said, "If you find a job in Newburgh you 
better keep it." He did not actualy say "it". He used an expression that may not be 
welcome on these pages in some quarters.

Marissa with Moose, Kensi and Honey

Advertising photography is one of the best rackets going for photographers. First of all it is overpaid and then the skills required are more in the area of being able to organize a good lunch for up to 20 people and cope with everybody there wanting the shot done slightly differently from each other, than it is in taking a striking photograph. Some advertising photographs, however, are among the finest pictures ever  taken especially the still life pictures of Irving Penn.

The pictures above are advertising pictures that I was not paid to do, neither did I have to organize lunch or have anybody breathing down my neck. I was happy to do them for the Animal Rescue Foundation of Beacon NY, where Caroline volunteers and it was taken to show how lovely the puppies held by volunteer Marissa are, and with the intention of finding the puppies homes. As these picture have had 15,000 viewers on Facebook, that will probably not be difficult.

Christmas morning in the wilds of Putnam county

The people and animals in this photograph are Betsy, her three children, Vic, Aden and Liv, their dog Bear and  the family cat George. On the left is their friend Marshall. It was taken on Christmas morning. When I arrived, Marshall, an acupuncturist, masseur and Qi Gong ~ Tui Na practitioner, was treating Liv for a painful jaw.

The sun was lighting the sofa that I was going to use in the picture. It was lighting only the lower half so Marshall unrolled paper that he uses to cover the patient’s table and taped it on the window to diffuse the sunlight. I put Aden and Bear into place as a center piece and the others fell into place  around them. The children, aged 22-30, survived well without their phones for the few minutes it took to get the picture done.

One thing I am getting better at: I do not spend time before a shoot worrying about what to do. How can you possibly know what you will have to do? You may well not have  seen the house where the shoot will take place and you possibly will not have even met the subjects. (Not a case in point with Betsy et al. whom I know well.) But my nervous disorder insists that I have a plan. Now, when I ease aside the worry about where the light will come from or will one of the group want to wear a roll neck sweater, (Oh, how I dislike roll necks!), I waltz in and wait to see what I need to do according to what I am presented with. I expect to sleep better now.

This is a photograph I took of Felix Salmon and Michele Vaughan which they to give to Felix’s father as a present. After clambering down the hillside outside their cottage we reached Indian Brook that runs through the valley. I settled them on the rock but saw that as the weak sun was lighting them from behind my shot would probably be better taken from the other side of the rock.

This meant their just swiveling round 180 degrees, but I had to cross leaf covered ditches and streams to reach a good place for my camera. They offered to help me navigate round the rock but if they had wound up with a sprained  ankle or even just wet feet the photograph could have been jeopardized. So I made it on my own but was grateful for their help in getting me back up onto the slope for home, where  we were restored to calm with ten year-old Sercial Madeira, the wine that saw General Washington and his staff through The American Revolutionary War at the rate of three or four bottles per person per day.

I met a British army tank driver once who had gone through the Normandy campaign in Wold War II on Calvados. The French farmers had kept hundreds of bottles hidden from the Germans all through the occupation waiting to hand them out to the relieving allied armies.