Renovo Pa.

                                                         R.R. Worker

In the northern central part of Pennsylvania there is a region called the Pennsylvania Wilds. It is a rural mountainous and pristine land of over 2 million acres.  We enjoyed tent camping in this region of the state and had many encounters with the large timber rattles that populate the area.  When we camped and hiked we always stayed on the trials and kept a watchful eye out for both snakes and black bear that roam the area.  While exploring this area we always took time to visit the small mountain towns we came across.  One small town we visited was called Renovo.  It sits on the west branch of the Susquehanna River and was an old logging and mining town build in the early 1800's.  When we pulled into town we were both impressed and sadden with the old stately buildings that were vacant and in a state of disrepair.  We could see that this was once prosperous town with grand buildings from the old logging days in the Pennsylvania mountains.  We took time out to walk around the town and look at some of the old buildings.  I came across this old 5 & 10 store and was taken back to thoughts of my childhood when these stores were in every small town.  I setup my view camera and as I was composing the scene of the store front, I notice this man coming my way down the street.  I stopped him to ask a few questions about the area and he told me a long history about the old town.  He was a R.R. worker on his way to work, and said he was one of the few people left working in the massive R.R. yards that is located across from the main street.  Renovo was a properous Railroad town that hauled lumber and coal from the mountains.  It's wealth was generated by the hard work of immigrate families who came to America seeking a better life.  At one time the town had a population of nearly 5,000 people, now it has been reduced to about 1,000.  Growing in the weeds with the boarded up store fronts one can see the remains of the hopes, dreams, and hard work of a past generation.

Some videos of this old town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1H2gdoGpEA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1H2gdoGpEA
http://www.ncpenn.com/ren_chrono.html

Kids

I made this image in the 80's near my home town.  It was in the small rural town of Rathbone, N.Y.  It is an old farming and lumber community that time has passed by.  The house these kids are standing in front of used to be the old Magnolia Hotel that sits by the R.R. tracks.  Back in the day it was a grand place and a stop for vaudeville actors traveling the country doing their shows.  It was the home town for the family of James Whitmore the actor.  They were some of the original early settlers and many family members remain in the area today.  Today the old hotel building is gone and the kids grown up but most likely still living in the area.  People in this rural region of N.Y. rarely travel far from where they were born. The area is rustic and full of people with interesting characters and an old way of life.

http://history.rays-place.com/ny/steu/rathboneville-v.htm

Brothers

My Grandparent immigrated to the U.S. from a small remote mountain town in southern Italy.  We have traveled back a number of times to spend time with relatives that still live there.  Each time we go we have always enjoyed the people and the old way of life that exist there.  We noticed with a recent trip in 2014 that the little mountain towns were losing their young people to the cities, and the old way of life and culture is fast fading away.  The old people that filled the streets and piazza have died out, and with them went the life and vibrancy that made up the character of the town.  I made this image of two bothers going to work in their orchards back in 2006.  I stopped and talked with them in my best broken Italian.  I noticed if I told people my last name I was instantly accepted as a member of the community, and it made photographing people an easy task.  Last month I walked the empty streets and felt sad with the loss of the people and the traditions that will be gone forever.  I feel fortunate that I was able to capture a little of this life and culture with my camera.

https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/ottati

Amos

I lived most of my years in a small rural town in western N.Y. near the Pennsylvania boarder.  It is a region of the foothills to the Appalachian Mts.  The area offered a diverse culture of quaint small towns and backroads full of old country folk.  I made this photograph back in the 80's with my view camera using Tri-x film.  It was after sunset on a summers evening when I made this image of Amos at his home.  He is the last of a hillbilly family that lived in the area.  His one room shack never has had electric or running water.  He grew up there with his brother, and parents.  The family walked everywhere they wanted to go and it was a good eight miles or more down to our little town.  I remember pulling up to his house as he was sitting there, and thinking I hope I can make his photograph.  I had seen him many times over the years but it is doubtful he ever knew me.  He was friendly and was glad I stopped by to chat with him.  Driving away I could only imagine how lonely it must be for him being the only one left of his family, and not to have modern day conveniences that we are all accustomed to.  This image has some softness to it but is barely noticeable in a 11x14 print.  The scan of the negative has magnified this condition and doe not look as good as the original print 

Bob Wills and the headless horse

A number of years ago I was was out driving around photographing near my home town when I came across a strange sight of a man with a headless horse on the back of his pickup truck.  I was curious and pulled in to talk with him and hopefully make a photograph.  His name was Bob Wills and he acquired this horse a few months earlier and was planning on storing it in an old one room school house he owned. He said I showed up at the right time because he needed help getting the horse off of his truck.  The horse had cast iron legs and was quite heavy.  After we got the horse off the truck I asked if I could get a picture of him with the horse in the doorway before we moved it inside.  He was happy for my help and accepted my request.  I setup my large view camera and made a couple of exposures.  I asked him how did the horse lose it's head and if he had it.  The story he told me was that the horse originally came from  Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua,N.Y. ( now a NYS park), and that he bought the horse without the head at an auction.  He said he contacted the original owners and discovered that they still had the head to the horse but were not willing to give it up.  They were hoping he would give up the horse to them.  Years later I went by the old school house. stopped and looked inside to see the headless horse still standing there covered in dust. It was apparent the horse and it's head were probably never going to be reunited.

http://www.sonnenberg.org/

http://nysparks.com/historic-sites/36/details.aspx

Corn Lily #5

Working in low light and a long exposure to create a blend of light and form.  An image from my corn lily series.

Corn Lilies

In the springtime back in upstate New York, I enjoyed going out in early evening and photographing the young corn lily plants along the river.  I would setup my large view camera just after sundown and prepare for a few long exposures ranging from 5 to 10 minutes in time.  The need for such a long exposure is required because of the small f-stop needed for close up work with a view camera, reciprocity failure of the film, and the slow film speed I liked working with. The light is very soft at this time of day and the leaves of the plants take on a wonderful glow from the low ambient light.  There is a real challenge to photographing in low light, but with experience it can render some very rewarding images. The slightest breeze during the long exposure could ruin the image.  Many times I would be several minutes into an exposure and a gentle breeze would come up just enough to make the leaves rock back and forth.  Knowing that the first signs of movement would not be recorded in a long exposure, I would cover the front of my lens with the dark slide from my film holder and wait for the the breeze to stop.  Once the plants stopped moving I would continue my exposure and add any extra time I thought may be need because of the failing light conditions I was working in.  The soft light with the added benefit of increased contrast in the negative due to reciprocity failure of the film is a great advantage when photographing basically a mono toned subject like plants.



http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/False%20Hellebore.html
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/veratrumviri.html