A Change of Venue

February 12, 2010

Hudson river from Beacon Waterfront.

In September of last year I moved out of New York City where I had been living for about 13 years.

After some personal turmoil and a financial reckoning which included four months on the dole, it was time for a change. Beacon, NY is a small city of about 15,000 residents sixty miles north of NYC along the Hudson River. The city is currently best known for the Dia Art Museum which houses contemporary artwork in a former Nabisco box factory. And Pete Seeger who actually lives up the road in Fishkill.

I moved into town without knowing a soul. I also moved into town as fall took hold and quickly moved into winter. Today is the 12th of February, deep in the heart of winter. Two days ago a blizzard covered the town in nearly a foot of snow which now lays on top of the ground which has been frozen solid since December. In the morning I’ll take the train into the city for my job and will glide down a Hudson river which is encased in a layer of ice which is groaning and cracking under the weight of the snow.

Since moving to Beacon my photography has radically changed.

After living in an incredibly dense urban area, I’ve found myself spending a great deal of time alone. That time has been spend exploring the several parks maintained by Scenic Hudson that surround the city and breaking into decaying factories. The human figure has largely disappeared from my photographs. Although I work in the city I’ve been uninterested in my former bread and butter of street photography. Instead I’ve been deeply moved by the environment of winter in the Hudson Valley.

Perhaps its a natural change. After thirteen years of living in the most urbanized region in the country its only natural that I would seek out the pleasure of solitude. I suspect this will change with the arrival of spring but for now I’ve deeply enjoyed having winter to myself.