In Sight

ABOVE: Waiters from the Capital Grille take a break to watch the start of the Annual RFR Realty 5K Corporate Run/Walk in Stamford.

5/21/2009

This year I had a pretty good vantage point from the top of a Bartlett Tree Experts truck to shoot the start of this annual 5K race. From the roof of the truck,I saw a couple of waiters from the Capital Grille excited about the start of the race.

Later, I did try to track them down to get IDs but a manager-type assured me, there was no possible way that any waiter could possibly have been out there to watch the race because, you know, the are working.

Maybe I look like I just fell off a turnip truck.

–CP

BELOW: The start of the race.

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

Members of the Italian Center team share a bag of sunflower seeds during a game in the North Stamford Little League.

5/05/09

The Advocate has introduced a new Monday featured called The Dart.  A staff member throws a dart at a map of Stamford and a reporter and photographer seek out a story near where it lands.  Reporter Wynne Parry and I followed the dart to Chestnut Hill Park on a rainy Tuesday afternoon and found ourselves in the middle of a heated game of little league baseball.  Check it out every Monday.

ABOVE: Ashley Wilson, 21, an NCC student, responds to a text message during a photo shoot with the Advocate Monday.

5/4/2009

My neighbor is going to be on MTV.

Today, I was handed an assignment bearing the familiar address of my own building. Apparently we – or the GT, anyway – are doing a story on her.

I knew she was going to be on an upcoming episode of Room Raiders because a few weeks ago, a mess of hipster tv people were here and she popped out of an SUV jammed with equipment and more production people and said to me “Steve, I’m going to be on TV!”

Apparently, I’m Steve. But anyway.

–CP

ABOVE: Jack Singer, 12, Billy Schreiber, 11, and Stephen Torrellas, 12, line up for the Pledge of Allegiance during the opening day ceremonies for the Stamford American Little League on Sunday.

5/3/2009

Given the bleak, damp weather it seemed unlikely that this Sunday I would be both consumed by Colson Whitehead’s new summer novel, Sag Harbor, and tasked with recording the events of a Little League’s opening day.

But as the rain continued unabated so did the familiar rituals; the color guard, the pledge, the first pitch, the blowing of bubblegum.

Play ball.

–CP

RECENTLY SEEN: At the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk.

–CP

Kathleen O’Rourke/The Advocate

ABOVE: Participants sit in the back of the church during “Sing It/Pray It”, a healing and praising worship service at St. Luke’s Chapel.

4/19/2009

I haven’t worked on Sundays since the beginning of my photojournalism career many, many years ago.  But, today I had the pleasure of swapping with Chris P. which will allow me an upcoming long weekend.    So I found myself in a church in the south end with some very nice people and a lot of beautiful light.  And one man (BELOW) even brought his own boombox, an item I haven’t seen since the beginning of my photojournalism career many, many years ago.  I’ve come full circle.

ABOVE: Willie Nelson, with his guitar Trigger, performs his standard show opener, Whiskey River, at the sold-out Palace Theatre in Stamford.

4/14/2009

Working as a photojournalist at the Advocate, you end up shooting quite a few concerts at the Palace Theatre, but I generally don’t get too worked up.

It’s editors John Breunig and Mark Conrad, both possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of all things 70s, who generally get much more excited about whatever baby-boomer pop/rock act is taking the stage that night. Needless to say, their enthusiasm seldom rubs off on me.

But Willie Nelson, now he is a different story. At 76-years-old, the man is a living legend.

For me, having the outlaw country icon make a stop in Stamford is huge, but it’s my friend Lexey, who hails from Bakersfield, who puts it best: “I love me some Willie.”

I couldn’t agree more.

–CP

POST SCRIPT: Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters (and later Ray Price) opened for Willie. Minutes before the start of the show, representatives of Mr. Thornton’s band called the newspaper to tell us we would not be able to photograph the Boxmasters as previously arranged.

Presumably this has something to do with the recent flap which resulted in the cancellation of the band’s Canadian tour as the Stamford show was their first performance since the tour was called off in the Great White North.

“It sure feels good to be back in the United States of America,” said Thornton to the audience as he chain-smoked through his set.

For what it’s worth, they were pretty good.

BELOW: Ray Price, 83, rocks the graying house with some western swing. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I’m sure I was the only 20-something in the theater who could sing along to his opening song, San Antonio Rose…I guess I’ve got my old man and his Bob Wills records to thank for that.

ABOVE: Johnson De Jesus carries a cross in a procession in the Lower East Side.

4/10/2009

I don’t want to take away from Kathleen’s wonderful photos [below], in fact, I should ask her for a print, but I wanted to share this on the blog.

As I was was heading over to Abraco on East 7th for a shot and a cortado, I ran into a Good Friday procession. The prayers were in Spanish and I’m not really sure what was going on, but I did understand the priest when he said “muchisimas gracias por los paparazzi.”

I guess that’s me.

–CP