Sponsored by the Rocky Point Historical Society, Rocky Point, NY.

History buffs, artists and adventurers collaborated with artist Alina Wilczynski on the evening of October 4, creating unique public art–a light painting on the beach of Hallock Landing on the Long Island Sound. The framework was a 1901 shipwreck, the E Brush, a 60-foot schooner whose bones emerged briefly in 2018 before being reclaimed by the tides of the Sound. Yet this evening, volunteers were shown how to “paint” along a newly constructed framework with light using flashlights and colored lights in the public expo.

For nearly a month each May, the village of Greenport, Long Island, NY is covered in pink blossoms from five varieties of cherry. There are more than 200 trees to photograph and each year the Village provides a self-guided tour map. Despite a rainy start, I took a group of devoted naturalists on this photo safari through the streets and landmarks of this North Fork whaling port first settled in 1682.

According to parks.ny.gov, the Nature Museum showcases natural history exhibits including a Great Blue Heron, Red Fox, Flying Squirrel and a River Otter. Along the hiking trails you might find rare plants like Pink Lady Slipper, Trailing Arbutus, and Indian Pipe. Bird watchers will delight in the variety of feathered friends found in the preserve, such as Prothonotary Warblers, Virginia Rails and Osprey to name a few.

During winter months the snowy landscape is crisscrossed not only with animal tracks but also with cross country ski and snowshoe tracks.

Stay tuned for the next Photo Hike. Learn more at the Middle Country Public Library at https://www.mcplibrary.org/ and the Caleb Smith Park Preserve at https://parks.ny.gov/parks/124/details.aspx

The Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, Massachusetts, was the hub of the July 28 to August 3, 2023 meet while the road run took approximately 85 riders through the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, a string of covered bridges in Southern New Hampshire and some side trips to landmarks like Mt. Greylock, the Deerfield River campground, Winsor Dam and the Quabbin Reservoir and its lookout tower.

“Ride ‘Em; Don’t Hide ‘Em”

Hop in a 1967 Corvette Sting Ray (virtually) and join this year’s antique car parade held annually in Port Jefferson village, NY that’s a reenactment of the original 1910 spectacle.

Thanks to the Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY, for sponsoring two photography hikes on May 21 and 26, 2022 and having me as their photography instructor. We enjoyed a 2.7 mile trek through Terrell River County Park, Center Moriches directed by Amber Gagliardi through a lush deciduous forest to see deer, a turkey and her chicks, a box turtle, swans, ducks, the river, the bay beach, a majestic maple and a collage of vines. Fragrant wisteria bloomed at the trailhead.

I asked the smartphone and camera-toting patrons, “What interested you to sign up? The photography part or the hike part?” Almost in unison, the group said, “Both!”