Figure 1 – Lone Cypress at Windaersheek Beach, Gloucester, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

I took the photograph of Figure 1 at Windaersheek Beach on Cape Ann in Gloucester, MA this past Sunday with my iPhone XS. It was a gloomy and wonderful day. You may be interested in the origin of the name “Windaersheek.” According to the USGS the name is a corruption of the earlier Dutch name “Wyngaerts Hoeck”, which was derived from “Wyngaerton” (meaning “Vineland”). The image shows a lone cypress at a cut in the dune line. Whatever mother or erotic elements the image has, it is meant to emphasize the grayness of the day and the end of September light. Nature moves seamlessly into autumn now. The fall color are glorious, but absent here. Instead, we have a lone tree that has for many years withstood the Atlantic winds. It isn’t quite thriving, not is it failing. It is a sentinel, a kind of witness.

Figure 1 – Nosferatu on the streets of Salem, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

Well, Halloween and Halloween costumes can get outright scary. Case in point is this fellow, Nosferatu, that I met on Essex Street in Salem the other day. Really creepy, and I have endeavored to make the image even creepier! 

Nosferatu refers to a magnificent silent horror film, Nosferatu the Vampire, in which the mysterious Count Orlok (Max Schreck) summons Thomas Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to his remote Transylvanian castle in the mountains. Orlok seeks to buy a house near Hutter and his wife, Ellen (Greta Schroeder). And you can guess where it all goes from there!

The story, of course, sounds very familiar and parallels Brahm Stoker’s Dracula. Which begs the question of why not call him Dracula and be done with it. This appears to be because of conflicts with the Stoker estate. Vampire stories continue to excite and titillate to this day. “Titillate?” you might ask. It is, in fact, the case that to sexually repressed Victorian society vampire seduction was a thinly veiled substitute for the other kind. Nowhere is this more true than in Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla – The first lesbian vampire.

The origin of vampire myths are in many cases not so pleasant. But as fictional and mythic characters they represent a perversion of the holy. The transubstantiated wine is returned to its base literal manifestation of blood letting and human sacrifice. This is getting way too deep. Fortunately, you know that my photograph is not of a true vampire, because the camera captures his visage.

Canon T2i with EF 70-200 mm F/4.0 USM lens at 200 mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority AE Mode 1/80th at f/8.0 with no exposure compensation.

Figure 1 – Creature on the streets of Sale, Salem, MA. )c) DE Wolf 2019.

You run into all sorts of creatures, things, and odd people on the streets of Salem in these pre-Halloween days! This creature of Figure 1 reminded me of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but he referred to himself as being an alien, something about a planet near Uranus. Sir John Herschel beware! He seems, point in fact, to resemble more a blender accident than an alien being, but I will take him at his word. I photographed him with my DSLR while holding a baguette in my hand and he chided me for blocking the lens with my bread. Then there is the question of what is happening or being said with his middle finger. Hmm, never been flipped the bird by an alien before!

Canon T2i with EF 70-200 mm F/4.0 USM lens at 73 mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority AE Mode 1/80th at f/8.0 with no exposure compensation.

Figure1 – Gossamer dancer, Salem Halloween Parade 2019. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

One of the most beautiful sights at last week’s Salem Halloween Parade was a group of dancers in gossamer dresses, who twirled dramatically and magically in the darkness, their dresses capturing and reflecting the streetlights. The image was relatively tough to get, even with the iPhone XS’ wonderful night photography capabilities. The swirls of light captured the sense of motion beautifully. But what bothered me most was the pixelation of the dancers’ faces. I tried various “tricks” to eliminate this. But in the end, I hit upon stylizing in PRISMA, which perfectly accomplished what I was trying to achieve and I am quite happy with the final result shown in Figure 1.

Ultimately the word “gossamer” refers to delicate sheets of spider silk, released by spiderlings in an often suicidal leap into the air currents, called “kiting,” that can carry them thousands of miles away even out to sea. It is appropriate to this October time of year and to our association of spiders with Halloween. It is in autumn, when days become noticeably shorter and the fall frosts begin to occur that this phenomenon happens. 

Figure 1 – The elephant, the bat, and the quid pro quo. Salem, MA, (c) DE Wolf 2019.

The image of Figure 1 is another from last Thursday’s Salem Halloween parade. The blue elephant man with his striped sweater is what attracted me to this group. An elephant, a bat, and a cookie. Not sure what to make of this last figure. Perhaps he is dressed as a quid pro quo! This particular image was shot in front of the well-lit Peabody Essex Museum, and so there was little problem with the exposure. I was most attracted by the variety and intensity of color. I had thought to take the image into PRISMA and stylize it, but decided in the end that it was incongruous enough due to its composition – almost like a comic book. 

Figure 1 – The Bride of Frankenstein, her hubby, and her mummy, Salem Halloween Parade 2019. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

As I said, almost all of the photographs that I took of this year’s Salem Halloween Parade were taken with my iPhone XS. Photography is one great learning experience, and available light night photography can be so humbling. In Figure 1 I was interested in the green tones, the lighting of The Bride of Frankenstein’s dress, and the artificial fog on this float. Successful? The parade was great fun, and this truly gives the flavor.

Figure 1 – The beginning of Halloween in Salem, MA 2019. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

Well, Salem is Halloween, and last night it all kicked off with a giant parade. Photography was trickier than I expected. I might as well have left my DSLR at home, despite ISO 6400. So I left it cumbersomely hanging from my neck and switched to my iPhone XS, which had its own set of problems. As a result, I took the approach of snapping as many images as I could, in the hope that I would capture something good. Over the next few days I will post a few images. But to begin with, I will note that the shops are all decorated for the big month and this particular shop,  “Maria’s Sweet Somethings” is offering up all sorts of goodies. “Trick or Treat, everyone!”

Figure 1 – Memorial to the men of Salem’s Immaculate Conception Parish who served in World War 1. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

The other day, while I was exploring my new city, Salem, I found the spectacular bronze relief of Figure 1. It is a monument to the boys of the Immaculate Conception Parish who served in “The World War.” That is back when there was only one such war and the world was filled with hope that it would be the last.

The memorial is gorgeous, and I was curious about two things: first who was the sculptor, second how well did the latest Adobe Photoshop tilt perspective tool work. I think that as the photograph testifies that the tool works very well. The sculptor was Raymond Averill Porter. He was born in 1883 and attended age Studied School of The Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, 1902-1904. He went on to become the Head of the department of modeling and sculpture at the Massachusetts School of Art. He is best known for his bronze statue of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (1850 – 1924) in front of the Massachusetts State House.

The monument is a piece of beauty and peace. The setting is serene. Are the horrors of that war, after a century forgotten? My mind flashes to the immortal words of Wilfred Owen (1893 – 1918) who died a week before the guns went silent on the Western Front.

Figure 1 – Animal faces #12 – Lucky the Bichon frise. (c) DE Wolf 2019.

I have achieved another animal photograph that I believe is worthy of being in the “Animal Faces” series. You may remember that the goal is to look into the animal’s eyes and see their soul. And Figure I of a friend’s bichon frise named “Lucky” truly fits that bill. Lucky is a rescue dog, and I have to tell you, without going into the troubling details, that he is truly “Lucky.” True to his breed he returns and literally exudes love! Perhaps its is also worth mentioning that Lucky is a philosopher. He spends much of his time contemplating the meaning of reality as any worthy philosopher.

I toyed with departing from the use of black and white here. But decided in the end to stay obedient to the original goals of the project. And of course, this and many other images of Lucky were taken with my iPhone XS. Of course also, what makes the image in my mind is the subtle selenium tone!