Be Excellent To Each Other

Wotcha.

This year, all things working out, I’m going on a great expedition to the North of Pennsylvania. I’ve got a photography project planned and hopefully I’ll be able to cadge a little arts council funding for it too, but even if I don’t I’m still going ahead with it. It’ll be four weeks in all, some of it spent in the North East around the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton area which has a strong history of Welsh immigrants working the mines there and getting involved in hilarious political corruption and mass striking until the Irish and the Germans unified, scabbed up and kicked their asses. But the bulk will be spent once again round the small town of Bradford and the surrounding area, where my auntie and uncle live, documenting the quiet lives and scenes round there.

I’ve yet to find a true focus for the project, but that should come in time hopefully, and I’ve got a meeting booked with Prof. Bill Jones, who has written books on Welsh emigration to Pennsylvania and Iowa. You see, the idea for a big project came to me when I was going through some of the old Local Studies archive material in my library department. I found a set of a dozen postcards sent from Bradford, PA, to a grocer’s in Cardiff. They dated from the 1920’s and were photographs painted over to give an odd neither-one-nor-the-other realist painting feel. I recognised most of the places and it looked like the town hadn’t changed much, though the featured great big mile long Kinzua State Viaduct had been knocked down by a tornado back in the 90’s. So I was pretty intrigued. Where had they come from? And what were the odds of me finding those postcards sent from a largely unknown town of less than 15,000 people, when I had already visited Bradford two years ago and my auntie and uncle lived there? It seemed like a sign.

So I booked the last week of September off and the first three weeks of October. With any luck I’ll get to see a splendid fall of blazing leaves too.

And Meaty, if you’re still swinging round Beex and reading this, I’ll be dropping into see you if you’re willing in Toronto. Bradford’s but two hours by car from Buffalo, and Buffalo’s only an hour and fifteen minutes by train from Toronto!

Man, I’m quite excited about this. I just have to find my focus. I’m tempted to pure new topographical style stuff in my usual vein, but the Welsh angle would probably prove more popular. Lots of planning to do, that’s for sure. But there is reassuring news in that I’ve been promised an photo exhibition next year as part of the Diffusion Festival in Cardiff, and another smaller one this year, by an organiser who likes the cut of my jib. One of them will be of the US Civil War stuff, the other, Pennsylvania. Let’s see what happens.

Ta for reading my ramble. Laters!

Sounds like an excellent plan. If you don't before then I'm sure you'll get into a groove and find some focus once you're there. Have fun dude.

Sounds superb!

Congratulations! Sounds excellent.

Autumn is a great time of year to go over too.

Oh, hello.

Been a shameful while for me, y'all. Well, tomorrow I fly out for my great American trip - four weeks in Pennsylvania photographing the autumnal fall. The funding I did not get, though that's been made up for by the offer of gallery space next year. With my somewhat scaled back funds I've decided to concentrate in McKean County in the North West of the state, extensively photographing small town America and the rich forested and slightly Twin Peaks goodness that surrounds it. Whilst mainly living on cheap eats and spending half the time at my auntie and uncles. Will I come back with a staggering haul of photographs to make Stephen Shore weep with jealousy? Or will I stumble across a meth lab down some dirt track some place and never be seen again? Who can tell!

Ooh, and I'm borrowing a Mamiya 6 medium format wide angle film camera too. And taking 12 rolls of Kodak Portra 400 and three rolls of Kodak Ektar 100 too. Can't wait to use it!

Anyway, major butterflies in my stomach. Tomorrow I go down to London, Heathrow, and soar away.

Man, hope this all goes to plan.

Keep your fingers crossed for me guys. Will try to update you from the states.

Good luck, chap!

Have an incredible time, Pete!

Have a great time. Looking forward to seeing the photos.

Great time of year to go too.

This is going to be awesome for you! Have a great time!

Just passed through Connecticut and Rhode Island on the train and it was beautiful. Should make some nice holiday snaps for you, Pete!

Hi again folks!

Well, I got back safely from the states and had a wonderful four weeks of walking around like Dr. Zoidberg, hunched sideways, photographing things. I did indeed hook up with Metalangel, and I had a reasonably good time in Toronto. However, sadly, there I also got beaten up on my second day by a crazy homeless guy. We were on a pleasant walk, broad daylight, and I was taking a photograph of a bridge and in the distance a figure appeared from the bushes. I heard distant bellowing and me and Meaty moved swiftly on. As we headed to cross a road a rock flew near us. So we picked up speed. And we'd almost crossed, one hundred yards on from the bridge, when suddenly poor Meaty goes flying and hits the kerb. I find myself grabbed by the shoulder by a crazy bug-eyed big black guy in a hoody, who keeps jerking me around screaming at me to delete the photo. Ironically I am unable to, as every time I attempt to hit delete he whacks me in the side of the head with his fist, possibly holding a rock. I keep shouting out, "Okay man! Okay! It's deleted!" but he keeps hitting me, until after several blows he lets me go and then headbutts me, before finally delivering a haymaker to poor old Meaty who's dazed on the ground.

So it was a trip to the hospital to get checked out for the both of us. Happily Meaty ended up okay except for nasty bruising around the ribs, and I had some shallow cuts from abrasions and an egg on the side of my head from the thumping. Got checked out again on my return and I'm fine now, the bump's almost entirely gone. I think Meaty's frame still aches quite a lot though from the kerb impact. I really wish I hadn't taken that shot, but there was nothing indicating danger - it was totally out of the blue. Kind of unnerving.

I must have heard the, "Was it Rob Ford?" joke a couple of dozen times by now.

So yeah - it turns out to be true what my Third Floor Gallery buddies said, that every photographer gets beaten up at least once in their life. Ow. Still, didn't stop me from carrying on and photographing like buggery when over the American border. The fall was indeed beautiful and I had a swell time at my auntie and uncle's. Even saw a US Civil War graveyard, which was oddly moving. Ate lots of burgers, drank lots of craft beers and drifted in the small town sleepy charms of Bradford, PA, taking the odd portrait and lots of photographs of brownstone buildings, oil refineries and abandoned cars. I'll be posting the first entry of the blog up on petetakespictures.com by the end of the week. Meanwhile, here are some advance previews:
















I can strongly recommend All Day IPA by Founders, by the way. A lovely session beer. Also Almond M&Ms. Yum.

Wow. Just wow.

I'm sorry you got attacked Pete, I'm glad you're making a recovery though. Those pictures are amazing, I particularly like the car on top of the school bus; I think because the colours are so vivid.

Amazing shots Pete.
Looking forward to seeing more and hearing all about your time over there.

wow, Pete, hope you are okay!

Did you actually manage to delete the photo (Or were you busy taking action photos of the whole thing?)

No, I still have the photo. If you zoom in you can see a pixely version of him lurching forward. Interestingly, there's also a photograph of my foot and a falling bottle of water which I assume I took during the drubbing incident.

I'm okay now. It ached for a while but not in a painful way, and it was a bit of a sore, tender bump for a week or so, but it's pretty much disappeared now. The Doc said I was good. The scary bit was not knowing how far the beating was going to go.

Craft beers - what a hipster twat. He probably hit you for that.

Seriously though - glad it didn't spoil your trip too much. All Day IPA is pretty amazing! Plus your photos are excellent.

And I've just discovered that they have All Day IPA in the glorious 'beer dungeone' offy up Whitchurch Road. Hurrah!

Still to do the first blog entry, but it's a bit all overwhelming. Where to start - what subject within to tackle? Argh!

Anyway, here's some pumpkins:

They look way better than any in supermarkets within 10 miles of me.
I didn't even realise they could grow that big. :-P
Is it a farm, or do they just really like pumpkins?

Whisper it Cookie, but it is actually the first stage of a sinister plan. A pumpkin will be delivered to each door, globally.

And THEN...

But yes, a farm with roadside stall.

Free pie!

The movie poster should say, "Free DIE!" with a bloody clawed hand emerging from the pumpkin pie.

Hey folks!

Finally updated my blog, kicking off with the seemingly obligatory 'here I am in an airport getting ready to go do this thing' all travelogue blogs have. But maybe it's because taking photographs of airport terminals can be quite fun. Anyway.



Go here:

http://petetakespictures.com/blog/2014/ ... alvelocity

First in a series. Expect me to spend an hour each time trying to think of a good blog title, and then somehow picking something ghastly, by the way.

Hi folks, latest blog post up at my website. This one all set in Toronto, with a photo of Meaty hidden within too. Also tales of my drubbing, and many street-shots. Any feedback welcome, by the way. Let me know if you're digging the writing and if it seems 'right' for a photo-blog, or if it's largely waffle. When I've a couple of whiskeys in me I find it hard to judge.

Cheers!

You do take some very fine photos. Keep it up