Saturday Night At The Roxy ...

“I adore the theater and I am a painter. I think the two are made for a marriage of love.

I will give all my soul to prove this once more.”

                      ~ Marc Chagall

                                ~ 1887-1985

     ~ on painting new ceiling for the Paris opera

                                ~ October 14, 1963

A crowd teems around The Roxy Theatre, Northampton, Pennsylvania to purchase their tickets to a Saturday night show on a warm May evening.

The Roxy originally opened in 1921 as the Lyric. This theatre was renovated in 1933 in the tremendously popular art deco style - and renamed The Roxy after the famous New York City theater and its namesake showman Samuel “Roxy” Rothapfel.

Today, as the city’s only commercial theatre, “the Roxy continues to be the greatest show in town,” presenting both Hollywood favorites and live entertainment. It features a seven rank Wurlitzer pipe organ.

Autumntide ...

Autumn is a beautiful season tinged with a sweet saddness, just as
the song "Softly, As I Leave You" performed by the legendary
Bobby Darin, which sets the mood showcased by my original photos.
My greatest joy as a photographer is harmonizing my favorite original
photos to music to create a lingering snapshot of the season. Enjoy!

Also on my YouTube channel at  
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=54&v=0OatqfUU4d0

The Art Of Nostalgia ...

"We do not remember days, we remember moments."
                                                  ~ Cesare Pavese
                                                                 ~ 1908-1950

Afternoon shadows of the early spring dance
tranquilly in the April sunlight at Schlicher Covered Bridge,
an historic wooden covered bridge in North Whitehall Township,
Pennsylvania. Schlicher's is a 108-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge 
that crosses the Jordan Creek and was constructed in 1882.
It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It recently reopened
after needed renovations. 

Path To Remembrance...

"When it hurts to look back,
And you are afraid to look forward,
Look beside you ...
I will be there."
                             ~ Anonymous

Sentimental thoughts swirl amidst
a fresh March snowfall on my favorite path
at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

The Frosting ...

"Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art."
              ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
                          ~ 1803-1882

In the shadow of the northern Blue Mountain Ridge, a frosted, frozen
and snow covered Leaser Lake glistens with winter's artistry. 
I really enjoyed being able to actually walk on the lake and take photos!

The lake in New Tripoli, Pennsylvania is named for Frederick Leaser, who in September 1777 with his farm team hauled The Liberty Bell from 
Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church.

His homestead is located one mile north of the lake. 

Nothing But A Memory ...

"I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing
Out here it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself ...
Won't take nothing but a memory."
                                 ~ "The House That Built Me"
                                       ~ Allen Shamblin & Tom Douglas
                                                               2010
                                        ~performed by Miranda Lambert

Wisps of memories seem to dance around the window
inside Bogert's Covered Bridge on a September day, such as
"Tess & Eric 4Ever" etched to the right of the window.

This beautiful, historic bridge has listened to their story
 and countless others over the course of centuries.

The bridge spans 145 feet over the Little Lehigh Creek 
in Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built in 1841,
it's history traces back to the mid-1700s when the Bogert family
moved into a log cabin next to the future site of the bridge. 
It is the oldest covered bridge in Lehigh County and among
the oldest in the country. It is open only to pedestrian and bicycle traffic,
as well as the occasional rider on horseback.

Bogert's Bridge is a wooden Burr Truss bridge with vertical plank
siding and a gable roof. It was placed on the National Register of
Historic Places in 1980.

                        

On The Delaware ...

"Wrinkles should merely indicate
where smiles have been."
                               ~ Mark Twain
                                                ~ 1835-1910

When I saw this man fishing on 
the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, New Jersey
on an early September evening, I wondered from his
expression what thoughts and memories were
crossing his mind. The man was fishing near
the historic Northampton Street Bridge,
commonly called The Free Bridge, which spans the 
Delaware River between Phillipsburg, New Jersey
and Easton, Pennsylvania. The Free Bridge was completed in 1896 
and survived the damage from massive flooding from
Hurricane Diane in 1955. It undersent a thorough
restoration in 1990. 

Once Upon The Long Ago ...

"Some days in late August at home are like this,
the air thin and eager like this,
with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar..."
               ~ William Faulkner
                        ~1897-1962
             ~ Southern American author 
           & Nobel Prize Laureate

         "The Sound and The Fury"
                             ~ 1929
A high contrast monochrome and painterly view of the Lehigh Valley on a summer evening from one of the beautiful summits at Trexler Nature Preserve, Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. 

The Monochrome Blues ...

"But there ain't no cure for the summertime blues ..."
                                           ~ "Summertime Blues"
                                                                ~ 1958

The song says there ain't no cure for 
the summertime blues, and there
ain't no cure for monochrome 
Great Blue! This Great Blue Heron
sits for a portrait in high contrast
monochrome on a summer evening at
Trexler Memorial Park, 
Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Runneth Over ...

"I memorize moments that I'm fondest of ...
And so in these moments with sunlight above
My cup runneth over with love ...."
                                ~ "My Cup Runneth Over"
                                               ~ "I Do! I Do!"
                                                                ~1966

Summer streams over the crest of the creek
at one of my favorite spots at Trexler Memorial Park,
Allentown, Pennsylvania, bringing to mind the
beautiful words of that song.

This moment was captured in a long exposure, high contrast monochrome shot.
                 

Into The Woods ...

"Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked,
in which you can walk with love and reverence."
                        ~Henry David Thoreau
                                              1817-1862 

The trail takes on a moody beauty on a cloudy evening
in early June at Wehr's Covered Bridge Park,
Orefield, Pennsylvania. 

What's It All About Alfie ...

"What's it all about Alfie...
when you walk let your heart lead the way
and you'll find love any day ...
                          "Alfie"
                      ~Burt Bacharach & Hal David
                           ~1966

The image of this man fishing alone at
Wehr's Dam, Orefield, Pennsylvania on a June evening made me wonder if he could be thinking about his life as in "What's it all about Alfie ..." 

Champagne On A Stem ...

"What is art? It is the response of man's
creative soul to the call of the real."
                  ~ Rabindranath Tagore
                                             1861-1941

Roses may very well be the champagne of flowers.
This beautiful Rainbow Sorbet Rose is captured
in monochrome in June at the Malcolm W. Gross
Memorial Rose Gardens, Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

Gentle On My Mind ...

"...You're waiting from the backroads
by the rivers of my memories,
ever smilin' 
ever gentle on my mind."
              ~ "Gentle On My Mind," 
                             ~ 1967

The words from that wonderful song seem to fill the air on a May afternoon at Manassas Guth Covered Bridge as it crosses the Jordan Creek. 

The historic wooden covered bridge
in South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania was constructed in 1858 and rebuilt in 1882. It is a 108 foot long Burr Truss bridge with vertical siding. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 

Victorian Charm

"What I like about black and white photographs  
is that they're more like reading the book then seeing the movie."
                                                           ~Author Unknown

The historic Hotel Belvidere, built in 1831, is located in the quaint, scenic town of Belvidere, New Jersey. Belvidere is a charming Victorian town I visited this weekend, located on the banks of the Pequest and Delaware Rivers.

George Washington traveled through Belvidere at 10 a.m. July 26, 1872 when he camped at Morristown.

A Winter's Trail ...

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
                  ~ "The Road Not Taken," 
                                                      ~ Robert Frost

Walking the wintry trail today at Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, Pennsylvania
brought to mind the famous words of Robert Frost in "The Road Not Taken." 

                                                                   

Try To Remember ...

"Try to remember the kind of September ..."
                                                                  ~ The Fantasticks

I loved the expressions on the faces of this family, especially the youngest boy, this evening at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylania as they watched the ducks in the pond. Brought to mind that great song from The Fantasticks as this family seemed to be enjoying a simple yet wonderful September evening.

Stardust

Retro Is Black And White

Wistful Wishing