• Cityscapes/Urban

    Cookies and Milk

    January 5, 2011
    Henry's Diner in Burlington, VT

    On my last trip our schedule changed due to the heavy fog in and around the Charlotte area. With funky weather we can find crew, aircraft and passengers in all sorts of places we do not want them. So, instead of having a 16 hour overnight in Sarasota we had a 22 hour overnight in Burlington, VT. It actually worked out for me. I like Burlington and the weather as rather nice, 51 degrees and a light mist. With camera in hand I walked the area near Church Street, one of my favorites places. You can find a wide range of different people in the mall area and any choice of restaurant you desire. Did some people watching and then treated myself to the mustard-crusted salmon at Sweetwaters. After eating I enjoyed a couple of hours of conversation with a woman named Toni who was visiting the area from Portland, OR. When I returned to my hotel they had freshly baked cookies and milk in the lobby for me. Cookies and milk help make life pretty good!

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  • Candid Portraits,  coffee shops,  Documentary/Street,  People/Portraits

    The Photographer

    November 2, 2010
    The Photographer

    We landed in Burlington yesterday around noon and were greeted with cloudy skies, temperatures in the mid 30’s and a mix of rain and snow. Not the sort of day to plan a picnic. But heck I’m in Burlington, Vermont and the downtown area of known as Church Street has a fascination with me. As I had not eaten all day I ventured down there with camera in hand looking for a photo or two and a sandwich. I’m glad to say I found both. After a couple of hours of walking the streets, pressing the shutter button a few times and window shopping, I stopped in at a coffee shop. I ordered a hot apple cider as it seemed like the perfect drink for the season and the cold day. Sitting at the table next to me were two young girls. I noticed the one girl raise up a camera and take a photo of the other girl. But wait, something was different.

    The sound I heard when she took the photo was different. What I heard was the shutter and then I heard her wind the camera and cock it for the next shot; it must be film I hear. Turning to look I noticed she was shooting a Canon AE-1. Being the nosey individual I am, I poked my nose in the middle of their conversation and asked a few questions about the camera. I discovered they were high school students and one of them was taking a photography class. The camera belonged to the school and her assignment for the week was to shoot black and white images of family and friends. She enjoys photography and by all indications will for many years to come. Anyway, I asked if I could take a photo of her taking a photo of me. she agreed so here is “The Photographer.”

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  • Plants,  reptiles

    Tall Grass

    June 3, 2010
    Tall Grass

    I like to venture around my hotels during overnights for the exercise, just to get out and to see what I can find. The hotel in Burlington, VT has a marshy area with path circling a pond. On this particular cloudy morning walk birds were singing happy songs to the world, a snake raised its head to keep alert to every move I made. I loved the tall grass that surrounded me on the path. The grass was well above my head and offered another one natures true works of art.

    Snake
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  • Cityscapes/Urban

    Boat Docks

    June 2, 2010

    Boat Docks

    Seems like I’m traveling a lot, never home, always looking in my roller board for clean underwear. Such is the life of flight attendant. Actually, I’ve gotten to the point where I can look at my bag and know what’s missing. Some call it a system and some consider it repetition.

    One of my favorite overnights is in Burlington, VT. If I’m lucky enough to get the longer overnight, we get in around 11:00 in the morning which gives us time to check in our rooms, change clothes (the clean underwear), relax a bit then head for Church Street. About five blocks west of Church Street is Waterfront Park. All five blocks are down hill, so coming back up requires some huffing and puffing. Along this grassy park you will find people sitting on benches or rock walls looking out over Lake Champlain. It’s not unusual to see inline skaters, or jugglers or a Frisbee or two flying through the air. Most of the times I’ve been down there I’ve found boats tied up to the docks. But in this image there were no boats, presenting a different scene for me to photograph. Yep, I like Burlington, VT.

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