The Golden Jubilee of Rev. John J. Murphy

Hundreds of family and friends gathered today to join in the celebration of Father John J. Murphy's 50th anniversary of his ordination into the priesthood. St. Patrick's Church in Catskill, NY was the site of this celebration.

Father Murphy, is lovingly called 'Murph' by all of those fortunate souls whom he as touched throughout his life. Father was ordained on June 1, 1957 at The Cathedral in Albany, NY and celebrated his first Solemn High Mass on June 2, 1957 at Saint Francis de Sales Church in Troy, NY.

For anyone who cares, Father Murphy was celebrating his first Mass at the same hour I was born. How lucky am I to have this in common with such a great man?

Father Murphy served our parish of St. Patrick's Catskill for 34 years from 1971 to 2005. We all love him and miss him. But most of all, we wish him the very best on this milestone of his life and dedication to serving the Lord.

God Bless you Father Murphy.

To see all the photographs of today, visit:

www.eventproofs.com

Search on: Fr. John J. Murphy

Retriever Roasters

This is a continuation of the Capturing a Community project. Rob and Janis Lugo were kind enough to be part of this endeavor. I've posted three of my favorites from the series, haven't made up my mind which one to feature. When you have the chance, stop in their shop on Main St. Catskill, great coffee, great food and warm friendly people. You can also check out their website by going here: http://www.retrieverroasters.com/

Catskill Stroll - Celebrating Mother's Day

On Saturday, May 12, our village hosted another successful Catskill Stroll. This is an event that occurs every second Saturday of the month, when all the shops and galleries on Main St. Catskill are open for business. There's music, art exhibits, food and plenty of shopping opportunities.

At the Muddy Cup coffee house on Main St, I am participating in a three artist exhibit. I have photos hanging along side of visual art of Margo Pelletier and Darcie Cristello. In celebration of Mother's Day, I offered free photos with Mom. Here are a few of the wonderful mom's and their children. Some are no longer kids, but all are young at heart.

Help Me Choose

I'm entering a print in the Art Show at work tomorrow. I need help in deciding which one to choose. I'm asking for your input from the photos published in this blog. I've also included this one that I have been playing with recently. Click the comment's button on the bottom of this entry to submit your choice.

Amaryllis

After nearly two months of waiting, the amaryllis we received for Christmas, is in bloom. New life in a cold climate.

NYC Trip

I recently took a trip to New York City to attend the NYS School Boards Association convention. I never go to the city without my camera. Day or night, rain or shine, it is my favorite place to photograph. Here are a few of my favorites from this trip.

Test #2

This time I hope I get it right...Please let me know if you've gotten the notifications.

Capturing a Community - Hood & Company

Now that the holiday season is winding down, I have some time to get back to this project. A month or so ago, I met David Miles from Hood & Company, the newest addition to the growing community on Main St., Catskill. We agreed that when things got a little quieter, we'd work together in the new store. Well, today was that day. This time I also had the pleasure to meet Derek Hood. Now I'm not a detective, but I'd guess that it's his name on the door.

Derek and David are two great guys with a wonderful home furnishing shop. If you haven't taken the time to stop in, please do so. You'll be impressed by the store and happy, as I am to have met the both of them. Thanks guys for giving me the opportunity to make this image.

My next stop is Retriever Roasters. Keep coming back to find that posting.

Schindler Family Portraits

I had the pleasure and privilege to photograph the Schindler family this morning. Heather asked me to come to their beautiful home to capture the entire family during the holiday season. I hope you enjoy the images of a lovely family. Thank you again for allowing me into your home and meeting most of you for the first time. The complete set of photos from the session can be found at: www.PortraitPrints.com

Capturing a Community

I've embarked on personal project that I'm calling "Capturing a Community". It is a photo essay of the Village of Catskill residents who have been a contributing part of our community. Some will be life long contributors and some will be new. So far, I have worked with Peter DiStefano of DiStefano's NY Barber Shop and Ray Rothrock of Ray's Appliances. I have several other individuals on the schedule in the next few weeks.

My goal is to have a exhibition at the conclusion of this project and if there is enough interest, I will look to publish a book.

Cohotate Preserve

On Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006, I had the pleasure to spend a few hours walking the Cohotate Preserve with my good friend Louis Stettner. Louis was working on his nature series of photographs and I went along to photograph and to spend time with a friend in a beautiful natural setting along the Hudson River. For those of you not familiar with either Louis or Cohotate, I'm including a few links. Both are very interesting and worth your time exploring.

Link for Louis: http://photography.about.com/library/weekly/aa111201a.htm

Cohotate: http://www.troop45.com/cohotate/cohotate2.htm

I SHOT JESSICA AND JERED'S WEDDING TODAY

I got a call a month ago from Jessica's mother looking to see if today's date was open to photograph her daughter's wedding. After meeting with Jessica, we agreed to work together to capture the joyous day. Well today was the day. Although there was torrential rain all around the area, the sky was clear and sunny over the wedding. Jessica and Jered are a beautiful couple and I thank them for the opportunity to photograph their wedding and wish them the very best. I'll be uploading the entire wedding photos to Pictage this weekend. They should be available to see by Monday. They will be at www.pictage.com. Just search on Jessica & Jered Waldorf.

Plant Study

My neighbor always has these wonderful planters adorning their house each summer. I have no idea what these plants are, but the color and texture are amazing. Thanks Carolyn and John for making the neighborhood so beautiful to live in and look at.