Motif No. 1

Rockport, Massachusetts

This bright red building is a fishing shack In the small town of Rockport, Massachusetts. Located on Bradley Wharf, it is purportedly the most painted fishing shack in the America. The shack even has its own name, Motif No. 1 that was given to it by an art teacher in the 1920s who, after seeing his students repeatedly draw the shack, exclaimed "What? Motif No 1 again!" The original shack was destroyed by the blizzard of 1978 when it was swept into Rockport Harbor. Motif No. 1 was rebuilt within a year. The fishing shack has even been commemorated on a postage stamp.

We had vacationed in Rockport is the 1980's when we lived in New Jersey. At that point in time, I wasn't into photography. Since we now live in New England, I finally got around to revisiting Rockport with my son to photograph good old Motif No. 1 and the surrounding area. There are many places to set up a tripod but this location is probably the best angle. I highly recommend a visit to Motif No. 1 if you are in the Cape Ann area.

Path to the Beach

Wildwood, New Jersey

Happy Fourth of July weekend everyone! One of the best places to spend the fourth in New Jersey is to head down to the Jersey shore. Every year, thousands of people from the surrounding area (South Jersey, Philadelphia, New York and Delaware) head to Wildwood, NJ. Wildwood is a favorite summer destination that is home to one of the best beaches in NJ as well as a two mile boardwalk. The boardwalk has numerous amusement piers as well as tons of shops, arcades and food stops. Since I grew up in South Jersey, I have many memories of Wildwood. I still remember hearing the tramcar's annoying "Watch the tramcar please" warning as it tried to weave through the crowded boardwalk from one end to the other.

I don't get to visit Wildwood much anymore since I live in Connecticut, so I instead, I am posting this image that I took a couple of years ago of one of the paths to Wildwood's beach. I'm sure it won't be deserted today.

Click to learn more about Wildwood.

Strolling the Acropolis

Athens, Greece

No visit to Athens is complete without a visit to the Acropolis, the home of the Parthenon. "Acropolis" means city by the edge and the site was likely picked for defense against invading forces. Acropolis "Hill" towers over the city of Athens. Although there are numerous acropolises in Greece, only the one in Athens is known solely as the Acropolis. The history of the Acropolis is the stuff of Greek mythology. For a more detailed look at the Acropolis, visit Matt Barrett's Athens Survival Guide On this early Sunday morning, we took a tour bus which dropped us on this street just outside the Acropolis. It was an overcast day with a bit of on and off raindrops. As I looked down the street, the skies, while looking ominous, has some very nice beams of light. I thought that the scene was a great backdrop and the two lone people walking on it gave it some interest (by the time we were done, there were people everywhere).

Hilltop Nirvana

Oia, Santorini, Greece

Last fall, we were lucky enough to embark on a Mediterranean cruise. When we were planning for the cruise, the only destination that was a requirement was Santorini, Greece. Being a photographer, I have seen hundreds of photographs of the blue domed churches built into the side of the cliffs and I really wanted to visit and photograph them. Photographs of these churches can usually be found on the covers of most Greek Island travel guides. When the cruise ship approached Santorini, I was a bit discouraged as it was raining and windy. We had to anchor on the other side of the island because of the rough seas and take very unsteady tenders to the dock. We were met there by buses which drove us to the town of Oia at the northern end of the island.

The streets of this hilltop town are extremely narrow and, although it was October, it was quite crowded (probably all cruise ship passengers). The rain had stopped and I snuck off of the main thoroughfare to walk along the houses. As you can see, there was no one in sight except one woman coming out of her house (see if you can find her). I was mesmerized by the cliff "dwellings" and wished that I was able to stay for a couple of days to catch sunrise and sunset. I guess I'll have to go back someday to experience that thrill.

Click to find out more about Santorini and the famous town of Oia