Matthew Amsden

Old Photos

After a very busy week, I stayed in the office and scanned nearly every picture I took before owning a digital camera last night. I got my first SLR camera in 6th grade. I scanned every decent photo since then. It brought back some great memories, and reminded me of a time when I really felt creative and inspired.

"The Farm" in Maine has been in the family for generations. Now actually a collection of farms owned by cousins, aunts and uncles, the property is full of abandoned barns and antique treasures. The farm has provided the subject of some of my very favorite photographs.

For a long time I did not completely empathize with the struggle for Palestine between Arabs and Jews. I had lunch with a Islamic Law professor at Harvard University who explained to me that the struggle was about 'what was home.' He explained how even the most uneducated Palestinians are very familiar with America's trail or Tears, when the US government banished all Native Americans to Oklahoma. They see US support of Israel as a repeat of this unfortunate moment in our history.

Despite my traditional American mobility, this place in Maine is home. It is really part of me. Even though i don't live there now, if someone were to suggest it really wasn't my home, i'd be crushed. Apparently both the Jews and Palestinians feel similarly about Palestine. While I do not condone the actions of either the Israelis or Palestinians, I can see how they might feel when imagining something similar happening to this place I consider home.

I took this photo for a high school photography class. While it isn't a technically perfect photograph, it captures a moment where I found one of those common antique treasures that remain in remote and abandoned barns.

No Pictures Please

There are some things that are just too beautiful to take a picture of. A nearly full moon – low on the horizon, on a crystal clear cool late winter night - reflecting on the perfectly still ocean. This, you just can’t take a picture of. It would cheapen the moment.

This evening, I took a leisurely run along the water, enjoying the moon, and the ribbon of reflection in Boston’s inner harbor – along Christopher Columbus Park, Long Warf, India Row, and Rowes Warf… and back.

I’ve had similar experiences along Pacific Beach in San Diego, in Bass Harbor, Maine, Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, Bayside in Northport, Maine, and of course at the family summer house in Hancock Point, Maine. I remember each night like it was yesterday. This evening added one to the list.

Each time I’ve noticed the moon on the water, I enter a phase of life where I am more appreciative of the small moments. As I have experienced some pretty serious discontent lately, I hope this is a movement towards a phase where I am fulfilled by the really readily available things in life – as like the moon reflecting on the water - the best things in life are free.

My Town in A Rush

I think reality television has the potential to be really moving insightful entertainment. However, I can’t even think of words to describe the depths it can sink to. This week FOX announced it’s newest find a bride reality series, “The Littlest Groom,” a story of a bachelor dwarf who chooses from among 12 dwarf brides in waiting. So not on my list of must-see-tv.

Pixos.net , is a photography exibit that encourages submission from photographers round the world on a particular subject. This photo comes from a past exibit, "My Town in a Rush"

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My Town in a Rush, Sheffield, England

Another in a never ending assortment of new companies that combine social networking, chat and moblogging. Flickr and Gush. Someone just needs to say which one is best so the rest of us can use it and get on with life. I don't have the patience to figure out myself.

Quincy Market Clock

Sometimes to break out of a boredom rut, you need to look at the world through a different set of eyes. For me, a camera can be just that. It makes you notice things you haven’t necessarily before. While a cold January in New England without snow is pretty ugly, last night I was determined to find interesting photo ops.

I’ve probably walked by this clock a thousand times (literally it is on my way to the subway) over the past couple of years. I liked the plain photo. Image editing software made it even more interesting.

Cold Night at the Bakery

Alright this blog has started out way to seriously. For someone who stays out of political conversations, and derides anyone who lives in Cambridge for being earthy crunchy, I have certainly been way on the deep side with the first couple of posts.

When things start to feel heavy, I feel the need to go to the bakery and get some kind of italian pastry or cookie. In my nieghborhood there are no less than five within a five minute walk.

I start out at Bova's, described by one of the cashiers as a city bakery. 'We're not about being fancy like Mike's,' I heard her tell a customer once.

The round Tuscan whole wheat loaves - have a weakness for those with a load of good olive oil. After New Year's I cut them out, and within a week, my pants were fitting again.

Bova's has good standby stuff - the fig squares are great. Chocolate moose is smooth, but it is traditional stuff - made in kind of an old school mini-factory style. At 2AM, when you need something it's there, but I want something a little different.

Despite the cold (and man is it cold) I look to Mike's just down the block. Mikes is all about tourists. Everything looks perfect, and tastes the same as all the other bakeries. I don't think they actually cook anything there either - it's just a retail store. With all the crowds, I snap a couple of pictures, but decide to head on.

Modern is my favorite place. I think the people there wonder if I have any life. I get a pastry atleast twice a week. While it isn't fancy, it is comfortable and kind of feels like home. Not only that, the pastries and cookies are the best. I figure I can make a pretty good batch of chocolate chip cookies if the mood strikes. Modern does something to thiers that I can not quite figure out. Modern Pastry on the inside isn't photogenic, but it does have the goods.