The Mushroom Man and the Sag Harbor Farmers Market

Yesterday Eason and I took a nostalgic early morning walk around Sag Harbor which ended at the farmer's market, now located farther down Bay Street past Rysam Street, and one of our favorite local places, The Dockside restaurant. Of course I was snapping photos all morning, but not in my usual big camera way. I have been in love with my Hipstamatic app on my iphone since the day I bought it. I use it constantly, probably to excess, and I have converted my son and many friends to its beautiful, romantic, over saturated and vignetted images with funky colors, cool borders and a particular vintage feel that really doesn't remind me of anything specific from my childhood, but is more fun to use than anything I remember. People are constantly asking, "What is that cool effect?" This is it.

After we left the market, I knew I had some nice images, and goodies. I drove away wishing I had thought to get some names and addresses from vendors there....the woman who sold me citron-salt, or the one with the beautiful bouquet I shot and bought, or the guy with the gorgeous mushrooms I would have bought if I had been planning to cook any day this week (I'm not).

I saw a "real" photographer shooting at the market and didn't think too much of it, until just now when I opened the Metropolitan section of the New York Times and saw the full page article: "Specialty Foods Find a Traditional Niche" That's the mushroom guy! Good to know.

I'll have to go back next week to find out who was selling that beautiful fresh pasta, the fairy eggplant, the salt and 'day boat' fish. By then I should be ready to throw a real party and indulge in all my favorite foods.....starting with those mushrooms. 

Back in Paris

Almost exactly six weeks after my last stay in Paris, I have returned, for one night, to the same hotel and the same room. I find myself sitting here, editing images from that trip for a blog about the workshop by one of its organizers. This is the view from my bed (standing on the bed to be exact). I am struggling with the images I want to submit. The ones that sum up my experience. The ones that tell my story best. I have so many stories to tell...and more of them to tell here. I love the story of the place, the Chateau in Poitiers, the empty spaces, the beautiful light and the quiet moments. But a workshop has such an interesting energy and dynamic that is created by the participants. In the end, it is the people who make the workshop....sometimes the organizers, sometimes the participants, and often never what you expect. The workshop was not what I expected. I guess my favorite photos from it won't be what I expected either.