Farrel Foundry "Sand Elevator"

TWO ROADS BREWERY SLIDE TALK: BEYOND SOLD OUT

Next Events:

Exhibit Opening: “Brazen Grit” @ Minor Library, Roxbury, Nov. 12, 2-4 PM

Slide-Talk: “Finding Brass Valley, A Place in Time,” @ Newtown Library, Nov. 14, 7:30 PM

PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL: I dislike the elitist aroma that haunts the word, “Art,” and the distortion it creates in the appreciation of a simple picture. And yet, I’m quick to assert that my photography is not intended as documentation. Because my photographs are sometimes valued for their documentary qualities, I’ve long looked for a way to distinguish between documentation and art without in any way leaving room to elevate one above the other. The pace of change has made more of us care about an accurate preserved record of the past. However, that’s not what many of us are trying to do.

I rather like Brooks Jensen’s formulation (“Looking at Images,” Lenswork Publishing). He distinguishes between photographs that show us what something looks like, and photographs that show us an experience. I wonder what others think?

I’ve been photographing this structure for seven years, but I keep walking by it and never tire of looking for photographs there. This one was taken two days ago and with the help of a new lens.

The Last Machine, Part 5: "Carrying a Torch"

I invite those who enjoy these photographs and want to hear about Brass Valley, to join me at Two Roads Brewery in a presentation sponsored by the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Below is the text of their invitation:

The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation 

Thursday, November 3rd

Cost: Free, Reservations Required, Space is limited

Location: Two Roads Brewery, 1700 Stratford Ave. Stratford, CT

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Food and Drink: Light refreshments and cash bar, beer and soda only

RSVP now to join the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation at Two Roads Brewery in Stratford, Connecticut as we welcome award-winning author Ted Roth, presenting his book: Brass Valley: Fall of an American Industry.

Enjoy a variety of Two Roads beers while Mr. Roth recounts his years photographing the brass mills and communities of the Naugatuck Valley, and particularly the last days of Ansonia Copper & Brass before it closed in 2013.

The images are unforgettable of grimy men working with patient skill in shadowy spaces filled with ominous machinery and lit by flashes of fire and glowing red-hot metal.

Two Roads Brewery is the perfect setting for this talk as it is located in the former U.S. Baird Machinery factory and has been beautifully restored and rehabilitated to suit the needs of full-scale brewery operations. Tours of the facility will be provided before and after Mr. Roth's presentation at 6:10 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. 

CLICK HERE TO RSVP 

PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNAL: Art is mostly about work, but there are moments when it’s clear he enjoys explaining, and answering questions. And so I learn things like the difference between propane, propylene, and acetylene, and why he used propylene for one particular cut. However, every cut requires a bit of strategy. Gas and time are expensive. Freed metal chunks can kill. However, every cut will release liquid metal which will run down and harden as it goes, and a path must be planned so that he doesn’t have to cut the same metal more than once. One particularly tricky section required magnesium lances that were so long Ben had to light the lance end while Art adjusted the oxygen valve from the handle end of the lance.

Of course, what I like here is the fireworks, but it’s not just the show of it. It’s the way they call attention to Art and his torch and the old machines, and sometimes the factory shed around them. As Art cuts, he strikes poses to get an angle on his work. In the light of the spark-trail fireworks, a series of these photos become a dance.