From High Above Portsmouth

In October of this year, while shooting for the Portsmouth, New Hampshire edition of Around Town in New England magazine, I had the unusual opportunity to climb, literally, the steeple at the North Church to see the workings of its amazing clock. The magazine features a specific town in each issue and I have been doing the bulk of the photography for it for several issues. The latest issue features Portsmouth, NH. I grew up near Portsmouth and went to high school in nearby Dover, NH. Suffice it to say that Portsmouth has changed a great deal since then, and in a very good way. A beautiful, bustling downtown, full of restaurants, coffee shops, galleries and other small shops. You can check out the magazine on-line here: http://issuu.com/samray/docs/portsmouth

The clock in the steeple though is something to see, although not many people are allowed to ascend the stairs and eventually, ladders. I hope I can give you a hint of what it was like with these shots.

North Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

The view from the roof of the North Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Joyeuse fête nationale

Today is a day that, while very special to several million people very close to New England, goes almost totally unnoticed just a couple hundred miles away. Originally based on the religious feast of John the Baptist, June 24th has evolved to become la fête nationale in Québec, or the equivalent of our 4th of July. Why a 'national' holiday in a province, you might ask. Well that's a complicated question, as are most things surrounding language and culture just north of here.

I thought I would take the national day to talk about the special article in this month's Merrimack Valley Magazine written by my friend Emilie Provost, "La Survivance". It's "a look at the future of franco-american culture in the Merrimack valley". I was honored to actually be interviewed by Emilie for the article, along with several others including Paul Marion of UMass Lowell. I also had the pleasure to spend a couple of hours visiting with Roger Lacerte, who runs a French language bookstore in Manchester, NH. Incredibly passionate about maintaining québécois culture in New England, visiting with him made me think quite a bit about my father and my other relatives from that generation and the previous one, for whom Québec was much more fresh in their day to day lives.

I hope you check the article out and possibly visit the other world that is a few hours from here.

Roger Lacerte

In the vault, where Roger keeps his rare book collection

From Lowell himself,  and knowing that I had come to the store from Lowell, Roger made a point of showing me a French translation of Jack Kerouac's "Docteur Sax"