PHOTOGRAPHY EXCURSION – 4:15 – 6:15 p.m. Visit the historic village in the golden hour before sunset, after the people have left with a camera (all types accepted, lense and tripod recommended) and a guide. Staff member Kevin Gray will provide tips on composition, light & shadow, techniques, photogenic locations, and more. Registration required. Cost, $17/non-member. Farmers Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
Cooperstown Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh, center, speaks with the Board of Trustees before the meeting Monday, July 26. From left are, Richard Sternberg, Deputy Mayor Cindy Falk, Tillapaugh, Hanna Bergene, Joe Membrino and MacGuire Benton. (Greg Klein/AllOTSEGO.com)
COOPERSTOWN — The village Board of Trustees tabled a proposed law to charge license and site fees for village property and the use of village icons in commercial endeavors.
There were two public hearings on the docket Monday, July 26, but four of the five members of the public at the meeting at 22 Chestnut Street spoke against charging local artists who paint, photograph or otherwise use local Cooperstown icons, such as Doubleday Field or the Sandlot Kid statue, in their work. The speakers included two store owners who sell artwork, an artist and Cooperstown Art Association President Cheryl Wright.
NOBLE EAGLE – 2 p.m. Cooperstown Senior Community Center presents Joshua Ives sharing his story of his military experience in Afghanistan through photography. Brick building behind St. Mary’s Church, 31 Elm St., Cooperstown. coopseniorcenter@gmail.com
EXHIBIT DISCUSSION – 2 – 3 p.m. Discuss photographs & career of Ansel Adams with his son Michael Adams. Presentation will focus on current exhibit ‘Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams’ and will be followed by Q&A session. Registration required for online meeting. Cost, $10/non-member. Presented by Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
VIRTUAL TOUR – 2 – 3 p.m. Join live tour of exhibit ‘Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams’ which features photographs documenting the Japanese internment camp in California in 1943. Free, suggested donation $10. Presented by The Fenimore Art Museum. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
Terry Berkson, who has an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College, lives on a farm outside Richfield Springs. His articles have appeared in New York magazine, the New York Daily News Sunday Magazine, Automobile and other publications.
I heard about Lady Ostapeck about 20 years ago at my friend Buddy Crist’s house on Angel Hill outside of Schuyler Lake.
There was a picture hanging on his living room wall. It was of a man dressed in a Tolstoy-like shirt standing in the doorway of a weathered cabin.
When I took a closer look I realized it was Buddy, appearing very authentic in clothes I never saw him wear before. “Who took the picture?” I asked.
“Her name is Lady Ostapeck,” Buddy answered. “I was gassing up in Richfield Springs. She was filling her tank on the other side of the pump and kept looking at me. I mean really looking – for a long time. Finally she comes around the pump and says, ‘Are you finish?’”
“I’m still pumping,” I answered.
“No, are you Finnish – from Scandinavia?” she asked.
“I don’t think so.”
“That may be, but I’d like to take your picture.”
It turned out that the woman who was then in her seventies was a famous photographer of Finnish descent. She wanted Buddy, who had the “right look,” to pose for pictures she planned to use for Independence Day in Finland.
They made an appointment, and a week later my friend spent an entire day trying on clothes in a costume – and prop-cluttered house while talking with Lady Ostapeck as she tried to bring to the surface a certain spirit she saw in him.
VIRTUAL TOUR – 2 p.m. Zoom meeting featuring walk through of exhibit ‘Pete Souza: Two Presidents, One Photographer’ with photographer Kevin Gray featuring in-depth discussion and Q&A session. Free, registration required. Suggested donation $5. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
PHOTOGRAPHY – 6:45 a.m. Take a camera to explore Otsego Lake at sunrise with photographer Kevin Gray providing tips on composition, lighting, more. Registration required. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.fenimoreartmuseum.org
PHOTO EXCURSION – 5 p.m. Join photographer Kevin Gray for a walk through the historic village during the Golden Hour at sunset, after the museum is closed to take gorgeous photos. Gray will provide tips on composition, lighting, camera techniques, more. Cost, $17/non-member. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.facebook.com/farmersmuseum/
VIRTUAL ARTS FEST – 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival goes online this year with juried art, fine crafts for sale, art demonstrations, much more all on the festival’s YouTube channel. Visit colorscape.org/2020-virtual-festival/ for the link.
EXHIBIT OPENING – 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. View exhibit ‘Two Presidents, One Photographer’ showing 56 photographs by Pete Souza of Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican President Ronald Reagan. On view through 12/31. The Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1400 or visit www.facebook.com/fenimoreartmuseum/
COVID-19 TESTING – 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Stop in for free Covid Test with results in 15 minutes. Help stop the spread. Testing by appointment only. 3 locations in Oneonta. Oneonta Armory, 4 Academy St.; Foothills Performing Arts Center, 24 Market St.; St. James Church, 305 Main St. Call 833-NYSTRNG for an appointment.
PHOTO EXCURSION – 6 p.m. Join photographer Kevin Gray for a walk through the historic village during the Golden Hour at sunset, after the museum is closed to take gorgeous photos. Gray will provide tips on composition, lighting, camera techniques, more. Cost, $17/non-member. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown. 607-547-1450 or visit www.facebook.com/farmersmuseum/
PHOTOGRAPHY – 10 a.m. – Noon. Fun 3 day virtual photography class for children aged 9-12. Requires a webcam and internet connection to participate. Presented by Fenimore Art Museum. Visit www.facebook.com/fenimoreartmuseum/ for info.
