honorable mention
Gary Hess united states
title
Caumsett-1977
In 1921, Marshall Field III purchased 1,750 acres of Lloyd Neck (Long Island) land to create one large estate. He named the land after its Matinecock Indian name, Caumsett, which means “place by a sharp rock.” Mr. Field created a self-sufficient estate as a combination country club, hunting preserve and home complete with its own water and electrical supply.
Most of the buildings on the estate were designed by architect John Russell Pope, who had designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Starting in 1922, an ambitious building program of English- Georgian style commenced-the main house, polo stable, the Summer and Winter cottages, the farm group, were constructed at breakneck speed-all constructed with the highest quality materials.
Mr. Field developed a herd of eighty head of prize Guernsey cattle and a complete dairy farm, including a bottling plant. The greenhouses, indoor tennis courts, not to mention a myriad of smaller houses and dormitories for caretakers and resident employees completed the buildings on the estate. Many of these structures succumbed to the wrecker’s ball in the late 1970’s.
The Marshall Field III estate was purchased by New York State for $4 million on February 3, 1961 and became a state park. For about 17 years the buildings sat neglected and deteriorating. Driving down a North shore road I discovered the “farm group” buildings in April of 1977. I was amazed by the subject matter I confronted. I returned twice in May of 1977 and completed a series of 15 photographs.
I was a US Navy Hospital Corpsman, X-ray tech, so I got to spend a lot of time in a darkroom.
Discharged from the Navy in early 1971 I headed to New York City. I lived and worked in New York for about 11 years, working in several photographic & film processing labs, this included:
M. Lowenstein & Sons in the darkroom of a very specialized dye transfer print department,
Certified Color Service, and Colorama Labs, a division of Crown Reprographics. Producing mostly large quantity color “C” prints. We also did poster size C prints, 30” x 40” etc., as we were the only lab in New York that had a 52” roller transport color paper processor.
Moved to the West Coast, Bay Area in late 1982. Worked mostly in specialized pre-press, printing & publishing organizations.
1989 – Moved home to Rochester New York. Worked a two year contract for Eastman Kodak in the Specialty Products Division in Bldg. 25 in Kodak Park. We manufactured the backing paper for 120/220 roll film. Almost a million feet a week.
1992 Moved to Dallas Texas and worked in printing, pre-press, and as a project manager in the publishing, printing & graphic arts industry.
Retired May 2014. I have never worked as, nor wanted to be a commercial photographer. I just wanted to create some art in the style of the great Group f64 members.
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entry description
Caumsett – The BackstoryIn 1921, Marshall Field III purchased 1,750 acres of Lloyd Neck (Long Island) land to create one large estate. He named the land after its Matinecock Indian name, Caumsett, which means “place by a sharp rock.” Mr. Field created a self-sufficient estate as a combination country club, hunting preserve and home complete with its own water and electrical supply.
Most of the buildings on the estate were designed by architect John Russell Pope, who had designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. Starting in 1922, an ambitious building program of English- Georgian style commenced-the main house, polo stable, the Summer and Winter cottages, the farm group, were constructed at breakneck speed-all constructed with the highest quality materials.
Mr. Field developed a herd of eighty head of prize Guernsey cattle and a complete dairy farm, including a bottling plant. The greenhouses, indoor tennis courts, not to mention a myriad of smaller houses and dormitories for caretakers and resident employees completed the buildings on the estate. Many of these structures succumbed to the wrecker’s ball in the late 1970’s.
The Marshall Field III estate was purchased by New York State for $4 million on February 3, 1961 and became a state park. For about 17 years the buildings sat neglected and deteriorating. Driving down a North shore road I discovered the “farm group” buildings in April of 1977. I was amazed by the subject matter I confronted. I returned twice in May of 1977 and completed a series of 15 photographs.
about the photographer
I developed my first roll of film at around 9 years of age. My father was a photo hobbyist, as were thousands of people who lived in Rochester NY, home of the once great Eastman Kodak Co. He taught me how to develop film and make contact prints.I was a US Navy Hospital Corpsman, X-ray tech, so I got to spend a lot of time in a darkroom.
Discharged from the Navy in early 1971 I headed to New York City. I lived and worked in New York for about 11 years, working in several photographic & film processing labs, this included:
M. Lowenstein & Sons in the darkroom of a very specialized dye transfer print department,
Certified Color Service, and Colorama Labs, a division of Crown Reprographics. Producing mostly large quantity color “C” prints. We also did poster size C prints, 30” x 40” etc., as we were the only lab in New York that had a 52” roller transport color paper processor.
Moved to the West Coast, Bay Area in late 1982. Worked mostly in specialized pre-press, printing & publishing organizations.
1989 – Moved home to Rochester New York. Worked a two year contract for Eastman Kodak in the Specialty Products Division in Bldg. 25 in Kodak Park. We manufactured the backing paper for 120/220 roll film. Almost a million feet a week.
1992 Moved to Dallas Texas and worked in printing, pre-press, and as a project manager in the publishing, printing & graphic arts industry.
Retired May 2014. I have never worked as, nor wanted to be a commercial photographer. I just wanted to create some art in the style of the great Group f64 members.
back to gallery