New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Documentary

A Short History of the Highrise: Innovative Short Films

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Highrise FilmThe New York Times’s Op-Docs and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) have debuted an immersive, interactive multimedia series on urban highrise living. The series, “A Short History of the Highrise,” had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival and launches today on NYTimes.com.

The series unfolds in four short, interactive films that viewers can navigate using touch commands like swipe, pinch, pull and tap. On desktop and laptop computers, users can mouse over features and click to navigate. Smartphone users can view the four films via the New York Times Mobile Web site. [Read more…] about A Short History of the Highrise: Innovative Short Films

J.S. Wooley: A Forgotten Lake George Photographer

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Wooley PhotographAn early 20th century Lake George photographer is about to receive the attention that many local collectors, historians and photographers believe he richly deserves.

The photographer is Jesse Sumner Wooley (1867-1943), and the J.S. Wooley Project, a collaborative effort of photographer Richard Timberlake, Bolton Landing collector and resident Matt Finley and the Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa, has already produced standing-room only slide shows and lectures at the Brookside Museum and Silver Bay, where Wooley was the official photographer from 1908 to 1923. Another presentation will be presented at the Crandall Library in Glens Falls on October 15. [Read more…] about J.S. Wooley: A Forgotten Lake George Photographer

Event to Celebrate Traditional Adirondack Music

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LGM-ADK-LegendsThey’ll be spinning Adirondack legends in songs and stories, but they’re practically legends themselves. Chris Shaw, Dan Berggren, Bill Smith, and newcomer Alex Smith, will be in Bolton Landing for a free concert in Rogers Park on September 15. Adirondack Legends: a festival of new and traditional Adirondack music and stories, will be presented by the Lake George Mirror.

Adirondack Legends was organized by Chris Shaw, the Lake George native who has made a career of singing Adirondack folk songs and telling Adirondack tales. His repertoire includes some of the region’s earliest songs, and the revived interest in the Adirondack Songbook of Marjorie Lansing Porter is one inspiration for the show, he said. [Read more…] about Event to Celebrate Traditional Adirondack Music

‘Genealogy Roadshow’ Coming to PBS

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6a00d8341c767353ef01901ee6f600970b-800wiFrom Presidential progeny to felonious forebears, family secrets are uncovered this fall across the U.S. in PBS’ surprise-filled new series Genealogy Roadshow.

Part detective story, part emotional journey, the show uncovers fascinating stories of diverse Americans in Austin, San Francisco, Nashville and Detroit. Each individual’s past links to a larger community history, revealing the rich cultural tapestry of America. [Read more…] about ‘Genealogy Roadshow’ Coming to PBS

Local Documentary Filmmakers’ New Book Published

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Pepe_Filmmaking300dpi_CoverLeft Coast Press, a nationally renowned California publishing company, has released their new book, Documentary Filmmaking for Archaeologists, written by two New York documentarians, Peter Pepe and Joseph W. Zarzynski.

Peter Pepe, President of Pepe Productions, a Glens Falls video production company, and Joseph W. Zarzynski, a Wilton-based underwater archaeologist and author, teamed up to write the book. Previously, Pepe and Zarzynski collaborated on producing three feature-length award-winning documentaries about historic shipwrecks as well as creating several “mini-docs” for screening in museums, art galleries, and visitor centers. [Read more…] about Local Documentary Filmmakers’ New Book Published

Books: The Civil War in Color

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The-Civil-War-in-Color-New-York-Infantry-colorThe Civil War comes alive as never before in an extraordinary collection of colorized photographs from the era in The Civil War in Color (Sterling Books, November 2012) by John C. Guntzelman.

Not only does it feature portraits of famous leaders and ordinary soldiers but also vignettes of American life during the conflict: scenes from urban and plantation life; destroyed cities; contested battlefields. The 200+ photographs, from the Library of Congress’s archives, include both well-known and rarely seen images. Also inside–a fine art ready-to-frame photographic print of a stunning colorized Civil War photograph. [Read more…] about Books: The Civil War in Color

Documentary On Early New York Filmmaker Seeks Funding

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DhrAvQeD8ldv8S8r0E-6iswm3_mh_sB6B9Enac_AuCMDirector Pamela Green and Co-Director Jarik Van Sluijs, nominated for an Emmy as co-producers for the 2010 documentary Bhutto, are in the last week of a Kickstarter campaign to raise financing for their documentary-in-the-making about an early New York film director, Be Natural: The untold story of Alice Guy-Blaché.

In 1895, 23-year-old Alice Guy was invited to the Lumière Brothers’ screening. In 1896, at the age of 23 she made one of the first narrative films in history. A year later, she became the first head of production at Gaumont’s studios. Alice went on to to start her own studio in Flushing, New York in 1910, Solax.  She wrote, directed, or produced more than a 1,000 films over her 20-year-long career, but is little remembered today. [Read more…] about Documentary On Early New York Filmmaker Seeks Funding

Major African American History Doc Set To Air This Fall

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Gates DocumentaryThis fall, noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. recounts the full trajectory of African-American history in his new six-part series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross premiering Tuesdays, October 22, 29 – November 5, 12, 19 and 26, 2013, 8-9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). [Read more…] about Major African American History Doc Set To Air This Fall

War Photography Exhibit Coming to Brooklyn Museum

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Drill SargeantThe Brooklyn Museum is the final venue for the critically acclaimed exhibition WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath, which will be on view November 8, 2013 through February 2, 2014. The exhibit explores the experience of war and strikes a universal human chord with an unprecedented collection of photographs from around the world. [Read more…] about War Photography Exhibit Coming to Brooklyn Museum

Landmarks of New York Photography Exhibit Opening

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Landmarks Photography.jpgThe Jay Heritage Center kicks off NY Heritage Weekend and the Path Through History Weekend with the opening of their first major photography exhibit, The Landmarks of New York, on Sunday June 2nd at 3pm.

The show fills their newly configured gallery space at the 1907 Carriage House and includes a collection of 90 black and white photos documenting a select cross-section of New York City’s best loved architectural treasures. [Read more…] about Landmarks of New York Photography Exhibit Opening