Love-fest for the Dark Side. Derek Jeter's Final Homestand: My Photo Tribute to a Yankee Great.

"Now Batting for the Yankees:  Number Two.  

Derek Jeter.  Number Two."

(Bob Sheppard, 1910-2010)

This post is a bit of a detour for me.  Most of my photography involves artistic interpretations of nature, landscapes, travel and city scenes.  On occasion, I have directed my attention to one of my life-long loves, BASEBALL.  This week I return to baseball to honor the final week of Derek Jeter's career.  

September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

For much of his career, the New York Yankees were seen by rival cities as the Darth Vaders of baseball.  They were viewed as the school bullies who picked on the weaker and less fortunate. But here's the thing.  Jeter's career has been defined by class, humility, outstanding and clutch play, and winning.  He has always been a "team first" player.  Just in the past few weeks, the sports media has been dominated by off-the-field troubles of talented athletes: domestic violence, child neglect, and amphetamine use.  Jeter's career has taken place during and immediately after baseball's "steroids era."  Jeter has played hard, clean and smart.  While the legacies of many peers have been tainted, Jeter has always  been a model citizen:  a true "ambassador" for baseball.  This whole season, wherever the Yankees played, Jeter has been cheered.  Each team has a special "farewell" for him.  Perhaps he's not such a Darth Vader after all ("The force is strong with this one!")

This past Saturday, I got to see the Jeter play, live, for the last time.  I went with my younger son and our friends to the Bronx to see the Yankees, who were still (technically) in the playoff hunt.  Most importantly, we wanted to join the packed stadium and say goodbye to one of the greatest, classiest, and most clutch baseball players of all time.  Each time Jeter came to the plate, the entire crowd stood up and chanted: DE-rick JE-ter, DE-rick Je-ter.  Fans all over the stadium held homemade signs proclaiming their love and admiration for Jeter. The usual flags on the roof of Yankee Stadium (which normally have banners for each major league city) were replaced by "2" banners to honor the retiring Yankee captain.

September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

What follows is a collection of Yankee and Jeter photographs I have taken during the past ten years (I didn't include images from my pre-digital days).  This includes "big" (i.e. World Series, American League Championship, All Star) games, regular season games and even one of his 2011 injury rehab games with the AA Trenton Thunder (about 12 minutes from my house).  The photos are really in no particular order.  As you look, you can almost hear the crowd:   
DE-rick JE-ter.  DE-rick JE-ter.  DE-rick JE-ter.....


Jeter's career can be defined by all kinds of numbers and awards (3000+ hits, the most postseason hits in history, 5 gold glove awards, AL Rookie of the Year, All Star Game MVP, World Series MVP, .300+ lifetime batting average, .320+ batting average in seven World Series, etc.).  However, my guess is that to Jeter, there are primarily 2 numbers that define his career:  1 team, 5 World Series championships.

Hey Derek - Thanks for the memories, and may the force be with you!

September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

Fans stood and cheered for each of Jeter's five at-bats.  Here he is leaving leaving the batter's box.  He later scored, putting him in sole possession of 10th place (ALL TIME!) in run's scored. September 20, 2014.  Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

September 20th, 2014 in Yankee Stadium.  Jeter's last homestand.
I went to the top row of the stadium to get image.

September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

Here is the Monument Park Tribute to Mariano Rivera (Jeter's Long-Time Teammate, and the greatest closer of all time)
September 20, 2014.  Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

Yankee Royalty in Monument Park:  Gehrig, Ruth, Dimaggio,
Mantle, Berra, etc. Jeter will join them soon, and he
will be the last player in Yankee history to wear a
single-digit uniform number.
September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

September 20, 2014.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

Jeter batting in the 2008 All Star Game.
(the original) Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York.
The game went 15 innings.  The American League finally won, 4-3.
The game ended at 1:38 a.m.  Yes, we stayed until the end!

Jeter batting in the 2006 All Star Game.
PNC Park. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

September 20, 2014.
Jeter's final homestand.
Yankee Stadium.  Bronx, New York

Warming up with fellow American Leaguers before the
2004 All Star Game.  Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas.  Jeter never had quite the numbers of fellow starters A-Rod, Giambi, or Manny Ramirez (seen here).  Then again, Jeter never used steriods!

October 13, 2012.  Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Jeter's last Postseason game (versus Detroit Tigers)
The Yankees had scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to
tie the game.  In the top of the 12th, Jeter went down fielding a ground ball.  He had to be helped off the field.  The Yankees
lost 6-4.  Jeter never played in another postseason game.

2010 All Star Game.  Angel Stadium.  Anaheim, California.
Legendary Yankee Stadium public-address announcer Bob Sheppard had died 2 days before the game, but Jeter used a recording of Sheppard for his introduction.  

July, 2011.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

July, 2011.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

2010 All Star Game.  Angel Stadium.  Anaheim, California.

2010 All Star Game.  Angel Stadium.  Anaheim, California.

July, 2011.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

July, 2011.  When he was six hits shy of 3,000 career hits, he got injured and went on the Disabled List.  During his rehab, he played several minor league games, including two with the 
Trenton Thunder (AA Affiliate of the Yankees).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ 
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ 
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ 
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ 
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

July, 2011.  Jeter playing for the AA Trenton Thunder.
Waterfront Park, Trenton, NJ 
(now known as Arm and Hammer Park).

October 13, 2012
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
Jeter's last Postseason game(versus Detroit Tigers)

June, 2012.  Subway Series Game versus Mets.
Citi Field.  Flushing, New York

Derek Jeter and David Wright.
June, 2012.  Subway Series Game versus Mets.
Citi Field.  Flushing, New York

June, 2012.  Subway Series Game versus Mets.
Citi Field.  Flushing, New York

June, 2012.  Subway Series Game versus Mets.
Citi Field.  Flushing, New York

July, 2011.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

July, 2011.
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

2009 World Series versus Phillies, at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia. (taken with my old point-and-shoot camera!)

July, 2011
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York

September 20th, 2014 in Yankee Stadium.  Jeter's last homestand.
I went to the top row of the stadium to get 
this panoramic image.

"We're Not in Kansas Anymore": Photographs of a Unique Winter

"Old Man wintertime

He goes so slow

Its ten degrees below, you know

You can take your ice and snow

And let my balmy breezes blow…"

---James Taylor

I know that in the blink of an eye, I will be complaining that summer's "balmy breezes" are too darn hot.  I'll be frustrated by however many consecutive 90+ degree days, not to mention the sticky humidity, and the annoyance of getting sunscreen in my eyes.  I'll be itching for the relief of an air-conditioner.

But for now, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, this feels like the winter that never ended.  Last week our sons had three "snow days," and on two nights our family had local friends sleep at our house, as they had lost power and heat in their homes.  Walking the dog on 10 degree mornings is no joy, and I can't wait to put away the snowblower, shovels, and calcium chloride for the season.

Now that I've vented, let me say that our freezing, snow and ice-filled winter has created some truly beautiful, captivating, and at times almost surreal photographic opportunities.  To paraphrase the Wizard of Oz, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Bucks County anymore."  The thing is, we still are in Bucks county, it just looks completely different. To capture the following images, I stood outside in the snow and freezing drizzle, walked (cautiously) on a frozen pond and river, and manipulated my camera in 10 and 20 degree temperatures, when I could barely feel my fingers. With the exception of a few images of the Threadleaf Japanese Maple Tree (in Princeton, New Jersey), I took all of these photographs in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Yardley Train Bridge and the frozen Delaware River
Yardley, Pennsylvania

Rowboat stuck in the Frozen Delaware River.
Yardley, Pennsylvania.

Park Bench in Snow
Lake Afton, Yardley, Pennsylvania

Ice Hockey on Frozen Pond
Lake Afton, Yardley, Pennsylvania

Damaged Threadleaf Japanese Maple Tree in freezing Drizzle
Marquand Park, Princeton, New Jersey

Broken Branch of Threadleaf Japanese Maple Tree
Marquand Park, Princeton, New Jersey

Detail of Frozen Branches of Threadleaf Japanese Maple Tree
Marquand Park, Princeton, New Jersey

Partially Frozen Delaware River with Snow-Covered Trees
Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania

Frozen Branch of Japanese Maple Tree
Yardley, Pennsylvania (in our front yard!)

Geese on Frozen Delaware River
Yardley, Pennsylvania

Canal and Tow Path in Snow
Yardley, Pennsylvania

Included in the photographs above are three images of a Threadleaf Japanese Maple Tree in Marquand Park (in Princeton, New Jersey).  Previously I had photographed this tree in a wide variety of seasons, conditions, and times of day. (To see my earlier blog post with a variety of photographs of this beautiful tree, click HERE).  Last week I eagerly returned to the tree only to find that it had been significantly damaged by the combination of heavy snow and ice.  Sad to see the condition of this wonderful tree, I thought of the  George Harrison song "All things must pass…"

Ice, Snow and Fog: Black and White Photographs of an Odd Winter Morning in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

This past Saturday morning (January 11th, 2014), I was out of the house well before the sun came up.  It was an unusual morning, with drizzle and fog.  The temperature was in the 40's, which seemed balmy compared to four or five days earlier, when I my first dog walk of the day was in a bitter cold 5 degrees.  The extreme cold stretch had caused portions of the Delaware River (between New Jersey and Pennsylvania) to freeze.  As the weather had warmed for a few days, chunks of ice were drifting down the river.  I took all of the following photographs on Saturday morning, between about 7:15 am and 9:30 am.  The fog and drizzle combined with the remaining snow and ice to create a beautiful, almost surreal landscape. 

Train Bridge Over the Delaware River in Morning Fog
Yardley, Pennsylvania

The Calhoun Street Bridge with Ice and Fog
Morrisville, Pennsylvania

The Banks of the Delaware River with Ice and Fog
Morrisville, Pennsylania

Love Seat Swing in the Ice and Fog
Morrisville, Pennsylvania

Tree Along the the Delaware River in Ice, Snow and Fog
Morrisville, Pennsylvania

I took all of these images with my Canon EOS 7D digital SLR camera.  After minor edits in iPhoto or Photoshop, I converted them to black and white using OnOne Perfect Photo Suite.  To see more of my work or to purchase a print, visit my ETSY store HERE.