Fellow Thousand Islanders,
Why is it so hard to pack up and leave the River? I don’t think it’s the effort, though there certainly is that. It’s the knowledge that it will be many months before getting back. But this year, I have a support system to make the time away more enjoyable. You do too.
With thanks to Mike Cox at Creative Information Solutions and Dave O’Malley at Aerographics, we have been building a tribute to the Islands that I hope you will find worthy. For starters, there are three galleries of images from the books to bring you back to the islands.
As the first book is no longer available (except perhaps on eBay), I’ve included several of its images here to be enjoyed. I replaced that book with an entirely new one, recently released, rather than reprint it a fourth time. I thought it would be more enjoyable to take a fresh look, particularly as I have a lot of new photography to share.
Water, Wind and Sky, (the book I am most proud of as it caters less to tourists and more to dedicated Thousand Islands lovers), remains available, as do 13 x 19 giclée prints of any image in any of the books. If you’d like a book image that isn’t shown in its album, just email me with the page number and I’ll print it for you. Larger format prints (typically 24 x 36 - like those in the Antique Boat Museum and OCC exhibitions) are also available on special order. Beyond the book images, you’ll find galleries of unpublished scenes you’ve never seen before.
My Thousand Islands photography library now numbers over 20,000 images and the problem is showing what’s available. Thus the plan is to add albums by neighborhood and fill them with the shots from that area that I think are the most worthy. When finished, it will provide a pretty detailed tour of the entire Thousand Islands region, neighborhood by neighborhood and perhaps also by theme; boats, ships, lighthouses, wildlife, etc.
These neighborhood albums are just being built, with very little posted so far, but I’ll try to get a lot more up in time for the Christmas season, so come back frequently to check on progress. If you don’t find your favorite spot, you may well find a friend’s. There’s an email button for just this reason. Just click on it to send them the link to that image.
It would be a big help if you are thinking of using books or prints as Christmas gifts, that you think sooner rather than later. The last minute orders really put a strain on all of us, including the mail when it is the most overburdened and Canada’s post office isn’t known for blazing speed at the best of times.
I mentioned a support system. It goes beyond albums. The hope is that no technical glitches will spoil it over the winter, but if you’d like to see my favorite view of the River – in real time (daylight only), go to www.1000islandsphotoart.com and click on “CAM”. How incredible technology has become!
The winter support system of course also includes monthly wallpaper images. For those of you who weren’t on this list previously, beyond providing you with images to enjoy, their purpose is to also share stories of the River, so if you can identify the scene, please email me with stories or lore to do with the scene that others might enjoy. Keep it to a few paragraphs so I can post it next month and the best reply will receive a set of six 8 x 10 prints.
Finally, for those of you who live in the Syracuse area and would like a final burst of the Thousand Islands before winter, Onondaga Community College is presenting an exhibition of my work from November 1st through 30th in the Gordon Student Center Great Room.
A reception will be held there on Thursday, November 9th at 7:00 PM and you’re invited. My friend Paul Malo and I will both be giving presentations. Paul, as you surely know is the author of a trilogy of historical books on the region so between Paul’s view of the past and mine of the present, I think we should have the bases pretty well covered. We’ll also be signing books following the event.
Hope to see you there and in the meantime, enjoy!
Ian Coristine
