The mid-Hudson is my creative studio. Albany. Troy. Waterford. Cohoes. Coeymans. New Baltimore. The Hudson River. It's my 100-mile home.

 

A friend once told me boxers get good because they practice in small squares. It's about boundaries. It made perfect sense. So I dove into the region and went deeper and deeper and discovered both an unparalleled history and a world-class landscape right here in my own backyard, much of it overlooked, neglected. Incredible things happened here, but most of the region's stories - good and bad - have been forgotten. What remains? Blue and yellow historic markers scattered about like a patchwork with no narrative.

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So I bring back to you the wonders that I've found walking down a country road or a forgotten footpath, heading into the hills at dawn, walking the Peebles Island perimeter at dusk. Driving south along the Hudson, recovering some of the magnificent history forgotten by time. Walking the locks, watching tendrils of fog lift from a tributary, listening to an eagle call out at sunrise, finding the footprint of a brick factory. Learning about shipping lanes, dredge spoils, mudflats, and high tide. In these Industrial edgelands, I have found beauty while people speed past to get to somewhere else.

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This project has allowed me to continue the wonders of a free-ranging childhood. In Troy, if you're minutes from downtown, you're also close to secret waterfall, near Clay Cliff, and Black Pipe still hides in plain sight.