Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
Consumers and farmers benefit when growers receive sustainable prices for their crops.
I’m drinking less coffee nowadays. But, I am enjoying it much more. For a fully caffeinated coffee hound, that’s saying something.
Nearly one year ago I began a quest for a more flavorful brew. (See related post) It seemed as though I was drinking coffee more for comfort than pleasure. I started close to home with a local roaster, and their large-batch, dark offerings proved to make a better cup than commercial beans. Now it was better than anything from the grocer’s shelf and the large chain operations, but really not by much.
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Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
Good coffee begins with freshly roasted beans sourced from farmers who take pride and care with their crops.
It was not until I broke the glass carafe of our automatic coffee maker one Saturday morning that I discovered there was a better way to brew coffee. With that discovery also came the quest for a more flavorful cup of coffee.
Someone had given us a gift of a Melita cone with paper coffee filters. Brewing coffee this way is known as the pour over method, so I gave it a try. To my surprise our morning cup that day was better than ever. Though I have experimented with a few of other methods since, I’ve settled upon this simple way to produce a clean cup of coffee.
A little more than one year ago it seemed that the coffees we were using were lacking in flavor and I was enjoying them less. So I started exploring the world of coffees and I learned more about cultivating and roasting coffee beans. I became convinced there were better coffees available in places other than a grocer’s shelf.
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Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
As I sat near two of the lone surviving Australian Pines at Pass-A-Grille the other day, I knew it was time for what might be a final portrait before they too become a fond memory.
I labored in the skin-burning Florida sun during the summer of 1964 to save enough money to purchase my first professional camera. I was preparing to start my junior year of high school making photographs for the Teen Section of the St. Petersburg Evening Independent. The part-time job would pay $15.00 a month plus all of the film I could shoot. I was enthused.
With one of my first rolls of film I made the short jaunt south from our home to Pass-A-Grille, at the southern end of St. Pete Beach. It was a simple time and there was always a beauty or two who would be flattered to model for some test shots.
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Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
In the morning, Hermitage House host, Declan Brennan, can be found pursuing chores on the grounds of his bed and breakfast in Clogheen, County Tipperary, Ireland. By late afternoon he is freshly scrubbed and sports a crisp white shirt and black slacks and heads to the pub where he holds court until midnight.
A few years prior to my stay at the Hermitage House in Ireland, Declan Brennan and his wife Breda shucked their executive attire and acquired an ailing bed and breakfast in her wee home village of Clogheen, County Tipperary. Just a short walk from where she was raised on the banks of the River Tar, they saw potential and a lot of work. But they were not deterred. They had a dream.
The couple went about making renovations with a personal touch that included six guest rooms, a new kitchen and the small pub where Declan draws the Guinness and pours shots of fine Irish whiskey nightly. The immaculate facilities and lush, manicured gardens are a testament to their hard work which begins daily before the sun rises lasts until after midnight.
Though they are in near constant motion they always take time to be perfect hosts and make their guests feel right at home.
Passing through the dining room after completing a few outdoor chores, Declan even made time to indulge this itinerant photographer for a quick portrait session.
So, Declan and Breda, I just wanted you to know I haven’t forgotten about you and how much I appreciated your warm hospitality. The prints that I promised to send “someday” are on their way to you.
Photographer’s Note: Someday photographs are those that were made after hours while on assignment or simply because I was moved by the spirit at a particular moment in time. Many of them have languished for years as transparencies, negatives and digital files waiting for someday. When possible, I’ve eliminated Saturday from my calendar and Someday is now the day after Friday and before Sunday.
Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
My older sister took a shine to her nutcrackers. Not the really useful ones for revealing the meat of a nut, but carved and painted blocks of wood with spine controlled mandibles.
It was mere hours before Christmas of 1985 when her precocious five-year-old spotted a tall and stately red-cheeked king in the department store. He tugged at his dad’s jacket and insisted that monarch belonged to his mom, his queen.
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Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
Coleman's Pub in Knock, County Mayo, is a traditional Irish pub in a village of 600 people that is known worldwide as the location of the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin.
In Ireland, there are two things you don’t want to miss: A traditional Irish pub and a pint of Guinness. I sampled the foamy dark Irish staple so I could say so, but my preference is a hot black caffeine beverage. That’s ok too because pubs are really about more than pints and partying.
Coleman’s Pub in Knock, County Mayo, is a friendly communal hub where local lore and the latest gossip flows freely if you belly-up at the bar. Soccer fans tend to gather around wall-mounted tellys where rowdy rules and the competitive lots can be found at the snooker tables or dart boards. The dark corner booths near where the neighborhood mutt naps on the grizzled wood floors are perfect for contemplatives, lovers and the shy.
This little village of almost 600 souls is known worldwide as the site of an apparition by the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist in 1879.
Coleman’s Pub is nestled among religious souvenir shops hawking cheap holy water bottles to the pilgrims on their way down the road to the Knock Shrine of the Blessed Virgin. When it opened in 1938 it was named for St. Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.
Photographer’s Note: Someday photographs are those that were made after hours while on assignment or simply because I was moved by the spirit at a particular moment in time. Many of them have languished for years as transparencies, negatives and digital files waiting for someday. I’ve eliminated Saturday from my calendar and Someday is now the day after Friday and before Sunday.
Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
Havana, Cuba | Misty morning light envelopes two Cuban fishermen as they head toward the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
I do enjoy Saturday mornings. It’s a time I awake a little later and relax. It’s a great time to catch a couple of web surfing waves.
When I scurried over to the Hasselblad Owners’ Club site today it was really cool to see that my photograph of Cuban fishermen embarking into the morning light was one of the top ten most popular images for the month of March.
So, to all the members of the Hasselblad Owners’ Club who took time to view my profile photos and vote, “Thank You” for the bonus.
Prints of this image are available HERE.
Posted by: Ed Foster Jr.
Looking over the top of his spectacles when he speaks, Dr. Rubén Rodriguez Gavaldá's eyes broadcast the fact that he finds his greatest fulfillment as a teacher.
There are two subjects that really spark a fire in the eyes Patricia Rodríguez Alomá. One is Habana Vieja (Old Havana) in Cuba, and the other is her nonagenarian father, Dr. Rubén Rodríguez Gavaldá. They are both a part of her heritage and her awe.
Patricia is the Director of Planning with the Office of the Historian of Old Havana, the Cuban government office responsible for the ongoing social and physical transformation of a once blighted neighborhood into a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She is also her father’s daughter who inherited the doctor’s enthusiasm and tireless work ethic.
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