William Sutherland's photos

Mamaroneck, NY With the return of Summer-like temperatures and today's (24 September 2017) forecast for NY at 92° F / 33.3° C, I thought it is appropriate to put up a summer-like "garbage" abstract.

Mamaroneck, NY Crowdfunding for Ipernity – 100% towards goal. Thank you!

Mamaroneck, NY

Mamaroneck, NY

Photos taken on January 1, 2017 and December 23, 2016, respectively in New York, NY. Collage created: January 20, 2017 They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. [Isaiah 2:4]

Times Square, New York, NY Note: Created using New Year's Day items, confetti and other litter found in Times Square before sanitation crews cleaned it up after the night of celebrations. The colorful confetti was released from rooftops of the skyscrapers in and around Times Square when the ball dropped, the clock struck midnight and fire works were unleashed. This confetti initially covered the streets in and around Times Square and even blew into Central Park located approximately 20 blocks north of Times Square. The confetti looked especially vibrant in the early morning sunlight.

New York, NY

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year filled with Happiness, Prosperity, Good Health, Happiness and Peace. Created using free online clipart and images purchased from Shutterstock to incorporate elements of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Taoism for the promotion of religious tolerance. I also included the universal symbol of peace in one of the snowflakes since when religion truly serves God there can be nothing but world peace and a heart since God is Love [1 John 4:8] and the Word was made incarnate during the nativity as an expression of His boundless unconditional love for each and every work of His creation.

Mamaroneck, NY To me there is nothing purer in sports than the Olympics that bring the world together for two weeks every two years alternating between the best in winter and summer sports. It is my hope that "clean" athletes receive all the honors and when cheating is discovered, those imposters are stripped of their medals which the IOC unlike many major sports organizations seems to be doing an effective job. Last, I hope that Olympic Victory can turn into "Ipernity Victory." Then the smile of this photo will be contagious.

Mamaroneck, NY

Mamaroneck, NY

Note 1: With One World Observatory opening on May 29, 2015, the Freedom Tower at 1776 feet tall with 104 floors is the tallest building in the western hemisphere. It replaced the Twin Towers that were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Construction began April 27, 2006. Under Construction, September 18, 2010 Under Construction Under Construction, October 6, 2012 Under Construction, December 20, 2013 Views from One World Observatory Autumn Colors Note 2: For those who know about the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry in baseball, the Freedom Tower was not exempt. Unlike 2008 when a rogue construction worker buried a Boston Red Sox (David Ortiz) jersey under concrete in the new Yankee Stadium when it was being built that required 2 1/2 feet of concrete to be broken so the jersey could be removed, someone scrawled on one of Freedom Tower's beams "Yankees 1." Even thought the Mets also play here in NY, the Yankees will always be New York's team and apparently enshrined in Freedom Tower. I did not notice this until today when I was going through my photos, otherwise I would have taken a separate shot of this beam. Still for trivia and folklore, I've included the photo I did take on September 18, 2010 of the east side of Freedom Tower in its early construction phase:

Mamaroneck, NY

Mamaroneck, NY Notes: All items were found in Mamaroneck with the exception of the two plastic flowers that were found at Oakland Beach in Rye, NY and the broken Dunkin Donuts® cup that was found in Larchmont, NY. The polar bear (from a discarded toy), Extra® chewing gum package with the words “Polar Ice” and broken white pieces of garbage represent the arctic that is now threatened by global warming. The smiling sun represents the happiness sunshine brings as long as the global climate remains homeostatic so that ecosystems may flourish in all regions of the Earth. The yellow, discarded danger sign with the black flower represents the stark reality of global warming that presents a clear and growing danger for mass extinctions (death) in which humans may not be immune. The white flower near the chewing gum package symbolizes the encroachment of warm weather flora to the planet’s tundra region. The empty, dirty and broken ice cube tray reinforces the sobering and sad (hence the sad face!) image of an iceless and in a worst-case scenario, a lifeless planet.

Mamaroneck, NY

Mamaroneck, NY Notes: The title is not meant to be offensive but to point out this photographic work of art was created out of garbage consistent with Garbage Crucifixion that can be found at: www.ipernity.com/doc/285927/35523765/in/album/711719 The Crescent and star represent the universal symbol of Islam. The Camel on the cigarette box, a form of figurative art that is popular in Islamic culture and acceptable based on the Qu’ran and Hadith represents Islam’s Middle Eastern roots in Mecca and Medina. The white roses represent purity in spite of attempts by ISIS and other “Islamic” extremists to defile this great Faith with the blood of slain innocents. The red heart represents God’s unconditional enduring love and the Arabic writing in the bottom right hand corner means peace since when Islam is followed as the Prophet Mohammed had envisioned, it is a peaceful, loving and tolerant religion that does not compel anyone to act against their conscience. Last, I included a smiling face in the lower left corner since smiles were important to the Prophet Mohammed and provide a glimmer of light in this dark period of history. Finally, even though the same medieval-minded barbarians that seek to snuff out free will, creativity and human life may object, this photographic composition represents true alignment with Islam’s virtues vs. their antithetical dogma of evil. Therefore, it represents a positive contribution to religious and secular tolerance and serves as a tribute to Islam and Islamic culture.

Larchmont and Rye, NY

Manor Park, Larchmont, NY Note: Manor Park is the most beautiful and picturesque park in my hometown. It is featured in many photographs and paintings. This is a view that goes unnoticed, unphotographed, and unpainted. Most of the graffiti is old school -- written by magic marker. Some dates back to 1976.