Prospect Park Dawn

Prospect Park Dawn, 2006

A few years ago I made a quick overnight trip to New York to hear a presentation by my friend Gary Clark at a photography gallery in Brooklyn. My wife was hosting a baby shower that weekend and was probably happy to have me out of the way. The only condition was that I had to take Scout, our Welsh Terrier puppy, with me.

Gary’s presentation was good. He’s a very nice guy. I admire the easy way he has with people. His subjects always seem to warm to him. His work on behalf of the homeless is important and well worth your time. His other work reflects great kindness and wit.

Gary’s presentation also provided the opportunity to catch up with some people I’d met before and to meet in person some other people I’d only known before by their screen names on Fotolog and Flickr. After the presentation, a bunch of us had a wonderful dinner together.

My daughter had arranged for the dog and I to stay the night at the Park Slope townhouse of her then-employer, who was away skiing with her family for the weekend. The dog and I were assigned a guest bedroom on the fourth floor.

The house is beautiful and the fourth floor guest room is a wonderful aerie overlooking Union Street. But it was a little inconvenient hauling my bag, the puppy and the puppy’s crate up and down four flights of stairs and going up and down those steps every time the dog needed to answer the call of nature. (You dog lovers will recall that even in normal conditions puppies need to go out a lot. I will add that you’re additionally motivated to make sure they get out enough if you’re staying in a guest bedroom with white carpet.)

So, suffice it to say, the dog and I went up and down those steps a lot during the night. And when she was restless the next morning we were out before the sun.

Which is how I came to take this photograph in Prospect Park. It was late January and bitter cold. A few people were out early. I was hoping to get back to the house and maybe get a little more sleep before starting the day in earnest. But Scout had to sniff all there was to smell in the park. So we wandered around for a few hours, met a few other people and their dogs, and watched the sun rise over the trees.