Peter and I stumbled upon an "Engine Run" called the Fields of Power in Sagaponack, NY last weekend. A bright red biplane doing barrel roles over the beach caught our eye, so we tracked it down to a grassy air field amongst the fields of Foster Farm on Sagg Main Street.
Saturday was a glorious day - sunny with a bright blue sky, puffy cumulus clouds, a light breeze and temps around 75 - does it get any better than that? Sunday was cloudy, threatening rain, and cool - really, a nice contrast to Saturday for us photographers.
This is the third annual "Fields of Power" event. The Fosters invite fellow members of the Long Island Antique Power Association (LIAPA) to show off their engines and prized pieces of antique farm equipment. Between Saturday and Sunday, we viewed antique planes that flew in (and out) just for this event, tractors of every size, shape and vintage (it seemed), vintage automobiles including a classic Bentley, all manner of machinery like a "dancing" compactor, a hot water maker, and an antique shingle mill dating from 1888! I never knew machinery could be so interesting.
A precursor to this "Fields of Power" event happened every year in Bridgehampton on the grounds of the Historical Society across the street from our house. We never attended it but heard it each day it operated because the engines "ran" all day. Given all of the sputtering, popping, whirring, and whistle blowing that filled the air all day, we dubbed the event "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang". That event has now been replaced by the "Fields of Power". If you're in the area, seek it out because it is not only interesting but a lot of fun. In addition to watching all these machines run, there are tractor pulls, a "mini" air show when the planes take off and land, model airplanes buzzing the air field, a hay ride, and a demonstration of how that Shingle Mill makes shingles from huge logs. On Sunday they even ran an obstacle course for antique cars where the driver was blindfolded and the passenger guided them through the course - that was hilarious!
Here's Peter's view of all we saw, processed in High Dynamic Range (HDR). Let us know what you think of the event and the photos. Stay tuned for my "telephoto" perspective.
Photos and Slide Show © 2010 Peter Tooker ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
We sincerely hope this continues for many years to come.
Peter you outdid yourself on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How many? You count :)
Posted by: Sarah | Sunday, September 19, 2010 at 01:54 PM
Gene, I'm happy you enjoyed the slide show and the HDR photography. I hope Cliff and Lee enjoyed it too. See you next year.
Posted by: Peter Tooker | Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 10:54 AM
Peter: The pictures were GREAT, I haven't seen that type of photography before. It's a great way to go. Thanks for the photos you sent me the other day and this slide show.
Gene
Posted by: Gene Shepherd | Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 12:33 AM
Peter's thrilled by the response to this work, thanks for the input Pam.
Posted by: Claudia | Friday, September 17, 2010 at 06:01 PM
Sorry you had troubles, we'll check in to it. Thanks for letting us know. go directly to http://open-window.typepad.com today of over the weekend and hopefully the problem will be corrected.
Posted by: Claudia | Friday, September 17, 2010 at 06:01 PM
Great cinematics, Peter...but I was unable to see your photos fullscreen, so only half of each photo actually appeared on my computer. I enjoyed the music!
Posted by: Mary | Friday, September 17, 2010 at 01:31 PM
Peter,
What a great video! Your talent continues to amaze me as the photography and filming are first class. I agree that this is well worth advertising dollars for this and other events. Bravo!!!
Carol
Posted by: carol | Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10:39 AM
Peter that was an incredible video with all the effects. I do believe you should have a presentation to the coordinators of the event for advertising in the future. It would draw me to it immediately. Confession tho: had to mute the music after a time...too repetitive. Keep up the fantistic work. xoxo Pam
Posted by: Pam | Friday, September 17, 2010 at 08:44 AM