Mike Maney

Category: Stories

  • The Envelope, Please

    There were a lot of great movies in 2017. I’m fortunate to be a member of a great nonprofit theater that somehow scored many of these future Oscar nominated flicks before they hit the big time. Here are my top movie recommendations of 2017 in case you missed them at your local theater.
     

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  • What I’m Reading

    Sunday morning, a thin blanket of snow on the ground, hot coffee in my favorite Herb Ritts/Bruce Springsteen mug, Premier League on the television in the background, and a bunch of saved tabs from the week open in my browser.

    1. The Fractured States of America
    2. The Story Behind “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits
    3. Why China Is Emerging as a Tech Superpower to Rival the U.S.
    4. Flexibility and informality could be the way of the future
    5. The Nationalist’s Delusion
    6. Don’t Stop the Presses! Why Big Tech Should Subsidize Real Journalism
    7. A panda who was “really, really, ridiculously good at sex”
    8. Time to release the internet from the free market – and make it a basic rig
    9. The Curious Case of August Engelhardt, Leader of a Coconut-Obsessed Cult
    10. The secret tricks hidden inside restaurant menus
    11. 5 Reasons to See Morocco By Motorcycle
    12. Should Public Transit Be Free?
    13. A Master List of 1,300 Free Courses From Top Universities
    14. Hear What Literally Every Genre of Music Sounds Like With This Tool
    15. 50 Of The Best Screenplays To Read And Download In Every Genre
    16. Has the Silicon Valley Hype Cycle Finally Run Its Course?
    17. Trust Fragments

  • The Heritage Conservancy’s Christmas at Aldie Mansion

    Where I live — Bucks County, Pennsylvania — is often accurately described as a charming area nestled along the mighty Delaware River in between the bustling metropolises of New York City and Philadelphia. It’s been home to people like James Michener, Pearl Buck, Oscar Hammerstein, Stan and Jan Berenstain (yes, those bears), Justin Guarini, P!NK and my favorite hometown celeb, Timothy Stack (aka Notch Johnson). It’s also home to a place called Aldie Mansion. Aldie was built in 1927 by William and Martha Mercer. William was the younger brother of Henry Mercer, Bucks County’s renowned tile maker, concrete sculptor and amasser of one of the world’s largest collections of tools and machinery from the Industrial Revolution.

    The mansion also serves as headquarters for The Heritage Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the natural and historical heritage of Bucks County. Their mission is one I care about, which is why the organization has a permanent spot in my limited annual philanthropic photography commitment.

    Last night, some of the county’s most influential residents gathered for a formal black tie gala at Aldie Mansion to celebrate the holidays and the 60th anniversary of The Heritage Conservancy. This is a small selection of the images I captured. You can view more of the images here.

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  • The Heritage Conservancy’s Christmas at Aldie Mansion

    Where I live — Bucks County, Pennsylvania — is often accurately described as a charming area nestled along the mighty Delaware River in between the bustling metropolises of New York City and Philadelphia. It’s been home to people like James Michener, Pearl Buck, Oscar Hammerstein, Stan and Jan Berenstain (yes, those bears), Justin Guarini, P!NK and my favorite hometown celeb, Timothy Stack (aka Notch Johnson). It’s also home to a place called Aldie Mansion. Aldie was built in 1927 by William and Martha Mercer. William was the younger brother of Henry Mercer, Bucks County’s renowned tile maker, concrete sculptor and amasser of one of the world’s largest collections of tools and machinery from the Industrial Revolution.

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  • The Importance of Paris

    Just started reading David McCullough’s book, “The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris.” McCullough tells the stories of people like Samuel F.B. Morse, James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Sumner, Elizabeth Blackwell and others who sailed to the City of Lights seeking to learn. Many of those who made the journey went on to achieve great things for both America and the world. I was scrolling through my photo catalog and this throwaway shot from my last visit to the city on the Seine fired up my wanderlust.

  • Being There

    I remember my first business trip after my daughter was born. She was about six months old at the time. I needed to fly to Dubai for a week. Mind you, this was before the ubiquity of easy international phone calls, much less video conferencing. As the song line goes, leaving really is the hardest part (though my wife might argue managing a new kid solo was no walk in the park).

    I was reminded of this trip last week while I was standing on the bow of a boat in the middle of Casco Bay. Looking out toward the Atlantic Ocean, I caught a quick glimpse of Redmonk co-founder Stephen O’Grady out of the corner of my eye. My experience told me he was either (a) taking a series of questionable selfies or (b) saying goodnight to his new daughter. I’m pretty sure it was (b).

    While nothing compares to being there in person, the reality is that sometimes life makes physically being there impossible. For all the deserved knocks against the intrusion of technology on our lives, it’s nice to know that when we really need it, the march of innovation makes virtually being there that much closer to the real thing.

    Even when you’re on a boat on the edge of the ocean.

  • This Is Our Town

     

    I moved to Doylestown 13 years ago. At the time, all I really knew about the town was that it looked quaint. It looked like a small town you might see in a travel magazine. Or a Norman Rockwell painting. It looked, well, it looked like a town that would be a great place to raise a family.

    And it was. It is.

    Over the past decade, I’ve come to realize that what drew me to Doylestown wasn’t what I saw on its surface. It was the people. It was the humans from different walks of life, those who were born here and those who moved here from someplace far away. That’s what made Doylestown special.

    People like Officer Dave Carlen, who graduated from one of the local high schools, spent two decades serving his country in the Navy, returned to serve his community and is fighting thyroid and multiple myeloma cancer. Many of the children in the area know him as the D.A.R.E. officer who speaks to them in school.

    People like Chanin Milnazik, an incredible marketer who founded The Women’s Business Forum of Bucks County, First Friday Doylestown, and the ‘Doylestown BluBall’, showing how one person has the power to help many others.

    People like Ron Strouse, a lifelong resident of Doylestown and the first openly gay mayor elected in the state of Pennsylvania.

    “I’m frequently asked how Doylestown has come to be so unique and extraordinary.  In part, it’s our long history, our architecture, our cultural institutions, our business community that is focused on small and independent.  Of course, what really makes a difference are the incredible people who live here, work here, and visit our town.” – Mayor Ron Strouse

    And people like Mike Markowitz, owner of a popular barbecue restaurant in the center of town called Hickory Kitchen. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Mike and his team over the past couple of years. They, like Dave, Chanin and Ron, are part of the human fabric that makes Doylestown Doylestown. Mike gets what it means to be part of a community. He’s an enthusiastic supporter of local artists, turning the fire orange walls of his restaurant into a rotating gallery of photographs and paintings. My images have adorned the Hickory Kitchen walls twice.

    A few months back, Mike and I were talking over a beer and he casually asked if I’d want to show my work for a longer period of time, a sort of artist in barbecue residence. Those who know me, know I never say no to new opportunities. I said, yes, but with a catch: rather than rotate out photographs from my portfolio, why don’t we create a series of images that reflect the people of our town?

    And that, my friends, is how “This is Our Town” began. It’s an ongoing series of portraits that reflect and tell the stories of the individuals that make up our community. It draws on inspiration from storytelling projects like “Humans of New York” and Peter Adams’ “Faces of Open Source,” as well as visual inspiration from photographers like Platon and Seliger. My hope is that other photographers take this project, find their own Mike Markowitz, and create art to celebrate their own communities.

    If you visit Doylestown, I encourage you to visit Hickory Kitchen and get to know the faces of this town I call home.

    If you’d like to see more of my images, check out my portfolio at mikemaney.com or follow me on Instagram.

     

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  • Scene de la vie de boheme skate punk

    I’m not a great person to walk around a city with. I see things. I stop. A lot.

    That’s what happened on Bainbridge Street in Philadelphia when I paused to talk with an interesting human sitting on a bench who caught my eye. He exuded a bohemian irie vibe that my lens found impossible to ignore. I wanted to make a portrait of him. Sorry. I needed to make a portrait of him.

    Taking a picture is easy: point the camera and click the button. To make a portrait, you have to put the camera down. You have to talk to the person you want to shoot. Your camera has to capture the story beyond the light reflected off your subject.

    “Would you mind if I made a portrait of you?” It’s that simple. It really is. It elicits a yes or no response. Most often it’s yes. Once that’s out of the way, it’s just a matter of letting down your guard and being curious and genuinely interested in the lives of others. Of being human.

    His name is Ezekiel. He’s the son of Isaiah Zagar. You may not know his father’s name, but you probably know his work if you’ve ever visited Philadelphia. Isaiah is the artist behind the famous Magic Gardens gallery space on South Street.

    Zeke’s apple didn’t fall far from his father’s artistic tree. As we spoke, I learned he played a pioneering role in the punk music scene. He was a founding member of a band called Flag of Democracy (commonly known as F.O.D.) and co-founded McRad, one of the bands in the first wave of skate punk that eventually spawned today’s more mainstream acts like The Offspring and Blink-182. Today, he plays guitar for the Philadelphia-based band, Kingsound, founded by Paul “H.R.” Hudson. H.R., whose initials stand for “Human Rights,” was the lead singer of the legendary hardcore/reggae band Bad Brains formed in the late ‘70s.

     

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  • TC3 at the TLA

    Everyone knows the devil went down to Georgia. Only a few know he drove there in a Cadillac.

    This past Friday night, a trio of long haired good ole boys took the stage at Philadelphia’s famed Theater of Living Arts, rocking a capacity crowd with a sound best described as ZZ Top meets Kenny Chesney meets Poison meets Aerosmith meets Hank Williams (with a dose of Steel Panther thrown in for good measure).

    The Cadillac Three is a modern day Stillwater — a band on the brink of crossing over from almost famous to big stadium headliner. The band members met in high school, navigated a couple of name changes and toured as openers for the likes of ZZ Top. TC3, as their fans often shorthand the band’s name, also recently made their debut on PBS’ Front and Center. It’s the kind of evolution the phrase “breakout star” was made for.

    The TLA concert was the latest stop on The Cadillac Three’s “Black Roses Tour” to support its new album on Big Machine Records: Bury Me in My Boots.

    The three members of the band — singer-guitarist Jaren Johnston, lap-steel player Kelby Ray and drummer Neil Mason — put out a sound they describe as country fuzz. It’s a good description, but it doesn’t do their music quite the justice it deserves. Nothing in their sound feels forced. Whether coming through car speakers or blasting from powerful monitors on the TLA stage, the production quality is more Bruce Springteen’s “The Rising” or Van Halen’s “5150” than Nashville twang or country pop.

    TC3’s catalog is a book of stories about the band’s life. There’s a strong mix of debauchery and tenderness that many bands find difficult to pull off. From their pedal to the metal breakout hit “I’m Southern” to the Bimmy Juffett inspired “Ship Faced” to the pure sex of the fast-paced “Slide” to the longing of “Running Red Lights,” it’s abundantly evident these guys know how to connect to an audience.

    It should be no surprise to learn that Johnston is also the pen behind hits from bigger, established artists like Keith Urban and Jake Owen. And if you listen closely, you’ll catch him cleverly peppering the band’s lyrics with a host of other famous names.

    The interaction on stage between the members of The Cadillac Three is not unlike watching the interplay of a seasoned, 40 year old band like RUSH. The performance is tight without feeling scripted. The sound is bigger than three humans playing a guitar, slide and drums should be able to pump out. And the connection to their fans is genuine.

    The Cadillac Three is a band you want on your radar to say you knew them when.

    Check out some of the photos from the concert below (you can find the full gallery here).

     

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  • First Light

    Sometimes the story that sticks with you isn’t the one you expect. Click through to read the travelogue of a trip I took to Portland, Maine, using a fun tool from Adobe called Spark.

    https://spark.adobe.com/page-embed.jsFirst Light