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Married
in 1960, Sam and I live our lives out of a passion for family (which
includes four grandchildren), friends, art, nature and discovery.
Both from Philadelphia, PA, we met on a blind date and were married
4 1/2 months later. We started our life together in Queens, NY,
where our two sons, Joe and Rob, were born. We moved to Old Bridge,
NJ, in 1965 and still reside in our first home, which is backed
by woods, an important environment for us. Goldfinches, chickadees
and nuthatches on our deck off the kitchen provide year-round pleasure.
Hummingbirds are a highlight in the Summer.
UPDATE: 12/27/02 - We are now year-round residents of Florida in
our beautiful home in Boynton Beach. The backyard birds now consist
of snowy, white egrets picking their way along the abundant green
that surrounds us, as we look out our many windows. UPDATE: 3/27/03
Our discovery of Wakodahatchee Wetlands, five minutes from our home,
adds to our pleasure. See Florida photo/drawings.
We enjoy Great Blue Herons and a large variety of other wildlife.
Also check out our 11 year-old granddaughter's
photos from Wakodahatchee and Butterfly World.
Sheila Finkelstein, nee Bakely -- I was graduated from the
Philadelphia High School for Girls (193rd class), then spent 3 years
at Temple University, originally intending a career in Social Work.
Those interests and skills, developed over subsequent years, translate
into training as a Personal Coach. Shortly after moving to Old Bridge,
I got passionately involved in establishing a public library there.
After leading a successful referendum, I returned to college, got
my Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts Education from Kean College, and,
while teaching Art in Public Schools, I achieved a Master's Degree
in Creative Arts Education from Rutgers University. (See CARDS.
) Decline in enrollment and an abundance of art teachers thrust
me out into the world of sales and marketing in different industries,
where I remained for many years.
My passion for taking photos was originally inspired by Sam's talents,
support and his hours of work in the darkroom, printing my b&w
photos of students' art work, several of which were featured in
national publications. In 1995, during the course of a major beach
restoration in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge, I took
close to 3,000 photos, documenting construction activities, equipment,
and nature changes, including many days and views of sunrises over
the bay. Since that time, my point-and-shoot camera is with me wherever
I go. Discovery and play resulted in the current photo/drawings
I've been developing during the past 2 years.
Walking,
focussing on images in Nature, and making discoveries, are the things
I know I can count on to enliven and enrich me. I find particularly
rewarding the responses people have to my art. (See TESTIMONIALS.)
I am currently working on discovering markets to reach where my
work will make a difference in how people "see" their
worlds. Suggestions and referrals are welcome. Write to Sheila.
Thanks for your visit.
Sam Finkelstein, after being graduated from Central High
School (193rd Class), chose Textile Engineering as his chosen profession,
enrolling in Philadelphia Textile Institute (now Philadelphia University).
While there, he developed a keen interest in photography, taking
countless photographs utilizing the beautiful P.T.I. campus as his
favorite background. In the summer of his Junior year, carrying
3 cameras around his neck, he took a 6-week trip throughout the
U.S. Many of the photos from that trip became the core of his future
work.
He was graduated from P.T.I. in 1954 and entered the U.S. Army Medical
Corps. He was sent to the U.S. Army Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany,
and was fortunate to find time to study darkroom technique under
the tutelage of Oscar Klees, a newspaper photographer, who moonlighted
for the photo lab at the Hospital.
While in Europe, Sam took photographs in 12 countries. Before leaving
there in 1956, he had a one-man show of his work, "Twelve Countries
through the Eyes of the Camera," at the U. S. Information Center
in Heidelberg. Returning to the States, Sam made the decision to
keep photography as an avocation, while pursuing a career as Textile
Designer. He spent 25 years at United Merchants Industrial Fabrics
(UNIGLAS, Inc.) in New York City, designing fancy fiberglass woven
patterns and developing suitable markets for them. During this time
Sam continued developing his photographic hobby and participated
in contests and shows. He won several prizes and his work was published
in magazines.
After
moving to Old Bridge, Sam was able to set up a darkroom in his home
where he spent many of his non-NYC hours. In addition to the countless
family and trip pictures, he developed and mounted a large collection
of 8"x10" black and white photos, over 50% of which are
the European photos (see BW_PHOTOS).
Once color photography became popular he decided to leave the lab
work to the photo houses. Sam's work has been purchased through
photo stock agencies. For further information on obtaining black
and white European images of the '50s or b&w nature and children's
pictures,
e-mail Sam,
or call 561-752-8339.
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