Roy Gumpel's portrait of a young woman relaxing fully clothed in a local creek on a summer afternoon was created as an advertising and catalog image for Earthspeaks, a clothing line made from organic hemp, linen, cotton, and silk. Earthspeaks was founded by Bi Li, Gumpel's former neighbor in High Falls, who now lives and works in Brooklyn.

Gumpel used a Nikon D70 camera with an old lens to create a dreamy, painterly effect. He eschews "normal lenses" because they are "so sharp and perfect that it's hard to capture a dreamy or romantic feeling" using them.

"All this new razor-sharp technology is making me want to take a step back," says Gumpel. "Technology is replacing art now; it's a shame. We all love looking at old photos. Part of the reason is the 'unsharpness' of older camera lenses, and film grain, and their leaving a bit more to the imagination."

What Gumpel likes best about photography is shooting people in "interesting environments." An assignment to photograph in black and white the people and places of Route 66 for National Geographic Explorer is now a book in the making. Similarly, a color photography book in the works, Speedway, grew from a Chronogram assignment to shoot the Accord Speedway. Gumpel is also working on a children's books series, featuring painterly color photographs of his five-year-old daughter Alice on various adventures, with Chronogram colleague Susan Piperato as writer.

Gumpel's first photographic retrospective, "What I Did on My 30-Year Vacation," will run November 11 to 18 at The Big Cheese (402 Main Street, Rosendale), with an opening party Saturday, November 12, 4pm until late. The show will include black-and-white and color prints, film projects, and a looped slide show viewable from the sidewalk. "The work will be for sale at prices that won't scare regular folks away," says Gumpel. "I don't see my photos as some precious, valuable art, but of course, it makes me happy when someone else sees it that way." (845) 687-2109; www.roygumpel.com.