Uncle Willy
/William J. Guldy Jr. was born and raised in Kingston, New York. He's made a name for himself as "Uncle Willy" though. I reached out and set up some time to talk with him at the bar aptly named Uncle Willy's in the fall of 2016, so that I could take a couple of photos that I might put in my book some day. I figured he'd be up for it, as he's certainly never been known to be camera shy.
I definitely didn't want to do anything overly posed, so we just sat at the bar, had a couple of beers, and chatted. He told me all sorts of stories of running a bar called The Well in Rosendale, him starting the Rosendale Street Festival, him being the unofficial mascot of the New York Yankees (and being denied when he attempted to become the official mascot) and so much more. It's tough to get a good photo of someone when they're talking, but I showed him the photo above and he liked it. There's an air of fun about him, and I think this showed how much he enjoyed telling me some stories. I feel like I learned a little but, and had some good laughs. Thanks Willy!
Below is a photo I shot at the Rosendale Street Festival in 2013
