Get Ready: ‘Where In Verona’ Is Coming Back

So it’s been 10 years for MyVeronaNJ.com, and that’s a long time. I remember how I became involved with MyVeronaNJ.com. A mutual friend said to me one day “you should talk to Virginia.”

Back then, I was a couple of years into photography and still trying to figure out what I was doing. I can’t remember what the first photo was I submitted, but it was probably sports-related.

Early on, I was working with my friend Bob Thomas. We were capturing images of the football team and putting together the end of the season slideshow. I would send images to Virginia to accompany the articles she was writing. Then there was lacrosse in the spring and, being a lacrosse guy, I had to send those in. After that for several years, I provided all the senior athlete photos for the Verona Sports Boosters. I was shooting over 70 varsity events and over 30,000 images each year, many of which ended up on the site. A by-product of the work for the Verona Boosters was working with them to create the Verona Sports Boosters’ Senior Athlete of the Week.

Of the images I have submitted to MyVeronaNJ.com, my favorite ones are of the cement trucks decorated each year with holiday lights by Salomone Redi-Mix. I was by the mall and saw the truck go by with the lights and music and figured I need to get a picture of that.

The biggest photo project was “Where in Verona Is It?” When I came up with the idea, I figured it would go for maybe a month, but no more than three. I mean, who would want to keep guessing, or I figured I would run out of ideas. Well, it was crazy. I was shocked when it hit week 35 and we were still going strong. But at some point, Virginia and I agreed it was time for the contest to come to an end. Well, at least for a while.

It’s been a while, so after a nine-year hiatus, and seeing it is the 10-year anniversary of the site and the holidays and all, I’ve decided to put together a limited five-week run of the “Where in Verona Is It?” contest.

Starting Monday, December 23, we will post one, maybe two images a day of a location in Verona. A location that you should know, or at least might be able to figure it out. The prize is a MyVeronaNJ.com T-shirt and a week of bragging rights. More on all that tomorrow.