HIDDENBROOKE MONASTERY
BEACON, NEW YORK
Between 2018 and 2024, I was employed in the kitchen at Hiddenbrooke, a local monastery of fifteen contemplative Carmelite and Redemptoristine nuns, ages 68 to 96. The hilltop enclave was accessed through a partial old-growth forest with a meandering stream, adding to its visceral appeal.
Much of our interaction occurred within the comfort of mealtimes, enabling me to bear witness to their lives; the prayers, songs, celebrations, silence, talk, and laughter, peppered with anger, sorrow and joy from events of the day, whether local or global. Cloaked in prayer and illumined by the the Hudson valley light, Hiddenbrooke held a magic sway as a centuries-old tradition of cloistered religious life within nature. Yet, given the ages of the sisters, I was acutely aware that it was also a lifestyle that was quickly vanishing.
My employment at Hiddenbrooke terminated in the summer of 2024 when the health issues of the remaining sisters prompted the closure of the monastery, and their dispersement to respective facilities for their care. These images are a brief sampling of my upcoming book Among Tall Trees which shares this incredible experience.
All images are copyright © RONNIE FARLEY
NEW YORK CITY IN BLACK AND WHITE 1979 - 99
The draw to New York City in the early 1980s was palpable. It was an era of dirt and grit, of punk and performance, of cheap rent and possibilities. The edge that gave it power has now become polished chrome and glass. This pictorial record of New York City, some of which are published in Diary of a Pedestrian, offers a glimpse into the humanity and mystery that was New York City pre-tech era. It is an homage to what was an ever-changing constellation of people and events that shaped my destiny over twenty years.
All images are copyright © RONNIE FARLEY
ROAD DIARIES
A work-in-progress of travel diaries in the United States beginning in 1986: reservations, rodeos, ranches, cowtowns, mining towns, lost towns, ghost towns, highways, byways, mountains, mesas, creeks, rivers, and all that enchants and repels the American psyche. Publications from this series will begin in 2026.
All images are copyright © RONNIE FARLEY
CELTIC LANDS TRAVELOGUE : IRELAND & WALES
A body of work begun in 1994 will resume with a trip to Scotland in 2025
All images are copyright © RONNIE FARLEY
