BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS – I caught the first shuttle of the day from New York to have a bit of time here before meetings to catch my photo for the day. Really dull light and not much going on visually, so I’ve had to settle for a fairly tame near far thing with pansies taken with my Leica Monochrom and a 24mm Summilux lens. Not my proudest moment, image-wise.
Pansies
On this day last year: An ugly corner of DC. Probably should have been converted to black and white.
DC Fringe
NEW YORK NEW YORK – A busy, distracted day. I got a couple of ok images in passing with my iPhone.
Vespa
An Ugo Rondinone megalith at Rockefeller Center via iPhone
Megalith
On this day one year ago: Birches. I’ve been trying to kick the birches habit, but not to much effect.
More Birches
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Our house in Warren in good backlighting. Taken with my Leica Monochrom. The fishing aspect of photography. I’ve been on this spot thousands of times but I’ve never seen this before. Two frames stitched.
Warren
On this day last year: Chair transformed by good light and my Noctilux lens.
Chair
WARRN CONNECTICUT – Fog. Lots of it. It’s atmospheric and it simplifies composition, muting backgrounds. It’s a pretty common phenomenon here in Warren. We’re on a hilltop that seems to be a fog magnet. Taken with my Leica Monochrom and 35mm Summichron lens.
Woods
Sundial
YRELLAG
On this day one year ago: Yawn. A water tank. Whoopee. In New York. Imagine that. An example of why I shouldn’t shoot color. I find the mixed lighting here very unattractive.
Water tank
NEW YORK NEW YORK – This morning we visited Alexander and Laura’s new apartment. Taken with my Leica Monochrom and 24mm Summilux lens.
New Apartment
On this day last year: ICP. Two frames stitched.
Plaza
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Out with my iPhone today before the Opera (a life changer of a performance of Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites – I’m still under its spell as I write this several days later). The Lincoln Center fountain and the facade of the Dakota.
Lincoln Center Fountan
The Dakota
On this day last year: Lincoln Center. Three years in a row at Lincoln Center on this date.
Concert
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Bruisingly busy day. Snapped a few iPhones around the house. The iPhone photo app that I’ve settled on is KitCam, where I’ve adopted a square format, a faux tilt tool, and frame lines that look like a Hasselblad film camera’s (the app calls it “Victor”).
Bathroom
On this day last year: Japanese maple. At Lever House.
Japanese Maple at Lever House
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I went to B&H to return the lens that I shot but didn’t like yesterday. and then walked from 34th street down to a dinner in Tribeca. Kind of semi-clear light that didn’t spark my imagination – remember that most of the stuff on the blog is urban landscape, but still landscape so it’s highly dependent on interesting light that doesn’t necessarily show up on my daily shooting schedule. Another effing church, the Church of the Holy Apostles in Chelsea. Shot with my Leica Monochrom camera and a 24mm Summilux lens.
Another Church
On this day last year: Citscape through my Noctilux. World Trade Center II.
WTC II
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I’m looking for a tilt shift solution for my Leica M. So I bought a Nikon 24mm tilt shift and a Nikon to Leica adapter from B&H (which has a no questions asked returns policy) to give it a try.. Nice lens, but focusing with the Leica electronic view finder is plausible but not great. So I returned the lens and adapter to B&H – I’ll repurchase something along those lines if Leica ever does a firmware upgrade to improve the functionality of the EVF. Here’s an images that uses the tilt capacity to extend the focus range on the runner on our dining room table.
Tilt Shift
On this day last year: Landscape with the Nocti. Birches! Ugh. Stop it, Woody.
Birches
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Over the years we’ve developed a park-like area to the East of our house here, systematically clearing out underbrush and encouraging grass and ferns, and emphasizing the large, mature red and white oaks and sugar maples. In early spring the oaks have clusters of small light green flowers that look like nothing and shed pollen like the devil. Visually they lend a light green haze to the landscape – one of my favorite times of the year. Here you go, photographed with my Leica S medium format camera and a 24mm super wide angle lens.
Park
On this day one year ago: Breakfast.
White
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Out and about a neighbor’s property in curtain filtered daylight. Not bad. Taken with my Leica S and a 35mm lens.
Trees
Truck
On this day last year: Noctilux on Broadway.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – We drove up here early today, in time to catch the golden hour here. I’ve turned again to my Leica S, which I struggled with a bit yesterday – it’s a big complex system and I’ve been shooting mainly with my Leica Ms for the last few months so my skills operating the S have slipped a bit. I’ve resolve to tune up my approach to it over the weekend. It does produce remarkable files. Here you go with the Leica S and 120mm macro lens.
Callery Pear
On this day last year: Gas explosion. Back to back duds last year.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – This really was a New York New York day. After morning in the office I decided to treat myself so I took the subway to Brooklyn Heights, walked around a bit, ended up in Brooklyn Bridge Park, caught a water taxi, ended up at 46th street and the Hudson River via the Statue of Liberty, walked up the extended Riverside Park to the 79th Street boat basin, and took a taxi home. All in about four hours. I love this place. Both images with my Leica S2 medium format camera and 24mm lens.
Riverside Park
Riverside Park
On this day last year: Jeans. Whatever. No one’s perfect.
Jeans
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Maria took me to the theatre and dinner tonight to celebrate my birthday. This on Broadway with my Leica Monochrom. This light was interesting but I didn’t capture it and the angle is weak. The downside of one picture every day.
Broadway
On this day last year: Maria in a taxi on the way to a benefit. She’s reviewing notes for a speech.
Maria
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear me, Happy Birthday to me.
With that out of the way we can move on to pictures. I spent the day walking around New York in lovely spring light. What better birthday present could one ask for.
All images with my Leica Monochrom and 24mm Summilux lens. The first is from the “No Limits” installation by Alexandre Arrechea on the Park Avenue islands.
Wiggly building
Central Park
Light on the street
On this day last year: The Ranble in Central Park. Oddly, last year on my birthday I did roughly the same think that I did this year.
The Ramble Central Park
NEW YORK NEW YORK – On the sidewalk near home. A plant with a punk haircut. In this era of the hipster I didn’t realize that this style still existed.
Weird plant
On this day last year: Infrared. I’ve got a small Panasonic point and shoot that I’ve had adapted to infra red only shooting.
