Category Archives: Food

Wednesday January 18, 2012

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Back in New York I met Francesca (our daughter) for dinner at a college burger joint near Columbia. They had Full Sail beer on the menu (the only time that I’ve seen it on the East Coast) so I ordered a dark one. Taken with my iPhone (what did I do before I had this thing?).

Full Sail

Full Sail

Because I’ve assiduously kept this blog I know that I was at the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River Oregon (a bit east of Portland) on October 27, 2009, over two years ago, when I captured this image:

Full Sail Brewery

On this day last year: a lonely guy view of a parking lot in historic Boston.

Blizzard Boston

Blizzard Boston

Tuesday January 17, 2012

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NAPLES FLORIDA – In a break from meetings I ran into a friend having lunch at a casual bar on the beach. He posed as I photographed him with my iPhone. But this presents a dilemma. This guy is pretty prominent in the world that I work in; when he posed he didn’t realize this was destined for the web; I don’t necessarily want to “out” him as having fun in the middle of the day. How to handle it? Well here’s one idea: There’s an app for the iPhone that converts an image into tiles. At tile resolution he’s not recognizable:

Incognito

Incognito

Another sunset. This does happen every day so I’m generally against shooting sunsets (same category as pets and cute kids). It was really, really clear and occasionally when the sun sets toward the sea and it’s very clear you see a brief green flash. I’ve actually seen it once from Basil’s Bar in Mustique. So I set up to catch it but alas it didn’t happen. Here’s the sun where there would have been a green flash had it happened.

Yet another sunset

Yet another sunset

On this day one year ago: humongous ice-sicle.

Ice Warren Connecticut

Ice Warren Connecticut

Saturday January 14, 2012

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KENT CONNECTICUT – I’m getting back on my game in Connecticut. I took my Alpa Max out with a tripod on a field trip to Kent Connecticut where I stopped at a remarkable chocolate shop called Belgique. Do click through the link – the site is over the top. So Belgique is closed today – evidently on vacation to rest after the holiday rush. Taken with the Max, a 72mm Schneider lens and my Phase One IQ 180 back.

Belgique

Belgique

On this day one year ago: Lexus of Manhattan.

Lexus of Manhattan

Lexus of Manhattan

Friday January 6, 2012

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WARREN CONNECTICUT – Well here we are in Connecticut a day earlier that usual. Blah light on the landscape end of things. The secret of great landscape photography is to be there ready to shoot when the light is brilliant, novel or moving and shoot whatever is at hand; otherwise keep your camera in the bag. This was a camera in bag day. So I shot dinner (risotto all a Milanese) made with a goose stock left over from Christmas – very rich and satisfying). Shot with my iPhone.

Risotto alla Milanese

Risotto alla Milanese

Asparagus with beurre noir

Asparagus with beurre noir

On this day one year ago: four images of the Chrysler building in sensational light.

Chrysler Building III

Chrysler Building III

Friday December 16, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – I had lunch at the Barking Dog Cafe. A burger at the bar and a glass of IPA. The beer turned out to be a mistake – it predictably brought on an overwhelming need to nap. Anyway in the morning I got some work done and in the PM I did all of the prep work for a dinner party for 11 that we’re having in Connecticut on Saturday night.

Anyway here are the iPhone stills from the Barking Dog. One grunged up and the other modified with an app called Percolator, which overwrites the image with patterns of circles that are straight out of Benoit Mandelbrot.

Barking Dog

Barking Dog

Barking Dog

Barking Dog

On this day one year ago: musicians at the Union Club.

Music at the Union Club

Thursday November 24, 2011

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WARREN CONNECTICUT – Thanksgiving day. This (apart from Father’s day which is the most important day on the calendar) is my favorite holiday. It’s not commercialized. there is little or no guilt associated with it. There’s a lot of food, which in my mind is a good thing.

The downside of this holiday in our family is that I’m the most competent cook, so meal preparation tends to fall on me. By the time we sit down on Thanksgiving afternoon my eyes are crossing; I’ve got band-aids covering self-inflicted nicks, and tastings along the way have fully satisfied any cravings for turkey that I may have had. In reviewing past years’ work I have confirmed that Thanksgiving is not a auspicious day for photography for me. This year i produced a totally (and purposefully) out of focus image with my Ricoh GRD IV.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

On this day one year ago: Venini vases.

Drying Venini vases

Sunday November 20, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – We’ve instituted a weekly Sunday family dinner with out children and any house guests or close-at-hand close friends. The large concept is that it’s a home cooked sit down meal. So we had dinner at home with Alexander and Laura, Francesca, and a visiting German friend, Dorothee Grisebach. Taken with my Ricoh GRD IV.

Aunt Dorothe

Aunt Dorothee

On this day one year ago: Bunnell Farm.

Bunnell Farm stand Litchfield Connecticut

Bunnell Farm stand Litchfield Connecticut

Sunday November 13, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – We had dinner with some friends at Pino Luongo’s new restaurant, Morso. The “we” in this case is the editorial me; Maria is in Brazil on business. Taken with my ever ready Ricoh GRD IV.

Gil

Gil

As promised I’m stopping with the self portraits. I’m expecting traffic to skyrocket. That means I’m going back to “On this day one year ago . . .” Too bad that on this day one year ago I did a pretty pedestrian shot out my window. Note that a year ago I was whining about being busy. November is a tough month. Anyway . . . .

On this day one year ago: Out my window.

Lexington Avenue

November 13, 2010

Tuesday November 8, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – We went to Mas, a new locavore restaurant on Downing Street in the Village, to celebrate Francesca’s Birthday. Here she is blowing out a candle, taken with my ever-ready Ricoh GRD IV.

I mention the equipment that I’m using in most posts. Why? Well it’s because it helps bring traffic to this site as people search specific camera brands that they are considering.

Happy Birthday Francesca

Happy Birthday Francesca

So . . . back to the 24 hour self-portrait series taken in 1999. I have experimented with theses images at some length, for example by exploring the grid. (You may remember that the background is a grid “appropriated” from a Chuck Close image.) I divided the print plane into a grid, and then for each square I selected at random the corresponding square in one of the 24 self portraits. The result is a self portrait assembled from randomized bits of me taken over a 24 hour period. The finished work includes a title and caption. ad is printed 24×36 inches.

Self x 24

Self x 24

Monday October 24, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – More fussing around with my new iPhone 4S. I tried my classic out my window brick wall torture test, shooting with the phone braced against a window sill to approximate the effect of being on a tripod. I used the “HDR” (high dynamic range) mode given the phone’s tendency to blow highlights and the long dynamic range of the scene. It turns out that this was a mistake – on close inspection there are ugly white bands where the buildings meet the sky. After a bit of digging online I came to the conclusion that Apple dramatically over sharpens in HDR mode – so for future reference I’ll be avoiding it. Later in the evening I shot a Martini at the Monkey Bar – odd that this famous bar serves a Martini in a sherry glass. Whatever . . .

Out my window

Out my window

Martini

Martini

The next installment in my 1999 24-houe self portrait project – this one from 12:08 AM on February 14, 1999. As always taken with an Arca Swiss 8×10 inch view camera.

12:08 AM February 14, 1999

12:08 AM February 14, 1999

Sunday October 16, 2011

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NEW MILFORD CONNECTICUT – This is the two year anniversary of my photo-a-day effort. I haven’t missed a day! 730 days with at least one photo every day. This is just the beginning! I’ve included the first picture in this effort (from October 16, 2009), an image of the Jean Dubuffet statue in One Chase Manhattan Plaza. Today we had a picnic on our last outing of the year in our 60-year old wooden boat. Photographed with with my Leica M9 and 24mm Summilux lens.

I’ve also included below the third in my 24-hour “self” series. Taken on February 13, 1999 at with my Arca Swiss 8×10 view camera.

Boating on Candlewood Lake

Boating on Candlewood Lake

3:56 PM local time February 13, 1999

3:56 PM local time February 13, 1999

Jean DuBuffet "Four Trees" One Chase Manhattan Plaza

Thursday September 29, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – A busy day of shopping, cooking and otherwise preparing for an onslaught of relatives for Alexander and Laura’s wedding this coming weekend. It’s good to have some food hanging around just in case people are hungry at odd hours. So I roasted a coupe of chickens, made two kinds of swiss chard, did some beets and feta cheese and eggplant parmesan, and made a variety of pasta sauces. Here’s a sample, captured with my Panasonic GH2

Chicken Eggplant Swiss Chard

Chicken Eggplant Swiss Chard

On this day last year: Brooklyn Bridge Park.

South Street Seaport from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Thursday September 15, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Have you filed your estimated taxes? So a new lens just arrived for my Panasonic GH2 – a 7mm to 14mm zoom (14-28 35mm equivalent). This thing is very wide and very good. The pictures are interesting. I’m a wide shooter and this lens is really wide. Even the picture of my feet that I took to make sure that the camera was working has some interest.

New lens

New lens

Francesca and me

Francesca and me

Courtyard

Courtyard

On this day one year ago: Hmmm . . we’re on to an appropriation them here. I appropriated Mike Bidlo.

Bidlo sans Brillo boxes

Monday September 5, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Maria’s in Paris and our children are off in their separate directions and I didn’t have any dinner plans, so I had a lonely guy moment. I ordered a pizza and opened a Stella. Here’s the pizza in its various stages, captured with my Panasonic GH2, 29mm pancake lens and a stepladder.

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

On this day last year: Evening light adumbrates fall foliage.

Tuesday June 28, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Our firm’s partners meet for lunch every Tuesday. I wouldn’t ordinarily photograph at one of these but this was a special occasion: it was the last lunch at which Rick Evans served as presiding partner, a role that he is retiring from after a record-setting 13 years of service. I sat across the table from my retired partner Andy Hartzell, who doesn’t make many of these because the conflict with the weekly “French table” at the Yale Club, which actually includes a French tutor. Anyway here’s Andy caught with my Leica M9 and a 50mm Summilux lens.

Andy Hartzell

Andy Hartzell

On this day one year ago: San Pablo del Lago

Wednesday June 22, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Our friends Varya Gornostaeva and her husband, Sergei Parkhomenko, were in town from Moscow so we had a small dinner party for them in our kitchen. Varya has terrific English and Sergei very good French (as does Maria) so we had enough languages in common to communicate well. This is Sergei captured with my Leica M9 – this is less annoying than it looks because it was at the end of the meal and still mid-afternoon in Moscow.

Dinner in the kitchen

Dinner in the kitchen

On this day one year ago: A passport photo for Maria. This very clearly demonstrates that I really could make a living at photography, doing passport photos.

Maria

Maria

Friday May 6, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YOK – The James Beard Foundation Media Awards were held this evening in an event space on West 42nd Street. Terrific party. Outside there were anti-foie gras demonstrators, who object to the treatment of geese in producing foie gras, because the Foundation has not taken a stance against foie gras (which was not served at the event, but I would have been fine if it had been because I love it). This taken with my Leica M9 and a 28mm Summicron lens.

Anti-foie gras demonstrators

Anti-foie gras demonstrators

On this day one year ago: Sunset from the High Line Park. One of my favorite images from the past year.

From the High Line at sunset

Thursday May 5, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – A new lens for my Alpa. Yesterday’s experiments finally convinced me that my 45 mm APO-Rodenstock Grandegon was just not up to the demands of a 60 megapixel back so I’m selling it and I’ve replaced it with a Schneider 48mm APO-Helvetar, which is optimized for large, high resolution digital applications. I’m experimenting to see if this longer focal length can successfully be used handheld in my Alpa TC. So far the results are mixed – it takes some time to find a working relationship with a new lens. Here’s an image of “visual noise” (and street food) on Park Avenue that came out of today’s effort.

Noise

Noise

On this day one year ago: Nan Talese at yet another party ant Antonio Monda’s.

Nan Talese

Tuesday May 3, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – So I spent the afternoon testing and working out the high and low points of a new lens for my Alpa kit. This is our library taken with my Alpa Max, a 48mm lens Schneider Helvetar APO lens and Hasselblad 60 meg back.

Library

Library

On this day one year ago: rehearsal at Lincoln Center for the James Beard Foundation Awards.

Monday April 11, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I had lunch at Colicchio and Sons, followed by a trip across 10th Avenue to the Chelsea Market, an outstanding food destination. The James Beard Foundation (of which I’m the Chairman) is opening a popup restaurant at Chelsea Market named JBFLtd. I dropped by the restaurant in its final stages of preparation.

JBF Ltd. - James Beard Foundation restaurant pop-up

JBF Ltd. - James Beard Foundation restaurant pop-up

On this day one year ago: Image of Spring with truly ugly bokeh.

Spring

Wednesday March 23, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – This evening we spent a couple of hours at a party at ICE (the Institute for Culinary Education) celebrating the publication of Nathan Myrvold’s book Modernist Cuisine. (ICE is the cooking school that was founded by Peter Kump, a close friend of James Beard.) Taken with a Panasonic GH2 with 20mm pancake lens.

Carmelized Carrot Soup

Carmelized Carrot Soup

On this day one year ago: Chrysler Building from the East Side

Chrysler Building from the far East Side

Saturday November 27, 2010

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WARREN, CONNECTICUT – Warren’s “downtown” consists of the Rooster Tail Inn and four shops. One of the shops, Privet House, belongs to Richard Lambertson who has assembled a sensational collection of eclectic stuff. Travel and Leisure piece on downtown Warren. Anyway this is from Privet House’s substantial collection of things for dogs, Shot with my Leica M9 and my new 35mm Summicorn V. II.

Privet House

On this date a year ago: Do follow this link for more information on this sad memorial.

J. Pol Memorial New Milford, Connecticut

Tuesday November 23, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – We had dinner with our friends Kimball and Patrizia Chen. I’m using my Panasonic GF1 now in situations where the light permits. Here’s Kimball declaiming on a bottle of Gaja Barbaresco (I think a 1997).

Kimball Chen

On this date last year: Guggenheim Museum, New York.

This is one of several not very successful images of this iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building that I’ve attempted over the past year.

The Guggenheim Museum, Manhattan

Wednesday November 10, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Another heavy day of meetings. We ended the day at the James Beard Foundation’s annual gala at the Four Seasons restaurant (my life seems to be centered around the Seagrams Building), I chair the board of the foundation – here’s a link: James Beard Foundation. I had planned on getting my photo of the day at the gala and came equipped with my Nikon D700 and a fast lens. But as I tried to take my first image I had a major “oh shit” moment: I had left the camera’s compact flash card home in my computer. This is a first for me. I always turn the camera on when I pick it up to leave home to check the battery and settings, and take a picture to make sure that everything works. Lesson re-learned.

So what to do? David Young was kind enough to lend me his iPhone. The iPhone is the Holga of this generation. There’s a bit of a learning curve to get a plausible image out of these things – I’m a long way from mastery. I took a couple of dozen images, one of which (ironically of David Young) seems ok to me. So here’s David on David’s iPhone:

David Young

November 10, 2010

On this day one year ago: Out my office window The subject matter suggests (accurately) that I was struggling to keep up with the photo-a-day pace in November of last year – November really is a rough month for me.

Out my window

Monday November 1, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – We’re planning a dinner party later in the week for which I’ll be cooking so I went to Agata and Valentina to sort out what’s fresh and seasonal. Maria had asked for scaloppine al limone so . . . we’re having scaloppine al limone. The rest of the menu is risotto with mushrooms (I found king oyster, mousseron, black trumpets, chanterelle and of course portobellos), baby zucchini, kale from out garden in Connecticut, and braised pumpkin, and an apricot tart with creme fraise. Here are some vegetables (mostly Treviso) in the market, taken with my Leica M9 and a 28mm Summicron lens.

Treviso

Interestingly, maybe ironically, on this date one year ago we gave a dinner party featuring . . . mushrooms. Last year it was the mushrooms that I brought back from a trip to the Willamette Valley in Oregon: Mushroom dinner.

Dinner party

I’m going to try a similar picture Thursday night hoping that it can be more interesting.