Tuesday January 3, 2012

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TAOS SKI VALLEY AND TAOS NEW MEXICO – Maria, Alexander, Laura and I snowmobiled in the morning, guided by a local legend and egregious name dropper called “Big Al”. Really fun racing up and down the mountains in two-cycle engine exhaust miasma. Here’s the village in good light and Maria.

Taos ski village

Taos ski village

Maria does a snowmobile

Maria does a snowmobile

Later in the day Laura and I drove down to Taos and visited the Taos Pueblo, one of the most photographed and painted sites on the face of the earth. From an editorial standpoint I’ve had failure of self control here.

Horse

Horse

Sagebrush

Sagebrush

Taos pueblo

Taos pueblo

Cemetery Taos Pueblo

Cemetery Taos Pueblo

On this day last year: a clear day in Connecticut.

Tanner farm, Warren Connecticut

Tanner farm, Warren Connecticut

Thursday November 17, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Back home. I carried my little Ricoh GRD IV through the day, catching autumn foliage ending up on the sidewalk, and a new installation at Lever House, a salt water aquarium and plants by Paula Hayes. Very cool. Worth a look.

November 17, 2011

Streets of New York

November 17, 2011

Weird Science

On this day last year: on the Acela.

From the Acela at high speed

Friday October 21, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Today we did the sacred and profane on Fifth Avenue. Starting with the sacred I stopped by Marble Collegiate Church, the oldest Protestant congregation in North America and for decades the bully pulpit for Norman Vincent Peal. The Church has a “Payers for Peace” program. The congregation offers prayer for service men and women who have died in Central Asia during the week; yellow ribbons with the names of the departed are attached to the railing around the Church. Here’s a segment of the fence with a statue of Dr. Peal in the background. Images taken with my Leica M9 and a 24mm Summilux lens.

Marble Collegiate Church

Marble Collegiate Church

Now the profane. At the 42nd Street Library I spotted the following, which I couldn’t resist:

XXX rated at the Public Library

XXX rated at the Public Library

From my self portrait series taken hourly on February 13, 1999 the image from 8:52 PM. Taken with an Arca Swiss 8×10 view camera.

Thursday October 20, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK -I read a glowing review of the World Trade Center Memorial in the New York Review of Books so I made a reservation and made the trek down there. It’s huge. The memorial is the foundations of the two towers – recessed (by 50 feet or so) pools where the foundations were. Water cascades down the four sides of the foundations holes to the pools. The water disappears into black square holes in the center of the pools. The falling theme is powerful given the context. The central hole evokes a grave. The names of all of the 9/11 victims were cut into the railing around the pools. The Memorial owes a lot to Maya Lin and at the same time is totally unique. Images taken with my Leica M9 and a 12mm Voigtlander lens and 24mm Summilux lens.

World Trade Center Memorial

World Trade Center Memorial

World Trade Center Memorial

World Trade Center Memorial

World Trade Center Memorial

World Trade Center Memorial

Another take on the Old Equitable Building taken with my Leica and a 24mm Summilux lens:

Old Equitable Building

Old Equitable Building

8:00 PM February 13, 1999 from my series of hourly self-portraits over a 24-hour period.

8:00 PM February 13, 1999

8:00 PM February 13, 1999

Wednesday September 21, 2011

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SHANGHAI – We traveled yesterday to this remarkably photogenic city. We stayed on the Pudong side of the river at the Park Hyatt Shanghai, located on the upper floors of the Shanghai World Financial Center. From an architectural standpoint the SWFC (as it is known) is one of the better and more appealing super tall skyscrapers. I regretted not having my Alpa kit and the time to use it. Here’s what was possible with my Panasonic GH2.

SWFC

SWFC

SWFC and the moon

SWFC and the moon

Pudong

Pudong

Pudong

Pudong

On this day one year ago: Grand Central Terminal.

Grand Central Terminal -ramp from the lower level

Friday September 2, 2011

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LITCHFIELD CONNECTICUT – I spent the late afternoon giving myself a walking tour of North Street in Litchfield. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia article on the Litchfield Historic District. Shot with my Alpa TC and 47mm Schneider XL lens. Two frames stitched.

North Street Litchfield

North Street Litchfield

On this day one year ago: Infrared image. One of the better examples of these.

Park Avenue

Tuesday August 23, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – This afternoon I walked the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side. It was seriously crowded. I shot with my Alpa and the 72mm Schneider lens. Framing continues to be a challenge. Out of the 30 or 40 images I thought this was the best point of view, but it’s flawed because I didn’t recognize it at the time so I didn’t take the time to wait for the optimum moment in terms of the pedestrians. Near misses for me two days in a row. Here it is:

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

On this day last year: wildebeest migration. I had so many images that I did three posts for the day. Here’s a crocodile killing a zebra.

Zebra kill

Thursday August 18, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I’m writing a page on my equipment which I will illustrate with my photos. My pictures of my Alpa TC and Alpa Max, posted on August 9 and August 17, should do for those cameras. I decided to shoot my Leica M9 today, Here it is photographed with my Panasonic GH2 – I’ll be using these images in the the description of my equipment that I’m presently working on. The lens on the camera, by the way, is the pre-asph 35mm Summicron – called the “bokeh king” because of the creamy quality of the out of focus portions of images taken with it. It’s also really compact.

I’be put a Thumbs Up faux rewind lever on the camera – it balances much bette if there is something to catch your thumb on as you hold it. Note also the wear on the edge of the end of the camera. The finish is black paint over brass – “bronzing” on the edges of the camera are considered a mark of honor in the Leica world.

By the way as I was working on the description of the long list of cameras that I’ve owned it seemed to me that it’s odd that I don’t have a film Leica, so I bid on a two-strokr M3 on ebay today. I’ve got some film in the freezer in Connecticut and know a guy here in New York who develops it, and I have a couple of scanners. We’ll se what happens.

Leica M9

Leica M9

Leica M9

Leica M9

On this day last year: Nairobi This is the start of last year’s Africa trip – for the next two weeks “on this day last year” is actually of interest.

Giraffe Manor

Friday July 8, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – I finally got out of bed today, although it turns out that celebration is premature. I met Francesca for coffee at her office and shot Grand Central Terminal with my medium format tech camera on the way. Hardly and innovative image, but I’m pleased to be off of my back.

Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal

On this day one year ago: Lexington Avenue Subway.

Lexington Avenue Subway

Monday June 27, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – So I took the subway downtown to return the IQ 180 to Digital Transitions. They are on 35th just off of Fifth Avenue so this gave me a chance stalk one my favorite icons, the Empire State Building, in very interesting light with my Leica M9 and a 90mm lens. Three frames stitched.

Empire State Building

Empire State Building

On Fifth Avenue:

Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street

Fifth Avenue and 33rd Street

On this day last year: Festival

Friday June 24, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – I had the opportunity to borrow a demo Phase One IQ 180 digital back for the weekend. This is the latest and greatest in digital backs, with an 80 meg sensor and a sophisticated iPhone-like interface that makes it particularly well adapted for use on a tech camera. I’m considering trading my collection of Hasseblad gear for the IQ 180. After picking it up at Digital Transitions I got it set up my Alpa TC and went for a walk. Unfortunately the weather turned grim – as issue because these high end digital backs need a lot of light (or a sturdy tripod and a long exposure). I got as far as the Guggenheim Museum when it started to rain. Anyway, here is an early effort with it:

Guggenheim

Guggenheim

On this day last year: Quito Ecuador.

Saturday April 23, 2011

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GREAT WALL and BEIJING – We got an early start to drive out to the Great Wall. We joined the Wall at Mutianyu, about an hour and a half’s drive from central Beijing. A few things to note about the Great Wall. It’s crowded with Chinese tourists so go early. It’s really up and down, and in some places high and steep. Come prepared for a vigorous walk. I suffer from vertigo so there was one very steep and narrow segment that I skipped (rather than risk freezing and creating a problem for myself and others. Maria did it all and considered it a good training day for her planned trip to climb Kilimanjaro later this year. The approaches to the Wall are crowded with hawkers and vendors.

With my Leica M9 and a 24mm Summilux lens, shot at f1.4 with the aid of a neutral density filter.

Great Wall

Great Wall

In the afternoon we spent a few hours at the Summer Palace, an extensive network of parks and buildings around a lake on the outskirts of Beijing.

Summer Palace Beijing

Summer Palace Beijing

Maria

Maria

On this day last year: 1211 Park Avenue.

1211 Park Avenue

Tuesday April 5, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – Well , , , walking down Park Avenue I had a major surprise. In the plaza in front of the Seagrams Building (for me the center of the universe in many ways) someone seems to have deposited a giant yellow teddy bear. I love this thing. It fills my need for monumental odd-ball sculpture in this area, a need that had been frustrated with the passing of Hello Kitty. What we’re seeing here is Urs Fisher’s big yellow teddy bear lamp which is said to have recently sold at Christies for an eight-figure price. This is sufficiently fun that I’ve flaunted my usual rule and included two images.

Urs Fisher's yellow teddy bear lamp

Urs Fisher's yellow teddy bear lamp

Yellow bear confronts Racquet Club

Yellow bear confronts Racquet Club

On this day one year ago: A picture of Cathy Robbins at Quatorze Bis.

Quatorze Bis

Friday February 25, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK – A seriously bad weather day. I took the Staten Island Ferry. It’s free and offers remarkable views of New York harbor. I had hoped to get wind and rain swept views, but the weather started to break right after we left South Ferry in Manhattan. There were brief moments when shafts of sunlight broke through the overcast. I captured this during one of those moments. So what if it’s sentimental? This made the trip worthwhile – I’ll be back. Taken with my Hasselblad H4D-60 and an HCD 35-90 lens.

Statue of Liberty and Hoboken

Statue of Liberty and Hoboken

On this day last year: Madison Square at night.

Madison Square

Friday February 11, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Another day with film. I’m mastering the mechanics of the Linhof film back so I had fewer ruined double exposures. Here’s a view of 23rd Street taken with my Alpa TC, a 36mm Schneider APO lens on Ilford XP-2 film. I’ve always considered the gray scale rendering of chromogenic films to be slightly odd for landscape – there is a slight infrared quality to it. This image illustrates this effect.

23rd Street

23rd Street

Take a look back at the post for February 9. The vertical line up the middle of the picture is actually a scratch on the negative. Very irritating. Another issue with film. I’m reposting the image here with the scratch repaired and minor edits. Film helps make this image appealing because its response curve has a “shoulder” that prevents the windows from blowing out entirely, and “halation” (light diffusing through the film’s base) add a glow around the windows. On the other hand the scratch illustrates one of the key hazards with film. Overall I spent 20 minutes or so spotting the scanned negative in Photoshop.

Seagrams Building at night

Seagrams Building at night

On this day one year ago: Lexington Avenue at night. Not one of my more popular images – probably because the reflections (which was the appeal of the situation for me) are confusing.

Lexington Avenue

Thursday February 10, 2011

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – My second day shooting film. I’ve put a Linhof 120 film magazine on my Arca TC body. It makes an 6 cm x 7 cm negative. The film magazine is heavy and quirky – the film advance leaver is two stroke and there’s no interlock to prevent double exposures, so I made a fair number of double exposures. Here’s one shooting straight up from the Park Avenue island: Another view of the Seagrams building.

Park Avenue straight up

Park Avenue straight up

On this day one year ago: Blizzard.

Madison Avenue

Wednesday February 9, 2011

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NEW YORK NEW YORK –  Here’s a surprise for you. One of the reasons that I’ve gotten behind in writing these – I’m actually writing this on February 18 – is that I’m experimenting with . . . . film. You read that correctly. The F*** word. My plan was to shoot film for three or four days. There’s a couple of days turn around on processing, and then whatever time it takes to edit and scan. Taken with my Alpa TC and a 36mm Alpa APO Switar lens. Shot on 120 size Ilford XP-2 film, a “chromogenic” black and white film that is processed with the normal C-41 color negative process.

And . . . here’s FILM:

Park Avenue Night

Park Avenue Night

On this day last year: Racquet and Tennis Club.

Racquet and Tennis Club

Wednesday December 8, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Today I had breakfast with a friend near Columbia so I used the opportunity to continue my explorations of the Episcopal Cathedral St. John the Devine – the massive unfinished structure at Amsterdam Avenue and 112th Street. For more information on this massive undertaking see St. John the Divine. Shot with my Leica M9 and a 12mm Voigtlander lens. The frontal composition obviously has a lot in common with my December 7, 2010 entry.

St. John the Devine

On this day one year ago: Party for some colleagues.

Party at home

Monday November 22, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I promise that I’m going to quit this. I mean the wide angle thing. Quit it real soon now. Maybe it’s becoming a crutch. Or worse. My name’s Woody and I’m a wide angle junkie. But later. Maybe. For now I had my Leica and my super wide lens in hand as I walked by the Guggenheim earlier today. If you’ve been following these pages closely you’ll know that the Guggenheim is the one icon that I’ve been struggling with. Well today with Mr. wide I caught it – the first image of the museum that I’m really happy with. Here it is (this is another one of those shot straight up images that could be oriented any of four ways, but I prefer this orientation):

The Guggenheim Museum, New York

On this day one year ago: Warren Congregational Church.

Warren, Connecticut

Friday November 19, 2010

click for more

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I’m exploring other daily photo blogs – I’m working on a page of links and critique that I’ll post here when its finished. There actually aren’t many of them. The one I like best is one polaroid a day over an 18 year period, to the photographer’s death. Someone has lovingly scanned and uploaded the 7,000 odd images, and built a very nice flash gallery. Here’s a link: hughcrawford.com. Anyway, I’ve been doing more in Manhattan in the early evening with my ultra-wide 12mm lens:

Citcorp Center at night

November 19, 2010

Citicorp Center redux

November 20, 2010

On this day last year: Telephones at Grand Central shot with the bokeh king.

Grand Central Terminal - lower level

Monday November 15, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Feel free to go to one of those other daily photo blogs that you follow if you find that my voice is getting a little whiney. Yes, another week of all day meetings, at least through Wednesday, including a trip to Boston. You may ask “Why doesn’t Woody just quit the damn day job?” Actually I like my day job – it’s just that sometimes it gets in the way of photography – why I like it is beyond the scope of a two paragraph discussion. Today I spent some time shooting going to and from my meetings. Sometimes this is not very productive, but today it was, so I’m posting two images. They are both with my Leica and the 12mm Voigtlander lens – I’m getting more interesting results shooting wide right now. Let me know if you think it’s a gimmick.

Anyway here’s a night shot looking straight up at the facade of the New York Central building (now known as the Helmsley Building) at the foot of the North segment of Park Avenue. Wikipedia entry on the Helmsley Building. The Wikipedia entry is oddly ambiguous on who the architects were. It’s actually Warren & Wetmore, who were also responsible for Grand Central Terminal. Here’s a link to the AIA website.

Formerly the New York Central Building

November 15, 2010

Finally, patient reader, on this day one year ago: interred in the New Preston CT cemetary.

Nancy Lee Cheney Calhoun, Nov 20, 1920 - January 11, 2000

Wednesday October 27, 2010

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – I was in Chicago for a mutual funds directors conference and managed this in magical early morning light. It’s the Wrigley Building taken out of my hotel window with my Leica M9 and a 50mm Summilux lens. Is it iconic? If I were from Chicago I might have a view on this. It has the great advantage of being on the Chicago River which permits viewing from a distance. The Chicago chapter of the AIA features a thumbnail of it on the header to its website: Chicago AIA. I’ve categorized it as an icon despite some misgivings (is it really in the same league as the Chrysler building?).

Wrigley Building sunrise

I collected a bunch of images in and around Millennium Park but most were tourist-style very wide angle images around the cloud gate. I thought this one on the walk back toward the Chicago River was interesting.

Chicago

On this date last year we were at Full Sail Brewery in Hood River, Oregon.

Full Sail Brewery

Friday October 8, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – In midtown for meetings. This was a good day for photography. The light was soft and encompassing – about 4:00PM is a great time of day to photograph Manhattan this time of year. I had enough good ideas that I had trouble selecting a single photograph. I initially posted a a new take on an old friend, the iconic Seagrams Building, with a very wide Voigtländer 12mm lens. After further review of the images I edited the post (on October 13) to include an additional image. I get feedback offline from a number of sources who help out as an informal editorial board (for example the Leica forum on GetDPI.com).

Seagrams Building

Here’s the second image captured with a Leica M9 and 54-year-old 50mm Dual Range Summicron (modified for M9).

Local Law 10 Work

Friday October 1, 2010

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – New York was sideswiped by a tropical storm today – I spent the day dodging rain. I caught this image of the Guggenheim Museum with my 16mm Hologon. I’ve been stalking the Guggenheim for some time, and have shot from this angle in the past, but not with this lens and in this light.

Guggenheim Museum New York

Wednesday September 29, 2010

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BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – I spent the afternoon today at Brooklyn Bridge Park – a park under construction that’s transforming the Brooklyn waterfront. There was a lot of stuff to photograph. Really. Some tourist shots – the view of lower Manhattan is incomparable; some construction; some people. I’ve had real difficulty sorting it all out so I’m posting a bunch of images. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry on the park: Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The Manhattan Bridge seen under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Leica M9 with 135mm APO Telyt lens.

South Street Seaport.

South Street Seaport from Brooklyn Bridge Park

Same camera and lens.

Brooklyn Bridge Park – tidal pool

Brooklyn Bridge Park

New Trees

Same camera and lens.