WARREN CONNECTICUT – It snowed yesterday and last night, for the first time in a long while. I put on my snow shoes and spent a couple of hours out in the fields around our house in poor, overcast light. This with my Alpa TC and 35mm Schneider lens.
Hay bale
On this day last year: Flying SVG, a not-quite-scheduled “airline” operating between Barbados and Mustique.
SVG
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Last month I set my Alpa Max up to demonstrate its “tilt” capacity (the ability to tilt the focus plane to increase the appearance of depth of field) and got an somewhat poorly visualized image of our sundial. It’s snowing today (at last) so I set up trying to do a better of seeing and imagining the image:
Sundial redux
On this day one year ago: a long skinny Third Avenue from my office.
Third Avenue
WARREN CONNECTICUT – So . . . . still relying on my little bitty Ricoh GRD 4. There was some splendid light this afternoon. This image (and some others) prove that good light trumps poor equipment choice. Three frames stitched.
Good light
On this day one year ago: winter in Warren. Another tree line, no more than 200 yards from where this year’s image was taken, but with a radically different angle and lens choice, and radically different light.
Warren Connecticut
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I love it when in mostly cloudy weather clear patches illuminate bits of the Connecticut countryside. Here’s an example. It lasted for a few seconds. I was lucky to capture it with my Leica and a 90mm Elmarit lens. One of my best landscapes of the year.
Baby Cloud
On this day last year: Blizzard redux.
Blizzard
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Boxing Day. Curiously I shot the same subject one year ago. This time I selected a different angle and camera, my Alpa Max with a short-mount 120 mm Schneider lens and a tilt adapter. Tilting is a view camera feature that is available for longer Alpa lenses. It permits tilting the lens and thus the focus plane, to either extend or shorten apparent depth of field. Here I have used it to keep the top of the sundial and the wall and the trees in the background in focus. It can be a tedious iterative process to get focus right with this technique; there are rules of thumb that help; there’s also an iPhone app that gives you a very good starting point. What I don’t like about this image is a mental mistake on my part: cutting off the bottom of the sundial.
Sundial
On this day last year: Sundial.
Blizzard
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Christmas Day. I went out with my Alpa TC today to capture some winter landscape.
Northeastern winter landscape
Our sign
On this day one year ago: Maria scores a Pucci.
Maria and her new Emilio
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Still sick, but improving. A very warm day for this time of the year. I managed to drag the Alpa and a tripod outside to capture a detail from the house.
Winter
On this day one year ago: wedding prep.
Francesca and Maria
WARREN CONNECTICUT – It finally stopped snowing around noon. We got a devastating 21 inches of wet, heavy snow. Most of the trees still had all of their leaves so the snow collected on them, breaking or uprooting trees in absolutely record number. Power, telephone and cable and internet are out over most of the state. This is been called the most damaging storm in Connecticut’s history. We have a backup generator for occasions like this (we loose power several times each winter; without power the heating system doesn’t work; if the house gets below freezing there is massive damage to the plumbing). Anyway, I took my Alpa (with the 35mm Schneider) out after the storm cleared. Here’s what it looked like – a typical January scene on October 30.
These images exploit the amazing dynamic range of the Phase One IQ 180 back.
After the blizzard
Fall colors after the blizzard
It’s me again, this time at 6:03 on February 14, 1999. As I’ve said quite a few times now this is one of a series of hourly self-portraits shot with an Arca Swiss 8×10 view camera.
6:03 AM February 14, 2011
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I went out hunting for late fall landscape today, mostly in the garden. I used my Leica M9 and 24mm Summilux, which if you follow these posts closely you will have noted is my most used camera/lens combination by far. But I also found a new tool, a new iPhone 4S. The camera is surprisingly good. Dynamic range is only so-so – highlights tend to get blown, and prints are marred by jpeg weirdness (white fringes is the like) but this thing is surprisingly usable and always at hand. It’s quite serviceable for web resolution.
First the Leica and then some iPhones.
Fall is still here
The iPhones, with a little help with post-processing in Lightroom.
Warren fall
Sundial
Finally, what post would be complete without a self-portrait from the 24 hour series. If you think that you’re getting tired of these, image how I felt sitting for them and pushing the cable release, then processing the film, etc. Part of what I’m doing with these ix exploring repetition and the passage of time. Anyway 11:05 PM on February 13, 1999 with an Arca Swiss view camera.
11:05 PM February 13, 1999
WARREN CONNECTICUT – A friend had a birthday celebration at has house under construction in Warren. There was no heating so we build a large fire in the fireplace. There were no kitchen appliances so we grilled the food. the wine selection was over the top with a 2000 Ch. la Conseillante (one of my favorite Pomerols) and 1996 Pichon and Latour. Not bad. Pictures taken with my Leica M9 and 24mm Summicron lens.
Construction site party
The wines are ok
Here’s my boring self, from my hourly series, at 10:03 PM on February 13, 1999. Again taken with an Arca Swiss 8×10. This is the only image in the series where I’m wearing glasses, which we will see as we display some of the variants on these pictures (probably in mid-November at the pace we are moving at) has odd consequences.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I got a bit confused writing the posts for October 9 and today. Today’s pictures were originally published as October 9 – probably because I forgot that I was in Warren (rather than New York) today, which is Columbus Day. (I typical write these posts about a week after the fact.) Columbus Day really isn’t a national holiday, but what the hell, I’m an adopted Italian so so it’s a good excuse not to go to the office. Anyway, here are two pictures from a walk around our Warren property, taken with my Leica M9 and a 24mm Summilux lens (I’ve stated elsewhere that this is my best friend ever, lens-wise.) Back lit ornamental grasses, and a Balinese Garuda.
Ornamental Grass
Garuda
On this day one year ago: Waterfall, New Preston.
Waterfall, New Preston Connecticut
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Twelve or so years ago I did a series of projects where i set a camera up on a tripod and took an image each hour over a 24-hour period. I generally used a 4×5 view camera, but also an 8×19 view camera and a 35mm (generally my Leica M7). I typically shot images that were set up to mimic a well known piece of art, “appropriating” the organization and subject matter. For example I did a 24 hour series at our pool in Connecticut and a Balinese statue after Jennifer Bartlett’s study of her pool in Italy. (See Jennifer Bartlett pool for example.) I stopped doing the 24 hour sequences after I went digital. The fact that you can put a digital camera on a tripod and set it to take a picture every hour made it too easy and took the life out of these projects;
Enter the Alpa and the Phase One IQ 180 back. The aesthetic is similar to 4×5 or 8×10 and it’s entirely manual – you really can’t automate taking a 24 hour sequence. So I decided to give a 24-hour project a try. No reference to any only other works of art – just a shot of a tree line at our place in Connecticut. I shot 24 images, one each hour from late afternoon October 8 through late afternoon October 9. I’m please with the results and have resolved a couple of technical issues, so I’m starting work on a serious series, again borrowing from a well-known work. Here’s the image from 5:57 PM (local time). My self-imposed rule is that all images need to be taken within 10 minutes plus or minus the hour. Precision (i.e. exactly on the hour) really isn’t possible because of the vagaries of cat napping and so on. I’m pleased with the results so I’m searching for a project with a fine arts referent. By the way, I’ve also included an image of the Alpa set up to capture the tree line.
Fall arrives in Connecticut
Alpa Max
On this day one year ago: Seagrams.
Seagrans Building
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Well here we are, 9/11 ten years on. We decided to ride this out in Connecticut. Our son was on the street outside of his office two blocks from the WTC when the first plane hit and was one of those running to escape the dust cloud as the first tower collapsed. We’re all lucky that he got through it alive and unhurt. We watched the ceremonies on television. The whole thing was done with great dignity, a relief given the circus atmosphere that has surrounded some aspects of 9/11. Photography tasted stale so I discharged my obligation to take a picture by shooting a hallway in our house with m Alpa TC. Four images focus stacked.
Hallway
On this day one year ago: Ornamental grasses.
Ornamental Grass
WARREN CONNECTICUT – It was rainy and foggy today. The fog provides an opportunity to isolate elements of the landscape that might otherwise be lost in clutter. Here are three trees at the top of Tanner Hill Road in Warren. Taken with my Alpa TC and 72mm Schneider XL. Three frames stitched. I was unfortunately in flip flops (I was just on my way to buy a paper when I saw this) and there was poison ivy underfoot.
Rainy day on Tanner Hill Road
Warren Connecticut sunset
WARREN CONNECTICUT – As noted yesterday we rode out tropical storm Irene in Connecticut. It rained 8 inches in a few hours, causing minor erosion damage – but no other problems. Amazingly good luck. Here’s what things looked like post storm. Taken with my Alpa TC and a 35mm Schneider XL lens.
Basil surveys Irene damage
On this day last year: Our last day in Nairobi.
An indian pastry shop
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I puttered around our Connecticut place working with my tech camera stuff. This was taken with my Alpa Max and a 120 mm Schneider Digitar.
irch
This with my Alpa TC and a 35mm Schneider.
Bedroom
On this day last year: Hippos. These guys are seriously dangerous, “Killed by a hippo” is the most common bad human-wildlife encounter in Kenya.
Hippos
WARREN CONNECTICUT – We had dinner at Ct, a nearby locavore restaurant. Taken with my Panasonic GH2.
Maria and Francesca
On this day last year: Kenya gets intense.
An elephant gives us the full Monte
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Shade garden (primarily astilbe, vinca and hosta), taken with my Alpa and a 47mm Schneider Digitar XL.
On this day one year ago: Maria and Nancy do a bushwalk.
Maria and Nancy do a bush walk
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Back to photographing in the actual world (as opposed to taking pictures of cameras). There was a lovely, fleeting moment at sunrise in Connecticut to today when the first rays of the sun caught the ground fog. I grabbed my Alpa TC with the IQ 180 and Schneider 3mm XL attached and captured the moment.
Later in the morning I went to the town of Warren to experiment with my new 120mm lens, capturing the Warren Congregational Church from a slightly different angle.
Fog at sunrise
Fog at sunrise
Warren Congregational Church
On this day last year: The beginning of our safari in East Africa. One year ago things start getting really interesting for the next week or so. The Cliff Notes version of our safari is the top gallery on the right of this site.
Sunset Chyulu Hills
WARREN, CONNECTICUT – Still fighting this miserable flu. This from the morning with my Alpa TC tech camera, a Schneider 35mm Digitar XL lens and my 60 meg Hasselblad back.
Summer morning
On this day one year ago: Ancramdale Presbyterian Church.
Ancramdale Presbyterian Church
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Back in bed battling the flu from hell. We cancelled a dinner party. I spent the weekend trying to prepare for meetings next week through the fog of flu. I got out with my tech camera for a few minutes in the late afternoon:
Warren Connecticut
On this day one year ago: Riverside Boulevard.
100 Riverside Boulevard
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Second day with my loaner Phase One IQ 180. Very high performance photo equipment is like a very high performance car – the photo equivalent of noise, vibration and harsh ride are part of the experience. This thing doesn’t auto anything, and getting the most out of it takes some work. I spent part of the day experimenting with shifting the back on my Alpa Max technical camera. Initial results are technically good but uninspiring as I focus on technique rather than seeing. Here’s our pool in Warren and the perennial border next to it with the IQ 180 on the Alpa Max and my 47mm Schneider Digitar.
Pool Warren Connecticut
On this day one year ago: Baptismal Iglesia de San Roque
Iglesia de San Roque
WARREN CONNECTICUT – It poured all day. These are actually pretty good conditions for intimate details of the Northeastern landscape. I captured this in our garden with my Alpa TC and a 35mm Schneider Digitar lens. That’s Basil, our Norwich Terrier, putting his nose in the picture.
Summer Rain
On this day one year ago: Friends in Mustique.
Judy and Doug
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Back in Connecticut with my Hasselblad an the rain. This is one of my favorite images of the season.
Rain
The image below proves that dandelions aren’t the only flowers that we have. Nine images focus stacked in Helicon Focus.
Wildflowers
On this day one year ago: Maria, one year younger.
Maria
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Most of the bushes and shrubs around our Warren house flower at some point between April and July, and everything turns invitingly green during this period. From a photographic standpoint it’s a little bit of a distraction because I doubt that MOMA or Pace will be showing any dynamic new photographers specializing in flowering shrubs any time soon. But nonetheless this pretty conventional landscape is hard to resist, so I spent the weekend wandering around with my Alpa and Hasselblad digital back.
Shade Warren CT
On this day one year ago: Walking back from lunch. The restaurant that I mentioned in this post last year closed with no notice under mysterious circumstances. They just put a sign out saying they were closed. They had received excellent reviews and were always packed. The rumor mill suggests that it was something to do with the owner’s divorce or a litigation involving employee tips. Too bad.
Manhattan
WARREN CONNECTICUT – This was another in a seemingly endless string of rainy, foggy days. This is actually a continuation of the months of very heavy precipitation that we had during out long, hard winter. In reality the rain is a blessing. Steven Solomon’s book Water suggests that we’re on the verge of a global crisis where in many parts of the world the supply of clean water will not meet the needs of expanding population. The North Eastern United States is one of the regions of the world with a water surplus and enough rain to permit agriculture with little irrigation. Of course in Connecticut “agriculture” means digging massive stones out of the earth and fighting frost in May and October . . .
This is Lake Waramaug from the Hopkins Inn taken with my Leica M9 and the Bokeh King.
Lake Waramaug
Earlier in the day I caught this with my M9 and a 135mm APO Telyt lens.
Spring Rain
On this day last year: Trump Bar.
AT&T Building
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Our wildflower cultivation in Connecticut seems to be limited to dandelions, at least this season. I set my Leica up on a tripod with my 24mm Summilux lens framing a field of dandelions from about 2 feet away to the horizon. I then took 7 exposures focusing at various distances, and combined the images in Helicon Focus, “focus stacking” software. The combined images are sharp from the close forground all of the way to the tree line 150 meters away.
Dandelions
On this day one year ago: Another pedestrian image. Raises the question of why am I doing this. There are good streaks and bad streaks.
AT&T Building
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I walked around our Warren property this morning with my Alpa TC, a 36mm Schneider lens and a 60 meg Hasselblad back. Finally, I mean finally its really spring here. The shadow of the tree in the first image has an anthropomorphic quality that I really like
Warren Connecticut
Warren birches
On this day last year: a Tiepolo sunset. For all of my fussing about not doing sunsets one of my favorites from last year.
Tiepolo sunset
WARREN CONNECTICUT – A perfect spring day with perfect light. I got out with my Alpa and the 60 meg back for the morning “magic light” moment.
Pears in bloom
Pear in bloom
On this day last year: A nice angle on The Church of the Heavenly Rest.
Church of the Heavenly Rest
WARREN CONNECTICUT – My birthday. We celebrated with a family dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, but no pictures from there. Earlier in the day I took a long walk in with my Leica M9 and a 24mm Summicron lens.
Warren Spring
On this day on year ago: 59th Street Bridge.
59th Stree Birdge
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