OUTSIDE OF PARIS – I arrived in Paris this morning and was picked up at the airport by my friend Laure who took us off to her family’s country house where we spent a perfect day, starting with lunch with some friends. Pictures taken with my Leica Monochrom and 50mm Summicron Asph.
On this day one year ago: Bachelorettes.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – I’m headed off to Paris this afternoon; Maria’s going to Stockholm on business; we’re meeting in Copenhagen where we’re having dinner at noma and visiting Louisiana. Not a bad week ahead of us, but this is a travel day and that’s miserable from a photo standpoint. I popped out for croissant for breakfast, taking my Leica Monochrom and 24mm lens. This is the first time that the 50mm Summicron Asph. has been off of the camera in over a month. Here’s an empty playground. It’s hard for me to photograph playgrounds with children because park rules in NY forbid adults without children. We’re expecting a granddaughter in two months so this is about to change.
On this day last year: Salad on the hoof.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – We saw and apartment on the Lower East Side that our daughter is interested in buying; then spent and hour in the office; then walked home via the East River and the Vinegar Factory. All the while carrying (and occasionally shooting with my medium format Leica S2). Have I told you that I hate my daily workout on an elliptical machine. Well I do. It’s boring. I only do it because its preferable to instant death from a cardiac problem, but just barely. So I’ve decided to try to get my daily exercise by walking everywhere, wearing a doodad on my wrist that monitors my activity to make sure that I’m getting enough. We’ll try this for a few months to see how it works.
Images from the walk along the river, all with the Leica S2 and 70mm lens.
On this day last year: Good Seats.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Some nice results today with my Leica Monochrom and 50mm Summicron Asph. lens. Abstractions. Let me know if you get tired of them. This is turning into a major thread in this long-term project, maybe the best in my eyes, but self-editing (like self-surgery) is not totally reliable.
On this day last year: Marble Cemetery.
NEW YORK NEW YORK – There’s an unfriendly and disused public plaza on 57th Street between Madison and Park Avenue. Why do some of these work and others not?
Taken with my Fuji X100s.
On this day last year: Basil shakes it off. Another violation of my “no cute dogs” rule. This is actually my ninth shot of Basil since I started this project roughly 1,400 days ago. Nine violations is a lot; if the DMV were in charge of this blog I would loose my license to photograph. On the other hand it’s an error rate of well less than one percent, which I guess I can live with.
NEW PRESTON CONNECTICUT – I stopped the New Preston Congregational Church on my Sunday morning newspaper run. This is not a new subject for me but this time I took in some details with my Leica S2 medium format camera. On reflection the angel is not a great work of art – the face lacks the plasticity that a talented sculptor can provide – but hey, who doesn’t like an angel.
On this year last year: Flags project.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I had busy day work-wise in Connecticut. Client confidentiality and my natural reticence preclude any discussion of what I’m doing, but I can say that there seems to be a lot of it. I had time for a couple of snapshots with my Fuji X100s. Before I leave the house or apartment I always pick up a camera take a test exposure or two to make sure that there is a memory card and that the battery is charged, and that the camera’s setting aren’t off somewhere in outer space. I delete most of these in editing, but occasionally a test shot is the best image for the day. Here you go with our dining room in Warren. Later in the evening we had dinner with our friends Barbara and Charlie Robinson. Charlie is a painter and for some reason he’s used the top of a wood burning stove in their kitchen as a palette.
Taken with my iPhone at a point when I was concerned that I might not have another picture for the day.
On this day one year ago: La Pizza Fresca, my favorite pizza joint in New York. It’s actually not a joint: ingredients are first rate and they make Neapolitan-stile thin crust pizza (the only style that I tolerate) in a wood fired oven. The wine list is remarkable. Here’s a picture of the key actor in the Pizza Fresca drama:
