CAPRI ITALY – We spent another day at da Luigi at the Faraglioni. This is from later in the day shopping.
We spent some time Saturday and Sunday at Le Conversazioni, Antonio Monda’s literary festival in Capri. We had run into Dona Tart on the aliscafo to the island, so we caught Antonio’s interview of Dona this evening. Leica M9 with a 90mm lens.
On this day last year: Clamps.
CAPRI ITALY – We spent the day at the da Luigi at the Faraglioni, one of those rocky places where people congregate to bathe in the sea in Capri. The link above says that you get there via a “pretty little path through the coastal pine trees that leads down to the sea”. That may be a fair description of the descent but the return is a very long uphill slog in the heat of the day with hundreds of steps. We’ve always gone to da Luigi and going there maximizes our opportunity for chance encounters with family and old friends. But I maintain that the real reason we go there is that walking back up the mountain burns any calories that might have been added by a truly superb plate of spaghetti alla vongole.
Anyway, lunch at da Luigi:
Da Luigi and the Faraglione from well less than half way up the path (three frames stitched).
On this day one year ago: Our new sign in Connecticut.
CAPRI ITALY – Still no bag from Air France. They say it should arrive late afternoon. Anti-French images crowd out every other thought. “Cheese eating surrender monkey” doesn’t begin to capture it. The wedding is at 6:00 PM. This is no joke. I’m in Italy. These people take their wedding seriously. Everyone is beautiful and well dressed. I have a theory that on Capri the Carabinieri round up all of the ugly people every night, take them out to sea and drown them. You actually can’t show up at a fancy Italian wedding in jeans and a three-day polo shirt.
We made the most of the day. I bought a swimsuit and spent the day with my family on the “beach”. Beach is in quotes because there are no actual sandy beaches on Capri. People pay mega-euros to lay out on the rocks near the water. I’ll cover that beat in tomorrow’s post. Anyway at exactly 6:00 PM my bag arrived at my hotel room door. I dressed and was out the door in 15 minutes and got to the church by 6:30. This was the full mass version of a wedding so things were just starting to move along. I’m posting several images from the wedding, not necessarily in narrative order, all taken with my Leica.
The enthralled crowd at the Piazzetta.
All kidding aside the bride, Emanuela Volpe (Maria’s niece and perhaps Francesca’s closest friend), was radiant.
Some ambience.
Francesca and her great aunt.
On this day one year ago: Quito.
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.
On Fifth Avenue:
On this day last year: Festival
KENT and WARREN CONNECTICUT – Well the IQ 180 (see my posts from the previous two days) is starting to sing. I went for a hike today carrying my Alpa TC with the 36mm Schneider Digitar and the Phase One IQ 180. This is a compact, hand holdable combination. The form factor and functionality are very similar to the legendary Hasselblad Superwide C (one of my favorite film cameras ever), but the 80 meg digital back delivers much higher resolution than medium format film. The trick is mastering this oddball combination of exotic stuff to the point where I can stop thinking about it and start really shooting.
I joined my old friend John Novogrod for a hike on the the Appalachian trail.. I’m posting three images from the hike.
Earlier in the day I shot the Warren Congregational Church again.
On this day last year: Hacienda Zuleta
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.
On this day one year ago: Baptismal Iglesia de San Roque
Baptismal Iglesia de San Roque
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:
On this day last year: Quito Ecuador.
