Saturday January 1, 2011

WARREN CONNECTICUT – On New Years day we set up a backdrop and put scrim jims in front of a couple of windows to shoot portraits with the Hasselblad. Here are Francesca, Jeremy and Virgil. We’re coming to the end of the longest period that we’ve stayed in our Connecticut house since we’ve owned it.

On this day last year: Still at the Beekmans’.

New Year's Day

Saturday December 25, 2010 Christmas Day

WARREN, CONNECTICUT – So on Christmas Day I abandoned exotic gear and manual settings. I set my Panasonic GF1 in idiot mode, with face recognition focus and the flash turned on. Guess what. This really works for family events where you want snapshots without fail. I’ve put some of them up on my facebook page. These pages are supposed to be about serious photography. But in any event here’s Maria, evidently pleased by her Christmas present.

Maria and her new Emilio
Maria and her new Emilio

Once year ago today: Christmas prickly pear, San Miguel de Allende.

Prickly pear

Wednesday December 22, 2010

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I carried my Leica around as I went about Holiday preparations. I stopped at a costume rental place on West 38th Street to pick out costumes for a New Year’s Eve party. Here is a portion of a wall of photographs, sent to the shop by clients, showing their costumes. Of course I had the Walker Evans image Walker Evans Studio in mind.

Costumes
Costumes

On this day one year ago: Dolores Hildago, Mexico.

Christmas greetings from the Cathedral at Dolores Hidalgo

Monday December 20, 2010

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – We had a casual dinner at home in the kitchen with two friends of long standing, Bill and Bunny Beekman. Here’s Bunny Captured with my Leica M9 and the 35mm Summilux II lens, my new favorite lens on this camera.

Bunny Beekman
Bunny Beekman

The out of focus portions of the image are particularly interesting. I shot Bunny at f/2.8, where the lens has the creamy out of focus character typical of the pre-aspheric Leica lenses; wide open at f/1.4 it has a more edgy character typical of the current generation of highly corrected fast lenses. The following is an example. In effect this is two lenses in one – how it draws the out of focus portions depends on f stop.

Brick Presbyterian Church
Brick Presbyterian Church

On this date last year: Gallery in San Miguel.

Statue
Statue San Miguel