Sunday March 6, 2011

NEW YORK NEW YORK – Well here we are, still in the rain. Only today it’s heavy. Actually pouring for hours. I decided not to go out except to walk the dog. For my picture for the day I explored out my window with my Hasselblad H4D-60 with an HC 300mm lens and a 1.7x tele extender giving an effective focal length of 500mm (equivalent to 330mm in 35mm terms). This combination doesn’t work very well and Hasselblad doesn’t suggest otherwise. The camera doesn’t autofocus and optical quality is just ok – it looks fine a web resolution but really can’t be printed large. Based on some testing that I did a bit later image quality is better if you use the HC 300 without the tele extender and crop to achieve the 500mm point of view. Anyway, here’s the image:

Rain, rain go away
Rain, rain go away

On this day last year: Joshua Tree National Park. I rated this image poorly last year but on reflection I like it.

Joshua Tree National Park

Thursday March 3, 2011

NEW YORK NEW YORK – Here’s the dark underside of the photo-a-day experience: sometimes you just don’t feel like it. I found myself walking in the Village today, coming back from a meeting at the James Beard House. I just wasn’t seeing well. Here’s the best of a bad lot – a tree shadow on West 12th Street.

Tree on West 12th Street
Tree on West 12th Street

On this day one year ago: an IR image from Indio California.

Indio California

Thursday February 24, 2011

NEW YORK NEW YORK – A bleak day in Manhattan. I walked around Central Park in search of something that would stir my imagination. I captured this view of the Central Park Reservoir with Alpa TC with 36mm APO Schneider lens.

Central Park Reservoir
Central Park Reservoir

On this day one year ago: a very wide view of Times Square at night.

Times Square

Tuesday February 22, 2011

NEW YORK NEW YORK – I walked down Lexington Avenue on this rare bright and sunny day. I had Alpa TC with a 35mm Schneider APO lens and a 60 meg Hasselblad digital back. And the battery with the wire dangling out of my sleeve. Here are three images. I couldn’t decide which I liked best. It’s probably painfully obvious (perhaps “none of the above”), but I’ve posted all three. We’ll see how they look for a while and I’ll take two down based on a more extended reaction.

(I subsequently edited this post on March 2 shrinking the size of the less favored pictures, with thanks to those who commented on the choice.)

Cigarette butt
Cigarette butt
Pioneer
Pioneer
Holland Court Meat and Fish
Holland Court Meat and Fish

On this day one year ago: Lever House in twilight.

Lever House New York

Monday February 21, 2011

KENT CONNECTICUT – This is Presidents Day so we spent the day in Connecticut. We drove over to Kent, a good-sized village that’s a 20 minute or so drive from Warren. The name “Kent” is an example of the lack of imagination of the English settlers in this area. Not even “New Kent”. Perhaps “Kent-On-The-Tundra” would have been better, recognizing the colder climate here.

My sister in law, Francesca Barra, was with me and I wanted to show her Belgique, a remarkable chocolate and pastry shop owned by a former White House chef and his wife. We bought chocolate truffles and chocolate covered candied ginger. I have no idea of why or how this guy ended up here; his work is world class; he would be highly popular in New York or even Paris.

I took a lot of pictures in the village – this is my favorite for the day. It’s a caboose that houses an art gallery called, fittingly, the Kent Caboose Gallery. It was previously called the Paris-New-York-Kent Gallery (1984 – 2006), a rather grand name given its lilliputian size. I suspect that it was intended ironically. It was the first gallery in Kent. Photographed with my Alpa TC, a 35mm APO Schneider lens and a 60 meg Hasselblad digital back.

Kent Caboose Gallery
Kent Caboose Callery

On this day one year ago: A doll house sized arts center near Milford PA. Photographed in infrared with my Leica M8.2.

Walpack New Jersey