Categories
Landscape Urban

Thursday March 21, 2013

NEW YORK NEW YORK – I saw a potential image at Lexington and 51st Street that reminded me of second picture from Boston that I posted on March 13. I snapped it with my Leica Monochrom and 18mm Super elmar lens. It’s less successful than the Boston image at least in part because the light is less interesting. As I’ve said many times before on these pages: “It’s the light, dummy.” I was also able to get closer in Boston. That always works, doesn’t it.

Lexington and 51st
Lexington and 51st

On this day last year: Fresh.

Lexington Avenue
Lexington Avenue
Categories
Interior Landscape

Wednesday March 20, 2013

NEW YORK NEW YORK – So here I am out on the street (actually a side street in the 80s on the East Side) with my Leica Monochrom trying to take a serious picture. This is with my 18mm Super Elmar lens and a yellow filter which does nice job of darkening the sky. And of course the second image is a shot around the house with my iPhone and the kitCam app, which I actually think is a better picture.

Clutter
Clutter
Candles
Candles

On this day last year: Leaving town.

Leaving town
Leaving town
Categories
Abstract Landscape Urban

Tuesday March 19, 2013

NEW YORK NEW YORK – Here’s a major difficulty that I’m having with this photo a day gig. I’m basically a landscape shooter. Cityscapes are landscapes so most of what I’m doing here in New York counts toward my landscape quota. (This is where I live; if I lived in Indio California I’d be doing sand dunes.) The problem is that landscape photography is about finding light. It’s like trout fishing. When you see great light stop what you’re doing and shoot. It actually doesn’t matter much what’s in front of the lens. When you don’t have good light the trout aren’t biting so you pack up your gear and go home.

But some days (maybe most days) sensational light doesn’t come along. If you try to force the case in dull light you get junk. Period.

So on those dull days I’ve decided to do something different. Shoot with my iPhone. Close. Real close. Or odd. Funny angles. Dark. Indoors with poor light. Push things a bit. After experimenting with dozens of camera apps I’ve finally found one that I like: kitCam. Try it. Anyway here are some kitCams from today. You’ll be seeing these whenever crap light makes landscape a challenge.

kitCam
kitCam

On this day last year: Las Vegas.

Las Vegas
Las Vegas
Categories
Landscape Urban

Monday March 18, 2013

NEW YORK NEW YORK – I’ve shot the cityscape out of our dining room window thousands of times. Most often as a brick wall torture test of a lens or camera. But sometimes because the light is perfect or interesting or whatever. Today there was a lovely “Time and Again” moment when the snow muffled the sound of the city and buffed the visual edges down, simplifying the scene. This is with my Leica Monochrome and an 18mm Super Elmar M lens. The look that I’m getting with this camera reminds me of medium format film (such as the Rollei 2.8F, one of my favorite cameras ever).

Snowfall
Snowfall

On this day one year ago: foggy day. We seem to get a lot of these here.

Fog
Fog
Categories
Food and wine

Sunday March 17, 2013

WARREN CONNECTICUT – We had dinner at home last night with David Young, a friend of long standing who is relocating to London (which makes some sense because he’s English). We opened a couple of spectacular wines: a 2004 Cheval Blanc and a 2003 Hosanna. Cheval Blanc is a St. Emilion; St. Emilions are classified and Cheval Blanc is one of two Premier Grand Crus. Because of this it has gotten expensive – out of reach of most mortals – but I happened to have a bottle lying around. Hosanna is a Pomerol, but is adjacent to Cheval Blanc just across the border between Pomeral and St. Emilion. Christian Moueix bought the Hosanna vineyard in 1999 (it was then called Château Certan-Giraud) and since then has been producing a wine similar to Cheval Blanc.

This was my first side-by-side tasting of these wines. Both are inky dark; both are powerful wines, both have tannins that are fully under control at this point; both have a wonderful rounded and complex nose and long finishes. The Cheval Blanc came out of the bottle slightly acidic and tasted unfinished. We decanted it and as the evening went on it become softer and rounder with a finish that went on forever. Both were lovely wines.

We finished up the dregs in three single malt bottles after dinner.

Here are the remains of the day photographed this morning with my medium format Leica S and 120mm macro lens.

Shame on you guys
Shame on you guys

On this day last year: Small barn.

Small Barn Redux
Small Barn Redux
Categories
Landscape

Saturday March 16, 2013

NEW PRESTON CONNECTICUT – Spring is almost here. Spring runoff swelling the Aspetuck River. Taken with my medium format Leica S camera. Two frames stitched.

Spring runoff
Spring runoff

On this day last year: Dinner at the Red Rooster. Here we are taking part in Harlem Renaissance II.

Owner of the Red Rooster
Owner of the Red Rooster
Categories
Home

Friday March 15, 2013

WARREN CONNECTICUT – I dragged my Leica S medium format camera up to Connecticut for the weekend. Here I’ve taken a detail from our house with Leica’s 120mm macro lens.

20130315-S5000560

On this day last year: Home. Shot with my Alpa Max.

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Home
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