Woody Campbell – Page 756 – 16 years of one photograph every day for the rest of my life

Friday April 6, 2012

WARREN CONNECTICUT – Glowing morning light in the stand of white and red oaks and sugar maples next to our house. Nicely seen but badly executed. Somehow nothing I shot today is in focus. It seemed like I was doing what I always do but the results are wildly defective. How can this happen? I’m going to fuss with my gear a bit to make sure everything is ok (this particular rig – the Sony Nex-7 and 24mm Summilux lens has never let me down before, and indeed this combination does not demand a high level of technique). I’m worried. I overcooked some past earlier this week and Maria was quite testy about it. I’m putting a small version of the image up because at this resolution you can’t see the defects.

On this day last year: Bricks and more bricks. At least last year I got an in-focus image.

Thursday April 5, 2012

NEW YORK NEW YOUR – Good light in Manhattan comes at odd times. Out there in the non-urban landscape good light predictably arrives around sunrise and sunset – the so-called “Golden Hour”, but it really doesn’t last an hour. Manhattan is fine at a distance at the Golden Hour but at street level that early or that late everything is bathed in deep shadows. Magical light in Manhattan is more often caused by sunlight reflecting off of a large building and acting as a fill light at street level. The first of the images for today is an example – taken at about 2:30 in the afternoon, a generally poor time for landscape anywhere else. The second image is just a reflection of Citicorp Center ending up in an odd place. Both taken with my Sony Nex-7 and 50 mm Summilux lens.

On this day last year: Big yellow teddy bear lamp (no kidding). So last year there was this big yellow teddy bear in the plaza between the Seagrams Building and the Racquet and Tennis Club . . .

Wednesday April 4, 2012

NEW YORK NEW YORK – Maria and I had dinner with Patrizia Chen, her sister and some friends. Patrizia entertains remarkably so it was, as usual, a fine evening. I took my Nex-7 and a Leica 50mm Summilux. As you’ve noticed all of my “event” style work is in available light. I find that I can simply disappear after the first two or three images – impossible with flash. Its also helpful that the Nex-7 is small and quiet (more so than my Leica M9).

On this day last year: Chrysler Building, sort of. And a Breuer chair – the 1930s redux.

Tuesday April 3, 2012

NEW YORK NEW YORK – Tonight we went to a benefit for the Paris Review. I usually hate these things and most often send a contribution rather than attending. But this was a lovely evening. It was quite dark so my Sony Nex-7 and Leica Summilux struggled at bit. I’ve got a Leici Noctilux on order – the extra stop and a third would have been meaningful here. I’m generally find this camera easier to focus in poor light than my Leica (aging eyes). Anyway here’s one of many images from a long evening.

On this day last year: Look up! I don’t know what happened to the blues in this image – it looks like they were mugged on the way to the web.

Monday April 2, 2012

NEAR NASHVILLE TENNESSEE – I got a few pictures of the house off before heading off to the airport to come home.

On this day last year: Glacier.

Sunday April 1, 2012

NEAR NASHVILLE TENNESSEE – We woke up after a monumental night’s sleep to a lovely, soft, late spring day. I spent an hour in the morning shooting around Gary and Diana’s house before we took off looking for cowboy boots and barbecue. This was with my Sony Nex-7 and 50mm Leica Summilux lens.

So after driving a while we found a joint (actually a dive) that advertised barbecue. Here’s their sign. This struck me as pretty promising and not bad for an April Fools day (of course the joke is on the pig).

Inside it was clear the the ole boys who populate this place are drinkers (quiet and deliberate), not foodies. The barbecue was very disappointing – it completely failed to live up to the low-down vibe. You just can’t trust appearances any more.

Later in the evening I experimented with photo booth (an app) on my iPad and with some of Gary’s local whiskies. This is how my head felt.

On this day last year (April Fools day 2011): The High Line makes a feeble attempt at Spring.

Saturday March 31, 2012

NASHVILLE TENNESSEE – We spent the weekend here with our friends Gary and Diana Fisketjon, who divide their lives between here and Manhattan. Not a bad life. Their house here was built from logs and limestone block in 1820 or so, around the time of Daniel Boone’s death. My travel kit these days often consists of my Nex-7 and a small selection of Leica lenses – this was taken with the 24mm Summilux.

On this day last year: Season opener.