NEW YORK NEW YORK – Out with my Leica and 90mm lens I caught this in the failing light.
On this day last year: 9-11 memorial.
Friday January 20, 2012
Thursday January 19, 2012
BROOKLYN NEW YORK – At last a good day of photography. I met a friend for lunch a Peter Luger, still the best steakhouse in New York (and maybe in the universe). It’s just over the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, so after lunch I explored the bridge and Williamsburg in lovely winter light. Williamsburg is an interesting melange of Lubavitchers, hipsters and young urban types – it has a very good subway connection to midtown. The day was good enough to warrant treatment as a mini-gallery in this post. All images are with my Leica M9 and a 24mm Summilux lens. Lets start with an image of a lone runner in the shadow of the bridge overpass:
I’ve done this a lot. For a long time. The distant, solo figure is a recurring theme in my work. Here’s one from 1970 (taken with a
Rollei 2.8 F in Luxembourg):
Since 1970 the cells in my body have replacement themselves many times; I’ve had a world of experience but I still identify with the lonely, isolated figure. Another thought is captured in the comparison of these two images: my work is often symmetrical with correct prospect (which takes a certain amount of control when shooting with a wide angle lens) or is wildly askew. Anything in between just feels like a mistake to me.
One of the advantages of living in the Northeastern US is the brilliant winter light. It was very much in evidence today giving the graffiti a visual kick.
Kind of mixed use real estate here, with car repair shops and the like tucked in among buildings undergoing major renovations.
Here’s the bridge. It wasn’t easy to get this angle. The East River has no accessible waterfront here. I had to trespass through a bridge and tunnel authority parking lot and climb a fence. There are some excellent early 19th century warehouses along here that look like they are in early stages of being renovated.
Finally, the scene under the El for the M train back to Manhattan could have been from 1954.
On this day one year ago: parking space.
Wednesday January 18, 2012
NEW YORK NEW YORK – Back in New York I met Francesca (our daughter) for dinner at a college burger joint near Columbia. They had Full Sail beer on the menu (the only time that I’ve seen it on the East Coast) so I ordered a dark one. Taken with my iPhone (what did I do before I had this thing?).
Because I’ve assiduously kept this blog I know that I was at the Full Sail Brewery in Hood River Oregon (a bit east of Portland) on October 27, 2009, over two years ago, when I captured this image:
On this day last year: a lonely guy view of a parking lot in historic Boston.
Tuesday January 17, 2012
NAPLES FLORIDA – In a break from meetings I ran into a friend having lunch at a casual bar on the beach. He posed as I photographed him with my iPhone. But this presents a dilemma. This guy is pretty prominent in the world that I work in; when he posed he didn’t realize this was destined for the web; I don’t necessarily want to “out” him as having fun in the middle of the day. How to handle it? Well here’s one idea: There’s an app for the iPhone that converts an image into tiles. At tile resolution he’s not recognizable:
Another sunset. This does happen every day so I’m generally against shooting sunsets (same category as pets and cute kids). It was really, really clear and occasionally when the sun sets toward the sea and it’s very clear you see a brief green flash. I’ve actually seen it once from Basil’s Bar in Mustique. So I set up to catch it but alas it didn’t happen. Here’s the sun where there would have been a green flash had it happened.
On this day one year ago: humongous ice-sicle.
Monday January 16, 2012
NAPLES FLORIDA – I flew down here from New York this morning for two days of client board meetings. I managed a long walk on the beach today. Beaches aren’t great for photography (at least when I’m pushing the shutter button) I suspect because they are all similar, if not the same. Here’s a sea bird admiring its shadow, taken with my Panasonic.
A few hours later, a sunset from my hotel room.
On this day one year ago: snow.
Sunday January 15, 2012
MORRIS CONNECTICUT – I drove over to Morris this morning to catch the Morris Congregational Church in good morning light. I got a late start – we had house guests so I needed to attend to breakfast. By time I got to Morris it was too late – the light was flat and dull – but I saw these school buses on the way back and they seemed unusually vivid. Taken with my Alpa Max and 72mm Schneider.
On this day last year: a snow covered barn in Milton CT.
Saturday January 14, 2012
KENT CONNECTICUT – I’m getting back on my game in Connecticut. I took my Alpa Max out with a tripod on a field trip to Kent Connecticut where I stopped at a remarkable chocolate shop called Belgique. Do click through the link – the site is over the top. So Belgique is closed today – evidently on vacation to rest after the holiday rush. Taken with the Max, a 72mm Schneider lens and my Phase One IQ 180 back.
On this day one year ago: Lexus of Manhattan.
