Tuesday August 3, 2010

TRANCOSO, BAHIA –  After a day on the beach we spent the evening in town, a colonial village.  The colorfully painted small houses around the long central quadrangle remind me of Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, but they’ve mostly been turned into fully-priced boutiques.  The town is nearly empty – vacationing Brazilians left the previous Sunday because it was the end of a school vacation – but we imagine that it would be much less charming when overrun with vacationers.

I had difficulty choosing an image – several were of interest.  I chose this rather non-typcial view:

Trancoso

Leica M9 with 35mm Summicron pre-Asph. v. IV.

Monday August 2, 2010

TRANCOSO, BAHIA – We’re spending three days unwinding in this lovely little town south of Porto Seguro. It’s noted for its colonial square and lovely beaches. Here’s a link to Trancoso’s Wikipedia entry: Trancoso. Today we did the beach:

Beach at Trancoso

Leica M9 and 24mm Summilux lens. Three images stitched and perspective corrected in Photoshop.

Sunday August 1, 2010

SÃO PAULO BRAZIL – We checked into a hotel near the airport for six hours while we waited for our ongoing flight to Porto Seguro, as small coastal city 450 miles or so south of Salvador, Bahia. It is said to be the first place the the Portuguese set foot in the new world. Here’s a link: Porto Seguro. Here is a picture from the pool of the Hotel we spent our six hours in.

Ceasers Business Hotel

Leica M9 and 28mm Summicron lens.

Saturday July 31, 2010 (click to comment)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – We’re in New York today (unusual for us for a summer weekend), getting ready to fly to Brazil tonight. My wife, Maria Campbell, needed an up-to-date photo for an interview so that’s my photo for the day. Here are a couple of links with information about Maria:
NY Times article and Interview. Here’s a link the a Huffington Post article about her that used the photograph: Maria Campbell in Huffington Post

Maria Campbell

Nikon D700 with 85mm f1.4 lens.

Friday July 30, 2010 (click to comment)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – This detail caught my eye on a building on East 55th Street: a shield-shaped sign on a townhouse referring to “She who must be obeyed. With a little digging around I found that this is the US headquarters of a company called D. L. Taffner, the producer of a television show called “Rumpole of the Bailey.” Rumpole’s wife on the show is referred to as “She Who Must Be Obeyed.” According to the New York Times: “Eleanor is Eleanor Taffner, the wife of Donald L. Taffner Sr., the founder of D. L. Taffner, a television production and distribution company. That sign has been out there since 1983, said Mr. Taffner, who is retired. . . . ‘Truck drivers point up to it and just love it,’ he added.”

Anyway – here’s the image:

124 East 55th Street - DLT Entertainment

Leica M9 and 90mm Elmarit lens. Three frames stitched.

Wednesday July 28, 2010 (click to comment)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – I met our daughter at a rooftop lounge in Hell’s Kitchen – at 11th Avenue and 48th Street – for sunset. This area of Manhattan, which is primarily where people come to buy cars or have them serviced, is changing rapidly. So this is Hell’s Kitchen in the foreground and the midtown skyline in the background. Very basic urban landscape, but in terrific light.

Hell's Kitchen and Midtown skyline

Leica M= and 50mm Summilux lens. Three images stitched, and then cropped to square format.