Two views of The Hearst Building, 300 West 57th Street, New York City photographed on May 2, 2013. By the way, while there I saw Nina Garcia from Project Runway — that was cool.
Okay, here ya go, two more from the camera of Dan. Shot with black and white 120 film on May 2, 2013 — top is by Columbus Circle Fountain in NYC. As a rule of sorts I don’t photograph sleeping people, unless of course the photo-op competes with my previous best of this genre. I like this one. Harsh noonday sunlight can be your friend. Bottom photo — of course this lady tripped my shutter finger — she doesn’t back down, and engages in a camera stare-down. Those glasses are fab — like Jackie O in exile. And she has positioned herself relative to the sun perfectly — the shadows couldn’t land with more perfection. And that’s that. Later.
A photo from the Wall Street Protest in New York City.
I just received two pieces of ANR (anti-newton ring) glass from Focalpoint for my Nikon FH835s 35mm film holder. I should have bought these years ago because they really do the job of holding my 35mm film flat so I can achieve perfect scanning focus across the whole image area. Without this ability what’s the point of using good optics? This photo when viewed at 20 inches 300dpi has amazing detail. Every rivet in the High Line Park structure is clearly defined.
I’m using two pieces of black electrical tape which is easy to apply and remove at either end of the ANR glass to prevent glass shifts during scanning. Works well, but it’s not as elegant a solution as one might hope for. Before using the ANR glass it’s an easy matter to remove the top piece of the holder.
The fabulous Lynne, lady of style. I think the photo says it all — as it should. Although Lynne was waiting for a soon to arrive bus, she was quite gracious and patient to allow me to photograph her in the middle of Houston Street, NYC from just a foot or two away. I made the best of the strong contrasty sunlight. Had time permitted I would have liked to shoot a few photos in the shade as well.
Lynne’s as they say, a sharp cookie, and I enjoyed the opportunity of chatting with her too. She knows Liza, Cher, and many other famous people recognizable by only their first names.
The Birdman of Washington Square Park, NYC. I’ve photographed this man a few times over the years. He loves pigeons and can be seen feeding them everyday. In this photo he’s pretty much surrounded. There were more earlier, but before I could take the photo a dog came by and scared most of them away. I think of him as the Pigeon Ambassador, because he enjoys discussing his avian knowledge with locals and tourists alike.
With the warmer weather comes workout time at the park. Top photo of the meditating man was shot at Washington Square Park, NYC. Is it cheating to meditate while listening to your favorite tunes with your iPhone earbuds? I don’t know — perhaps he was listening to Ravi Shankar. The lower photo of the trainer and client working out was photographed at Manhattan’s Madison Square Park — just across the street from Chelsea Clinton’s new 10 million-dollar loft. Shots taken with my vintage 1961 Rolleiflex, black and white Kodak Tri-X 120 film, Tmax developer, and yellow filter.
Two from the High Line Park in New York City’s Westside. I shot the top photo with a late 50’s Leica Schneider Super Angulon 21mm lens on an M2-r, and the bottom shot with a Leica Summilux 50 on an M3, both with Tri-X 135-36 black and white film. Very frustrating because my scanner can’t hold 35mm flat enough to get proper focus across the whole image.
This mother-daughter moment in Washington Square Park, New York City was shot on 4/10/2013.
On April 24, 2013 I went to a camera manufacture’s event in NYC. At the event a fashion photographer performed a demonstration with the manufacture’s camera equipment. He photographed a model against a black background, and for lighting he only used the quartz modeling light from the head connected to an expensive Profoto 8a pack and diffused by a large circular soft box. Of course this defeats the purpose of using flash capable equipment. His explanation was that using flash can be difficult, and that it can get away from you. Okay, there’s more than one way to skin a cat as the saying goes. However, what made an impression on me was that the photographer was even bothering to photograph the model, when in the same room was one of the organizers of the event, who in my opinion was a much better photographic subject. Submitted for your inspection is the photograph I made of that subject, Andreas - he’s 42 and of Greek heritage. When I asked if I could photograph him, he responded — “I photograph terribly.” I replied, oh no you don’t — just wait.” In one corner of the studio was a low window sill (which provided a good place for Andreas to sit), a few feet away was a self-standing sign mounted on foamcore — I angled the back of the sign, which was white to reflect light on the left (camera right) side of Andrea’s face. I used a close-up filter, shot with Tri-X 120 film, and exposed 1/60 at f/4 - 5.6.
