Controlling OPEX

Have often stated that the most material OPEX line item in Digital Photography is gasoline. So focusing on controlling the OPEX after three trips to NY, one upstate, two to the city. Targeting what can attract around here. So far two trips to Dundalk, Camden Yards via the Water Taxi and tonite one block south, one block north and a half block each east and west. Given that Friedlander's Sticks and Stones continues to be top of mind, tonite's look shouldn't be surprising. The 28mm Canon FDn for all on the A7r. Should Fedex do better tomorrow than UPS did today, will go wider in the afternoon with the inital deployment of the Nikon 20 f/2.8 AIs on some sort of an adapter.

A red fence to attract a click that heads to the once again, lightly edited, smugmug gallery or click here.

Stick to your kniting

Not one to shy away from something new but this afternnon was a clear sign that sometimes it is better to stick to your kniting. Water taxi and then over to Camden Yards in front of the O's game with KC. Maybe it was the sun, maybe my longstanding aversion to baseball, whatever it was, without exception, the snaps were awful. So none posted here.

Had to pick up an Rx in Harbor East so walked from Camden Yards to Exeter Street got the Rx and it isn't incrementally all that far to walk from Exeter to Fells Point, where the water taxi stops en route to Captian James. It was pulling out as I got there so... well the walk from Fells Poiunt to Captian James isn't much more either and then on up the hill home. So about a three mile walk all in. Good, because something usefull needed to come out of this afternoon — it certainly wasn't the Camden Yrads snaps.

Further reinforcing my 'tude that B'more is not fertile ground for stranger photography, but a reminder that is is great for structures. So here are some structures to and from the ball game — plus one other. Cick here or on the snap to see them. All with the FDn 28 f/2.0 on the A7r.

Generally feel a closer affinity to Friedlander than Winograd so maybe that isn't just feel.

Sunday morning in Dundalk

Maryland not Ireland. Out and back to Dundalk, before 9AM.  Skinny one way streeets make this a fertile spot. All with the A7r with the Canon FDn 28 f/2.0.  Zone focused at f/8.0.  All from inside Charlotte — easy to manuever early on Sunday morning. Big monitor on the back of the camera makes it easy to get into the right position. Obviously, other streets to work in the afternoon (most streets have one side of the street parking).

Seem to be moving inexorably away from trying to create something for the wall to trying to tell some sort of a story. Not sure what those stories are yet but for sure they won't be posed and it seems like the accompaning snaps will be take with a 28mm lens, if the last month or so is a harbinger.

Stilll focused on structures and strangers, this AM structures this afternoon — strangers. The O's drew a pretty crowd for a non-Yankee or Red Sox game yesterday so counting on the same today. Plan is to walk down to Captain James (see first snap in the gallery) and grab the water taxi to the inner harbor and head from there to the surrounds of Camden Yards and roost — likely along Conway Street or near the light rail and see what I can make of that. Taking one camera (A7r), one big card (64GB), one lens (FDn 28 f/2.0) and several batteries. Thats it.

Lots of snaps from this AM, mostly interested in mid-century venacular residential design (or the lack of it). Usual practice, click here or on the snap below for the rest.

Need to get from twelve to five!

So the challenge is to show five. It started out north of 900.  Down to twelve from an "and return" sprint to DUMBO for a Joe DiMaggio Gleasons Gym/DUMBO workshop today. Once again wrong equipment (A7r), but was good, in the end lots of out-of-focus shots in 900+.  Ergo less to to chose from.

As of 10:45PM Saturday these are my top twelve, need to be  five by lets say 6PM tomorrow. Click here or on the snap below to check out the candidates. Sunday AM 4/27 added two more, now fourteen to five.

Main near corner of Fulton - DUMBO

Easter Parade

Long day, lots of snaps, not much curating, in fact none at all. Pretty much nothing more than a contact sheet, and a rather large contact sheet over in the gallery. Easter Parade was a disapointment. More like a circus sideshow than a parade. Not what I had imagined. Completely overrun with amateur photographers all sporting branded neck straps, DSLRs and long zooms, acting like they were doing fashion shoots. Glad I was very stealthy - nay invisible.  Hah!.  A7r and two lenses the 28 and the 55mm. Shouldn't have brought the 55 only used the 28. My crazy shooting into the sun style was a bit flawed and flared today, not sure if it is becuase old lenses (the new old FD 28mm) are more prone to flare than new ones with hi-tech coatings (probably one cause) and both the hoods I have tried so far vignette so I went hoodless (likely exacerbated the coating problem).  

Since the parade was awful, walked through Central Park up to 72nd street, then retraced 5th back to the Library, then sixth, west in the high twenties over to the High Line then back to Penn Station. At least I got a lot of walking in.

Also, need to remember temper getting close and stay out side the minimal focal distance.  Some stuff out-of-focus becuase I am getting too close. Fences being at least one example.

Click here or the snap below to see the galleries - limited distribution becuase most are not going to look through this enormous pile.

sans Groucho, Harpo and Chico...

nevertheless a day at the races.  The Maryland Grand National Steeplechase races. Stay cut short by lack of sustanance — only for me though, everyone else had the foresight to bring thier own. I guess it violates equestrian etiquite to hawk chow on the the hosting nabob's demense. 

Low sugar level must have impaired the noggin which lead to a bad ISO, fStop combo, which further lead to a Robert Frank like run of very soft images. At least he had the excuse of film and poor indoor lioght.  I have the best performing camera on the planet on a day of all sun — well just becuase you know doesn't mean anybody else has to.  

So an inversion of the B&W blog image and color gallery of this AM here. For some reason the color snaps look crappy so converted to B&W except of course for the one below. This MS Pulitzer afficiando demanding to be showcased in an emulation of Kodak's finest Ektachrome.

Smack it (you know who you are, HAH!) here or on the snap below to be, as usual, swept off to smugmug.

It should be obvious — no long lenses, all at 28 and 55mm. The 5D Mk III and the long stuff were in Charlotte's way-back and stayed there. Wasn't at all interested in the horses. Was interested in the people who were interested in the horses or at least in the party the horses attract. Was not on the top of my game, long distance logistics tomorrow — off to the Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue. Need to up my performance.

BTW, this is the second item posted today so you might have missed the one below re: Erie Canal.

 

Some Oban

High eighties a couple of days ago — high forties today and a bit raw in the late afternoon. Some snaps followed by a stop in Salt for some Oban to drive away the chill.

At the moment heavily influenced by Frielander's Sticks and Stones.  Maybe not so completely because were are some color snaps harvested today. Well given the technology they are all color until they are made B&W. So two galleries one color one B&W.  Some in both, some only in one. The on-the-way-back snaps all in B&W as the street lights here are awful — LED versions on the way.

All with the A7r and the new/old Canon FD 28mm f/2.0 refurbed and converted to EF by Eddie the Lens Doctor in Scotland. Attached to the A7r thru the Metabones III. Much better manual focus solution than the EF 28 f/2.8 IS it relegates to use only the on the 5D Mk III.  Click on the images below to see the rest in the smugmug galleries.

Protect your kettle

 780-FLUSH