End of the long weekend

Wanted some snaps to compliment the St. Magnus, Kirkwall ceiling shot.  Washington Photo Safari had an event today at the National Shrine in DC, so off I went. Got the two shots I wanted, botched a wider attempt at both becuase of the need to get out of the aisle fast. Anyway, a sucess vis-a-vis the original objective.  Wasn't much else that interested, kinda skipped the gift shop and the cafe, so worked some lines and a few Friedlanderesque shots that won't make Sister Anita James happy. As I recall that wasn't much of a regular occurance anyhow. And, hey, that is what it really looks like, the first glance from the official parking lot exit — right on the way from all of the coaches (buses).

All with the A7r and either the Canon 24 TS-E or the Canon 14. I guess I am pretty much a wide-angle guy these days, in fact probably a low-angle, wide-angle guy.

To zoom off to the rest of the snaps, click on the faux Friedlander below.

The National Shrine ala Lee Freidlander

Glyndon, MD — 4th of July

Went back to Glyndon again for the annual seven minute Fourth of July Parade.  Three fire trucks, three cars (a 20's ish antique, a minimoke and a 911T Targa - lots of diversity) three golf carts and then what looks to be half of the town with the kids on bikes and the adults walking their dogs.  The other half of the town is sittiing on their front lawn taking it all in.  Hah!

The increasing disdain for telephoto lenses meant the 5D Mk III and all of the longer stuff stayed at home. Took the A7r with the Nikon 20 mounted and the Zeiss 55 in a pouch. Shot it all with the 20, not such a good idea, really need some fore/middle/background interest to make the wide-angle work and so it didn't.  

The images I am willing to show are all, except for one, snaps of structures and mostly those I saw on the way out, I guess it took a while to get warmed up — the inbound structures snaps were as bad as the parade images. All with the A7r and the Nikon 20 f/f2.8 AIs at f/8.0 all converted to VSCO faux Tri-X 400.

The snap below likely the best of the lot, on Bultler Road in town.  Click here or on the snap below to see the rest on smugmug.

PS. Just noticed this snap wears a serial number of 30257. It was close to but not the last of the AM - that means over 30,000 snaps with the A7r since it arrived on December 3rd of last year. Hmmm, quite a lot of practice in a relatively short period of time

Aberdeen — Fittie, Esplanade and St. Machars

Snaps from Footdee or Fittie (if you wanna know look here), then Esplanade which abuts, then back to Fittie,a short drive to Old Aberdeen (site of the University) and St. Machar's Cathedral. Quick peak inside St. Machar's didn't look promising so just the outside.  St. Machars in B&W (because color didn't work) and Fittie and Esplanade in color (because B&W would be criminal). St. Machar's with the Canon 24 TS-E, everything else with the Nikon 20.

Once again contact sheet curation, resulting in 205 snaps between the galleries, 160 in color and 45 in B&W. Not so sure about the post processing as they were all done rapidly this afternoon, which even for me was a large number of snaps to run through.  Started out with 414 so only boiled down to just about half.

Click the snaps below and head off to the color (Fittie and Esplanade) and B&W (St. Machar's) galleries respectively — both images chosen because they are square which is the best aspect ratio for the blog format. The Fittie snaps start out slow but really get rolling after a while. Oh and finally, don't expect to see these colors on residences anywhere else in Scotland, where the paint palette is composed of 40 shades — of shit brown.

BTW, this is the second blog item posted in as many days, the Orkney gallery is linked to the last item, see below.

Fittie reflection

Across from St. Machar's @ Tillydrone House

Orkney B&W — First Pass

Well almost all B&W. One I wanted to show makes no sense as B&W the only reason for it is the colors — so it is in color. One hundred and twenty-four snaps, 107 from the Orkney workshop and 17 from a drive on the north coast of Aberdeenshire, all of those from Sandend which merits a trip back as today's vist was curtailed by a driving rain squal.  

All with the A7r, many with the Nikon 20 and the Canon 14 and 24 tilt-shift. Some with the Canon 45 tilt-shift and a lot fewer with the Sony 35 and 55 eMount lenses. Only perhaps one with the Canon 100L Macro. It seems that I am becoming a wide angle guy.  Some with the tripod, many not, if there was enough light likely handheld unless it required precision like the ceiling and Audi snaps. 

Will post some more from Aberdeen and surrounds before I leave on Tuesday.  Not sure when I will be able to go back through and post the color versions - possibly not until next weekend. Some of the B&Ws need aditional work, expecially, many of the windows in the St. Magnus Cathedral shots need blending with other less exposed images, as the single image versions shown on SmugMug have blown out windows, those will get done down the road as well.

As always click here or on the snap below to see the rest on SmugMug. 

The first night - about 11:15PM

First FOPP Concert of 2014

Cable Stine and the Brakemen tonite on Pagoda Hill. Bunch of snaps with the now lightly used 5D Mk III with long lenses. Started out with the 135 f/2 but that didn't last long, the rest with the 70-300 and the 100-400. Very different than the wide angle approach I have been pursuing lately.

Click here or on the snap below to see the gallery — mostly the band along with several stunning dogs.

Big crowd on the hill

OCD? Perhaps...

Yet more snaps — the third post and fourth gallery of the weekend. Short drive today, Mount Vernon and Station North Neighborhoods. Actually, the only images in Station North are from Graffiti Alley. Once again working lines and layering the bad on the good. Not going to get too many architects calling with comissions — quite all right with me. A7r with the Nikon 20 f/2.8 AIs again. This combo is likely to be the go to configuration until I get a prime in the 16 - 17mm range for the A7r.

Time to cut mats and foam core for four more snaps to join the eight already done in 12 Ikea 20"x20" Ribba frames. Well at least the frame and the glass is cheap. The rest is archival, Rising Museum Board with the prints on Canson Platine Rag. Tomorrow will be a blast hanging them all — six each on each side of the LR fireplace.

But for now, as soon as the mats are done, a Hendricks and tonic awaits — in a glass designed and sized for Guiness.

Click on the snap below or here to check out the rest of the snaps on smugmug.

Holiday Fizzle

Maybe an over statement because expectations were not high. A swing down to the District once again in the hopes of snaps of people drawn to the Mall on Memorial Day weekend. Not many there except for the rollng thunder ragamuffins — i much prefer the representation of the greatest generation than that of my own. A relatively quick loop; Lincoln, Vietnam, WWII, DC, MLK and FDR then skedaddle. Maybe I'll do better in the neighboorhood over the rest of the long weekend. I seem to be losing interest in all but urban opportunities. 

Anyway a gallery reachable from here or via the snap below. Once again working lines, shadows — and layers when I could create them. All with the A7r, this time with the Canon FD 28 f/2.0, the current lens of choice for people on the street.

This one comes hard upon last night's post so if you are checking per a update message, check the prior post out as well.

Long week in Manhattan

Up Sunday at noon, back Friday at noon. Photo Ops on Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening. The rest of the time occupied with clients. Sunday walk from the Algonquin to the Hudson and back along the 40's, Tuesday along 44th to the east up Lex from Grand Central to Citicorp Center, then a zigzag route back to the Algonquin. Only about 250 snaps over both days — not many for me. Forgot the Mac at home so only some inital post processing done on the iPad with Photogene up there. Actually wasn't too bad. A7r Wifi and the Sony IOS app got the snaps into the iPad.

All with the A7r and the Nikon 20 f/2.8 AIs and finished in VSCO faux Tri-X 400 — cropped square. Most of the crops from the center which is what I am trying to compose using the grid in the Sony viewfinder.

Click on the day Sunday and Tuesday or the snaps below to head off to the smugmug galleries. Basically contact sheets, so a fairly large number of snaps in each.

Sunday afternoon Tuesday evening

Preakness Saturday

Has nothing to do with the race, only the date — thanks to Butts and Bettys for the reminder. Still working in the neighboorhood which seems to be evolving into the area south of East Baltimore Street, west of Patterson Park Avenue South, North of Aliceanna and east of Broadway. All with the Canon 14 although I am not sure that is going to yeild the quality of results I want until there is ultra wide native eMount. Maybe it is still my focus skills but I am not sure, missed several shots I was retaking — all becasuse of poor focusing. Lens or me? May need do more with the Nikon 20, although that seems too narrow.  

Snaps from Durham Street are ok though and that is the origin of the one below. Rest of them in smugmug here or click on the snap below.

Prints of these are working well at 15"x15" in 20"x20" frames. I especially like the latest ones on Canson Platine Rag. More printing on the agenda for this evening.

 

 

Going formal with a fourteen

Well the 20mm is wide enought left to right but not top to bottom when cropped square. Need a 17 but the only one I have is on a zoom — I am too much of a prime snob to use one of those for this. There are only a couple of workable 17mm choices at the moment for eMount, including adapted, and they are either very pricey or very big. I think the right strategy is to wait until Zeiss says what it is going to do with FE later in the year.

The Canon 14 will do for now with the idea to work on the formal aspects of the snaps. Particularly minding the lines; curb lines, grout lines, fence lines, cable line, power lines, shadow lines any kind of lines but especially those awesome cable and power lines. As it is written, "if you can't fix it — feature it". Although it is more than that with cable and power lines — more like seek them out. No cable or power lines on the street in this neighborhood, they are in the alleys, so the alleys are fertile ground.

From around a little bit of Butcher's Hill's alleys, early this afternoon — plus one from the Canton Dock Area from a late afternoon trip to Harris-Teeter. Click on the snap or here to see the rest. All square, all B&W, all with the A7r and the Canon 14 f/2.8L @ f/11. Turns out the A7r has a grid overlay that provides an interpolatable square - makes it easy to see the frame. Between VSCO Film and Keys in combo with Lightroom's "paste", post processing, including consistent cropping is a snap.

BTW, yesterday's cruise up US 40 to Elkton was pretty much a waste of time and gas. Well maybe not entirely, there is a Wawa in Northeast that mandated a sub stop.

That SoBe look

Yet another first weekend in May item

A lttile OCD this weekend with the Nikon 20mm f/s.8 AIs. Back out again trying to deal with the OOF foreground. Got that solved at the expense of distant focus. Just need to backup I guess - most people don,t get close enough — I can't seem to back off enough. 

Afoot again. This time 2 blocks north, one and half west and half block east. All A7r, all Nikon 20mm. Feel like I might actually be out of energy — so the last item for the weekend. The other four below. Clicking the snap below brings up the smugmug gallery (again more contact sheet than gallery) as does clicking here

No Mark V for me

Trying walking distance only for a while. Fills the rehab gap and moves the focus to taking shots rather than researching and driving road trips. Down the hill toward but not to Fells Point. The A7r and the Nikon 20 f/2.8. Still getting some close in stuff OOF — more practice needed. Again more like a contact sheet than a gallery. Cut by the raw haul slightly by more than half.

Posted at 2:42PM while the snaps are uploading - likely to take another hour or so to get them all on smugmug. Click here or on the Mark V to replace boredom with snoozing on a long flight.

This is the fourth post since Friday night so this weekends WIP is spread between this item and the three below.

Kinetic Sculpture Race

The AVAM annual race.  Starts in Federal Hill in the AM gets to Patterson Park after lunch for the sand and mud pits. As usual I go to the sand pit. Snaps to from and at the parade in the gallery. A couple of the architectural dig going on in the park re: War of 1812. Same camera configuration as the earlier-in-the-day alley snaps.  I think I should have switched to the 28 the 20 was too wide or at least it was too wide for me doing this kind of stuff.

Big flurry of new blog items here since Friday night, this is the third, so there might be some ones unseen in the two below. Per usual click here or on the snap to see the rest.

Back in the alley again

Humming to the tune of Autry's Back in the saddle again. Redux of last evenings passes through the alley behind Maderia and then north on Maderia. This time with the the Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AIs on the now almost ubiquitous A7r. Still trying to use formal elements in ways that make the photos seem informal. Poles, fences and the bane of the landscape photographer, those wonderful power and cable wires.

The red gate is one again the entry way in to the sliced-in-half galery.  Click on the snap or here to see the rest.

If you are not so quick looking after a blog update message you may need to look at the item below too, posted late last night.

 

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