Leica M8

Indian Dwelling, Arizona

I'll just turn this entry into a what d'ya know 'bout the Leica M8.

digital ice

Alot of the old Bronx negatives are pretty scratched and dusty and I spent lots of time cleaning them up, often at the 200% view in Photoshop. One or two of them took several hours this way. I'm still using the Minolta 5400. Anyway, since Digital Ice doesn't work with b&w I thought I'd see what happened if I scanned the tri-x shot in as color / output to RGB. Then I figured I'd convert it to b&w. What an odd effect. The scan looked like it had gone through a high gaussian filter or vaseline on glass (which actually was used in the old days). It did remove all the scratches and dust, but it also removed a tremendous amount of detail. Buildings where you could see each individual brick were now brickless. Had a sort of film noir look to it - like in a scene where the hero gets bonked on the head.

I'll post the scan once my cable modem is fixed up.

wi fi

this is so totally awesome (teen talk for) "I made a smart move.

A while back I bought an old thinkpad with a wi-fi card from my neighbor to use as a backup when (not if) my cable modem link went down, which it did recently. it went down on Mon. and while I was calling Time Warner and hanging on the line and eventually told to plug and unplug the modem which is about all they do at support these days. Long story short, it went out again today so I'm typing this on the old laptop with the wireless card. I'm getting the signal from one of my neighbors, and frankly there are signals (networks) flying around all over the place here, and most of them have a pretty okay signal (2 or 3 bars) and if I go out into the hallway and stand outside my neighbors door I can even get 4 bars.

I don't even know what wi-fi stands for? Wireless fidelity? Shows my age. But anyway, I can get my mail, and post to blogger etc.

Do they make antennas or boosters for this thing so that you can amplify the signal from my neighbors apt.?

But yes - this was a good idea because I am, believe it or not, running a business here and I can't really stop replying to emails or see orders when they come in for 4 days which is how long it takes Time Warner to get around to paying me a visit.

And of course I can always go out into the nearest starbucks etc. Do they charge you to tap into their wireless network? I've never done that before. The local Starbucks looks like a nice place to hang out with my ancient Thinkpad running Win 98.

Rest Hour

A recently passed law in New York has made it legal to rest on stair railings in the subway. The city council has called this law the Real Rail Rest Regulation (RRRR), and as you can see New Yorkers are enjoying the benefits. Opponents of the RRRR argued that resting on railings would be dangerous. In their railing tests, at least five people were injured when they fell asleep, slipped off and were trampled on.

The MTA regulation states:

"In the event that you need to use a railing as you walk up or down stairs and a restee is on said railing - you should ask the restee to leave the railing. If they refuse to leave said railing you are entitled to strike them with hands, canes, or other objects until they move. It is also permissable to apply a small amount of lubricant to the railing. (See section 4.56.7 regarding how much lubricant is acceptable.)"

Also, to safeguard the restee, the MTA offers a physical test where an incline machine tests applicants at various inclination degrees and awards badges with the degree of allowed inclination.

If you are so inclined to take advantage of this new service - contact the Inclination Department of the MTA.

On 2nd, 2002

errors

Moving Walkway, Paris

Darlene from Indiana wrote:
"My biggest question is this; when you photograph people do you first ask their permission? Has anyone ever become angry with you for taking their picture?"

This is the most common question I get asked: do you ask for people's permission?

No. It isn't possible. As soon as you ask permission - you have changed the picture. People may say that it's okay to take their picture but they will pose, make faces, and be on guard as far as how they will be portrayed.

You usually can't ask permission afterwards either as most of the time you don't even know if you are going to use the photograph - or how it turned out.

A couple of points:

It's easier for a woman to point the camera at a stranger than a man. The woman is usally less threatening.

The photographs can be taken either by putting the camera to your eye and snapping at the right moment when the subject isn't aware; or shot from the hip where you try and guess about what you are going to get. You need a lot of patience to do this sort of work because you will fail to get something good most of the time. For every image of people you see on my site, there may be a thousand other shots that were never posted. Maybe more.

It is also the least financially rewarding (money) form of photography because 99% of people would rather have a shot of a beautiful sunset then some scene on the subway or wherever.

You need to be very comfortable in the scene that you're shooting; i.e. your intentions need to be "good." If you are nervous - somehow that will be perceived when the subject realizes that you've just taken their shot - so you need to be prepared to smile, and talk with whoever after the shot. In fact, it's not a bad idea to have a business card on you and tell the person that if their shot does turn out well they can see it on your site...

In all the years I've been doing this I have never had any one get really angry. But it could happen. And as I say - it has to do with knowing and being a part of the community - even if that is New York. If I were to go to Indiana and try the same thing - I would probably get into trouble because I would be a stranger there. In other words - the very best place to practice this technique is in your own neck of the woods. If you come to NY and do this - you will be spotted as an outsider and could get into trouble.

Although if you arrive in New York as a tourist - maybe that could be an advantage as well. I'm not sure. Almost all my Paris shots were taken during the course of a one week visit to Paris. In some ways that may have made me feel "safer" since I actually was just another American tourist.

[Note the photograph taken above was shot with a 21mm lens. The second I shot this the guy in front of me turned and the guy with the girl turned around and gave me the usual what the heck are you doing stare. I wish that my shutter speed had been lower because in that instant I thought it would be good if I could blur the surroundings and keep the subjects sharp. There is a little bit of that effect in the shot, but not as much as I wanted.]

Hope that's helpful to you --



Oh, one more thing - if you are planning to come to NY - it doesn't matter anymore what you are shooting you will at some point run up against security. Don't get into anything with them as they are just doing their job. Of course their job is often an insane one - but so be it. If you don't want to be bothered by security head off to some area where the banks aren't lined with marble.

Hubcap on Bridge

2003 (One of the bridges that crosses over from the Bronx to Washington Heights)

View From My Window

My old window on East 7th street.

101 Careers

At my doorstep on 83rd street. On the first roll I shot with the Hexar. Got to be 10 years ago.

And I notice as I go through negatives that I'm fascinated by juxtapositions of words and conditions.



Man with White Sunglasses.

I could do a series with people with books in their hand.

Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery

Well that's the thing about life - it is fleeting. No way around it. But if we can't be here forever - then maybe we can hire an artist to build something that will last longer than we did. That is part of the artistic impulse as well - to create objects that will outlive us.

Bronx View

1982