WARREN CONNECTICUT and BROOKLYN NEW YORK – We started out the day in Connecticut (with power restored) – photographed a neighbor’s cornfield in the rising sun. We drove back to New York to attend an engagement party for our son in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.
Cornfield; Leica M9 and 1954 Dual Range Summicron lens.
Fort Hamilton. Same equipment.
On this date one year ago: October 17, 2009
BRIDGEWATER CONNECTICUT – We played hooky on Columbus Day. This was a perfect Autumn day for our last boat ride of the season. We put our 1954 Chris Craft on Lake Lillinonah and spent the day cruising, picnicking and enjoying the fall colors. This from the boat.
Leica M9 and 135mm APO-Telyt lens.
WARREN, CONNECTICUT – I occasionally experiment with odd or eccentric bits of equipment to help keep the daily photo grind fresh. For the last few days I’ve been shhoting with a 12mm rectilinear (as opposed to fish-eye) lens on my full frame Leica M9. This lens is so wide that it’s a miracle that it even forms an image. When I say wide, I mean that I often find myself having to crop my knuckles out of the frame. Ultra wides offer huge depth of field so near-far compositions with everything in focus are possible.
I’ve sworn never to post pictures of pets. Why? I’ve explained this before. Pictures of pets remind me of the millions of pictures in online forums the read something like this: “This is my cat Wallace taken with my Canon Superturbulator 600 mm lens. You can see every whisker!” Lonely guy stuff. Nothing better to take a picture of than the pet cat. Anyway, this is my second exception in almost a year. Basil, our Norwich Terrier, wandered into the frame as I was exploring near-far. Leica M9 and Voigtländer 12mm lens.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – In midtown for meetings. This was a good day for photography. The light was soft and encompassing – about 4:00PM is a great time of day to photograph Manhattan this time of year. I had enough good ideas that I had trouble selecting a single photograph. I initially posted a a new take on an old friend, the iconic Seagrams Building, with a very wide Voigtländer 12mm lens. After further review of the images I edited the post (on October 13) to include an additional image. I get feedback offline from a number of sources who help out as an informal editorial board (for example the Leica forum on GetDPI.com).
Here’s the second image captured with a Leica M9 and 54-year-old 50mm Dual Range Summicron (modified for M9).
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – I spent the afternoon today at Brooklyn Bridge Park – a park under construction that’s transforming the Brooklyn waterfront. There was a lot of stuff to photograph. Really. Some tourist shots – the view of lower Manhattan is incomparable; some construction; some people. I’ve had real difficulty sorting it all out so I’m posting a bunch of images. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry on the park: Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The Manhattan Bridge seen under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Leica M9 with 135mm APO Telyt lens.
South Street Seaport.
Same camera and lens.
Brooklyn Bridge Park – tidal pool
Same camera and lens.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – Well here’s where thing get tough from an editing point of view. I got out at sunrise on this sensational day. The foliage is sensational in the morning light – so I’m posting three images for today.
Here’s a local farm stand. Taken with my Leica M9 and a 28mm summicron lens. Two frames stitched in PTgui.
Woods, take with my Leica M9 and a 90 mm elmarit lens:
More woods. Same camera and lens. Three frames stitched.
OL DONYO WUAS CAMP, CHYULU HILLS, KENYA – We spent the morning connecting with our charter aircraft and flying to the Chyulu Hills, where we stayed at Ol Donyo Wuas, the only camp that we are staying at with permanent structures (as opposed to tents). We did a game drive from the dirt airstrip to the camp, and cycled later in the afternoon. Game was fairly scarce – this area has suffered three years of drought.
Kilimanjaro from the air – to the south of us on the other side of the Tanzanian boarder.
Ol Donyo Wuas has built a watering hole fed by the camp’s “gray” water. It’s very popular. Here’s a giraffe getting a drink – the giraffe is vulnerable to predators when it drinks because it can’t give defensive in this position.
Ol Donyo Wuas met us un the bush with elaborate tea and cocktails after our ten mile ride on trail bikes.
Sunset. This happens quickly and doesn’t last vey long in the tropics. We’re almost on the equator so there is very little variation in sunrise (6:30 AM) and sunset (6;30 PM) throughout the year.
