NEW YORK NEW YORK – A new camera. I’m shooting today with a new Leica, the Leica M, which is the successor to the M9. It’s one of the few in the country at this point. (I sold my M9 a few months back in anticipation of this.) The changes from the M9 are incremental but important. The shutter release is smoother and quieter – very similar to the Leica M3 which set the standard for smooth and discrete. It has better high ISO performance and is weather sealed. It’s a joy to shoot with.
I found my self in Foley Square this afternoon to attend the investiture of a former partner, Lorna Schofield, as a Federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York. A moving ceremony, but I couldn’t photograph it because cameras are not permitted in the courthouse. Outside, in the rain, I found this behind the New York Supreme Court building at 60 Center Street: a statue (evidently of justice) carrying a shield emblazoned with the seal of the State of New York. It’s an odd figure. Her face and posture signal defeat and depression. This is probably why she’s been placed on a little-used walkway behind the courthouse.
On this day last year: Mottled light in early Spring. This is an image from Central Park which was in full bloom on March 27 of last year. This suggests that Spring is more than a little bit late this year – it was cold today and there’s not a sign of a bloom anywhere.