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This blog is intended to showcase my pictures or those of other photographers who have moved beyond the pretty picture and for whom photography is more than entertainment - photography that aims at being true, not at being beautiful because what is true is most often beautiful..

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Entries in man and nature (234)

Wednesday
Aug042010

civilized ku # 607 ~ too hot to handle

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Counter debri • click to embiggen
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Counter debri processing steps • click to embiggen
As is always the case, it's too hot for me too handle here in South Jersey. That said, the phrase "too hot" in entry title above refers not to the weather but the color red on the twist tie in the accompanying picture.

A few days ago, The Cinemascapist and I were conversing about the fact that he was unable to obtain, neither in RAW conversion nor in PS processing, the orange-ish red of the after-storm clouds he had pictured. The discussion centered around the fact that neither color film nor digital sensors can capture anywhere near the full color spectrum that the human eye can see.

In a best case scenario, one might be able to come close to obtaining it by judicious after-picturing processing, that is, as long as it can be displayed on your color monitor - which, itself, can not display the the full human-eye spectrum.

Now, I mention this because, on my way to South Jersey, I spent 2 days and a night in NYC which included a trip to the candy store, AKA - B&H Photo. I needed to order some printing supplies and begin looking for a new monitor since mine - a 8-9 year old Apple Cinema display - is starting to show on-screen visible signs of giving up the ghost.

Naturally, I inquired about a replacement Apple Cinema display, whereupon I was informed that I had been using a piece-of-shit display for the past 8-9 years. Damn, I wish I had known that because, all the while that I was processing and printing really nice pictures, I never knew that the Apple display was a piece of junk.

This got me to thinking - if my display was a piece of shit, what's my printer - an Epson PRO 7800? After all, it's 1 0r 1.5 generations removed from the newest, best-est, and brightest Espon 7900?

To be absolutely certain, a new Lacie 324 will undoubtedly be able to display more and better color, contrast, and tonality than my current Apple Cinema display - just as the salesman pointed out. However, even given a new Epson 7900, I would not be able to print all of the colors nor the contrast that I can see on a Lacie 324 (most likely my choice for a replacement)- just as the salesman DID NOT point out.

Thanks to my decades of experience, I was able to jam-up the salesman on a number of his points. For example, he was quick to point out that one of the "problems" with the Apple Cinema display was the fact that it is way too saturated a display for critical color work, which, as I pointed out, was why I turned on the PhotoShop desaturate-display-20% preference option. I could have done a major jam-up on the guy on many of his points, but I was in a kindly and generous mood so I let him prattle on, gearhead-style, for as long as I could stand it and then I moved on.

FYI, the 3 pictures above illustrate - from RAW conversion to first-step PS correction to final image - how the sensor in my camera and the proper WB RAW conversion of images made thereupon results in reds (and yellows) that are a bit too red and/or too yellow - depending upon, amongst other things, subject matter and light conditions.

BTW, one of the great things about making a still life picture like the one above is that I can make the picture, run to my computer, process the image, and then go back to the still life scene and check for color variances.

You should try it some time. The results might surprise you.

Wednesday
Dec302009

civilized ku # 312-314 ~ baby, it's very cold outside

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Olympic Speedskating Oval ~ Lake Placid, NY • click to embiggen
It appears the the EP-1 works quite nicely at -5F.

Tuesday
Dec222009

man & nature # 289 ~ here today, gone tomorrow (delayed)

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Crown Point Bridge ~ Lake Champlain • click to embiggen
Within a few seconds of my starting to make this entry, an anonymous comment was posted by "photo assignments from afar" on civilized ku # 300 that suggested there was a nearby photo op of a bridge that "looks to have a lot of character." Along with the suggestion was a link to a piece in our local newspaper that reported the bridge demolition that was scheduled for tomorrow has been rescheduled for next Monday.

I was seriously considering picturing the event but had ruled it out because I have too much last minute Xmas stuff to attend to. A Monday explosion makes it a much more doable deal.

Tuesday
Dec012009

man & nature # 285-88 ~ another Saturday, November 14th triptych

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Remnants of old NYS Rt. 28 ~ near McKever, NY • click to embiggen
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Remnants of old NYS Rt. 28 ~ near McKever, NY • click to embiggen
During the autumn after the leaves are on the ground, remnants of the old NYS Rt. 28 become visible in places along the new Rt. 28. The new Rt. 28 isn't all that "new" - the old Rt. 28 was replaced by the new road in the 70s.

In most places the old Rt. 26 is well along the road to reverting back to nature but in other places it is still in use, albeit in a dirt road reincarnation. That's because the old road goes to places that the new one doesn't. In a very few instances and in very short stretches, the old road is still maintained as a paved road in order to service some permanent residences that were previously on the "main" (old Rt.28) highway.

In seasons when most autumn glimpses of the road are obscured by leaves or snow, one can still signs of the road in the ever-present remnants of the old telephone / electric poles that are still standing along the old route as evidenced in the above picture. In that picture you can notice both the really old poles on the left side of the road and their "newer" replacements on the right. Both are long out of use.

The old Rt. 28 was the road that I traveled on in the back seat of my parent's car on our way to our annual Adirondack summer vacation. As I travel the new Rt. 28 - which is often as it a big part the one and only highway that traverses the Adirondacks - the occasional glimpses of the old Rt. 28 that are on view during any season, always trigger a flood of memories of time spent on the old Rt. 28.

Monday
Nov302009

civilized ku # 281-84 ~ NYC's finest

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Hugo ~ Central Park Zoo, NYC • click to embiggen
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East > west ~ Central Park, NYC • click to embiggen
I am definitely not one who enjoys big crowds - 3,500,000 people is a big crowd - so my notion of taking Hugo to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was potentially fraught with peril or, at least, frustration and aggravation. However, sometimes plunging ahead despite one's misgivings works out just fine.

By entering NYC (via the GW bridge) and proceeding down the FDR on the eastside, we were able to make it to E65th without a single momentary delay. Once there, it was into a parking garage, a walk straight across 65th to Central Park West and, voila, there we were - right on the parade route albeit behind a 7' granite block wall that runs along the park boundary and the Central Park West sidewalk. All other normal access to the sidewalk was cordoned off.

Just for the hell of it, I hoisted Hugo up onto the top of the wall so he could see what was what (the parade had not yet begun). In addition to what must have seemed like a zillion people, Hugo was face to face with a (as it turned out) kindly Puerto Rican gentleman, who, peering over the edge, offered to help hoist me up and over the wall.

So, after soothing Hugo's where's-grandpa-I'll-never-see-my-family-and-friends-again anxiety attack, a failed attempt was made to get my ass up there. Within a few seconds, another person approached me from behind and as he lifted and the other person pulled and I squirmed and wiggled as much as anyone can under such conditions, I got my upper torso on top of the wall where I managed to land ribs-first on my camera bag's belt buckle - ouch.

That said, after giving up the body for the kid, there we were with a great ringside seat - well, not exactly a seat ... the Puerto Rican gentleman and his family had snagged a sidewalk bench to stand on and there was just enough space on it, which they invited us to share, for me and Hugo.

After seeing most of what there was to see, parade-wise, Hugo decided it was time to leave. After trying to get back into the park via a "normal" route - did I mentioned that all entrances were cordoned off? - it became apparent that the over-the-wall procedure would have to be undertaken once again. No way was I going over the 7' section so we were able to find a a lower section where, once again, I handed Hugo over it to a kindly black woman and over I went unassisted.

Now here the interesting thing about all of this - both over-the-wall events required that I hand my Olympus E-3 (with battery grip), not to mention the kid, to a bystander while I squirmed, wiggled, and otherwise embarrassed myself in getting over the wall.

Call me a fool, but I didn't hesitate for a moment in handing over either the camera or the kid to complete strangers. And guess what, smiles and thanks from all the participants was the order of the day. It really was a nice feeling to experience that in what many might consider to be a rather uptight situation.

Once over the wall, we walked back across the park to the parking garage where we paid our $60 parking fee to a ultra-friendly Russian attendant - when Hugo handed him the ticket, he would only deal with him when it came to payment - and left the city after a great friendly multi-cultural experience that we will remember for years to come.

Wednesday
Nov252009

man & nature # 284 ~ along the trail # 2

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Steps to the stream ~ Taughannock Falls State Park • click to embiggen

Monday
Nov232009

man & nature # 283 ~ words to picture (and live) by

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An Adirondack backyard ~ Jay, NY • click to embiggen

Do not be caught by the sensational in nature, as a coarse red-faced sunset, a garrulous waterfall, or a fifteen thousand foot mountain... avoid prettiness - the word looks much like pettiness - and there is but little difference between them. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday
Nov232009

man & nature # 277-82 ~ morning fog

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morning fog # 1 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
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morning fog # 2 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
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morning fog # 3 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
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morning fog # 4 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
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morning fog # 5 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
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morning fog # 6 ~ Au Sable Forks, NY • click to embiggen
It was quite foggy this morning.