If anyone knows what this structure was used for -- let me know. It was taken in Greenpoint Brooklyn around 1995 (Mamiya 6).
(I think it has something to do with lifting trains from the nearby track - but I could be all wrong about that.)
1993 is an estimate, but it was around that time since it was shot with a 4 x 5 view camera. You can imagine that the detail is pretty amazing.
To the left of the Pier 17 sign, are two white specks which are:
As I write this - I wonder if anyone will even know, say a decade from now, what a large format camera was. Whether anyone will care. By then the handheld point and shoot will probably give a 40 mp file.
As the baseball season winds down in the freezing rain, I think back to the beginning of the season when I made my own baseball comeback. This was the season that I forced myself to enjoy baseball again. I listened to sports radio where the Mets and Yankees were discussed endlessly. My mind was filled with the gnashing and meandering of sports fans. And more than anything, the prognostications of sports pundits.
How sure they all were about the outcomes for each team and each player. How wrong they were.
And then I made the connection to the political pundits. Here they were again. Telling us what was going to happen and how wrong they were.
I'm not talking about just the pea-brained, cable-news pundits. I'm talking about the big guys with their best-selling books. Wrong. All wrong. Well-intentioned (I like to give the benefit of the doubt when I can) but wrong.
All wrong. From the beginning.
The press was wrong because it was so excited about going off to war.
The intellectuals were wrong because... well that's not why I'm here. They were just wrong. But it's one thing to go on air or in the paper and say the Yankees will win it in 4 games; and it's another thing to say that Iraq will be the beginning of a democratic wave.
But for now - I can only suggest that we have an overarching need to know what is going to happen next. And this need for soothsayers is as old as delphi, maybe older. And I'm not against knowing what will happen next, but I would like to propose some sort of regulations. If you are going to prognosticate for a living, then you should be made to wear an electronic sign which shows your current won/loss percentage.
It's sort of like the eBay customer satisfaction rating.
I wouldn't take it too far. Politicians would be forced to wear the soothsayer rating label, but only while they're running for office. Once elected the electronic label will have to be removed for the good of the country.
Like they always say when we fail at something - if we can put a man on the moon - why not soothsayer badges?
Or as some have said before, badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges.
As you can see - only the best hotels were good enough for me when I frequented Atlantic City. Or to put it another way, those buildings in the background are on the boardwalk.
[Rick and Renault discussing Victor Laszlo's chances of escaping Casablanca]
Captain Renault: This is the end of the chase.
Rick: Twenty thousand francs says it isn't.
Captain Renault:Is that a serious offer?
Rick: I just paid out twenty. I'd like to get it back.
Captain Renault: Make it ten. I'm only a poor corrupt official.
Brought the M3 in to Panorama Camera Center to see what it was going to cost to fix the problem with the shutter (at slow shutter speeds). The repair guy looked it over and said the camera would need "a complete overhaul," and I believe him. Cost $240. Will be ready in a few weeks. Nice place. Felt comfortable there.
In the meantime, I've gone back to using the Bessa R2A. The main problem I have with that camera is that a) shutter is loud, not as loud as an SLR, but louder than a Leica and b) the viewfinder doesn't automatically switch frame lines when you put a lens in; and in fact, several times, the small lever at the top has moved without my knowing it and I've found myself shooting with the 50mm lens, while the framelines were set to 35mm. That just happened to me again. I'm going to just tape the lever down to 50mm marking since that's the only lens I've been using with the camera.
On the other hand - I'm sure you've got a more accurate and faster shutter in the Bessa, and you also get M7 features like Aperature Priority and even a button on the back to lock exposure while you press said button.
I guess I've come to the conclusion after lots of playing around, and lots of pixel peeping, that this stuff called film is still a better way to go for b&w. Definitely better results than with the p/s digicam. For color - I'd still have to recommend an dSLR with good lenses. In short, what I'm saying is that the lens and image quality of the A640 type of camera is only so - so when you compare it with a good lens. The resolution with the A6xx Canon line just can't be compared with resolution with a good lens and film. Oh well.
* * *
Okay - here's the example. No processing other than resampling bicubic to 72 ppi.
Camera on tripod. Manual focus lock on building. Self-timer. Focal length: 7.3mm. Large / Superfine JPG. Neutral color setting. 1/60th of a second. F/8.0. ASA 80.
100% crops.
As I say - no post-processing. I can clean up noise. I can apply some sharpening. But what I can tell you is that this is not from a dSLR with a good-sized chip and a good prime lens.
Yikes. Now it gets scary. If I have to listen to one more pundit say: good pitching beats good hitting - one more time. But - ya gotta believe. Why ya gotta believe, I dunno - but ya just gotta. Oy vey. It's true - the Mets have been gettin' by without starting pitching - but they're just gonna have to do it again - two nights in a row.
Whatever happens - it's been a great season. But I sure would like it to go on for a few more games. I can't get into football. I'm going to have to find some other sport to follow in the baseball off-season. Maybe badminton. I wonder why badminton never really caught on in the states. If you play it right - as we used to do in the Bronx - it can be very exciting. One rule we had was that if you hit the other guy in the face with the shuttlecock - you got extra points. And throwing the racket was also allowed.
Anyway - I will continue to believe - until it's over one way or another.
