The weather’s going to get warmer. I’m already loading my cameras with film. And I’m off to make those journeys. There are moments in my life where, when I take a picture of an object or a skyline or a horizon or an anything, I imagine a tranquility in my life. It’s something I’ve felt…
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三つの雪 (Mittsu no yuki)
Okay, it’s official. Snowflake photography season is over. A few weeks ago, I asked you, my beloved blog readers, to help me select which of my snowflake photos was worthy enough for entry into Competition Season 2019. The majority of you selected a photo with five snowflakes on a T-shirt, one of my earliest attempts…
Read MoreCall for Art: San Francisco Bay Month of Photography 2019 gallery event
When I received the e-mail the other day, I was confused. Mostly because I thought this was a biannual competition. But lo and behold … it’s back. And with it … another personal attempt to earn a spot in a prestigious international competition. The 2019 San Francisco Bay Month of Photography Exhibition, which runs through…
Read MoreThe lost ghost sign on State Street and Erie Boulevard
Last night, before I went to sleep, I took one of my old photographs and tweaked it for more detail and shine and impact. It was a photo of the Nichlaus Building on State Street in Schenectady – the building that, when the neighboring Olender Mattress structure was demolished, revealed a nearly pristine ghost sign…
Read MoreHave I run out of snowflake time?
I’ve kept tabs on the weather report oflate. On one glance, it’s telling me I have at least one more snow day, the next glance I’m seeing rain and sunshine and warmer temperatures. For all intents and purposes, I may have one snowflake day left … or I may have NO snowflake days left. Urgh.…
Read MoreWait, you can “focus stack” snowflakes? Quel surprise!
Sunday morning. Snow flurries. Perfect. Time to go outside and play. Nikon Df at the ready, the Mitakon Zhongyi 20mm f/2 4.5X super-macro on the chassis. Here’s been my problem. I can get some amazingly tight photos of snowflakes and all their beauty … but if I don’t have the camera in perfect alignment with…
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Returning to the Nimslo
A few years ago, I purchased a four-lensed 35mm toy film camera. The Nimslo was originally built so that the average photographer could capture four images simultaneously, then that film would be sent to a special lab to produce a three-dimensional “magic motion” print. Although Nimslo’s lab went away, the camera is still a fully…
Read MoreThe Snowflake hunt – “King of the Snowbank” time
Sunday night. Just as the sun drops below the horizon, the snowflakes fall again. Super. If those snowflakes keep falling in the morning, I’ll get some swank snowflakes for my photos. Monday morning. I look outside. There’s snow on the ground … but no snowflakes in the air. Damn it. I checked the Weather Channel…
Read MoreThe Snowflake Ballerina
The closer you get to a goal, the farther the goal appears in the horizon. I get it – that’s a very paradoxical statement. But it describes my current journey of capturing snowflakes in a photograph. Case in point. Yesterday afternoon, the snows came down upon the earth. This is what I want. The minute…
Read MoreThe “unfortunately” letter
I’ve learned through the years to accept failure. I don’t have to like it, I don’t have to celebrate it, but I do have to acknowledge it. Failure can mean anything from my photos not getting accepted into a show, to missing out on a trivia competition, to drawing four kings in poker and losing…
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