I wasn’t going to put this blog post up until after the deadline for submissions. Now that the deadline has come and passed, and everybody’s on the same level playing field … I can finally activate this post. Two years ago, the New York State Fair offered photographers a choice on how to submit entries…
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Empire State Plaza fireworks, 2013 Edition
How many times have I gone to the Empire State Plaza on Independence Day and taken fireworks photos? I’ve done it for several years. It predates my Times Union blog. Heck, I think it even predates my old blogspot.com blog. The plan is often this. I get to the Empire State Plaza as early as…
Read MoreWhat the Clack
Retirement. It’s not something I take lightly. But I can’t keep every camera I’ve ever acquired. So some of my gear goes into “retirement” – in other words, they become display pieces and enjoy a quite peaceful existence on a shelf. One of those cameras that received the proverbial “gold watch” was my old Agfa…
Read More“Hey, Miles Kelly, can I get ‘yer autograph?”
The New York State Fair has a specific policy regarding their photographs. If there is anybody in the picture that can be recognized – i.e., if there’s a face in the picture and he doesn’t look like a Dick Tracy villain – the photographer must acquire a signed release from that person before that photograph can…
Read More“Competition Season” begins… NOW!!!
With the selection of six digital images, which will be mailed on a compact disc to the organizers of the New York State Fair in a couple of weeks, I officially begin my 2013 photographic competition season. This year, I will submit entries in six different regional fairs and shows throughout the Northeast, including –…
Read MoreAnswering the challenge: sʇɟǝl ǝǝɹɥʇ ɥʇıʍ uɹnʇ ʇɥƃıɹ ɐ
Fellow photographer Bennett Campbell has taken a keen interest in my slitscan pictures, noting that the photos I’ve posted – harness races, baseball pitchers – have all been shot with action traveling from left to right. Here’s his comment: Interesting that [Tom] Dahlin’s photo faces left. As you’ve figured out by now when you crank…
Read MoreBye-bye CVS, hello Walgreens!
My love-hate affair with the one-hour photo studio at CVS has been well-documented in this blog. A few years ago, after one of their techs told me, “Oh yes, we can develop black and white film,” he proceeded to destroy a roll of efke film by washing it in C-41 chemicals. To CVS’ credit,…
Read MoreThe Slitscan project: learning from an expert
Okay, I can take slitscan pictures of horse races all day and night. My Nikon EM has been modified with a razor-thin focal plane, and my 50-300 manual-focus telephoto “Rachel” lens has brought me some swank slitscan productions. But I need to take this technology to the next level. And, in searching for new and…
Read MoreThe Lord of the f/1.2 Ring
In order for me to do my “most excellent star trails picture” this summer, I must use a lens that can open up as wide as possible, to gather all the stars in the sky. I’ve got a “nifty 50” lens (a 50mm f/1.8 pancake lens), and I’ve got a 50mm prime that can open…
Read MoreSix calls for the Olympic Bar
I don’t know when the Olympic Bar and Restaurant on 115 South Pearl Street shut down. Maybe it shut down 30 years ago, maybe 10 years ago. All I do know is that the only reference to the Olympic Bar that I could find in the Times Union’s archives involved a robbery that occurred there…
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Chuck The Writer 
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