Steel Wool

Need to work on this idea a little more, but wanted to post this tonight. I might need a different grade of steel wool...

8/1/2011

A different view and different light:

I softened the light using a homemade macro box, zoomed in a little closer, shot the steel wool from the end of the roll, and framed it a little with the black background.

Hazy Cloudy Night in the City

Haven't taken many night shots with long-ish (tripod required) exposures. This is just playing around last night. Normally from this view the NYC skyline is visible, including the Empire State Building, but the haze and clouds obscure the whole thing for a completely different effect. Eventually I'll take another shot on a clear night for comparison.

OK, here it is (7/30/2011):

Corner of 181st & Cabrini

I dug out my old 50/1.8 lens a few days ago, which I've hardly used since switching to digital camera. I'm liking it. On a digital camera the 50 "acts like" an 80mm on a regular film camera. I like the greater control over depth of field and I like the limits it places on me of having to find a way to shoot what I want with only one focal length to choose from - no zooming. Just generally speaking, it makes me slow down and think more about the picture.

Barbed Ivy

Along 181st Street.

With All Due Respect to Jose Gonzalez

My first post, and an explanation of the title.

 A reference to Jose Gonzalez's Cycling Trivialities::

    Who cares in a hundred years from now.

    All the small steps, all your shitty clouds.

    Who cares in a hundred years from now.

    Who'll remember all the players.

    Who'll remember all the clowns.

At first listen it seems a bit depressing but really it's about slowing down and enjoying the time we have - "stop & smell the roses" but without sappiness. He essentially turns on its head the common conception of important and trivial matters:

    Don't know which way to turn.

    Every trifle becoming big concerns.

    All this time you were chasing dreams,

    without knowing what you wanted them to mean.

    So how's it gonna be

    When it all comes down you're cycling trivialities

Fame, fortune, wealth, power, status - they mean nothing in the end. It's the moments we live and love and savor that matter. And that's what I want to photograph.