Twin Lamps

For an old lens, I think it performs amiably, only if I can hold the lens steady and focus where I want to focus.

New York Public Library, Again

At Bryant Park

Angel

Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 28mm f/2 AIS @f/2.8, 1/80s, ISO200

I found it very difficult to shoot this close hand-held.  The depth of field is very shallow, more often than not, the focus falls at the back.  I have the face recognition on in live view and it does work with MF lens but unfortunately it doesn't recognize the face correctly resulting in wrong focusing feedback.  No post sharpening applied.  Image scaled to 1920 wide.

Horsey at Bryant Park

Shot with a Nikkor 28mm f/2.  When the subject is in focus.  The picture is sharp.  Problem is there are zillion focus points and I guess not all of them are reliable all the time.  I feel like sometimes when the green dot is on but in reality it's not where it's focus.  But this is just me, not at all scientific.  This is done with USM, Radius 5, Amount 0.5, Threshold 0.  In live view you can really get things in focus.  But then you can't shoot everything in live view.

Horsey

Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8

Nikon D70, handheld shot at close range.  No tripod for any 1:2 micro shots.  They kind of underexposed maybe a bit, but I don't like whiteout.

Micro-Nikkor 55mm

I am not shooting any micro with the lens.  But the color and contrast are pretty nice.  At least I don't find it any better or inferior to my liking.

Details:  Nikon D70, manual focus and exposure.  A larger viewfinder and LCD definitely help in this situation.  Metering with non-CPU lens help too, but I suspect in the end, it's going to be my own judgment.  But I get by so far.  I like my D70.

Bryant Park, NYC

Shooting wide open at f/2.  When the subject is close and the aperture is wide open, and the focus point is not center, I find it a bit hard to acquire correct focusing through the tiny viewfinder with only the aid of the green focusing LED to indicate correct focusing.  The focus point defaults to the center one whenever I mount a AI or AIS lens and I have to make an effort to switch to one of the other four.  The merit of auto focusing or a bigger better viewfinder and focusing screen can't be exaggerated.

Rolled Up Jeans

Bryant Park

I guess I can live without auto-focus.  Since I don't and can't use any auto exposure by the camera, the unchanged f-stop and shutter speed combination across frames guarantee consistent exposure and look.

(note:  I correct myself, this is more a cuffed than a rolled-up)

 

All Asses Were Not Created Equal

Happy Horsey

Bryant Park, New York City.

Taking boring picture since 1974.

I am Beautiful

Shot using an ancient Nikon D70 and an even ancient-er Nikkor-N Auto 28mm 1:2.

Ubuntu 10.04 and Epson V500 Photo

The above award winning beautifully taken picture is originally in Kodak positive.  It was scanned by scan master me and myself using sucky Epson 500 Photo and Image Scan! for Linux running on Ubuntu 10.04.  Auto color "corrected" in GIMP.  The Kodak slide is of unknown expiration date.

Shot in Bryant Park, NYC.

Ubuntu 10.04 has been pretty stable.  My wireless configuration is still funky and finicky.  But for the most part it works though there is no way to know to get it work consistently, but as long as it works I am not going to touch it.  Switching between users still hit and miss.  Searching and installing new software doesn't seem to be as good as before.

Anyway.

I was able to hook up my Epson V500 god awful scanner.  It wasn't exactly plug and play.  But it isn't too hard either.  If I can do it, you can too.

Go to Epson website or simply Google it, search for Epson V500 Photo and go to support
Go to download driver.
You will be prompted to go to outside Epson, that's go to avasys for the files.  You need to pick your scanner and platform.
Here's how to get Image Scan! for Linux to work:-
Download the deb data, core and plug-in packages, at present 32bit versions are called iscan-data_1.0.1-1_all.deb, iscan_2.25.0-l.ltdl7_i386.deb, iscan-plugin-gt-x770_2.1.1-2_i386.deb.  Install them in that order by simply double-clicking them.  Wow, don't even need to do command line.  I know you're going to miss that.
For me I need a reboot for it to recognize the scanner.  Image Scan! for Linux is pretty straight forward and has a clean interface that I like.  For the kind of scan I do, the simpler the better.  Download the Image Scan! for Linux pdf guide userg_revL_e.pdf for more details.

update 9/25/2010
The 64 bit install works just as well.

Midtown Oasis

Carousel

5 Av-Bryant Park

This is where the fashionistas and victims alike congregate twice every year.  Not on the subway platform but above on the park.  I think I have read somewhere that the venue might be changed to Lincoln Center going forward.  I do think all along there are several additional venues in addition to Bryant Park for every fashion week.  I am not sure if I am spreading rumor or the truth.  I think the ice skating rink sponsored by Citi just opened.  So I can do my yearly skating from now on for a few months.

(I can't take any credit for the scanning but I think it looks really good)

Bryant Park

A Day In The City

New York Fashion Week Feb 2-9

Fashion Week is underway. I should check out Bryant Park more often if not because of the shivering cold (and the job that actually pays me and keeping me busy even during lunch hour). I saw them building out the space about a couple of weeks ago, I was just thinking how come The Pond was gone and in its place some auto show from Mercedes? I didn't know Mercedes took the place of Olympus to be the Fashion Week sponsor.

Talking about fashion (do I need a reason to justify what I write? It's my own god damn online diary, I write whatever I so please bottomline), I read from the WSJ paper edition that designers of mens fashion are actually turning to more average looking models to sell their clothes. Buff, metrosexual, and waif looking guys are shown the door. It's the average looking dude that get the job these days. Since it appears on the Journal, so it must have a business angle. The rationale of using average looking guy is men, as opposed to women, are actually doing the shopping these days.

Here is an excerpts from the Wall Street Journal article "You should Be So 'Average'" by Ray A. Smith on Friday, February 2, 2007.

Last year, 75% of the men bought their own clothes, compared with 52% in 1995, according to Marshal Cohen ... At middle-of-the-road J.C. Penney, men now make 70% of the purchases of men's clothes, a reversal from about five years ago when women made 70% of the purchases.
That means nowadays the model can make or break a buying decision for male shoppers.

And one of those average looking guy is called Terron Wood, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound model who appears for Dolce & Gabbana. Apparently the fashion industry has a very very different definition of average from you and me.

Official Fashion Week site here.
No picture man, I am not a paid subscriber of the WSJ, so no picture here. If you want to see what Mr Wood looks like, do a search and find out what the fashion world means by average or regular....Well we all need the fashion industry to remind us how ugly we all are.