Tag Archives: Kate
Film Photography: Abandoned Trolleys in Red Hook, Brooklyn
I woke up on Saturday excited to zip over to Red Hook and photograph the abandoned trolleys behind Fairway in Red Hook. It was cold and rainy when we woke up. I could tell that Kate wasn’t in the mood to brave the rain, but she could also tell how much I wanted to shoot the trolleys. We went to Red Hook, but had a great brunch at Home Made on the way to fortify our adventures. Stomachs full and bodies warmed by copious amount of coffee, we strolled down Van Brunt street. Kate ducked into Fairway and I went around the back to find the trains.
They are gorgeous vintage PCC trolleys and regardless of the whispered plans for future uses, I can’t imagine that they will ever see action beyond the occasional photo shoot.
PCC Trolleys from the front
The last in line
Inside the rear trolley
Inside, busted door
All images shot with Nikon FM2n and Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Ai lens on Kodak Tri-X 400 film developed in Kodak TMax developer for 6 minutes.
Film Photography: Snowstorm on Medium Format Film
So, NYC just had the snowiest January on record. I guess that explains why half my shots are of snow or people in the snow. During and after this latest storm, I took the Hasselblad out to capture the crippled city. All shots are with Haselblad 501cm and Kodak Tri-X 400 or Ilford Delta Pro 100 film developed in Kodak TMax developer for 6 and 7 minutes respectively.
And it begins again, shot on Wall Street
Daily News trucks still delivering
A city worker tries to keep the sidewalks clear on Pearl Street
The next day in Tribeca
Nothing stops the delivery bikes
We escape the snow in Barnes & Noble
Film Photography: Weekend Scenes (from Roll 7 of 2011)
Seems like we’ve had snow on the ground since the day after Christmas, but that hasn’t kept us from getting out and walking around like usual. Actually, I think the storefronts show just a bit more character in the snow anyway. All photographs are from the Nikon FM2n on Kodak Tri-X 400 film developed in Kodak TMax Developer for 6 minutes. This is the seventh roll of film shot for 2011.
Moishe’s Bake Shop, East Village, NYC
Block Drug Store, East Village, NYC
I’ve become a bit obsessed with photographing delivery bikes lately.
The heavy snow boots and plummeting temperatures do require you to make frequent stops to warm up. Wilfie and Nell in Greenwich Village was a perfect escape from the cold one day.
Of course, the longer the snow sticks around the nastier the streets and sidewalks get. And more trash seems to pile up… The corner of Water and Wall Street
Another stopping point, The Breslin Bar at the Ace Hotel. Kate was recharging her batteries.
We did spend some time at home, where I snapped off the last pictures of this roll.
Sonic Youth Daydream Nation Vinyl Box Set
Film Photography: Shooting Film in American Museum of National History
Last Sunday Kate and I visited the American Museum of Natural History way up on Central Park West. I took a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 knowing that the light would be bad, but also knowing I could push the film to 1600 ISO and still get usable shots. There were a lot of flashes going off, both of the DSLR variety and the cellphone cam variety. But not having flash made it kind of challenging to hunt the light.
These were all taken with the Nikon FM2n on Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 ISO and developed in Kodak TMax developer for 10 minutes.
The light here was perfect and I like that the grain isn’t too chunky at 1600.
At first I thought the people would ruin the shot, but I like the silhouette and the scale.
These guys are amazing.
Hunting pose
Curious
Mongoose vs. Cobra
Almost no lighting here, but the details are fine
These claws give me the creeps
Obligatory whale shot. Could have used a 35mm lens here instead of a 50mm.
And finally, my favorite animal…
Ice Skating at Bryant Park on Film
On Monday night, I met Kate at the Bryant Park Ice Rink* to soak up some holiday spirit. I took my Nikon D90 (digital) and Nikon FM2n (film) cameras. It’s a good thing I had both, because the D90 froze up and wouldn’t take pictures after about 20-30 minutes in the near freezing temps. I’ve been told since to “try to keep it warm, like in a warm bag, and that shouldn’t happen again.” Kind of a weird answer. It’s a camera. A tool. It should work when it’s 32 degrees out. Luckily, my trusty FM2n worked just fine in the cold. It’s all mechanical, so I’m not surprised. The D90 is basically a computer with a lens slapped on the front, barely a camera it seems…
The light was pretty tricky for metering. You have the bright white of the ice rink surface surrounded by the night and then up top a nice layer of lights from the looming skyscrapers ringing the park. Before it froze up, the D90 in Aperture Priority (I use this sometimes when Kate and I are together, so I don’t have to think as much and can pay more attention to her) gave me all kinds of underexposed and overexposed shots. I kept looking at the screen and thinking, “WTF?” I did switch to manual, but shortly after that the autofocus on the lens went and then the camera itself just stopped responding.
With the FM2n, I just metered for the scene and paid attention to what I wanted. Happily, none of the shots were too far off. Some of them were shaky because of the cold, but other than that I’m happy with how the film shots turned out. These are on Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 ISO and developed in Kodak D-76 for 9.5 minutes.
Walking up to the Bryant Park Ice Rink
The Empire State Building makes a nice backdrop for the skaters
The Bryant Park Fountain
Skater Girl Falling
Skaters and Tree, Abstract
And I had a couple of frames left on the roll, so I snapped off a close up of our tree. I probably won’t be blogging much until after Christmas. Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!
*We did not partake in the skating. After healing multiple bone injuries from overtraining in the Nyland-Hoke house, we were visibly cringing over all the skaters falling and hitting the ice.
Tribeca, Soho, East Village, and Harlem with the Nikon FM2n
More shots with the Nikon FM2n and Kodak Portra 400NC film.
J. crew Liquor Store Sign in Tribeca
Everything in One Stop Apparently, Tribeca
Graffiti at the Candy Factory in Soho
Crocheted Lock at the Candy Factory in Soho
Paste Up at Candy Factory, Soho
Crossword, Soho
Agent Provocateur Window, Soho
Mackage/Army of One Team Up, Soho
Kate Spade Holiday Windows, Soho
Kate trying to make the every weekend decision of what to get at Peels in the East Village/Noho/Bowery.
Does your hair stylist have karaoke? The Astor Place one does.
Trowel & Square Ballroom, Harlem
First Shots with Nikon FM2n 35mm Film Camera
I’ve shot two rolls of film with the Nikon FM2n that I purchased from some of the funds made selling the too hefty Voigtlander Nokton f1.1 lens. The first roll was a roll of Tri-X 400 that I quickly loaded on the way to a concert at the Highline Ballroom in Chelsea. I set the ISO to 1600 and then briefly wondered if testing out a new camera in a dark concert hall was the smartest thing. It wasn’t. Manual focusing with an SLR in a dark room is challenging. I used Brendan Benson’s nose (sorry, Dude) as the straight-ish line to align the split image circle in the center. Some of my images came out blurry and unfocused. But a few look great. I developed these in Kodak D-76 (stock solution) for 9.5 minutes.
Brendan Benson at the Highline Ballroom
Kate and I are both HUGE Brendan Benson fans. Check out her blog post from the show.
Next, I grabbed a roll of Kodak Portra 160 NC and loaded it on Sunday morning before we had brunch in the West Village. These were developed and scanned by my pal Jeff at Duane Reade. No post processing. These first two images I opened up the Nikon 50mm to its maximum aperture of f1.4 just to see how soft the lens is at 1.4. Looks good to me. There’s some softness, but the out of focus areas are pleasing.
Greenwich Village birdhouses right across from Morandi
This window for Greenwich Letterpress stopped us both in our tracks. The Kodak Portra film is very true to life, if not a bit dark in this shot. But the combination of the subject and the medium of film looks fantastic.
Kate’s Nails at Pete’s Tavern later the same day
I’m definitely liking this camera. There is a tactile pleasure you get from handling a solid (like a tank solid) SLR from the late 1970s/early 1980s that can’t be matched by modern plastic cameras. My Nikon D90 feels like a cheap toy by comparison. With this camera, I have another 35mm to join the Leica and Olympus OM-1. I can have three different films loaded into each one and just grab whichever one is most appropriate for my destination that day. That gives me ultimate flexibility.
The Clipper City Harbor Cruise
On Friday night, we walked up to Pier 17 at South Street Seaport and boarded the Clipper City tall ship for a harbor cruise. We picked the twilight cruise and were not disappointed with the sunset.
Sails up on the Clipper City
Smaller boat behind us sailing towards Manhattan.
Kate soaking up the sun and salty air
Sail boat eclipsing the setting sun
This is the closest I’ve ever been to the Statue of Liberty
Heading back to Manhattan at twilight
Saturday Noon in Greenwich Village
While Kate treated herself to a pedicure/manicure on Saturday, I snapped some shots in Greenwich Village while on my way to the Blind Tiger. These shots are from the Olympus OM-1 and developed in Rodinal. Side note: you can see some cloudiness in the shots caused by me having Kate slide a pair of scissors into the darkroom bag between the bag and my arm. I didn’t think that would make a difference, but it did.
Very patient dog on corner of Sixth and Bleeker carrying his owner’s baguette. You can tell that I had some spooling issues with the Fuji film. This pic was pretty scratched up pretty badly.
Kate at new pizza joint Olio. I knew the light was going to be really harsh, but am surprised how well the Olympus handled the amount and intensity of the light. I think I shot this at full aperture – f1.8.
This guy was awesome. When I walked by he was like, “Hey Mr. Photographer, you gonna take my picture?” He would not take no for an answer and even acted out the words to the sign above him while I snapped a couple of pics. He was disappointed that he couldn’t see the shots immediately on the back of the camera.
I’ve always loved the facade of this barber shop; look at that awesome sign! If you look closely you can see my mug in the mirror.
Vacation Continued
Lots of gorgeous sail boats out today on the Miles River, St. Michaels, Maryland
Little bit closer to the action, St. Michaels, Maryland
Driftwood in the rocks at f1.4. St. Michaels, Maryland
Adirondack chairs on dock, St. Michaels, Maryland
Kate’s sparkling wine, St. Michaels, Maryland
