Many thanks to Barrett for his generous supply of door-prizes.
I was cocky and wanted to show off my Mamya 6 with 50/4.0 in remarkable condition. I make fun of myself by saying that my new "M6" is named "Junior." I strutted around like a peacock, then Cristian goes to his apartment a block away for some gear to share and comes back with a 6X9 Linhoff.
Christain says that this is his small Linhoff and modestly states he also has a 4X5 Linhoff. Instantly I becamed outgunned, but also I state that perhaps the rangefinder on the battleship New Jersey is bigger. Hard to imagine a 4X5 Linhoff. The 6X9 Linhoff was not only an interesting severe display of savage German engineering, boy was it heavy. Also view camera movements were available. "How come my Leica can't do this I say."
Talk about extreame and over the top. Good to know that there are others in the group that are extreame and now I don't feel so crazy. In a word:BRUTAL. Cristian won the cool gear prize.
Jan,
The Berenice Abbott display was not overhyped. As number 6 out of an edition of sixty, the twenty-four prints were shot with an 8X10 view camera and technically they are superb, but as a group of shots they are so unified that I made it a point to mix up the order of viewing because the whole display did not have to be processed in a linear manner.
It seems that this edition was assembled from her best work that dealt with the thyme of "A Changing New York." Like today there are dirty streets and bordered up buildings that indicate economic downturn and decay, but this is balanced with a crowded street arial veiw of what I believe is Herald Square.
There is also an element of street photography. A man just happens to be coming up the steps to exit a barber shop at the decisive moment. How many times does this happen with a large format view camera?
Over the past twelve years I have been viewing these 24 photographs and they remain both interesting and fresh; and they still inspire me. I also brought a book published by Aperature that is part of their "Master Series" that I found under the 59th Street Bridge, but IMHO the 24 photographs do a better job of establishing her as a master and great photographer. All she need was two dozen shots.
Cal