New York August NYC Meet-Up

[rob.nyc1]

Sorry. That is not the intent.

The NYC Meet-Up thread has been ongoing for over 9 years. Many people have been involved over the years and an insider familiarity has developed.

Some of the "chatter" is about NYC events and likely is of no interest to many.

Some of my "rants" is whining about NYC policy like ""Vision Zero" which I call "Zero Vision" because it has the unintended result of killing more pedestrians rather than kill less pedestrians. The numbers don't lie. Also Zero Vision has created more smog and congestion.

I can understand why some might not be interested in local public policy.

I share some of my life of having a gal who became a celeb and is a famous digital Influencer/fashion blogger because it is not as it seems, although sometimes photography related.

You have to know some history: Damaso Reyes started the NYC Meet-Up about a decade ago, and after the first few Meet-Ups he left NYC for Barcelona. Somehow unwillingly I was handed the resposibility; and because I promote myself as a "lazy slacker" that I kinda groomed a herd of lazy slackers.

As a result this kinda promotes me to go off topic and be colorful. So even though not many post, many lurk, and some guests that likely never will come to NYC sometimes post and respond to my somewhat off comments.

So anyways that is the culture. Just know that we have regular monthly Meet-Ups and pretty much it is like a support group.

For mucho confusion look at the January or February Meet-Up's where we have our annual Camera Beauty Contest, Pagent, Convention, Circus, Olympics... Pretty much it is a camera parade of sorts with prizes, gifts, and a culture of where we make fun of ourselves and the culture we developed.

So my excuse is that I'm kind of the host, but also the M.C.

Cal

Haha ok great thank you for the context. Your posts give color to the community, I'm glad NYC's keeping it interesting.

as a side note, the calzone is the greatest pizza shop offering I never order. when it comes down to it, a slice wins out every time. there's too much unknown in a calzone and I don't take many risks when it comes to food.

L&B is king. I haven't been to Totonno's, but some family members swear by it.

 

[MrBern]

BTW, I Ebayed an M3. The serial number indicates a production date of July1964. Which was a casual goal of mine.
It has two issues. The simple is 90% of the vulcanite has flaked off, & a social security number scratched into the top plate. Which is my excuse to eventually have it stripped & painted.

The more unfortunate issue is the viewfinder is blacked out. So it will either go to Sherry or Youxin to have the prisms re-cemented.


Im hoping it will clean up easily enuff to make it my new blackpaint shooter.
-B

 

[Calzone]

BTW, I Ebayed an M3. The serial number indicates a production date of July1964. Which was a casual goal of mine.
It has two issues. The simple is 90% of the vulcanite has flaked off, & a social security number scratched into the top plate. Which is my excuse to eventually have it stripped & painted.

The more unfortunate issue is the viewfinder is blacked out. So it will either go to Sherry or Youxin to have the prisms re-cemented.


Im hoping it will clean up easily enuff to make it my new blackpaint shooter.
-B

Bernard,

I have a repainted M4 that was done in Hammertone nicely. Some chipping and slight brassing, but the Vulcanite has that smell of decay. One day it will begin flaking, perhaps soon. LOL.

I miss the M3-DS I secured from Adorama. It had a fresh "L" seal because it was serviced by Leica Germany. Leica resilvered the prism.

So I purchased the camera, traded it towards some Bruce Davidson vintage prints with an art dealer; got the camera back as part of a loan sharking deal; and then sold it to my friend Brian.

Problem is that I have a 50 Rigid V1 that loves a M3. Oh-well, I still have a very cool M4 Hammertone.

BTW Landrew and I will be sharing negatives. Of interest are our experiments with P30, Panchro 400, and Kodak 5222. Should be interesting for film nerds.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Haha ok great thank you for the context. Your posts give color to the community, I'm glad NYC's keeping it interesting.

as a side note, the calzone is the greatest pizza shop offering I never order. when it comes down to it, a slice wins out every time. there's too much unknown in a calzone and I don't take many risks when it comes to food.

L&B is king. I haven't been to Totonno's, but some family members swear by it.

I,

BTW know that here on the forum "Calzone" is a bit of a persona. I kinda come across as a tough guy from Brooklyn, but in real life I'm a 5'9" 155 pound skinny Asian who is a "drama queen," meaning I exaggerate for dramatic effect and entertainment value.

When people from RFF from out of town meet me for the first time their response is, "You are Calzone?" LOL.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Don't forget to register for PhotoPlusExpo while it is still for free.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Looks like "Maggie" will also be going to London for it's Fashion Week this year.

Next Thursday we will be going to a preserve in Westchester to do a photo shoot. "Mike the Skinny Hipster" will be the shooter. I'll bring cameras, and one of Maggie's brothers will be with us as well as her sister.

Pretty much we will be on an old estate that was donated to the county to shoot a product.

Know that Maggie has been paying Mike his day rate to do a lot of work. This I don't mind because it frees me up. I'm not a studio guy, I have no interest in video, and pretty much I don't mind not slaving (meaning working for free). Pretty much I enjoy my freedom.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Leica came out with new 3.2 version firmwear update for my CL (first my CL then Maggie's, and now mine again).

I should have this installed this weekend. Suppose to have some manual focus advances.

I'll likely be bringing the CL along with the SL with the Noct-Nikkor and 28 Cron to the Meet-Up.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

It was reported that yesterday that in Paris the temperature was 109 degrees F.

But today in the Tour de France they halted the race due to hail, ice and snow in the stage that involves climbing almost 10K feet. It was deemed rider safety was the reason.

This passed the yellow jersey (leader) to a Columbian, and displaced a Frenchman who was the leader for the past two weeks. Pretty much this was an upset of sorts.

So basically winter conditions canned part of this climbing stage. The next part is the ride into Paris. The Columbian leader looks good for the win, and might be the first Columbian to ever win the Tour de France.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Looks like Woodstock for the 50th anniversary will likely get canned. Jay Z just dropped out. John Fogerty already has dropped out.

The original venue at Watkins Glenn did not pan out and the replacement location is at a non New York location that can't handle that big a crowd. Expect more bands to can the event.

25 years ago in 1994 was the 25th anniversary. About 167K tickets were sold, but like the original Woodstock the crowd exceeded that, and they estimated 500K people attended the two day event.

My friend "Iron Mike" went to what was known as Woodstock 2, and I asked him to get me a T-shirt. The 50th anniversary was suppose to be held in the middle of August.

So I'll dig up this retro/historical shirt. I'll even wear my hair down to reveal that I'm really just a leftover hippy. The T-shirt is a tie-die.

My friend "Weasal" I would later learn designed the T-shirt I own. He told me that only about 650 were ever made, so it is somewhat rare. You should know that Weasal (real name Greg) formally was a roadie for Foghat and BTO.

So basically I'll be model for a photo opportunity. As they say, "Artist by definition are exhibitionists." LOL. BTW I kinda resemble the Carlos Santana from 1969. Carlos Santana was only 13 years old when he played at Woodstock, so he is really only two years older than me.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I was riding my bike to summer school one morning in 1994 and got a flat. This was on the last longest contiguous strip of Rt. 66 left in the nation. A bunch of kids in a weed hotboxed van straight out of 1969 pulled up and asked me if I needed a ride. I said thanks and asked where they were headed, they said Woodstock. Fixed my flat, rode to school, graduated, community college, Navy, Temple University, photojournalism, graduate school, here I am.
Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

I was riding my bike to summer school one morning in 1994 and got a flat. This was on the last longest contiguous strip of Rt. 66 left in the nation. A bunch of kids in a weed hotboxed van straight out of 1969 pulled up and asked me if I needed a ride. I said thanks and asked where they were headed, they said Woodstock. Fixed my flat, rode to school, graduated, community college, Navy, Temple University, photojournalism, graduate school, here I am.
Phil Forrest

Phil,

You are part of history.

I think you kind of captured an era in very few words.

I presume the part of Route 66 that you speak of is in New Mexico.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I remember when I lived in New Mexico that if I stopped along the side of a road that any car that came my way stopped to see if I was alright before they went on their way.

This was the way it was on Highway 4 in the Jemez Mountains.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Today I rigged my CL with a 58/1.2 Noct-Nikkor to effectively create an 87/1.2. This legendary lens has low coma glass, has a hand ground APSP element, and I'm able to utilize the Noctilux F1.2 lens profile.

I'm heading to the Leica Store to get the firmwear updated. It is reported that there are some improvements that relate to manual focus lenses.

I'll walk over 100 blocks home, after having already walked 3 miles to work, so basically I'll be walking a half Marathon today.

This lens is really remarkable on a full frame and works great for both analog and digital, but because on the CL it is using just the sweet spot it pretty much eliminates the soft corners.

A Noctilux on a full frame camera has light fall off in the corners, but the corners are sharper. The inverse is true for the Noct-Nikkor: the light does not fall off like in the Noctilux; but the resolution gets softer in the corners.

Pretty much pick your trade off. I for one prefer the softer corners over the light fall-off.

Dusk is an interesting time to shoot with a fast lens. Let's see if I can find some pretty light tonight.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Cal,
Yeah, that stretch of Rt. 66 goes from just west of Albuquerque to a couple miles east of Moriarty, on the east side of the Sandia mountains. There it is absorbed by I-40 but the old grade where the pavement was/is still exists on the south side of I-40 all the way out to Santa Rosa. This is a popular "frontage" for kids on off road motorcycles to really open up. I remember seeing motorcycles going probably 100mph on that old broken road.
Speaking of people stopping to ask help, back when I had my 1967 Baja bug, I once stopped to help a grizzled looking old guy with a VW bus on the side of Rt. 66. (It was perfect for Volkswagens that couldn't keep up with 75mph freeway traffic.) So I ask this guy what he needed and he told me he was looking for a part to fix his engine. I forget what the problem was but when I asked why he was looking on the side of the road he said "you always have exactly what you need, wherever you are" he didn't follow that up with "you just have to find it" but I got the gist. So we found him a little bracket of metal and he fixed his bus and went on his way.
That little wisdom of his stuck with me ever since and now studying psychology and in particular, the theories of Carl Jung, it makes a lot of sense.
Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

Cal,
Yeah, that stretch of Rt. 66 goes from just west of Albuquerque to a couple miles east of Moriarty, on the east side of the Sandia mountains. There it is absorbed by I-40 but the old grade where the pavement was/is still exists on the south side of I-40 all the way out to Santa Rosa. This is a popular "frontage" for kids on off road motorcycles to really open up. I remember seeing motorcycles going probably 100mph on that old broken road.
Speaking of people stopping to ask help, back when I had my 1967 Baja bug, I once stopped to help a grizzled looking old guy with a VW bus on the side of Rt. 66. (It was perfect for Volkswagens that couldn't keep up with 75mph freeway traffic.) So I ask this guy what he needed and he told me he was looking for a part to fix his engine. I forget what the problem was but when I asked why he was looking on the side of the road he said "you always have exactly what you need, wherever you are" he didn't follow that up with "you just have to find it" but I got the gist. So we found him a little bracket of metal and he fixed his bus and went on his way.
That little wisdom of his stuck with me ever since and now studying psychology and in particular, the theories of Carl Jung, it makes a lot of sense.
Phil Forrest

Phil,

I can riff off your story. It seems I have wandered around a lot, but also in a way I never have been lost.

I do believe in divine intervention because whenever I was in a desperate situation somehow always help arrived.

Also something I learned about Navy SEAL training. They say 95% of survival is maintaining a positive mental attitude.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

So in today's episode of "Why Men Have Shorter Lifespans Than Women" "Maggie" figures out that we are kinda priced out of finding a nice two bedroom in Brooklyn.

A major awakening happened when we took the G train and explored some somewhat isolated areas. Pretty much the "G" train is a "subway to nowhere" since it only connects Queens to Brooklyn, and we walked deep into isolated areas where rentals remained affordable.

So the bubble popped. On top of that Maggie realized the grey area I am in at work, where I could be laid-off. Kind of remote, but it will take perhaps 6-9 months for an executive decision is made that determines my future. I kinda have to be ready if there is a surprise, and moving and spending a lot of money makes no sense at this time.

So plan "C" is to increase the amount of Public Storage in the fall when rates go down and cull down the amount of stuff in our one bedroom.

Meanwhile Maggie wants to remodel and buy new couches. This will be with her dime. Her intent is to organize her clothes and shoes so we don't live in a disaster.

Let's see how this works out. As I remember I have some of her stuff in Public Storage that she said nine years ago that she would go through after we move, but that never happened. A few times I asked her to make the some time to deal with that stuff, but as usual "I don't have the time," she repeatedly said.

So now she will start paying for the Public Storage increase.

If things turn out alright I can contain my printing workstation along a short wall and can deconstruct the workstation Island which will go into storage along with the Juki commercial sewing machine, bike supplies, a folio of large prints.

My stereo will go into storage so that a couch can fit in it's place. The living room will be only two couches and an oversized coffee table with lots of empty space.

I'll be dis-man-telling the high-rise in the bedroom that basically creates the bedroom into a huge walk-in closet full of woman's clothing and shoes.

So this would be an interesting episode on HGTV. We have a total mess to organize. I can see the people who live in tiny houses in reality only have one pair of jeans and a pair of sneakers. I am not as bad as Maggie, but I have about 13 pairs of new sneakers stockpiled. Probably about 30 pairs of shoes and boots. I'll have to start wearing these clothes and shoes out to get rid of them instead of stockpiling and saving them.

So in this episode I embrace tiny-house living, except it is a NYC Madhattan apartment.

The realization also was discussed is that I really need my own workspace. In a way I need a man-cave where Maggie's mess does not spill into mine. Out of the two of us I'm the one who completes things and gets things done. I'm also the one who is organized.

Plenty of drama here. Hints of painting the apartment are happening. Guess who will be doing that work?

In a way moving to a bigger apartment would of only created a bigger mess. In my studio is a bag of clothes for resale, but I guess I'll have to drop those clothes off for Maggie. Oh-well... Hopefully these don't get pushed into Public Storage to be processed fully at a later date...

Like I say this is why men have shorter lifespans.

So now for a funny story where I can brag and show off how annoying I am. I worked at Los Alamos for a year and a half on field assignment from Grumman. My old group inhabited a rundown trailer, and when I returned my head engineer asked me about some potted small power supplies he couldn't find. He told me he spent days looking for them. Pretty much took me about 15 seconds to find them.

So I have a good visual memory, but not a photographic memory like Andre. I go to this cabinet remove one box and then pull out another with the small lost power supplies. Lief was mighty annoyed and he said, "After you left we couldn't find anything." LOL.

This reminds me of a WC Fields B&W film I saw where WC Fields had this rolltop desk jammed with papers. Pretty much it was his own filing system, but of course his system was not understood by anyone else other than himself.

Also at Grumman I kinda operated like a Navy SEAL and did all kinds of covert operations. Pretty much I was a bit of a street thug who did whatever was required to get the job done. I had friends, but also enemies. This was within a Fortune 500 Company that was the fouth largest aerospace company in the U.S.

At Brookhaven National Labs my boss in an annual review compare me to an army of technicians. I also was doing the job of project management and had crews of people working under my supervision, but I did not get the pay or title I deserved. Oh-well...

In the world of theater they say, "In your own time." This expression is a way to respect someone's individuality in doing things, but sometime it gets hard to live with.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

MFM had asked me if the 18.2 Megaohm water I use for my chemistry has a PHof 7.0.

In my lab today I confirmed that it is in fact PH 7.0. with some litmus tape.

Makes sense that with no impurities that there are no positive or negative ions to make other than a PH of neutral.

Cal

 

[MrFujicaman]

hey, chemisty was never my best subject!

 

[Calzone]

hey, chemisty was never my best subject!

MFM,

I don't remember much. Your question provoked me to think about what impurities do and the ionic actions they promote.

Seems like my best subject was being weird back then. Some of my nicknames back in high school were Doctor, Professor and even Spock.

When I went to college that's when I found myself. Pretty much a liberal arts major with my concentration in the visual arts.

Who would think that my journalism degree that I got later would help me make a killing in the stock market because I could connect the dots, see patterns, and create a story.

With your question I wasn't really sure of the answer until I did the test, then I remembered.

Also know that I gave 4 gallons of this 18.2 meg water to Landrew. I never did a controlled test, but his results will confirm I think that the water makes a difference.

Kinda funny is that they say that NYC water is the secrete ingredient to why Bagels are not the same elsewhere.

Cal

 

[Prest_400]

Hiatus of posting here as Scandinavia has had a nice 10 days of warmth, reaching nice 80F's. From today it's going down below 68F so I feel I can rest and don't need to use up the outdoors.

So today I met another member at the photoclub who is going for a 2 week stay in NYC. Gave him some tips and good luck. But the talk has me now keeping up on what went on in here.

Cal, if you skimped through the ADOX keynote about manufacturing film, they dropped the anecdote from an AGFA emulsionist who changed his deodorant and that had ruined a batch of material.


Hope you find out a positive outcome to the Cyclotron chronicles, ie. retirement. After a couple years of millennial struggle I might be getting a feet into the Airline business with a stable prospect, shall see. Most fields of study are quite useful despite later not really using it.

I have a gripe with formal college education nowadays, despite having been raised being pushed into college as THE option. Have a certain appreciation for trades for the hands on practice. I feel a lot of the 4y business degree I took has been largely forgotten.
But skills and efficiency stay and a way of picking non-formal learning as well. Phil, I should read more abut Carl Jung. I've been listening to Jordan Peterson who seems quite a righteous but controversial figure in the area. "Know how to write and you'll be deadly"

Can't be everywhere.


About moving, I somehow have to help a lady friend tomorrow to move stuff. How that happens I don't know. Sometimes I wish I were born female to have that kind of magic towards others.