New York February NYC Meet-Up/ Fourth Annual Camera Beauty Contest

jsrockit said:
Cal, you know we love your eccentricities.
Click to expand...

I love them too. LOL.

Sometimes I wonder though why my "Maggie" loves me. BTW "Maggie" is not her real name. It all started when I was making fun of her for being like Martha Stewart, and I hinted that she must be related. I started calling her "Maggie" for short for Margret Stewart, an imaginary sister of Martha Stewart.

It got to the point where I called my gal by her real name once by mistake that she found it jarring and didn't like it. I'm the only person that calls her this name. LOL.

Anyways always been a rather disturbed kid. My poor father. LOL. Out of five kids, Maggie pointed out that I was his favorite, and I find it funny that because of worry how parents learn to love the most the kid that they should really hate. LOL.

Cal
 
robklurfield said:
imaginary sister? Martha Stewart's imaginary sister? your "poor father" is right.
Click to expand...

Because my dad worried about me, I think this is why he learned to love me the most.

Back in the seventies the youth gangs in Chinatown like the Ghost Shadows and the Flying Dragons all had long hair and collectively they were known and called the "Long Hairs."

Back then I grew my hair long, and my father hated it. Even though he was an illiterate Chinese immigrant he could say in perfect English, "Cut your hair," from saying it all the time and from the non-stop practice.

Now I'm partially deaf from my dad yelling at me. He really could shout rather loudly, loud enough to hurt my ears. Now basically I don't or can't listen to anyone. LOL.

Cal
 
thambar said:
Bring Maggie to the meet next Sunday. If she can put up with you, Cal, she must be truly wonderful! <g>.
Click to expand...

"Maggie" offered to buy me a M9 when they first came out, but I never took her up on her offer. Anyways I tend to drive myself crazy, so I imagine what I do to others. LOL.

Anyways "Maggie" likes for me to go to Meet-Ups so that I have an outlet for talking gear. This avoids giving her a head ache. LOL.

We need to talk about doing some shoot-outs when the spring/summer weather gets nice. I'm thinking that we could do a Long Island City "Death March". Other possibilities include Newark. How about Philly? LIC is mostly heavy industry so assembling a large group bothers no one.

Cal
 
GEAR ALERT: I finally got my Monochrom delivered. Now I'm totally ruined and spoiled, and it does seem like Leica especially designed the MM for me. My worries of being overwhelmed by digital complexity was unfounded (for those that don't know me, only recently did I learn how to use a cell phone, I do not text, and remain somewhat a caveman).

The thing that kills me the most is the histogram as exposure feedback and how it relates to the old school zone system. This is beyond clever.

Also know that the long-long wait paid off. On purpose I used one of RFF sponsors as my dealer, and the delay allowed me to take advantage of an $250.00 rebate on a Epson 3880 printer. The delay also worked out for buying a new computer because Apple dropped the prices on Mac Power Books, increased processing speed, and added mucho SD memory.

Anyways I'm feeling like a clever slacker. LOL.

BTW Klaus has the "Vintage Monochrom."

Cal
 
Calzone said:
We need to talk about doing some shoot-outs when the spring/summer weather gets nice. I'm thinking that we could do a Long Island City "Death March". Other possibilities include Newark. How about Philly? LIC is mostly heavy industry so assembling a large group bothers no one.

Cal
Click to expand...

How about the sparse industry around the Hackensack river area? Some great locations there but I only see them from trains and the road. I have no clue how to get there or if it would be trespassing. If any folks know the area and if there is any access, definitely let me know. That waterway has fascinated me for the past 7 years that I've been coming to NJ/NYC and now that I live here I really want to shoot it.

Come to think of it, we could start a little sticky here where we post good places to shoot.
ie: "Seldom seen skylines" go to __________
"Decaying industry" go to ____________

There is so much of NYC and the region that a lot of folks just don't know about. But maybe we want to keep them secret... ?

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
How about the sparse industry around the Hackensack river area? Some great locations there but I only see them from trains and the road. I have no clue how to get there or if it would be trespassing. If any folks know the area and if there is any access, definitely let me know. That waterway has fascinated me for the past 7 years that I've been coming to NJ/NYC and now that I live here I really want to shoot it.

Come to think of it, we could start a little sticky here where we post good places to shoot.
ie: "Seldom seen skylines" go to __________
"Decaying industry" go to ____________

There is so much of NYC and the region that a lot of folks just don't know about. But maybe we want to keep them secret... ?

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Phil,

I picked LIC because basically because it's an empty area that is devoid of people for the most part, and because bringing in a large group of camera nerds is not going to disrupt or upset a community.

Some of the other places I shoot are a delicate balance because of race, gentrification and poverty; and I like to either go alone or with people who are use to assuming risk. These locals do not support a large group.

Anyways I hear of some great industrial areas in Newark, but it requires extensive walking because there seems to be a lack of public transportation in these areas that are good locations to dump a body. For me I find these lonely desolate areas "charming."

Had my share of trespassing, being detained by police, and running from police. Not sure I want to take the risk, and I definitely don't want to get arrested.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
GEAR ALERT: I finally got my Monochrom delivered. Now I'm totally ruined and spoiled, and it does seem like Leica especially designed the MM for me. My worries of being overwhelmed by digital complexity was unfounded (for those that don't know me, only recently did I learn how to use a cell phone, I do not text, and remain somewhat a caveman).

The thing that kills me the most is the histogram as exposure feedback and how it relates to the old school zone system. This is beyond clever.

Cal
Click to expand...

FINALLY!!!
Cal, don't worry too much about the zone system. I don't think you will be running around with a marker writing +1.5, -2 on your memory cards. Just remember that the 'A' on the shutter dial stands for 'Ansel'. It is all baked in.
 
CNNY said:
FINALLY!!!
Cal, don't worry too much about the zone system. I don't think you will be running around with a marker writing +1.5, -2 on your memory cards. Just remember that the 'A' on the shutter dial stands for 'Ansel'. It is all baked in.
Click to expand...

Cristian,

The Monochrom I find very inspiring. Just the right amount of complexity, but still a basic camera. Been shooting it like a M7 in auto mode using memory lock to set the shutter speed.

It features a MD-Grip and large black TA soft release. So far my least pimped out camera.

The evolution to digital was not as rude as I once thought. Anyways the MM is a lot of fun. The shutter release is a bit different, and so is the feel of the shutter. High ISO for me so far is 2500. At night the modern glass (28 Cron and 50 Lux ASPH) dose better than the 35/1.8 Nikkor for light control and detail, but the Nikkor's retro look is kinda like a time warp rendering a dreamy look.

Soon have to buy a New Mac and get serious about post processing. The MM is a lot of fun.

Cal
 
Cal,
Would Maggie buy me an M9? I'll accept a used one (preferrably a black M9-P). If she needs my address or shoe size, let me know.

BTW, start posting some pix in the gallery. All of your excuses have now evaporated.
Calzone said:
"Maggie" offered to buy me a M9 when they first came out, but I never took her up on her offer. Anyways I tend to drive myself crazy, so I imagine what I do to others. LOL.

Anyways "Maggie" likes for me to go to Meet-Ups so that I have an outlet for talking gear. This avoids giving her a head ache. LOL.

We need to talk about doing some shoot-outs when the spring/summer weather gets nice. I'm thinking that we could do a Long Island City "Death March". Other possibilities include Newark. How about Philly? LIC is mostly heavy industry so assembling a large group bothers no one.

Cal
Click to expand...
 
Calzone said:
It features a MD-Grip and large black TA soft release. So far my least pimped out camera.
Click to expand...

Cal,
Be careful with the Soft Release on the digital M bodies. Since the shutter button has been relegated to an electronic switch with a mechanical feel, it does not have the keyed shaft or sleeve to really hold it in place when threading-in or removing the soft release. It could introduce a stress point on the switch in your bag or getting snagged on a strap, supposedly.

I used one for quite a while on my M8 and M9 but found that I got a better feel for the shutter without it. It's the opposite with any mechanical M I've owned. My personal opinion is that the Soft Release kind of made the M8/M9 button feel a bit more "notchy" but compared to a polished 46 year old M4, pretty much everything is more "notchy" feeling I guess. All this said, I never had trouble with my Soft Release on my digital M bodies but Leica did warn us about them.

Glad it finally arrived!

Calzone said:
Now that I've made a huge mess in film with tens of thousands of negatives, it's time to create an equal mess in digital. :bang:

Cal
Click to expand...

You're gonna need a 10TB RAID5 soon with the number of photos you'll be taking. Those cameras suck up a ton of disk space, quickly. Huge file sizes. Don't forget off-site storage as well. I have a few hdd's spread around the country that serve as image back-ups.

Phil Forrest
 
robklurfield said:
Cal,
Would Maggie buy me an M9? I'll accept a used one (preferrably a black M9-P). If she needs my address or shoe size, let me know.

BTW, start posting some pix in the gallery. All of your excuses have now evaporated.
Click to expand...

Rob,

I'm a worse slacker than you, and my last final excuse is that I need to buy a computer.

"Maggie" is an academic and I'm going to try and get her "academic" discount, but at the same time I need to take advantage of the 18 month Zero APR offer from Apple.

Anyways this reminds me of day trading oil stocks in a margin account. It's kind of exciting, but timing is everything.

When are you coming to the meet-ups again to make fun of me? The Meet-Ups have evolved. All these people invading from New Jersey. Lots of new faces.

I'll post: I promise. I bought a bunch of SD-cards. Almost have a 8G filled. Have four 16G cards to fill which is very easy to do with the Monochrom. I love this camera, but I also seem so bonded to my film cameras, and I want to keep shooting as much film as possible.

Cal
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Cal,
Be careful with the Soft Release on the digital M bodies. Since the shutter button has been relegated to an electronic switch with a mechanical feel, it does not have the keyed shaft or sleeve to really hold it in place when threading-in or removing the soft release. It could introduce a stress point on the switch in your bag or getting snagged on a strap, supposedly.

I used one for quite a while on my M8 and M9 but found that I got a better feel for the shutter without it. It's the opposite with any mechanical M I've owned. My personal opinion is that the Soft Release kind of made the M8/M9 button feel a bit more "notchy" but compared to a polished 46 year old M4, pretty much everything is more "notchy" feeling I guess. All this said, I never had trouble with my Soft Release on my digital M bodies but Leica did warn us about them.

Glad it finally arrived!



You're gonna need a 10TB RAID5 soon with the number of photos you'll be taking. Those cameras suck up a ton of disk space, quickly. Huge file sizes. Don't forget off-site storage as well. I have a few hdd's spread around the country that serve as image back-ups.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Phil,

Good advice.

Following Leica's advice I learned that using my thumb on the shutter release for verticals is great. 0.68 VF'er magnification works better for me with the 28 Cron and with 35's, and using the 1.40x magnifier gives me 0.95 with my 75 Lux.

Been looking into Raid arrays for external storage. I think I might try to build one. The new loaded 15 inch Mac Book Pro with Retina screen is looking especially good with the recent expanded SD memory.

Cal
 
Best option for RAID is a hardware controller but I sacrificed speed for lower cost and use a Linux software RAID controller. It's worked fine for the past few years. I don't need speed anyway, I need a ton of space and catastrophic redundancy which RAID5 gives me. This coming year I'm going to build another one (funds permitting,) fill it, then ship it to New Mexico to be buried in my parent's garage (which is much like WIPP, except not a mile below the surface in a salt dome.)

Phil Forrest
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Best option for RAID is a hardware controller but I sacrificed speed for lower cost and use a Linux software RAID controller. It's worked fine for the past few years. I don't need speed anyway, I need a ton of space and catastrophic redundancy which RAID5 gives me. This coming year I'm going to build another one (funds permitting,) fill it, then ship it to New Mexico to be buried in my parent's garage (which is much like WIPP, except not a mile below the surface in a salt dome.)

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

Somehow I wish I still worked for Grumman, and it was the end of the Cold War. The dumpster diving would have huge dividends today.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
GEAR ALERT: I finally got my Monochrom delivered. Now I'm totally ruined and spoiled, and it does seem like Leica especially designed the MM for me. My worries of being overwhelmed by digital complexity was unfounded (for those that don't know me, only recently did I learn how to use a cell phone, I do not text, and remain somewhat a caveman).

The thing that kills me the most is the histogram as exposure feedback and how it relates to the old school zone system. This is beyond clever.

Also know that the long-long wait paid off. On purpose I used one of RFF sponsors as my dealer, and the delay allowed me to take advantage of an $250.00 rebate on a Epson 3880 printer. The delay also worked out for buying a new computer because Apple dropped the prices on Mac Power Books, increased processing speed, and added mucho SD memory.

Anyways I'm feeling like a clever slacker. LOL.

BTW Klaus has the "Vintage Monochrom."

Cal
Click to expand...

Enough of the gear talk, tell us how "Mr. Medium Format" likes the tonal range of the MM compared to 120 B&W ?
 
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