New York March NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

I went out once with my Fuji XPro-1 to try it out, kinda hard with a cane now but I
did it. Your right not seeing family and friends it's been a bit hard and I'm hoping
we could start the meets soon but in my case it will be a bit longer till I get back
in some kind of shape.

Bob,

I could lend you my Monopod. You are so crazy tall that you likely will have to nearly fully extend it.

"Maggie" bought it for me as a Christmas present, but I specified a heavy duty Manfretto because I wanted it to be double duty as a self defense weapon. I think the capacity is something like 15 pounds.

This is the same monopod that I swung at a serial rapist late one night in the Italian section of Williamsburg. He was lucky being shorter than I expected. I likely brushed his hair.

It was profiling. Me a skinny guy with a muscular butt from biking, long hair not in a ponytail that night, wearing shoe-boots that clicked-clocked like a woman hobbled in heels carrying a bag that held a mini DV camera 3-4 PM in the morning getting off the subway. Kinda crazy, but a Calzone thing to do, meaning rather foolish.

What was really funny was the surprise look on his face when he saw my arrogant chin beard and moustach. I heard him running and only turned when he was within striking distance swinging for the fences. Collapsed it is about the size of a cop's nightstick.

He kept on running and rounded the first corner when he could. He actually said, "Sorry," before disappearing out of sight. LOL. I knew he made a mistake. LOL. You can't make this stuff up.

A few weeks later they caught this serial rapist who also robbed his victims. It seems he grew up in the nearby projects and knew the neighborhood well. That is why it took so long for the police to catch him. All of his targets were white young hipster gals that were gentrifying Williamsburg and northern Greenpoint.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Cal you have a 28 cron on your SL or it's on your Film camera, also of interest to you.
I picked up a Nikon F3 it's in great shape everything seems to work even the LCD
screen and blast it a seller on ebay had a 50mm f1.2 or 55mm for $269.00 just
missed it.

Bob,

In the "Camera Museum" (John's term) I mostly utilize on my Monochrom. My 28 Cron kinda has a cult following. It is an ASPH lens that has that modern sharpness, but none of the contrast boost that often is associated with ASPH glass.

Because of Leica adapters I "annoy" and confuse people with some of my configurations which include mounting a chrome 65/3.5 Elmar (Visoflex) on my SL using a Leica Visoflex adapter to R-mount, a Leica R-mount to M-mount and lastly a Leica M-mount to T-mount. Basically a stack of three adapters.

Last night I was toying with the idea of mounting this Leitax adapter I have that has this "Almost-Auto" aperture feature to convert this lens to F-mount.

As you know stopping down a lens on a mirrorless camera like my SL or SL2 eliminates the focus snap of a fully wide open lens. The Almost-Auto Aperture feature has a lever that seamlessly allows a fully open apeture by depressing, and by releasing a stopped down setting.

On one hand I could use a M-lens profile on this R-lens and have Almost-Auto aperture, but the R-lens profile is perfection and so beautiful.

My 50 Lux "E60" is a rare lens, not many were made. Pretty much Leica somehow added an additional element over the version 1 50 Lux-R and got better resolution across the frame and in the corners. To me it very much renders like a Noctilux, but without the light falloff of the Noctilux in the corners. So what it does not have F1.0.

Anyways in practice the 50 Lux "E60" as well as my Noct-Nikkor love being shot wide open so much... and at F2.0... and at F2.8 that stopping down further is like leaving the sweet spot behind. In other words use a fast lens at fast apertures and be mucho happy.

As far as using wides on a mirrorless like my 28 Cron on my SL or SL2 because it is a wide there is a lack of focus snap, and it seems the APO 35 Cron is the mucho crazy lens to have, especially when used on the hyper speed SL2. The AF kills vague focus snap and is mucho-mucho fast. BTW it seems that the APO Cron loves F2.0. Pretty much set and forget.

So for enquiring minds who want the smut my SL I designate as my "Compact" mirrorless that I utilize with mostly the 50 Lux-R "E60" and Noct-Nikkor.

For wider and more compact rig the standby is the 28 Cron V1 on my Monochrom that is now over an 8 year old camera.

Don't tell "Maggie" but I drilled and tapped a thread so I can borrow her size small Leica two finger loop so it mounts into the grip that John hates. This is one thing I did over the lockdown.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

I miss the NYC meet-ups. COVID has just killed me photography wise. Most of my photography is while I'm at work going from job site to job site.

It's killing me too... can't go out on the streets. Sigh. At least this baby is keeping me busy.

 

[Calzone]

It's killing me too... can't go out on the streets. Sigh. At least this baby is keeping me busy.

John,

Printing has been my photography. Also making books in a fine art manner.

What I miss the most are the day long walks exploring the city like we use to do.

I understand that Covid is pretty widespread in Chile. Be safe.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Oh by the way, I picked up a Metalbones adapter, Leica m to Sony E and put the
Canon 35mm on the 7A and wow 24megapixels and IBIS, the pictures at F2 have
this look to them, the isolation look is real smooth.

 

[Range-rover]

It's killing me too... can't go out on the streets. Sigh. At least this baby is keeping me busy.

Baby's do that.

 

[Calzone]

Oh by the way, I picked up a Metalbones adapter, Leica m to Sony E and put the
Canon 35mm on the 7A and wow 24megapixels and IBIS, the pictures at F2 have
this look to them, the isolation look is real smooth.

Bob,

Christian likes this lens as the Cheap 35 Cron. While not as sharp as modern glass it surely renders smoothly.

You might be onto something there with the blend of smooth rendering verses absolute sharpness. On a digital camera you retrieve mucho resolution.

In my printing I have noticed that my 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM seems to be a great-great lens for my Monochrom. It is very well representent in some of my best work for some reason.

BTW one reason why I love my 28 Cron V.1 is that while it is very sharp and high resolution you really would not know it is ASPH. There is a version 2 28 Cron that has better edges and corners, but my version 1 28 Cron has less contrast than a 35 Lux ASPH Pre-FLE. I owned and compared these two lenses a long time.

Anyways out of all the glass I own, most of it is old retro single coated. My favs for digital are 50 Rigid, 28 Cron V.1 and 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM, mostly because of the moderate softer contrast and the smooth transitions between focus and out of focus, and the smoother rendering.

I also do have to say that the native SL glass is pretty remarkable. The 50 Lux-SL and APO 35 Cron not only have that retro smoothness I love, but also that large format capture everything. I don't see any harshness that I see in other lenses.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm graduating

I'm graduating

...and before I do so, I'll be presenting an 8 minute piece on Light Painting in a Physical Rehabilitation Hospital Setting.
This is happening this Wednesday, as the very last presentation of the all-day Class of 2020 Creative Arts Therapies departmental Colloquium. 30 presentations will be done, with Q&A sessions after groups of presentations.
If any of you are interested, please PM me your email address and I will send you the invite flyer directly.

Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

...and before I do so, I'll be presenting an 8 minute piece on Light Painting in a Physical Rehabilitation Hospital Setting.
This is happening this Wednesday, as the very last presentation of the all-day Class of 2020 Creative Arts Therapies departmental Colloquium. 30 presentations will be done, with Q&A sessions after groups of presentations.
If any of you are interested, please PM me your email address and I will send you the invite flyer directly.

Phil Forrest

Phil,

Congrates. I won't be able to attend. Four more years and full retirement.

My ability to fix old cars that perhaps cost $200.00 and keeping them going for years has come in handy with this now 18-19 year old $3.5M Cyclotron.

During the shut down of NYC, I have kept the machine operational, even though for almost 3 months it went unused. Today I had to tweak the machine to get the RF to initialized and start-up. Did my first full run bombarding a target.

Know that when the cyclotron is operational that I use 80 kilowatts of power, and that is comparable to eighty thousand people using their hair dryers at the same time. Major cause of death of Cyclotron Engineers is electrocution: 50 Kilovolts on the RF tube and almost 500 amps on the main magnet (one Tesla). Either one will french fry you and burn you to a crisp.

All I can say is I'm a mighty clever guy. LOL.

Looks like when I wind down my ink supply that I'll have to put my printer into storage mode and load it with Piezoflush. Meanwhile I'm running out of paper...

The costs of getting a set of 700 ml inks to reload is mucho money ($1,409.00) and that's just enough to reload my carts twice, so it is not enough to really get printing, especially when I go big prints.

Then there is paper...

Seems like I need several thousands to go to the next level, which is print out limited editions. This will require some capitol, until then I will have to wait.

It is mighty rude coming back to work, but I'm thankful to be employed. The days go slow... but when I go home it seems like somehow the the day escaped and went by so fast.

Four more years...

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

John,

Printing has been my photography. Also making books in a fine art manner.

What I miss the most are the day long walks exploring the city like we use to do.

I understand that Covid is pretty widespread in Chile. Be safe.

Cal

Yeah Cal exactly... those long walks are good for you. Especially mentally. For me, I have edited all of my photos, made a website, and worked on books as well. Chile has a lot of cases but not a lot of deaths. Winter is next month though...

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I neglected to mention that it is an online presentation.
Phil Forrest

 

[Prest_400]

Congrats Phil and hope the presentations go well. If there were a NYC zoom meet up it'd be interesting.

Want to do more darkroom printing although it feels wrong to stay indoors in a nice mild summer; great for the odd cloudy rainy day. I'm awaiting a parcel wothin EU with chemistry and paper but it seems that will take a while.

Cal I realised when I visited NYC 2015 was 5 years ago, and came back to some shots from the time. The Calzone spot from Williamsburg where your old loft, and the view of Domino's, long gone by the new built.
Feeling a bit nostalgic and attached the shot. Portra 400 and OM1
I guess it's life changes, gladfully beginning new employment next week. All in all very strange times. Time flies.

I realised that I've got a GE PET & Cyclotron facility 2mi from home, seems like their distribution point or maybe factory, but it's a rather small warehouse.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Calzone]

Yeah Cal exactly... those long walks are good for you. Especially mentally. For me, I have edited all of my photos, made a website, and worked on books as well. Chile has a lot of cases but not a lot of deaths. Winter is next month though...

John,

Are people in Chile leaner, more fit, and more likely to not have Diabetes, Heart Disease, and High Blood Pressure? These are the risk factors that increase morbidity.

I bought into work a TRX suspension trainer to use at work. Basically you use your body weight with these straps. Developed by an ex Navy SEAL and what is really great is that it targets one's core.

I still wanna be a tough guy from Brooklyn.

I figure I walk about 4 1/2 miles a day just coming to work and going home. Part of my strategy to afford Leica is to save the ten times $2.75 every week. I also bring my lunch.

I'm really looking forward to moving out of NYC. Next year we will likely buy a house in Beacon, and I'll do the commute for three years till I retire. Oh-well.

I'm a clever guy. When I retire, somehow, eventually when I'm 70 I'll actually have a higher fixed income than my current salary. My expenses in Beacon will be rather modest, and it seems because I splurged and bought all good stuff as "durable goods" it seems all the big spending is behind me. In other words I have enough treasures.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Congrats Phil and hope the presentations go well. If there were a NYC zoom meet up it'd be interesting.

Want to do more darkroom printing although it feels wrong to stay indoors in a nice mild summer; great for the odd cloudy rainy day. I'm awaiting a parcel wothin EU with chemistry and paper but it seems that will take a while.

Cal I realised when I visited NYC 2015 was 5 years ago, and came back to some shots from the time. The Calzone spot from Williamsburg where your old loft, and the view of Domino's, long gone by the new built.
Feeling a bit nostalgic and attached the shot. Portra 400 and OM1
I guess it's life changes, gladfully beginning new employment next week. All in all very strange times. Time flies.

I realised that I've got a GE PET & Cyclotron facility 2mi from home, seems like their distribution point or maybe factory, but it's a rather small warehouse.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jorde,

That shot from the Williamsburg Bridge is no longer available. They installed a chain link fence and gated off that opening on the bridge so that you can't get that shot or jump to kill yourself.

Also they dismanteled most of the Domino Sugar refinery, and now there are mucho expensive brand new condos and a waterfront park. Not such a tough guy neighborhood anymore.

A week or so ago I looked at some of my 24x36 inch prints shot with my Monochrom and 28 Cron. Amung the shots was that shot from the bridge. Pretty iconic.

When I lived on the Southside, during the day you did not see people out on the street south of Grand and Metropolitan Avenues. The neighborhood was not safe. "Maggie once asked me about this sound she heard-boom-boom-boom that continued for a while. The sound resemble perhaps someone dragging down a heavy air conditioner down concrete steps with the sound of the crashing one after another.

My response was, "I don't know," but I lied and recognized the sound of someone testing an automatic handgun trying to empty the magazine as fast as they could.

On the main campus they have a GE Cyclotron and a Petrace lab, but I call that cyclotron "the Playschool Cyclotron." My machine is more macho, higher energy, and even has a beamline.

Right now I have main magnet on and the RF at full power. The injector and the cooling system is off, but I'm probably using up about 70 Kilo watts of energy. The idea here of wasting all this energy is to scrub the inside of the cyclotron with heat and energy for better vacuum. I pretty much have had the machine in scrub mode all day.

Meanwhile I am just babysitting... Now that How-Weird has retired, pretty much I am alone in my bunker of sorts. I now say I worked through lunch, so expect me to leave early. Now that How-Weird is gone expect this every day.

Thursday I will be getting tested for Covid-19: both the antibody and a surveilance test. The surveilance testing will happen every two weeks. How crazy is that?

BTW I weigh under 146 pounds. Not only am I a skinny bitch, but technically I am the size and weight of a welterweight. I'm 62 and still a tough guy from Brooklyn. LOL.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

John,

Are people in Chile leaner, more fit, and more likely to not have Diabetes, Heart Disease, and High Blood Pressure? These are the risk factors that increase morbidity.

No, Chile is high on the obesity scale too... 28% considered obese (compared to 36% in the US). Let's remember I'm considered obese by some measurements.

I bought into work a TRX suspension trainer to use at work. Basically you use your body weight with these straps. Developed by an ex Navy SEAL and what is really great is that it targets one's core.

We had a personal trainer for a little while and I hated those things...

 

[Calzone]

No, Chile is high on the obesity scale too... 28% considered obese (compared to 36% in the US). Let's remember I'm considered obese by some measurements.



We had a personal trainer for a little while and I hated those things...

John,

Obese people to me would not be able to do the death marches we did, especially during the high heat indexed days. You might be a bit overweight, but then again I'm a skinny bitch.

I remember going shooting with Pro-Mone on one of those heat index days.

Pro-Mone being a nice guy was concerned for my health and well being because of my older age, but me because I'm not so nice I warned Pro-Mone that if he collapses that my own self preservation skills would kick in and that I would leave him for dead. LOL.

Had to curtail the shooting because Pro-Mone came pretty close to getting sick from dehydration and heat stroke. I was fine. We got to a bodega in Blissville just in time for Pro-Mone.

BTW it seems skinny bitches like me like those suspension trainers. It really tones me up.

Cal

 

[fiddle]

You got me beat Cal, only 50kw here... lol
Ive been working from our transmitter site since all this started, I miss the city....

 

[Calzone]

You got me beat Cal, only 50kw here... lol
Ive been working from our transmitter site since all this started, I miss the city....

Fidel,

I still have that M-body cap for you. If you need it pronto PM your address and I'll snail-mail it to you.

BTW in East Harlem where I live for some unknown reason at times I get my mail delivered after 7:00 PM. Expect real third world service. LOL.

When my Public Storage opens up I reclaim that mil-spec teflon coated wire I salvaged from Grumman from back in the day. I'll bring to work that 80 watt Portaflex bass amp clone that I finished the layout on. I'll wire it up and "smoke test" it.

Not so busy at work as you can tell. All I need is the pay and 4 more years...

Happy-happy.

Cal

 

[fiddle]

Nah, no rush on the cap. Appreciate it Cal.

So I have gone mad gentlemen. I have sold the Mamiya 7, just wasn't using it. Bought a Toyo 45. Thats gonna be gone soon, Im awaiting delivery of a Chamonix 45f-2. So Im 35 or 4x5, that middle format just wasnt doing it. 😛

 

[jsrockit]

Obese people to me would not be able to do the death marches we did, especially during the high heat indexed days. You might be a bit overweight, but then again I'm a skinny bitch.

Haha, you taught me how to walk far for photos Cal... I'm sure I lost some weight during those days. Good times...

Now, I walk a lot by myself and it is no big deal.