NYC Journal

A while back in another thread there were personal attacks by two individuals who worked at B&H, who I personally knew, who had Leica envy.

Pretty much they bashed Leica, eventually it was revealed they did not like Leica prices and thought them over rated and overpriced, but in the end the truth got extracted that they had deep Leica envey.

Both of these individuals I.D.‘ed as Matt in the B&H used department by his tattoo of a sonar lens layout on his forearm, and Brandon who seemed brainwashed and was like a mini-me of Matt.

Both Matt and Brandon moved from NYC back to their hometowns as if to check off a line item on their bucket list, and to return home as big men who met a gauntlet of sorts…

Both of these individuals no longer post here on RFF.

When my photography was insulted and I was compared to a “Rich-Dentist” who could afford Leica, I tried to reason with them. I mentioned how I don’t smoke, or drink. I walk rather than take a subway or bus to save the $2.35 Metrocard fare, and did many-many things to save money and afford Leica.

I also mentioned that until 2009, not that long ago my only camera was a Nikon F3P and I was 51 years old when I bought a used Wetzlar M6 that I still own and shoot. I still own the Nikon F3P BTW.

Know and understand that both Matt and Brandon were both very young, and they did not realize their sense of entitlement. Their attitude was kinda cocky, a term they used to describe me, but they did not see their positionality that my exaggerated confidence was earned and theirs not.

I come from a very dysfunctional suburb called Lawn-Guy-Land (Long Island), where a researched reported that Long Islanders whine 5 times the national average. No lie… What a group of unhappy people, who chose to be unhappy instead of moving forward.

Cal
 
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Calzone said:
When my photography was insulted and I was compared to a “Rich-Dentist” who could afford Leica, I tried to reason with them. I mentioned how I don’t smoke, or drink. I walk rather than take a subway or bus to save the $2.35 Metrocard fare, and did many-many things to save money and afford Leica.

I also mentioned that until 2009, not that long ago my only camera was a Nikon F3P and I was 51 years old when I bought a used Wetzlar M6 that I still own and shoot. I still own the Nikon F3P BTW.

Know and understand that both Matt and Brandon were both very young, and they did not realize their sense of entitlement. Their attitude was kinda cocky, a term they used to describe me, but they did not see their positionality that my exaggerated confidence was earned and theirs not.

I come from a very dysfunctional suburb called Lawn-Guy-Land (Long Island), where a researched reported that Long Islanders whine 5 times the national average. No lie… What a group of unhappy people, who chose to be unhappy instead of moving forward.

Cal
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I managed to fix my account back, procrastinated it. With the entry of spring here I suddenly have been inspired and even crave to shoot Color film.

I just cleared 72 GB of raw files from my phone; which using relatively large sensors surprised me on how good it is. Haven't done much film related shooting this last year otherwise and looks that now the costs of new material do benefit from rich dentist income. I had the hindsight in 2019-20 to stock up on some film in the freezer and have good cameras so far. The Texas Leica is barking to have some spring outing.
Metro fares are $4 here, and even generic coffees are converging to $3. At least my train operator offers loyalty points and I rack up to a nice trip every half year.
It's an advantage of being happy with simple things, with just a couple expensive hobbies, but it is still a sport to whine overall.

The other evening I ended up doing a "Google maps tour" of LIC. I see it mucho change and had confusion in a couple of locations given the extraordinary development. Lots of high rises and Court Sq diner has been cornered by a new structure.
 
Jorde,

We lived down the block from the Court Square Dinner. We lived in one of the historic row houses on the same block as the CitiGroup skyscraper. Our row house was mucho run down and had electrical problems that made it a fire trap. Had two floors, a basement, and a backyard.

I think it is good that mundane things can make me happy. The tire feeling after a long bike ride to me feels great, and I can feel good about myself.

I never knew anyone who had a complicated life that was happy, and I will add that there are many unhappy people.

Perhaps embracing the mundane is a great thing because we appreciate simple things and can be happy.

BTW you were wise to bulk up on film, and I think you are right about just a couple of expensive hobbies or luxury items because they are held as treasures.

My life might be pedestrian and boring to people that have frenzied lives, but to me it is very rich.

At my 40th year high school reunion it was a flashback of a group of people that IMHO never grew up. Binge drinking took its toll and my former high school class aged poorly. It was sad Because they did so little with their lives.

Cal
 
Tin cup,

Thanks for the support. We are a support group of sorts and are friends. We also have other interests, some mundane, but pretty much a group of happy people, except for a few…

We try to be open, tolerant, and loving. We share our interests.

Kinda funny is sometimes we write about photography.

Know that many of us know each other in person, and I have many great friends here.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
A while back in another thread there were personal attacks by two individuals who worked at B&H, who I personally knew, who had Leica envy.

Pretty much they bashed Leica, eventually it was revealed they did not like Leica prices and thought them over rated and overpriced, but in the end the truth got extracted that they had deep Leica envey.

Both of these individuals I.D.‘ed as Matt in the B&H used department by his tattoo of a sonar lens layout on his forearm, and Brandon who seemed brainwashed and was like a mini-me of Matt.

Both Matt and Brandon moved from NYC back to their hometowns as if to check off a line item on their bucket list, and to return home as big men who met a gauntlet of sorts…

Both of these individuals no longer post here on RFF.

When my photography was insulted and I was compared to a “Rich-Dentist” who could afford Leica, I tried to reason with them. I mentioned how I don’t smoke, or drink. I walk rather than take a subway or bus to save the $2.35 Metrocard fare, and did many-many things to save money and afford Leica.

I also mentioned that until 2009, not that long ago my only camera was a Nikon F3P and I was 51 years old when I bought a used Wetzlar M6 that I still own and shoot. I still own the Nikon F3P BTW.

Know and understand that both Matt and Brandon were both very young, and they did not realize their sense of entitlement. Their attitude was kinda cocky, a term they used to describe me, but they did not see their positionality that my exaggerated confidence was earned and theirs not.

I come from a very dysfunctional suburb called Lawn-Guy-Land (Long Island), where a researched reported that Long Islanders whine 5 times the national average. No lie… What a group of unhappy people, who chose to be unhappy instead of moving forward.

Cal
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The ignore function here is welcomed. There are people here who will mock you from their high horses over where your lens is made. I had enough of that with the dentist and fondler Leica envy trolls. How’s Photo.net doing now?

Metrocard? I ride the bus daily here in SF. Less than half the people in this city pay. They get on, sit down, get free ride. No shame. And that includes middle class looking middle aged white people.
 
The other person who was a problem in this thread is/was Out To Lunch.

His behavior was that of a grade school kid, even though he is of retirement age like me. Name calling is pretty grade school behavior.

Calvin “the Gas Guzzler.”

Pretty funny how I got ghosted when I indicated that my 1966 C-10 sits in my garage and burns no gas, and for 25 years I lived in NYC and used public transportation, walked or biked.

If you asked me, not a real man, and a rigid thinker which from me is a real insult.

Another person who I can say, “I’m glad I’m not him.”

Like I said lots of unhappy people…

Cal
 
I grew up in NJ and and as soon as I could drive I made lower Manhattan my second home. Back in the 80’s I could drive from campus at Rutgers New Brunswick to the Lower East Side in under an hour with street parking freely available. Once I wanted to buy shoes from this store on Bleecker and I found a spot right next to the Bitter End. I would walk around St. Marks and alphabet city at 3am with a can of beer and it would be fine. I go back occasionally just to walk the same streets but the thrill is gone. I think I have gotten older that’s all.

SF changed a lot. The news has it pretty much spot on. The notorious Tenderloin district is next to Little Saigon and in the morning the little kids has to walk through blocks of crud to get to school. No one talks about that.
 
I recently returned from a ten day trip to San Francisco to visit my son. The highlight was seeing the Bernd and Hilla Becher exhibit at SFMOMA. It overwhelmed me. An unbelievable thoroughness and consistency of vision over decades. There was a Nan Goldin exhibit at the Fraenkel Gallery, but I was not interested in viewing it. It is important documentary photography, but seeing it online is sufficient for me. A photographer I know who received her MFA a few years ago did similar work for her thesis. She did a portfolio review for me. Our photography could not be further apart. There also was an Edward Burtynsky exhibit that I was unable to fit in. The exhibit appears to be mostly of his earlier landscape work before he began using drones. I like his photography and the intellectual basis underlying it. There was no advertised exhibit at the SF Leica Store, so no need to visit it. I have been to the Glass Key Photo film photography store many times, but had no reason to visit it this trip. If you haven't been there, put it on your to-do list if you are ever in San Francisco. As an aside, I was initially drawn to it because I am a fan of the 1942 film noir The Glass Key starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, and William Bendix. It is based on a Dashiell Hammett novel. Watching that should be on your to-do list as well.

I refrained from exploring The Tenderloin. Every large city has areas that are prudent to avoid.
 
Ray,

NYC regressed and made a turn for the worse. My old New York is gone, but I’m glad I have a sense of home that I recorded though obsessive thinking. Didn’t know it at the time, but the housing crisis subconsciously made me understand that one day I would have to leave NYC, and I wanted and needed something permanent to remember.

Didn’t realize that with all the building and redevelopment that I actually created an archive of a disappearing New York.

Also at one point the city was sanitized and made safe for rich people, but now with Covid and the aftermath it is not the same and is much changed.

I’m cool with living in the Hudson Valley. Blessed with natural beauty, exciting geography, and a relaxed lifestyle. In a ways I feel more alive because I’m relaxed.

”Maggie” tends to get frenzied and gets overwhelmed. For me that is not living.

Cal
 
I heavily watered my gardens. Now I have another 100 feet of hose that can reach the back-backyard, so I planted the field of wildflowers after prepping the soil. Added a thin layer of peat moss as a bedding and for moisture retention since the wildflower field is on a slope.

Here in New York it really has not had a soaking rain in many weeks, and any rain was inconsequential. I feel like a farmer because the weather and rainfall is important to me. They expect record breaking temperatures, so with heavy watering I should be able to accelerate spring.

Even today a lot of growth happened with my heavy watering. Sprouting is happening big time.

”Maggie” discovered that our Magnolia can be pruned after flowering is over, but overnight it grew 2 inches. How crazy is that? Hope I don’t have to move the Magnolia outside if it starts to outgrow my 8 foot ceiling before flowering is over.

Started work on framing the gravel pad in between the She-Shed and my garden shed.

Wasn’t expecting to get much work done with childcare duties, but things worked out.

The Rode-A-DEN-drums seemed to perk up with the feeding and the heavy watering.

Tomorrow will be another heavy watering… April showers are not happening and summer like heat expected later in the week.

Cal
 
Cal, are you planning to plant anything edible? I did a similar move from the big city to a small town forty five years ago. One of the things I looked for was suitable space for a vegetable garden and fruit trees. The house I bought is on a 75'x120' lot and the backyard faces south. My house isn't Victorian style but just a few miles from the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. We get the occasional blast of snowy cold but not as extreme as most of Canada. I actually leave carrots in the ground over winter as they don't freeze, pull em as you need em. With food prices going crazy I'm not feeling the pinch. What I save on vegetables and fruit allows more money for good cheese and meat. It's also great to share extra produce when there's a bumper harvest. Peoples faces light up when you hand them a big bag full of ripe tomatoes! Saw a sign that I've got to make a copy of, it said "Gardening is cheaper than therapy, and you get tomatoes"!

I'm 79, weigh 135 lbs and wonder how long I can keep going, staying active is important. Rode my bike to the market today, only a couple miles each way and level so not enough to work up a sweat. Only problem with all the garden and house work is that it cuts into getting things done in the darkroom.
A darkroom got installed at the same time as the garden, but seem to only use it for film processing these days. I was home printing 16X20 colour and black and white in the late sixties using an Omega D6 but am doing a hybrid workflow now for film. Scan and print with pigment inks using an Epson 3880.

And as this is a photo site, here's a shot of my backyard. A couple friends come every year when the pears need harvesting and do most of the work. We hi-grade the best for eating fresh and the rest go to a place that converts them into pear cider. I think it's more like pear champagne.
I always try to save a bottle of the previous years vintage for a treat when the picking is done. We split the pears and cider three ways. 🙂

Glenn



DSC_4290.jpg
 
Glen,

I have an entire second building lot (40x100) that faces south. The house and two car garage is on the first building lot.
My neighbor to the east has some mature spruces that cast some shade and to the west I have a row of white pines, yet the lawn gets mostly full sun because the property faces due south.

I looked into retiring to Vancouver Island because of the climate. They say the climate is mild enough to grow olives. Is this true? Of course you are blessed with wonderful geography, abundant resources, and of course Canadians. From Canadians I learned how rude we Americans are.

The thought and practicality of growing my own food is where I would like to go, but I have “Maggie” factor, who pretty much is only a salad eater and does not really eat veggies. I see eating more veggies instead of carbs as a way to maintaining great health.

Basically I think I can grow enough vegetables for my own consumption in the first third of the second backyard near the garage. Interestingly when an avid gardener lived here the ”back-backyard” was partitioned into thirds and a cement walkway surrounds the perimeter of the first third of the yard.

My problem is years of neglect. The soil is heavy in clay, so I have to add mucho peat moss, organic matter, and manure to condition the soil. Perhaps this is in the future ahead.

Right now Maggie is promoting a flower garden. In an earlier thread I ranted about Knotweed a serious invasive plant that I still am at war with. We also had an erosion problem…

I have a European Pear tree that makes small pears, but they are not so tasty.

I use a non-motorized push mower for exercise. Did you know that a gas mower is a big polluter? Also I need to avoid hearing damage as my hearing is impaired by NYC and industrial noise from work. Ever work in an airplane factory with mucho machine tools and riveters?

I just bought a 7 1/2 inch battery powered “Hatchet” to harvest some wind blown trees that have been downed nearby. I’ll use them to create water-bars to slow down the velocity of water. Here in New York we are in a bit of a drought, but when it storms we now get tornados and inches of rain that promotes flooding. I see the effects of global warming.

I know water is a problem for most of the U.S. and I wanted a stable water supply. I also wanted to be above any flood zone. I hear the Metro North train that follows the mighty Hudson River, so I am in a River city of 25K, and an hour’s train ride to Grand Central. My 40x200 should be enough.

My problem is Maggie…

Also know that along the garage I would go vertical to increase the effective space and use squares like to did in the photo. I love the cedar you used for the raised beds.

Cal
 
I needed to get some mulch. As I turned into Home Depot, there were stacks and stacks of mulch of every kind and description in the parking lot as far as the eye could see (hyperbole unless you are nearsighted). I bought eight bags. I drove through the pickup area, but there was no one there to assist me. Apparently, picking up mulch at Home Depot is self-serve and on the honor system. Buy eight bags, and cram as many as you can in your vehicle without ruining the suspension. Brings a whole new meaning to loading up the truck. On the way home I thought about renting a van, but ultimately decided that I did not really want to load and unload that much mulch even if it was free. I am now thinking about having Home Depot deliver my next order of mulch so I don't have to drive over there and get it. In addition, I have to save my energy for the arduous (to some) task of spreading it around my garden and flower beds. Also, I am not that keen on my luxury (hyperbole) car smelling like mulch.

In other news, KitKat bars were on special at the grocery store this morning. They were still $1.19 each, but if you bought two, you got one free, which works out to roughly $0.79 each. Not long ago the price had risen to $1.39 each, before coming back down a few days ago. That is a pretty big price swing in a short period of time. Maybe price increases on products are not simply about supply, demand, supply shortages, inflation, and the Fed's current interest rate policy. Maybe you need to have studied more than The Dummies Guide to Economics to offer a a well-reasoned opinion on the matter. I use the price of KitKat bars to judge the health of the economy. As of this morning, the economy is looking good. That could change quickly though depending on how long the KitKat bar special lasts.
 
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“Red Flag” warning of dry conditions that could promote forest fires in the lower Hudson Valley.

It has not really rained in a while, no April showers, so I had to water the seeds I sowed two days ago again. Also Thursday and Friday the temperatures are expected in the high eighties and are likely to set new records.

Last year was a bit of a drought and my Japanese Maple produced no poly noses. Seems like a trend has started, meaning same average rainfall overall, not regular, but when it does rain it pours in torrents. Also almost no snow last winter…

Anyways the changes are drastic.

Cal
 
The cedar sheds came from British Columbia, and a large crate about the size of a garden “square” contained the cedar roof and in itself was made of plywood and cedar tongue and groove planking. I figured the cedar supports full sized 2x3’s and the tongue and groove would be recycled in some manner.

Also have some leftover cedar shingles and I’m considering building a city of birdhouses In the back-backyard. I figured out I can use two wedges to make dimensional lumber, and even miniature cedar shakes for lap siding. The grand daughter is kinda excited. One of her challenges is her short attention span.

Yesterday I took the crate apart and discovered that I could easily make a very cool bed border edging, and I might have enough to frame in the bed reserved and allowed by “Maggie” to be used for vegetables by the garage.

Another idea is to build some garden squares and plant one thing like tomatoes down on the “landing” I built/terraced down by the marsh grass. Basically some raised beds where I can plant deer resistant vegetables. Somehow, possibly from my kitchen mulch I had cherry tomatoes that grew into a feral patch on the landing by accident. It was a sizable 6x6 foot patch.

Pretty much being cultivated is a flower garden. It seems our yard has more than its share of birds and bees.

Back in the back-backyard we have patches of milkweed we leave for the migrating Monarch Butterflies.

Cal
 
High of 81 degrees today.

I watered the entire garden heavily in anticipation of 89 degrees tomorrow and Friday.

The heat and low humidity allowed me to finish priming the two cedar fence sections and their toppers. It took a lot of time because I wanted to really seal the wood well because this fence was costly.

I got a deep tan today. Pretty much summer weather.

My plumber came by today to repair a bad crimp on a ball valve that feeds one of my outside spigots for watering.

Luckily I checked before bed when I first initially watered the garden and opened the ball valve that had been closed all winter. Nothing got damaged and only a small puddle on the floor.

I asked Keith how busy is work, and he said things are ramping up. This follows the business report that mentioned how people who locked in record low mortgages or refinance in 2020-2012 at record low rates at 3% or lower are remodeling and spending over $50K.

My spin is that this makes sense because homeowners who locked in record low rates are kinda locked in to keeping their homes, so instead of upgrading or buying bigger homeowners are remodeling what they have.

40% of mortgages date from 2020-2022 that either originated or were refinanced. The unintended consequence is that these homes effectively will not circulate and will worsen the housing shortage.

Understand that shortages support inflation.

Looking forward to the growth of spring. The next two warm days should accelerate the bloom That now began in earnest.

Also await all the flowers.

Cal
 
Predictions are for a high of 90 degrees today and 91 degrees tomorrow. Glad I watered heavily yesterday.

Today and tomorrow I have to concentrate on daycare so “Maggie” can finish writing the last chapter. Then about a tree week break from writing as line editing happens by her editor.

Cal
 
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