NYC Journal

What in the shiz is going on in here? Yeah, ptpd I generally like your attitude, but those of us who know Cal actually like to hear his unique way of story telling. It is even better in person. I think you should know that Cal does know how to take a joke in person and is tongue in cheek with his hyperbole. Please, lighten up. This thread was made solely for these type of posts.
 
Last edited:
Monday TV Jones pickups are scheduled to be delivered. I can build up another guitar if I borrow a neck off of another guitar.

Just what I need is another guitar. LOL. Don’t tell “Maggie.”

Kinda funny how at a certain saturation point how cameras and guitars blend to a point that Maggie does not realize a new one has arrived.

I wonder if my neighbors think of me as odd who don’t know me. Lots of odd behavior: the guy who uses an unpowered push mover; the man who not only wears knickers and slippers most of the time, but also often goes shirtless; the guy who rounds up all the neighbor’s leaves in a one ton “Man-Bag” every fall; and more recently has been seen rounding up fallen trees.

My new friend Craig, the tree surgeon, has a B.S. in Environmental Science, and I don’t think he thinks I’m crazy except that I dug out a thicket of Knotweed.

Back in art school the Convenor of the Art Department, Luis, was going to have an opening in a gallery, and one of his students used a magic marker to announce in the hallways near the art department, “Luis is an exhibitionist.”

My spin on this riff is: “By definition artists are exhibitionists.”

Anyways out of habit I know I draw out more than my fair share of attention, and this gets amplified by an aggressive personality…

Cal
 
So last Thursday was a day off. My facility has to have a therapist on-site every day, so I'm pulling a shift today and Thursday was my comp day. Anyway, it saw a rear wheel being built for the Breezer. I have all the spokes I need now for my three wheel builds I plan, but I'm waiting on one more Rhyno Lite for the White Eno rear wheel. The one I built is laced around the NOS Shimano M730 uniglide hub. This hub allows me a lot of modularity and "future-proofness". I'll start off running 7 speed Uniglide cassettes and in 10 years, when my cache of cogs is finally worn down to nubs, I can switch the freehub body to an 8 speed and use modern cassettes. I'm drawn to the idea of using the Uniglide 7 speed because of the cheap factor of the cogs; when they wear down, all I have to do is flip the cog over and I've got a set of fresh teeth. The other benefit is the 130mm axle width creates a better, stronger triangulation in the wheel itself because the drive side spokes have 2mm less dish than an 8 speed system. I'm using old XTII topmount thumbshifters, there's not super fast shifting happening here, so I don't need the technology of the Hyperglide cassettes.

Next wheel build will be the front which will lace together in a snap.

One snag is that the super cheap set of Magura brakes I bought, didn't include the special quick release posts, so those are on the way from Holland.

It's coming together and I can't wait to get out on the trails.

Phil Forrest
 
Phil,

You can’t go wrong with White Industries ENO hubs. Mucho strong. I’ve had other hub crack at the spoke holes. My White hubs are decades old. In fact my old Mountain Bike wheel set come from a time when White Ind. provided two spacers so the hub could be utilized for mountain or road.

On my road bike (Ti Basso/ Litespeed Classic) I’m sticking with the XRT 8-speed shifters and what I have. I have a lot of 9-speed Dura-Ace cassettes I bought before prices went insane. I also bought XTR 9-speed trigger shifters, Blue anodized Paul’s Components brake levers, and a long cage XTR rear derailleur and of course a 9-speed Dura-Ace RD.

Thanks to you I loaded up the truck before prices went crazy.

Report back when you have the Joe Breeze bike together.

Cal
 
Correction: I had guessed that my Japanese Red Maple was a hundred year old tree, but Craig, my friend who is a tree surgeon, said it is more like a 50 year old tree.

Still pretty magnificent.

Today I broke up concrete with a jackhammer I borrowed from my neighbor the monster (I call him a monster because he is really big). All this was to create a garden bed along the driveway and also to make way for the fence posts. I’m going to add a gate and this 5 foot fence has an ornate 13 1/2 inch “topper” to dress it up that is kinda arts and crafts.

So even the short driveway will get a flower bed.

I kept the concrete chunks large, about the size of two cobblestones, and certainly they were heavy. I am using this concrete as clean fill on my slope, and I tailored these stones to be oversized because they will be used to stabilize the gully that technically is on my property, but is along the monster’s property. Basically the pitch on his property drains onto mine.

The terracing is starting to look pretty where a slope leads and flows into a terrace, then back into a slope again.

I also laid out more cobblestones to form a bed around a mature False Indigo bush very near the She-Shed that produces these long stems of blue flowers. There are surrounding beds that utilize cobblestones for Peonies and cut flowers. The cobblestones are old worn ones, that I though one of the owners got from NYC, who was a transit worker, but they likely were pilfered from nearby Washington Street which back in the day was a cobblestone street. This is according to the Monster’s wife.

I’m seeing lots of growth and sprouting of the seeds we sowed. Craig told me to prune back the tree branches that touch the She-Shed because it will allow a pathway for insects to invade. Done.

The bed behind the garage will be a berry patch. We already have three blueberry bushes, we will get more, I have a raspberry bush, but that is containered because it can become invasive. We planted three strawberry plants. Anyways the birds will love us.

The grandson at the age of seven months is now fitting clothing for a 9-12 month old. Also he is an aggressive eater, so I call him “Sharky.”

A cedar love seat got delivered that I had to assemble. The Adirondack styling matches the two bar stools in the She-Shed. Meanwhile the USPS delivered my TV Jones pickups today, a day early.

They expect rain tomorrow, so I didn’t water.

The jack hammer was so good in breaking up the concrete that I’m considering borrowing the Hilti from my neighbor again and removing the short concrete driveway and then putting down pavers. This is a project a couple of years out. The amount of clean fill would allow me to fill the gully and perhaps create a cliff like overlook of the marsh.

Today I used the staircase I built to walk the heavy concrete chunks to build out and extend the cliff like landing.

Yesterday we did a day trip to Newbourgh and then Beacon. The city of Newbourgh and the village of Beacon are across the Hudson from each other, and a bridge connects them. My neighbor Marty from about a block away tells me Peekskill 25 years ago was a rough city like Newbourgh, a place you avoided and stayed away.

It seems Governor Pataki lived in Garrison, but went to Peekskill schools, and when he was governor he did a lot to help redevelop Peekskill.

Newbourgh has a tiny area that has been revitalized for a few blocks on Liberty Street, and there is a small strip of nice homes where the wealthy live, but the rest of Newbourgh is kinda left for dead. We go there to visit either House Parts or the Vintage Emporiums (two spare stores, but the same business).

Anyways not sure Newbourgh will ever turnaround.

It was a busy and fruitful weekend. A lot got done, but in a relaxed way that was fulfilling and kinda wonderful. Tired, but not exhausted, and somehow I’m left with a feeling of accomplishment because the fruits of my labor is accelerating.

”Maggie” finally is learning to relax. We had a grilled steak dinner To top off the weekend.

Cal
 
Last edited:
Craig, the tree surgeon, is going to drop off some chipped clean fill today.

He asked me if I had a pitch fork, which I don’t own, and he says he’ll lend me one. He says shovels are not the best Tool for the job. I’ll purchase my own soon.

I want to hire him to prune my white pines, and he said I can assist and be his helper so I can do it myself next time.

How cool is all that?

Cal
 
Hi folks. I'm just back from 2 weeks in the UK...and you wouldn't believe the fluctuations on the price of Cadbury bars at Tesco!!

Actually, I had a fairly success trip, photography-wise. I shot 90+% of the time with my 35mm Summarit on a digital M, and <10% with a 21mm Voigtlander. But what made it a "success" for me is that I'm not completely overwhelmed with the processing task ahead of me. That's because this time I used the Capture One culling function every day, and only imported potential keepers from the day's shots. So I have 323 files to work on. It's still more than I'd like to have, but it's far better than coming home with 1000's of images.

I'm terrible at making myself sit down and edit. I like capturing the image more than I like processing, and I don't have any "destination" for these photos. I'm not really interested in chasing likes on social media, and I haven't touched my printer since I had to move it out of the house 3 yrs ago (so the tubes are probably hopelessly clogged by now).

So...any suggestions? I'm thinking of making a book, or at least ordering a few prints. I used to really like having a physical print as the final product, and that was just enough motivation to make me edit images. Do any of you struggle with this?

David

EDIT - typo
 
Davidin10003 said:
I'm terrible at making myself sit down and edit. I like capturing the image more than I like processing, and I don't have any "destination" for these photos. I'm not really interested in chasing likes on social media, and I haven't touched my printer since I had to move it out of the house 3 yrs ago (so the tubes are probably hopelessly clogged by now).

So...any suggestions? I'm thinking of making a book, or at least ordering a few prints. I used to really like having a physical print as the final product, and that was just enough motivation to make me edit images. Do any of you struggle with this?

David

EDIT - typo
Click to expand...
I basically am "back" from a rut. My core photography is when I am intentional and shoot film, which hasn't been much for the last year; and if anything just developed and didn't go through editing. Heck, I have some exposed color that I just froze procrastinating to send a batch to a good lab. Some sort of Spring revelation reached me and want to use the frozen color film stock I have in medium format which in a way also has a parallel to your situation, ending with some nice digital file that doesn't have a particular destination. If anything, I am planning to get shots that exploit the look of 6x9, which is environmental, rich of tonality and the short DoF allows for subject separation using wide angle. Will see what I have shot before summer.
The B&W film I like to properly do in darkroom, despite a long winter, this season I had a lifestyle and routine that gave me few "boring days" where darkroom printing really is appreciated. Plan to set foot in it again during rainy summer days or the fall.

For digital I do exploit shooting JPEG a lot that I don't sit down to edit. I rarely get that keeper and play with the RAW but also my day job is sitting in front of the PC so I would rather just not depend in it as much.
A quick selection of work prints can be quite good, I had some of those made and just shuffled 8x12" prints around as a large snapshot album.

OTOH I have shot massively, but with other tools such as the phone and RX100. I was surprised at how decent phones now have largeish sensors. Mucho software processing done, but even RAW files from the 1/30" sensors are very good for snapshots.

Heck, even youngsters, I kid you not, are using tiny sensor old compacts. The "digicams" have become popular. I have endured those for most of the shooting life and have no plan to go back into smaller old sensors. But of course, like toy cameras, it can be a source of inspiration.
 
Prest_400 said:
I basically am "back" from a rut. My core photography is when I am intentional and shoot film, which hasn't been much for the last year; and if anything just developed and didn't go through editing. Heck, I have some exposed color that I just froze procrastinating to send a batch to a good lab. Some sort of Spring revelation reached me and want to use the frozen color film stock I have in medium format which in a way also has a parallel to your situation, ending with some nice digital file that doesn't have a particular destination. If anything, I am planning to get shots that exploit the look of 6x9, which is environmental, rich of tonality and the short DoF allows for subject separation using wide angle. Will see what I have shot before summer.
The B&W film I like to properly do in darkroom, despite a long winter, this season I had a lifestyle and routine that gave me few "boring days" where darkroom printing really is appreciated. Plan to set foot in it again during rainy summer days or the fall.

For digital I do exploit shooting JPEG a lot that I don't sit down to edit. I rarely get that keeper and play with the RAW but also my day job is sitting in front of the PC so I would rather just not depend in it as much.
A quick selection of work prints can be quite good, I had some of those made and just shuffled 8x12" prints around as a large snapshot album.

OTOH I have shot massively, but with other tools such as the phone and RX100. I was surprised at how decent phones now have largeish sensors. Mucho software processing done, but even RAW files from the 1/30" sensors are very good for snapshots.

Heck, even youngsters, I kid you not, are using tiny sensor old compacts. The "digicams" have become popular. I have endured those for most of the shooting life and have no plan to go back into smaller old sensors. But of course, like toy cameras, it can be a source of inspiration.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. I think maybe I'll try shooting JPEGs and DNGs, and only go to the RAW file when it's a "portfolio" shot or the JPEG can't be tortured into a good image. I guess I'd rather have work prints that exist but are technically imperfect, as opposed to potential great images that never get realized because I don't bother to do anything with them.

I also spend all day in front of my computer. I wish someone would invent a UI for Capture One that's tactile and hands-on like working in a darkroom. I've tried various hardware interface devices, and none of them was quite right for me. Maybe that's my killer VR/AR app - a virtual darkroom where you manipulate images with your hands. Imagine grabbing a curve and pushing and pulling it to get what you want, or having a large lever to pull instead of a tiny slider on screen. I can dream, right?
 
Davidin10003 said:
Thanks for the reply. I think maybe I'll try shooting JPEGs and DNGs, and only go to the RAW file when it's a "portfolio" shot or the JPEG can't be tortured into a good image. I guess I'd rather have work prints that exist but are technically imperfect, as opposed to potential great images that never get realized because I don't bother to do anything with them.

I also spend all day in front of my computer. I wish someone would invent a UI for Capture One that's tactile and hands-on like working in a darkroom. I've tried various hardware interface devices, and none of them was quite right for me. Maybe that's my killer VR/AR app - a virtual darkroom where you manipulate images with your hands. Imagine grabbing a curve and pushing and pulling it to get what you want, or having a large lever to pull instead of a tiny slider on screen. I can dream, right?
Click to expand...
David,

I promote myself as a lazy slacker, but I try to shoot like a large format shooter, meaning I optimize IQ at time of image capture as if trying to make a negative for contact printing.

In art school we were trained to make negatives that were easy to print. This set the tone for me. My film images pretty much just get straight printed no dodging or burning, just straight printed. In digital I just use an old version of Lightroom 5 and post processing is minimal.

With digital I use Heliopan filters that are marked “Digital” because they have additional UV and IR filtering which eliminates unwanted non visual signals that are basically ”noise” meaning unwanted. I discovered that by eliminating this unwanted signal that I have not only cleaner files, more visual information, and most importantly less clipping and better dynastic range.

With my Leica Monochom with the CCD sensor, pretty much I would say this is likely the most unforgiving digital camera ever made. No Bayer Filter array to allow highlight recovery, and less forgiving than a CMOS sensor that has better dynamic range. The point I am making is that the first Leica Monochrom requires precision to utilize its unique rendering which I think has a richer midrange than a CMOS sensor Monochrom.

Know that on my Monochrom I use Heliopan medium yellow filters marked “Digital” to record the contrast at the time of image capture instead of post. My files require the most minimal post processing.

In color digital, pretty much, I use no post processing at all.

IMHO digital allows people to correct after the shot is taken, but this makes no sense to me. The more a file is processed the more digital artifacts get amplified. I would suggest developing a way to minimize post and doing more to optimize at time of image capture.

My friend John heavily influenced me. Every month he would edit and create a blurb book. It was/is a great-great way to organize and present work. I myself have made one-off books as a way to present and organize my work.

Thanks for reminding me of my approach. Think like a large format shooter is the moral of the story…

Cal
 
Today Craig dumped about a cubic yard and a half of clean fill in my dead end.

I thought I would have to buy a pitch fork, but Craig gifted me this old weathered antique pitchfork that has mucho character. Now I have treasure. How cool is that?

He said he might have a bigger load tomorrow, so I might get a call. I also mentioned that I’ll be sharing the wealth/resource with my neighbor the “Monster” so that we will take whatever he gives us.

If I had a fireplace like that dog Fidel, I would have been gifted some oak firewood also.

In return I gifted Craig a fresh 1-ton “Man-Bag.”

Craig only lives about 2 blocks away near the entrance of Blue Mountain Preserve. He has 3/4’ers of an acre, and when he saw my 1966 C-10 he mentioned that he has a mid seventies Chevy Silverado that his father had bought new, he also has an International Scout as another project vehicle.

Craig was very impressed with my oak seedlings. He favors the one seedling that does not have the forked trunk, but he understands why I want to plant and establish oak trees for the environment.

He also hinted that he has hoarded wood, and mentions that he gets downed trees milled into lumber. Seems he is a hoarder a bit like me, and he might have an antenna for my truck and even a CB radio. Also he knows Danny who I bought the truck from. The way the lumber stockpile came up is I mentioned the original wood bed of my truck is gone.

How hill-billy is that? E-Ha…

Anyways in NYC I was kinda known, and here it seems to be the same. I try to just mind my own business, but even here in the boring burbs I have notoriety.

I did find the time today to kit together a drill press and my table saw.

Cal
 
Life in the burbs can be boring, but for me it is rich.

Happy-happy with less stress and worries.

I feel I’m a lucky man.

Cal
 
Con,

They say good things happen to good people…

Also Navy SEAL survival training says that 95% of survival is a positive mental attitude.

I have seen the effects of negativity and how it becomes a self fulfilling and becomes a death spiral.

Still I don’t take anything for granted, especially kindness.

Meanwhile I’m doing my part to save the planet. I let the Milkweed grow to feed the Monarch Butterflies, I’ll be building bird houses because they are in trouble too, I am removing invasive Knotweed by not using chemicals or pesticides by hand over a period of years.

Some would say this is mundane, but for me it gives my life meaning And a sense of purpose that is good.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
David,

I promote myself as a lazy slacker, but I try to shoot like a large format shooter, meaning I optimize IQ at time of image capture as if trying to make a negative for contact printing.

In art school we were trained to make negatives that were easy to print. This set the tone for me. My film images pretty much just get straight printed no dodging or burning, just straight printed. In digital I just use an old version of Lightroom 5 and post processing is minimal.

With digital I use Heliopan filters that are marked “Digital” because they have additional UV and IR filtering which eliminates unwanted non visual signals that are basically ”noise” meaning unwanted. I discovered that by eliminating this unwanted signal that I have not only cleaner files, more visual information, and most importantly less clipping and better dynastic range.

With my Leica Monochom with the CCD sensor, pretty much I would say this is likely the most unforgiving digital camera ever made. No Bayer Filter array to allow highlight recovery, and less forgiving than a CMOS sensor that has better dynamic range. The point I am making is that the first Leica Monochrom requires precision to utilize its unique rendering which I think has a richer midrange than a CMOS sensor Monochrom.

Know that on my Monochrom I use Heliopan medium yellow filters marked “Digital” to record the contrast at the time of image capture instead of post. My files require the most minimal post processing.

In color digital, pretty much, I use no post processing at all.

IMHO digital allows people to correct after the shot is taken, but this makes no sense to me. The more a file is processed the more digital artifacts get amplified. I would suggest developing a way to minimize post and doing more to optimize at time of image capture.

My friend John heavily influenced me. Every month he would edit and create a blurb book. It was/is a great-great way to organize and present work. I myself have made one-off books as a way to present and organize my work.

Thanks for reminding me of my approach. Think like a large format shooter is the moral of the story…

Cal
Click to expand...
I like your approach. And I definitely resonate with "get it right in camera." I guess the easiest way to solve my dislike of post-processing is to shoot well enough and carefully enough that I don't need to do it. I've been thinking about doing OL/OC/OY to jump-start my emergence from a photographic rut. (Though I probably won't go a whole year.) Maybe a good modification to that would be MP (minimal processing, like just exposure and contrast sliders and cropping). It could be a OL/OC/HY/MP journey - one lens, one camera, half-year, minimal processing.
 
David,

”Maggie” has a PhD and tends to overcomplicate everything. She basically “overthinks.” Also she overbooks and creates a frenzied life.

I find it interesting why people, especially New Yorkers, live complicated lives. Maggie is 70 and is suppose to be retired… Ha-ha… Worse is Calvin is suppose to be retired, but taking care of Maggie, and helping her clean up her many messes is a full time job.

A suggestion about exposure is to figure out how to use the back of your hand as a “grey-card.” Pretty much the metering in your camera works off the amount of light reflected off a 30% grey card. A grey card approach to exposure does not lie and is EZ-PZ.

All the color work I did for Maggie’s blog is right out of the camera, understand she at times does do PP, but most of the time the image is just right out of the camera.

In my case I use the back of my hand and pretty much it is about 30% grey, so it is EZ-PZ to get perfect exposure all of the time. How EZ is that. The only variable is your incidence angle so just hold your palm on the same plane as your subject.

If you are of pale complexion or darker all you need to do is figure out your personal offset.

Even though I shoot medium and small format so far, I greatly admire the IQ and tonality of large format. Devil Christian once said of my 6x9 negatives, “With negatives like these you don’t need a 4x5.” Know that Devil Christian is a large format shooter among many things and talents. Coming from him this is a very flattering compliment.

In B&W I use first the sliders to adjust the blacks for the most part, and then add an “S” curve to broaden and extend the contrast range. Not much else is done.

My files remain pure and clean allowing me to print crazy big. The bigger the print the more tonality is revealed, and the larger the print the more detail gets exposed. It is said that my prints look like or resemble large format. Nothing like large format though…

Cal
 
Last edited:
Glenn2 said:
A heads up Cal, and others. Next April 8 a total solar eclipse may be coming to your area.
Have only seen partials and probably won’t travel to see this one. Photographic possibilities abound.
You shouldn’t have too far driving to reach the band of totality, Cal. Start making plans, accommodation sells out quickly in the best locations.


New NASA Map Details 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipses in the US – NASA Solar System Exploration
Click to expand...
Glen,

Thanks for the heads up. This is what this tread is about: support.

Also know that the clean fill is making a huge difference in the topography of my slope. Terraces are emerging. Oh so very pretty.

We are growing herbs, snow peas, lettuces, and arugula. Down on the landing by the marsh grass I will plant a square of tomatoes. Supposedly deer don’t eat toe-MATE-O plants. I forgot blueberries, raspberries (containered because they are invasive), and strawberries. We will add more blueberries bushes to the three we already have.

I made a ring around the Japanese red maple and set a bed of mulch. Craig stressed to leave a vacant area around the trunk. The sod like clumps I transplanted into the dead end as a ground cover. I also have excess German Thyme that I will transplant into the slope and use as a ground cover.

Cal
 
Cal likes to say “I was just minding my own business”. It’s sometimes an occurrence when a friend knows we’re into a hobby and decides to do some spring cleaning at the same time.
Background story is that a friend and professional mentor whom I’ve known since 2007 has been into mountain biking for decades. He has a beat up (gorgeous) Specialized Stumpjumper from the very end of the lugged era that I’ve always complimented. I worked on this bike a few times over the last 15 years. Anyway, I asked for his counsel a few months ago regarding an idea I have knocking around in my head for a mental health group (he’s a researcher into veterans health issues).
So at the end of our meeting a while back he mentioned that he had a bunch of bicycles he wanted to give to me.
So since neither of us has a truck, it looks like he’s going to be carting them one at a time. Amongst the haul is a beat up Raleigh Edge Mountain Trials bike. This bike is spec’d with very similar geometry to the Ibis Mtn Trials and is a “mullet” being that it has a 26” front wheel and a 24” rear. It also has John Olsen’s signature on it (he was one of the early MTB designers for Raleigh, Cannondale and also big in designing trials geometry).
So, I have a decision to make now.
Build up the White Eno rear wheel into a 24” Rhyno Lite to use on the Raleigh, or continue on the path of having a “convertible” drivetrain on the Breezer and build the Eno into a 26” rear wheel. If I decide to do a singlespeed Raleigh Mtn Trials, the Joe Breeze will basically be fully restored for riding. I might get the XTR cantis back from a friend of mine and put them on the Breezer. Decisions, decisions.
I was only minding my own business.
Phil Forrest
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom