New York October PhotoPlusExpo

[Calzone]

"Maggie" returns from the overnight trip tonight. She remains not so impressed by the NYS tax laws as I am.

In crunching numbers it gets kinda crazy because of "present value," a term used in bonds. Recently I took a short course on bonds. Bonds are a bigger market than equities, and are not so well understood.

The idea is present value is that cash in hand is worth more than cash promised in the future. It effects the way bonds are priced, and how banks work and earn money.

So how crazy is it that somehow my "fixed" retirement income will be more than my present salary?

This is a good thing, but then the problem is that I enjoy good health and have a high probability of living past 100. So pretty much I am well prepared to live beyond the median life expectancy.

So here at work it pays for me to work to 66, but there is a slight possibility of getting laid off and a surprise early retirement. Even with an early retirement, while not ideal, not so bad, but not as good as retiring at 66. Oh-well...

On my father's side, my grandfather was a gambler who was executed in China, but my mother was an educated woman, meaning she came from an afluent Hong Kong family. I assume I have bankster blood in me from my mother's side.

Meanwhile Maggie is already retired and remains so busy that she is kinda exhasted and still stressed. She has to learn how to relax.

Kinda funny how I'm still working (not really busy), but I'm like the person that is already retired. Sometimes it pays to be a "lazy-slacker."

Meanwhile my boss will likely retire within a year's time and my 18 year old cyclotron needs an expensive overhaul. There is a lot of entertainment valve because two rather big institutions are involved and politics too. Mucho drama that I get to see get played out. Ha-ha.

Cal

 

[MrBern]

Cal,
A good decade ago, I spent a weekend at Republic Airport for the C-47 paratrooper rides. Nobody jumps. Its just a living history ride where they fky the paying passengers to get the feel of how a WWII paratroop jump felt. I was amongst the escorts kitted out in th Vintage uniform & parachute for the flight.



After my flight, I went for a break to take off all the gear for a bit. When I emerged from the ready room, had a little surprise noticing a kid who was supposed to be on the next flight. And the ten year old was furious. Did he miss his flight?? I walked out to the runway & saw the C-47 with a smoking engine.
The next flight had taken off, but blew an engine & immediately circled back to an emergency landing. I had missed it all while changing gear. Fortunately no one was hurt. But even then it made me reconsider any future planes to ride on WWII aircraft.
Its kinda sweet but that little furious kid was jsut angry the flight was cut short. He had no fear or anxiety about how close th craft couldve come to crashing.

-B

Yesterday a B-17 crashed in Conn. I remember in the mid 90's being a news videographer at Republic Airport getting on a B-17 that was owned by some Texan.

At that time not so many were airworthy, and this one owner wanted to keep his plane flying, while this preservationist wanted to keep the plane grounded. So that was the two sides of the story.

I remember being on the tarmac and being told the obvious, "Avoid getting hit by a propeller." Pretty much it was the same scene from "Casablanca" except I'm carrying a huge Igamami videocamera and a one-inch U-matic deck. At that time Sony-Beta was a recent development.

So my place for takeoff and landing was wedging myself behind the pilot's seat on the floor. After takeoff I went to the rear of the plane along a "gangplank," and earlier I had been warned not to step elsewhere because I would put a hole in the plane. Pretty much the skin of the plane was a thin layer of aluminum about as heavy as a beer can.

In the rear was an opening in the fuse-O-lodge where a machine gun could be mounted. The plane's knickname was "Flying Fortress," and from this vantage point I shot footage of this flight over the Long Island suburbs at perhaps helicopter altitude.

We were heading south and around the Jones Beach water tower when the pilot decided to do a sharp banked turn. When a plane banks it looses altitude so we got pretty low, but I'm on the inside of the banked turn, and I came pretty close to falling out of the plane. I also for a moment thought I would ditch the expensive broadcast quality camera to save my life.

On the news last night they said that perhaps 50 B-17's exist today. Back then in the mid 90's only a handful were still airworthy. That is still possibly true today.

It was reported that passengers on the crashed plane paid $450.00 for the thrill. It was said that the pilot made a wide turn. I assume this was to mitigate loosing altitude.

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Getting Going with 70mm by Nokton48, on Flickr


Calzone and I did some day trading. I sent him a 100 foot roll of Kodak 70mm WL Surveillance Film, and a Nikor 70mm reel, and he sent me a 70mm Kindermann Developing Reel Loading Stand. Here it is ^^ BTW in that A70 back had a 220 length of the Rollei fresh 70mm in it. I have now loaded it into a JOBO Multitank 2, and the homemade 70mm JOBO which I made wider, so 70mm stock fits the Multitank 2 so I am now good to go. This tank is great for short ends of 70mm. 220 length is about the max for the JOBO reel, gresat for clip tests.

I need more Photo Flo, then I will run this test roll. Will be using Rollei Supergrain Developer which is recommended by Rollei for the 70mm Rollei film. Freestyle stocks this Rollei developer, hope they have more 🙂

 

[Calzone]

Dan,

I'll be mailing a letter today to you with a photocopy of a placard that I removed from my Linhof version of the 70 mm bulk loaded/development reel loader.

It is a metal badge that has written in English and German the amount of revolutions of a CINE spool that coresponds to frame count for 5x7's.

There is a plotted graph, and know that it is non linear. Also the counts are only approximate due to base thickness variations.

As we know the Rollie 400 S has a very thin base and perhaps one has to be careful because our development reels can only hold 15 feet. Seems like you could easily/maybe load 18 feet of film say and rudely find out that you overwound a CINE cassette.

I learned from my celeb fashion blogger gal that if you want to stand out, don't do what everyone else is doing. I only know on one wack-job other than me who shoots Linhofs handheld in NYC, and his name is Christian.

Pretty much carrying around a baby Linhof kinda makes me like a tourist attraction. LOL. "Mucho style," I say.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Saturday "I was just minding my own business," walking alone with my SL and APO 35 Cron when this guy engages with me, mentioning that I'm carrying a camera.

As you know I tend to draw out the crazies, so here we go. Funny thing is I'm about a block away from where I live in Spanish Harlem.

So he introduces himself as "Leo," but then he says, "That's not my real name." So now I'm kinda hooked because now I know I'm dealing with a crazy, and every other sentence made sense, then was followed by something that made no sense at all.

So it gets revealed that he is affiliated with the NYPD, but he repeatedly mentioned the FBI which made no sense. Then he explained why he had to conceal his identity, and then tells me that he lives in the housing project right across the street on Lexington Avenue, giving his apartment number so I now know where he lives.

In conversation I find out he is my age (61), but his build I would say was gangly because he was skinnier than me and taller. "Leo" mentions he knows Tae Kwon Dow and shows me his right fist. I recognized the enlarged double sized healed broken knuckles that comprise an "iron fist" of a real fighter.

Somehow earlier I started shooting "Leo" with my SL set at F2.0, but I asked "Leo" to show me his fist again and I close focused on his fist with this amazing APO lens that is mucho sharp. Big time bokeh and focus fall off. I got some great-great shots.

So I get the invite to be part of "Community Affairs" at the 23rd Precinct. I have the meet-up place and time, so how crazy is that. "Leo" says they are looking for photographers. LOL.

You can't make this stuff up.

Earlier I did my tough guy workout: 40 minutes on an elyptical, and then I decided to walk to Union Square to try and buy some sneakers or shoes at DSW using coupons before they expire. I ended meeting up with Pro-Mone who I haven't connected with in a while. I ended up giving him an extra coupon so he can save $20.00 on his next pair of Adidas.

Sunday I loaded a bag with my SL rigged with my APO 35 Cron, and packed the monster 50 Lux-L. The bag weighed 12 pounds, but I figured I needed the weight training. "Maggie" and I walked to Sugar Hill (Harlem) early enough to hear all these Church choirs.

Overall our walk was 10 miles on Maggie's Applewatch. On our way home we passed 132d Street on Adam Clayton Powel Blvd a group of 5-6 men. After passing Maggie mentioned that one of the men held a handgun drawn next to his thigh ready for action.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

We are going to the Premier of the film "The Current War" which is about the Edison verses Tesla with somehow some Westinghouse involvement during the time when electricity was being built out in NYC.

The Premier is October 21st and the film is getting released on the 25th. I saw a commercial last night on television.

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Dan,

I'll be mailing a letter today to you with a photocopy of a placard that I removed from my Linhof version of the 70 mm bulk loaded/development reel loader. It is a metal badge that has written in English and German the amount of revolutions of a CINE spool that coresponds to frame count for 5x7's. There is a plotted graph, and know that it is non linear. Also the counts are only approximate due to base thickness variations. As we know the Rollie 400 S has a very thin base and perhaps one has to be careful because our development reels can only hold 15 feet. Seems like you could easily/maybe load 18 feet of film say and rudely find out that you overwound a CINE cassette. I learned from my celeb fashion blogger gal that if you want to stand out, don't do what everyone else is doing. I only know on one wack-job other than me who shoots Linhofs handheld in NYC, and his name is Christian. Pretty much carrying around a baby Linhof kinda makes me like a tourist attraction. LOL. "Mucho style," I say.

Cal

Thanks for all this Cal! Yes quite useful info. I've been guessing film length, now I can make a more educated guess. But I will load the spool, then into the cartridge. No needs to stress the felt light trap. Agree about mucho style. You should put Griptac or reptile skin on "the Baby".

 

[Calzone]

Thanks for all this Cal! Yes quite useful info. I've been guessing film length, now I can make a more educated guess. But I will load the spool, then into the cartridge. No needs to stress the felt light trap. Agree about mucho style. You should put Griptac or reptile skin on "the Baby".

Dan,

Right now the camera is minty, but I have this habit of annoying people as a character flaw.

I love the feel of Griptack, but some of my "friends" hated this on a 0.85 Leica MP I owned. LOL.

There is a saying that this stranger in Penn Station said, "In NYC nothing is rude." LOL

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Farras has a solo show, "Life on the Line," opening this Friday, October 25, 6:00-8:00 PM, at b(x), 203 Harrison Place, Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Nearest subway is the "L" train and the stop is Jefferson.

Farras is someone who has been to a few of our Meet-Ups and he is an interesting photographer and individual.

The shot he forwarded me was a color street shot that I would say is in Bushwick.

I will likely attend the opening.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

After skipping a few years due to PCP rollovers and changing doctors every year, I decided to get a physical. Pretty much so far it confirmed that I am in remarkable shape, especially for a 61 3/4'ers old man.

This new doctor tested my hearing, and I got some new test that measured the circulation to each of my extremities. My EKG was textbook perfect with a rather low 55 BPM resting pulse.

Yesterday went out to Lawn-Guy-Land to get my teeth cleaned.

Seems like this remarkable M3-DS is coming home that has a very interesting history. Basically I bought it from Adorama, after my friend Angel told me I must buy it.

When I first dry fired the camera it was kinda loud, the film advance was kinda stiff, and I mentioned this to Angel, but he responded, "You don't understand, this camera just got overhauled by Leica Germany and the prism is brand new."

So basically it was a factory rebuilt M3-DS.

Somehow I day traded it with an Art Dealer for some vintage Bruce Davidson Prints, and then got the M3-DS back in some loan sharking deal where I got the M3-DS back as collateral. Then I sold it to my friend Brian who has owned the camera for perhaps 3-4 years.

Understand that this M3-DS has a fresh "L" seal. I'm really glad to get this camera back.

So pretty much I will have 5 M-bodies; because I'm a lazy slacker I tend to not change lenses; and pretty much I use fully rigged cameras as if fixed lens cameras. How entitled and annoying is that?

Monochrom-28 Cron V.1 with scalloped hood

Canadian MD-2 (only 1K made in Canada) TA rapidgrip, TA black Rapidwinder, Zeiss 21 viewfinder. After talking with Pro-Mone last Sunday I'm keen on getting a 21/3.4 Super Augulon.

M3-DS- 50 Rigid version 1 with the distance scale in "feet."

M4 Hammertone repaint with slight brassing. I secured this nicely done M4 from Ben from Philly. Did a flat trade with a spare 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM that was mispriced at B&H.

Wetzlar M6 Prototype that predates the Titanium version by 5 years that has a Ti topplate over zinc with the Wetzlar engravings. Know that the later Ti M6 had topplates that were Ti plated brass, not zinc. Lens is a rare black version of the Canon 28/3.5 that is like a pancake lens. Ta Rapidgrip and TA silver Rapidwinder.

So if you notice, all the glass is retro and single coated, and pretty much optimized for B&W film (low contrast, retro rendering with high center shapness and not the best edge and corner performance, except the 28 Cron ASPH on the Monochrom).

My only multicoated lenses I use for film are the Noct-Nikkor 58/1.2, the 50 Lux-R "E60," and the black Nikon 45/2.8 P that also do double duty on digital (SL and CL).

For SLR use I use a Nikon F3P and a Leica SL2-MOT.

I'm in camera heaven as far as small format, but also know that I have mucho medium format that is all single coated with the only exception being the 47/5.6 Schneider Super Augulon on my Plaubel 69 W with pro shift.

So like my health, it seems like I built out longevity in small and medium formats that is good for many decades.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

POSTSCRIPT: All my single coated M-glass has their distance scales marked in feet only.

Black Canon 28/3.5

Nikon 35/1.8 in LTM

50 Rigid version 1 (small/narrow focus ring).

When I get a 21/3.4 Super Augulon I'll have to get one with the distance scale measured in feet only.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

"Maggie's" posting of my shots get crazy amounts of likes and comments.

Last shot got 40K likes and over 600 comments in about a day and a half. It only takes a day to breach 30K likes.

I carried the "Monster" 50 Lux, but I shot with my new APO 35 Cron. No clear favorite, but I would say the 50 Lux is the portrait lens and that the APO 35 Cron is a great landscape lens.

Pretty much, because I'm a lazy slacker, the images are right out of the camera.

I Social Media "engagement" and interaction are key.

I ran into Leo who reminded me of the NYPD Meet-Up at the end of the month.

Cal

 

[ptpdprinter]

I Social Media "engagement" and interaction are key.

Key to what exactly?

 

[Calzone]

Key to what exactly?

PTP,

Engagement and interaction, like leaving comments or sharing, are the metrics used to gauge traffic, sustainability and popularity.

For paying gigs PR representatives look at engagement and how many comments and weigh them more than amounts of likes or amounts of followers.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

## Gear Alert##

I was checking out ebay and found a great deal on a Canon 1d mark III but
it didn't work so I purchased it. When I received it, it had water damaged so what
does a guy like me do, it's red led did light up when I put a battery in so I took it
apart, there wasn't much water damage but the ribbon cable gold connector had
a film on them so I unplug them all and cleaned them all with contact cleaner after
putting back together and turning that switch it all worked and for 10 megapixels
it works and takes great files. Another success!

 

[ptpdprinter]

Engagement and interaction, like leaving comments or sharing, are the metrics used to gauge traffic, sustainability and popularity. For paying gigs PR representatives look at engagement and how many comments and weigh them more than amounts of likes or amounts of followers.

How do you know if they like your photograph qua photograph or they just like your girlfriend's outfit or hairstyle?

 

[Calzone]

How do you know if they like your photograph qua photograph or they just like your girlfriend's outfit or hairstyle?

PTP,

A smart question. From the sample variation of photographers, many of them pros. It seems that my shots consistently get the highest number of likes and comments.

Some of this I know is because my gal is more relaxed with me, so I have an advantage. "Maggie" in real life is kinda shy.

Kinda funny how Terry Richardson as a shooter did not so well.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

WOW. Proposed 25% European Tariffs on cameras and lenses after the WTO ruling in favor of the U.S. against Airbus business practices.

Lucky I secured my APO 35 Cron-L. The tariff would increase the cost of my lens by $1150.00. Ouch.

I speculate that this could effect/inflate used gear prices.

Hmmm...

Cal

 

[Nokton48]

Hi Cal,
Your letter arrived this afternoon, thanks for this information.

Have a great weekend.
-Dan

 

[Calzone]

Hi Cal,
Your letter arrived this afternoon, thanks for this information.

Have a great weekend.
-Dan

Dan,

You're welcome.

Cal