In the Laundry Room

The Aztecs want to make peas.
Brooklyn, New York - April 2007

In the laundry room of my apartment building. Olympus XA, Ilford HP5+ at EI 800, developed in Diafine.

Labels: brooklyn, diafine, diy, hp5+, ilford, ilford hp5+, laundry room

Tall Grass

Depeche Mode's two good ones.
Brooklyn, New York - October 20006

I biked from my apartment to the Gateway National Recreation area in Queens last fall. On the way back, I stopped for a break along the way, and noticed that the stretch of the Belt Parkway I was riding along was lined with a thick curtain of tall marsh grass, separating the highway and bike path from the hidden wetland behind. The air was briny and soft, in spite of the smell of exhaust, and the swishing and creeking of the grass in the wake of the passing cars reminded me of the sound of the bamboo blowing in the forests Tanja and I hiked in on Oahu a few years ago. For those few minutes, I felt like I was far away from Brooklyn.

Shot on Fuji Portra 400 with a Yashica Mat 124.

Labels: 120, brooklyn, fuji, grass, nyc, yashica, yashica mat

Looking out to Sea

National League Championship.
Jacob Riis Park, Queens, New York - October 2006

Taken with a Yashica Mat 124 on Fuji Portra 400.

Labels: beach, gateway, gateway national recreation area, jacob riis park, nyc, queens, riis, umbrella, yashica, yashica mat

Night Falls on 77th 78th Street

We can't carry any more cats.
Brooklyn, New York - March 2007

The block of 77th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues in Brooklyn is one of my favorite in this neighborhood. For most of the block, the houses are the same, triangular, punctuated by a couple of trees and light posts.

Correction: While everything I said about that block of 77th street is true, I'm a bit of a blockhead. That photo was taken on 78th street between 3rd and 4th Avenues.

I took this with the Nikon F on expired Fuji Superia 200.

Labels: bay ridge, blue, brooklyn, dusk, house, nikon, nikon f, purple, sky, tree

Garage Door On 77th Street

My one and only trip to Mars.
Brooklyn, New York - March 2007

For years, since I started to really get into photography, I've always wanted to shoot a classic Nikon SLR. Any would do, but I wanted to be an old, manual everything one, no tricks, just me, the camera, and a little Sunny 16. Just once, just one roll.

Last fall, a while before I quit my job I tried to buy a bunch of photo and darkroom gear from a woman I came across on Craig's List. It never worked out, and I forgot about her and the stuff. Then, last month, she emailed me out of the blue and told me I could have the stuff free if I came to her place and got it.

So, here we are. Not only did get to shoot a Nikon, but I now own a Nikkormat EL from the early '70s, and the camera this photo came from, the classic Nikon of classic Nikons, a Nikon F, probably from 1960-something. It's weighs about 40 pounds, looks like it went head-on with a train, the lenses are a bit iffy, and it has no light meter. I love the way the earth moves when you push that cold metal button.

Labels: bay ridge, brooklyn, garage, nikon, nikon f, nyc, paint

Under the Pig

The Red Sox have no pitching.
Brooklyn, New York, January 2007

I've entered the "concerned about safety features on spoons" stage of my life.

With the world turning more and more megapixelish, I've started developing my own film here in the bathroom (no, I'm not in the can rightnow). I figured the time was right to have noxious chemicals lying about in my apartment, what with a now-crawling child.

This photo is from the first roll I developed: Arista.EDU 120 (ISO 100), shot in an Ansco Ready Flash, and developed in Diafine. This was taken on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York.

Labels: ansco, ansco ready flash, brooklyn, bw, diafine, park slope