South Otselic Fish Hatchery

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Driving home from upstate NY, I stopped by this old NY DEC Fish Hatchery to catch some frogs with my son. Onsite, there is an old building that I’ve driven past since my teenage years, and have always wanted to photograph. Built in 1932, it’s old weathered paint and classic framing is attractive to me. The hatchery itself originally raised bass but was home to trout and walleye over the years as well.

1/4000 sec at f/4.0, ISO 500, 24mm, Sony A7C II

1/1250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 500, 35mm, Sony A7C II

County Road 217

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Passing through Port Crane, NY, on my way home from the Adirondacks, this set of attractive buildings had me pulling over to make this photo. What first caught my attention was the set of windows on the front face of the blue building. The weathered tones on it’s side further drew me in and the complimentary colors of its red accents and neighboring building sealed the deal on this scene as a must make photo.

1/1000 sec at f/4.8, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

Falls Bridge

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Driving back from Lindenwold, NJ today, I passed the Falls Bridge and had to stop to enjoy it. A sucker for bridges, I spent some time admiring it’s construction and played Frogger while making these images. Again; orange and blue coupled with decay is always a recipe for interest to me. Reading up on this bridge I learned that it was built utilizing the Pratt Truss design. 

1/2000 sec, at f/4.0, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/2000 sec at f/4.0, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

Sabreliner

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I enjoyed making these images for a few reasons. Firstly I’m an airplane nut. I’ve always loved planes. Secondly, the plane’s deteriorated condition also appeals to me. I enjoy the esthetic of decay/patina on objects. Wear, use, and neglect make items and scenes more interesting to me. Lastly, orange and blue is one of my favorite color combinations. All of these facets combine to make this T-39 Sabreliner so cool looking.

1/1000 sec at f/2.4, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/180 sec at f/4.8, ISO 200, 40mm, Leica MP

1/160 at F/4.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

1/80 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

DC-3

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Driving past the Champlain Valley Educational Services Aeronautical Institute, in Plattsburgh, NY, I noticed an old DC-3 basking in the evening sun. It has always been dream of mine to photograph a true airplane graveyard out west. This is the closest I’ve come to doing so. As a licensed aircraft mechanic I’ve always had a fond interest in aviation and just had to pull in and make a few images.

1/125 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/250 sec at f/3.4, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/750 sec at f/2.4, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

1/1000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200, 35mm, Leica MP

Plattsburgh Water Tower

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Work takes me to Plattsburgh, NY this week. Leaving dinner around 8:30 this evening, I saw this water tower and thought I’d try to make an interesting photo with the last couple of minutes of blue hour (I have a thing for water towers and power lines). While there was hardly any light where I stood at the base of the tower, the top was caught in the transition from the last few rays of setting sun to ambient street light. Pushing the ISO to 4,000, I’m still pleased with the clarity of the image. The Leica Q2 never disappoints.

1/50 sec at f/1.7, ISO 4000, 28mm, Leica Q2

Hellbent

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While visiting with my sister Mary, she took me on an art walk around Summit, NJ where she owns and operates an incredible frame shop; Frames For You. It’s always fun visiting her shop because she frames a lot of very cool pieces from modern/pop artists to iconic classic pieces. It’s not uncommon to see originals from BÄST, Shepard Fairey, Josh Keys, Jeremy Geddes, and others for sale on her walls. She doesn’t always have them, but she certainly handles a lot of very cool pieces.

The cool parking garage below was painted by Hellbent. Love it.

Wes Anderson-ish

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This year, I gifted a really interesting book to my sister for her birthday and wish I got a copy for myself. The book showcased images with symmetry and balance akin to the scenes in Wes Anderson visually stimulating films. Very inspiring. While driving my son to the babysitter’s this morning, I noticed these shacks and had to stop to make this image.

1/6400 sec at f/1.7, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Wheelman

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Again, I find myself enjoying the reward of taking my camera everywhere I go. Today, while traveling for work near Binghamton, NY, I came up behind this rider on the road. I thought it was so cool that he had an entire wheel strapped to his back… with a tow strap no less! So impressed was I, that I followed him in to a gas station to make his portrait. This is my kind of guy; doing the sort of thing that I would do. He had changed the tire on his buddy’s bike and needed to use the air station to fill it.

Making portraits is something I’ve never felt comfortable doing. It takes courage to ask someone if you can make their portrait and there is a high chance of rejection in doing so. I’m so grateful that I had the courage to ask this guy, because this is now perhaps one of my personal favorite images of all that I have made over the years.

1/1250 sec at f/2.0, ISO 100, 28mm, Leica Q2

Terminal Concourse Building

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This morning, I spent a little time in the Callowhill area of Philadelphia, at the Rail Park, before the rain got too heavy. I’m not overly-jazzed about this image though I do really like this building and look forward to going back under better lighting conditions. This was shot with my Leica MP240 using a 28mm pancake lens. The trade off for the super tiny size of this lens, is the lack of detail in the corners of the frame. The transition from sharp to soft is, unfortunately, quite pronounced.

Into blue hour

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Took a walk around my neighborhood this evening as the sun set. Wish I had passed by this scene about 20 minutes earlier to catch it covered in that wonderful golden light. I’ve made images of this car before, but I like tonight’s results better.

Golden Hour

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Driving home from the grocery store this evening, I was glad as ever to have my camera with me. Which made me realize that I’ve learned a couple of valuable lessons over the years.

One is that taking my camera with me everywhere I go has given me huge rewards. It’s not that I get “banger” photos every time I use it- because that is definitely not the case. It’s more that I am so happy that I get to use it when I want to. I sometimes have a hard time enjoying a scene when I don’t have my camera with me to capture it. Not always. But sometimes. Like I learned in the Boy Scouts: Be prepared.

The other is that if I want to make great photos, I need to seek the light. Not the subject. So many times I’ve gone to a known subject (truck, building, scene etc) but the light was not cooperating and I left frustrated. Instead, I’m now realizing that I need to go where the light is. Only then, are the possibilities of making a photo available. No duh right?